"It is not required to live as a monk in the temple. Everyone receives benefit according to the faith and devotion he gives, whether big or small. Whatever devotion one has, he invests and gets profit. Thus one's capital accrues. Then he reinvests the enhanced capital. In this way one will very soon be Spiritually Rich.
To reside within a temple, one should be on the level of bhajana-kriya or anartha-nivrtti. But those living at home can be on any level, higher or lower. And even if one has only a small degree of faith, still that has value and can be reinvested. Therefore the preachers should encourage people to bestow their faith in Krishna."
HH Jayapataka SwamiFrom the book: Sri Godruma KalpataviCourtesy: ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry
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I am nothing without Gods help, he has done all his work to show good direction. You are already blessed by God as your path is to seek the truth. I can see from your blog that you have good knowledge already. God speaks to you, let him work through you so you may serve him well. May God keep on guiding you. Dandavat Pranams
Thank you for clarifying the questions..
Building hospitals and helping the material comforts of people is not devotional service on its own especially as the helper may announce his good deeds and this is making himself look good and therefore not a devotional service to Krsna. Or the helper can say that God is working through him to do these good acts and then people can appreciate the God whom this helper is serving and in turn can market/advertise Gods name to the people who will chant the 'Hare Krishna Mantra, which is the ultimate aim. When Arjuna saved the society from downfall by fighting the battle he has done service to Krsna and did fight against unrighteousness to please Krsna and people had been saved in their material existence (which is tied up with their spiritual existence here on Earth like the caged bird) from the bad king ruling over them and making their life miserable. I understand that the people need to first seek the kingdom of God and to chant Hare Krsna to purify their spirits, but Krsna has made all things exist material and spiritual in unison here in the Earth and all things are Gods property and if any jiva is in distress due to material discomfort then by helping (without any personal gain in profits) one is going to please God?
Arjuna was Born Warrior and he had a duty. Everyone in the world has a job and therefore a duty, if one's job is to help humanity and they work by serving unconditionally then they are working to Please God.
Did not HDG Swami Prabhupada, not help the people from going the wrong way and by his mannerisms and good teachings (as he was a guru so his duty was to teach) So then he was helping through his teachings then the people changed their ways to chant the Hare Krsna Maha mantra. If HDG did not care to teach then how can he reach the people's souls? And how can he persuade them to chant the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra? So then if you want to free the caged bird then the cage door needs to be opened with help form God and Gods people have a part to play just as Arjuna did in fighting for the good cause.
You have good understanding and is why I am writing to you Prabhu
Hope you can direct me?
So it's a thin line when one is dealing with philanthropic activities. Chanting and encouraging people to chant the Holy Names of the Lord (specifically the Hare Krishna Mahamantra) is the greatest of all philanthropic activities, since it's completely on the transcendental plane.
Hope this clarifies your doubt. Hare Krishna. Ys
Thank You, I would like to ask one more thing. When one is working to help people/humanitarian acts, and doing these duties to please Krsna, then is this also considered a devotional service? and is it more pleasing to Krsna then if one is just chanting and praying in the temple?
What we need to understand from this quote is that there are different levels in devotional service, from the neophyte stage to the stage of complete anartha-nivrtti. And though the higher levels are more on the lines of 'not expecting anything in return but just serving Krishna' 'anayabilashita sunyam', still all devotional service does involve reciprocation from the Supreme Lord, and accumulation of 'Sukriti', transcendental spiritual credits. So the more we are able to serve with purity, the more we are able to reinvest those 'spiritual credits' to perform more devotional service.
So the quote here does not point to anything mundane or material, but true spiritual wealth. Our true spiritual wealth is our ability and attitude to serve the Lord more and more. Hope this clarifies your thoughts. Hare Krishna.
"It is not required to live as a monk in the temple (temple people have to have some code of conduct I hope? I am not clear on this) Everyone receives benefit (are we supposed to expect any benefits?) according to the faith and devotion he gives, whether big or small. Whatever devotion one has, he invests (I am not sure how this investment works, please can you help me understand) and gets profit (not sure I am supposed to expect anything back in return). Thus one's capital accrues (Still not sure...I am not expecting anything in return for any good I am doing in helping others). Then he reinvests the enhanced capital. In this way one will very soon be Spiritually Rich.
To reside within a temple, one should be on the level of bhajana-kriya or anartha-nivrtti. (I am not sure of these words today may be not good day for me to understand) But those living at home can be on any level, higher or lower. And even if one has only a small degree of faith, (yes even small degree of faith is better then none) still that has value and can be reinvested. Therefore the preachers should encourage people to bestow their faith in Krishna." (This is clear, to have faith in God to help and not in the people)
Is it not better to Live in the righteous path as outlined by God and not expect anything back in return, we are not to get tangled up in the maya and worldly things and any capital gains and profit. All work done is to please Lord Krsna and not us so if any profits come then it must belong to Lord Krsna and not to us. We are not in power and as we are surrendered to God then everything is belonging to God even the capital and profit.