The Perfect Devotee 61
The devotee is advised to accept the necessities of life with-
out attachment. He'll take boiled water, but if boiled water
is not available, does it mean he will not drink water? If it
is not available, he will drink ordinary water. We take
Krsna prasada, but while touring, sometimes we have to take
some food in a hotel. Because one is a devotee, should he
think, “I will not take any foodstuffs from the hotel. I shall
starve”? If I starve, then I will be weak and will not be able
to preach.
BOB: Does a devotee lose some of his individuality, in
that—
SRILA PRABHUPADA: No, he has full individuality for
pleasing Krsna. Krsna says, ““You surrender unto Me.” So he
voluntarily surrenders. It is not that he has lost his in-
dividuality. He keeps his individuality. Just like Arjuna—in
the beginning, he was declining to fight, on account of his
individuality. But when he accepted Krsna as his spiritual
master, he became Jisya [a disciple]. Then whatever Krsna
ordered, he said yes. That doesn’t mean he lost his in-
dividuality. He voluntarily accepted: ‘Whatever Krsna
says, I shall do it.” Just like all my disciples—they have not
lost their individuality, but they have surrendered their in-
dividuality. That is required. For example, suppose a man
does not use sex. It does not mean he has become impotent.
If he likes, he can have sex life a thousand times. But he has
voluntarily avoided it. Pararn drstva nivartate: he has a higher
taste. Sometimes we fast, but that does not mean we are dis-
eased. We voluntarily fast. It does not mean that I am not
hungry or cannot eat. But we voluntarily fast.
BOB: Does the devotee who surrenders keep his individual
taste?
SRILA PRABHUPADA: Yes, in full.
