Submitted by Damagosha Dasa
Jan 15 1975 SF
mūrkhā yatra na pūjyante
dhānyaṁ yatra susañcitam
dampatyoḥ kalaho nāsti
tatra śrīḥ svayam āgatāḥ
(Canakya pandit sloka)
Everyone is trying to become fortunate. Now, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita gives three things, formula, “If you want to be fortunate, then do these three things.” What is that? Mūrkhā yatra na pūjyante: “Do not give any credit to the rascal.” That is first qualification. Don’t be carried away by the rascal. Mūrkhā yatra na pūjyante. If you worship a rascal, then your life is spoiled. You must worship a really learned representative of God. That is very good. And dhānyaṁ yatra susañcitam: “Food grains, they are properly stocked.” Not that for your foodstuff, getting your food grain or earning your livelihood, you have to go hundred miles, fifty miles. No. At home, you produce your food grain and stock it. In India still, they work for three months during this rainy season, and they get their food grains for the whole year. You can save time so nicely. So these things are required for happy home. There must be food grains. You cannot be happy without eating. That is not possible. Annād bhavanti. Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, annād bhavanti bhūtāni [Bg. 3.14]. If you have got sufficient anna, eatables, foodstuff, then you become happy.
So three things: one thing, that at home no rascal should be received or given credit… According to Vedic system, at home a sannyāsī is welcome, a brāhmaṇa is welcome. Because they will give good instruction, so they are welcome. Just like when Gargamuni came to Mahārāja Nanda, Nanda Mahārāja’s house, how nice reception he gave him. That is the… Especially… Of course, any guest is welcome, but especially a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī, is very well received. Still in Indian village, if a sannyāsī goes, he has no problem for eating or staying, residence. Everyone will request, “Swamiji, today you take prasādam at my place.” So there are many villagers. So he can stay three days, four days. So there is no scarcity. Still they will invite you, “Please come. Take prasādam.” So because… Why this system? Because sannyāsī means he will give good instruction, spiritual knowledge. But that is his business, parivrājakācārya, wandering all over the world and giving good instruction. Therefore parivrājaka. Parivrājaka means wandering, and ācārya means teacher. Parivrājakācārya. This is sannyāsī’s business. So they must be well received. At the present moment, if a sannyāsī is trying to enter in some householder’s house, immediately the doorman, “Please get out. Get out. Get out.” Because some of the sannyāsīs, they have taken this dress as a means of livelihood. But still in the village, any sannyāsī—he may be a cheater, still he is welcome. In the cities, of course, in India, they are now doubtful, “Whether he is actually sannyāsī or to fill up his belly he has taken this dress?” So this is the formula. So very learned men, the… generally, the sannyāsī and brāhmaṇas, they should be worshiped, not the fools and rascals. So mūrkhā yatra na pūjyante and dhānyaṁ yatra. Dhānyam means paddy, rice, well-stocked. Perhaps you have, in your country also what is called, barn? That, you keep…
Devotee: Silo.
Prabhupāda: So you have got big, big stock. That is required. There may be scarcity at times, but if you keep stock, then there is no trouble. This one, no foolish rascal should be worshiped, food grains should be nicely stocked, and the third thing, most important, dampatyoḥ kalaho nāsti: “There is no disagreement between husband and wife.” If these three things are there, then you haven’t got to pray to the goddess of fortune, “Kindly be merciful.” She will automatically come. “Here is a very nice place. I shall stay here.”
Some conclusions—
Srila Prabhupada mentions in this very instructive lecture that if we want good fortune, at least while we are here in this material world, which most conditioned souls do, then one 1)should not worship or serve a foolish person, like those who pose as spiritualists, 2)we should store grains in our homes, which he said not by driving a hundred miles to some job, but by actually growing the food ourselves, and 3) thirdly, where the husband and wife do not fight, there, that place has the Goddess of Fortune Laksmi Devi living. And we don’t need to do demi god worship to get her to come there either.
So this instruction is meant for conditioned souls and conditioned devotees, not those who simply accept whatever, unconditionally without complaint, the Supreme Lord bestows upon us, be it suffering, happiness, or pain. And for most, that would be most of us.
So be that as it may, if we want material happiness while we pursue the process of purification thru sadhana bhakti , then these three things are most important for a so called happy stay while within this body.
And Srila Prabhupada wanted that, otherwise why he says -chant and be happy ? He knew we are not anywhere near the spiritual platform. There are 4 platforms of consciousness. The sensual, mental, intellectual, and purely spiritual, which means un-motivated and
un interrupted pure, favorable, bhakti. Why so many come yet so many leave? So many fall down? Why so many problems pursuing this spiritual life? It is because of so many unfavorable conditions in this kali yuga. Everybody is looking for happiness, yet in how many people or families do we find this happiness?
So here is the formula of how to become happy while we stay here in this material world. Find out, for yourself WHO is actually a very learned person ,and if you are lucky, you may serve him or her, grow your own food, and store it for the coming years eatables, and finally try to not to quarrel with ones spouse. This is the formula for happiness in this material world, And dont forget to chant Hare Krsna.
Damaghosa das Sri Sri Gaura Nitai Mandir
(last night’s dinner, mostly from the gardens)
