Taking shelter of Krsna means more than just putting tilak and it means more than putting neck beads. Initiation means more than 16 rounds and 4 regulative principles. It means to obey the rules of Krsna, to live by Krsna’s desire.
The Spiritual Master is the representative of Krsna and part of initiation is that one must follow the order of the Spiritual Master and that order is absolute. The order of the Spiritual Master cannot be different from the desire of Krsna. He may translate it into time, place and circumstance but he is simply repeating whatever standard Krsna has set.
The material world in this age is not secure or stable. Marriages are not stable like they used to be. They say that the fight between husband and wife is compared to a fight between two goats. You may wonder why two goats - because when two goats are fighting in the village, you will see this, a little girl will just take the goat by the ear and take the goat away home. Srila Prabhupada said that it’s compared to two goats because it doesn’t change anything in their situation; they are married for better or for worse.
But a marriage in Krsna consciousness is not an ordinary thing. An ordinary marriage is for the sake of enjoyment in this world - but a spiritual marriage is something completely different because it is actually an attempt, with the support of someone else, to go on the path towards Krsna. That’s what it should be!
In the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, there is also an interesting story on the topic of marriage. Its about Lord Caitanya after He had taken sannyasa – it had caused some distress in His village in Navadipa. Lord Nityananda had brought Him back to the house of Advaita Archarya and at the house, there was a big meeting. All the residents of Navadipa came and there was a big reunion - so Ganga devi came to her husband the ocean and Ganga devi was completely in anxiety and said: Lord Caitanya has gone.
The ocean said: Calm down, you are getting all worked up over nothing. There is no need to be so upset. Calm down! Lord Chaitanya went to Santipur and Santipur is on your banks and everything is fine.
Ocean asked: Then where did he go?
Ocean said: Puri! That’s very good – there he will bathe in my waters!
And it’s said that a wife shares in 50% of the benefits of the husband so you have nothing to complain about.
These dynamics are there. There is agitation also in the Vedic society. There wasn’t always peace, love and Jaya Shri Krsna! ...but there was just no room in society to separate, because if one were to separate, one would not only separate from the wife, one would be virtually a social outcaste and no-one would speak to such a person therefore one would think twice, so separation didn’t happen.
Kadamba Kanana Swami
20 December 2010
