Money

[muralidhar_das]

 

 

Pradyumna Prabhu: One question I had for a long time. I inquired, I was talking with Babaji Maharaj, Krsnadas Babaji Maharaj and also Bon Maharaj, they were saying that in the beginning Gaudiya Math, there was some very simple life and there was much stress on the preaching and everything. They said but later, as there was money and more facility, there were some problems arising from that.

 

 

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Of course, this is natural. You see Prabhupad gave explanation of the same. We take money from the visayi, worldly men, and with the money the poison also comes to be digested. So some trouble will come.

 

 

Pradyumna Prabhu: If we take money from people there is poison?

 

 

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Of course. That poison will be minimized by the handling of the sadhu. Visaya bisa, one who can digest poison, taking money from visaya, but one who can digest it, he utilizes it, poison is also medicine. You see you can utilize the poison as medicine, his divine agent.

 

 

Pradyumna Prabhu: So visaya is poison but it can also be utilized as medicine.

 

 

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: So one who can utilize the poison as nectar in medicine, otherwise it will kill the person who is taking the sampati or the visayi. Understand? Visaya visa. There with visa the energy, sampati means energy, the energy coming and carrying the mentality of the owner. That is there.

 

 

Pradyumna Prabhu: In the same way I came in the beginning when Srila Prabhupad started in America, and now I see somethings are here now which were not there then. Some things which are not so good, so I am just comparing, how to always, naturally this will come as one gets bigger and bigger, more money comes, more buildings come. And many different people are attracted.

 

 

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Enchanted by money and begins to make trade. Making money, begins to and his soul is dead and the activity of the worldly men begins. By amassing money the real principle is lost. If the adhikari is not a genuine one, then he is carried away by the money towards exploiting world. Kamani kancana. Mahaprabhu did not like to see Prataparudra because he was visayi.

 

 

Sannyasa visayinan asau yahi ganca ta hanta hanta visa bhaka nacata sadhu. More than swallowing the poison. For a sannyasi, it is more dangerous to see the king that is the embodiment of visaya, the embodiment of monetary wealth, in the center of the management of the material prosperity, the king, and the visayi, josi means to tends to enjoyment, to come in connection with these two is to swallow poison, Mahaprabhu says. So one must be careful. This is of course meant for the single bhajan, that who are in the company, sadhu-sanga and the highest type of sadhu on the head, by his, to obey him, to discharge the duties given by the mahatma, and they can have clothes and things to give to the feet of their mahatma. They are agents, near agent.

 

 

You see once at Krsna janmastami, all the preachers were taken back from the compass of the country and they were concentrated to work in Calcutta, from door to door they used to have to go for collecting bhiksa. And Bon Maharaja in a party with one or two brahmacaris, went to a part of Calcutta for collection.

 

 

He asked those gentlemen, please give me the address of a few good benevolent gentlemen to whom we can approach and we get some money for our purpose. Those gentlemen showed, "just go to that house, there you will find someone." And that was the house of a prostitute. Bon Maharaja went in good faith and pushed on the door, door was open, so lady came, Oh you are sadhu, what do you want from me. And that person who asked Bon Maharaj to go to that house, he was laughing there. And Bon Maharaja gave the lady the letter for invitation, "we have got such and such festival, we want you to come, and we will be happy to get some contribution from you".

 

 

Whether the lady gave something or didn't give I don't know. And Bon Maharaj came back, these people were laughing and Bon Maharaj came to Prabhupad, and said "Prabhupad, I went to go for collection. And it happened that these rogues just guided me to the prostitute's house. I won't go out for any collections." Then Prabhupada delivered a lecture. "There are many of you who has left their own property, but still I send them out for collection. Do you think that I do it wrongly? No. The visayi always wants to entrap us within their business. But everything should be utilized, we must learn to utilize everything and anything for the service of Krsna.

 

 

Then only we are saved. Otherwise if we leave, give it away, it is left there, and when it will get any chance they will come to bite me. So whatever comes to us, we should deal with them in such a way, that anywhere I shall come across anything that would rather give some impression about remember Krsna, utilize me for this particular service for Krsna. All friendly? The left there will be enemies. But they should all be made friends. They will help me remind me, excite me in the service of Krsna. We must have such adjustment in this world. So nothing should be left off. Do you follow? Nirbandha krsna sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate. Sa pancitayah buddah hari sambandhi vastunah mumuksubhi parityajya vairagyam. That is a bogus vairagya. Artificial vairagya. This is full vairagya. To leave everything, all non Krsna, non Krsna. And proper vairagya, to see everything in the service of Krsna, nirbandha krsna sambandhe.