# Kṛṣṇa’s Servant ## 1. How will our pride in being doers be destroyed? Become lower than the straw in the street. Think yourself the Supreme Lord’s servant. Then your prideful thinking that you are the doer will go away. In such a state of mind, you can chant the holy name of Hari happily. ## 2. How can one attain Kṛṣṇa’s service? Until one is liberated one is not qualified to serve Kṛṣṇa. One who gives everything to Kṛṣṇa is a liberated soul. Conditioned life means to be miserly; you do not want to give Kṛṣṇa everything. The liberated souls serve Kṛṣṇa with everything they possess. All their endeavors are meant to please Kṛṣṇa. Without the spiritual master’s mercy one cannot give everything to Kṛṣṇa. That is, one cannot becomes liberated. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the spiritual master’s possession. Without guru’s grace no one can achieve Kṛṣṇa or become qualified to serve Him. We have to serve Kṛṣṇa through the spiritual master. Then only will we attain Kṛṣṇa’s service. Service to Kṛṣṇa is impossible if subordination and service to the spiritual master is absent. ## 3. Are there no duties for the living entities other than serving Kṛṣṇa? The living entities are Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servants. They have no duty other than to render Him service. But this truth is manifest only in the hearts of those who have unshakable faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the spiritual master. The day we realize that the spiritual master, who personifies service, is nondifferent from Śrī Caitanyadeva, that is the day we will attain Śrī Gaurasundara’s service; on that day we will attain the good fortune of being allowed the confidential service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. When we understand that the spiritual master is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva’s intimate associate, then Śrī Rādhā-Govinda’s pastimes will manifest in our pure, uncontaminated heart. ## 4. Who does Lord Kṛṣṇa attract? Kṛṣṇa attracts the three worlds. The Absolute Truth is all-attractive. But magnets attract iron, not wood, and the worshipable Lord attracts His servants and those inclined toward His service by the sweetness of His service and not others. If at some point those inclined to service become attracted to something other than Kṛṣṇa, they fall away from the main attraction. On the one side there is attraction to material existence, the source of material bondage, and on the other side, attraction to all-auspicious Kṛṣṇa. The objects of material attraction—form, taste, smell, touch, and sound—are near to us. Because we are so weak, it is easy for us to become attracted by them. Realizing our danger, we should constantly hear hari-kathā from guru and the Vaiṣṇavas. Only that will relieve us of our enemies. If we are not attracted to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, we will become attracted to Maya. If we can become attracted to Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, pastimes, and qualities, we will find respite from the present trouble caused by our enjoying spirit. The more we discuss Kṛṣṇa, the more our pride as enjoyers is destroyed and the more Kṛṣṇa will attract us. ## 5. Who is the director of the living entities? Lord Viṣṇu alone directs and controls all living entities. The Supreme Lord awards the fruits of our karma according to what we deserve. The living entities develop particular propensities according to their previous karma. These propensities become effective when inspired by the Supreme Lord. Therefore the Supreme Lord is the cause and the living entities are the effect; the Supreme Lord is the controller and the living entities are the controlled. Whatever karmic reactions the living entities are enjoying in the present, and whatever reactions they will enjoy in the future, the Supreme Lord is responsible as the director and bestowal of those reactions. But the Lord directs the various types of living entities differently. He personally directs the surrendered devotees, whereas He allows His illusory energy Maya to direct the godless living entities on His behalf. ## 6. Is the performance of varṇāśrama-dharma one of the soul’s constitutional duties? The sages have instructed us to become fixed in the practice of varṇāśrama-dharma. It is certainly important to follow varṇāśrama-dharma, but Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva questioned its necessity. Varṇāśrama-dharma is not our eternal dharma. It is not the constitutional propensity of the soul and therefore not our constitutional duty. Rather, it speaks to certain material propensities that lead toward self-realization even while we remain in the conditioned state. Varṇāśrama-dharma is based on trying to worship Lord Viṣṇu from a particular position. It is not unmotivated, uninterrupted, pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Service to Kṛṣṇa is not rendered from the platform of varṇāśrama. Varṇāśrama only admits a little Viṣṇu worship. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that we should first ascertain who we are. To decide that we are brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, or śūdras, sannyāsīs, gṛhastas, vānaprasthas, or brahmacārīs is all right, but these are temporary designations of conditioned living entities. They are not our eternal constitutional position. We are eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa. A spirit soul is a servant of the Supersoul. Serving the Supersoul is a living entity’s duty. ## 7. How should we think of ourselves? Although I am Kṛṣṇa’s servant, at present I am not completely eligible to remain in His service. At present I am unable to attain His association, unable to understand hari-kathā. Therefore my first duty is to try my best to understand that I am Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant. Unless I associate with sādhus and take shelter at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, I will not be able to understand who I am—I will certainly not attain self-realization by my own endeavor. ## 8. Are the designations expressed in varṇāśrama-dharma eternal? Every living entity considers his body the self, but the living entities should learn to think as follows: “I am the Lord’s eternal servant and it is my eternal constitutional duty to serve Him. I belong neither to the four varṇas nor the four āśramas.” If this is true, how can varṇāśrama dharma be an eternal dharma? By properly following the practices of varṇāśrama dharma, one receives an immense advantage both in this life and the next. One can follow the varṇāśrama system as long as one has a material body. It is appropriate when one is trying to make material advancement. It is good to follow this system as long as one wanders throughout the fourteen worlds. But it has no use in the spiritual world. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu states: nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā kintu prodyan nikhila-paramānanda-pūrṇāmṛtābdher gopī-bhartu pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ I am not a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra. I am not a brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, or sannyāsī. What am I? I am the eternal servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” (Padyāvalī 63) The Supreme Lord is cognizant, as are the living entities, because they are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and share His qualities. But the living entities are not super-cognizant; they are only minutely cognizant. Therefore the living entities are subordinate to the Supreme Lord. Because they have misused their independence, the living entities have been degraded. As soon as they fall down from the Lord’s service, they begin to suffer material miseries. Once they again engage in His service, they attain auspiciousness. ## 9. Who are the harijanas? The word harijana is currently being misused. Harijana actually refers to the transcendental devotees who have attained self-realization. Those who are unalloyed servants of Hari, having taken shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, are harijanas. It does not matter whether they were born in one family or another; they are harijanas as long as they have no other ambition than to serve Hari. It is both improper and unauthorized to call nondevotees who have not attained self-realization harijanas. Although everyone by nature is an eternal harijana, as long as they are materially conditioned they cannot bear the name harijana. We will not hesitate to call them harijanas if they begin to engage in Hari’s service and attain self-realization. Paddy is nothing but rice, yet it cannot be used in place of rice. When the paddy’s husks are removed, then we call the paddy rice. Similarly, although all living entities are servants of Hari, only when they engage in Hari’s service do we call them harijanas. ## 10. What is the duty of all living entities? Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, is the supreme enjoyer and the eternal object of everyone’s service. The jīvas’ eternal constitutional duty is to serve Him. Forgetting that service, the living entities sometimes become impersonalists and consider themselves God. At other times, they become busy following the varṇāśrama principles in the guise of material enjoyers. Sometimes they care only to please their wives. Therefore I say, O living entities! Give up your false pride, self-adoration, and subordination to your wives. Please serve the Supreme Lord under the direction of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Rūpa-mañjarī. Please constantly engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service under the guidance of the gopīs of Vraja. ## 11. What is the science of living entities? The word jīva means “living entity” or “one who has life.” The Supreme Lord has three principal energies, the internal energy, the external energy, and the marginal energy. The jīvas belong to the Lord’s marginal energy. The jīvas are factual, not false like flowers in the sky. The jīvas are unborn. They are not created but are eternally present. Even though the living entities are conscious, they have only a minute amount of consciousness. The Supreme Lord is super-conscious. Therefore there is a gulf of difference between the jīvas and the Supreme Lord. Śrī Mahāprabhu explains that the Lord and the jīvas are different in that the Lord controls Maya while the jīvas are controlled by Maya. The Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, whereas the jīvas are insignificant parts of the Lord. The Lord controls Maya whereas the jīvas live under Maya’s control. The living entities are by nature Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servants, and Kṛṣṇa is their eternal master, controller, protector, and object of service. It is the eternal function of the jīvas to serve Kṛṣṇa. Caitanya-caritāmṛta states: jīvera ’svarūpa’ haya——kṛṣṇera ’nitya-dāsa’ kṛṣṇera ’taṭasthā-śakti’ ’bhedābheda-prakāśa’ It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa, and a manifestation of simultaneously one with and different from the Lord. (Madhya 20.108) kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore, the illusory energy [Maya] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence. (Madhya 20.117) sādhu-śāstra-kṛpāya yadi kṛṣṇonmukha haya sei jīva nistare, māyā tāhāre chāḍaya If the conditioned soul becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious by the mercy of saintly persons, who voluntarily preach scriptural injunctions and help him to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, the conditioned soul is liberated from the clutches of Maya, who gives him up. (Madhya 20.120, 122) tāte kṛṣṇa bhaje, kare gurura sevana māyā-jāla chuṭe, pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa In the Kṛṣṇa conscious state, the living entity engages in devotional service under the direction of the spiritual master. In this way he gets out of the clutches of Maya and takes shelter under the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. (Madhya 22.25). We are spirit souls, not these bodies and minds. The spirit soul is the body’s proprietor. When an embodied soul gives up his body, the body remains behind. The jīva is fully spiritual. The mind is the reflection of spirit, and the body a product of dead matter. The mind is part of the subtle body; it is the reflection of animation meddling with the world. The mind is not synonymous with the spirit soul. The mind always wanders about in the external world and can both accept or reject the gross objects in this world as well as provide information about the Absolute Truth. It can tell us that we are spirit, and that we are neither body or mind. We are separate from the body, just as a house and its proprietor are two separate items. The jīva is the proprietor of his or her gross and subtle bodies. It is only out of ignorance that the jīvas consider their body to be the self. Śrī Mahāprabhu states: jīvera svabhāva kṛṣṇa-’dāsa’ abhimāna dehe ātma-jñāne ācchādita sei ’jñāna’ The original nature of every living entity is to consider himself the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. But under the influence of Maya he thinks himself to be the body, and thus his original consciousness is covered. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 24.201) vastuta pariṇāma-vāda sei se pramāṇa dehe ātma-buddhi ei vivartera sthāna Transformation of energy is a proven fact. It is the false bodily conception of the self that is an illusion. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 7.123) The living entity is eternal, not temporary like the gross and subtle bodies. The jīvas’ miserable condition is due to their forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the healthy condition for jīvas. To consider themselves Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servants is their constitutional position. Considering themselves enjoyers, the jīvas are diseased. Turning toward Kṛṣṇa is the only effective medicine. To help the godless living entities turn toward Kṛṣṇa is real compassion and is the highest type of welfare work. Kṛṣṇa’s living entities are suffering because they have forgotten Him. If the sādhus can influence them to dovetail all their activities with Kṛṣṇa’s service, they will become eternally happy. ## 12. Is it possible to make someone a Vaiṣṇava? It is not possible to either become a Vaiṣṇava or make someone else a Vaiṣṇava. Everyone in this world is already by nature a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, everyone is Lord Viṣṇu’s servant. One can understand this fact when one associates with devotees. ## 13. Who are the devotees? The Vedas say that one who is situated in his constitutional position is a devotee. It is the living entity’s nature to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa, so a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service is a devotee. Devotees of Kṛṣṇa are certainly saintly, because devotional service qualifies them as such. Those who have no devotion for Kṛṣṇa cannot be called sādhus. Nondevotees are not saintly. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta states: asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra ’strī-saṅgī eka asādhu, ’kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra A Vaiṣṇava should always avoid the association of ordinary people. Common people are very much materially attached, especially to women. Vaiṣṇavas should also avoid the company of those who are not devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. (Madhya 22.87) kṛṣṇa-bhakta niṣkāma, ataeva ’śānta’ bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī sakali ’aśānta’ Because a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jñānīs desire liberation, and yogīs desire material opulence; therefore, they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful. (Madhya 19.148) ## 14. How can we destroy our desire for material enjoyment? Only when we realize, by the mercy of guru and sādhu, that we are servants of the Supreme Lord will we attain auspiciousness. As soon as we receive transcendental knowledge our propensity to enjoy matter will be destroyed. Until we understand the principle that we are servants of the Lord and devotees of Viṣṇu we will continue to see the material world as meant for our enjoyment. We will not be able to see this world in the mood of īśāvāsyam. We try to lord it over material nature. The only hope we have of spiritual survival is to seek the association of a pure devotee. Those who desire their ultimate benefit should not approach preachers who are puffed up with lust, anger, greed, ego, or envy. If they do, they will never attain transcendental knowledge. Unless we associate with great personalities who are free from material desire, our own desire for material enjoyment will not be destroyed. We will not realize ourselves as the Lord’s servants. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta states: mahat-kṛpā vinā kona karme ’bhakti’ naya kṛṣṇa-bhakti dūre rahu, saṁsāra nahe kṣaya Unless one is favored by a pure devotee, one cannot attain the platform of devotional service. To say nothing of kṛṣṇa-bhakti, one cannot even be relieved from the bondage of material existence. (Madhya 24.97) sādhu-saṅga-kṛpā kimvā kṛṣṇera kṛpāya kāmādi ’duḥsaṅga’ chāḍi’ śuddha-bhakti pāya One is elevated to the platform of devotional life by the mercy of a Vaiṣṇava, the bona fide spiritual master, and by the special mercy of Kṛṣṇa. On that platform, one gives up all material desires and the association of unwanted people. Thus, one is elevated to the platform of pure devotional service. (Madhya 22.51) ## 15. What is transcendental knowledge? That we are the object of worship, the proprietors, and the enjoyers are material concepts born of ignorance. We are meant to be entirely enjoyed by the Lord. We are His servants and He is the only enjoyer. Such realization constitutes transcendental knowledge. ## 17. Who is our master? Lord Kṛṣṇa is the master of all and the only object of service. I always remember that I am Kṛṣṇa’s servant. There is no question of our well-being until we are liberated from the mentality of wanting everyone to serve us. Every devotee should consider himself the most fallen and should engage in the service of other devotees in the Maṭha. Do not forget that service to Kṛṣṇa is our eternal duty. Service to the spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas is even more essential than service to Kṛṣṇa. ## 18. Are the Vaiṣṇavas akiñcanā? The Vaiṣṇavas are under the Supreme Lord’s shelter and are His servants. Their only pride is to be His servants. And they are akiṅcana, without material possessions, because they want nothing from this world. Nothing in this world tempts them. There is nothing in this world or the next that is more desirable than the beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s toenails. Whenever we are not attracted to serving Kṛṣṇa purely, it must be understood that we are suffering from illusion and have been attacked by the many faces of Maya. ## 19. What is the difference between the Supreme Lord and the living entities? The difference between the Supreme Lord and the living entities is that the Supreme Lord is the object of worship and the living entities are His worshipers. The living entities are meant to serve and the Lord is meant to accept service. The Lord is complete, perfect, and infinite, and the living entities are the most insignificant. The Supreme Lord is the supreme spirit, and the living entities are the supreme spirit’s parts and parcels. The Lord controls Maya and the living entities are controlled by Maya. Caitanya-caritāmṛta confirms: māyādhīśa’ ’māyā-vaśa’ īśvare-jīve bheda hena-jīve īśvara-saha kaha ta’ abheda The Lord is the master of the potencies, and the living entity is the servant of them. That is the difference between the Lord and the living entity. However, you declare that the Lord and the living entities are one and the same. ( Madhya 6.162) ## 20. Is the living entity the puruṣa ? The living entity is neither male, female, nor neuter. The designations of male and female relate only to the body. The living entity is not the body but the soul, the body’s owner. The soul serves the Supersoul. The living entity is not matter but cognizant spirit. Therefore the soul is qualified to see and speak with the Supersoul. The living entities develop their spiritual bodies based on their particular moods. Those who worship Kṛṣṇa in the mellow of conjugal love develop female bodies to serve as Kṛṣṇa’s lovers, whereas those who serve the Lord as servants of the Lord’s friends attain male bodies. In the eternally pure spiritual body there is no difference between male and female. The maleness or femaleness of the body simply reflects a devotee’s internal mood. ## 21. Who can actually worship Kṛṣṇa? Until one is fixed in the conviction that, “I belong to Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa is mine,” one cannot worship Kṛṣṇa. One who has unflinching devotion at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet and who considers himself Kṛṣṇa’s servant is capable of worshiping Kṛṣṇa. A devotee thinks, “Kṛṣṇa is my only self-interest. I belong to Kṛṣṇa. Apart from Him I have no interest in anything unrelated to Kṛṣṇa.” One who completely surrenders to Kṛṣṇa can attain His complete mercy. Those who have other interests cannot attain Him or even understand what He is. Certainly they cannot understand what it means to love Kṛṣṇa. Such persons are simply entangled in their various obligations, such as duty to country, fellow citizens, and relatives. Because of that entanglement they become bereft of the guru’s service and lose track of their real self-interest. It takes intelligence to act on one’s self-interest and to serve the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. ## 22. Why do we act as doers? Acting as the doer is a symptom of our unfortunate state. The living entities are not God, and therefore cannot become either master or enjoyer. Kṛṣṇa alone is the supreme enjoyer. We are all His eternal servants. But we try to become local leaders, heads of villages, kings of countries, and lords of the whole world, while forgetting this simple truth. Such is our misfortune!