188 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

want any opulence. I only desire not to forget His service. I simply
wish to be associated with His pure devotees. May my mind and ac-
tivities be always engaged in His service. The unborn Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead Krsna knows that many great personalities have
fallen from their positions because of extravagant opulence. There-
fore, even when His devotee asks for some opulence from Him, the
Lord sometimes does not give it. He is very cautious about His devotees.
Because a devotee in an immature position of devotional service may, if
offered great opulence, fall from his position due to being in the material
world, the Lord does not offer opulence to him. This is another manifesta-
tion of the causeless mercy of the Lord upon His devotee. His first interest
is that the devotee may not fall. He is exactly like a well-wishing father
who does not give much wealth into the hand of his immature son, but
who, when the son is grown up and knows how to spend money, gives
him the whole treasury house.”

The learned brahmana thus concluded that whatever opulences he had
received from the Lord should not be used for his extravagant sense
gratification, but for the service of the Lord. The brahmana accepted his
newly-acquired opulence, but he did so in a spirit of renunciation,
unattached to sense gratification, and thus he lived very peacefully with
his wife, enjoying all the facilities of opulence as prasadam of the Lord.
He enjoyed varieties of foodstuff by offering it to the Lord and then
taking it as prasddam. Similarly, if by the grace of the Lord we get such
opulences as material wealth, fame, power, education and beauty, it is our
duty to consider that they are all gifts of the Lord and must be used for
His service, not for our sense enjoyment. The learned brahmana remained
in that position, and instead of deteriorating due to great opulence, his
love and affection for Lord Krsna increased day after day. Material
opulence can be the cause of degradation and also the cause of elevation,
according to the purposes for which it is used. If opulence is used for
sense gratification, it is the cause of degradation, and if it is used for the
service of the Lord, it is the cause of elevation.

It is evident from Lord Krsna’s dealings with Sudama Vipra that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is very, very pleased with a person who is
possessed of brahminical qualities. A qualified brahmana like Sudama
Vipra is naturally a devotee of Lord Krsna. Therefore it is said, brahmano
vaisnavah: a brahmana is a Vaisnava. Or sometimes it is said, brahmanah
panditah. Pandita means a highly learned person. A brahmana cannot be
foolish or uneducated. Therefore there are two divisions of brahmanas,
namely Vaisnavas and panditas. Those who are simply learned are pandits,
but not yet devotees of the Lord, or Vaisnavas. Lord Krsna is not
