what about it?

[Guest guest]

>So taking for granted these personalities fully understood the conclusion

>of the Vedas, what arguments do we have for NOT following in their

>footsteps?

 

Another nice question by Vraja Kumar prabhu. By his questions he is enabling

us to dive deeper & deeper in the ocean of Krsna Katha.

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta used to say that if I can beget Krishna Conscious

children, I can marry 100's of times. So following on the footsteps of these

personalities not only means to just marry as they have done. Even if one

simply marries seeing their example one may not be able to live the ideal

grhasta life as they did and then one ends up actually not following in

their footsteps. This is the philosophy of accepting half of the hen.

 

Basically a brahmacari should feel that he does not want to marry because

even if he just marries following in the footsteps of the great grhasta

devotees, he will not be able to live a controlled, ideal grhasta life as

those great personalities did. In this way one can cultivate HUMILITY in the

brahmacari ashram. This is the mood of Srila Bhaktisiddanta in his statement

quoted above. Also in this way the brahmacari becomes respectful towards the

grhastas. Ultimately all the ashramas are meant to make us humble because

that is the quality alone which attracts the attention of Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu.

 

Also following on the footsteps (words used by Vraja Kumara prabhu) means

following their instructions. Even if Bhaktivinode Thakura or Lord Caitanya

(for the first 24 years) were grhastas, they never instructed any

well-situated brahmacaries to follow in their footsteps by getting married.

So even though some great personalities maybe situated in the grhastha

ashram, one has to see actually what they are instructing, not just to

blindly imitate them. Because their instructions are actually meant for

conditioned souls like us.

 

And like some devotee pointed out that by their example they are showing

that if one is a householder, how to properly act in that ashram not that

they are showing how everybody should become a householder by 'so-called'

following in their footsteps.

 

Your servant,

Nayana-ranjana dasa br.