Greatest illusion

Kunti Maharani prayed to Lord to sever the tough knot of affectionate family ties. She prayed that let her affection continuously flow towards Krsna without any diversion or hindrance just like Ganges is always flowing towards sea without any impediment. In a recorded class by HH Radhanath Swami that was being played today, Maharaj said that family life not based on the principle of serving the Lord is the greatest illusion.

Affection for family members based on skin is disastrous for one's spiritual advancement. Family has the potential to divert our loving propensities away from Krsna. The relationships with father, mother, husband, wife, children, brother, sister etc, if not conducted in full knowledge of Lord, jiva, prakrti and their mutual relationships then, as per Prahlad Maharaj, family life is a deep dark well. Even if one cries out for help nobody can do anything. When we are overwhelmed by bodily conception being ignorant of our spiritual identity, we start thinking in terms of 'I', 'me' and 'mine' - 'I am this body and persons or objects in relation to this body are mine. They will support me and give me protection at the time of calamity.' We repose our faith and love, originally meant for Krsna, in our near and dear ones. This leads to attachment that only binds us to this material world more and more. Through out our life, in our relatives, we always looked for shelter - emotional, physical and mental. We knew nobody but them. But at the time of death remembering the 'fallible soldiers of this world' would only frustrate us and guarantee another birth in the material world because of our love for material opulence and unflinching faith in them. Having a prosperous family life is indeed, a material opulence.

Pastime of Gajendra's deliverance says it all. It serves as an incredible case study. He was the king of the forest. But when he got caught in the jaws of inevitable crocodile none of his family members nor his own strength could help him. They only caused him more and more frustration at the time when he needed them most. But because he remembered Lord, due to previous life's credits, Lord saved him. Gajendra was a great devotee in his previous life - so he could remember. But if we want to remember the Lord at the time of death which is the only means of salvation, then we have to practise right from now. We can not afford to take shelter of our family for the time being and postpone surrender to Krsna up until the death because death can come at any moment.

Putting in nutshell my humble realizations on 'Why saintly persons condemn grha-medhi life': Family life based on bodily concept and enjoying mentality, diverts our attention away from Krsna in an unparalleled way. Maharaj says, "Its a hard knot that keeps us always in illusion." We go on entangling ourselves in complicated relationships for want of security and gratification. Prabhupada remarks that bodily relations are illusion because they are due to the influence of external energy.

What is the ante dote? Solution is the example of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur. In his song he sings that when he would come home he would hear bhajans and see that whole family is engaged in devotional service of the Lord. Thus, his home would appear non different from spiritual abode, Vaikuntha. One who helps us remember Krsna is our real well-wisher and true friend. Somehow or other we have to increase our favourable remembrance of the Lord.