Volunteer

A devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who seriously engages
in devotional service is equal to all living entities. There are
various species of living entities, but a devotee does not see the
outward covering; he sees the inner soul inhabiting the body. Because
each and every soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, he does not see any difference. That is the vision of a
learned devotee.

A devotee should not speak needlessly. He is always busy in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. Whenever he speaks, he speaks about Kṛṣṇa. Mauna
means "silence." Silence does not mean that one should not speak at
all, but that he should not speak of nonsense. He should be very
enthusiastic in speaking about Kṛṣṇa.

Another important item described here is sva-dharmeṇa, or being
exclusively occupied in one's eternal occupation, which is to act as
the eternal servitor of the Lord, or to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Balīyasā, means "offering the results of all activities to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead." A devotee does not act on his personal
account for sense gratification. Whatever he earns, whatever he eats
and whatever he does, he offers for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.

Kapiladeva instructs that we should not endeavor hard for things which
may come automatically, without extraneous labor. The exact word used
in this connection, yadṛcchayā, means that every living entity has a
predestined happiness and distress in his present body; this is called
the law of karma. It is not possible that simply by endeavors to
accumulate more money a person will be able to do so, otherwise almost
everyone would be on the same level of wealth. In reality everyone is
earning and acquiring according to his predestined karma. According to
the Bhāgavatam conclusion, we are sometimes faced with dangerous or
miserable conditions without endeavoring for them, and similarly we
may have prosperous conditions without endeavoring for them. We are
advised to let these things come as predestined. We should engage our
valuable time in prosecuting Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Advancement in
Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not depend on any materially prosperous or
distressed condition; it is free from the conditions imposed by
material life. A very poor man can execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness as
effectively as a very rich man. One should therefore be very satisfied
with his position as offered by the Lord.

One should not be excessively eager to satisfy the tongue and eat that
which is not meant for humanity. Particularly, a devotee should eat
only prasāda, or food which is offered to the Personality of Godhead.
His position is to accept the remnants of those foodstuffs. Innocent
foods like grains, vegetables, fruits, flowers and milk preparations
are offered to the Lord, and therefore there is no scope for offering
foods which are in the modes of passion and ignorance.

A devotee should not be greedy.

The devotee should be muni, or thoughtful; he should always think of
Kṛṣṇa and how to render better service to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. That should be his only anxiety. As a materialist is
always thoughtful about improving his material condition, a devotee's
thoughts should always be engaged in improving his condition in
Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The next item is śānta, or peacefulness. The devotee should not be
agitated. He should be satisfied with his natural income, eat only as
much as he needs to keep his health, live in a secluded place and
always remain peaceful. Peace of mind is necessary for prosecuting
Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The next item is maitra, friendliness. A devotee should be friendly to
everyone, but his intimate friendship should be with devotees only. He
may say, "Yes, sir, what you say is all right," but he is not intimate
with them. A devotee should, however, have compassion for persons who
are innocent, who are neither atheistic nor very much advanced in
spiritual realization. A devotee should be compassionate towards them
and instruct them as far as possible in making advancement in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness.

A devotee should always remain ātmavān, or situated in his spiritual
position. He should not forget that his main concern is to make
advancement in spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and
he should not ignorantly identify himself with the body or the mind.

(Srimad Bhagavatam -  Lord Kapila's instructions to Mother Devahuti
3.27.7-8 Purport)

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