Is the wish of earning more to serve Krishna a fruitive activity?
Trisha Debnath asked like this:
“namaskar pravu ji. hope your are doing well. i just want to ask a question. hope you can remove my doubt- pravu ji, i heard that a devotee should not have any demand for money. but we know that today’s life is impossible without money. if someone want to live on only food, cloth they have to earn. even if we want to buy something for god we have to pay with money. I also want to earn lots of money. that I want for doing SEVA, VISTING TO HOLI ALL PLACES, DONATING TO TEMPLE, VAISHNAV SEBA. For doing this i need money. is this kind of wishes wrong? pravu it is my humble request that ji if you give me answer through post please mention my name as well as tag me. otherwise i will be unable to receive any notification. Thax”
REPLY:
Your wish is genuine. You want money to spend for the expenses related to Krishna and devotional life.
Who said working hard to earn and spend for Krishna is wrong?
You should just avoid expecting the benefits for your own. That is the only condition.
The devotees work hard to collect donations and spend for Krishna. This is also working for Krishna.
(Why it is said that working hard is not good for devotees? READ HERE!)
But, if he collects money in the name of Krishna, but, spends the money to increase his own comforts, it is offensive.
Similarly, working hard and earning more to serve Krishna and to help the devotees more, you should use the money for Krishna and related activities. If you use the money to increase your comforts by buying unwanted things and to show your status to others, you are at a risk of material b0nding and fall down.
How?
When you start to use more and more comforts, you will gradually become addicted to the comforts and a stage will come in which you will feel that you can’t live without the comforts.
That is why, SIMPLE LIVING AND HIGH THINKING is recommended for the devotees.
(Professional life Vs Devotional practices – How to balance the both? READ HERE!)
Every day, I am reviewing myself about how can I lead a still simpler life. I check the unwanted things in my house frequently and dispose them.
The risk in having excessive money is that we will become interested in adding more and more comforts beyond our control.
Then, what is the formula to balance the earning more to serve Krishna and the expenditure?
Do not aim for big earning. Just work hard as a duty. Accept whatever you earn. Then, Spend atleast 10% amount for Krishna. If this is not possible and if you have a big family, spend atleast 5% of your earning for Krishna’s service.
If you have more savings that may not be required by you in this birth, you can donate for the renovation of old temples. If you don’t have any forum to undertake that job properly, you yourself may engage a construction company to renovate any temple that has weak building.
(Why should we work instead of following devotion alone? READ HERE!)
In my view, constructing more and more new temples is not necessary. There are thousands of ailing temples in India that are unable to pay even the salary for the pujaris. You can help such temples.
I always spend more for preaching the messages of Krishna because it is what preferred by Krishna and Srila Prabhupada. Krishna advised in the last chapter of Bhagavad Gita that we should speak the Bhagavad Gita to those who are interested in that knowledge and those who do this are His dear devotees.
Therefore, you can support the financially poor temples or deserving devotees who are engaged in preaching the messages of Krishna. Your contributions should be really needy for the receiver to serve Krishna without difficulties.
Being a devotee from a Lower middle class family, I too have given opportunity for the devotees to support this service in many ways since I myself have to meet the expenses involved in this preaching service.
(How to follow Karma Yoga? Is aiming for a good job a materialistic approach? READ HERE!)
Therefore, do not have a target to earn more even to serve the Lord. Instead, desire to serve more to Krishna. He Himself will pour the resources required for you to serve Him better.
This is how He made me capable to handle online preaching though I came from a village background and studied in Tamil medium in Schools.
I wanted to help other vaishnavas and budding devotees in performing their devotion better by guiding them in their difficulties while following devotion. Krishna is handling this service, not me. I am just an instrument in His hands.
Work hard. Accept whatever you earn. Spend atleast 10% for Krishna. If possible more. Do not use the remaining amount to increase your comforts. Use and Save sufficiently to manage family and the studies, marriage, etc of your children. It is not wrong and it is your duty.
That’s all. Feel relieved.
Hope you are now clear whether working hard and earning more to serve Krishna a fruitive activity!
(THE WAY OF LIFE RECOMMENDED BY BHAGAVAD GITA! READ HERE!)