Prabhupāda Guides His Disciples in Taking Care of Kṛṣṇa's Property and Devotees
The responsibility of spiritual management requires immense dedication, and Śrīla Prabhupāda constantly reminds his followers that everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. By carefully maintaining temples, health, children, and new guests, a devotee practically demonstrates their love for God.
Taking Care of the Deities and Temples
The central focus of any temple community revolves around the meticulous worship of the Supreme Lord in His arcā-vigraha form. Establishing a high standard of cleanliness and devotion ensures that the spiritual atmosphere remains potent and transformative. Recognizing this priority, Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed his followers to dedicate their finest efforts to making the Deities happy through regular arcanā-vidhi. If the Lord is properly cared for, the entire center naturally flourishes.
- I hope you are taking care of the Deities with greater attention, and teaching your younger God brothers and sisters to follow the Arcana bidhi. As we open many branches, we shall require many devotees like you to take care of the Deities very nicely.
- Please be happy with the newly installed Deities there in New Vrindavan and take very greatest of care for them. Dress them nicely, clothe them nicely with garlands and offer very nice foodstuffs.
- Frankly speaking the Deities are not as opulent as when They were being taken care of by you. So if you want to come back here and take care of Them I have no objection.
- As we open many branches, we shall require many devotees like you to take care of the Deities very nicely. So be happy in Krsna consciousness and I shall pray to Lord Krsna for your greater achievement in devotional service.
Caring for and Training New Devotees
Whenever a new person takes interest in spiritual life, they must be received as a special guest sent directly by Kṛṣṇa. Nurturing these individuals requires patience, an exemplary character, and a deep sense of compassion to protect them from the pull of māyā. To ensure their steady advancement in bhakti, Śrīla Prabhupāda heavily emphasized the need for older members to carefully train them in chanting and following the regulative principles.
- Take care of all of these good souls that Krsna is sending you. By your own exemplary behavior, train them all as ideal Vaisnavas. This will greatly please me.
- I am very glad to learn that some new devotees, boys and girls, are coming to the temple, and I request you to take care of them carefully.
- Take good care of these devotees so that they remain always enthusiastically engaged in chanting, hearing, reading our books and following the regulative principles.
- You have got some good souls assisting you, and that is a good sign. Please take care of these boys and keep them fixed up in Krsna consciousness. In our lifetime, if we can fix up at least one soul in Krsna consciousness, Krishna immediately recognizes the service.
Raising Kṛṣṇa Conscious Children
The future of the spiritual movement relies heavily upon the successful upbringing of the next generation of devotees. Entering the gṛhastha order means accepting the grave responsibility of protecting dependents from the cycle of repeated birth and death. By ensuring their children receive proper health, education, and spiritual guidance, parents fulfill a divine duty and render a vital service to the mission.
- Every parent wants to see that their children are taken care of very nicely. That is the first duty. If they are not healthy then how they can prosecute their education? If they are undernourished it is not good for their future activities.
- Please also take care of the children. They are our future hopes, and the adolescent age is the most dangerous age. It is the turning point of one's life.
- Please take care of your children and make them perfectly Krsna conscious. That is very great service.
- I think his father has got a special duty to protect this child in his Krsna consciousness; The mother has also similar responsibility, so either your wife or yourself must take care of the good child.
Maintaining Health and Personal Duties
A physical body is required to effectively execute spiritual duties, meaning it must be respected as an instrument belonging to Kṛṣṇa. Neglecting one's health under the pretext of false renunciation only hinders one's ability to render practical service. Therefore, Śrīla Prabhupāda taught that eating proper prasāda, getting adequate rest, and fulfilling family obligations are essential elements of a balanced, long-term spiritual practice.
- So far Jadurani is concerned, inform her that this body is Krsna's body. Therefore, she should take care of her health.
- You should take food just to maintain your health nicely. Similarly, other necessities of body must be taken care of. If you become diseased, then how you can execute Krsna consciousness?
- We are taking care of the body for the reason that we shall go back and engage this body in the service of Krsna. That is our main objective, it is not that we simply take care of the body and there is no need of Krsna consciousness.
- It is not that because all these are temporary arrangement, we should be unfaithful to our family members, to our children, to our wife. As duty, we should take care, but we should not be simply absorbed in such thoughts.
Depending on Kṛṣṇa's Ultimate Protection
While devotees are expected to act responsibly in managing their assigned duties, they must simultaneously realize that all actual protection comes from the Supreme Lord. Worrying excessively about global affairs or future uncertainties distracts the mind from the immediate process of surrender. By remaining steady in their service, the disciples are assured that Kṛṣṇa will personally oversee their ultimate spiritual well-being.
- Krishna has promised to always give all protection to His devotees, so you may rest assured that Krishna will take very good care of him.
- Krishna is very kind and any sincere devotee is always taken care of by His Lordship in all respects.
- Don't consider what will happen to this world. The nature will take care of it. You don't puzzle your brain with these thoughts. You utilize whatever time you have got in your possession and go back to home, back to Godhead.
- We are not orphans. We are taken care of by our rich father, very wise father, very rich father, able father. We are not forlorn orphans. We have got respectability. And we offer our respect to father. We depend on father. We are safe.
Conclusion
Everything utilized in spiritual life—from the physical body to the temple buildings—belongs to the Supreme Lord and must be respected accordingly. Through careful management and affectionate guidance, Śrīla Prabhupāda demonstrated how to practically apply spiritual vision to everyday responsibilities. By taking care of Kṛṣṇa's property, children, and devotees, a practitioner steadily solidifies their eternal connection to the spiritual world.
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 Our Taking Care (Disciples of SP). We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.