View source for There is no question of demanding to become the Lord or the president or this. "I want to serve," that's all. And that is the crucial test. Service is the original nature. Now in this material world also you are serving

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[[Category:There Is No Question]]
[[Category:Demand]]
[[Category:Becoming God]]
[[Category:President]]
[[Category:Want To]]
[[Category:Serve]]
[[Category:That's All]]
[[Category:That Is]]
[[Category:Crucial Test]]
[[Category:Original]]
[[Category:Nature]]
[[Category:Material World (Prakrti)]]
[[Category:You Are]]
[[Category:Serving]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - POOJA]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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There is no question of demanding to become the Lord or the president or this. "I want to serve," that's all. And that is the crucial test.
Service is the original nature. Now in this material world also you are serving. If you want to become the president, then I have to promise so many times to the voters that, "I'll give you service." Without promise of service, there is no question of presidentship. So actually my position is to render service—either I become president or minister or this or that.
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[[Vanisource:690220 - Lecture BG 06.35-45 - Los Angeles|690220 - Lecture BG 06.35-45 - Los Angeles]]
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Lady devotee: When we sing bhaja śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, we're saying "Worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya"—we say bhaja, so . . .

Prabhupāda: Bhaja, yes. Bhaja means just be engaged in His service. That is . . . worship automatically comes there. When you are engaged in service, the worshipment is already there.

Lady Devotee: And the motive for worshiping this is for direction in devotional service?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That should be the only motive. Our motives with Kṛṣṇa . . . Lord Caitanya has taught us that when you pray, you should not pray for anything material. Lord Caitanya prays to the Lord in this way, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.29|CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]]):

"My dear Lord, Jagadīśa." Jagat means the universe and īśa means controller. So the controller of the universe, jagad-īśa. Instead of saying Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, this can be understood by any layman, that because there must be somebody controller, He is jagad-īśa, the controller of the whole universe.

So He's saying: "My dear controller of the universe," or the Lord. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ na kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye: "I do not pray from You any amount of wealth or any number of followers or any nice, beautiful woman." These are material claims. People generally want to become a very great leader within this material world.

Somebody is trying to become a very rich man like Ford or Rockefeller, somebody is trying to become the president, somebody is trying to become such thing and such thing, to become a very good leader so that many thousands of people may follow. So these are material demands. "Give me some money, give me some followers, and give me a nice wife," that's all.

But Lord Caitanya refuses. He says: "I don't want all these things." Na janaṁ na dhanam. Dhanam means wealth, and janam means followers. Na sundarīṁ kavitām, "or beautiful wife." Then what for You are worshiping? What for You are becoming devotee? He says, mama janmani janmanīśvare. He's not asking for even liberation. Because the yogīs, they want liberation; they have got demand. The materialists, they also have got demand, "I want this, I want that, I want that." So the so-called spiritualists, they also demand liberation. That is also demand.

But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that, "I don't want anything of this nature. Simply I want to be engaged in Your service." Janmani janmani—birth after birth. That means . . . He does not say also that, "Stop My this disease of birth and death." This is the stage of bhakti-yoga. There is no demand. Simply the only prayer is that "You engage me in Your service." (break)

So our this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is also the same thing. This is also taught by Caitanya—Hare means addressing the energy of the Lord, and Kṛṣṇa, the Lord, Rāma, the Lord. Why? "Please engage me in Your service." That's all. That should be the demand. "Please engage me in Your service." Because the whole disease is that we have forgotten to serve God, because we are thinking, "I am God. What is any other God that I have to serve? I am myself God." That is the only disease. The last snare. First of all I try to become president, minister, Rockefeller, Ford, this, that. When I fail, then I want to become God. That is another president, you see?

So in the bhakti-yoga there is no such demand. Simply to serve. When all presidentship fails, then I demand the highest presidentship: to become God. You see? The demand is there, the disease is there. They cannot know that, that "My disease is still there." I am demanding to be the highest. But bhakti-yoga is just the opposite—to become servant, servant of the servant ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 13.80|CC Madhya 13.80]]).

Just opposite. There is no question of demanding to become the Lord or the president or this. "I want to serve," that's all. And that is the crucial test.

Service is the original nature. Now in this material world also you are serving. If you want to become the president, then I have to promise so many times to the voters that, "I'll give you service." Without promise of service, there is no question of presidentship. So actually my position is to render service—either I become president or minister or this or that.

That they cannot understand that, "In spite of my becoming the highest executive person, president, oh, I have to give service to my people, otherwise immediately they dethrone me. Therefore my real position is service." But service here is so dangerous: if there is little discrepancy of service, the president is immediately fired. Why your president, Mr. Kennedy, was fired? Because some people did not like that, "You are rendering nice service." That is the root fact.
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