Never Neglect Duty

The principle of duty is becoming more and more diminished in the modern day human society. It is being replaced by the principle of sense gratification. Instead of acting out of duty people act on the basis of sensual stimulation. But sense desire burns like fire and never satisfied. Therefore no one becomes satisfied by serving their sensual desires.

For example, without a sense of duty a man can make a woman pregnant and feel absolutely no responsibility to help her deal with her pregnant condition. He simply abandons her to go off and find another woman to make pregnant.

The more that the human society becomes infected with this hedonistic, dutiless spirit, the more it becomes a hell. Krishna consciousness means to accept the principle of duty beginning with our prime duty to the source of our existence, Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Once our duty to Krishna is properly fulfilled we automatically will become perfectly situated in our duty to everyone, just as when we water the root of a tree all the leaves and branches are nourished.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Accepting the Duty of Being a Disciple Krishna-ksetra Das--Sofia, Bulgaria--November 2007

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Your Disciples or Prabhupada's Disciples?

Hare Krishna.

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I would like to find out if you are initiating disciples on behalf of Srila Prabhupada, or do they become your own disciples?

Your servant,

Luvasan

Answer: Both

The answer is "both." The devotee never thinks that he can act independently on his own behalf. He knows that he is not qualified to do so. And at the same time he is duty bound to execute the orders given to him by his spiritual master. Because my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, ordered me to take disciples, it is my duty to do so. But I always know that they are not really mine, that because they were all sent to me by Srila Prabhupada they are all meant to be fully engaged in serving his Krishna consciousness movement, ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

But still since Srila Prabhupada gave me the duty of being a spiritual master for the benefit of the disciples, as his disciple, I must accept this responsibility for his pleasure. And it is the duty of the disciples to accept my as their spiritual master. This is the ancient Vedic system known as the system of disciplic succession. Srila Prabhupada says that the one is now the disciple becomes the next spiritual master. So it my duty to keep the disciplic succession going by becoming a spiritual master and by training my disciples how to become pure devotees who strictly follow Srila Prabhupada's teachings.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari