Prabhupāda Teaches His Disciples What Constitutes a Great Service
Spiritual life is defined by active engagement. To inspire his followers, Śrīla Prabhupāda revealed that the Supreme Lord is pleased not only by great displays of devotion but by any sincere effort made to push on the mission of Lord Caitanya. By engaging every disciple according to their specific propensity, he taught them that "great service" is available to everyone who is willing to work for Kṛṣṇa.
Distributing Transcendental Knowledge
The distribution of authorized literature is the lifeblood of the saṅkīrtana movement. Śrīla Prabhupāda taught that giving a person a copy of the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the most valuable gift one can offer. He instructed his disciples to concentrate their energy on placing these books in homes, schools, and libraries, explaining that this act alone is recognized as a great service to the Lord.
- Any sincere man will feel obliged of our propaganda movement. "By distributing these books, you are doing a great service to Krsna."
- Any way we can distribute our books is good because anyone who reads our Krsna book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Nectar of Devotion, and Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is sure to become a Krishna Conscious person. It is a most valuable service to Krishna to distribute these books.
- I hope you are trying to place our books in the libraries and school and colleges. The program is everywhere very successful, so you please do this very thoroughly in your area and it will be a great service.
- It is a great service to sell our books to educational institutions. The more you do this, the more you become recognized by Krishna.
- Try to increase the sales of our literatures and particularly Krsna book and that will be a great service.
Rescuing and Training Sincere Souls
In the material world, every living entity is suffering under the weight of ignorance. Śrīla Prabhupāda explained that delivering even one person from the cycle of birth and death is a service of the highest transcendental order. He also highlighted the immense value of raising children in a spiritual atmosphere, teaching that training a child to be Kṛṣṇa conscious is a great service to Lord Caitanya.
- If by your endeavor one or two souls who come under your protection become liberated in this life, that is a great transcendental service to the Lord.
- If you can deliver even one man in your life, then you'll be doing a great service for Krsna.
- If you can make one child Krsna conscious, it is a great service.
- Child is the father of man, so if you can train these children in Krishna Consciousness by kind instruction, feeding them, it will be a great service to Lord Caitanya.
- One should become a parent only if he can deliver his ward from the clutches of death. And that is possible only with Krsna consciousness. This is a very great service for Krishna, to give all opportunity for the child to be trained up in devotional service.
Engaging Material Talents for the Lord
A hallmark of Śrīla Prabhupāda's guidance was his ability to spiritualize a disciple's material skills. He taught that one's special talents—whether in painting, writing, music, or carpentry—become successful only when they are engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. By refining these skills to glorify the Lord, a devotee renders a great service that is both spiritually rewarding and personally fulfilling.
- I am so glad you are playing music for Krishna. It is a great service of your talent. Anyone's special talent should be engaged in the service of the Lord, and thereby becomes successful in his life.
- I have so many ideas for paintings, and we will be requiring so many expert paintings as you are able to do, so please be very serious to do this work nicely and quickly. It will be great service.
- First let him (Isana) produce something, then he can teach others. I have no objection. If somehow or other someone can learn how to make good mrdangas in America, it will be a great service.
- If you establish yourself in one place, and engross yourself in transcribing the tapes, so that a nice book will come out in due course of time, that will be a great service for the society, and to me also.
- I was very happy to learn that you are very serious about writing an essay entitled "Krsna Consciousness is the Absolute Necessity for Mankind in this Age." If you can write this essay successfully, then it will be very great service to our Movement.
Preaching in Educational Institutions
Universities and colleges are the centers of modern intellectual life. Śrīla Prabhupāda directed his intelligent disciples to concentrate their energy on these institutions to infiltrate the school system with Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy. He taught that convincing even a few intelligent students of the absolute necessity of God consciousness is a great service to their country and to the world at large.
- Boston is educational center, especially there are so many universities so if you concentrate your energy and can organize the student community to understand our philosophy it will be a great service.
- If we can rightly impress the Krsna Consciousness idea in some intelligent student's heart, it will be of great service.
- Please try to organize the students in the State University, that will be a great service to the cause, but do it very tactfully so that the administration may not be disturbed.
- Your school preaching is very much welcomed by me. We are in need of new recruits to carry out so many ambitious programs here in India, so if you can infiltrate the school system as you did in America that will be a great service.
Managing Temple Affairs and Management
To facilitate a global movement, the burden of administrative management must be shared. Śrīla Prabhupāda encouraged his disciples to take responsibility for temple leadership and financial oversight. He explained that by relieving him of the management burden, his disciples were doing a great service to Kṛṣṇa, allowing him to focus on translating his transcendental literatures.
- I am so glad to learn that you are in charge of kitchen and food supply which saves 25 to 30 percent on food. That is a great service. To be extravagant is not recommended by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita.
- If you relieve me of the burden of management, that will be a very great service to Krsna and the movement. See that everything is going on nicely. With great endeavor we have made the framework, now we have to see that things are going on nicely.
- You are by managing the temple as a president you are doing a very great service to humanity. So please continue in this way and make it nicer and nicer.
- I am very, very pleased to hear that you have accomplished your task for getting the CCP license, it is a very great service.
Pioneering Preaching and Expansion
Expansion requires courage and a pioneering spirit. Śrīla Prabhupāda praised those who took the risk to establish centers in new areas, even in challenging environments like Bangladesh or within government circles. He taught that anyone who enthusiastically broadcasts the message of "Surrender to Kṛṣṇa" to the educated class of men is performing a service that is universally recognized.
- A preacher is giving real sense. To awaken this sense, Krsna had to come personally. And he is doing the same work: "Surrender to Krsna." How much great service it is.
- I am so glad to know that you are seeing all the MPs and officials in the government service and if you can make each of them a member of our society it will be a great service.
- I have already advised Tamala Krishna Goswami to go to Bangladesh and if you also sometimes join with him and preach this Krishna Consciousness movement amongst the Mohammedans in Bangladesh, it will be a great service.
- Go on spreading this enthusiastic quality throughout that part of the world and this will be a very very great service.
- I thank you all very much for making the Rathayatra festival so successful. Please convey my gratitude to all the boys and girls who participated in this great transcendental service.
Conclusion
By broadening the definition of "great service," Śrīla Prabhupāda ensured that every sincere follower could contribute to the mission. Whether through the global distribution of books, the compassionate care of children, or the management of practical temple affairs, he revealed that Kṛṣṇa recognizes every heart that beats for the welfare of others. Ultimately, the greatest service is to simply repeat the Lord's message, bringing hope and spiritual life to a suffering 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 Great Service (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.