Keeping Krishna in the centre of household life

[Guest guest]

Çréla Prabhupäda: ....Just like generally a person is alone, but he gets a wife with a hope for enjoying family life, children, wife, friends. Gåha-kñetra, ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittaiù. Gåha means apartment, and kñetra means land. Gåha-kñetra-suta. Suta means children. Ataù gåha-kñetra-suta äpta. Äpta means friends, society. Ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittaiù. Äpta means friends, society, and to support all these things—Gåha, kñetra, suta, äpta,—there is required money, vitta. Vitta means money. Ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaà mameti [sB 5.5.8]. This is material life. Gåha, kñetra. “I must have Gåha.” Gåha means with wife. Na gåhaà gåham ity ähur gåhiëé gåham ucyate. Gåha. Gåha means house.

So we are also living in house, very nice house. But still, we are not gåhastha. A Gåha, to live in a house, does not mean a gåhastha. Na gåhaà gåham ity ähuù. Gåhastha means gåha. Gåhe tiñöhati iti gåhastha. Every Sanskrit word has got elaborate meaning. Gåhastha means one who stays in gåha, in house. He is called gåhastha. So we can be called gåhastha also. We are living in house. No. Çästra says, na gåhaà gåham ity ähuù: “Simply a house is not gåha.” There must be the housewife. That means wife. Gåhiëé gåham ucyate. In Hindi this word is used, garbhali means if there is no wife, that is not gåha. Cäëakya Paëòita says, putra-hénaà gåhaà çünyam. “You have got wife, but if you have no children, that gåha is also void.” So gåhastha means to live with wife and children, and cultivating spiritual life. That is called gåhastha. It doesn’t matter, you live with your wife and children, or you live with brahmacäré, sannyäsé. Anything. It doesn’t matter. Therefore there are so many divisions of life. Whichever status of life is suitable for you, you can accept. Brahmacäré, gåhastha, vänaprastha, sannyäsa äçrama. Äçrama, when the word is added, äçrama, that means it has got reference with cultivation of spiritual life. So gåhastha-äçrama. One can live at home with wife and children, but the business should be Kåñëa consciousness. We don’t accept the Mäyävädé sannyäsé because there is no Kåñëa consciousness. Simply by becoming sannyäsé... Brahma satyaà jagan mithyä: “This world is false. Brahman is truth. So I give up this world.” That kind of sannyäsé we do not accept. Either you become gåhastha or sannyäsé or brahmacäré, there must be Kåñëa. Then it will be called äçrama. Gåhastha-äçrama, sannyäsa-äçrama, brahmacäré-äçrama. Therefore this word is added, äçrama.

So Arjuna is in gåhastha-äçrama. He wants to serve Kåñëa. He’s Kåñëa’s friend. He is a devotee. Kåñëa has already recommended. In the Fourth Chapter He will declare, bhakto ’si priyo ’si me. “You are My dear friend. You are My devotee.” So he is qualified, gåhastha-äçramé. He is devotee of Kåñëa, but he is also family man. He has his wife, children. So here the problem is what is çreyas? What is ultimate good? That is mistaken here. Therefore Bhagavad-gétä is required. He is thinking that “Kåñëa is not so important. My family is important. My family.” Although he is devotee. Therefore kaniñöha-adhikäré, in the lower stage of devotee, in the lower stage of devotion, one may be interested in Kåñëa consciousness, but his real interest is how to improve this material life. Just like: “O God, give us our daily bread.” So he has gone to God not to serve God, but to take bread. Ärtaù arthärthé. That is also good. But he... Because he has gone to God to ask for bread, he is better than the rascals who do not care for God. He has gone to God. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gétä. Ärto jijïäsur arthärthé jïäné ca bharatarñabha. Catur-vidhä bhajante mäà janäù sukåtino ’rjuna. “Arjuna, four kinds of people, they become devotee.” Who are they? Ärta. Ärta means distressed. Arthärthé, one who is poor, wants some money; jijïäsu, inquisitive; and jïäné, and a man of knowledge. So ärtaù arthärthé, this is meant, this is referred to the gåhastha. The gåhasthas, they become sometimes distressed. The gåhastha-äçrama means unless there is Kåñëa or full consciousness of Kåñëa, it is simply miserable, simply miserable. Duùkhälayam açäçvatam [bg. 8.15]. Simply working hard day and night, then there is, child is sick, then wife is not satisfied, the servant is not satisfied... So many things, problem. But if there is Kåñëa in the center, the all problems will be solved. But people do not know this. They think that “I shall be happy with wife, children, servants, house, and this and that.” No. That is not possible. Therefore one should be in gåhastha-äçrama. Not only in family life. Family, the dogs have got family life. He has got wife, children. The cats and the hogs, a big family. Because a hog begets, at a time, one dozen children. What you beget? You are afraid of begetting one child even. This contraceptive method. But they are not afraid. They beget one dozen children at a time, twice in a year. So to live with family, wife, children... Then the hog accepts family life. No. That is not family life. You live with wife, children, peacefully, if you like, but bring in Kåñëa in the center. That is gåhastha-äçrama.

(Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhagavad Gita class BG 1:31. 24th July 1973. London.)