When will a Guru suggest to the devoted disciple to get married?

[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on December 26, 2020, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]

[Shri Bharath Krishna asked: When will a Guru suggest to the devoted disciple to get married? Will the Guru do so on the basis of the devotee’s age or on the level of understanding that devotee has got from the Guru’s teachings?]

Swāmi replied: When the devotee completes his education and gets financially settled with a job, the devotee is expected to get married and have children. Financial settlement is very important for marriage. This is the reason that why artha (finance) precedes kāma (marriage). The first among the four goals of human life (puruṣārthas) is dharma, which means studying all the scriptures and understanding the regular procedure of a disciplined life. Hence, dharma comes first. The second is artha and the third is kāma, as mentioned above. With these three, the soul gets bound in the worldly bonds in a legal manner, as per the commandment of God. With these three, the student has entered the examination hall to write the examination and attempt to pass in it. With these three, the player has entered the playground to play and win. This procedure is stipulated by God through the commandments given in the Veda. The fourth and last goal of human life is mokṣa or salvation. It is passing the examination after writing it. It is winning the game after playing it. The system of four āśramas (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānapratha and saṃnyāsa) enables the person to gradually and naturally attain the four human goals (puruṣārthas).

Even Incarnations of God like Rāma and Kṛṣṇa entered the life of a householder. Even Buddha got salvation after first marrying Yaśodharā and producing a son called Rāhula. Are you greater than Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and Buddha?

Keywords:

| Shri Datta Swami | When will a Guru suggest to the devoted disciple to get married? | kama purusharthas ashramas vanapratha sannyasa purusharthas moksa moksha Krishna Rama Yashodhara Rahula