280 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Antya-lila, Ch. 3
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 be-
cause 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,
ahari’i tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami: “| shall save you from all sinful reac-
tions.” When our Krsna conscious devotees go out to beg charity or collect con-
tributions 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 sin-
ful reactions. A Vaisnava guru accepts money or other contributions, but he does
not employ such contributions for sense gratification. A pure Vaisnava thinks him-
self 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.
TEXT 140
aie af asacg afer Caz aca
atfa-faca fea-aee aT ates] BCA | 98° Ul
méathad mudi’ eka-vastre rahila sei ghare
ratri-dine tina-laksa nama grahana kare
SYNONYMS
matha mudi’—shaving her head; eka-vastre—wearing one cloth; rahila—
remained; sei ghare—in that room; ratri-dine—throughout the entire day and
night; tina-laksa—300,000; nama—holy names; grahana kare—chants.
TRANSLATION
The prostitute shaved her head clean in accordance with Vaisnava prin-
ciples and stayed in that room wearing only one cloth. Following in the
footsteps of her spiritual master, she began chanting the Hare Krsna maha-
mantra 300,000 times a day. She chanted throughout the entire day and night.
