• Maleny, Qld. Australia. January 27th 2022
• Q: Hello, what kind of plant do you carry in your vehicle?

A: This a specimen of Holy Basil. In the Hare Krishna movement we call it also Tulasi Maharani or Tulasi Devi

Q: O, I see. I know about this as I have been living in Nepal. Do you make tea with it? (self-centred)

A: No not really. Krishna likes to have a few leaves of Tulasi on His meals. (Krishna centred) So we try to please Him in that way when we make offering of food to God, Krishna, as he invites in Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 9.26, version 3:

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

WORD for WORD TRANSLATION

patram — a leaf; puspam — a flower; phalam — a fruit; toyam — water; yah — whoever; me — unto Me; bhaktya — with devotion; prayacchati — offers; tat — that; aham — I; bhakti-upahrtam — offered in devotion; asnami — accept; prayata-atmanah — from one in pure consciousness.

TRANSLATION

Whoever offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I accept that offering of the pure and loving heart.  

Q: Silence.

Wombye, Qld. Australia. January 4th 2022.

A: Sir, this looks like a really fine vehicle you’ve got here. It really exudes opulence as a Rolls Royce would. And it is really none of my business but this must come with a hefty price tag.

Q: Yes, I bought this vehicle only 5 weeks ago, and paid AU $ 80.000 for it!

A: How wonderful! Sir would you kindly accept a Krishna-book and make a donation for our Krishna charity?

Q: Na, na, na, na that I cannot do. (Very self-centred.)

Shastra or scripture warns often that if we do not employ our wealth in Krishna’s or God’s service and act like thieves, that very wealth may become the cause of our demise. How many millionaires or rich politicians died while driving their vehicles or died in a plane crash? In Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 5.29, version 3, Krishna’s ownership of all wealth is acknowledged. He who creates a thing, may claim ownership of that thing and not otherwise.

“A person in Krishna consciousness, knows it well that Lord Krishna is the ultimate goal of all kinds of sacrifices and austerities, that He is the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and that He is the benefactor and well-wisher of all living enitites and with that knowledge the person in Krishna consciousness achieves the greatest relief from the pangs of material miseries.” 

There is also Isopanishad mantra 1:

isavasyam idam sarvam
yat kinca jagatyam jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha
ma grdhah kasya svid dhanam

“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.”

Ref. VedaBase => SB 6.14.10