(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2009, Melbourne, Australia, Lecture)
There is one thing I want to say about charity – vaisnava charity is not about giving donations here and there because when a vaisnava gets charitable, he does not just give some of his wealth, a vaisnava gives himself. This is the greatest charity, when we give ourselves.
This is how it works in devotional service, vaisnava generosity goes beyond logic; it goes beyond calculation; it goes beyond the limits and somehow or other Krsna helps…
Of course, there is such a thing as over endeavour. Over endeavour is when we begin to sacrifice our essential spiritual practices like chanting, rising early and reading. When we are so busy with service that we have no time for reading and chanting, then it is time to say, “No, Prabhu! It is not possible.”
We have to chant and we have to read. If we do so much service that we cannot chant and cannot read, then it is useless. Useless! We are shooting ourselves in the foot. This is over endeavour!
Otherwise, this vaisnava generosity is a very beautiful thing where a vaisnava goes out of his way to please another vaisnava or anyone else and preaching is also based on this principle of generosity.
When I first went to a Sunday feast, those were the days! There were fifteen preparations and every preparation was far out. And it was for free which was amazing. It really was overwhelming that they gave all that for free. It was extraordinary. It really did impress me.
So, we can only conquer people by our generosity. It is the only way. Krsna can attract anyone but if we can be of any help in attracting someone to Krsna consciousness, then it is only through generosity; if we extend ourselves then we will conquer and touch people’s hearts.
