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We should be quality devotee, not quantity devotee

Expressions researched:
"we should be quality devotee, not quantity devotee"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

That one moon is taken into account. Who takes account of the millions of stars? Ekaś candras tamo hanti na ca tārā sahasraśaḥ. Quality. So we should be quality devotee, not quantity devotee.
Room Conversation -- May 2, 1976, Fiji:

Guru-kṛpā: What if sometimes disciple, he may go to preach, but he's not preaching in the exact same spirit of his spiritual master?

Prabhupāda: Therefore he is not to be preached. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra: (CC Adi 9.41) "Go to do good to others. First of all you do good to yourself." First of all you become really preacher. Then go to preach. Caitanya Mahāprabhu never sent neophyte to go to preach. For neophyte the preaching is not their business. For neophyte, one should stick to the worship of Deity in the temple. And those who have understood the philosophy, applied the philosophy in his life, he should go for preaching. Otherwise he'll preach wrongly, like.... What is that? Charan das Babaji. And it will stop. He wanted to preach, but he did not know how to preach, and therefore, after his life, it is finished. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu does not say like that, that "You remain a rascal and go to preach." No. Janma sārthaka kari. "Your first business is that you make your life perfect. Then go to preach. Perfect means you learn how to obey My orders." That is perfection. Āmāra ājñāya. So if you are actually, perfectly carrying out the orders of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then you are preaching. Otherwise you will do wrongly, mislead. Don't do that. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). If you remain blind, don't try to lead other blind men. That is misleading. First of all open your eyes. Everything is there. Nobody can do anything whimsically. If you do whimsically, concoctedly, that will be failure. It will not be effective.

Guru-kṛpā: Even though one may get many followers, that is not...

Prabhupāda: Many? What you...? Many followers.... The philosophy you present, it must be followed by everyone. That is wanted. You have got, say, ten thousand followers. That does not mean success. Everyone has got some followers. This.... What is that? Guruji Maharaja. He has got also so-called followers. The T.M., he has got also some followers. Everyone has got some followers. But what kind of followers they have? That is quality. Everything has quality. Simply quantity is not. There are many Christians. Even up to date, some Christian fair or.... Many millions will come. What is the quality? Quality is all meat-eater. But Christian means he should not kill. Where is the Christian? So we have to test by the quality, followers. Not many followers, the quality of the followers. My Guru Mahārāja used to say like that, that "If I get at least one quality disciple, then all my labor will be success." He was saying like that: quality, not the quantity. By quantity if one is amazed, then he is also goru. By quality—what kind of followers? That is the.... From the very beginning my strictures are there, that "You have to follow this"—quality. If I were..., "No, you can do like Vivekananda. Yes, what you can, whatever you like," then I think quantity would have been very, very big. But I don't say. I make him promise before the fire, before the Deity, before guru. (break) That one moon is taken into account. Who takes account of the millions of stars? Ekaś candras tamo hanti na ca tārā sahasraśaḥ. Quality. So we should be quality devotee, not quantity devotee. I have taken two glasses. Just see how nice water is, tap water. Here so many dobs are available, and this rascal is manufacturing RC and he is going as to be..., business. And for hearing Bhagavad-gītā they have no time, and they are trying to go to Vṛndāvana. Quantity, not quality. So civilization should be quality civilization, not quantity civilization. Do that. Bheḍyadāsana. Bheḍyadāsana (indistinct). Bheḍī, lamb, they are going, hundreds and thousands. They flock. So, and if one bheḍī, lamb, is somehow or other pushed into slaughterhouse stockroom, so all the.... All of them. You haven't got to take many. Some way or other, you induce one of them to go into the, what is called, shed, where stocks are kept for taking out daily and killing. So they do not mind that "We are being pushed into this room for future killing. Never mind. One has gone. Go." They'll go. So this is called in Hindi, bheḍyadāsana, that without any consideration, "One has entered. Let us all enter." That is bheḍī, means animal, their disciple like this.

Page Title:We should be quality devotee, not quantity devotee
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:31 of Aug, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1