A husband, assisted by his wife, serves his spiritual master, seeing him as God's bona fide representative, as good as God. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura prays:
"The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities."
Similarly, since it is not always practical for a woman to directly serve a male guru, the bona fide husband, who also represents the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be served just as nicely by the wife. SB 6.18.36 states, "A conscientious wife should be chaste and should abide by the orders of her husband. She should very devoutly worship her husband as a representative of Väsudeva."
By following this path of devotional service, the spiritual vision for seeing the transcendental form of the Lord everywhere and in every body fully awakens for both men and women. Prabhupada states,
"When you actually see God, you cannot see anything except God. That is God-seeing. That is stated in Caitanya-caritämrta, sthavor jaìgam dekhe na dekhe tava mürti (Madhya 8.274). A highly-elevated devotee, first-class devotee, he sees trees or the animals are moving, non moving, so many varieties, but he does not see their form. Everywhere he sees Krishna.
"That is a fact. Krishna says that sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti mürtayayah yah [Bg. 14.4]. There are millions of varieties of forms of life, but I am the seed-giving father. So a devotee sees, 'Oh, here is a son of Krishna. Here is a son of Krishna. Here is a son of Krishna. Here is a son of Krishna.' So if you love somebody, as soon as you see his son, you immediately remember who's son he is. Therefore he sees the tree but immediately remembers, 'Oh, it is Krishna's.' He sees a dog; he immediately sees Krishna, 'Oh, he is Krishna's.' He sees a watch; he immediately sees, 'It is Krishna's.' Therefore he is single-eyed, Krishna. That's all. He has no other, any other vision. Everything Krishna's. "-- festival lecture, LA, 9/18/68
"It is clearly described in Bhagavad-gitä and other Vedic literature that Lord Krishna, the Absolute Truth, is within everything, and everything is within the Lord. "The example may be given that when a woman loves a man, she is most eager to see him, and she daily sees him dressed in different clothes. Actually the woman is interested not in the clothes but in the man. Similarly, within every material object is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore one who has developed love of God is constantly seeing the Lord everywhere, and not just the superficial material objects that cover the Lord." --SB 11.7.8p
But does that mean the spiritual master or the husband has become God? No, the difference between the individual jiva soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, like the drop of ocean water compared to the ocean, is always maintained. Otherwise, there could be no exchange of love between the Supreme and the minute jiva.
"One should always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized representation as the Paramätmä, who is situated in the core of every living entity's heart. Thus one should offer respect to every living entity according to that living entity's position or manifestation."
PURPORT
"Harih sarvesu bhütesu. This statement is sometimes misunderstood by unscrupulous persons who wrongly conclude that because Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in every living entity, every living entity is therefore Hari. Such foolish persons do not distinguish between the ätmä and the Paramätmä, who are situated in every body. The ätma is the living entity, and the Paramätmä is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The individual living entity, however, is different from the Paramätmä, the Supreme Lord. Therefore harih sarvesu bhütesu means that Hari is situated as Paramätmä, not as ätmä, although ätmä is a part of Paramätmä. Offering respect to every living entity means offering respect to the Paramätmä situated in every living entity. One should not misunderstand every living entity to be the Paramätmä. Sometimes unscrupulous persons designate a living entity as daridra-näräyana, svämi-näräyana, this Näräyana or that Näräyana. One should clearly understand that although Näräyana is situated in the core of the heart of every living entity, the living entity never becomes Näräyana." -- SB 7.7.3
A WALKING DEITY
This spiritual vision is the secret behind excellent service to one's husband. Even though he is not the Supreme, not number one, a good wife sees that her husband carries the deity of her Beloved Lord within his heart. Instead, she makes him feel like number one, for the pleasure of the Lord who is witnessing all her activities. Unless ordered by her husband, she does not neglect her ordinary householder duties in favor of what other's may consider more important things.
Female disciple: There’s still things I don’t understand. I hear so many people being critical.
Prabhupäda: Why do you worry so much about others? You are supposed to be a faithful wife to your husband. That’s all. So why you are concerned about them? (Fiji, 1976)
Nor does she become carried away in her ecstasy of hearing and chanting and so on that her offerings at home are hastily cooked, the house left unclean, the children neglected or that her husband complains. No, everything is seen in relation to the Lord's service; ecstatic feelings may even be considered an annoyance:
"Sri Däruka did not relish his ecstatic feelings of love, for they caused his limbs to become stunned and thus obstructed his service of fanning Lord Krishna."
Thus first class, meticulous service to the husband can be done to please the Lord. Guru and Krishna's order to serve the husband and their combined satisfaction is her constant meditation. Outwardly she may appear worldly to the inexperienced, but inwardly she is absorbed in Krsna's loving service:
"One must have the real thing at heart. If one finds himself entangled in worldly connections, one should behave outwardly like a worldly man but remain inwardly faithful for spiritual realization. That will help one on the progressive march of life. Nobody can cross over the big ocean in a sudden jump. What was possible for Hanumän by the grace of Lord Räma is not possible for an ordinary man. So to cross the ocean of illusion one should patiently cultivate devotion to the Lord, and in this way one can gradually reach the other side." MM3
"Henceforward, may all our words describe Your pastimes, may our ears engage in aural reception of Your glories, may our hands, legs and other senses engage in actions pleasing to You, and may our minds always think of Your lotus feet. May our heads offer our obeisances to everything within this world, because all things are also Your different forms, and may our eyes see the forms of Vaiṣṇavas, who are nondifferent from You." -SB 10.10.38
"The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities."
Similarly, since it is not always practical for a woman to directly serve a male guru, the bona fide husband, who also represents the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be served just as nicely by the wife. SB 6.18.36 states, "A conscientious wife should be chaste and should abide by the orders of her husband. She should very devoutly worship her husband as a representative of Väsudeva."
By following this path of devotional service, the spiritual vision for seeing the transcendental form of the Lord everywhere and in every body fully awakens for both men and women. Prabhupada states,
"When you actually see God, you cannot see anything except God. That is God-seeing. That is stated in Caitanya-caritämrta, sthavor jaìgam dekhe na dekhe tava mürti (Madhya 8.274). A highly-elevated devotee, first-class devotee, he sees trees or the animals are moving, non moving, so many varieties, but he does not see their form. Everywhere he sees Krishna.
"That is a fact. Krishna says that sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti mürtayayah yah [Bg. 14.4]. There are millions of varieties of forms of life, but I am the seed-giving father. So a devotee sees, 'Oh, here is a son of Krishna. Here is a son of Krishna. Here is a son of Krishna. Here is a son of Krishna.' So if you love somebody, as soon as you see his son, you immediately remember who's son he is. Therefore he sees the tree but immediately remembers, 'Oh, it is Krishna's.' He sees a dog; he immediately sees Krishna, 'Oh, he is Krishna's.' He sees a watch; he immediately sees, 'It is Krishna's.' Therefore he is single-eyed, Krishna. That's all. He has no other, any other vision. Everything Krishna's. "-- festival lecture, LA, 9/18/68
"It is clearly described in Bhagavad-gitä and other Vedic literature that Lord Krishna, the Absolute Truth, is within everything, and everything is within the Lord. "The example may be given that when a woman loves a man, she is most eager to see him, and she daily sees him dressed in different clothes. Actually the woman is interested not in the clothes but in the man. Similarly, within every material object is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore one who has developed love of God is constantly seeing the Lord everywhere, and not just the superficial material objects that cover the Lord." --SB 11.7.8p
But does that mean the spiritual master or the husband has become God? No, the difference between the individual jiva soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, like the drop of ocean water compared to the ocean, is always maintained. Otherwise, there could be no exchange of love between the Supreme and the minute jiva.
"One should always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized representation as the Paramätmä, who is situated in the core of every living entity's heart. Thus one should offer respect to every living entity according to that living entity's position or manifestation."
PURPORT
"Harih sarvesu bhütesu. This statement is sometimes misunderstood by unscrupulous persons who wrongly conclude that because Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in every living entity, every living entity is therefore Hari. Such foolish persons do not distinguish between the ätmä and the Paramätmä, who are situated in every body. The ätma is the living entity, and the Paramätmä is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The individual living entity, however, is different from the Paramätmä, the Supreme Lord. Therefore harih sarvesu bhütesu means that Hari is situated as Paramätmä, not as ätmä, although ätmä is a part of Paramätmä. Offering respect to every living entity means offering respect to the Paramätmä situated in every living entity. One should not misunderstand every living entity to be the Paramätmä. Sometimes unscrupulous persons designate a living entity as daridra-näräyana, svämi-näräyana, this Näräyana or that Näräyana. One should clearly understand that although Näräyana is situated in the core of the heart of every living entity, the living entity never becomes Näräyana." -- SB 7.7.3
A WALKING DEITY
This spiritual vision is the secret behind excellent service to one's husband. Even though he is not the Supreme, not number one, a good wife sees that her husband carries the deity of her Beloved Lord within his heart. Instead, she makes him feel like number one, for the pleasure of the Lord who is witnessing all her activities. Unless ordered by her husband, she does not neglect her ordinary householder duties in favor of what other's may consider more important things.
Female disciple: There’s still things I don’t understand. I hear so many people being critical.
Prabhupäda: Why do you worry so much about others? You are supposed to be a faithful wife to your husband. That’s all. So why you are concerned about them? (Fiji, 1976)
Nor does she become carried away in her ecstasy of hearing and chanting and so on that her offerings at home are hastily cooked, the house left unclean, the children neglected or that her husband complains. No, everything is seen in relation to the Lord's service; ecstatic feelings may even be considered an annoyance:
"Sri Däruka did not relish his ecstatic feelings of love, for they caused his limbs to become stunned and thus obstructed his service of fanning Lord Krishna."
Thus first class, meticulous service to the husband can be done to please the Lord. Guru and Krishna's order to serve the husband and their combined satisfaction is her constant meditation. Outwardly she may appear worldly to the inexperienced, but inwardly she is absorbed in Krsna's loving service:
"One must have the real thing at heart. If one finds himself entangled in worldly connections, one should behave outwardly like a worldly man but remain inwardly faithful for spiritual realization. That will help one on the progressive march of life. Nobody can cross over the big ocean in a sudden jump. What was possible for Hanumän by the grace of Lord Räma is not possible for an ordinary man. So to cross the ocean of illusion one should patiently cultivate devotion to the Lord, and in this way one can gradually reach the other side." MM3
"Henceforward, may all our words describe Your pastimes, may our ears engage in aural reception of Your glories, may our hands, legs and other senses engage in actions pleasing to You, and may our minds always think of Your lotus feet. May our heads offer our obeisances to everything within this world, because all things are also Your different forms, and may our eyes see the forms of Vaiṣṇavas, who are nondifferent from You." -SB 10.10.38