street sweeping honest livelihood

[Guest guest]

 May 2 1976 Transcedental Diary, Hari Sauri prabhu.

 

.....Gurukåpa Mahäräja then brought the conversation closer to home. He wanted

to

know about Çréla Prabhupäda's Godbrothers, because they have disciples, they

are properly initiated, and they give the Hare Kåñëa mantra.

Prabhupäda gave us a frank, unbiased analysis from his own broad perspective

and successful experience. "The thing is the spirit, real service of

preaching, stopped. The formality is going on, but the real business. ...

 

"Caitanya Mahäprabhu's movement means ämära äjïäya guru haïä tära' ei deça

[become a guru and try to liberate everyone on this landCCc. Madhya 7.128]

That is stopped. Do you follow? The formality is there, but the real life of

Caitanya Mahäprabhu's movement is preaching. Otherwise why Caitanya

Mahäprabhu says, ämära äjïäya guru haïä tära' ei deça. Tara means preaching.

Yäre dekha täre kaha 'kåñëa' upadeça [instruct everyone to follow the orders

of Lord Çré Kåñëa as they are given in the Bhagavad gétä and Çrémad

BhägavatamCCc. Madhya 7.128] And that is stopped. They are satisfied if they

could construct one temple and beg some rice from the neighborhood: 'Sir, we

have got some temple.' That's all. They are satisfied. The spirit of

preaching forward "päpé täpé yata chila, hari näme uddhärila that is

stopped.

"So by hari näma, by chanting, by this way, to live little peacefully in the

temple and eat and sleep, that much they have got. If that is the success,

that success they have got. And this was condemned by my Guru Mahäräja, that

'To earn some money by showing Deity in the temple and eat and sleep? Better

you become a sweeper in the street and earn your honest livelihood and

live.'"

Many temples in Våndävana have the same mentality, he said. They think of

the operation of the temple as a business; that if people are coming and

they give something, that is their good income. "According to the temple's

popularity, they think, 'This is our success.' Therefore they are

deteriorating. So that is not success. Success is his who is pushing forward

the preaching method. That is his success. And if we think that 'By showing

a temple Deity we get some money and rice and cloth and just peacefully live

here; don't bother about going to Fiji and all over. ...' That much success

they have got. But that is not Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Påthivéte äche yata

nagarädi gräma, sarvatra pracäraCWhat they are doing for that? That is

point."

"What if sometimes a disciple, he may go to preach, but he's not preaching

in the exact same spirit of his spiritual master?" Gurukåpa wanted to know.

"Therefore he is not to preach," Çréla Prabhupäda said. "Caitanya Mahaprabhu

says, janma särthaka kari' kara para upakära: 'Go to do good to others.

First of all you do good to yourself.' First of all you become really

preacher. Then go to preach. Caitanya Mahäprabhu never sent neophyte to go

to preach. For neophyte the preaching is not their business. For neophyte,

one should stick to the worship of Deity in the temple.

"And those who have understood the philosophy, applied the philosophy in his

life, he should go for preaching. Otherwise he'll preach wrongly, like

Caraëa däsa Bäbäjé. And it will stop. He wanted to preach but he did not

know how to preach, and therefore after his life it is finished. So Caitanya

Mahäprabhu does not say like that, that 'You remain a rascal and go to

preach.' No. Janma särthaka kari'. 'Your first business is that you make

your life perfect. Then go to preach. Perfect means you learn how to obey My

orders.' That is perfection. Ämära äjïäya. So if you are actually,

perfectly, carrying out the orders of Caitanya Mahäprabhu, then you are

preaching. Otherwise you will do wrongly, mislead. Don't do that. Andhä

yathändhair upanéyamänäù. If you remain blind, don't try to lead other blind

men. That is misleading. First of all open your eyes. Everything is there.

Nobody can do anything whimsically. If you do whimsically, concoctedly, that

will be failure. It will not be effective."