The gṛhastha āśrama, for spiritual culture

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 9

As Śrīla Prabhupāda often instructed, one should mold one’s life in such a way that one will be always conscious of Kṛṣṇa. Gṛhasthas (like the members of all the other āśramas) should do this. A gṛhastha’s home should be a place of spiritual culture.¹ Though gṛhasthas have some license for sense gratification, enjoying sense gratification should be a less important part of their life.²

In the home of an ideal gṛhastha, Kṛṣṇa is in the center, and everything done is for the service of Kṛṣṇa. Such a home, filled with chanting and hearing of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and the message of the Gītā and Bhāgavatam, is a place for serving the Deity of the Lord and serving the Lord’s devotees. In such a gṛhastha āśrama, one’s consciousness becomes purified, one makes steady spiritual progress in knowledge, detachment, and devotion, and so in the mature stage one is well equipped to move on to vānaprastha life.

Notes:

1 See Bhāgavatam 1.7.2, purport. There, discussing the residence of Śrīla Vyasadeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes that regardless of whether a place belongs to a householder or to a mendicant, “An āśrama is a place where spiritual culture is always foremost.” See also Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Bhāgavatam class of October 30, 1976, in which he distinguishes between the gṛhastha āśrama and an “animal āśrama.”

2 See Bhāgavatam 1.2.9‒10.

This is part of a draft

This is an excerpt from a new book I have in the works—The Vānaprastha Adventure, a guide to retirement in spiritual life. While I’m working on it, I’ll be posting my draft here, in installments. I invite your comments, questions, and suggestions.