The foremost duty of a married couple – especially the man, a grihastha – is to render service. This order of human life – the grihastha ashrama – is meant to serve all four ashramas

It is described in scriptures that service in the householder life is like crossing over a hill because there are so many obstacles. The duties and responsibilities can be painful at times. However, the service should be rendered in a spirit of detachment, sense of duty with proper understanding for a harmonious living in Krishna Consciousness.

Householder life is a life of sacrifice. A married man and woman work for the ultimate benefit of everyone facing all sorts of circumstances.  Vedic culture is a culture of sharing and giving with the consciousness that everything in the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord and that one should accept only those things that necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota.

A householder’s main duty is to constantly chant the Holy names of the Lord, serve Vaishnavas and the Supreme Lord, with the help of one’s family and wealth acquired through one’s pious life.

A householder also should be an ideal man who must protect his wife and children and provide them an environment for enhancement of spiritual consciousness

Some DO’s and DON’Ts to be followed by a householder

The scriptures prescribe many rules and regulations for a householder.  We’ll focus on the most important ones which Srila Prabhupada has shared in many of his books/communications, and which are fairly simple and practical to follow even in this fast-paced material world

• Rising early in the morning and taking a bath.  Encourage others at home to do the same.  Explain the benefits of doing so.
• Having an altar with photos Radha Krishna/Jagannath Baladev Subadhra mai, Panca tattva and Srila Prabhupada at home and honoring/worshipping Them everyday.
• Chanting the prescribed number of rounds attentively and with love
• Offering respects to Tulsi Maharani
• Reading Srila Prabhupada books daily
• Offering bhoga cooked at home and honouring prasadam.
• Attend temple programs with family on a regular basis and inculcate good habits in children

The DON’Ts are:

• A householder should not do anything that is not related to Lord Krishna and he should not unnecessarily mingle with materialistic people.
• A devotee should perform his prescribed duties and not negligent of family and children in the name of being “detached.”  He must provide a nice spiritual environment for wife and children and should lead by example.
• He should not move to other end of the spectrum and be excessively attached to homely comforts in the company of wife, children, relatives etc.

All these austerities – though a little painful – bring great peace and happiness as they very much please Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.  It can cure us of our hidden material diseases and infuse fresh air in our lives and in the lives of all others who come in touch with us since we become instruments of the Lord in helping others spiritually transform their lives too.

(*Excerpts from article on Grihasta Manual)