Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on July 10, 2011.

In this talk, Swami Bhaskarananda explains the spiritual path for householders by first expanding the very meaning of “householder.” In Vedantic terms, one who lives in a house is a householder, but so is anyone with body-consciousness, since the body itself is the “house” in which the soul dwells. Only when God-consciousness fully replaces body-consciousness does one truly cease to be a householder. The swami describes divinity as the core of every being, using images such as waves and ocean, or the mind as a mirror reflecting the one indivisible divinity. Differences between people arise from the purity or impurity of the mind, not from the presence or absence of divinity. Both householders and monastics can manifest this inherent divinity; their paths differ mainly in the degree of sense enjoyment—restrained for householders, renounced for monks and nuns.

Swami Bhaskarananda then turns to dharma and unselfishness as the heart of spiritual practice. The soul’s true dharma is divinity itself, which becomes visible as selfishness is gradually thinned out and expanded—from concern for oneself, to family, community, nation, and ultimately all humanity. For householders, this expansion is learned concretely in family life through willing, loving self-sacrifice. Marriage is presented as a spiritual partnership in which each spouse seeks the good and happiness of the other, rather than using the other for personal gratification. Practicing truthfulness, non-injury, contentment, purity, forgiveness, and restraint, householders can purify the mind, discover awareness of inherent divinity, and progress toward the same spiritual fulfillment attained on the monastic path.