Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Money is spiritual energy
‘Money is the honey’ goes so far as it is employed for Krsna consciousness. The body is undoubtedly a material vehicle, but when it acts for Krsna consciousness it becomes spiritualized. By the grace of Krsna, material energy can be transformed to spiritual energy & spiritual energy is never deteriorated. To be in Krsna consciousness means to be in spiritual energy.” – Letter to Haàsadüta, October 13th, 1967
Money for family members
“The father and mother are also as good as the spiritual master, and we are indebted to father and mother in so many ways. So as they are dependent on your income, try to help them as far as possible as well as spend something for Krsna also. Rupa Goswami spent 50% for Krsna, 25% for emergency, 25% for relatives. You can also try to follow this principle as far as possible. Your main business is to keep in Krsna consciousness, and if you keep that point in view, you can deal with others according to social convention without being attached.” – Letter to Gopala Krsna, 21st June, 1969
Not too much money
“Next point, therefore, one who spoils food grains unnecessarily, he is a criminal. And one who accumulates more money than is actually required, he is also a criminal. And according to the law of nature, or according to the law of God, such persons are surely to be punished. This punishment may not be visible in this life, but because life is eternal, it is continuity, one must be prepared to accept such punishment in this life or next life, and because they are taking the risk, therefore, the living entity is transmigrating from one body to another, and that is his problem of life. The human life is meant for solving this problem. All animals like deer, camel, ass, monkey, even flies and snakes, none should be ill treated. Even they enter into the house or in the fields and take their eatables, they should not be stopped. Because they have got the right to eat, eatables supplied by the Lord. And they will not eat more, neither they will take at home. They are better than human beings. If a human being is allowed to enter into the field or into the garden, he will try to take away something for selling or stocking, but the animals do not. So the innocent animals should be accepted as children of the householder.” – Letter to Rayarama, October 17th, 1968
Misusing money
Unlawfully accumulated money is now being snatched from miserly citizens by various methods of state taxation for the future civil and international war fund, which is spending money in a wasteful and destructive manner. The citizens are no longer satisfied with just enough money to maintain a family nicely and cultivate spiritual knowledge, both of which are essential in human life. Now everyone wants money unlimitedly to satisfy insatiable desires. In proportion to the people’s unlawful desires, their accumulated money is taken away by the agents of illusory energy in the shape of medical practitioners, lawyers, tax collectors, societies, constitutions, so-called holy men, famines, earthquakes, and many similar calamities. – Elevation to Krsna consciousness
Depending on Krsna
“Our Society requires millions of dollars for propaganda work, but Krsna has made us financially poor. I think it is good to remain financially poor because always we shall be able to pray to Krsna, asking His help to execute His service. If all of a sudden we become very strong financially, maya may dictate to us for sense enjoyment and we may fall prey to her tactics. Therefore, to remain poor is one of the qualifications for advancing in Krsna consciousness. Our predecessors, the Goswamis, voluntarily gave up everything for advancement in Krsna consciousness. We do not require any money for our personal account, we shall always be happy with anything Krsna is happy to supply us for maintenance, but for the preaching purposes, we can accommodate to receive all the riches of the world. So let us try with sincerity and Krsna will help us in the matter of our advancing the cause of Krsna consciousness." – Letter to Himavati, 14th June, 1968
Purpose of Money
“So far as the money is concerned, it is not meant for banking, but it is meant for spending. Our policy should be to collect millions of dollars or more than that daily, and spend it daily. That should be our policy. Every morning we shall be empty-handed, get collection of a million dollars during the day-time and by evening it should all be spent. That should be our motto. But because we are pushing on our activities regularly, therefore some money should be saved to meet emergencies. So if you have got chance of opening a branch in Laguna Beach, do it. When we get a big temple in Los Angeles, Krsna will supply the necessary funds.” (SPL to Tamala Krsna, 17th June, 1969)
“I understand that Krsna has helped you with some source of income. All the money we require is simply to meet our necessities and we do not require any more for the purpose of sense gratification. But for our necessities we can always know that Krsna will help us with all facilities.” – Letter to Vrndavanesvari, 26th April, 1969
Narayana and Laksmi are together
“To help the preaching work, that is also preaching. If you can get money to help expand our preaching activities, that is preaching. We require money. Laksmi is the immediate assistant of Narayana. Narayana is always preceded by the word
Laksmi. The Mayavadi philosophers do not touch Laksmi, but we accept for the service of Krsna. We are not of the mentality of Ravana who took Laksmi from Narayana and became ruined. Keep Laksmi and Narayana always together and you will become as powerful as Hanuman. He is always worshipped along with Lord Rama and Laksmi- Sita. There are many temples of Hanuman in India.” – Letter to Karandhara, 18th June, 1975
The Enjoyer of Money
Wherever there is money, it must be engaged in the service of Lord Narayana. Everyone should use his money to spread the great transcendental movement of Krsna consciousness. If one does not spend money for this purpose but accumulates more than necessary, he will certainly become proud of the money he illegally possesses. The money actually belongs to Krsna, who says in Bhagavad-gita (5.29), bhoktaraà yajïa-tapasaà sarva-loka-mahesvaram: “I am the true enjoyer of sacrifices and penances, and I am the owner of all the planets.” Therefore nothing belongs to anyone but Krsna.One who possesses more money than he needs should spend it for Krsna. Unless one does so, he will become puffed up because of his false possessions, and therefore he will be punished in the next life, as described herein. – Bhag. 5.26.37, Purport
Motivation for Money
Consequently, although there is no lack of money in the world, there is a scarcity of peace. So much human energy is being diverted to making money, for the general population has increased its capacity to make more and more dollars, but in the long run the result is that this unrestricted and unlawful monetary inflation has created a bad economy all over the world and has provoked us to manufacture huge and costly weapons to destroy the very result of such cheap money-making. The leaders of the big money-making countries are not really enjoying peace but are making plans to save themselves from imminent destruction by nuclear weapons. In fact, huge sums of money are being thrown into the sea by way of experiments with these dreadful weapons. Such experiments are being carried out not only at huge costs but also at the cost of many lives. In this way the nations are being bound by the laws of karma. When men are motivated by the impulse for sense gratification,
whatever money is earned is spoiled, being spent for the destruction of the human race. The energy of the human race is thus wasted by the laws of nature because of man’s aversion to the Lord, who is actually the proprietor of all energies. – Elevation to Krsna consciousness
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