Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was a self-realized soul, although outwardly he belonged to a caste lower than the brāhmaṇa in social status. He was not in the renounced order of life, and besides that he was a high government servant in the state. Still, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted him as a liberated soul on the strength of the high order of his realization of transcendental knowledge. Similarly, the Lord accepted Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, a veteran devotee of the Lord coming from a Mohammedan family. And there are many other great devotees of the Lord who came from different communities, sects and castes. The Lord's only criterion was the standard of devotional service of the particular person. He was not concerned with the outward dress of a man; He was concerned only with the inner soul and its activities. Therefore all the missionary activities of the Lord are to be understood to be on the spiritual plane, and as such the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or the cult of Bhāgavata-dharma, has nothing to do with mundane affairs, sociology, politics, economic development or any such sphere of life. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the purely transcendental urge of the soul.
Veteran devotee
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Preface and Introduction
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
Regarding your arrest by the police, it was Krishna's desire, so that it is now authoritatively admitted that we are not guilty. You can take a certified copy of the judgement. This will help not only your center, but other centers also. It will be of considerable aid in getting permission from the police. You take this copy immediately and make several photostat copies, and send to every center and one copy to me. Get mrdangas and karatalas from New York. Keep our books and magazines sufficiently, and make propaganda. You are now a veteran devotee, so you can help others and yourself nicely. Simply you have to execute the principles very rigidly and faithfully. Then everything is there, and all success is at your command. Regarding you taking a job, I hope if you properly execute your activities, you will have no lack of money. In the beginning there may be a little hardship, but everywhere it has proved successful. I have information from Brahmananda that last month they collected about $2,400. So after all, it is all Krishna's money. When He sees us very faithful and trustworthy, He gives up His money for expenditures. Simply pray to Krishna that you may be able by His Grace to serve Him nicely. Our prayer of the Hare Krishna Mantra means addressing Radha and Krishna for being engaged in Their service. Hare Krishna means "Oh Hare, Oh Radharani! Oh Krishna! Please engage me in Your service so that I can get relief from the service of Maya." Just like a person resigns from an inferior quality of service and accepts a superior quality of service, similarly, our prayer to Krishna is to give us relief from the inferior quality of service to Maya, and to be engaged in the superior quality of service to Krishna. Service we have to render, and the whole process is to accept the superior quality of service in Krishna Consciousness.
1971 Correspondence
I am in due receipt of your letter of November 13, 1971, in which you have recommended that Sriman Howard Sorgen and Srimate Jo An McNamara be accepted by me as my disciples. I am very glad to accept them as my initiated students, and I have given their spiritual names as Ganga Narayana das and Jaga Mohini dasi respectively. Now you must guide them very nicely in Krishna Consciousness, because you are a veteran devotee and practically speaking the future of our Krishna Conscious Society rests in the hands of my older disciples. Give them all facility to perfect their lives by protecting them and instructing them nicely, that is now the duty of my senior disciples.
1972 Correspondence
Karandhara has sent many books there from Japan, so you can encourage them there to sell as many books as possible, and all the money can go towards building, there will be no division of Book Fund/Building Fund for the time being.
You can go to Australia, there you have got enough field for your dancing. Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland are very good field and you will have very good assistance from Mohanananda. In New Zealand we have already got one land of 3 acres. You are now a veteran devotee and very sincere, so you organize everything in Australia and New Zealand. Here, Sudama is taking sannyasa to overhaul the whole of Japan. I see these Japanese as better than the Americans, they offered me their obeisances immediately.
| Page Title: | Veteran devotee |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 15 of Jan, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=3 |
| No. of Quotes: | 4 |