Duty of the devotee

SB 1.9.17, Purport: The popular saying is that a housewife teaches the daughter-in-law by teaching the daughter. Similarly, the Lord teaches the world by teaching the devotee. The devotee does not have to learn anything new from the Lord because the Lord teaches the sincere devotee always from within. Whenever, therefore, a show is made to teach the devotee, as in the case of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, it is for teaching the less intelligent men. A devotee's duty, therefore, is to ungrudgingly accept tribulations from the Lord as a benediction.

SB 2.8.21, Purport: The favorable conditions for discharging devotional service are that one should be very enthusiastic in serving the Lord. The Lord in His form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted the cult of devotional service to the Lord to be preached all over the world, in every nook and corner, and therefore a pure devotee's duty is to discharge this order as far as possible. Every devotee should be very enthusiastic, not only in performing his daily rituals of devotional service, but in trying to preach the cult peacefully by following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya.

SB 3.13.17, Purport: The devotees of the Lord, who are all confidential servitors, are sometimes perplexed in the discharge of their respective duties, but they are never discouraged. They have full faith in the Lord, and He paves the way for the smooth progress of the devotee's duty.

SB 3.16.5, Purport: A Vaiṣṇava, therefore, should be fully qualified. As stated in the Bhāgavatam, anyone who has become a Vaiṣṇava has developed all the good qualities of the demigods. There are twenty-six qualifications mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. A devotee should always see that his Vaiṣṇava qualities increase with the advancement of his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee should be blameless because any offense by the devotee is a scar on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotee's duty is to be always conscious in his dealings with others, especially with another devotee of the Lord.

SB 3.29.16, Purport: Temple worship is one of the duties of a devotee. It is especially recommended for neophytes, but those who are advanced should not refrain from temple worship. There is a distinction in the manner a neophyte and an advanced devotee appreciate the Lord's presence in the temple. A neophyte considers the arcā-vigraha (the statue of the Lord) to be different from the original Personality of Godhead; he considers it a representation of the Supreme Lord in the form of a Deity. But an advanced devotee accepts the Deity in the temple as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not see any difference between the original form of the Lord and the statue, or arcā form of the Lord, in the temple. This is the vision of a devotee whose devotional service is in the highest stage of bhāva, or love of Godhead, whereas a neophyte's worship in the temple is a matter of routine duty.

SB 3.29.17, Purport: A devotee shows compassion to those poor souls who are wanting in spiritual knowledge by enlightening them in order to elevate them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is one of the duties of a devotee. He should also make friendship with persons who are on an equal level with himself or who have the same understanding that he does. For a devotee, there is no point in making friendships with ordinary persons; he should make friendship with other devotees so that by discussing among themselves, they may elevate one another on the path of spiritual understanding. This is called iṣṭa-goṣṭhī.

SB 4.14.32, Purport: One should not at any time tolerate blasphemy and insults against Lord Viṣṇu or His devotees. A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Viṣṇu or His devotee is insulted. This is the duty of a devotee. Although a devotee maintains an attitude of meekness and gentleness, it is a great fault on his part if he remains silent when the Lord or His devotee is blasphemed.

SB 6.3.33, Purport: A devotee's duty is to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. One may sometimes chant with offenses and sometimes without offenses, but if one seriously adopts this process, he will achieve perfection, which cannot be achieved through Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement. Persons who are attached to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, but do not believe in devotional service, who advise atonement, but do not appreciate the chanting of the Lord's holy name, fail to achieve the highest perfection. Devotees, therefore, being completely detached from material enjoyment, never give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness for Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Those who are attached to Vedic ritualistic ceremonies because of lusty desires are subjected to the tribulations of material existence again and again. Mahārāja Parīkṣit has compared their activities to kuñjara-śauca, the bathing of an elephant.

SB 8.7.39, Purport: This is the characteristic of a Vaiṣṇava. Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī: a Vaiṣṇava is always unhappy to see the conditioned souls unhappy. Otherwise, he would have no business teaching them how to become happy. In materialistic life, people must certainly engage in activities of animosity. Materialistic life is therefore compared to saṁsāra-dāvānala **, a blazing forest fire that automatically takes place. Lord Śiva and his followers in the paramparā system try to save people from this dangerous condition of materialistic life. This is the duty of devotees following the principles of Lord Śiva and belonging to the Rudra-sampradāya. There are four Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas, and the Rudra-sampradāya is one of them because Lord Śiva (Rudra) is the best of the Vaiṣṇavas (vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ). Indeed, as we shall see, Lord Śiva drank all the poison for the benefit of humanity.

SB 9.11.25, Purport: Lord Rāmacandra showed His favor to His brothers by ordering Them to go out. Many of the Lord's devotees residing in Vṛndāvana have taken the vow not to leave Vṛndāvana to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But the Lord says that Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be spread all over the world, in every village and every town. This is the open order of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

A pure devotee, therefore, must execute the order of the Lord and must not gratify his senses by remaining stagnant in one place, falsely proud, thinking that because he does not leave Vṛndāvana but chants in a solitary place he has become a great devotee. A devotee must carry out the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Every devotee, therefore, should spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness by preaching, asking whomever he meets to accept the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: [Bg. 18.66] "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me." This is the order of the Lord, who speaks as the supreme emperor. Everyone should be induced to accept this order, for this is victory (dig-vijaya). And it is the duty of the soldier, the devotee, to impress upon everyone this philosophy of life.

SB 10.9.5, Purport: Everything in the household affairs of mother Yaśodā was meant for Kṛṣṇa. Although Kṛṣṇa was drinking the breast milk of mother Yaśodā, when she saw that the milk pan in the kitchen was overflowing, she had to take care of it immediately, and thus she left her son, who then became very angry, not having been fully satisfied with drinking the milk of her breast. Sometimes one must take care of more than one item of important business for the same purpose. Therefore mother Yaśodā was not unjust when she left her son to take care of the overflowing milk. On the platform of love and affection, it is the duty of the devotee to do one thing first and other things later. The proper intuition by which to do this is given by Kṛṣṇa.

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ

bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam

dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ

yena mām upayānti te

(Bg. 10.10)

In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, everything is dynamic. Kṛṣṇa guides the devotee in what to do first and what to do next on the platform of absolute truth.

CC Madhya 19.155, Purport: Every living entity is wandering within this universe in different species and on different planetary systems according to his fruitive activities. Out of many millions of living entities, one may be fortunate enough to receive the seed of the bhakti-latā, the creeper of devotional service. By the grace of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa, one nourishes the bhakti-latā by regularly sprinkling it with the water of śravaṇa-kīrtana, hearing and chanting. In this way the seed of the bhakti-latā sprouts and grows up and up through the whole universe until it penetrates the covering of the material universe and reaches the spiritual world. The bhakti-latā continues to grow until it reaches the topmost planetary system, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṇa lives. There the creeper takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord, and that is its final destination. At that time the creeper begins to grow the fruits of ecstatic love of God. It is the duty of the devotee who nourishes the creeper to be very careful. It is said that the watering of the creeper must continue: ihāṅ mālī sece nitya śravaṇādi jala. It is not that at a certain stage one can stop chanting and hearing and become a mature devotee. If one stops, one certainly falls down from devotional service. Although one may be very much exalted in devotional service, he should not give up the watering process of śravaṇa-kīrtana. If one gives up that process, it is due to an offense. This is described in the following verse.

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Bombay, April 1, 1971: So therefore our duty is to follow the instruction of Kṛṣṇa as it is given. So Kṛṣṇa says, praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu. The oṁkāra, praṇava... oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ. The Vedic mantras, oṁ bhagavate vāsudevāya namaḥ. This oṁkāra, this praṇava, is Kṛṣṇa. So anyone who is chanting the Vedic hymns, and as soon as he vibrates this sound, transcendental sound, om, here is Kṛṣṇa. So how we can avoid Kṛṣṇa? Simply we have to know. You have to purify your eyes. You have to purify your ears. You have to purify your hands. You have to purify your legs. In this way, when your senses are purified in every step, in every moment, you will see Kṛṣṇa, nothing but Kṛṣṇa. The purificatory process—just to purify the eyes. Kṛṣṇa is present before you in arcā-mūrti, arcāvatāra, nicely dressed by the devotees. Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā **. It is the duty of the devotee to decorate the śrī-vigraha, the form, transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa very nicely so that thousands of people may come in the temple and see Kṛṣṇa. And as you go on seeing Kṛṣṇa and your eyes become purified, then you will see Kṛṣṇa, how nice Kṛṣṇa is. Just like when Caitanya Mahāprabhu entered the Jagannātha temple, as soon as He saw Kṛṣṇa, immediately He fainted because His eyes were prepared to see Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.2.14-16 -- San Francisco, March 24, 1967: In order to understand that Absolute Truth, it is the duty of everyone to hear, śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca, and chant; and dhyeyaḥ, means meditating or remembering, dhyeyaḥ; and pūjya, and worshiping; nityadā, regularly. Whom? Bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the master of all righteous persons. He's master of everyone, but the devotees, they especially recognize that Lord is the master of everyone. And the demons, they do not care for God, and God also do not care for them. Let them do their own work and ripe (reap) their own fruit. God does not take responsibility for the demons, but He takes responsibility for the devotees.

Therefore it is the duty of the devotee to hear. The hearing process is Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And kīrtitavyaś ca, and narrate also. Unless one narrates or unless one speaks, one cannot hear. So the two process are going on. Somebody is hearing and somebody is chanting. And then when hear and chant, there must be meditation. If we attentively hear, then there must be meditation. And pūjya. Pūjā means worship. The simple process of worship in this age is this performance as we are doing—chanting, hearing, and offering some fruits, flowers, and showing this candle. This is simple, that's all. There are... According to Vedic literature there are many parapher..., sixty-four items for worshiping. That is not possible in this age. So this is all right.

So this process will make you understand the Absolute Truth. You just follow this principle ekena manasā, with one attention, without diverting your attention to any other subject matter. If you follow this principle, ekena manasā, to hear, to chant, to think of and to worship... This simple process.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Geneva, May 31, 1974: Therefore Bhāgavata says, naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ [SB 7.5.32]. Apagama. Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim. To get out of this māyā's problem, one has to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. It is easy process. If you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, immediately you get out of all these problems. So that is not being taken. It is declared, but people have not taken. Therefore Bhāgavata says that why they have not taken? Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim. They are not accepting this proposal of Kṛṣṇa, that "You surrender." Anartha. Immediately anartha will be vanquished, but they will not take it. How? Why not? They have to surrender to His devotee. Niṣkiñcanānāṁ pāda-rajo 'bhiṣekam. Mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo 'bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat. They cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness unless they bow down to the dust of His devotee, to the dust of the lotus feet of... Mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo 'bhiṣekam. Pāda-rajaḥ. Pāda-rajaḥ means the dust at the lotus feet of mahīyasām, the exalted devotee, niṣkiñcanānām, who has nothing to do with the material world. Niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat. So long one does not take the dust of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa's devotee, he cannot surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. Therefore it is the duty of the devotees to go from place to place and just give the chance to the people to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then their all problems will be solved.

Lecture on SB 1.8.47 -- Mayapura, October 27, 1974: So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was thinking—it is natural—that on account of his position, to become the emperor of the world, suhṛdāṁ vadham, so many friends have been killed. Āha rājā dharma-sutaś cintayan suhṛdāṁ vadham. This is natural. But duty is duty. When Kṛṣṇa says that, as He did to Arjuna, that "You must fight. You must kill them," that is duty. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness—no consideration of my affection. That is duty, and Arjuna did it. This is the duty of the devotee. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. First-class devotion is to serve Kṛṣṇa just to please Him. If He is pleased, if He says that "You kill your son," then we should be prepared to do that. That is called vairāgya-vidyā. Of course, never Kṛṣṇa says like that, but actually, in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Arjuna was ordered, if not the son but the nephew. But his sons were also killed. So this is duty. So many people inquire, "Kṛṣṇa was inducing people to fight." But this fight by the order of Kṛṣṇa and the fight or war declared for the satisfaction of the politicians, they are not the same. We must always remember. They are not the same.

Lecture on SB 1.16.11 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1974: If required, a devotee can do anything, as ordered by Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa ordered Arjuna to fight. Arjuna personally was not inclined to fight. He is Vaiṣṇava. He, rather, wanted to forgive. "Let them enjoy, Kṛṣṇa. I do not wish to fight with my cousin-brothers. I cannot tolerate their death, my grandfather. So better I will not fight. Let them enjoy the kingdom." So Kṛṣṇa said, "No, that cannot be. It is My plan that they should be killed. So you must fight." So therefore a devotee's duty is to carry out the order of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he fought. Personally he did not want to fight. But he cannot disobey the order of Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible.

SB 2.3.23 -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1972, Purport: As Caitanya Mahāprabhu certified the illiterate brāhmaṇa who was reading Bhagavad-gītā in Raṅganātha temple... You know the story. The brāhmaṇa was illiterate. His guru ordered him that "You read Bhagavad-gītā daily, eighteen chapters." So he could not refuse the order of guru mahārāja; so he was taking the book and simply seeing. So those who knew that he was illiterate, they were criticizing, "Well, brāhmaṇa, how you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" He could not answer because he knew that "I am illiterate. I do not know." Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw this fun and approached him, "Well, brāhmaṇa, what you are reading?"

So he could understand that this Caitanya Mahāprabhu has not come to criticize him: "He's serious." So he informed Him, "Sir, I am reading Bhagavad-gītā, but I am illiterate. I am illiterate, but my spiritual master has ordered to read. So what can I do? I have taken this book and moving these pages. That's all. What can I do? Actually I cannot read." Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired, "But I see you are sometimes crying." "Yes, sir, I sometimes cry." "Why?" "Now, because as soon as I take this book in my hand and I see the picture that Lord Kṛṣṇa is driving the chariot of Arjuna, I cry. 'Oh, Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He has taken the service of His devotee. He should have been seated on the chariot—Arjuna should have driven the chariot—but He's driving the chariot and Arjuna is sitting on the seat. So Kṛṣṇa is so kind and beloved that He can serve His devotee. It is the duty of the devotee to serve Him, but He's so kind and affectionate that He serves His devotee.' So as soon as I think of this-Kṛṣṇa's magnanimity—I cry."

Then immediately, Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced him, that "You are... Your reading of Bhagavad-gītā is perfect. Because you have understood the essence of the Bhagavad-gītā."

Lecture on SB 3.25.25 -- Bombay, November 25, 1974:

Prabhupada: So people who are interested in materialistic life, they are called asat. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asked by a devotee that "What is the behavior of a Vaiṣṇava, of devotee?" Vaiṣṇava means devotee. (aside:) Who is this? Who is making noise? So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, being inquired, "What is the duty of a devotee?" (aside:) ...what is the sound?

Brahmānanda: They're doing it purposely.

Prabhupāda: Oh, that's all right. That's all right. Never mind. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, asat-saṅga-tyāga, ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra [Cc. Madhya 22.87]. Asat-saṅga-tyāga, ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra. He, in one line, He said that "First of all, Vaiṣṇava, his business is to avoid the company of asat." Asat means those who are materialistic interest. Asataḥ. Asato mā sad gama. This is very important thing. We have established this Kṛṣṇa consciousness society—means that to avoid the asat-saṅga

Lecture on SB 3.26.29 -- Bombay, January 6, 1975: Therefore Bhāgavata says that in order to understand the Supreme goal of life, śreya uttamam... Śreya means the best. Śreya and preya. Preya means immediately palatable, and śreya means ultimately beneficial. That is called śreya. Just like for a child, playing is priya, preya. He likes to play. But he is by force, by the parents, he is studied books. That is called preya. But because without education, his future life will be dark. So parents know it. Therefore, although the child likes to play—that is preya—the parents engages them into śreya, into education. So that is the Vaiṣṇava's duty. These rascals and fools, they are busy in material sense gratification, and it has become the duty of the devotee. Because the devotees means the servant of the supreme father, Kṛṣṇa. So they have been engaged. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. So devotees are so confidential servant of the Supreme Lord. Therefore they are engaged in preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They have no business for themself—they are completely perfect as soon as they have accepted Kṛṣṇa—but they are working on behalf of Kṛṣṇa to turn these two-legged animals to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is the meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971: So devotees are generally very good, godly qualities. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he was insulted by his brothers, his wife was insulted, his kingdom was usurped, taken away, that..., forced to go to the forest for twelve years. So many troubles they had to undergo due to the political intrigues by the cousin-brothers. Still, while he was in front of fighting, he thought, "What is the use of fighting and killing my cousin-brothers? Better let them enjoy. I retire. Kṛṣṇa, I cannot fight," he said. Why? Because he was a devotee. He was prepared to forego his claim. It is not that he was a coward. He was a great warrior, fighter. He could fight immediately. But because he was devotee, he was avoiding, trying to avoid fight, "No." This is godly quality. So in order to induce him to fight, Kṛṣṇa had to speak to him the whole Bhagavad-gītā. When he understood that "Although I do not wish to fight, Kṛṣṇa desires," then he took: "All right. Then I change my decision because Kṛṣṇa's desire is my first duty." That is devotee's duty.

Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971: So Prahlāda Mahārāja was... Before his birth he was taught by Nārada Muni. Therefore naturally he was in devotional service. So he was executing, the boy. Devotional service... If one is devotee, he cannot sit down silently. He wants to preach God's glories to others, even at the risk of life, like Lord Jesus Christ did it. Even at the risk of life, he preached God consciousness. That is the duty of a devotee. Lord Nityānanda did it, Haridāsa Ṭhākura did it. There are many instances; a devotee risked even life for preaching glories of God.

Lecture on CC CC Adi-lila 7.49-65 -- San Francisco, February 3, 1967: So while Lord Caitanya was residing at Benares, that Tapana Miśra and Candraśekhara submitted with great regret that "Sir, the other party, the Māyāvādī sannyāsīns, they are criticizing Your activities. Because You are chanting and You do not give much attention to the reading of Vedānta philosophy, they are criticizing that 'What kind of sannyāsī is He? He does not take part in the matter of studying Vedānta philosophy, and on sentiment He is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, and some innocent people are following Him.' So in this way they are criticizing."

kateka śuniba prabhu tomāra nindana

nā pāri sahite, ebe chāḍiba jīvana

It is the duty of devotees not to tolerate blasphemy. So they are presenting before the Lord that "The criticism by the other party has become unbearable. So something must be done. Otherwise, we shall die or commit suicide."

Lecture on CC CC Adi-lila 7.49-65 -- San Francisco, February 3, 1967: There are three kinds of devotees: kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī and mahā-bhāgavata, bhāgavata, or those who are in the lower status, those who are in the middle status, and those who are in the highest status. Those who are in the lower status are beginners. Devotees, for them, the description is that,

arcāyām eva haraye

yaḥ pūjām śraddhayehate

na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu

sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ

"In the lower stage, a devotee goes to the temple or to the church or to the mosque, with great devotion and faith offers prayers to the Lord, but he has no knowledge about other devotees," na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu, "and he does not know the duty to others." A devotee should not be satisfied simply by elevating himself in spiritual advancement. He has got other duties also. What is that other duties? That those who are innocent, those who are not interested... Everyone is interested, but there are persons who have forgotten his relationship with God. Therefore it is the duty of the devotee to enlighten others. That is required. Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he also preached the sense of God, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is the duty of devotee. It is the duty of good son of God, but the..., those who are in the lower status, they have not developed such consciousness that "I have to preach the philosophy of God consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others." They are simply satisfied themselves. They go to the church or mosque or temple, offer their prayers in devotion. That's all.

Lecture with Translator -- Sanand, December 27, 1975: So not only those who are highly elevated brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra... Śūdras... Less than śūdra, they are called kirāta, hūṇa, āndhra, pulinda, pulkaśā, ābhīra, yavanāḥ, khasādayaḥ. They also can be purified if they take shelter of a pure devotee. Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, māṁ ca...,

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya

ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ

striya vaiśyās tathā śūdrās

te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim

[Bg. 9.32]

Means that "Anyone, even if he is born in the pāpa-yoni, the pāpa-yoni, kirāta, hūṇa, if he takes shelter of Me, then he also gets the supreme perfection." Te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. Now it is the duty of a devotee of Kṛṣṇa to expand this progressive march toward devotional service. Otherwise, how the pāpa-yoni will learn? This is para upakāra. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission,bhārata-

bhūmite manuṣya janma haila yāra

janma sārthaka kari kara para-upakāra

[Cc. Ādi 9.41]

That every Indian who has taken birth in India as a human being, he should first of all make his life successful by understanding Kṛṣṇa, and then he must preach outside to render service to others as welfare activities.

Room Conversation with writer, Sandy Nixon -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Woman: You have said that you are very small and that you are not God, and yet it appears to me as an outsider that the devotees treat you as if you were God.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is devotee's duty. Just like a government officer. Personally he is not very important, but so long he executes government order, he should be respected as government. That is the way. Even a ordinary policeman comes, you have to respect him because he is government man. But that does not mean he is government. He is respected. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ **. If that man thinks that "I have become government. People are respecting me," then he is foolish. So... But it is the etiquette. If the government man comes, you should respect him as government.

Woman: Along the same idea, I wonder also about the many beautiful material things that the devotees bring to you, and, for instance, when you left the airport, you left in a beautiful, big, fancy car, and I wonder about this because...

Prabhupāda: That is teaching them how to respect. If you respect government man as government, then you must treat him like that.

Woman: But...

Prabhupāda: If you respect spiritual master as God, then you must offer him the facilities of God. Otherwise how you treat him as God? Simply in mind? In action also.

Garden Conversation -- June 8, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes, uncivilized, they are like animals.

Duryodhana-guru: So they can perform, like, let's say for example, intoxication or meat-eating, and they won't receive any sinful reaction?

Prabhupāda: Yes, oh, yes. No. Because they are uncivilized. And you claim to be civilized and you are killing animals? Must be responsible.

Arcita: Śrīla Prabhupāda, those who come up from the animal species, do they automatically get a chance to contact Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or do they, might be born in low family, or...

Prabhupāda: No, they get.... Just like we are opening centers, we are giving chance to everyone. If he takes opportunity, he can become realized.(indistinct) Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā [SB 2.4.18]. That is the duty of devotees, to raise everyone to the sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But if one is unfortunate, he does not take the advantage.

Garden Conversation -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Devotee (3): If no one was thinking that they needed your presence, then how is it some have come and some have not come? What is the difference?

Prabhupāda: Difference is it is Kṛṣṇa's desire. He wants that "Don't remain like cats and dogs. Be intelligent and come back to Me." Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. So it is the duty of a devotee of Kṛṣṇa to spread this knowledge so that they may take to Kṛṣṇa. The cats and dogs, they cannot understand, but those who are two-legged cats and dogs, (laughs) they can understand. That is the advantage, because they have got two legs. So long they had four legs (laughing) they could not understand. So here is a chance, two-legged, so give them some opportunity. That's all.

Room Conversation -- February 17, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? Sometimes we find a dilemma in preaching, in the sense that if we preach very vigorously we invoke the attention of the authorities. That is to say, if we were to preach a little less vigorously, there might be less objection, but then again there would be the less benefit because we would not be preaching as vigorously. It's very hard to know sometimes just how forcefully to preach.

Prabhupāda: No, we are not to satisfy the authorities. We have to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Just like Arjuna. He wanted to satisfy his family members, but Kṛṣṇa did not like that. Then He preached him Bhagavad-gītā, and then Arjuna agreed, "Yes." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava [Bg. 18.73]. So it is the duty of the devotee to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, not the public.

Room Conversation -- November 2, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? Sometimes we find a dilemma in preaching, in the sense that if we preach very vigorously we invoke the attention of the authorities. That is to say, if we were to preach a little less vigorously, there might be less objection, but then again there would be the less benefit because we would not be preaching as vigorously. It's very hard to know sometimes just how forcefully to preach.

Prabhupāda: No, we are not to satisfy the authorities. We have to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Just like Arjuna. He wanted to satisfy his family members, but Kṛṣṇa did not like that. Then He preached him Bhagavad-gītā, and then Arjuna agreed, "Yes." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava [Bg. 18.73]. So it is the duty of the devotee to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, not the public.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Here's a new book.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's called Preaching is the Essence. "His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda." It says, "Compiled by Rāmeśvara dāsa Swami and Śubhānanda dāsa Brahmacārī." It says, "A note of explanation. Every word of the text of this book is taken directly from the books of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, founder-ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. The text appearing in boldface type is Śrīla Prabhupāda's translations of verses from the Vedic literatures. The text in regular roman type consists of excerpts from His Divine Grace's summary studies and purports. Contents in brief: 1) The mission of the Lord—to give all living entities the benediction of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 2) It is the duty of the devotee to preach." Each one of these subjects, then they give verses or purports.

Brahmānanda: All about preaching.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In other words, a devotee can use this book to learn these verses which substantiate the following points. These are the points. "3) Preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest welfare activity. 4) Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be distributed to everyone without restriction."

Prabhupāda: How many copies?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This was printed strictly for the devotees, two thousand copies only. It's meant as like a preaching weapon. "5) One who preaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness is dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa and is protected by the Lord. 6) Kṛṣṇa empowers the preacher. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya. 7) Preaching is based on compassion. 8) The preacher should practice tolerance. 9) To be effective in preaching, the preacher must be pure and follow the regulative principles. 10) Conditioned souls benefit from hearing Vedic literature, kṛṣṇa-kathā. 11) The future of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement." Should I see what it says under that?

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The future of this movement? Page 88. "The future of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can save the world. 'Kirāta, hūṇāndhra, pulinda, pulkaśa, ābhīra, śumbha, yavana [SB 2.4.18] and the khasa races, and even others who are addicted to sinful acts, can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.' Purport: 'The above-mentioned historical names are different nations of the world. Even those who are constantly engaged in sinful acts are all corrigible to the standard of perfect human beings if they take shelter of the devotees of the Lord. Jesus Christ and Hajrat Muhammad, two powerful devotees of the Lord, have done tremendous service on the behalf of the Lord on the surface of the globe. And from the version of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it appears that instead of running a godless civilization in the present context of the world situation, if the leadership of world affairs is entrusted to the devotees of the Lord, for which a worldwide organization under the name and style of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has already been started, then by the grace of the Almighty Lord there can be a thorough change of heart in human beings all over the world, because the devotees of the Lord are able authorities to effect such a change by purifying the dust-worn minds of the people in general.' " Then it gives so many other quotes. "Kṛṣṇa consciousness will spread all over the world." Then it quotes from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. " 'The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind. When the five members of the Pañca-tattva saw the entire world drowned in love of Godhead and the seed of material enjoyment in the living entities completely destroyed, they all became exceedingly happy. The more the five members of the Pañca-tattva caused the rains of love of Godhead to fall, the more the inundation increases and spreads all over the world.' "

Prabhupāda: Jaya.

Letter to Revatinandana -- Los Angeles 25 March, 1970: You have been a little bit perturbed that the demons are eternally condemned, and I thank you very much that you have been compassionate with the demons. That is the sign of Vaisnavism. The Lord may condemn the demons, but because the Vaisnavas are there, there is ample chance for the demons to become blessed by the devotees of the Lord. The devotees of the Lord are so powerful that each and every one of them has the power of delivering many demons, even condemned by the Lord. The preaching work of Krishna Consciousness Movement is specifically meant for delivering the demons. Therefore, if you remain faithful to the Lord, you shall be able to deliver many such demons. So there is no cause of being disappointed because of the demons being condemned by the Lord. It is the duty of the devotee to deliver them. And the Lord is so powerful that through His pure devotee anyone can be delivered, never mind how he is fallen or condemned. I think the answer of your question is now clear and you can do the needful.