I have taken practical information. In 1942 there was a manufactured famine in Bengal by the manipulation of the then government. It is for the first time we experienced that India... In our childhood, when we were children, at that time the first-class rice was selling three dollars for 82 pounds. Can you imagine? Three dollars. Not three dollars, I mean to say, dollar is exchange. Say, for less than one dollar, three-fourth dollar. Three rupees. Three rupees. The exchange of dollar and rupees is: five rupees make one dollar. Now, it was selling at 3.8. So about, I mean to, 75 cent. 75 cent for 82 pounds of best rice. I have seen it in my experiencing of life. When I was a boy in India it was selling. Can you imagine that? But that rice all of a sudden rose in 1940, ten dollars. Now, just imagine if something, the price of something, is raised from 75 cent to ten dollars, how difficult it becomes for the public, for general mass of people. So so many people were in difficulty, and so many people died for want of food, diseases, famine, because when there is want of food... But you will be surprised... I inquired in 1942. Persons who were in our line, I mean to say, engaged in devotional service... I also purchased at the same time. I had... In my family life at that time, I had some responsibility: my self, my wife, my five children, servant, and so many, about ten people. And I was purchasing rice. So anyway, management was going on. But so many people died. But you will be surprised. Those who were in some way or other in touch with the devotional service, I inquired from them individually, and I was satisfied that they were not in difficulty even in that famine circumstances. Even from the villages I inquired that "Were you in difficulty?" They replied, "No, we have no difficulty. Some way or other, we are managing." So this is practical. Anyone who is engaged in the devotional service, whose life is dedicated for service of the Supreme, you will see practically that there will be no want, there will be no unhappiness. This is a fact. This is a fact. So
- devān bhāvayatānena
- te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ
- parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ
- śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha
- (BG 3.11)
This Vedic injunction is also like that, that "You do sacrifice for the Supreme. Then you will never be unhappy. You will never be in want." Now, mind that, that the work is not stopped. The work in which you are engaged, that is not stopped. We have discussed in the previous verse that niyataṁ kuru karma tvam. The work which is entrusted to you, or the work in which you are now engaged, that is not to be undone. You work as you are doing. But you engage your, the result of your work or life for the matter of sacrificing for the Supreme Lord.
There is a very good example in the life of the Gosvāmīs, whom we daily pray, vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau. These six Gosvāmīs, they were very important men of their age five hundred years before. These Rūpa and Sanātana, they were great politicians, ministers, of the then Mohammedan government in Bengal. In Bengal at that time the Pathans were ruling. Before the Moguls came, there were Pathans ruling. For one thousand years the Mohammedans invaded India, from 1000 A.D. up to 1947, till the end of the British period. India was under subjugation by so many foreigners: Mohammedans, Greeks, and so many others. Lastly, the Mohammedans ruled for eight hundred years. And the Britishers ruled for two hundred years. So now they have got independence, India. So at that time the Bengal was being ruled by the Mohammedans, Pathans, and their entrusted ministers were these Rūpa and Sanātana. They were converted into practically Mohammedan. Hindu society was very strict at that time. Still they are very strict. Anyone serving a foreigner, he becomes at once ostracized. He is at once, I mean to say, rejected from the social intercourse. So these brothers, Rūpa and Sanātana, because they accepted Mohammedan rulers' service as minister, they were outcasted from the... They were actually brāhmaṇas by caste.
Some way or other, these Rūpa and Sanātana contacted Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and they retired from their service and joined. And after all, they became the most important leaders of this movement, Rūpa and Sanātana. Now, this Rūpa and Sanātana, when they retired from their service, they brought home gold coins. At that time there was no currency notes. Actual value gold coins were in... Now, that gold coins was about two and a half ounce weight. Just like imagine what is the value now, whatever it may be. That means the estimation is some millions of rupees they brought home after their retirement. And they divided the money in this way: 50% for God... Whatever they accumulated, they set aside 50% for God or God's service. God means God's service. God is not want of your money. (chuckles) He is quite competent to earn money. He doesn't require anything. But if we give, it is our interest. It is our interest. So he set aside 50% of his accumulated money for God, 25% for the relatives, family members, and 25% he kept in some village banker or the original bankers, for emergency.
So that was the system. We can see from great sages and ācāryas that whatever we earn... According to Bhagavad-gītā, it is said, yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra. Whatever you earn, yat karoṣi yaj juhoṣi. The result of your work should be offered to the Supreme. Now, if it is not possible to offer the whole thing to the Supreme, so at least one should offer 50% of his income for God's purpose. That is the example we get from these ācāryas. So 50% for God, 25%... Of course, the relatives, they expect something from the father or the chief of the family, some, I mean to say, gift. They expect something. But according to these ācārya rulings, the gift was only 25%, not that whatever money I have got, I leave to my family and go singlehanded to God. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). If God asks you, "What you have sacrificed for Me? You have come to Me." "No Sir. I have sacrificed everything for my family. For my family." That is not good. That is not yajña. Yajña means... Now, if you cannot spare your money separately for God's service, then you can engage yourself in God's service and expend the money for God's service. Don't offer your money in other's hand, but you spend yourself for God's cause. That will make you perfect. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra. That is explained in the next śloka.
- iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā
- dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ
- tair dattān apradāyaibhyo
- yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ
- (BG 3.12)
Now, iṣṭān bhogān, whatever you have got for your subsistence, you should know it is given by God. Now, say for example these grains. The grains, they are given to you by God for eating. You cannot manufacture grain in your factory. You have manufactured or set up so many factories for manufacturing tools, machinery, motor cars, and so many other things for your comfort. But there is not a single factory in the whole world which can manufacture wheats, rice, grains, or vegetables, or something like that. So we should consider it that these foodstuff which we eat daily, they are produced by God's mercy, or they are given by God, iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devāḥ, God or God's agent, whatever it may be.
Tair dattān. And if you take from... Even you produce, even you produce from your land, that is also God's mercy, because for agriculture, for example, if there is no rain, you cannot produce anything. Now, rain, you have no control over rain. We shall come to that point in the next śloka. But if you perform yajñas rightly, you'll have got, you will have sufficient rains to produce everything. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's reign, his kingdom, his government was conducted in that way. Profusely, the nature was producing profusely. How profusely he was benefited by nature's gift, that is stated in the Bhāgavata. I shall recite that, I mean to say, verse before you and explain to you next. So iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ. If you perform this sacrifice, then your necessities will be supplied profusely by the agents of the Supreme Lord. So mind that always, that we are not going to be idle. We shall go on with our work, as we are doing. But at the same time, we must perform yajñas, or sacrifice for the Supreme. Then we'll have sufficient for our necessities. And now, after having sufficient of our necessities, if we don't acknowledge or don't give the taxes of obligation, feel our obligation, then, He said, tair dattān apradāyaibhyaḥ.
Now, God or God's agent is supplying you so many things, and if you do not acknowledge or repay by sacrifice, then what is your position? Yo bhuṅkte. "One who enjoys," stena eva saḥ, "he is a thief." He is a thief, therefore, punishable. As a thief is punishable by the state law, similarly, one who takes advantage of these natural facilities and do not acknowledge it and do not offer sacrifice to the Supreme, then he is considered to be a thief. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, stena eva saḥ (BG 3.12). So yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. So, we are becoming debtors and debtors life after life in this way, and the only way to liquidate our so many debts is to perform yajña.
Now, there are different rituals of yajña. If we want to perform such yajñas for sacrificing clarified butter, grains, there are different, so many kinds of yajñas. It is not possible in this age. For this age, the particular type of sacrifice which is recommended, we had some sample of it yesterday in our, this loft. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32). In this age it is very difficult to perform all those rituals. First thing, it is very difficult to obtain all the ingredients for sacrificing method. And people are not very well to do. They cannot secure also.