So how can you speak of resignation?

I returned to my duties on the other side of the partition. I was sure the typing would bother Srila Prabhupada, but what could I do? He had only asked me not to type when he was resting. Panditji had left the apartment, probably to go down to the pool, or to sit somewhere in the sun with a Sanskrit book. Soon I would have to start getting ready for lunch. Prabhupada wanted me to cook loki squash, and he had asked me to show him the cut squash before I put it in the boiler. I wasn't sure which way to cut it, whether to peel off the outer skin or just cut it like a loaf of bread, with the skin on. Even in the midst of thoughts of my duties I could not help but feel rushes of satisfaction and wonder at my fortune to be serving Srila Prabhupada so closely. But how could I get everything done in the little time at my disposal? First I had to type up his most recent Bhagavatam dictation. Then I had to edit what I had typed days ago and send it to the BBT in Los Angeles. But before I sent it, I had to get Panditji to edit the Sanskrit, and it was extremely difficult to get him to do even his assigned editing. Then there were letters, both to read to Srila Prabhupada and to type. And to avoid making another mistake like the one in Los Angeles, I wanted to spend time with the portable files. And I had to phone back Ramesvara, but Prabhupada had not yet concluded what to do in that case. Deciding to first type the latest Bhagavatam dictation I sat at the kitchen table and started off with a loud clatter. But after only a half-hour, it was time to read the mail to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada was not in the big room but in the bedroom looking out the window. I entered, bowed at his feet, and asked if he wanted to hear the mail. He sat on the couch and I on the floor with half a dozen letters, a steno pad, and a ballpoint pen. The first letter was from the G.B.C. in India, telling about preparations for the festival to take place the next month in Mayapur. Prabhupada wanted devotees from all over the world to gather in Mayapur on Gaura-purnima day, the appearance day of Lord Caitanya, for the first truly international ISKCON festival. But the G.B.C. report was disappointing, stating difficulties in getting the living quarters ready for the expected several hundred devotees. And in Vrindavana, where the devotees were supposed to go after Mayapur, there were difficulties in arranging enough prasadam. Annoyed, Srila Prabhupada said that it was the duty of the G.B.C. to solve these problems. He dictated a letter with some practical advice, strongly urging the devotees to get everything done on time. "Concerning our Vrindaban project, along with the residential quarters, the remaining work of my quarters must be finished up immediately for my residence." In another letter, also from India a devotee holding a responsible post wrote to say he was thinking of resigning. Godbrothers were always slighting him and fighting with him, he said, and they even claimed that Srila Prabhupada had a belittling attitude toward him?so he wanted to resign from his post and just do some simple, anonymous work. While hearing the part of the letter about how even Srila Prabhupada belittled him, Srila Prabhupada smiled compassionately. I could see that Prabhupada loved the devotee, even if maybe, as spiritual master, he did say something "belittling" But the "resignation" part of the letter drew fire from Srila Prabhupada, who refused to consider it. "Dedicate your life to Krishna," he said, and I wrote it down in my steno book. "What is this resignation? How can you speak of resignation from a Krishna conscious duty? Krishna says, After many births one comes to the knowledge of Krishna.' So how can you speak of resignation? You should think: It is my Father's business. I have to do it. Devotees who speak of resignation have not realized the importance of what we are doing."