The Jaiva Dharma has a very inspiring passage for householders:
“Kṛṣṇa has given you mercy. Make your families into Kṛṣṇa’s family and serve Kṛṣṇa. Follow the order that Mahāprabhu taught the whole world. In the world there are two situations: being a household and being renounced. As long as one is not qualified for renouncing, one should remain as a householder and serve Kṛṣṇa. Mahāprabhu was an example of the householder Vaiṣṇava for the first twenty-four years of his pastimes. For the remaining twenty-four years of pastimes, he was an example of a renunciate Vaiṣṇava. The householders should define their conduct by seeing Mahāprabhu’s household life. In my opinion, this is what you should do. Do not think that as a householder you cannot attain the supreme goal of Kṛṣṇa prema. Mahāprabhu gave his mercy mostly to householders. Even the renounced Vaiṣṇavas pray for the foot dust of those householders.”
In the book, this instruction was given by Paramahansa Babaji to Vrajanath, an intelligent and dedicated boy who was hearing about devotional service from him for long. Vrajanath was already in an advanced platform of devotional service. However, when pressed by his family Vrajanath decided to ask his spiritual master what path to take in life, he received this instruction.
Many spiritual lines (in general the lines connected with the jnana path) do not accept householders at all. In such lines, being renounced is a pre-requisite for one to start his spiritual training.
In the Gaudiya Vaishnava line, such restrictions don’t exist at all. In His eternal pastimes, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a householder, just like most of His associates. It’s only as a temporary measure to facilitate his pastime of spreading the sankirtan movement that he sometimes accepts sannyasa in His Lila of spreading Krsna Consciousness in this material world.
One can practice Krsna Consciousness as a householder or as a renunciant. In both cases, there is no barrier. It’s not about one asrama being better or worse than the other, but about staying in the position one will have more facility in his (or her) spiritual practice.
As Srila Prabhupada mentions in his purport to SB 8.2.30:
“From this we can understand that in this age the sannyāsa-āśrama is forbidden because people are not strong. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed us an example in taking sannyāsa at the age of twenty-four years, but even Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya advised Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be extremely careful because He had taken sannyāsa at an early age. For preaching we give young boys sannyāsa, but actually it is being experienced that they are not fit for sannyāsa. There is no harm, however, if one thinks that he is unfit for sannyāsa; if he is very much agitated sexually, he should go to the āśrama where sex is allowed, namely the gṛhastha-āśrama. That one has been found to be very weak in one place does not mean that he should stop fighting the crocodile of māyā. One should take shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, as we shall see Gajendra do, and at the same time one can be a gṛhastha if he is satisfied with sexual indulgence. There is no need to give up the fight. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore recommended, sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vān-manobhiḥ. One may stay in whichever āśrama is suitable for him; it is not essential that one take sannyāsa. If one is sexually agitated, he can enter the gṛhastha-āśrama. But one must continue fighting. For one who is not in a transcendental position, to take sannyāsa artificially is not a very great credit. If sannyāsa is not suitable, one may enter the gṛhastha-āśrama and fight māyā with great strength. But one should not give up the fighting and go away.”
In a war, no one in sane consciousness will choose to fight an enemy in a position of disadvantage. Any competent person will choose to fight in an advantageous situation. Similarly, as Srila Prabhupada mentions, progressing in spiritual life means constantly battling the illusory energy of Krsna. Maya has the duty of dully testing us, and to pass such tests one must practice spiritual life in a position of strength.
Some are stronger as renunciants, while others are stronger as family men. For ladies especially, family life tends to be a much safer position. To try to make everyone a renunciant is actually a form of communism, that makes everyone the same, dismissing individual characteristics. It is actually the opposite of the truth. The most basic component of the varnasrama system is respecting people’s individual characteristics and properly engaging them in positions where they can be useful for society and at the same te progress in the spiritual path.