REAL AND UNREAL PROPERTY

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The Real Property - Krishna's Lotus Feet

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda, Advaita Prabhu, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa and their followers are all accepted by Krishnadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī (the author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita). Anyone who follows in the footsteps of Kavirāja Gosvāmī also accepts the lotus feet of the above-mentioned lords as his personal property. For a materialistic person, material wealth and opulence are only illusory. Actually they are not possessions but entanglements because by enjoying the material world a conditioned soul becomes more and more entangled by incurring debts for his present enjoyment. Unfortunately, a conditioned soul considers property for which he is in debt to be his own, and he is very busy acquiring such property. But a devotee considers such property not real property but simply an entanglement in the material world. If Lord Krishna is very pleased with a devotee, He takes away his material property, as He states in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.88.8): yasyāham anugrhnāmi harisye tad-dhanam śanaih. “To show special favor to a devotee, I take away all his material property.” Similarly, Narottama dāsa Thākura says:

dhana mora nityānanda, rādhā-krishna-śrīcarana

sei mora prānadhana

“My real riches are Nityānanda Prabhu and the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā and Krishna.” He further prays, “O Lord, kindly give me this opulence. I do not want anything but Your lotus feet as my property.” Śrīla Narottama dāsa Thākura has sung in many places that his real property is the lotus feet of Rādhā and Krishna. Unfortunately, we are interested in unreal property and are neglecting our real property (adhane yatana kari’ dhana teyāginu).

 [TheBhaktivedanta Purport to the Caitanya Caritamrita – Adi Līla 13.124]