dadāti pratigṛhṇāti guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam
Translation: ―Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.‖
Connection: In previous lessons we mentioned that one‘s desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps – sangat sanjayate kamah. Therefore, if we want to progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have to associate with devotees. Text 4 explains what association consists of. It also begins to explain how one should associate with devotees.
Further instructions on how to associate with different types of devotees are found in texts 5 and 6.
Explanation
BP: 2nd and 3rd verse talk about sanga tyagat and jana sanga. But we are social beings, if we don‘t know how to associate with devotees, we‘ll be forced to associate with non-devotees.
Here is the explanation – how to sweetly and affectionately associate with devotees. This is most basic and essential in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
BACE: Association is required. E.g. of Bharata Maharaja. He didn‘t had association fell down deer associated with sadhus Jada Bharata avoided bad association.
BG‘s principle of association – 2.62 – sangat sanjayate… Wherever these 6 items are present, it is association. Upadeśāmrita is collection of general principles given in various śāstras.
You can give same 6 principles to a businessman to advance.
(Para 1)
In this verse Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains how to perform devotional activities in the association of other devotees.
(1) giving charity to the devotees,
(2) accepting from the devotees whatever they may offer in return,
(3) opening one's mind to the devotees,
(4) inquiring from them about the confidential service of the Lord,
o An experienced devotee explains, and an inexperienced devotee learns from him. This is guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati.
(5) honouring prasāda, or spiritual food, given by the devotees, and
o When a devotee distributes prasāda, remnants of food offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in order to maintain our spirit of devotional service we must accept this prasāda as the Lord's grace received through the pure devotees.
(6) feeding the devotees with prasāda.
o We should also invite pure devotees to our home, offer them prasāda and be prepared to please them in all respects. This is called bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva.
(Para 2)
Even in ordinary social activities, these six types of dealings between two loving friends are absolutely necessary.
o When one businessman wishes to contact another businessman he arranges a feast in a hotel (5, 6), and over the feast openly expresses what he wishes to do (3). He then inquires from his business friend how he should act (4), and sometimes presents are exchanged (1, 2).
o BACE: Even though we may nicely practice KC alone, we‘ll not be happy, as we‘ll not be able to share it.
o BACE: The 6 dealings should be with priti, else it will not give satisfaction.
Wherever there is priti, these 6 dealings will happen automatically. They are spontaneous, not mechanical.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been established to facilitate these six kinds of loving exchanges between devotees.
o BACE: You lovingly offer food to deity and deity lovingly returns it as mahā prasāda. E.g. Gopinath and Madhavendra Puri. But when offering food, don‘t accept that this will give me mahā prasāda.
o Because people are coming forward and dealing with the give-and-take policy, the Society is now expanding all over the world.
BACE: Prabhupāda revealing secret of expansion of ISKCON.
BP: Some devotees left. Prabhupāda said it seems they came to take something. Devotees: No Prabhupāda. Prabhupāda: But we want them to take our rules and regulations.
o Pratigṛhṇāti: People are donating very liberally
o Dadāti: People are also eagerly accepting humble contribution in the shape of books and magazines dealing strictly with the subject matter of Krishna consciousness.
BACE: Prabhupāda made TKG sit before him and eat more and more prasāda. TKG thought what is happening. Prabhupāda, ―Give me advance Laxmi for BTG in godown and then distribute it.‖ TKG couldn‘t refuse because his stomach was full.
BACE: Initially Prabhupāda didn‘t gave any rules and regulations, but only prasāda. Later they felt obliged, ―can we help you wash dishes.‖
If you want to transform someone‘s heart, first give prasāda.
Prabhupāda, ―Two things are very important – prasāda and holy name distribution.‖
BACE: In name of preaching don‘t forget to associate with peers and seniors. Keep a balance. E.g. Prabhupāda and Akincana Kṛṣṇa dāsa Babaji Maharaja.
o Bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva: Hare Krishna festivals and invite life members and friends to participate in the feasting by accepting prasāda.
CCP: KC is sometimes called kitchen religion. Prasāda is the way KC enters into lives of many people. Even in early days Prabhupāda would offer simple apple to visitors. He knew so many recipes from his very confidentially about the methods of performing devotional service, and we try to explain this.
o The life of the Krishna conscious society is nourished by these six types of loving exchange among the members.
o Therefore people must be given the chance to associate with the devotees of ISKCON because simply by reciprocating in the six ways mentioned above an ordinary man can fully revive his dormant Krishna consciousness.
Bhagavad-gītā (2.62) sańgāt sañjāyate kāmah: one's desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps.
A man is known by his company
HPS: One does not have to go to Prabhupāda‘s ―Pure devotee God brothers‖ (Though he may).
o BP: Until now we were studying how to associate. Following we‘ll learn why to associate.
o Since Krishna consciousness is inherent in every living entity, everyone should be given a chance to hear about Krishna.
BACE: Morning walk in London. Frozen lake. Prabhupāda pierced the layer of ice. ―So, what is the meaning of this?‖ KC is present in everyone. Because of conditioning there is thick layer of anarthas. Simply apply pressure of KC to awaken pleasure of KC. Then the natural state of water – liquid will come up.
BACE: Prabhupāda ate onion garlic in sabji once at a lady‘s house at Delhi. Chastised his disciples why they didn‘t inform her in advance. Later she sponsored 10 day pandal program.
Not to encourage going on invitation and eating onion and garlic, but to be sensitive if one is serving lovingly.
BP: In Hong Kong an Indian boy and his mother came to meet Śrīla Prabhupāda. They were vegetarians, but her husband was meat eater. They expressed desire to cook for Prabhupāda. He agreed – ―it is my duty to accept service.‖
o BP: Prabhupāda can do it, but we should not eat where meat is being cooked and on a higher level we should eat only where prasāda is available. One gets karma of place where he eats. One‘s mind becomes wicked.
BP: 7 up became bona fide due to Prabhupāda. But, you better be strict.
BACE: Prabhupāda started life member program so that these 6 loving exchanges continue for life time. It is the duty of devotees if you receive something – donation – you have to give something back. Life members must get books.
Prabhupāda took care of Mr Sethi of Juhu – please get a quarter here, he refused.
o Simply by hearing and chanting — śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ — one's heart is directly purified, and one's original Krishna consciousness is immediately awakened.
CCP: Even if audience is not receptive, sincere speaker of Kṛṣṇa Katha benefits. E.g. Sanjaya.
o Krishna consciousness is not artificially imposed upon the heart, it is already there.
o When one chants the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the heart is cleansed of all mundane contamination.
(Para 3)
HPS: Śrīla Prabhupāda continues with this theme that the essence of ISKCON is to allow people to associate with us by hearing and become purified; and that distributing the Holy Names is a fine example of ‗dadāti‘, giving and receiving gifts.
Not only is the chanter of the mahā-mantra purified, but the heart of anyone who happens to hear the transcendental vibration of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is also cleansed.
Even the souls embodied in lower animals, insects, trees and other species of life also become purified and prepared to become fully Krishna conscious simply by hearing the transcendental vibration.
o E.g. Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Jharikhanda forest. We cannot imitate, but follow.
Contributing or distributing the holy name of the Lord is a sublime example of contributing or giving charity (the dadāti principle).
By the same token, one must also follow the pratigṛhṇāti principle and be willing and ready to receive the transcendental gift.
One should inquire about the Krishna consciousness movement and open his mind in order to understand the situation of this material world. Thus the guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati principles can be served.
o BACE: Devotees would come to meet in night. Devotees: We‘re going now, we are disturbing your work. Prabhupāda: It is also my work to talk to you.
Prabhupāda replied to so many letters and all in lot of details.
(Para 4)
HPS: Returns to glorifying ISKCON and introduces the negative injunction of not sharing these six loving exchanges with the demons.
The members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness invite the Society's members and supporters to dine with them when they hold love feasts in all their branches every Sunday.
o BACE: Prabhupāda won‘t think small, most ISKCON managers will faint if they hear his Sunday feast standards.
o BACE: Prabhupāda and disciples went for food invitation. Next day a devotee slept for long. ―I saw you ate 11 puris.‖ You have to take care of jihvā vegam as in text 1.
Many interested people come to honor prasāda, and whenever possible they invite members of the Society to their homes and feed them sumptuously with prasāda. In this way both the members of the Society and the general public are benefited.
BP: Above section gives essence of ISKCON. ISKCON is based on these 6 principles, not on any managerial structure. These 6 activities should happen in various forms in ISKCON.
People should give up the company of so-called yogīs, jñānīs, karmīs and philanthropists because their association can benefit no one.
If one really wants to attain the goal of human life, he should associate with devotees of the Krishna consciousness movement because it is the only movement that teaches one how to develop love of God.
Religion is the special function of human society, and it constitutes the distinction between human society and animal society.
o Animal society has no church, mosque or religious system.
o In all parts of the world, however downtrodden human society may be, there is some system of religion.
o Even tribal aborigines in the jungles also have a system of religion.
When a religious system develops and turns into love of God, it is successful. (sa vai pumsah paro dharmo…)
(Para 5)
HPS: A summary
If the members of human society actually want Peace of mind, tranquillity and friendly relations between men and nations, they must follow the Krishna conscious system of religion, by which they can develop their dormant love for Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(Para 6)
HPS: Elaboration on idea started in para 4.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura warns all devotees engaged in broadcasting the Krishna consciousness movement not to speak to the impersonalist Māyāvādīs.
o The world is full of Māyāvādīs and atheists, and the political parties of the world take advantage of Māyāvāda and other atheistic philosophies to promote materialism.
BP: Religion is the opium of masses (by Karl Marx) came from Western view of religious system of India.
BP: If varnasrama is not working correctly, better to correct that instead establishing democracy.
o Analogy: No benefit in feeding a snake milk and bananas because the snake will never be satisfied. On the contrary, by taking milk and bananas the snake simply becomes more poisonous (kevalam visha-vardhanam).
For a similar reason, we should not disclose our minds to the serpent Māyāvādīs and karmīs. Such disclosures will never help.
o It is best to avoid association with them completely and never ask them about anything confidential because they cannot give good advice.
o BACE: They made not make you reject bhakti immediately, but they will poison you enough to have doubts about process of bhakti.
Nor should we extend invitations to Māyāvādīs and atheists nor accept their invitations, for by such intimate intermingling we may become affected by their atheistic mentality (sańgāt sañjāyate kāmah).
It is the negative injunction of this verse that we should refrain from giving anything to or accepting anything from the Māyāvādīs and atheists.
o BP: One elevated sadhu in Vṛndāvana had Bhagavatam class every day. One day he went to eat at a feast at a temple and came back to give Bhagavatam class. A woman passed nearby from him. He became lusty for a moment. He immediately got up and started moving towards Yamuna to drown himself.
People stopped him.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has also warned, vishayīra anna khāile dushta haya mana:
"By eating food prepared by worldly people, one‘s mind becomes wicked.‖
o HPS: CC 3.6.278
Unless one is very advanced, he is unable to utilize everyone's contribution to further the Krishna consciousness movement; therefore on principle one should not accept charity from the Māyāvādīs or atheists.
Indeed, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has forbidden devotees to associate even with ordinary men who are too addicted to material sense gratification.
(para 7)
The conclusion is that we should always o keep company with devotees,
o observe the regulative devotional principles, o follow in the footsteps of the ācāryas and
o In full obedience carry out the orders of the spiritual master.
In this way we shall be able to develop our devotional service and dormant Krishna consciousness.
A madhyama adhikari is expected to
o love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, o make friends with the devotees,
o show favor to the ignorant and o Reject the jealous and demoniac.
In this verse there is brief mention of the process of making loving transactions with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and making friends with the devotees.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has set such an example in his life. When he decided to retire, he distributed fifty percent of his life's earnings to Krishna's service and twenty-five percent to his relatives and kept twenty-five percent for personal emergencies. This example should be followed by all devotees.
o HPS: Do you follow this? In what way?
Whatever one's income, fifty percent should be spent on behalf of Krishna and His devotees, and this will fulfil the demands of dadāti.
o BACE: Even if people are not taking, the principle of dadāti should continue.
If no one comes for program, speak to 4 walls. Prabhupāda did like this one time, initially no one came for a lecture, so Prabhupāda gave lecture to 4 walls and recorded it. Next time when people came, he played the lecture. If you feel you are not receiving love, you are not giving enough love. Bali Maharaja kept on giving. Prabhupāda: If you want to repay my debt, give this love to others.
(Para 8)
HPS: Introduction to text 5.
In the next verse, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī informs us what kind of Vaishnava should be selected as a friend and how Vaiṣṇavas should be served.
Lesson Seven (Text Four)
Q.1. What are the six symptoms of love share by devotees and others?
Ans. (i) Offering gifts in charity, (ii) Accepting charitable gifts (iii) Revealing one‘s mind in confidence; (iv) Inquiring confidentially, (v) Accepting prasāda, and (vi) Offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by devotees and others.
Q.2. What is the sublime example of contributing or giving charity?
Ans. Contributing or distributing the holy name of the Lord is a sublime example of contribution or giving charity (dadāti principle).
Q.3. Why one should inquire and open his mind to KC movement?
Ans. One should inquire and open his mind to Krishna Consciousness movement in order to understand the situation of this material world. Also, this way one will be able to serve the guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati principles as well.
Q.4. To attain the goal of human life what one needs to do?
Ans. If one really wants to attain the goal of human life, one should associate with the devotees of the Krishna consciousness movement because it is the only movement that teaches one how to develop love of God.
Q.5. What is the distinction between human society and animal society?
Ans. Religion is the special function of the human society whereas animal society has no such system. In all parts of the world, however downtrodden human society may be, there is some system of religion, even the tribal aborigines in the jungles have some system of religion but the animal society has no churches, mosque or any religious system.
Q.6. What is required for peace of mind, tranquillity and friendly relations between man and nation?
Ans. If the members of human society actually want peace of mind, tranquillity and friendly relations between man and nations, they must follow the Krishna conscious system of religion, by which they can develop their dormant love for Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and as soon as they do so, their minds will immediately be filled with peace and tranquillity.
Q.7. Why Śrīla Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura warns not to speak about mayavadis?
Ans. Śrīla Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura warns the devotees who are engaged in broadcasting the Krishna consciousness movement not to speak to the impersonalist mayavadis who are always determined to oppose such theistic movements.
Q.8. Why and how the political parties take advantage of Mayavadis and atheists?
Ans. Political parties take advantage of Mayavadis and other atheistic philosophers to propagate materialism and atheisms in the society. They seek the help of Mayavadis and atheistic philosophers to back their party or the political parties‘ gives strong backing to such mayavadis and atheistic philosophers who are engaged in propagation of materialism and atheisms. Because they do not want the Krishna consciousness movement to develop as it educates people in God consciousness.
Q.9. What is the policy of atheists and mayavadis?
Ans. The policy of atheists and mayavadis is to stop or destroy the movements like Krishna Consciousness because it educates the people in God consciousness.
Q.10. Explain the analogy of feeding milk and banana to serpents with Mayavadis and Karmis?
Ans. Disclosing one‘s mind to Mayavadis and Karmis is like feeding milk and banana to serpents because just like feeding serpent will increase only his venom which will be
Ans. Disclosing one‘s mind to Mayavadis and Karmis is like feeding milk and banana to serpents because just like feeding serpent will increase only his venom which will be