as if God is unable...

[Guest guest]

Dear Giri-nayaka Prabhu,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

>So, If God isn't doing that, maybe we shouldn't do it either.

 

It would be wise to be careful about drawing such far-stretching conclusions

from such a shaky premise.

 

After all, when did you last see God care for ladies, kids or senile

parents? Or, for that matter, distributing books? So if is not doing it --

why should we?

 

Luckily, we do not have to keep musing what God does or does not. He Himself

gives a very simple equation to calculate what we should be doing to others,

in SB 3.29.26:

 

€tmana ca parasy€pi yaƒ karoty antarodaram

tasya bhinna-do mtyur vidadhe bhayam ulbaŠam

 

"As the blazing fire of death, I cause great fear to whoever makes the least

discrimination between himself and other living entities because of a

differential outlook."

 

In other words, we should be able -- and happy -- to put ourselves into our

own ethical framework that we are formulating for other people.

 

And if we are happy to be indecisive about whether we should feed a hungry

person or not, we should be just as happy about somebody else's doubting if

he has to feed hungry us.

 

>I just wish to share this quote, because

>this is also Prabhupada. I think it is our duty to take "full" Prabhupada,

>not just parts, that we like.

 

Thank you for sharing this quote with me, among others.

 

Your suggestion to take "full" Prabhupada is very proper and reasonable.

Drawing conclusions from selected excerpts is deceptive and intellectually

dishonest.

 

>From what I could gather, it appears that Srila Prabhupada was indeed

emphasizing the utter importance of prasadam distribution while trying to

prevent our movement from turning into yet another mundane charity, which

ultimately helps no one and makes us feel ourselves, and not Krsna, to be

real benefactors.

 

Just to make my small contribution to the "full Prabhupada" picture on

prasadam distribution, below is what I could muster searching for 30 minutes

through just his lectures.

 

Here in comes -- pure 100% Prabhupada's words, no sugar or water added.

Enjoy!

 

Ys, Mmd

 

----------------------

 

SB 5.5.1-2 -- London, September 13, 1969

 

So if we human beings, if we forget even ordinary mercy, compassion and

gratefulness, then what is that human life?

 

Sri Vyasa Puja Address — New Vrindaban, September 2, 1972

 

Devotee: Prabhup€da, you say that an animal has no chance for liberation.

What would happen if an animal came in contact with a pure devotee?

 

Prabhup€da: Yes, there is chance of deliverance. Yes. Even an animal.

Because he'll hear Hare KŠa from the pure devotee. That will not go in

vain. He'll give pras€dam. He does not know, but the devotee out of

compassion gives pras€dam, chants Hare KŠa. He also gets the opportunity

of hearing. So he'll also be liberated.

 

Sannyasa Initiation Lecture — Calcutta, January 26, 1973

 

So par€tma-ni˜h€m. The sanny€s… should worship the Deity in the temple and

feed the poor. Poor does not mean that one who has no legs, no ears, or

no... Poor... Everyone who is spiritually poor, he should be given pras€dam.

By eating, pras€de sarva-duƒkh€n€ˆ h€nir asyopaj€yate. That is called

param€tma-ni˜h€m. Yajña. It is called yajña-i˜€ino santo mucyante

sarva-kilbiaiƒ. It is not poor-feeding. It is distributing the resultant

action of yajña. This worship is yajña. So yajña-i˜€ino... If you feed

some men, not the so-called poor, everyone, then they'll be freed from their

sinful activities. Yajña-i˜€ino santaƒ mucyante sarva-kilbiaiƒ.

Kilbiaiƒ means sinful activities. Therefore pras€da distribution. Because

everyone is engaged simply duktinaƒ, simply sinful activities. Eating

everything, doing everything, and they're life is full of sinful activities.

Therefore to deliver them this pras€da distribution is required. Mucyante

sarva-kilbiaiƒ. Not that cooking in an, like a hotel, and sometimes, out of

compassion, we distribute pras€dam. That kind of, means bhuñjate te aghaˆ

p€p€ ye pacanty €tma-k€raŠ€t [bg. 3.13].

 

Bhagavad-g…t€ 4.22 — Bombay, April 11, 1974

 

So if we want to serve poor people, that's all right. That is a good

business. You are merciful. That also we are doing when we distribute

pras€dam for everyone's benefit, not for the daridra-n€r€yaŠa or rich

n€r€yaŠa, everyone, KŠa's pras€da.

....

 

God is supplying food to everyone—to the birds, beasts, ants, insects,

aquatics. There is no such question that "I have to feed them." If you have

to feed them, just try to give them kŠa-pras€dam. Pras€de sarva-duƒkh€n€ˆ

h€nir asyopaj€yate. This is the policy.

 

 

Bhagavad-g…t€ 4.24-34 — New York, August 12, 1966

 

Indian: What is the importance of pras€dam? Importance of pras€dam?

 

Prabhup€da: Pras€da? Pras€da means mercy. Mercy. Pras€da means

prak˜a-r™peŠa s…dati. That is pras€da means completely satisfied.

 

Indian: At the end of this, you will give us some pras€da. What is the

importance of that pras€da?

 

Prabhup€da: Oh, that. Yes. Pras€da. Very good. That pras€da is KŠa's

favor. KŠa's special favor. That is pras€da. Pras€de sarva-duƒkh€n€ˆ h€nir

asyopaj€yate. If we simply eat KŠa pras€da, without any culture, we can

get spiritual knowledge. All right. Let us have sa‰k…rtana. (end)

 

 

Bhagavad-g…t€ 7.3 — Nairobi, October 29, 1975

 

Devotee (1): ®r…la Prabhup€da, he states about Africa, that the food...,

that they do not know what to eat tomorrow, and in fact, that here it's very

hard for them to understand KŠa consciousness. My question is which, what

can we do which is...?

 

Prabhup€da: Go and chant Hare KŠa and give them food. They are hungry.

Then it will be successful. Chant Hare KŠa, let them come and dance with

you, and give them pras€dam. They are hungry. It will be success. It is not

difficult at all. That was Caitanya Mah€prabhu's preaching to the mass of

people. He would chant for four hours, and after finishing k…rtana, He'll

give them sumptuous food to eat. Caitanya Mah€prabhu was doing this. So you

can do this. You collect money not for your eating but for distribution of

pras€dam. That is required. And if you do that, KŠa will send you.

Yoga-kemaˆ vah€my aham [bg. 9.22]. There will be no need. We have got about

102 centers, and each center, there are so many people, up to 250, and not

less than fifty. So KŠa is sending their food. There is no scarcity. We do

not do any business. We do not go to serve in the office, but KŠa is

sending. One hundred and two centers, average hundred men—how many? Hundred

into hundred? Hm. So ten thousand men we are feeding daily, apart from

distribution to others. So KŠa is sending them. So you can attain.

Everything belongs to KŠa. He'll give you supply. You have to attempt

only. So chant Hare KŠa and distribute pras€dam, your movement will be

success.

 

 

®r…mad-Bh€gavatam 2.3.13-14 — Los Angeles, May 30, 1972

 

Every living entity has soul. As KŠa says, sarva-yoniu kaunteya [bg.

14.4]. So he's kind not only to the human society. These philanthropists,

altruists, nationalists, "this-ists, that-ists." This... They are partial.

First of all, they may be kind... They are not kind. They are all selfish.

But even though they are kind, they are kind to their own men. Not even

outsiders. Not to the outsiders. In your country, they'll throw away grains.

But there are so many hungry people; why they should not give? Produce more,

if you have got land. You have got men. And they are not producing, they are

(not?) engaging. The men are becoming hippies and they're lying idle,

without any production. God has given so much land. Produce. Distribute

pras€dam. This is kindness.

 

But because they are not KŠa conscious, they cannot be kind. Faultless.

You cannot find any fault of the devotee. Faultless. Magnanimous. Thinking

of all living entities. There is no distinction, "Oh, I am American, I shall

think for the Americans.I am Indian, I shall think for..." No.

Magnanimous.

 

 

®r…mad-Bh€gavatam 5.5.2 — Hyderabad, April 12, 1975

 

ViŠujana: Why don't we serve man instead of chanting Hare KŠa?

 

Prabhup€da: We are not going to follow your instruction. We have to follow

the instruction of the €stra. You cannot say that "Why you are..." Are we

not serving the man? We are trying to give you the knowledge of KŠa. Is it

not serving the man? The better service—to give knowledge. If a man is

hungry, he can give some food. That will give him some temporary benefit.

But if you give him knowledge how to earn his livelihood, that is better

gift. So people are suffering for want of knowledge. So this KŠa

consciousness movement is giving knowledge to the whole world. Not only

that, we are giving pras€dam also, hundreds and thousands of people. We are

not that simply we are giving knowledge, but we are giving, we are inviting

everyone, "Come, live with us peacefully, take KŠa pras€dam and be KŠa

conscious." This is our movement. That's all? One more.