View source for Although the Personality of Godhead is so great that the goddess of fortune is always under His command for enjoyment, He still extended His hands to take charity from Maharaj Bali

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{{terms|"Although the Personality of Godhead is so great that the goddess of fortune is always under His command for enjoyment, He still extended His hands to take charity from Maharaj Bali"}}
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{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
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[[Category:Although God]]
[[Category:God Is The Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:God Is Great]]
[[Category:God and His Goddesses of Fortune]]
[[Category:Always]]
[[Category:Under]]
[[Category:God's Commands]]
[[Category:God's Enjoying]]
[[Category:God's Extending]]
[[Category:God's Hand]]
[[Category:God's Taking]]
[[Category:Charity to God]]
[[Category:God and Bali Maharaja]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 46 - Astonishment and Chivalry]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapters 01 to 51]]
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<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
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Mahārāj Bali was so fortunate that the Lord extended before Him His hand, which was reddish from touching the breast of the goddess of fortune, who is always smeared with red kuṅkum powder. In other words, although the Personality of Godhead is so great that the goddess of fortune is always under His command for enjoyment, He still extended His hands to take charity from Mahārāj Bali.
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[[Vanisource:NOD 46 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 46]]
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Dāna-vīra, or chivalry in the giving in charity, can be divided into two parts: munificence and renunciation. A person who can sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa is called munificent. When a person desires to make a sacrifice because of his seeing Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is called the impetus of the munificent activity. When Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Nanda Mahārāj, in clear consciousness Nanda Mahārāj desired all auspiciousness for his son and thus began to give in charity valuable cows to all the brāhmaṇas. The brāhmaṇas were so satisfied by this charitable action that they were obliged to say that the charity of Nanda Mahārāj had excelled the charity of such past kings as Mahārāj Pṛthu and Nṛga.

When a person knows the glories of the Lord completely and is prepared to sacrifice everything for the Lord, he is called sampradānaka, or one who gives everything in charity for the sake of Kṛṣṇa.

When Mahārāj Yudhiṣṭhira went with Kṛṣṇa in the arena of the rāja-sūya sacrifice, in his imagination he began to anoint the body of Kṛṣṇa with pulp of sandalwood, he decorated Him with a garland hanging down to His knees, he began to give Him garments all embroidered with gold, he gave Him ornaments all bedecked with valuable jewels, and he gave Him many fully decorated elephants, chariots and horses. He further wished to give Kṛṣṇa in charity his kingdom, his family and his personal self also. After so desiring, when there was nothing to actually give in charity, Mahārāj Yudhiṣṭhira became very perturbed and anxious.

Similarly, Mahārāj Bali once told his priest, Śukrācārya: "My dear sage, you are fully expert in knowledge of the Vedas, and as such you worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, by Vedic rituals. As far as this brāhmaṇa dwarf (the incarnation Vāmanadeva) is concerned, if He is Lord Viṣṇu, a simple brāhmaṇa, or even my enemy, I have decided to give to Him in charity all the land He has asked for." Mahārāj Bali was so fortunate that the Lord extended before Him His hand, which was reddish from touching the breast of the goddess of fortune, who is always smeared with red kuṅkum powder. In other words, although the Personality of Godhead is so great that the goddess of fortune is always under His command for enjoyment, He still extended His hands to take charity from Mahārāj Bali.

A person who wants to give everything in charity to Kṛṣṇa but does not want anything in return is considered the real renouncer. Thus, a devotee will refuse to accept any kind of liberation, even if it is offered by the Lord. Real love of Kṛṣṇa becomes manifested when Kṛṣṇa becomes the recipient of charity and the devotee becomes the giver.

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya there is another example, forwarded by Mahārāj Dhruva. He says there, "My dear Lord, I have practiced austerities and penances because I was desiring to receive something from You, but in exchange You have allowed me to see You, who are never visible even to the great sages and saintly persons. I had been searching out some pieces of broken glass, but instead I have found the most valuable jewel. I am therefore fully satisfied, my Lord. I do not wish to ask anything more from Your Lordship."

A similar statement is to be found in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, [[Vanisource:SB 3.15.48|15th Chapter, 48th verse]]. The four sages headed by Sanaka Muni addressed the Lord as follows: "My dear Supreme Personality of Godhead, Your reputation is very attractive and free from all material contamination. Therefore You are worthy of being glorified and are actually the reservoir of all pilgrimages. Auspicious persons, who are fortunate enough to be engaged in glorifying Your attributes and who actually know what Your transcendental position is, do not even care to accept liberation offered by You. Because they are so transcendentally enriched, they do not care to accept even the post of Indra, the heavenly King. They know that the post of the King of heaven is also fearful, whereas for those who are engaged in glorifying Your transcendental qualities there is only joyfulness and freedom from all danger. As such, why should persons with this knowledge be attracted by a post in the heavenly kingdom?"

One devotee has described his feelings about the charity exhibited by King Mayūradhvaja: "I am faltering even to speak about the activities of Mahārāj Mayūradhvaja, to whom I offer my respectful obeisances." Mayūradhvaja was very intelligent, and he could understand why Kṛṣṇa came to him once, in the garb of a brāhmaṇa. Kṛṣṇa demanded from him half of his body, to be sawed off by his wife and son, and King Mayūradhvaja agreed to this proposal. On account of his intense feeling of devotional service, King Mayūradhvaja was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, and when he understood that Kṛṣṇa had come in the garb of a brāhmaṇa, he did not hesitate to part with half of his body. This sacrifice of Mahārāj Mayūradhvaja for Kṛṣṇa's sake is unique in the world, and we should offer our all-respectful obeisances to him. He had full knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the garb of a brāhmaṇa, and he is known as the perfect dāna-vīra, or renouncer.
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