When Sanātana Gosvāmī asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about the svarūpa of every living being, the Lord replied that the svarūpa, or constitutional position, of the living being is the rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we analyze this statement of Lord Caitanya's, we can easily see that every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to another living being. A living being serves other living beings in various capacities. By doing so, the living entity enjoys life. The lower animals serve human beings as servants serve their master. A serves B master, B serves C master, and C serves D master and so on. Under these circumstances, we can see that one friend serves another friend, the mother serves the son, the wife serves the husband, the husband serves the wife and so on. If we go on searching in this spirit, it will be seen that there is no exception in the society of living beings to the activity of service. The politician presents his manifesto for the public to convince them of his capacity for service. The voters therefore give the politician their valuable votes, thinking that he will render valuable service to society. The shopkeeper serves the customer, and the artisan serves the capitalist. The capitalist serves the family, and the family serves the state in the terms of the eternal capacity of the eternal living being. In this way we can see that no living being is exempt from rendering service to other living beings, and therefore we can safely conclude that service is the constant companion of the living being and that the rendering of service is the eternal religion of the living being.
Exempt
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Preface and Introduction
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Informed by the Personality of Godhead that he would be awarded a transcendental body befitting the Lord's association, Nārada got his spiritual body as soon as he quitted his material body. This transcendental body is free from material affinity and invested with three primary transcendental qualities, namely eternity, freedom from material modes, and freedom from reactions of fruitive activities. The material body is always afflicted with the lack of these three qualities. A devotee's body becomes at once surcharged with the transcendental qualities as soon as he is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. It acts like the magnetic influence of a touchstone upon iron. The influence of transcendental devotional service is like that. Therefore change of the body means stoppage of the reaction of three qualitative modes of material nature upon the pure devotee. There are many instances of this in the revealed scriptures. Dhruva Mahārāja and Prahlāda Mahārāja and many other devotees were able to see the Personality of Godhead face to face apparently in the same body. This means that the quality of a devotee's body changes from material to transcendence. That is the opinion of the authorized Gosvāmīs via the authentic scriptures. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that beginning from the indra-gopa germ up to the great Indra, King of heaven, all living beings are subjected to the law of karma and are bound to suffer and enjoy the fruitive results of their own work. Only the devotee is exempt from such reactions, by the causeless mercy of the supreme authority, the Personality of Godhead.
SB Canto 3
Formerly, the brāhmaṇas were given all the necessities of life by the kṣatriyas and vaiśyas because they had no time to spend making a living. The kṣatriyas would collect taxes from the vaiśyas and śūdras, but the brāhmaṇas were exempt from paying income tax or land revenue. That system of human society was so nice that there were no political, social and economic upheavals. The different castes, or varṇa classifications, are therefore essential for maintaining a peaceful human society.
The first living creature is Brahmā himself, and from him were created sages like Marīci, who in their turn created Kaśyapa Muni and others, and Kaśyapa Muni and the Manus created different demigods and human beings, etc. But there is none among them who is not attracted by the spell of māyā in the form of woman. Throughout the entire material world, beginning from Brahmā down to the small, insignificant creatures like the ant, everyone is attracted by sex life. That is the basic principle of this material world. Lord Brahmā's being attracted by his daughter is the vivid example that no one is exempt from sexual attraction to woman. Woman, therefore, is the wonderful creation of māyā to keep the conditioned soul in shackles.
SB Canto 4
In the material world everyone who comes to enjoy himself or lord it over material nature is envious of others. This envy is also found in the personality of the King of heaven, Indra. As evident from revealed scriptures, Indra was several times envious of many persons. He was especially envious of great fruitive activities and the execution of yoga practices, or siddhis. Indeed, he could not tolerate them, and he desired to break them up. He was envious due to fear that those who performed great sacrifices for the execution of mystic yoga might occupy his seat. Since no one in this material world can tolerate another's advancement, everyone in the material world is called matsara, envious. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is therefore said that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for those who are completely nirmatsara (nonenvious). In other words, one who is not free from the contamination of envy cannot advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, if someone excels another person, the devotee who is excelled thinks how fortunate the other person is to be advancing in devotional service. Such nonenvy is typical of Vaikuṇṭha. However, when one is envious of his competitor, that is material. The demigods posted in the material world are not exempt from envy.
SB Canto 7
The varṇāśrama system delineates the divisions of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. It also sets forth the system of saṁskāras. The garbhādhāna saṁskāra, the ceremony for begetting a child, must be observed by the higher section of people, namely the dvijas. One who follows the garbhādhāna saṁskāra system is actually twice-born, but those who do not, who deviate from the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, are called dvija-bandhus. The principal occupations for a brāhmaṇa are worshiping the Deity, teaching others how to worship the Deity, studying the Vedic literatures, teaching the Vedic literatures, accepting charity from others and again giving charity to others. A brāhmaṇa should make his livelihood from these six occupational duties. The duty of a kṣatriya is to give protection to the citizens and levy taxes upon them, but he is forbidden to tax the brāhmaṇas. The members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should therefore be exempt from government taxation. Kṣatriyas may tax everyone but the brāhmaṇas. Vaiśyas should cultivate the land, produce food grains and protect the cows, whereas the śūdras, who by quality never become brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas or vaiśyas, should serve the three higher classes and be satisfied. Other means of livelihood are also prescribed for the brāhmaṇas, and these are four-śālīna, yāyāvara, śila, and uñchana. Each of these occupational duties is successively better.
SB Canto 9
Devotional service performed by thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so powerful that although Pṛṣadhra was cursed he avoided the terrible consequence of becoming a śūdra and instead returned home, back to Godhead. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.54):
- yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma-
- bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam ātanoti
- karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājāṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
Those who engage in devotional service are unaffected by the results of their material activities. Otherwise, everyone, from the smallest microbe up to the King of heaven, Indra, is subject to the laws of karma. A pure devotee, being always engaged in the service of the Lord, is exempt from these laws.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
Actually, at the present moment all systems of religion deny the worship of the form of the Lord due to ignorance of His transcendental form. The first-class materialists (the Māyāvādīs) imagine five specific forms of the Lord, but when they try to equate the worship of such imaginary forms with bhakti, they are immediately condemned. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15), where He says, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Bereft of real knowledge due to agnosticism, the Māyāvādī philosophers should not even be seen by the devotees of the Lord, nor touched, because those philosophers are liable to be punished by Yamarāja, the superintendent demigod who judges the activities of sinful men. The Māyāvādī agnostics wander within this universe in different species of life due to their nondevotional activities. Such living entities are subjected to the punishments of Yamarāja. Only the devotees, who are always engaged in the service of the Lord, are exempt from the jurisdiction of Yamarāja.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: (break) ...they do not give for so-called religion, it is better. They are not spoiling the money.
Acyutānanda: The head of that Viśva-Hindu went to Delhi to get tax exemption. So they said, "You drop the name Hindu." They said, "No, we will never drop the name Hindu. Even if you don't give us tax exemption, we will be without the tax exempt but we will never give up our name Hindu."
Prabhupāda: (break) Whatever whimsically you make your law, that is law. Actually they are not fighting. Hindu law means Manu-saṁhitā. So who is pressing them that "We don't require any law except this"? And where is that Hindu, strong Hindu? Hindu means Manu-saṁhitā. (break) ...mānave prāhur. This Manu. Original instruction is coming from Manu. (break) ...the word Manu, the word mānava has come. Just like he has started that mānava-dharma. Mānava-dharma means Manu. That he does not know. From Manu, mānava has come, just like from sādhu, sādhava has come. They do not know even grammar. These leaders, they do not know even grammar. (break) ...chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and take prasādam.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Girirāja: Oh, Tamāla Kṛṣṇa. He's... (break) Yesterday I spent the day in Delhi, and I opened an account with the Punjab Bank in the name of Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust. And we also gave them a letter that the interest from the ten lakhs sixty thousand should go into that Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity account. And I took the original trust of the new trust, the original deed, and I made some photocopies and got them notarized by notary.
Prabhupāda: Photocopy of?
Girirāja: Of the trust deed forming the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust. And then I bought a copy of the income tax act, because there's some provision that if funds are used to restore some ancient place of worship or some place of worship which is famous in a particular state, then that is exempt from income tax. So I think that this fits in with the aims and objects of this new trust. So we should be able to get tax exemption for that. I spoke to Bombay to see how things were doing, and Gopāla Kṛṣṇa said that everything is going nice, and he's coming here on Friday, after two days. So I told him that your condition was very serious and that I wanted to stay here for a little longer. So he said that was okay. I confirmed with Yaśodānandana Swami's assistant that he sent the letter to the South Indian brāhmaṇas to confirm that they can come on the dates which we have fixed. So we're waiting to hear that reply.
Prabhupāda: You can take some brāhmaṇa from here. Balaram...
Girirāja: Yes.
Prabhupāda: They'll chant Veda-mantra very nice
Correspondence
1971 Correspondence
Yes, you can see to making more records, certainly. The more our movement is increased, the more the demand for these records will be there. People here in India are also wanting these records. So you can send one copy of every record as samples here immediately to the above given Bombay address. Records are exempt from our life membership program. Also the new recording described by you meets my approval, so do it nicely. You can send the booklet here as soon as it is ready.
1974 Correspondence
My point is that I cannot employ the society's money in political campaigning. Moreover it is illegal for the society which is a religious society to pay for political campaigns and would cause us to lose our tax exempt status. The alternative, to make a separate brain, separate funds, and separate manpower is a diversion from our spiritual goal. The other political parties are spending lavishly so how can we compete with them. We do not have enough money nor do I wish to spend our money in this way. Therefore I say it is better to stop. You say you plan to run for U.S. Congress. But for this, you can draw no money from the society. So your plan is utopian. Better concentrate on developing the brahminical qualities in the devotees there; that is more important than running for political office. I hope you understand my points.
Regarding the BBT and the Society corporation, yes I want this kind of umbrella corporation. But if there is any difficulty, we have got BBT already tax exempt in India. If there is difficulty in getting BBT tax exempt in USA then we have got it here. You say that the lawyer suggests that BBT be a satellite organ of ISKCON, but does that mean that BBT is separate from ISKCON or not? Ramesvara gives the hint that ISKCON may go into liquidation. I cannot think of it. But, anyway, I cannot at any cost risk BBT if ISKCON goes into liquidation. Why risk the BBT by amalgamating it into ISKCON? Therefore I want to keep BBT separate.
1977 Correspondence
I have heard a rumor by . . . that you have been detected, along with . . ., smoking ganja or other things like that. This is not at all good, and I am very much disturbed to hear it. I had also got one report that you were previously smoking ganja at..... You are one of the important leaders, so if you are feeble and you are still victim of such habits, then the other members who are following your example will be led to ruination by you only. That will be the greatest disservice to Krsna, if we work so hard to make a man a devotee and then seeing the older members taking intoxication and doing all nonsense, they become lost to Krsna, that is the greatest sin. You may be forgiven once, twice, but more than that it is impossible. So I do not know why this weakness has come upon you, you are intelligent boy, but we shall not tolerate such nonsense again. Once before our Rayarama was also detected and exposed as a cheater and he left our society. So no one is exempt from being asked to leave, only I have gt also great affection for you personally and you have done so much service that I am little reluctant to become angry upon you. But do not involve the other devotees in your nonsense activities of intoxication.
| Page Title: | Exempt |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Serene |
| Created: | 27 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=6, CC=1, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=2, Let=4 |
| No. of Quotes: | 14 |