QUESTION: In his purport on the 10th Mantra of Īśopaniṣad, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman or Kṛṣṇa, and thus everything belongs to Him only.” So, can I go rob a bank or be a drug dealer with the consciousness that I will use it for Krsna – like, I will build temples, print books, take care of devotees etc.?
Prabhupada refers here to the 1st mantra in the book, the īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ mantra, which says, “Everything belongs to a master, and all of us should only take what is set aside for us.”
The second part is quite important. It’s not, “Everything belongs to Krishna, so I can take whatever I want so long as I somehow describe it or think of it as being for his sake.” The second part — tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam — forbids this, by saying “Everything belongs to a master, we should only take what is allotted to us, and should never try to take what is allotted to others.”
Even if you want to serve that master, Krishna, you have to do it with what has been allotted to you.
Vraja Kishor
Comments
Very nice to remind us of common sense via Sastra. Sometimes the obvious escapes our enthusiasm.