Ṛṣabhadeva says that simply for sense gratification, don't work so much. Actually, we haven't got to work. Everything is there. We have repeatedly discussed. Just like in the morning the birds get up, they do not work very hard. They know that "We shall go in some . . . upon some tree, and there is food, there is some fruit, and we shall eat." There is no, good prob . . . very great problem. The animals also, they are assured, everyone is assured. And even human being, just like sannyāsī, they are also assured. Just like when I came to your country, there was no friend, there was no relative, but assurance was there that, "I am going for Kṛṣṇa's business. So there is some provision, never mind where it is." That much faith we must have. Actually, for . . . even one is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, one is not devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he has also provision. That provision is there. Why should we work so hard? Our business is to save time how to become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But people cannot understand this.
Now, how to become detached from this habit of hard working, that is suggested here. It is said, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes. Mahat-sevā, saintly persons, if you associate with them, if you serve them, try to serve them . . . that practice is still in India. If a sannyāsī . . . you'll find from Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is going from village to village, but any village he goes . . . Generally, the sannyāsī goes to a temple, because temple is meant for the traveling sannyāsī. And as soon as one sannyāsī . . . still this custom is prevalent in India, as soon as somebody sees a sannyāsī has come in a temple, somebody from the village . . . not somebody, but many will come, "Sir, you can take your lunch at my place." So there is no scarcity. Many people will come to invite you, still. Therefore many pseudo or phony svāmīs, they have taken this profession, because there is no difficulty getting food.
So mahat-sevā. The . . . what is the idea? The idea is the gṛhasthas, they know that, "We are simply engaged in the matter of sense gratification. If we invite some saintly person at home, if he eats at my place, then, we commit so many sinful activities, we'll be saved." This is the process. Therefore, a sannyāsī is advised to accept prasādam in the house of a brāhmaṇa, because a brāhmaṇa is supposed very, to be . . . become very pious. If you take foodstuff from impious men, then that means you are taking share of his impious activities. But a saintly person, they can digest, but if cannot digest, then you have to suffer. This is the process. Then he has to suffer. Therefore the safety principle is to accept luncheon in a pious family, where there is Vaiṣṇava family or brāhmaṇa family. Not that anywhere we can accept cooked food. Sometimes we have to do it, but that is against principle. We should not accept food anywhere and everywhere, unless he is pious. The brāhmaṇas are supposed to be pious; therefore a sannyāsī is advised to accept food, luncheon, in the brāhmaṇa family. And brāhmaṇa family, still—not all, a few families still in India—they worship regularly Nārāyaṇa-śilā, śalagrāma-śilā.
Therefore one should be anxious to give some service to the saintly persons. Mahat-sevā dvāram. If you engage yourself how to serve a saintly person, then your door for going back to Godhead will gradually become open. Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes. This human body is in the junction. You can go this way or you can go that way. This way means mahat-sevā, liberation. But people do not understand what is liberation. They are so dull. They have been . . . their education system is so rubbish that they do not know what is liberation. Just like cats and dogs, they do not know what is liberation. Liberation means to get out of this false conditional life. I'm thinking I'm this body, which I'm not, and therefore I'm acting on the bodily concept of life and becoming entangled more and more, so that I have to accept another body, another body, another body. This is my conditional state of life. And there is so much risk to accept another body. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, tathā dehāntara-prāptir: you have to accept another body. And what kind of body I'm going to get, that I do not know.
Now suppose if I get another body in the plant life, a tree. A tree can stand for thousands of years. And if we get that sort of life, how much risky it is to accept another body. It is also possible . . . those who are performing big, big yajñas, charity, they can expect to be transferred to the heavenly planet. But those who are not doing anything, living like cats and dog, oh, their life is very risky. Very risky. But they do not know. There is no such education. But here it is recommended that mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur. If you associate with saintly persons, then there is possibility of your door being opened for liberation. Dvāram āhur vimuktes.
So we are opening many centers all over the world. Why? To give people chance of having this association of a Vaiṣṇava, mahat, mahātmā. Therefore those who are in charge of such centers, they must be ideal mahātmās. Mahātmā means devotees. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso (BG 9.13). Mahātmā means whose ātmā, whose soul, is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord. He's mahātmā. Otherwise kṣūdrātmā. God is all-pervading. So whose ātmā has become attached to the all-pervading Supersoul, he's called mahātmā. Otherwise, kṣūdrātmā. If we are . . . our heart is attached to limited circle of my friends, wife, children, home, country, then I am kṣūdrātmā, because that is limited. Kṣūdrātmā or durātmā. The opposite is mahātmā. Mahan, great. So we have to associate with mahātmā. Mahat-sevā. How associate?
Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34), to associate. Therefore, it is the custom whenever one goes to see one saintly person, he gives something for service, either fruits or something presentation. That is necessary. Mahat-sevā, it is said. Sevā means service. Mahat-sevā. Not that I go to see one mahātmā, saintly person, and talk with him with all rascal proposal, and waste his time and his own time also. That is not association of the mahātmā. Mahat-sevā. You must approach a saintly person to give him some service. This is the beginning. Spiritual advancement of life means you have to give some service. That service begins when we serve the representative of Kṛṣṇa, mahātmā. He's spiritual master or saintly person. So mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes.
And just the opposite number is, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam. Yoṣit. Yoṣit means enjoyable, female, or prakṛti. The nature has made in such a way that the male form or female form that attracts, that is called yosit. There are so many things for our attraction, not that simply woman is attractive. No. Woman is a form. Rūpa, rasa, śabda, gandha, sparśa, this is called the tāṇ-mātra, enjoying . . . we have got senses, so there must be object of enjoyment of the senses.