äjänu-lambita-bhujau kanakäva-dätau
saàkértanaika-pitarau kamaläya-täkñau
viçvambharau dvijavarau yuga-dharma-pälau
vande jagat priyakarau karuëä-avatärau
[Caitanya Bhägavata 1.1]
vande çré-kåñëa-caitanya-
nityänandau sahoditau
gauòodaye puñpavantau
citrau çan-dau tamo-nudau
[Chaitanya-charitamrit Adi 1.2]
Chaitanya-Charitamrit Madhya 15.36-41
ei-mata räsa-yäträ, ära dépävalé
utthäna-dvädaçé yäträ dekhilä sakali
[Madhya 15.36]
Translation
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and His devotees participated in all the festivals, including Räsa-yäträ, Dépävalé and Utthäna-dvädaçé.
eka-dina mahäprabhu nityänande laïä
dui bhäi yukti kaila nibhåte vasiyä
[Madhya 15.37]
Translation
One day the two brothers, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and Nityänanda Prabhu, consulted with each other while sitting together in a solitary place.
kibä yukti kaila duìhe, keha nähi jäne
phale anumäna päche kaila bhakta-gaëe
[Madhya 15.38]
Translation
No one could understand what the brothers discussed between Themselves, but later all the devotees could guess what the subject matter was.
tabe mahäprabhu saba bhakte boläila
gauòa-deçe yäha sabe vidäya karila
[Madhya 15.39]
Translation
Thereafter, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu called for all the devotees and asked them to return to Bengal. In this way, He bade farewell to them.
sabäre kahila prabhu—pratyabda äsiyä
guëòicä dekhiyä yäbe ämäre miliyä
[Madhya 15.40]
Translation
Bidding farewell to all the devotees, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu requested them to return to Jagannätha Puré every year to see Him and then see the cleansing of the Guëòicä temple.
äcäryere äjïä dila kariyä sammäna
‘ä-caëòäla ädi kåñëa-bhakti dio däna’
[Madhya 15.41]
Translation
With great respect, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu requested Advaita Äcärya, “Give Kåñëa consciousness, devotion to Kåñëa, even to the lowest of men [caëòälas].”
Purport
This is Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s order to all His devotees. Kåñëa-bhakti, devotion to Kåñëa, is open to everyone, even low-class men like caëòälas. One should follow this order in the disciplic succession stemming from Çré Advaita and Nityänanda Prabhu and distribute Kåñëa consciousness without discrimination throughout the world.
There are different kinds of men, beginning with the brähmaëa and going down to the lowest platform, known as caëòäla. Whatever one’s position, everyone in this Age of Kali needs to be enlightened in Kåñëa consciousness. That is the greatest need of the day. Everyone is acutely feeling the pangs of material existence. Even in the ranks and files of the American Senate, the pinpricks of material existence are felt, so much so that April 30, 1974, was actually set aside as Prayer Day. Thus everyone is feeling the resultant pinpricks of Kali-yuga brought about by human society’s indulging in illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. Now is the time for the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to distribute kåñëa-bhakti all over the world and thus follow the orders of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. The Lord has ordered everyone to become a guru (Cc. Madhya 7.128): ämära äjïäya guru haïä tära’ ei deça. Everyone in every town and village should be enlightened by the instructions of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Kåñëa consciousness should be distributed to everyone indiscriminately. In this way, the entire world will be peaceful and happy, and everyone will glorify Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, as He desires.
The word caëòäla actually refers to a dog-eater, who is considered the lowest of men. Even caëòälas can be enlightened in Kåñëa consciousness due to Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s benedictions. Kåñëa-bhakti is not the monopoly of a certain caste. Everyone is eligible to receive this great benediction given by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Everyone should be given a chance to receive it and be happy.
The word däna, meaning “charity,” is also significant in this verse. Whoever engages in the distribution of Kåñëa consciousness is a charitable person. Professional men recite Çrémad-Bhägavatam and discuss kåñëa-bhakti for an exchange of money. They cannot distribute such exalted transcendental property to everyone and anyone. Only pure devotees, who have no motive other than serving Kåñëa, can give such transcendentally valuable benedictions out of charity.
Association of devotees is most intimately understood through sound vibration
Every year the devotees who were living in far away places would come for four months during the Chaturmasa to visit Lord Caitanya who was at that time living in Sri Jagganath Puri dham. Here we find the intimate loving reciprocation of the Lord and His devotees as He is bidding them farewell but simultaneously giving them His constant eternal association through His divine instructions because factually the association of devotees is most intimately understood through sound vibration.
Real love is not a matter of external proximity
Srila Prabhupada our Guru Maharaj used to often tell us that there is never a moment that he is not feeling the holy presence of his gurudev,Om Vishnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, because real love is not a matter of external proximity. But real love is the merging of hearts by serving the divine will of the beloved. And of course that divine will is coming through transcendental sound. Because Srila Prabhupada was constantly remembering the instructions of his gurudev and dedicated his very life to serving that instruction, the presence of his Guru Maharaj was constantly manifesting in his heart far more even than when he was sitting right before him in physical proximity. And this is a wonderful passage that we are reading today because the instruction that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given to Sri Advaitacarya is practically identical to the instruction that Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave to Srila Prabhupada. There really is no difference.
Srila Prabhupada meets Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
When Srila Prabhupada was a young man, he had just married recently by the arrangement of his mother and father and he had just had a baby son. It was the time of life when the normal citizen of the world is most entangled in just trying to make some secure economic condition in one’s life.It is the time in one’s life when generally one puts religion and spirituality aside at least for the time being but one of Srila Prabhupada’s very close friends Narendra said, “there is a very great saint. I have seen him, I have heard him, he is speaking tonight on the Chaitanya-charitamrita, please come”. Our Guru Maharaj said, “oh, I have seen so many saints, so many sadhus, I am not so interested”. Oh, no, you must come. So as an act of love he reciprocated with the great desire of his friend, Guru Maharaj came to the place 1 Ultadanga Junction Road. Some of you may have been there. That was the original temple of the Gaudiya Math before any where built. It was a little rented house, very small. When you go in the door, there is a little courtyard and in that courtyard was a temple, a very tiny place. And then if you go up to steps, very concrete steps, you come to the roof top and on that terrace there was a jackfruit tree growing from the ground, giving shade to a section of the roof top and there was a seat, an asana there and it was there that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur would give the class from the Chaitanya-charitamrit every evening.
So this young man ,gurudev, out of etiquette and respect he bowed down and as he was still in his prostrated obeisances Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said to him that you are an intelligent young man, you should teach the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the English languages throughout the world. Giving him an order,giving him a life mission before they even met.
Recently, I was speaking to one very very famous great yogi Swami Chidananda, the present of the Shivananda ashram world wide. And when I was explaining this story to him, the tears started falling from his eyes and he said, “this is prophecy. This is divine prophecy. He knew your gurudev will do like this.”
Do as I am doing
So Srila Prabhupada took that order into the core of his heart and nourished that instruction. Although externally for many years he did not appear to act on, internally everything he did was in pursuance of preparing himself to some day dedicate his very existence, body, mind, words, life to giving love of God in charity to everyone without discrimination. And before Srila Prabhupada left this world he gave the same instruction to all of his disciples, all future generations in this Krishna Consciousness movement, to all followers of sanatan dharma. What was that instruction? – “Do as I am doing”. Be very sincere. What does it mean to be sincere? To be pure in our life, to strictly follow the principles- no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat-eating, to strictly chant the vow of chanting the Holy Names, to observe that vow as first foremost priority of our life. And most of all what is it that will give the strength of attraction to what we say and to what we do? “It is how much we are willing to put aside our own false egos, our own pride, our own individual selfish aspirations in life to be the servant of the devotees, to assist the devotee, to assist on every level body, mind and soul and working together to bring about this spiritual revolution in human society because after all we are preaching love of God and love of God means to love God’s creation. You cannot separate the two and to love the whole means to love the parts. And the Lord’s devotees, spiritually minded people, they are already the most connected parts to the whole, to Krsna.
Srila Prabhupada attracted people simply by his love
Therefore, service to the Vaishnavas putting oneself last, to assist the devotees is the real expression of our desire to serve our guru and Krsna. Then without that who will take us seriously? You can ask Malati Swamiji how Prabhupada attracted people to this movement. It wasn’t so much the philosophy he spoke, because in the beginning hardly anyone could even understand his Indian accent. It took time. People say that it was the prasad. But it wasn’t the prasad as far as the food it was his love that’s all. Because here was someone such an exalted wonderful person who cared so much for everyone, who had such a personal love for everyone, who was willing to give his life, who was willing to die for anyone of us, who was willing to take any risk for any one of us. How many people are willing to do that to a stranger. Self-centered people are sometime, sometimes willing to die for their children or for their parents. Srila Prabhupada was willing to give his life, to risk his health, to give up all of his property, everything to help even the least amongst strangers in a foreign land with such care. It was not the taste of the prasad that attracted people. It was how it was prepared and how it was given to them. Even if something is unpalatable, because it is given with so much love and care and so much devotion and hospitality it tastes good. Not to the palate but to the heart.
Srila Prabhupada gave us the in charity the love of God
Srila Prabhupada was so tolerant. He was willing to accept all sorts of criticism from others. He was willing to accept the curses of our parents just to give in charity, love of God. Therefore, what is it that attracted our hearts? It was his pure, unmotivated, charitable heart that touched our hearts with God’s love. And factually that is the way God consciousness always spreads. Not by institutions, not by big organizations but by people who really are in that charitable sprit of sacrifice to give Krsna even to the least amongst men.
Without Trust You Can’t Love Someone
In the christian scripture we find the same principle. During last supper in Jerusalem, Lord Jesus took off his cloth, his upper cloth and got down on his knees and went to wash the feet of all of his disciples and was drying the feet with his own cloth. And I believe that it was saint Peter who said- “No, my Lord feet are very low. It is the lowest part of my body. I should be washing your feet. You should not be doing this. You are my master. You are my Lord”. Jesus said that no, you must let me do because if you see how I am washing the feet of all of your God brothers and I am your Lord you will understand what is your position to all of your God brothers. He wanted to set this precedent that to follow him means to be the most menial humble servant to all of the devotees and thus to create a spiritual atmosphere of harmony, love and trust, Srila Prabhupada said this that this movement is nourished only by love and trust and it will continue only by love and trust and it will be spread only by love and trust. But this is the age of Kaliyuga, this is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. Where there is quarrel and hypocrisy where is there trust? Without trust you cannot love someone and where there is hypocrisy, how can there be trust? In this world, everyone is in such an exploitative temperament of mind that nobody can trust anyone. Sixty-six percent of all marriages end in divorce within three years. Husbands cannot trust wives. Wives cannot trust husbands. Children cannot trust parents. Parents cannot trust children. In the most intimate family unit there is no trust.
Love And Trust Is Created By- Dasadasanudasa
I remember when I was a teenager there was a saying, it was the model of the whole young generation- never trust anyone over thirty. Do you remember that? And we lived by that rule. It’s true. Now I am forty one. What goes around comes around. We did not ever expect that we would ever go over thirty. But it is true that in this age even in the most close relationships, the propaganda of Kali creates distrust. Srila Rupa Goswmai explains in the Upadeshamrita, the six principles of loving exchange amongst devotees to reveal one’s mind in confidence and to be willing to lovingly hear another person reveal that mind in confidence but confidence means there has to be trust. To give prasad, to receive prasad, to give gifts in charity, to receive gifts in charity, but as long as these relationships are superficial our lives are superficial and our very relationship with God is superficial and our chanting of the holy names of God is superficial. And on the spiritual platform, love and trust is created by the concept of dasadasanudasa to become servant not to want the position of master. In Kaliyuga there is no love and trust in hardly anyone because everyone wants to be master, everyone wants to be enjoyer. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, that great guru, saint- Not only was he greeting to everyone he would meet. Whether they were exalted, exalted spiritual personalities or whether they were just simple street sweepers when he would meet them his greeting was always from the heart- Daso ’smi. “Daso ’smi means I am your servant.” He meant it. I am your servant. To give in charity from the heart means you have to be servant. Materialistic charity is when we give out of pride and we give thinking that I am the benefactor of your welfare, I have come to give you something wonderful. And that position puts you above that other person. That’s not real charity. Today people give charity for prestige, for good name and fame, to get tax write offs. Charity is not based on self interest. It’s not charity. Not in the spiritual sense at all. If we want recognition, we want any profit, adoration or distinction by our giving, it is not really charity in, what it is, is the charity to our own false ego. Right? We just think best in our egoistic account. For real charity we have to first adopt this real attitude that I am servant. You are Prabhu. You are my master and even the lowest person is our master. And out of humble service we are giving.
Postal Peon
In fact Srila Prabhupada came to the west, he was coming from Vrindavan from the highest most exalted state of spiritual consciousness, coming to the gator of the New York City drug addicts, hippies of complete uncontrolled lives. But when he spoke to us he would explain that I am not giving me anything of my own. I am only repeating the word of my guru and the word of God. It is not mine. I deserve no credit. He would identify himself as a “postal peon”. What is the peon? From an anatomological scholarly point of view, Sribhaktyananda Goswami Maharaj has given the explanation of peon. But sometimes I just listen the words and I think what does it really mean? It means somebody who considers himself so so low. Really that should be our mentality because that is what all we deserve. And that was Prabhupada’s mentality that practically everyone did too. Even the lowest dog, what does he do? What to speak of the dog eaters? But even the dog what does he do to the grass? Treats him like a peon. Postal peon is not an ordinary peon. But someone who owns nothing, has nothing, but he is just simply in the utmost humility delivering a message.
Service Means Real Charity
So here Caitanya Mahaprabhu is requesting Advaitacarya, “give Krishna Consciousness, I have given it to you. Now you give it. It is not yours. It is mine. It is the Lord’s. I am entrusting you to give it to everyone without discrimination, even to the lowest of men”. That means when we give charity in the true sense, we are the humble servant of the person we are giving charity to. We are doing it as an act of sacrifice on behalf of Krsna, on behalf of the devotees and of course charity begins at home everyone knows that. If we cannot develop that disposition towards one another as devotees within our temple and within our community then what is the question of developing that disposition towards those who are living away outside? It is not possible.
So therefore we find that the Chaitanya-charitamrita is a book which essentially gives two instructions- Service to the devotees and chanting the holy name of the Lord. We cannot separate these two principles. And if we try to do so we will have neither one. Just like Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami gives one example of falling half of a hen. The front half of the hen is eating and you have to pay good money to feed it and the back half gives eggs and you make money by which of course not us but this is the way the farmer thinks. So therefore, why don’t I just cut the front half off then I have more liability and it’s only an asset. But what happens if you cut the front half off. You have nothing, dead. So the chanting of the holy Name and the service to the vaishnavas. Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught exactly what Bhaktyananda Swami Maharaj is teaching that the primal termis the name of God, that everything is emanating from the name of God, every language and place of the world it is all various emanations from the name of God. Is that correct? janmädy asya yato. Everything emanates from God. Our language emanates from God. Our creation emanates from God. Therefore if we with an open and true heart trace anything, any word, any piece of material.
bhaktyä tv ananyayä çakya
aham evaà-vidho ‘rjuna
jïätuà drañöuà ca tattvena
praveñöuà ca parantapa
[BG 11.54]
That it is only by undivided ocean that I reveal Myself as I am. To the degree we develop this consciousness of being the servant of the servant of the servant to that degree Krsna reveals Himself everywhere in everything. So this should really be our greatest priority. Like half of the hen, if you try to separate the chanting of the Holy Name from the service of the Lord, the service of the devotees, the service, service means real charity, then you have neither one. And Mahaprabhu taught simply by developing this charitable service attitude and chanting the Holy Name any one it doesn’t matter, who we are, what we have done we will attain in this life the supreme perfection of Prema Bhakti, pure love of God. That is the promise of the Lord. That is the the vow of the Lord. Anyone who takes these principles seriously, by the grace of Krsna he will attain the supreme perfection of life.
Is there any questions?
Yes Raghunathji.
Question : If we are serving the Guru, is there any need of serving all the vaishnavas?
Answer : It is the instruction of exalted vaishnavas to serve each and every devotee. We cannot separate the two. Degree you are serving the vaishnavas to that degree you are serving Guru. You cannot separate the two. Can you? If you love me, love my dog. Every devotee is the dog of guru. If you don’t love the dog you will not love the master. So we have to develop that vision. If we do not then we are missing the central point of Krishna Consciousness. Familiarity breeds contempt. Unless we develop the spiritual disposition amongst ourselves, we should expect nothing. We should give everything.
Question : Not Audible.
Answer : We must be a postal peon. We do not do service according to what, our service is bringing us closer to God. Our service is not just to satisfy their senses. That is not service at all. You are the servant of the souls not the servant of the egos. So that person’s ego might have brought him in total disconnection from the soul but doesn’t mean you serve the illusion or perpetuate the illusion but you do whatever you can. If a person is not allowing you to give them anything in Krishna Consciousness be there servant and pray for them. We are not servants of the illusions of others. We are servants of the need of their souls.
Question : [Not Audible] sometimes we give some sevas to others that means we are engaging them in our service but we are servant. Please explain.
Answer : It is question of your consciousness and your consciousness will very much influence the lives of the others. If you are engaging people for your personal sense gratification then you are just polluting yourselves and misleading others. But if you are engaging them in service giving them even order for doing it in the mood that this will help that person come closer to Krsna this is my humble service to that person according to that person’s position i.e. service. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur used say when he was sitting on his vyasasana and may be taking all this worship but I am doing it simply as a humble obedient service to all of you to help you become Krishna Conscious. A devotee never thinks himself master but always servant. If you are not doing to help that person as a menial service to that person then you should not tell him anything. It is true. Fact is you cannott serve Krsna directly you have to go through Guru. And the fact is you are insane if you think you can even approach directly without approaching the devotees. Whatever you do for the devotee is what you are doing for the Guru. However you respect to devotees is how you respecting your Guru. It is the fact. Actually thats what Srila Prabhupada taught us. You can show your love for me by how you serve one another. Jesus said- you show your love for me by how you treat the least amongst you that is how you treat me.
Question : What does serving means?
Answer : Serving means helping that person with whatever is required for that person’s spiritual interest. If a foolish child asks the mother to eat poison, service is not oh yes please here it is. Service is to say no rascal. That is service. Unless we are situated in transcendental knowledge we cannot truly be servant of anyone.
Question : Maharaj, when we dealing with others. When a situation with devotees either serving servant or master. Master is giving order and servant is trying to carry that. Servant is you know in the mood where he may not want to surrender to that instruction. Should we first try to arouse their attitude of service before we engage in them in service?
Answer : The first thing before getting involved in all these complicated details, the first thing is by your own example you can influence the hearts of everyone to some extent or other. Just by taking that position of truly endeavoring to be a charitable servant of gurudev, of all the devotees, by striving to put ourselves last and others first that example can change the whole world. And if you make that decision in your life and strive for that decision in your life then all of these detail questions Krsna will answer them one by one as they come. Swamiji, you wanted to say some? So we are also domainicans. Bhaktivinod Thakur prayed,’my dear gurudev I am just like the dog following behind you calling out Krsna, Krsna’.
Question : How can we receive the mercy of the Lord?
Answer : By learning to care for the other devotees and genuinely care, genuinely try to help them if they are more advanced than you, then you genuinely try to assist them and carry out their orders. They are equal to you, you genuinely trying to encourage them, befriend them. Walk hand to hand together and do service and if they are newer than you, you genuinely try to whatever on every level make them happy in Krishna Consciousness. Go out of your way, Make sacrifice to please each devotee that you possibly can and whatever way you can. And that is your answer the question and in that mood you chant the Holy Name of the Lord attentively.
Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare
Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
Then you will very rapidly receive the mercy of Lord Krsna.
Question : [Not Audible]
Answer : But this is how we become humble. By accepting position of servant. And serving for the purpose of pleasing guru, pleasing the vaishnavas and when we develop that consciousness then we will learn how to please the souls of others. Service means to please. Even in the restaurant they say- we serve please. Right? But they are trying to please your senses. Srila Prabhupada, who worked to please our senses to bring that senses closer to Krsna. Krsna has to be in front, Krsna has to be the central point. But when Srila Prabhupada would deal with Saraswati, did he preach philosophy to her? What did he do? How did he deal with her? On a general basis, how did he deal with her? Give an example. He just gave her love. Right? Because he set the stage of giving her so much love anyone one he ask for just recite the Bhagvatam and she could do. Dharmaraja when he was a little baby Prabhupada gave him money to buy dress. So isn’t you dress something of the body because he was making her happy even on the physical level but the aim was bring her closer to Krsna. That is real service. We neglect devotees bodies then we miss the whole understanding. We must not neglect any aspect of the devotee but the aim is to bring them closer to Krsna. The advanced devotees, their bodies are temple. There is one great devotee Bhagvat. He was very close to Prabhupada. He had hundreds and hours of association of Srila Prabhupada where they would discuss all the detail plans for building temples or organizing kumbha mela or all sorts of things.
But Bhagvat swami said that the incidence in his association with Prabhupada which stands first and foremost in his heart was one time in Mayapur during the Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s birthday. There was Gurupuja where hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of devotees in the temple room and Srila Prabhupada was on the Vyasasana. And everyone was just offering him garland after garland after garland and everyone was chanting his name and dancing and all looking at him in such love and offering him flowers and offering him obeisances. So Bhagvat came and offered him some flowers and bowed down to him. And Srila Prabhupada called him over. He said that I see you have a cut in your foot. What is that one? He said, “yes I cut my foot”. Srila Prabhupada, this is in the front of hundreds of devotee’s saying- Jai Prabhupada! Jai Jai Prabhupada!, Prabhupada was not listening to Jai Prabhupada. Prabhupada was thinking of his foot. Prabhupada reached in his pocket took out about thirty rupees, Indian currency and said he told him the particular type of medicine to go and buy it and he gave him the money. Here all might seem material but the fact is by doing that he worked on the heart of that devotee more than anything else. My Gurudev is so great, so exalted, everyone is chanting his name and he is thinking about the most insignificant cut on the foot of the most insignificant disciple. This is his meditation. But Prabhupada was not just concerned with the foot, he was concerned with showing enough concern and love for that person and whatever love was necessary to bring that person’s heart closer to Krsna. That is real preaching. That is the highest preaching.
Question : When devotees are wondering how can we understand how to serve?
Answer : Put again what does it mean to serve him? Is to please him. And if you don’t work to cooperate and please insert those to he loves and you are not really trying to serving him at all. We cannot separate the two. To think to exclusive service to guru without service to the disciples, it is crazy, some illusion, some mirage. How can you please the guru without pleasing those he loves? But that is the way of please guru. That means to follow the instruction, surrender to Krsna but to build a community . Community means building the community. Swamiji, what is the meaning of community? So what does that mean to communion with? It is we all communion together with Guru. Srila Prabhupada said that you show your love by how you serve one another cooperate that’s his order. We neglect that order we neglect him. And did Srila Bhaktipada say I know in India ever letter that he had been sending personally when he writes his own life be the servant of the servant of the servant. That is the essence of Mahaprabhu’s teaching-to be the servant of the servant of the servant. And do you think guru is teaching something different than Mahaprabhu? If we are not striving to be servant of the servant of the servant we cannot strive to be servant of the master. You have to be very sincere to not understand that. Another words if we understand Guru we have to understand the basis of knowledge. It has to be preliminary understanding of spiritual philosophy before we could really serve anybody on the spiritual platform. If we understand the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness then we understand what it means to serve and what it means to not serve. If a person has a domineering ego and Guru wants us to surrender to that person then we should. We still have a Guru. Guru is still the central focus of everything teaching us how to serve. He just asked that the somebody is domineering you ok so you ask guru I want to serve this person how should I serve him? If he says- don’t do what he says then ask how you serve him. He says just forget your own ego and serve do it and that’s how you serve him. We have to serve every vaishnava but it still under the authority and the direction of the senior most devotees. I believe he is Nitya one of the devotees of the Dallas. He was working under somebody who was not even following the principles. He was staunch brahmachari surrendering everything is working under the authority of someone is not even following the principles. But if guru says- do it then we do it. So we have to get our direction from the spiritual master. The sun bless be the tie the binds. What does that mean? How to be the menial servant of every vaishnava from the heart? Right? We have to aspire for that. We may not be beyond the highest platform now but we have to aspire for that. We have to cultivate those types of relationships as a priority. Otherwise you can build big big temples and people would say oh! How wonderful! How beautiful! But if devotees are quarreling with one another they say- nice place to visit but I don’t want to live. Unless we develop the temple of relations with vaishnavas our whole community is useless. How the buildings, all the gardens will attract people’s senses for few minutes and say- oh! Wonderful! You should have your picture in paper but then we go beyond the surface if devotees are not loving one another everyone will say just so what who care? Or if we can develop beautiful temples and within the temple there is the spirit of love and trust the whole world would be attracted. You agree? That is the first principle.
Question : You are saying so much about serving the devotees and how charity begins at home. Where is the instruction for non devotees, serving the non devotee?
Answer : Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Advaitacarya give Krishna Consciousness even to the lowest amongst man. Obviously the lowest amongst man means not devotees. Devotees are the highest amongst them. As how we serve by giving them Krishna Consciousness and how to give them Krishna Consciousness? Not by being self richteous preachers but by doing whatever will takes attract their heart to Krsna. By giving Krsna’s love to them. By showing we are concern and we care for their spiritual welfare. It’s the first thing. If the person doesn’t think you care then is he going to want to listen to you. First thing we have to do is demonstrate the person thatyou care about him. Then they open the heart to listen to you. Then they receive the knowledge by which their whole life can be transformed. Right? Is their any other questions? I think it is getting late.