Submitted by: Damagosha Dasa
Hare Krsna-
Below we have 4 items of interest to those who are serious about spiritual advancement in our Grhastha/householder ashram
1.Sacrifice, penance and charity are not to be ever given up.
2.Householders duty before eating himself is to call out to anybody on the street to come for meals
3.If we ignore or are ignorant of the Lord in every living entities heart and their hunger, our puja or worship, does not please Lord Krsna. Therefore compassion in the form of prasadam distribution should be done.
4.The grhasthas ashram, by its own nature, is a field of future potential fruitive weeds in our hearts-unless we engage in the Lords service, constantly, and thereby uproot them for good.
damaghosa das
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1.)BG 18.5-Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up but should be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls.
2.)SB 1.14.43 Purport-It is the duty of a householder to feed first of all the children, the old members of the family, the brahmanas and the invalids. Besides that, an ideal householder is required to call for any unknown hungry man to come and dine before he himself goes to take his meals. He is required to call for such a hungry man thrice on the road. The neglect of this prescribed duty of a householder, especially in the matter of the old men and children, is unpardonable.
3.)SB 3.29.24-My dear Mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.
PURPORT-…This gratitude and love for God is exhibited by a pure devotee, who knows that the Lord lives in every living entity. As such, temple worship necessarily includes distribution of prasāda. It is not that one should create a temple in his private apartment or private room, offer something to the Lord, and then eat. Of course, that is better than simply cooking foodstuffs and eating without understanding one’s relationship with the Supreme Lord; people who act in this manner are just like animals. But the devotee who wants to elevate himself to the higher level of understanding must know that the Lord is present in every living entity, and, as stated in the previous verse, one should be compassionate to other living entities. A devotee should worship the Supreme Lord, be friendly to persons who are on the same level and be compassionate to the ignorant. One should exhibit his compassion for ignorant living entities by distributing prasāda.Distribution of prasāda to the ignorant masses of people is essential for persons who make offerings to the Personality of Godhead.
Real love and devotion is accepted by the Lord. Many valuable foodstuffs may be presented to a person, but if the person is not hungry, all such offerings are useless for him. Similarly, we may offer many valuable items to the Deity, but if we have no real sense of devotion and no real sense of the Lord’s presence everywhere, then we are lacking in devotional service; in such a state of ignorance, we cannot offer anything acceptable to the Lord.
4.)SB 5.14.4-—
Every year the plowman plows over his grain field, completely uprooting all weeds. Nonetheless, the seeds lie there and, not being completely burned, again come up with the plants sown in the field. Even after being plowed under, the weeds come up densely. Similarly, the gṛhastha–āśrama [family life] is a field of fruitive activity.Unless the desire to enjoy family life is completely burned out, it grows up again and again. Even though camphor may be removed from a pot, the pot nonetheless retains the aroma of camphor. As long as the seeds of desire are not destroyed, fruitive activities are not destroyed.
PURPORT–Unless one’s desires are completely transferred to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the desire for family life continues. even after one has taken sannyāsa. Sometimes in our society, ISKCON. a person out of sentiment may take sannyāsa, but because his desires are not burned completely, he again takes to family life, even at the risk of losing his prestige and disgracing his good name. These strong desires can be burned out completely when one fully engages in the service of the Lord in devotional service.
A concluding note-household life is a concession for sense gratification. Keeping that always in mind, makes it easier to follow the above duties and keep the goal in sight-going back to Godhead and not remaining forever in the deep dark well of household life.
