"Sannyasa Mentality"

April 12, 1975


Prabhupada: ...any language, you should submit, and you should feel that, that "I am worthless. My Guru Maharaja has given this chance to serve Krsna, to offer Krsna... My Lord, I am worthless. I have no capacity to serve You. But on the order of my Guru Maharaja, I am trying to serve You. Please do not take any offense. Accept whatever I can do. That's all. That is my request." That mantra is sufficient. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Krsna never said that "One who offers Me with Sanskrit mantra." Yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Real thing is bhakti, feeling: "How to serve Krsna? How to please Him?" That is wanted. Not to see that you are a very good scholar in speaking in Sanskrit or English or... That is not... Always feel that "I am worthless, but I have been, by the grace of my Guru Maharaja, I have been given the chance. So kindly accept whatever little service I can give. I am offensive. So kindly excuse me." In this way be humble, meek, and offer your feeling, and Krsna will be satisfied. Not that you have to show how you can speak in Sanskrit language.

Guest (1) (Indian man): In another sloka, trnad api sunicena taror...

Prabhupada: Yes.

Guest (1): ...api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31].

Prabhupada: (Hindi) So you, for the time being, engage. See that the Hindi publication is done very nice.

Guest (2) (Indian man): What I thought was... [break]

Prabhupada: Anasritah karma-phalam karyam karma karoti yah, sa sannyasi [Bg. 6.1]. Anasritah kar... Everyone is expecting some good result for his sense gratification. That is asritah karma-phalam. He has taken the shelter of good result. But one who does not take shelter of the result of activities... It is my duty. Karyam. Karyam means "It is my duty. Doesn't matter what is the result. I must do it sincerely to my best capacity. Then I don't care for the result. Result is in Krsna's hand." Karyam: "It is my duty. My Guru Maharaja said it, so it is my duty. It doesn't matter whether it is successful or not successful. That depends on Krsna." In this way, anyone, if he works, then he is a sannyasi. Not the dress, but the attitude of working. Yes, that is sannyasa. Karyam: "It is my duty." Sa sannyasi ca yogi ca. He is yogi, first-class yogi. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna officially, he did not take sannyasa. He was a grhastha, soldier. But when he took it very seriously, karyam -- "Krsna wants this fight. Never mind I have to kill my relatives. I must do it" -- that is sannyasa. First of all he argued with Krsna that "This kind of fighting is not good, family killing...," and so on, so on, so on. He argued. But after hearing Bhagavad-gita, when he understood that "It is my duty. Krsna wants me to do it." Karyam. So in spite of his becoming a householder, a soldier, he's a sannyasi. He took it-karyam. Karyam means "It is my duty." That is real sannyasa. "Krsna wants that this Krsna consciousness movement must be spread. So this is my karyam. This is my duty. And the direction is my spiritual master. So I must do it." This is sannyasa. This is sannyasa, sannyasa mentality. But there is formality. That should... That may be accepted.

Guest (3) (Indian man): That has got some psychological effect.

Prabhupada: Ah. In India especially, people like. Sannyasi may preach. Otherwise, the formula of sannyasa is given-karyam: "But this is my only duty. That's all. Krsna consciousness movement should be pushed. This is my only duty." He's sannyasi. Because Krsna personally comes, He demands... Sarva-dharman parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna, He says, yei krsna tattva vettha sei guru haya: "Anyone who knows the science of Krsna, he's guru." And what is the guru's business? Yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa: [Cc. Madhya 7.128] "Whomever you meet, you just try to impress upon him about the instruction of Krsna." Sarva-dharman parityaja... So in this way, if we take it up, very seriously -- "This is my duty" -- then you are a sannyasi. That's all. Sa sannyasi. Krsna certifies, sa sannyasi. People are not taking seriously about Krsna's teaching. That is India's misfortune. They're bringing in so many competition of Krsna. Is Krsna... And "Krsna... Ramakrishna is as good as Krsna." This rascaldom has killed. They have done the greatest disservice. Instead of Krsna, they have brought one rascal, Ramakrishna.

Bhagavata: They have big matha in Bhuvanesvara.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Bhagavata: In Bhuvanesvara, they have big Ramakrishna matha. Vivekananda School, library, so much land, everything, very organized.

Prabhupada: So we can do that. You have to convince people. There is no question of making competition with them. But you, you can preach your own philosophy anywhere.

Guest (3): With that happening with the people in Orissa...

Prabhupada: Hm?

Guest (3): ...try to convince them: No, that is false and this is the way.

Prabhupada: No, their Ramakrishna Mission allurement is that daridra-narayana-seva and hospital. That is their only allurement. They have no program. Nobody is attracted by their philosophy. And what philosophy they have got? Never mind. We are not concerned with them.

Madhudvisa: When we were in Mayapur, I had the idea of...

Prabhupada: Aiye (Hindi) (Aside:) Hare Krsna. Jaya.

Guest (4) (Indian man): Puri Maharaja.

Prabhupada: Puri Maharaja? Oh? (Bengali) Oh. This Caitanya Mahaprabhu? (Sounds like looking at child's? drawing) Very good. Hang it here. Very good.

Madhudvisa: Get some ropes.

Prabhupada: No, get some rope. Just read. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Conversation with Devotees -- April 12, 1975, Hyderabad