We have not come to beg; we have come to give them something. That is my mission

Expressions researched:
"I am not a beggar. I have come here to give something" |"I have come to this country not to beg, but to give" |"Not we have come to beg, we have to give him something. That is my mission"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

We want to give something to the western countries. That is our purpose. Not we have come to beg, we have to give them something. That is my mission. They come here to beg, "Give me rice, give me dahl, give me wheat, give me money," but I have come here to give something of Indian culture. That is the difference.

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- New York, July 6, 1972:

So if, those who are Indians, especially present in this meeting, that if you want to glorify your country, then you present this Vedic literature. You cannot excel the Western countries by so-called technological knowledge. That is not possible. They are far advanced, hundred years advanced. Whatever machine you may discover, that machine was discovered one hundred years ago in Western countries. So you cannot. Anything. So if you want, Indians, to glorify your country, then present this Vedic culture heart and soul, and . . . just like I am trying to do it.

So how people are accepting it? There is substance. Before me, so many svāmīs came in this country; they could not present the real thing. They wanted some money and went away. That's all. Our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not that. We want to give something to the Western countries. That is our purpose. Not we have come to beg, we have to give him something. That is my mission. They come here to beg, "Give me rice," "Give me ḍāl," "Give me wheat," "Give me money," but I have come here to give something of Indian culture. That is the difference.

So you European, American students, you take full advantage of this Vedic culture. I am therefore so much laboring hard that we . . . before my leaving this body, I may give you some books who you can enjoy after my death. So utilize it. Utilize it. Read every śloka nicely, try to understand the meaning, discuss amongst yourself. Nityaṁ bhagavata-sevayā. That is our mission. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhagavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). Abhadra. We have got so many dirty things within our heart. So these dirty things can be cleansed simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other method.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

I have come to this country not to beg, but to give. That is my mission.

Conversation with Bajaj and Bhusan -- September 11, 1972, Arlington, Texas, At Their Home:

Prabhupāda: Gītā Press also tried to preach Gītā since forty, forty years. But Bhagavad-gītā was . . . published by Gītā Press, was not in the Western countries. And we published this Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in 1968. It is now all over the world. And the Macmillan Company, the biggest publisher of the world, they are taking interest. Not only this book. For this book they are taking gradually all our books.

So our point is: present Kṛṣṇa as it is. That is real Indian culture. Don't present Kṛṣṇa adulterated. Your country will be glorified. The whole world will accept that India has got something to give. You are simply now beggar. So I have come to this country not to beg, but to give. That is my mission. And they are feeling, "Yes, we are getting something substantial."

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

"Yes, you have come here to beg technology. You remain beggar. I have come to give something."

Conversation with Surendra Kumar and O.B.L. Kapoor -- June 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Surendra Kumar: Very nice. They have nothing about . . . nothing of Jana-sangha. They have nothing of R.S.S. They have risen very high. They're now saying that this great country must get the rightful place in the world. Why, with all this spiritual heritage . . .

Prabhupāda: And that should be done.

Surendra Kumar: . . . with all this intellectual power, we should not be . . . we should be with a begging bowl?

Prabhupāda: And that is my mission.

Surendra Kumar: Yes, sir. That's what I'm saying, for the first time. Otherwise nobody would have appreciated in the last government. Who was the person to talk to . . .

Prabhupāda: In the Berkeley University I was speaking. One Indian student got up, and he said, "Swāmījī, what this Hare Kṛṣṇa will do? Now we require technology," like that. (laughter) And "Yes, you have come here to beg technology. You remain beggar. I have come to give something."

Surendra Kumar: Correct, sir. Correct, sir.

Prabhupāda: "I am not a beggar. I have come here to give something," I replied.