Acchedya Prabhu: Following Prabhupada’s order on producing first class fruits and vegetables
Adi-lila, 9.44: I am merely a gardener. I have neither a kingdom nor very great riches. I simply have some fruits and flowers that I wish to utilize to achieve piety in My life.
PURPORT
In performing welfare activities for human society, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presents Himself as being not very rich, thus indicating that a man need not be rich or opulent to act for the welfare of humanity. Sometimes rich men are very proud that they can perform beneficial activities for human society whereas others cannot. A practical example is that when there is a scarcity of food in India on account of meager rainfall, some members of the richer class very proudly distribute foodstuffs, making huge arrangements with the help of the government, as if merely by such activities people will be benefited. Suppose there were no food grains. How would the rich men distribute food? Production of grains is completely in the hands of God. If there were no rain, there would be no grains, and these so-called rich men would be unable to distribute grains to the people.
The real purpose of life, therefore, is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Rupa Gosvami describes in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu that devotional service is so exalted that it is beneficial and auspicious for every man. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also declared that to propagate the bhakti cult of devotional service in human society, one does not need to be very rich. Anyone can do it and thus render the highest benefit to humanity if he knows the art. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu takes the part of a gardener because although a gardener is naturally not a very rich man, he has some fruits and flowers. Any man can collect some fruits and flowers and satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service, as the Lord recommends in the Bhagavad-gita (9.26):-
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
One cannot satisfy the Supreme Lord by his riches, wealth or opulent position, but anyone can collect a little fruit or a flower and offer it to the Lord. The Lord says that if one brings such an offering in devotion, He will accept it and eat it. When Krishna eats, the entire world becomes satisfied. There is a story in the Mahabharata illustrating how by Krishna’s eating, the sixty thousands disciples of Durvasa Muni were all satisfied. Therefore it is a fact that if by our life (pranaih), by our wealth (arthaih), by our intelligence (dhiya) or by our words (vaca) we can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, naturally the entire world will become happy. Therefore our main duty is to satisfy the Supreme Godhead by our actions, our money and our words. This is very simple. Even if one does not have money, he can preach the Hare Krishna mantra to everyone. One can go everywhere, to every home, and request everyone to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. Thus the entire world situation will become very happy and peaceful.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_sn8DsUkkQ
Although I am acting as a gardener, I also want to be the tree, for thus I can bestow benefit upon all.
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most benevolent personality in human society because His only desire is to make people happy. His sankirtana movement is especially meant for the purpose of making people happy. He wanted to become the tree Himself because a tree is supposed to be the most benevolent living entity. In the following verse, which is from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.22.33), Krishna Himself highly praised the existence of a tree.
“Just see how these trees are maintaining every living entity! Their birth is successful. Their behavior is just like that of great personalities, for anyone who asks anything from a tree never goes away disappointed.”
PURPORT
According to Vedic civilization, ksatriyas are considered to be great personalities because if anyone goes to a ksatriya king to ask for charity, the king will never refuse. The trees are compared to those noble ksatriyas because everyone derives all kinds of benefits from them-some people take fruit, others take flowers, others take leaves, others take twigs, and others even cut the tree, and yet the tree gives to everyone without hesitation.
Unnecessarily cutting trees without consideration is another example of human debauchery. The paper industry cuts many hundreds and thousands of trees for its mills, and with the paper so much rubbish literature is published for the whimsical satisfaction of human society. Unfortunately, although these industrialists are now happy in this life by dint of their industrial development, they do not know that they will incur the responsibility for killing these living entities who are in the forms of trees.
This verse, quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam, was spoken by Lord Krishna to His friends when He was taking rest underneath a tree after His pastime of stealing the clothes of the gopis (vastra-harana-lila). By quoting this verse, Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us that we should be tolerant like trees and also beneficial like trees, which give everything to the needy persons who come underneath them. A needy person may derive many advantages from trees and also from many animals, but in modern civilization people have become so ungrateful that they exploit the trees and animals and kill them. These are some of the sinful activities of modern civilization.
The descendants of the tree [the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu] were very glad to receive this order directly from the Lord.
PURPORT
It is the desire of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that the benevolent activities of the sankirtana movement, which was inaugurated five hundred years ago in Navadvipa, be spread all over the world for the benefit of all human beings. Unfortunately, there are many so-called followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu who are satisfied simply to construct a temple, make a show of the Deities, collect some funds and utilize them for eating and sleeping. There is no question of their preaching the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. But even though they are unable to do so, if anyone else does it they become envious. This is the condition of the modern followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Age of Kali is so strong that it affects even the so-called followers of Lord Caitanya. At least the followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu must come out of India to preach His cult all over the world, for this is the mission of Lord Caitanya. The followers of Lord Caitanya must execute His will with heart and soul, being more tolerant than the trees and humbler than the straw in the street.
The fruit of love of God is so relishable that wherever a devotee distributes it, those who taste the fruit, anywhere in the world, immediately become intoxicated.
PURPORT
Here the wonderful fruit of love of Godhead distributed by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described. We have practical experience that anyone who accepts this fruit and sincerely tastes it immediately becomes mad after it and gives up all his bad habits, being intoxicated by Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s gift, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The statements of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta are so practical that anyone can test them. As far as we are concerned, we are most confident of the success of the distribution of the great fruit of love of Godhead through the medium of chanting the maha-mantra-Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
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