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If you cannot lead others, what kind of leader? If you mislead them, then what is the use of taking leadership?

Expressions researched:
"If you cannot lead others, what kind of leader" |"if you mislead them, then what is the use of taking leadership"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

So what kind of leader? If you cannot lead others, what kind of leader? If you mislead them, if you mislead them, then what is the use of taking leadership?


Morning Walk -- February 26, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: . . . no more desire of material enjoyment, he is fit for sannyāsa. Anyone who sees, "Oh, this car is very nice. This beautiful wife is very . . . very beautiful woman is very nice," he should not think of taking sannyāsa. Viṣa-bhakṣaṇād apy asādhu (CC Madhya 11.8): "Such desires is most abominable, more than taking poison." To commit suicide by taking poison is most abominable thing, because he's going to be a ghost. He'll be punished to become a ghost, those who commit suicide. Or, if one is suddenly killed and he has so many desires, he becomes ghost. Therefore viṣa-bhakṣaṇa, taking poison, and die untimely, is most abominable. Or commit suicide. By the material law also, to attempt to commit suicide is criminal. You know that?

Devotees: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is criminal. (Bengali) If you take sannyāsa . . . just like there are so many sannyāsīs, for filling up the belly. Wherever you go they give some alms. But in . . . outside India, who cares for the sannyāsī? Then why you should be eager to take sannyāsa and cheat yourself? You cannot cheat others, but you can cheat yourself.

Hṛdayānanda: Outside India a sannyāsī will starve.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) So I do not know why our disciples are so anxious to take sannyāsa, at least those who are outside. Everyone comes: "Give me sannyāsa." What is the idea?

Jayapatākā: Freedom from authority.

Prabhupāda: Eh? Eh? Who cares him, for authority?

Jayapatākā: No, they . . . they don't want to take order as brahmacārī. If they're sannyāsī they think they can do as they feel.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They all want to become leaders.

Prabhupāda: So what kind of leader? If you cannot lead others, what kind of leader?

Jayapatākā: That's why a brahmacārī should . . .

Prabhupāda: If you mislead them, if you mislead them, then what is the use of taking leadership?

Jayapatākā: That's why that system where a brahmacārī is recommended for one year and then he proves himself by doing some extraordinary preaching work is a very good system. Otherwise, anyone just comes and by pressurizing and begging and pleading, then they try to take sannyāsa. Then they don't stay to the path.

Prabhupāda: Sannyāsa means ultimate success, because this human life is meant for becoming disgusted with this material life: "No more." Material life means to take a body and enjoy this material, āhāra-nidrā, sleeping twenty-four hours, eating like elephant, and sex life like a monkey, these animals. This is material life: eating, sleeping, mating, and always afraid of. This is material life. And human life means to take freedom from these four things: no more afraid, no more sex, no more hankering after eating or sleeping. That is success. Everyone . . . you'll see in the sparrow in the morning, they're enjoying sex. So this is material life: eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca (Hitopadeśa 25). And spiritual life means to become free from all these nonsense. That is spiritual life. They do not know what is spiritual life. The whole world, they do not know what is spiritual life. This is spiritual life, to become free from these four abominable things.

Hṛdayānanda: They are trying to increase these four things.

Prabhupāda: That means cheating themselves. What is the use of taking sannyāsa and cheat yourself? Material life means punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30), repeatedly doing the same thing. Either as human being or as monkey or as a small ant or the demigods, but doing the business is the same, four things: eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. In different scale, doing the same business. Therefore it is called punaḥ punaḥ, "again and again," carvita-carvaṇānām, "chewing the chewed." If one is sober, he thinks that "These four business, I have done many, many lives, as sparrow, or as jackal, or as demigod, and I have got this human form. Again I am doing this? So what is benefit of this human form of life?" This is sense. "I got this valuable life, and I am still doing the same thing as dogs and cats and sparrows? Then what is the difference between me and the dogs?" That is sense. "What is my better engagement?" That better engagement is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then his life is successful. Otherwise what is the use of? Again become a sparrow. Again wait for millions of years to come by evolutionary process to the human form of life. You see? This is going on. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram (SB 7.5.30). Because they cannot control the sense, they are going in the darkest part of this material existence.

Page Title:If you cannot lead others, what kind of leader? If you mislead them, then what is the use of taking leadership?
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:09 of Oct, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1