He is not a grihastha, he is a sannyasi

Jagat Purusha Dasa: One time Srila Prabhupada was reciting some verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam. I believe it was from Bhagavatam, it could have been from another source. It described the different natures; not so much the different natures, but the diffferent levels of spiritual advancement that are naturally accessible to different ashramas. So he is speaking of brahmacaris, about grihasthas, about sannyasis, and there is something mentioned in some scripture where  a brahmacari is said to have 50% chance of going back to Godhead, achieving perfection. A sannyasi, 75% chance of achieving perfection. And a grihastha 25% chance.

Prabhupada was quoting it from some scriptures. So one devotee asked Srila Prabhupada that, "Prabhupada you say that a grihastha has only 25% chance to achieve liberation in his lifetime. But what about Saurabha?" Saurabha was the architect. He was living in the hut with the rest of us, and he had a little office that was created by chattai sheets. From that little office - it was maybe four feet by six feet, he was sitting on an orange crate, he had a makeshift table made out of just found materials, and in that very austere environment - he was creating design for this magnificient temple. He was working probably 18 hours a day, if not more.

So this devotee asked Prabhupada, "What about Saurabha, he is a grihastha. He is a houeholder. Does he have only 25% chance to achieve liberation, perfection, Krishna consciousness?" Prabhupada stopped; in his typical fashion he would drive his cane into the sand, and he said, "He is not a grihastha, he is a sannyasi."

So we understood from that, these divisions have to do with one's nature, has to do with one's consciousness. It doesn’t have to do with one's dress. A sannyasi in dress is not necessarily a sannyasi, and a grihastha in dresss is not necessarily a grihastha. Grihasta can be a sannyasi. Prabhupada very strongly illustrated that point.