60 Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers
kaunteya pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranasyati
[‘‘O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never
perishes.”] Because the spiritual master takes the risk on ac-
count of Krsna.
BOB: Your suffering is not the same kind of pain . . .
SRILA PRABHUPADA: No, it is not due to karma. The pain is
there sometimes, so that the disciples may know, “Due to
our sinful activities, our spiritual master is suffering.”
BOB: You look very well now.
SRILA PRABHUPADA: I am always well . . . in the sense
that even if there is suffering, I know Krsna will protect
me. But this suffering is not due to my sinful activities.
BOB: But let us say when I—in the town I live in, I take
boiled water because some of the water has disease in it.
Now, why should I drink boiled water if I have been good
enough not to get a disease? Then I may drink any water.
And if I have been not acting properly, then I shall get dis-
ease anyway.
SRILA PRABHUPADA: So long as you are in the material
world, you cannot neglect physical laws. Suppose you go to
a jungle and there is a tiger. It is known that it will attack
you, so why should you voluntarily go and be attacked? It is
not that a devotee should take physical risk so long as he has
a physical body. It is not a challenge to the physical laws: “I
have become a devotee. I challenge everything.” That is
foolishness.
andsaktasya visayan
yatharham upayufjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktarh vairagyam ucyate
