Business is for householders!

Posted by dinesh

Vincent James Fiorentino " You have suggested that some men are best
engaged in doing business. I agree. All grhasthas who are interested
in doing business should do so in full swing. Yat karosi yad asnasi,
yaj juhosi dadasi yat/ yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusvamad arpanam
[Bg. 9.27]. Let this be the guiding principle. So let all the
grhasthas who wish to, execute business full- fledgedly in the USA and
in this way support Gurukula. Business must be done by the grhasthas,
not by the sannyasis or brahmacaris. Neither the sannyasis or
brahmacaris can be expected to support Gurukula. The parents must take
responsibility for their children, otherwise they should not have
children. It is the duty of the individual parents. I am not in favor
of taxing the Temples. The parents must pay for the maintenance of
their children. Neither can the BBT be expected to give any loans. Now
the BBT 50% for construction is pledged to the projects in
India—Bombay, Kuruksetra, Mayapur. The profits from the businesses
should first go to support Gurukula and balance may be given for the
local Temple's maintenance. Grhasthas can do business. It is best if
the Temple Presidents are either sannyasis or brahmacaris. If the
grhasthas want to do book distribution, they should be given a
commission of 5 to 10% of which part must go to Gurukula. For any
others who are engaged in important Society projects, they must get
something for maintaining their children at Gurukula. So far as
Prasadam and residence, they are already getting that free. But
sometimes, grhasthas make their own arrangement for cooking. For that
we can give no expenditure. Just try to improve the Prasadam system so
nicely that one will not want any other arrangement. Another thing, is
that the grhasthas may be encouraged to do agriculture. In the Indian
villages like in Vrindaban, they get enough ghee for their personal
use, and sufficient excess to be sold to the merchants, who then also
get some money. Cow protection means good food and good trade. So I
can give you suggestions how to manage everything, but it is up to the
GBC to practically execute all these points. You cannot survive
without my mercy and I cannot survive without your mercy. It is
reciprocal. This mutual dependence is based on love—Krishna
Consciousness." Srila Prabhupada letter to Jayatirtha. Jan. 22, 1976