Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Antya 3.139

tabe sei veśyā gurura ājñā la-ila

gṛha-vitta yebā chila, brāhmaṇere dila

SYNONYMS

tabe — thereafter; sei — that; veśyā — prostitute; gurura — of the spiritual master; ājñā — order; la-ila — took; gṛha-vitta — all household possessions; yebā — whatever; chila — there was; brāhmaṇere — to the brāhmaṇas; dila — gave.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, the prostitute distributed to the brāhmaṇas whatever household possessions she had, following the order of her spiritual master.

PURPORT

Sometimes the word gṛha-vṛtti is substituted for the word gṛha-vitta. Vṛtti means "profession." The gṛha-vṛtti of the prostitute was to enchant foolish people and induce them to indulge in sex. Here, however, gṛha-vṛtti is not a suitable word. The proper word is gṛha-vitta, which means "all the possessions she had in her home." All the girl's possessions had been earned by professional prostitution and were therefore products of her sinful life. When such possessions are given to brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas who can engage them in the service of the Lord because of their advancement in spiritual life, this indirectly helps the person who gives the charity, for he is thus relieved of sinful reactions. As Kṛṣṇa promises, ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: "I shall save you from all sinful reactions." When our Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees go out to beg charity or collect contributions in the form of membership fees, the money thus coming to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is strictly employed to advance Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. The Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees collect the money of others for the service of Kṛṣṇa, and they are satisfied with Kṛṣṇa's prasādam and whatever He gives them for their maintenance. They do not desire material comforts. However, they go to great pains to engage the possessions of prostitutes, or persons who are more or less like prostitutes, in the service of the Lord and thus free them from sinful reactions. A Vaiṣṇava guru accepts money or other contributions, but he does not employ such contributions for sense gratification. A pure Vaiṣṇava thinks himself unfit to help free even one person from the reactions of sinful life, but he engages one's hard-earned money in the service of the Lord and thus frees one from sinful reactions. A Vaiṣṇava guru is never dependent on the contributions of his disciples. Following the instructions of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, a pure Vaiṣṇava does not personally take even a single paisa from anyone, but he induces his followers to spend for the service of the Lord whatever possessions they have.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness