Best Service to Citizens – Engaging People in Devotional Service
In the current global landscape, leadership is often measured by economic growth and technological advancement, yet Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the highest duty of a leader is the spiritual welfare of the citizens. To "engage people" is not merely to provide them with mundane labor, but to connect their natural talents and activities with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether through the systematic structure of daiva-varṇāśrama or the universal process of saṅkīrtana, the goal of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to provide a "good engagement" that naturally displaces the harmful habits of modern civilization.
The Duty of Leaders and Government
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that a kṣatriya government or any head of state renders the best service when they engage people in religious principles such as yajña (sacrifice), Vedic study, and charity. Rather than remaining "neutral" and allowing irreligious activities to flourish, a godly leader trains people according to their qualities—brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras—and engages them in occupational duties that facilitate spiritual progress. This prevents the "disturbances in society" that arise from godless administration.
- A ksatriya government should engage people in performing yajna, studying the Vedas and giving charity. Thus the people will receive their necessities for life very easily, and there will be no disturbances in society.
- In this godless civilization, if a president engages people somehow or other in devotional service or the awakening of Krsna consciousness, he renders the very best service to the citizens.
- A leader should train the people as brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras and engage them in various occupational duties, thus helping them progress toward Krsna consciousness.
- People should be trained, as Krsna said in the beginning, that catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah (BG 4.13). The four classes of men, according to quality, they should be engaged in different types of occupation, guna-karma.
From Factory Hell to Spiritual Activity
Modern civilization often engages people in "hard work" that Śrīla Prabhupāda compares to the labor of dogs, hogs, and asses. Factories are described as a "name for hell," where workers are exploited for paper currency and lose their ability to even sleep soundly due to mental speculative plans. In contrast, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement offers a protest to this "modern economy" by engaging people twenty-four hours a day in the uplifting service of the Lord. This philanthropic work is unique because it cleanses the heart of material contamination and the "duality of delusion."
- Factory is another name for hell. At night, hellishly engaged persons take advantage of wine and women to satisfy their senses, but they are not even able to have sound sleep because their various mental speculative plans constantly interrupt their sleep.
- Krsna consciousness movement is a protest to the modern way of civilization. The leaders of the modern society, they want that people should be engaged in working like dogs and hogs and asses.
- Our Krsna consciousness movement aims at engaging people in Lord Krsna's service. That will help them become freed from all material contamination and sinful activity. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (4.10): vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah.
- There is no philanthropic work within this material world but Krsna consciousness that can engage a person twenty-four hours a day.
The Ācārya’s Method: Some Way or Other
The ācārya is an expert who knows how to engage different types of people according to spiritual injunctions while adjusting for practical circumstances. Following the rūpānuga principle, the goal is to some way or other engage people in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This may include engaging karmīs (fruitive workers) in using their expertise for Kṛṣṇa or inviting fallen souls to simply hear about God’s activities. By providing these "good engagements," people automatically lose their taste for "bad ones," such as intoxication, which the government often fails to stop through legal means.
- The acarya knows how to adjust things, at the same time keep pace with the spiritual injunction. It is not that the same thing to be applied everywhere. He is eager to engage actually the people in the real benefit of life, but the means may be different.
- My Guru Maharaja is described as rupanuga-viruddha-apasiddhanta-dhvanta-harine. He was strictly to follow the rupanuga principle. Rupanuga principle, Srila Rupa Gosvami directs in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu - You some way or other engage people in Krsna consciousness.
- One must give people good engagements, and then they will automatically give up the bad ones. For example, we instruct our students, "No intoxication," and they immediately give it up, even though the government has failed to stop them. This is practical.
- Intelligent person should engage them (karmis) in doing what they are expert in and using the fruits in Lord Krsna's service. Such a course of action will automatically uncover the fruitive workers' eternal relationship with Lord Krsna.
Universal Process: Saṅkīrtana and Prasāda
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu made the path to perfection accessible to everyone by engaging them in simple yet powerful activities: chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, hearing spiritual discussions, and eating the remnants of food offered to the Deity (bhagavat-prasāda). This "scientific engagement" in daiva-varṇāśrama-dharma accepts people from all parts of the world and religious backgrounds. By engaging the tongue in chanting and tasting, people come to their senses, stop harmful activities, and gradually become pure devotees (Vaiṣṇavas), regardless of their past condition.
- Lord Caitanya made this process (of reaching the highest perfection of knowledge) very easy: He asked people simply to chant Hare Krsna and to engage in the devotional service of God and eat the remnants of foodstuff offered to the Deity.
- Engaging people in sankirtan, either in a musical way or by spiritual discussion, people will come to their senses and stop harmful activities; gradually they will become Vaishnavas.
- We first of all must engage the tongue in chanting Hare Krsna and in eating bhagavat-prasada. Nothing else is required. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is distributing prasada and engaging people in chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
- Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.
Conclusion
The most profound philanthropic work is to engage the human spirit in its original, constitutional service to Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions clarify that a healthy society is built not on economic exploitation, but on the systematic engagement of every individual according to their natural quality and work. By transitioning from the hellish engagements of a godless civilization to the transcendental engagements of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, people can find actual peace and purpose. Whether through administrative leadership or the humble acts of chanting and honoring prasāda, engaging people in the service of the Lord is the only "righteous fighting" that can truly liberate the world from the duality of delusion.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Engaging People. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.