Room Conversation, 21st January 1977, Bhubaneshwar

Hari-śauri: A devotee is actually getting a higher taste. He’s getting some real enjoyment, so he doesn’t care for the other things.

Prabhupāda: So unless there is enjoyment he cannot stick. But that enjoyment is Kṛṣṇa.

Hari-śauri: Just that chanting is enough. It’s just so much nectar.

Prabhupāda: No, everything—Deity worship, chanting, kīrtana, preaching, publishing, distributing—everything.

Rāmeśvara: This requires superintelligence. Just like, say, in Los Angeles there are two hundred devotees. It is taxing our brains how to give proper engagement to every one of them.

Prabhupāda: Well, this engagement is: “Go and sell books.” That engagement is already there.

Rāmeśvara: Yes, but some are not qualified, some householders…

Prabhupāda: It is not the question of qualification, of… It doesn’t matter whether he sells one book or hundred books. It doesn’t matter. Let him be engaged, that’s all.

Rāmeśvara: That’s what I’m saying. To find the proper engagement, the best utilization of every man’s…

Prabhupāda: This is very good engagement, very good engagement. Go door to door. I don’t mind if you no sell. But you have gone. That’s all. I don’t mind. It is not business, that “Because you could not sell anything, your salary will be dismissed.” No. There is no such question.

Rāmeśvara: But then they feel dissatisfied. Then they would prefer to do something else, where they can perform better, they can accomplish something more.

Prabhupāda: No, no. No, no, no.

Hari-śauri: Our devotees tend to work on a fruitive basis.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Hari-śauri: If they don’t get some result from their activity, they become discouraged.
Rāmeśvara: In other words, sometimes…

Prabhupāda: Now, who said that “You don’t bring money”? But I am not discouraging you, even if you don’t bring money.

Gargamuni: When we took sannyāsa, you told us to go door to door.

Prabhupāda: That’s all!

Gargamuni: We brought some fruits and some change, and Prabhupāda was very satisfied.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Gargamuni: We went door to door for two hours.

Rāmeśvara: No, I mean it is practical that if a man comes with artistic talents, then I will try to engage him as an artist. Different talents…

Prabhupāda: No, engage him. There must be engagement. Either as a artist or bookseller, there must be engagement.

Rāmeśvara: According to different talents.

Prabhupāda: Nobody should be allowed to keep himself lazy. That is not good. Niyataṁ kuru karma tvam [Bg 3.8].
That is… Find out this verse. Oh, he has taken away?

Hari-śauri: Bhagavad-gītā. Oh, I can get another Gītā.

Gargamuni: And they will be successful.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Why not?

Gargamuni: If they are sincere, they will be successful.

Rāmeśvara: So it is little taxing…

Prabhupāda: Not taxing. I was doing alone this. I was printing Back to Godhead and going to the press. I was writing. I was posting.

Gargamuni: In one room you had many corners for your different projects. [chuckles]

Rāmeśvara: But if you have hundreds and hundreds of devotees in one center, then you have to be concerned with their spiritual life—how they are engaged, how they’re supported.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Spiritual life…

Rāmeśvara: So the more people that come, the more intelligence is required to manage.

Prabhupāda: We can accommodate more people also. There is no difficulty.