“Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura was also a householder, but he lived in so perfect Krishna Consciousness that he is better than many Sannyasis like us.”
*(Srila Prabhupada’s Letter to Rupanuga, Montreal, 30 August, 1968)*
“Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura has sung in a poetry that my mind, my body, and my home is surrendered unto You. So a Grihastha or householder like you, you are also tridandi. Because you have sacrificed everything, your life, your home, and your child, so you are a tridandi sannyasi, in fact. So continue this attitude seriously and sincerely, so you will be also as good as a sannyasi even though you are in the dress of a grihastha.”
*(Srila Prabhupada’s Letter to Rupanuga, Montrea, 30 August, 1968)*
“So there is another statement of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura that kṛṣṇera saṁsāra kara chāḍi anācāra. To turn your home into Vaikunṭha is not very difficult job. Simply you have to adopt the method. Kṛṣṇera saṁsāra kara chāḍi anācāra. Anācāra means sinful activities. You cannot associate with God if you become sinful. That is not possible. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpam: “One who is completely free from sinful life,” te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 7.28), “He can worship Me.” So therefore our Krishna consciousness movement is that we do not recommend that “You give up your occupation, you become a sannyasī, give up your wife and children.” No. That is not our movement. Amongst ourself here there are sannyasis, brahmacaris, grihastha, vanaprastha.”
*(Srila Prabhupada’s Lecture, Bombay, September 25, 1973)*
“Krishna Consciousness is not limited within any circle. Brahmacari, grihastha or sannyasi: everyone is eligible for cultivating Krishna Consciousness. There are these stages for gradual development of control of the strong senses in the material environment. But any order of life suitable for a particular person in which he can most favorably execute his Krishna Consciousness is the best position to take up. Generally, if one can remain a brahmacari, it is very convenient, and from brahmacari one can take sannyasa. But in this age of Kali, Bhaktivinode Thakura recommends that it is better to cultivate Krishna Consciousness as a householder.”
*(Srila Prabhupada’s Letter to Mandali Bhadra, Tittenhurst, 2 November, 1969)*
“According to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also, a husband and wife can turn the home into a place as good as Vaikunṭha, even while in this material world. Being absorbed in Krishna consciousness, even in this world husband and wife can live in Vaikunṭha simply by installing the Deity of the Lord within the home and serving the Deity according to the directions of the sastras. In this way, they will never feel the sex urge. That is the test of advancement in devotional service. One who is advanced in devotional service is never attracted by sex life, and as soon as one becomes detached from sex life and proportionately attached to the service of the Lord, he actually experiences living in the Vaikunṭha planets.”
*(Srimad Bhagavatam 4.23.29, Purport)*
