Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 23.114
Devotional Service Need Not Depend on Wealth
“ ‘Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed, or, above all, does the unconquerable Supreme Personality of Godhead not protect the fully surrendered souls? Why then should learned persons like devotees go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?’”
What the purport teaches
- A devotee should be independent in all circumstances. The body's necessities are shelter, food, water and clothing.
- By nature's arrangements, necessities are supplied to the devotee completely surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who protects surrendered souls.
- A devotee need not flatter those intoxicated by wealth to maintain the body. Devotional service can be discharged in any condition.
Try this today
Do one act of devotional service today using what you already have, without waiting for better material conditions.
Ask yourself
Am I treating material comfort or wealthy people's approval as a requirement for devotional service?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.