A guru should not become a guru, a father should not become a father, a mother should not become a mother, nobody should become relatives, kinsmen, if one cannot save his son, his disciple, his friend from the imminent danger of birth and death

Expressions researched:
"A guru should not become a guru, a father should not become a father, a mother should not become a mother, nobody should become relatives, kinsmen, if one cannot save his son, his disciple, his friend from the imminent danger of birth and death"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

A guru should not become a guru, a father should not become a father, a mother should not become a mother, nobody should become relatives, kinsmen, if one cannot save his son, his disciple, his friend from the imminent danger of birth and death. The society should be like that. Everyone should be eager to save his friend, to save his son, to save his disciple from the imminent danger of birth and death. But they have no . . . (indistinct) . . . neither they do know how to stop it, neither they are interested. But that is the real problem, how to stop.

731025 - Lecture BG 13.26 - Bombay

Our mission is very big, the best welfare work. Other welfare activities, they keep them as go-khara and promises all sorts of big, big promises. No, we do not say. Our mission is to enlighten him, that he is not this body, he is spirit soul. There is Supersoul; both the soul and the Supersoul living in this body. The Supersoul is observing and the living entity is working. According to his work, he is getting the result, a different type of body. In this way, repeatedly he is taking birth and repeatedly he is dying. So one has to stop this repetition of birth and death. That is the perfection of life. That is the perfection. But they do not know how to stop this repetition, neither they do know that death can be avoided.

In the śāstra says, gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt pitā na sa syāt (SB 5.5.18). In this way, na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. A guru should not become a guru, a father should not become a father, a mother should not become a mother, nobody should become relatives, kinsmen, if one cannot save his son, his disciple, his friend from the imminent danger of birth and death. The society should be like that. Everyone should be eager to save his friend, to save his son, to save his disciple from the imminent danger of birth and death. But they have no . . . (indistinct) . . . neither they do know how to stop it, neither they are interested. But that is the real problem, how to stop. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9).

So here Kṛṣṇa say, anye tu abajānantaḥ . . . ajānantaḥ śrutvā: simply by hearing. If you hear from a realized person—of course, interestedly, seriously—then you can get benefit, śrutvā. Śrutvā anyebhya upāsate. Just like it is very natural: just like these children, they do not understand, or the children's father, anyone, they do not understand. But if they come here and simply hear. The children, they are also chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, they are offering obeisances, they are offering a lamp, they are playing some instrument—all these things will never go in vain. It is being accounted. This is called ajñāta-sukṛti.