Some of you have seen that my friend, Dr. Bose. I have said many times that when he was student, so one professor, he—in those days medical professors were Englishmen—he said in the class that "In our country, seventy-five percent of the students, they are infected with syphilis." So this doctor, he was a student. He said in the class, "Oh, horrible." So that professor said, "Why you are saying 'horrible'? In your country eighty percent, ninety percent, they are infected with malaria, and they are in syphilis. So what is the difference? Why you make...? As a medical man, why should you make difference that 'this disease is better than that disease?' Disease is disease." Actually that is the fact. You say that "We are suffering from malaria. It is better than to suffer from syphilis." No. Disease is disease.
Similarly, either Brahmā or the ant, the disease is how to become master. This is the disease. Therefore, to cure this disease, Kṛṣṇa comes to cure this disease - to say plainly, "Rascal, you are not master; you are servant. Surrender unto Me." This is the cure of disease. If one agrees that "No more," āra nāre bapa, "No more trying for becoming master," that is the cure of disease.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, as Prahlāda Mahārāja says, nija bhṛtya-pārśvam (SB 7.9.24): "Engage me as the servant of Your servant." The same thing Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-anudāsa (CC Madhya 13.80). So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we have to give up this nonsense idea of becoming master. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to learn how to become servant. Not only servant—servant of the servant, servant of the... That is cure.
Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "So I have understood all this nonsense of becoming master. My father also tried to become master. So this knowledge, now I am perfect. There is no use of becoming master. Better, if You kindly want to give me some benediction, kindly make me the servant of Your servant." This is benediction. So one who has learned to become the servant of Kṛṣṇa's servant, he is perfect.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā (CC Adi 17.31). A servant has to tolerate. Tolerate. Servant, sometimes master orders so many things, he becomes disturbed. But still, he has to execute and tolerate. That is perfection. Here in India still, when a person goes to marry, so his... This is a custom. His mother ask the bridegroom, "My dear son, where you are going?" He replies, "Mother, I am going to bring one maidservant for you." This is the system. "Mother, I am going to bring one maidservant for you." That means "My wife, your daughter-in-law, will serve you as your maidservant." This is Vedic civilization.
When Kṛṣṇa with His sixteen thousand wives went to Hastināpura, so Draupadī... It is natural, between woman and woman, they talk about their husband. That is natural. So Draupadī was inquiring from each and every wife of Kṛṣṇa. Not all of them; it is not possible, sixteen thousand. At least the principal queens, beginning from... What is the (indistinct)? Rukmiṇī, yes. So every one of them were describing their marriage ceremony, that "My..." Rukmiṇī explained that "My father wanted to hand over me to Kṛṣṇa, but my elder brother, he did not agree. He wanted to get me married with Śiśupala. So I did not like this idea. I wrote Kṛṣṇa a private letter, that 'I have dedicated my life to You, but this is the situation. Please come and kidnap me.'
So in this way Kṛṣṇa kidnapped me and made me His maidservant." The queen's daughter, king's daughter—every one of them were king's daughter; they were not ordinary person daughter—but they wanted to become maidservant of Kṛṣṇa. This is the idea, to become servant and to become maidservant. This is ideal of human civilization. The every woman should try to become maidservant of her husband, and every man should try to become the hundred times servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is Indian civilization. Not that "Husband and wife, we are equal rights," that, in Europe, America, the movement is going on, "Equal rights." That is not Vedic civilization. Vedic civilization is the husband should be a sincere servant of Kṛṣṇa, and the wife should be a sincere maidservant of the husband.
Therefore here it is said, upanaya māṁ nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam (SB 7.9.24). This is the best association. When Nārada Muni is describing how the man should behave, how the woman should behave—we are discussing now in our tape dictaphone; you'll hear that—that there is no such thing to become master. It is useless. You cannot become master. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate (BG 3.27). You cannot become master. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108). Either man or woman, everyone is servant of Kṛṣṇa. We have to be trained up in that platform, how to become the best servant, not only servant directly, but servants of the servant. This is called paramparā servant. My spiritual master is the servant of his spiritual master, and I am also servant of my spiritual master. Similarly, we think "servant of the servant." There is no question of becoming... This is material disease.
- kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kāre
- pāsate māyā tāre jāpatīyā dhāre
- (Prema-vivarta)
As soon as we become puffed up—"Now I shall become master. I shall be simply giving order. I shall not follow anyone"—that is māyā.
So that disease is going on beginning from Brahmā down to the ant. Prahlāda Mahārāja has understood this so-called false prestigious position of becoming a master. He says that "I am quite aware of this false thing. Kindly engage me..." Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam. Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam means just like apprentice. Apprentice. One apprentice is engaged to some expert man; by and by, the apprentice learns how to do the things. Therefore he says, nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam. "Not that immediately I become very expert servant, but let me..."
Our this institution is for that purpose. If somebody comes here, the free hotel and free sleeping accommodation, then his coming to this association is useless. He must learn how to serve. Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam. Those who are serving, the... One should learn from him how he's serving twenty-four hours, then our joining this institution will be successful. And if we take it that "Here is an institution where we can have free hotel, free living and free sense gratification," then the whole institution will be spoiled. Be careful. All the GBCs, they should be careful that this mentality may not increase. Everyone should be very eager to serve, to learn how to serve. Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam (SB 7.9.24). Then life will be successful.