Temple rules

[Guest guest]

RULES FOR THE TEMPLE BY HIS DIVINE GRACE SRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA

SARASVATI THAKURA

 

 

My dear...

 

"...One should be very careful that no mood of foppery enters into

Caitanya Math in order to ruin the sannyasis and brahmacaris. The examples

that we getting should not be tolerated. The householders also, like a

sannyasi, should overcome the urges of lust and anger. Everyone should

consider himself to be very low and serve the residents of the math and

other Vaisnavas.

 

Those who are not residents of the math, but are staying in the

math, for some business, or wanting some favor from the math, should always

be willing to serve the residents of the math, and the math. The residents

of the math should never behave indecently with a guest in the math. The

residents should reject the mentality that the math is their property, and

that the guests are objects of their mercy. A guest should be treated with

highest honor-everybody in this world should be respected. Otherwise

we may land up in the same distress that the materialists are suffering. A

resident of the math should remember all these things very carefully. One

should always serve Krsna there shouldn't be any mistake in that, and more

indispensable is the service to a Vaisnava.

 

"Everybody should be remind very nicely that cars, horses, launch,

and men, are all meant for the use of the math, not for any individual's

display of foppery. Luxurious eating should be totally stopped. The

sannyasis who will not indulge in foppery, they should be recognized as the

Gaudiya Math sannyasis. The rest should be sent back to their respective

homes.

 

If our man power decreases due to that, that is still better. The

ones, who have taken shelter of the math but are motivated by their bellies

and genitals, if they are driven away, then the expenses of the math will

be reduced, the pleasure-loving, sense-gratifying managers should not be

allowed to waste money. Everyone should earn for the math. It is important

to make a list about how much one earns. It is not necessary to eat, buy

medicine and display foppery more than one earns. The ones who come to

render devotional service are brahmacaris, grhasthas, vanaprasthas and

sanyasis. The ones who do not render devotional service, the math will not

give them shelter, because they do not deserve it.

 

One should never think: "I have rendered a lot of service to the

math, so I will use the car". This is the mentality of a materialist. One

who is serving the math, should do that without any expectation of a return.

Because everyone has come to serve the math. It anyone takes anything in

return of his service to the math, or serves himself, then will become a

sense gratifier.

 

When one is a guest, then he cannot demand, he should eat according

to the wish of the host. One who is busy having his sense gratification

should be asked to leave .

 

Your ever well wisher,

Sri Sidhanta Sarasvati

 

 

(Collins Cobuild English Sictionary describes foppish:" If you desribe a

man as foppish, you disapprovve of the fact that he iis vain and dresses in

fancy, extravagant clothes, an old-fashioned word.")