Vedic Dharma and the Grhastha-asrama

In the Bhagavad-Gita and the Srimad-Bhāgavatam
conditioned souls are instructed to practice varṇāśrama- dharma in order to liberate themselves from māyā. You may be initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, but you cannot all of a sudden come to the transcendental stage. First you will act according to your predominating guna, then, under the guidance of guru, when your heart is purified, you will come to the suddha-sattva state. This is a gradual process.
Excerpt from the Introduction by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami