The Property of the Impoverished
67
When our material assets are taken away, we become very morose. But that is the test. That was stated by Kṛṣṇa Himself to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja inquired from Kṛṣṇa, “We are completely dependent on You, but still we are suffering materially so much. Our kingdom has been taken away, our wife has been insulted, and our enemies attempted to burn us in our house. How can this be so?” Kṛṣṇa replied,  yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ : “Yes, that is My first business. If I especially favor someone, then I take away all his sources of income and place him into great difficulty.” In this way, Kṛṣṇa is very dangerous.
I have actual experience in this connection. I do not wish to narrate this whole story, but it is a fact that I received Kṛṣṇa’s special favor in this way. When I was twenty-five years old, my Guru Mahārāja, my spiritual master, ordered me to go preach. But I thought, “First of all I shall become a rich man, and then I shall use my money to finance the preaching work.” I had good opportunities to become a very rich businessman. An astrologer even told me that I should have become as rich as the wealthiest man in India. There were very good chances. I was the manager of a big chemical factory. I started my own factory, and the business was very successful. But eventually everything collapsed, and in this way I was forced into the position of carrying out the orders of my Guru Mahārāja. When all my material assets were taken away, then I approached Kṛṣṇa, saying, “You are the only shelter.” Therefore Kṛṣṇa is  akiñcana-vitta , the property of the materially impoverished. When one is bereft of all material opulences, then one turns to Kṛṣṇa. And now I am realizing that I have not lost but gained.
So to lose material opulences for Kṛṣṇa’s sake is not a loss. Rather, it is the greatest gain. When one becomes  akiñcana , having nothing to possess, Kṛṣṇa becomes one’s only riches. Expressing this understanding, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says:
hā hā prabhu nanda-suta      vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta  
 karuṇā karaha ei-bāra  
 narottama dāsa kahe      na ṭheliyā raṅga-pāya  
 tumi vinā ke āche āmāra
“Kṛṣṇa, but for You I have nothing to claim. I have no possessions. You are my only possession, so please don’t neglect me.”
This position is very nice. When one does not depend on anything material but simply depends on Kṛṣṇa, one has attained the first-class