Paid servant

Expressions researched:
"paid servant" |"paid servants" |"paying servant"

SB Canto 2

Brāhmaṇas were not paid servants of the king, and therefore they had the strength to dictate to the king on the principles of scriptures.

SB 2.7.9, Purport:

According to the system of varṇāśrama-dharma, the pious and learned brāhmaṇas were the natural guardians of society. The brāhmaṇas, by their learned labor of love, would instruct the administrator-kings how to rule the country in complete righteousness, and thus the process would go on as a perfect welfare state. The kings or the kṣatriya administrators would always consult the council of learned brāhmaṇas. They were never autocratic monarchs. The scriptures like Manu-saṁhitā and other authorized books of the great sages were guiding principles for ruling the subjects, and there was no need for less intelligent persons to manufacture a code of law in the name of democracy. The less intelligent mass of people have very little knowledge of their own welfare, as a child has very little knowledge of its future well-being. The experienced father guides the innocent child towards the path of progress, and the childlike mass of people need similar guidance. The standard welfare codes are already there in the Manu-saṁhitā and other Vedic literatures. The learned brāhmaṇas would advise the king in terms of those standard books of knowledge and with reference to the particular situation of time and place. Such brāhmaṇas were not paid servants of the king, and therefore they had the strength to dictate to the king on the principles of scriptures. This system continued even up to the time of Mahārāja Candragupta, and the brāhmaṇa Cāṇakya was his unpaid prime minister.

SB Canto 3

The brāhmaṇas were not giving their services as paid servants, but the society provided them with all necessities.

SB 3.3.27, Purport:

All these charities were meant for the brāhmaṇas, whose lives were devoted entirely to the welfare of society, both spiritually and materially. The brāhmaṇas were not giving their services as paid servants, but the society provided them with all necessities. It was arranged for some of the brāhmaṇas, who were in difficulty for marriage, to be given girls. The brāhmaṇas, therefore, had no economic problems. The kṣatriya kings and rich mercantile men would provide them with all that they needed, and in exchange the brāhmaṇas were completely devoted to the elevation of society. That was the way of social cooperation between the different castes. When the brāhmaṇa class or caste gradually became easygoing, being fed by the society although they had no brahminical qualifications, they degraded themselves into brahma-bandhus, or disqualified brāhmaṇas, and thus other members of society also gradually fell down from the social standard of progressive life. As described in Bhagavad-gītā, the caste system is the creation of the Lord and is arranged according to the quality of work rendered to society and not in terms of birthright, as falsely claimed in the present degraded society.

SB Canto 7

If one does not personally worship the Deity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and his worship of the Deity is called artificial.

SB 7.5.23-24, Purport:

It is therefore recommended that initiated devotees follow the principles of Nārada-pañcarātra by worshiping the Deity in the temple. Especially for householder devotees who are opulent in material possessions, the path of Deity worship is strongly recommended. An opulent householder devotee who does not engage his hard-earned money in the service of the Lord is called a miser. One should not engage paid brāhmaṇas to worship the Deity. If one does not personally worship the Deity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and his worship of the Deity is called artificial. An opulent householder can collect luxurious paraphernalia for Deity worship, and consequently for householder devotees the worship of the Deity is compulsory. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement there are brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs, but the Deity worship in the temple should be performed especially by the householders.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Devotee means servant—not paid servant—but servant by affection. Just like, these boys, European boys, American boys, and some of the Philippines boys, they are trying to serve me, but they are not paid servant.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:

Devotee means servant—not paid servant—but servant by affection. Just like, these boys, European boys, American boys, and some of the Philippines boys, they are trying to serve me, but they are not paid servant. They are servant by affection. Just like father and mother becomes the servant of the sons. The son, the small child, passing stool, and the mother cleansing. That does not mean the mother has become sweeper. The mother is mother, but out of affection she is giving service. Similarly, when we give service to the Lord in affection, in love, then God reveals, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). God's name, God's form, God's quality, God's pastimes, activities, are not understandable by our, these blunt material senses. We cannot see God with these eyes. God is present everywhere.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

The center is Kṛṣṇa, or God, and everyone is engaged in His service in love, not paid servant. Paid servant will always disagree in proportion to the money he receives. But in the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no question of paid servant.

Lecture on SB 6.1.34-39 -- Surat, December 19, 1970:

Hong Kong. Oh, I see. Oh, our New Vrindaban. (laughs) Very nice. So you have published very nice pictures. So it is not... You can take it to our... This is one picture, and this is one picture. Bring. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Side by side, hell and heaven. One has to select. (break) ...and the spiritual world there is only one class of men. Therefore spiritual world is called absolute. There is no disagreement. The center is Kṛṣṇa, or God, and everyone is engaged in His service in love, not paid servant. Paid servant will always disagree in proportion to the money he receives. But in the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no question of paid servant. Everyone is free. Everyone has got sufficient because, as I told you yesterday, that they are all liberated. They have got equal opulence like God. But still, they serve. That is the superiority(?). Here one serves in need, and there they serve without need. There is no need of service. Everything is there complete. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa (Bs. 5.29). It is said that there are kalpa-vṛkṣa, desire tree. Desire tree means a tree from which you can get enything you desire. Then why there should be service? Here service is forced. If you don't render service, then you will starve. This nature is called avidyā-karma-saṁjñānya tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate. Karma-saṁjñā.

Just like a paid servant, he is also engaged in satisfying the master very nicely, very faithfully, but there is no bhakti.

Lecture on SB 7.7.30-31 -- Mombassa, September 12, 1971:

So the Vedas and all Vedic literature... Vedic literatures and Vedas, they are all the same, they are called śruti and smṛti. So, they recommend that if you..., tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). If you are actually you are anxious to learn that transcendental science, then you should accept, you should approach a bona fide spiritual master. Prahlāda Mahārāja also says the same thing, guru-śuśrūṣayā. Guru means heavy, or superior. So you can satisfy superior by your service, not by challenging, that is not possible. Guru-śuśrūṣayā. Guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā. And what kind of śuśrūṣayā? Bhaktyā. Just like a paid servant, he is also engaged in satisfying the master very nicely, very faithfully, but there is no bhakti. Why? Because he is after the money the master pays. He does not serve the master, but he serves the money. He is thinking always that "I am getting so much money from this person. If I don't satisfy him, then I may be dismissed. So I will have no money." But here it is said bhaktyā. Bhaktyā means without any, I mean to say, material concern. Bhakti is applicable in the spiritual world. Bhakti is transacted, the business of bhakti is transacted in the spiritual world. Or where there is devotional service, there is spiritual world, there is no material world. So guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca.

General Lectures

In family also, the head of the family, he's thinking that he's master, but he's servant. He's servant of his wife, of his children, even of his paid servant. Because he has to satisfy everyone.

Rotary Club Lecture -- Ahmedabad, December 5, 1972:

Somebody is serving in the office. Somebody's serving in the government office. Somebody's serving as minister. Somebody's serving as governor. It is supposed to be that he is master, but actually he's serving. In family also, the head of the family, he's thinking that he's master, but he's servant. He's servant of his wife, of his children, even of his paid servant. Because he has to satisfy everyone. Not only one, but so many members of the family, he has to keep them satisfied; otherwise, they may not be very much happy. So the nature of living entity is to satisfy others. Paraspara. And that business of satisfying others, serving for others' well-being, that must be sanātana, eternal. Our characteristic, service, is eternal, and that should be eternally engagement. Here, in this material existence, I am serving, but my service is not eternal, because I am changing the body or I changing my profession. Sometimes I am serving this party, sometimes I am serving that party.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

You must act in such a way that these people accept you as superior. ...not a paid servant.

Morning Walk -- March 26, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...not this, not that. That will not help. You must act in such a way that these people accept you as superior. (break) ...(Hindi) (break) ...not a paid servant. (break) ...bring Bhagavān at your control. You can bring Him at your control by love. Just like Yaśodāmayī... She's showing the stick: "Kṛṣṇa, if you do like this, then I will chastise you." And He's crying. That is premā. (break) Premā pum-artho mahān. That is the highest achievement, to achieve the love of Godhead. And if you love God, then you achieve love of everyone.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

In 1930, we were paying servant twelve to fourteen rupees per month, and they were satisfied. With food, six rupees. And without food, twelve rupees, fourteen.

Morning Walk -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: So there are many servants. What is their general payment?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: About eight hundred rupees per month.

Prabhupāda: Hundred dollars. What is the average expenditure here?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Depends on how one lives; it is quite expensive. Eight thousand, ten thousand rupees per month.

Prabhupāda: For rent?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: No. Just for food, it is per head, simple devotee food, per person, about five hundred rupees per month.

Prabhupāda: Oh. In India... India, two hundred rupees per month. And it has increased very recently. In 1930, we were paying servant twelve to fourteen rupees per month, and they were satisfied. With food, six rupees. And without food, twelve rupees, fourteen.

Somebody, they are coming, going. You cannot check them. Because they are not our paid servants. If they are very kind that they have come here, cooperating with us.

Room Conversation -- September 5, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, no, that, that, there are so many people... If you do not satisfy his senses, everyone is free to run away. That you cannot check. You cannot say, accuse somebody or somebody. Because here everyone is giving voluntary service. Nobody is servant. So if he doesn't like something, at any moment he can go away. At any moment. Just like yesterday the Śāstrī came. So he went away. And somebody, they are coming, going. You cannot check them. Because they are not our paid servants. If they are very kind that they have come here, cooperating with us. But still there is some decency, if one is engaged in some work, all of a sudden he should go away, all of a sudden... That is not very good. That is not very good. Decently, that I used to go, and now in preaching work, so there will be no difficulty, this is the arrangement. Something must be done. All of a sudden, if somebody goes, that isn't very good. Tamāla also, if he did so, that is not good. Because I want some men, I cannot kidnap from any place. That is not good. We must see that the management is going on. The management may not suffer. But the president should allow to go if there is extra men.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

And these ācārya and president, they are less than paid servant. They are afraid of.

Srila Prabhupada Vigil -- May 28-29, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Although he's considered their man, but his business is Vaiṣṇava. He told the real truth. That is Vaiṣṇava. "Why you are holding? You cannot do anything."

Jayapatākā: Even they give it, they're not giving anything.

Prabhupāda: No.

Jayapatākā: 'Cause they can't hold, anyway. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: That is the...

Jayapatākā: (Bengali)

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Jayapatākā: You told me.

Prabhupāda: And these ācārya and president, they are less than paid servant. They are afraid of.

1968 Correspondence

No one is working as a paid servant so if the dealings are not friendly everyone will decide to leave.

Letter to Upendra -- Los Angeles 26 November, 1968:

We must always remember that the leader in charge of a temple must learn to successfully deal with the other persons there. No one is working as a paid servant so if the dealings are not friendly everyone will decide to leave. The leader of the temple must try always to be sober and tolerant and at the same time manage everything nicely. Please continue to try and cultivate this talent and I know you will be given all intelligence to do this.