You cannot say, "Prabhupada, milk is better than water. Why don't you take one glass of milk?" That is not anukula. You must supply me what I want. That is anukula. That is favorable

Expressions researched:
"He wants water, you give him water. Don't manufacture better thing" |"I want a glass of water" |"I want a glass of water, and if my servant gives me a glass of hot milk, is that worship" |"Prabhupada, milk is better than water. Why don't you take one glass of milk" |"That is not anukula. You must supply me what I want. That is anukula. That is favorable" |"That is not service. I want water now. You must give me water. That is service"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. You have to see how he is pleased. Now if he wants a glass of water and if you bring a nice glass of milk, you can say milk is better than water, you take it. That is not service. He wants water, you give him water. Don't manufacture better thing.

Lecture on BG 15.15 -- August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Hari-śauri: Sometimes there's some discrepancy, two parties, they may both want to serve but they have different ways, different ideas how to execute the same order, so there may be some argument.

Prabhupāda: Service means you must take order from the master. That is service. Otherwise it is mental concoction. Actually, the servant requests, "How can I serve you?" So when the master orders, "You serve me like this," then you do that, that is service. And if you manufacture your service, that is not service. That is your sense gratification. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. You have to see how he is pleased. Now if he wants a glass of water and if you bring a nice glass of milk, you can say milk is better than water, you take it. That is not service. He wants water, you give him water. Don't manufacture better thing. Just like Kṛṣṇa wanted Arjuna to fight, and he became a nonviolent saint, "No, Kṛṣṇa, I'll not fight." That is disobedience. Kṛṣṇa says fight, you must fight. Don't bring philosophy of nonviolence. That is nonsense. What He says, do it. That is service. That he did later on. Sometimes they misunderstand Bhagavad-gītā, that Arjuna is not willing to fight and Kṛṣṇa is inducing him to fight. They misunderstand that Arjuna is better than Kṛṣṇa. But that's not the fact. What Kṛṣṇa says, we have to execute that. We should not manufacture our own ideas. That is not service.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Service means, "What I want, you must give me. That is service. If I say, "Please give me a glass of water," and if you bring a glass of milk, you can say, "Sir, milk is better than water." No. That is not service. I want water now. You must give me water. That is service.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:

Jñāna. Jñāna has been especially mentioned because the jñānīs, they are contaminated by the desire of merging into the existence of God. Therefore one should give up this desire. Karmīs, they are for sense gratification; jñānīs, for merging into the existence. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). Ānukūlyena. Anukūla means favorable. What Kṛṣṇa wants, you serve Him. Service means that. Service does not mean, "I want something and you give me something." No, that is not service. Service means, "What I want, you must give me. That is service. If I say, "Please give me a glass of water," and if you bring a glass of milk, you can say, "Sir, milk is better than water." No. That is not service. I want water now. You must give me water. That is service.

Therefore my Guru Mahārāja did not approve the parties... They are called gaurāṅga-nāgarī. They accept Caitanya Mahāprabhu as Kṛṣṇa. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa, but they pose Him, "Kṛṣṇa is enjoying with gopīs." No, that is called gaurāṅga-nāgarī-bhāva. No. Kṛṣṇa has appeared now as devotee. So you must help Him how He can become a best devotee. Not that pose Him into Kṛṣṇa position. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu came in Vṛndāvana, so many people called Him, "You are Kṛṣṇa. You are Viṣṇu." He was doing this, "Don't say like this, don't say like this," to warn future generation who would like to become Kṛṣṇa's avatāra, so-called avatāra.

If I want a glass of water, you must give me a glass of water. You cannot say, "Prabhupāda, milk is better than water. Why don't you take one glass of milk?" That is not anukūla. You must supply me what I want. That is anukūla. That is favorable. I want to drink water. Why should you give me milk? That is anukūla. That is bhakti. That is ananyayā... You don't manufacture your own trademark of bhakti. No, that is not bhakti.

Lecture on SB 3.25.39-40 -- Bombay, December 8, 1974:

A bhakta does not want mukti. We have discussed all things. Bhakta wants nothing from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He simply wants to serve Him. That's all. And serve Him ānukūlyena, not whimsically, "I want to serve You as I like." No. Ānukūlyena. Just like Arjuna did. Arjuna served Kṛṣṇa not whimsically, but as Kṛṣṇa desired. Kṛṣṇa... Arjuna was not willing to fight. He said, "No, Kṛṣṇa, the other side, my friends and relatives, I cannot." That is whimsical. But when he decided after hearing Bhagavad-gītā, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73): "Yes, I shall do what You are asking, to fight. I shall kill my grandfather. That's all." That is anukūla. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā (CC Madhya 19.167). You cannot serve Kṛṣṇa by your whims. Ānukūlyena. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (Brs. 1.1.11). You have to serve Kṛṣṇa as He says. If I want a glass of water, you must give me a glass of water. You cannot say, "Prabhupāda, milk is better than water. Why don't you take one glass of milk?" That is not anukūla. You must supply me what I want. That is anukūla. That is favorable. I want to drink water. Why should you give me milk? That is anukūla. That is bhakti. That is ananyayā... You don't manufacture your own trademark of bhakti. No, that is not bhakti. It is not that...

Sometimes people say, some so-called bhaktas, they say that "I can worship the Lord in my own way." No, that you cannot do. You have to... But because you have no connection with the Supreme Lord, you simply think a fiction, an idea, imagination, kalpana. The Māyāvādīs, they say kalpana. Brahma-rūpa-kalpanaḥ: "Brahma has no rūpa, but you imagine some rūpa, or form." That is Māyāvāda. That is not. Kṛṣṇa has got rūpa. Kṛṣṇa is present here with His original rūpa, as it is described in the Vedic literature.

Philosophy Discussions

Just like I want a glass of water, and if my servant gives me a glass of hot milk, is that worship? Worship means what I want, if you give me, then I am satisfied. But if I want a cold glass of water, you give me..., if you think, "No. Milk is better than water," so that, will that satisfy me? So these concocted ideas of worshiping will actually satisfy God, that is wrong theory, that one can worship God according to his own dictation.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Hayagrīva: The government, the American government, arrested, yes. The Tennessee legislature arrested him. He was arrested and defended by Clarence Darrow, famous trial lawyer, and the prosecutor was William Jennings Bryan, who was a thrice defeated Presidential candidate. So they discussed evolution and religion and how they could co-exist, and Scopes, who was teaching Darwinian evolution, claimed, "All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience. No human authority can in any case whatever control or interfere with the rights of conscience, and that no preference should ever be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship."

Prabhupāda: This is, this worship and the concept of worship, if actually one believes or knows, so the real worship is that which pleases God. If you manufacture... Just like I want a glass of water, and if my servant gives me a glass of hot milk, is that worship? Worship means what I want, if you give me, then I am satisfied. But if I want a cold glass of water, you give me..., if you think, "No. Milk is better than water," so that, will that satisfy me? So these concocted ideas of worshiping will actually satisfy God, that is wrong theory, that one can worship God according to his own dictation. That means his God is fictitious. He has no idea of God. And he can concoct ideas. But actually if there is God, one should worship according to the dictation of God. But if he does not know what is God, what is the dictation of God, then he is a rascal. What is the use of his so-called worship? It may be to some extent a sentiment, but that is not worship. If you want to worship God, you must worship God according to His dictation. That is real worship. How he can manufacture the way of worship?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Don't manufacture your ways of pleasing God. Don't manufacture. Suppose if I want to please you, then I shall ask you, "How can I serve you?" Not that I manufacture service. That is not pleasing you. Suppose if I want a glass of water. And if you manufacture that "Swamiji will be more pleased if I give him a glass of milk, hot milk," that will not please me.

Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes. And material pleasure means pleasure of senses. That's all. This is the difference. When you try simply to please Kṛṣṇa, that is spiritual pleasure.

Bob: I had viewed this as... My thought of pleasing God was to do...

Prabhupāda: No, no, don't manufacture your ways of pleasing God. Don't manufacture. Suppose if I want to please you, then I shall ask you, "How can I serve you?" Not that I manufacture service. That is not pleasing you. Suppose if I want a glass of water. And if you manufacture that "Swamiji will be more pleased if I give him a glass of milk, hot milk," that will not please me. If you want to please me, then you should ask me, "How can I please you?" And what I order, if you do that, that will please me.

Bob: And pleasing Kṛṣṇa, then, is being a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: The devotee means who is always pleasing Kṛṣṇa. He has no other business. That is devotee.