Acquiring Money for Kṛṣṇa or for Sense Gratification
In the material world, the pursuit of wealth is a central preoccupation for most living entities. However, the purpose behind this pursuit defines one's spiritual standing. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while both a devotee and a materialist may engage in acquiring money, their goals are diametrically opposed. The materialist seeks funds to satisfy their own senses and expand their false prestige, whereas the devotee acquires resources solely to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This article explores the philosophical distinction between these two mentalities and the karmic consequences associated with the materialistic drive for accumulation.
Devotional Service vs. Sense Gratification
Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the external act of earning money is not inherently bad; the quality of the action depends on the consciousness of the performer. A pure devotee utilizes every farthing for the propagation of Kṛṣṇa's message, transforming the energy of money into spiritual substance. Unlike the materialist who is drained by the demands of the senses, the devotee remains unagitated, accepting wealth if it comes by Kṛṣṇa's grace but never compromising spiritual principles to acquire it.
- A pure devotee may be attracted to accumulating wealth just like an ordinary man, but the difference is that a devotee acquires money for the service of the Lord, whereas the ordinary man acquires money for his sense enjoyment.
- All monies acquired are spent for Krsna, in spreading His message in so many ways. Such a style of life, in which everything is done for Krsna, promotes the development of Krsna consciousness within the living entity.
- Money may be offered to a devotee, but he should not struggle to acquire it. If automatically, by the grace of the Supreme, money comes to him, he is not agitated.
- Ordinary karmis are busy acquiring money for sense gratification, and ordinary jnanis are socially aloof when they speculate on liberation, but actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the people can be made happy.
Demoniac Drive for Wealth
The materialistic or demoniac mentality is characterized by an unlimited desire to possess and enjoy. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how such persons are never satisfied; they mistakenly think, "I have this much now, and I will get more in the future." This insatiable greed drives them to commit sinful activities, often forcing them to beg, borrow, or steal to maintain a lifestyle of intoxication, meat-eating, and illicit connections, all of which require vast sums of money to sustain.
- The demoniac man knows no limit to his desire to acquire money. That is unlimited.
- "Thus far I have acquired so much money and land. Now I have to add more and more. In this way I shall be the greatest proprietor of everything. Who can compete with me?" These are all demoniac conceptions.
- Meat-eating and intoxication excite the senses more and more, and the conditioned soul falls victim to women. In order to keep women, money is required, and to acquire money, one begs, borrows or steals.
Karmic Consequences of Illicit Acquisition
There are severe reactions for those who acquire money through cheating or envy. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that although people today may not believe in the court of Yamarāja, the laws of nature act impartially. Money earned at the expense of others becomes the very instrument that carries the soul to hellish conditions. The materialist may think they are clever by cheating to support their family or self, but they are unknowingly purchasing a ticket to regions like Raurava.
- He (the person in the second classs of men) cheats everyone to acquire money for his family and his self, and he becomes envious of others without reason. Such a person is thrown into the hell known as Raurava.
- He (the man who maintained himself and his family members by sinful activities) goes alone to the darkest regions of hell after quitting the present body, and the money he acquired by envying other living entities is the passage money with which he leaves this world.
- Although he knows that one who takes the wealth of others will be punished by the law of the government, and by the laws of Yamaraja after death, he continues cheating others to acquire money.
Destiny and the Futility of Endeavor
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently points out the illusion of thinking that hard work alone generates wealth. In reality, one's financial acquisition is dictated by karma; if it were simply a matter of effort, everyone would be equally wealthy. Materialists waste their valuable human life making elaborate plans for comfort, unaware that death will strip them of all possessions, leaving them only with the karma they generated while frantically trying to acquire money.
- It is not possible that simply by endeavors to accumulate more money a person will be able to do so, otherwise almost everyone would be on the same level of wealth. In reality everyone is earning and acquiring according to his predestined karma.
- Materialists foolishly make many plans to become happy in this material world. They do not stop to consider that they will live only for a certain number of years, out of which they must spend the major portion acquiring money for sense gratification.
- If his (the foolish materialist 's) father dies, he wants to enjoy his father's property, and if his son dies, he wants to enjoy his son's possessions as well. In either case, he heedlessly tries to enjoy material happiness with the acquired money.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the energy of money is neutral, but its application determines the destiny of the soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that acquiring money for sense gratification is a trap that leads to unlimited anxiety, sin, and hellish suffering. Conversely, when money is acquired and utilized for Kṛṣṇa, it becomes a tool for liberation and a means to please the Supreme Lord. A wise person, therefore, abandons the desperate struggle for personal accumulation and engages whatever resources they have in the service of the Lord's mission.
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