God Give Us Our Daily Bread - From Motivated Prayer to Pure Devotion
The universal plea for sustenance serves as the gateway to religious life for millions of people. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while praying to the Supreme Lord for our daily bread is a commendable and pious beginning, the ultimate goal of human life is to transcend all material motives and awaken a pure, unalloyed love for God.
The Pious Acknowledgment of the Supreme Father
Approaching the Supreme Lord for one's necessities requires a foundational level of faith and humility. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that anyone who goes to a church or temple to ask God for their daily bread is inherently pious, because they rightly accept the Lord as the ultimate provider and supreme father.
- In every religion, God is accepted as the supreme father. The Christian religion also, they say, "O father, give us our daily bread." So God is accepted, actually He is the father.
- Those who have got background of pious life. So even one goes to the church, "God, give us our daily bread," he's not ordinary person. He's pious man. He has gone to God to ask. He has not gone to anyone.
- God is accepted as the original father. The Christian, they go to the original father: "O Father, O God, give us our daily bread." So we also accept. That is the godly conception. That is the beginning of religious conception.
- Those who offer this prayer (God give us our daily bread), may not know very much and may be at a lower stage, but this is a beginning, because they have approached God.
Superior to the Atheistic Mentality
There is a vast gulf between those who humbly beg from God and those who proudly deny His existence. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the pious individual praying for bread is thousands of times better than the arrogant atheist who falsely claims that human economic development is the source of all provisions.
- Anyone who is going to church and asking God for bread, he's thousand times better than that rascal, who is not going to church, because he is, after all, approaching God.
- As in the Christian church they go and say, "O God, give us our daily bread." That is also good because he has gone to God. The atheists, they do not like to speak of God, what to speak of praying from God.
- What is this prayer? "Give me a little bread"? Of course, it is better than the rascals who are atheists. They do not approach God. They say, "Oh, what is God? I am God. I shall, by economic development, I shall create so many breads."
- Grain of rice is not man-made; it is sent by God. "O God, give us our daily bread." So here is the bread. It is God's mercy. Just see how great idea. What is given by God, that is also God. This is God consciousness.
The Limitations of Motivated Prayer
While praying for sustenance is a good start, it remains a materially motivated transaction. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that because God already automatically supplies food to millions of animals and insects who never pray to Him, treating the Supreme Lord merely as an order-supplier for human necessities is a lower stage of devotion.
- Just like this, "God, give us our daily bread." It is mixed spiritual. One has approached God, God is spiritual, but one is asking for material profit. So this is mixture, matter and spirit.
- So long I keep God as my order-supplier, that is not bhakti. Generally, people keep God as his order-supplier: "O God, give us our daily bread," "O God, I am in distress, "O God, I am in difficulty, "O God, I am..." God supplies them.
- Krsna is not miser. He is supplying millions and millions of living entities bread. So what is the use of asking Him? The birds, the beasts, they have no church and pray to God, "Oh, give us our daily bread," but nobody is starving.
- The cats and dogs are supplied with necessities of life. So why we should bother Krsna, asking Him, "Give us our daily bread"? He is supplying already. Our business is how to love Him. That is religion.
Ascending to Pure, Unalloyed Devotion
The perfection of the human form of life is to shift from the desire to take from God to the desire to give to God. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that true love (bhakti) is entirely devoid of material motives; a pure devotee does not ask for bread, but instead dedicates their entire life to selflessly serving and pleasing the Supreme Lord.
- We should not love Krsna for some material gain. It is not that: "Krsna, give us our daily bread. Then I love You. Krsna, give me this. Then I love You." There is no such mercantile exchange. That is wanted. Krsna wants that kind of love.
- Love is without reason. Even God does not supply me daily bread, I'll love God. That is love.
- Just like in Christian Bible there is, "Father, give us our daily bread." That is good, they are accepting the Supreme Father. But grown-up children, they should not ask from the father, but they should be prepared to serve the father. That is bhakti.
- There is a position where, instead of asking, "O God, please give us our daily bread," you can instead think that God will die if you do not supply bread to Him. This is the ecstasy of extreme love.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda provides a profound and balanced analysis of the prayer "O God, give us our daily bread." He validates this practice as a genuinely pious and necessary first step in spiritual life. By turning to God for their sustenance, ordinary people correctly acknowledge the Supreme Lord as the original father and ultimate maintainer of the universe, distinguishing themselves as vastly superior to the foolish atheists who deny God's existence. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda also clearly identifies this stage as mixed, motivated religion. Because God already effortlessly supplies food to millions of animals and insects who never pray to Him, treating the Supreme Lord as a mere order-supplier for our material necessities falls far short of true spiritual perfection. The ultimate goal of human life is to transcend this mercantile exchange and awaken pure, unalloyed devotion (bhakti). A true devotee does not approach God to ask for bread; rather, they approach God to offer their unconditional love and service. In the highest ecstasy of this pure love, the devotee's consciousness is so completely transformed that instead of begging for their own maintenance, they become entirely absorbed in serving, pleasing, and feeding the Supreme Lord.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God Give Us Our Daily Bread. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.