In Western countries they accumulate millions of dollars, and at the last moment he gives to his dog!
Srila Prabhupada is still suffering quite severely from high blood pressure and has hardly been seeing anyone. He is not taking his morning walks on a regular basis, although he does sometimes circumambulate the temple several times before greeting the Deities. But he gives class every day without fail. He has to be seriously unwell before he will consider not speaking on the Bhagavatam. For the devotees, the morning program is their main opportunity not only to see Srila Prabhupada, but more importantly to hear him. The afternoon darsanas are wonderful, but His Divine Grace is not speaking, preferring instead to have his disciples either speak or chant. The Vrindavana atmosphere is ideal for spiritual progress, with every facility for surrendering and rendering service to Lord Krishna, but it is Srila Prabhupada's realizations and instructions that enable us to know what constitutes surrender and how service is to be performed here in the holy dhama.
Prabhupada frequently underscores the mood and example of the six gosvamis so that we understand the implications of our living in the dhama. This morning's verse, SB 5.5.9, provided further grist for his frequent reminders that we are here to cultivate a mood of renunciation and detachment from material enjoyment and entanglement, to better enter the sense of liberated life. After allowing Pradyumna to lead the devotees in chanting the verse, and after he read out its English translation, Prabhupada got right down to business. "The conclusion is given here. One should be completely satiated from this attachment of sex. Then he is liberated. Liberation means no more material life, and the basic principle of material life is sex. Therefore, whole Vedic civilization is based on to train people how he becomes free from sex desire."
Quoting the great devotee Yamunacarya, who said that since he had become attracted to the service of Lord Krishna even the thought of sex life made him want to spit, Prabhupada told us that "this is the test of advancement of Krishna conscious life."
He instructed that by avoiding the four pillars of sinful life and rendering service to Krishna, we can easily become situated in our eternal constitutional position. "As soon as we place ourselves in our original place," he said, "then you are liberated immediately. If we determine, decide finally, that we shall now continuously remain fixed up in Krishna consciousness, [it is a] very simple thing.
"Krishna consciousness is described by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, man mana bhava mad bhaktah [Bg. 18.65]. That's all. Always think of Me, man manah, and bhava mad bhaktah, be ready always to serve Me.
Bhakta means where there is bhakti and Bhagavan, then bhakta. If there is no Bhagavan, and there are no activities to serve Bhagavan, there is no bhakta also. They are demons. So bhakta means there must be Bhagavan. Sevya, sevaka, and seva. Sevya sevaka seva, three things. Sevya means who is to be served, the master, sevya. And sevaka means the servant. If there is master and servant then there is seva. This seva is called bhakti."
Our service to Krishna is rendered according to our capacity, Prabhupada told us; it is not regimented or restricted. "Krishna is not stereotyped, that He has to be served in this way only. No, Krishna can accept service in so many ways. There are dvadasa rasa [twelve relationships]. Just like Krishna is enjoying when Bhishmadeva was piercing His body with the arrows. He was enjoying. This is also rasa. Bhishma, purposefully, he knows Krishna is the Supreme Lord. Still, he is devotee; he was giving Him pleasure by throwing arrows on His body. So Krishna takes pleasure in that. Krishna does not take pleasure only when you throw rose Flowers. He can take pleasure when you can pierce. If you are actually able to do that. So that is Krishna."
In order to get to that platform, though, Prabhupada impressed upon us, we have to follow the proper process. "You have to know how Krishna will be pleased, then you are perfect. That you have to practice, first of all, in the vidhi marga, according to sastra, according to the instruction of guru. To accept guru means to be inquisitive. Just like Sanatana Gosvami?he approached Caitanya Mahaprabhu, 'I was minister. I was implicated in material activities. You have relieved me from this implication. Now please tell me what I have to do.' Therefore Sanatana Gosvami was given instruction for two months continually, what to do now. So that is called sad dharma priccha [Brs. 1.2.75]. Not that a fashion, I have made guru, I have accepted guru, my business is finished. No, sad dharma priccha, the disciple must be ready to ask. Sanatana Gosvami, he was a minister; he resigned the post. That does not mean he was silent, stopped all work. He was asking, 'What I have to do?' Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered him to come to Vrindavana and renovate the vrindavana lila.
"This place, before Caitanya Mahaprabhu's advent, this city, or this whole Vrindavana area, Radha kunda, it was all field only, agricultural field. Nobody knew where Krishna had His pastimes. So it was the direction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that this is Radha kunda, this is this, this is this, and the Gosvamis they did it. Although they were sitting underneath a tree. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami had no opportunity to come to a nice temple like this. They came when the whole thing was only agricultural field. But they constructed gradually the Madana mohana's temple, the Govindaji's temple, the Radha kunda. They engaged fully, writing books and establishing temples. Then after them, others. Just like first of all, Maharaja Mansingh?he carried out the order of Rupa Gosvami. He spent so much, in those days, lakhs and crores of rupees. You have seen the Govindaji's temple, broken. It is not possible to construct such a temple at the present moment. But it was done by the order of Sri Rupa Gosvami. It is the system: If you want to see a saintly person, you must go there to serve him."
To contrast this genuine mood of associating with a saintly person, Srila Prabhupada made an amusing indirect reference to an incident on the train to Nellore on January 3rd of this year, when he was approached by some gentlemen for benedictions.
"Not that simply asking, 'Give me your blessing.' And 'Why? Are you worthy for blessing?' Cheap blessing. And blessing also-they do not know what is blessing. Blessing, they think that 'I have got some disease; if the saintly person gives me some blessing, I will be relieved from this disease.' Now why don't you go to the doctor? But you go to saintly person for curing your disease. This is anyabhila-shita, that they do not know even how to approach a saintly person. So Mansingh was very important man?he was the commander in chief of Akbar?and he approached Rupa Gosvami, 'What can I do for you.' So Rupa Gosvami, he did not require that temple, but he wanted to engage this rich man to the service of the Lord and he asked him that 'You construct a temple like this.'
Rupa Gosvami was living very humbly, you know at the Radha Damodara temple, his bhajanasrama. He did not require a temple."
Then Srila Prabhupada explained why he is putting so much stress on our making life members and collecting funds all around the world. The attacks on our Society are on his mind, and to make sure that we are not daunted by them, he made it perfectly clear why he is engaging us in activities that may appear controversial to others. "We are making members. Why? The idea is they'll spend the money for nothing in sense gratification. Take some money from them and engage in constructing temple. This is our consciousness. Not that we want to live in big palatial building and take subscription from others. No, this is not our policy. He'll spoil the money in sense gratification, so try to engage him. This is the policy. And exactly following the footprints of Gosvamis, we do not require any money. We are quite confident Krishna will supply all the necessities. But to engage the whole world who are spending money in so many rascaldom way, if that money is engaged in Krishna consciousness, they'll get a chance. This is called ajnata sukriti. He does not know how he is making progress in Krishna consciousness. Ajnata, it is unknown to him. But the person who is trying to induce him to be engaged in Krishna's service?that is his friend, real friend. They are misunderstanding that these people are exacting money by force. Even it is done by force, it is good for the person who is contributing. But you should not use any such means; people will misunderstand."
Everyone laughed heartily as Prabhupada gave a graphic example of how people waste the products of their life's endeavor. "In Western countries they accumulate millions of dollars, and at the last moment he gives to his dog!" he chuckled. "There are many instances, you know better than me. He has nobody, because they do not marry, no children, no friend, so the dog is the best friend in Western country. Every gentleman must have this best friend, pet dog. So ultimately, because there is nobody to give, he gives it to the dog. Makes a will that my dog will get it and they'll give him jewelry, ornaments, and so on, so on, so on. We have got practical experience, the big palace which we have purchased in Detroit, the man [Laurence Fisher] did not marry, so ultimately he bequeathed the whole estate to the dog. And there is a tomb of the dog!"
Laughing along with the devotees, Priabhupada concluded by citing an instruction of Canakya Pandita, that whatever money a man has, it will be spent, either by the owner or by his descendants. "You cannot keep it," he told us. "Either the money will go from you, or you have to go from the money. You cannot keep together. That is not possible. If you don't spend the money for Krishna, if you keep it, that 'I shall see it. I shall lick up this money and become happy . . . ' Kripana, those who are miser, they do not spend money for Krishna. Therefore it has become a problem for us, how to spend the money. How to spend the money for Krishna?that is our policy. We do not want to keep money. We cannot keep; that is not possible. Somebody will take it. Ultimately, the government will take. Better spend it for Krishna; that is the right use. San nimitte varam tyago vinase niya . . . Canakya Pandita?he was great politician?he is advising that if you have got money, spend it for Krishna. Don't keep it. Spend it for Krishna. Why? It will be spoiled. Today or tomorrow it will be spoiled. Somebody will take and spoil it. Better if you spend it for Krishna?at least your service will be recognized. Krishna will see that this man is spending his hard earned money for Me. That is called ajnata sukriti. This service to Krishna, this inclination, does not arise unless very, very, good asset he has got."
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 5 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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