Can a householder attain Self-Realization ?


D: How does a grihastha1 fare in the scheme of moksha2? Should he not necessarily become a mendicant in order to attain liberation?
M: Why do you think you are a grihastha? Similar thoughts that you are a sannyasin3 will haunt you, even if you go out as a sannyasin. Whether you continue in the household or renounce it and go to the forest, your mind haunts you. The ego is the source of thought. It creates the body and the world, and it makes you think of being the grihastha.
If you renounce, it will only substitute the thought of sannyasa for that of grihastha, and the environment of the forest for that of the household. But the mental obstacles are always there for you. They even increase greatly in the new surroundings. It is no help to change the environment. The one obstacle is the mind; it must be got over whether in the home or in the forest. If you can do it in the forest, why not in the home? Therefore, why change the environment? Your efforts can be made even now, whatever be the environment.

D: Is it possible to enjoy samadhi4 while busy in worldly work?
M: The feeling ‘I work’ is the hindrance. Ask yourself ‘who works?’ Remember who you are. Then the work will not bind you; it will go on automatically. Make no effort either to work or to renounce; your effort is the bondage. What is destined to happen will happen.
If you are destined not to work, work cannot be had even if you hunt for it; if you are destined to work, you will not be able to avoid it; you will be forced to engage yourself in it. So, leave it to the higher power; you cannot renounce or retain as you choose.

1grihasta: householder, person living a family life
2moksha: liberation, release from birth and death cycle, self-realization
3sannyasin: mendicant, hermit, one who has remounced family life
4samadhi: blissful, happiest experience without any worries

Maharshi’s Gospel
Work and Renunciation