Materialists in the holy places

Not everyone comes to Mayapur or Vṛndāvana to practice spiritual life. Many come after money or other material benefits. Still, they end up being accepted by the dhāma. How does this work?

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Not everyone comes to Mayapur or Vṛndāvana to practice spiritual life. Many come after money or other material benefits. One may become shocked or sad to see materialists pursuing their activities in the holy dhāma, but the fact is that often such materialists are also engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service, although indirectly. Actually, it’s like that all over the creation. How does it work?

The point is that such materialists, in the course of their material activities, produce things that are useful for Vaiṣnavas, and in this way, they accumulate ajñāta-sukṛti. One may plant flowers and make garlands for money, but if devotees buy these garlands and offer them to Kṛṣṇa, he or she benefits. Similarly, a materialist can come to Mayapur and Vṛndāvana to build apartments and perform a good volume of dishonest activities in the process, but if later the apartments are used by devotees engaged in service, they still benefit from it.

Actually, Vaiṣnavas are the only reason this material world exists, and all materialists ultimately serve the Vaiṣnavas. Śrila Bhaktivinoda Thākura explains how it works in his Jaiva Dharma:

“Advaita dāsa said, “Inclination arises from impressions generated by previous karma. The deeper one’s relationship with matter, one becomes skillful at material knowledge and crafts arising from material knowledge. What they produce is useful for the Vaiṣṇava. The Vaiṣṇava does not need to endeavor for these things. A carpenter makes an altar to earn his living. A householder devotee can establish a deity on that altar. According to their inclination, bees collect honey. Devotees take the honey for the Lord’s service. Not everyone endeavors for spiritual goals in this world. People act according to their inclinations. Humans have a variety of inclinations, higher and lower. Low people do many activities by their lower inclination. All these actions help work done with higher inclination. The wheel of the world rotates by these divisions. There are many peoples with a variety of material inclinations and they worship according to their material inclination. These actions assist the spiritual inclination of the Vaiṣṇavas. They do not know that by their actions they are helping the Vaiṣṇavas. But deluded by Viṣṇu’s māyā, they do their activities. The whole world is the unknowing servant of the Vaiṣṇavas.”

When we take such passages into mind, it becomes easier to understand why people with a less-than-transcendental consciousness can be found in holy places. Although they have ulterior motives or different material contaminations, somehow or other, they get the desire to take shelter in the holy dhāma, and thus, by receiving the association of pure Vaiṣnavas and producing things that may be used by them in their service, such people benefit. Gradually, they accumulate sukṛti that eventually will bear fruit, allowing them to eventually also become Vaiṣnavas.

This same principle applies to people who join our spiritual society with ulterior motives, like obtaining some social position or getting money. This is a normal occurrence that is probably unavoidable, since Krsna often uses devotees with materialist propensities to get things done. The main problem is probably that we often fail to recognize the true spiritual level of such devotees, and this lack of discernment often creates situations where they can cause harm.

In this Jaiva Dharma, Śrila Bhaktivinoda Thākura describes the stories of several souls in different stages of spiritual evolution that come in contact with pure Vaiṣnavas. Some of these souls are quite deep in ignorance, and a few are even offensive in their behavior. However, by coming in contact with Vaiṣnavas, they all benefit. It’s implied in the book that all these souls will eventually go back to Godhead, although for some it may take numerous lives. In any case, however, the association with pure devotees is a turning point in their journey.

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