Giving to God - The Perfection of Unmotivated Loving Service
In the material world, religion is often approached with a mercantile mentality, where individuals pray to the Supreme Lord to fulfill their material desires or alleviate their distress. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness teaches the exact opposite: the perfection of life is giving to God without any personal motivation. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully self-sufficient and requires nothing from the minute living entities, yet He eagerly accepts the love and affection behind their offerings. True devotion means dedicating one's wealth, intelligence, and activities entirely for the pleasure of the Lord. By shifting the paradigm from taking from God to giving everything to Kṛṣṇa, the conditioned soul transcends material bondage and enters into a dynamic, eternal relationship of unmotivated loving service.
The Mentality of Complete Surrender
The defining characteristic of a pure devotee is the complete absence of the desire to extract material or spiritual benefits from the Supreme Lord. Instead of approaching Kṛṣṇa to beg for daily necessities, a genuine devotee is consumed by the thought of how to give Him pleasure. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that although Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and our capacity to serve Him is infinitesimal, He deeply appreciates the sincere endeavor of the soul. This level of complete surrender, where one gives oneself entirely to the will of the Lord, is rare but constitutes the very essence of ecstatic devotion.
- A pure devotee will never try to take anything from Krsna. He will try to give everything to Krsna. So dui lagye hura huri. So here is a trial between the devotee and Lord Krsna, and Arjuna has passed the examination.
- Everyone goes to God to beg, "God, give us our daily bread." But one must go to God to give Him. If I do not give bread to Krsna, he will be starving. This is devotee's mentality.
- Actually we cannot give any service to Krsna. He is unlimited. What is the value of our service? But He takes it seriously: "Oh, he is trying to give Me some service." Otherwise what service He needs from us?
- Only for the advanced devotees are these two processes easily executed. The purport is that it is very rare to see surrender which is mixed with sincere ecstatic devotion. One must give himself completely to the will of the Lord.
Offering the Results of Our Activities
For those who are not yet on the platform of complete renunciation, the Bhagavad-gītā prescribes the method of offering the fruits of one's labor to the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that nobody is the actual proprietor of anything in this world; therefore, whatever we earn or possess must be acknowledged as Kṛṣṇa's property. Whether one is performing occupational duties, observing austerities, or distributing charity, the established rule is that the results must be given over to the Lord. By giving the profits of our work to support the spiritual mission, even a householder's life becomes perfectly aligned with transcendental service.
- In the Bhagavad-gita (BG 9.27) the same principle is confirmed where it is said that whatever we may give in charity and whatever we may observe in austerity must be given over to the Lord or be done on His account only.
- Let men perform their occupational duty, and let them give their profits to the service of the Lord.
- No one can claim to be the proprietor of anything in the world. Therefore, in the life of a householder, which is a sort of license for sex enjoyment, one must give in charity for the service of the Lord.
- The established rule is that whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we sacrifice or whatever we give in charity must be done to the full satisfaction of the Lord.
Exemplars of Unmotivated Giving
The Vedic histories provide profound examples of pure devotees who held nothing back in their service to the Supreme Lord. Bali Mahārāja demonstrated the ultimate standard of surrender by giving the entire universe—and finally his own body—to Lord Vāmanadeva, motivated strictly by unalloyed love. Similarly, Prahlāda Mahārāja refused to accept any benediction from Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, famously declaring that he was not a merchant seeking a return for his service. The Lord is so merciful that when a devotee gives everything, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates by giving back even greater opulence and His personal association.
- Bali Maharaja gave the whole earth in charity to Lord Hari when He appeared as Vamanadeva.
- Because of unalloyed love for the Lord, he (Bali) then immediately decided, "I shall give this little dwarf brahmana whatever He asks from me." This is a sign of love.
- Being very pleased with Bali Maharaja for giving all his possessions, the Lord returned his kingdom and made him richer than the opulent King Indra. Even now, Bali Maharaja engages in devotional service by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the planet of Sutala.
- Prahlada Maharaja, when he was ordered by the Lord to take some benediction, he said that "I am not a merchant, Sir, that by giving You some service I'll take some return. Please excuse me." Nrsimha-deva was very much satisfied: "Here is a pure devotee."
The Supreme Benefit of Giving in Love
Although the pure devotee expects nothing in return, the supreme irony of spiritual life is that the more one gives to God, the more one becomes eternally benefited. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Lord reveals Himself only when approached with genuine affection and love. Giving pleasure to Kṛṣṇa—especially by intimately addressing Him and rendering unalloyed service—is the only business of a pure devotee. Through this selfless dedication, the devotee not only achieves perfect self-realization but becomes qualified to lead others back to Godhead, proving that giving to the Lord is the ultimate self-interest.
- The more you give to God, the more you become benefited; it is in your interest.
- When we give service to the Lord in affection, in love, then God reveals.
- My only business is to give pleasure to the Lord in pure Krnsa consciousness In this way, such devotee becomes himself eligible to lead other back to the path of devotional service and thus he too may become a Spiritual Master. This process is called parampara.
- The pleasure one gives the Lord by addressing Him by such names (Devaki-nandana etc.) is many, many times greater than the pleasure He enjoys when He is addressed as Paramesvara, or anything of that nature, which indicate volumes of awe and veneration.
Conclusion
The act of giving to God is the heart of the bhakti tradition. As Śrīla Prabhupāda has systematically presented, our minute independence and material possessions have no true value unless they are voluntarily offered back to their original proprietor, Kṛṣṇa. Overcoming the deep-seated material disease of exploitation requires a conscious shift toward the mentality of Bali Mahārāja and Prahlāda Mahārāja, who gave everything to the Lord without the slightest trace of mercantile expectation. By dedicating our profits, our energy, and our very lives to the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we step out of the illusion of proprietorship. Ultimately, in the realm of pure devotional service, giving to God is not a loss of assets, but the supreme method of gaining the eternal, unlimited association of Kṛṣṇa.
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