(Kadamba Kanana Swami, January 2012, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.9.4)
It is said in the Bhagavad-gita that dishonour is worse than death! So one who has fallen down, such as a sannyāsī who gives up sannyāsa and takes again to household life, is described as a vantasi, a vomit eater! So, with something like that said in the scriptures how are you going to walk around with your little baby on your arm after that!? It is a little hard because at the back of the mind, one remembers very well, “I am in a position where I really should not be in according to the scriptures.”
But, Srila Prabhupada gave the license which supersedes everything, “It takes great humility to do that… great humility!” Fall down is due to misfortune but such a person, in great humility, must take shelter. Ultimately, that means to take shelter of Prabhupada! Srila Prabhupada brought us the Srimad Bhagavatam, he brought us the tradition and then he added his mercy from his personal instructions.
So, we take shelter of Prabhupada’s concessions with great humility – that is the only option! But if someone cannot do that fully then still they cannot walk away. Still, from the inside, it will work on him. You can never walk away!
When we speak of vows – I have a point on vows – one should take the vows and protect them. It is like putting a post in the ground, you have to anchor it and put some strings on there to make sure that it does not fall over. You must anchor your vows with supportive activities. One must take these vows and one must plant them, just like the pearls of Krsna – like in the story of Krsna and the pearls. If we plant these vows, then so many nice things can come from them! So really, we must make something out of our vows.
