TEXT 139
tabe sei vesya gurura ajna la-ila
grha-vitta yeba chila, brahmanere dila
SYNONYMS
tabethereafter; seithat; vesyaprostitute; gururaof the spiritual master; ajnaorder; la-ilatook; grha-vittaall household possessions; yebawhatever; chilathere was; brahmanereto the brahmanas; dilagave.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, the prostitute distributed to the brahmanas whatever household possessions she had, following the order of her spiritual master.
PURPORT
Sometimes the word grha-vrtti is substituted for the word grha-vitta. Vrtti means "profession." The grha-vrtti of the prostitute was to enchant foolish people and induce them to indulge in sex. Here, however, grha-vrtti is not a suitable word. The proper word is grha-vitta, which means "all the possessions she had in her home." All the girl's possessions had been earned by professional prostitution and were therefore products of her sinful life. When such possessions are given to brahmanas and Vaisnavas who can engage them in the service of the Lord because of their advancement in spiritual life, this indirectly helps the person who gives the charity, for he is thus relieved of sinful reactions. As Krsna promises, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami: "I shall save you from all sinful reactions." When our Krsna conscious devotees go out to beg charity or collect contributions in the form of membership fees, the money thus coming to the Krsna consciousness movement is strictly employed to advance Krsna consciousness all over the world. The Krsna conscious devotees collect the money of others for the service of Krsna, and they are satisfied with Krsna's prasada and whatever He gives them for their maintenance. They do not desire material comforts. However, they go to great pains to engage the possessions of prostitutes, or persons who are more or less like prostitutes, in the service of the Lord and thus free them from sinful reactions. A Vaisnava guru accepts money or other contributions, but he does not employ such contributions for sense gratification. A pure Vaisnava thinks himself unfit to help free even one person from the reactions of sinful life, but he engages one's hard-earned money in the service of the Lord and thus frees one from sinful reactions. A Vaisnava guru is never dependent on the contributions of his disciples. Following the instructions of Haridasa Thakura, a pure Vaisnava does not personally take even a single paisa from anyone, but he induces his followers to spend for the service of the Lord whatever possessions they have.

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