krishna/articles/2009/049

This advancement of material civilization is mayara vaibhava. Therefore the Vedic civilization is voluntarily accepting poverty. Voluntary. Big, big kings, they voluntarily accepted poverty. Bharata Maharaja and others. Even Lord Ramacandra. Take recent history, within five hundred years. Rupa Goswami, the chief minister of the government of Bengal, most opulent position: tyaktva turnam aseha-mandala-pati-srenim. They became mendicant, voluntarily accepting, tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati-srenim sada tucchavat. “What is this nonsense position, minister, opulent life? Kick it out.” They are not fools. They are politicians. But why they, “Kick it out.” Then what they became? Bhutva dina-ganesakau karunaya kaupina-kanthasritau. They become mendicant.

So voluntarily accepting poverty, this is Indian civilization, this is Vedic civilization. Not to increase material opulence but to decrease. The more you decrease, you are civilized. And the Western countries, if you decrease, if you instruct them that “Decrease these nonsense activities. No more tire civilization,” they’ll say “Oh, this is primitive, primitive.” This tendency is present. But actually, the primitive civilization… Not primitive; that is very sober civilization, anartha. Instead of increasing unwanted necessities, decrease it. That is Srimad-Bhagavatam. Anarthopasaman saksad bhakti-yogam adhoksaje. Lokasya ajanatah vidvams cakre satvata samhitam. This satvata samhitam bhagavata is there, simply to decrease this unwanted so-called material civilization. It is very difficult to understand, but our Krsna consciousness movement is for that purpose. We are interested to construct a nice temple, but we are not interested to construct a very big skyscraper building for people’s generally. No. We should live very humbly. But for Krsna we can. In India you’ll find there are so many valuable temples which cannot be constructed at the present moment. You will see in this Vrndavana that the broken Govindaji’s temple, it is not possible to construct such costly temples at the present moment. Even by spending crores of rupees you cannot construct. But one who has money, they used to do that. It should be engaged for Krsna’s comfort. This is bhakti. This is bhakti. For Krsna’s sake. Vrndavana means everyone is engaged how to keep Krsna in comfort. This is Vrndavana. Not for personal comfort. The whole Vrndavana is engaged, beginning from Mother Yasoda, Nanda Maharaja, the young gopis and the young cowherd boys—that is Vrndavana. Krsna is the center.

Just like Vyasadeva. There is no comparison of his literature. One cannot write one line like him. But he was living in a cottage. Canakya Pandita, such a great politician, he was living in a cottage. He did not keep any Rolls Royce car or like that. Rather, this material opulence is impediment to understand God. So it is not that I say, comparatively inferior, not that material opulence is also another check, no. Neither poverty is check nor material opulence is check. Anyone can understand if he follows the principle or process.
If you read Bhagavad-gita as it is, there is everything explained, everything. All problems are solved. Any problem you propose, there is solution in the Bhagavad-gita. Now this poverty, as you raised this question, poverty, so what is written there in the Bhagavad-gita? Annad bhavanti bhutani. This is instruction, that “You produce food grain.” Now, suppose Calcutta is a big city. Who is producing food grain? Everyone is trying to purchase food grain. But who is thinking that “Wherefrom the food grain will come?” Just see the foolishness of the people. You have to produce food grain. And there is ample facility. But throughout the whole world there are hundreds and thousands of cities. Now, who is producing food grain? The solution is there in the Bhagavad-gita. He said, annad bhavanti bhutani. Krsna never said, “By motor tire bhavanti bhutani.” Bhavanti means flourish. Everyone is engaged in producing motor tire, car, and they are flattering the Arabians for petrol. The same energy, if it would have been engaged in producing food grain, then where is the poverty?

Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.9
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, December 11, 1975