Category:Collecting Money
Theme Analysis
In the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the handling of finances is a deeply spiritual matter. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that money is the energy of the Supreme Lord, represented by the Goddess of Fortune, Lakṣmī. Therefore, collecting money is not a mundane business, provided the collector has absolutely no personal attachment to the funds. The strict Vedic standard for brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs is to collect alms exclusively on behalf of the spiritual master and to spend everything for the missionary activities of Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda sets a dynamic standard for his disciples: collect millions of dollars during the day and spend it all for Kṛṣṇa by the evening, leaving no room for material hoarding or bank balances.
A major theme in this category is the severe warning against the misuse of collected funds. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly criticizes pseudo-philanthropists and false gurus who collect money under the pretext of feeding the poor (daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā) or building hospitals, only to squander the wealth on their own comfortable living and sense gratification. He insists that not a single farthing of ISKCON's collections should be put at stake or used for personal enjoyment. Furthermore, Śrīla Prabhupāda provides highly practical management directives. He emphasizes that the purest and most effective way to collect money is by distributing transcendental books. He also demands strict transparency, requiring clear accounts of all income and expenditure to protect the purity and reputation of the society.
- Lakṣmī belongs to Nārāyaṇa: Money is the property of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Devotees collect money from the public not for their own comfort, but to return the Lord's energy to His service.
- The Danger of Atyāhāra: Collecting more money than necessary or hoarding wealth is called atyāhāra. This over-endeavor agitates the mind and destroys spiritual advancement.
- Book Distribution as the Standard: The primary, most reliable, and purest method of collecting money for temple construction and preaching is the mass distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books.
- Strict Financial Integrity: Stealing, using dubious methods of collection, or misusing funds designated for specific projects (like Food Relief) ruins the purity of the movement and must be strictly avoided.
- The Hypocrisy of Material Charity: Collecting money in the name of the poor while living in luxury is a massive spiritual fraud perpetrated by mundane institutions and false yogīs.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Collecting Money - The Art of Utilizing Lakṣmī for Kṛṣṇa.
Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.
C
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Pages in category "Collecting Money"
The following 135 pages are in this category, out of 135 total.
A
- A neophyte devotee should neither eat too much nor collect more money than necessary. Eating too much or collecting too much is called atyahara. For such atyahara one must endeavor very much. This is called prayasa
- All you can collect will go for building for Vrindaban, and Mayapur only, no question of 50/50 division. The books are being sent to you free, so you raise money
- Another principle is that those who are brahmacaris, they should sacrifice all of their income and collection for the Krishna Consciousness Movement
- Anyone who cannot collect money, they should go to Mayapur and live there and simply eat and sleep, like women and widows. I shall arrange for their eating and sleeping
- As I recommend to every householder, if you spend 50% of your income for Krishna's business in developing New Vrindaban, and a similar amount is collected by Kirtanananda Maharaja, I think there will be no need of financial help from other centers
- As soon as you quit this body, or death, so your money and everything, what you collected with this body, with the finishing of this body, everything is finished. But you go. You are spirit soul
- At the same time, they are not indifferent to the execution of their duties. Such people are interested in collecting only enough money to keep the body and soul together
C
- Collect the money for your ticket there and then immediately go to Africa to help there. I think that will be nice. Make sure that you follow all of the rules and regulations, & chant at least 16 rounds daily. That will make you out of the reach of Maya
- Concerning Gurukula Construction; Already you have got some money. Begin and try to collect and the balance we shall arrange. Send me the account number and when money will be necessary the money will be transferred someway or another
D
- Dabira Khasa, who was later to become Rupa Gosvami, retired from his post and collected all the money he had accumulated during his service
- Do not be discouraged if so far the collections have not been very great in terms of money. More important than the results is the activity. Krsna wants to see that you are fully engaged with all sincerity in preaching His glories
- Don't be disappointed that the whole day you work, you got no collection, and nobody was interested in Krsna consciousness. No. Don't be disappointed. You have worked sincerely the whole day, that is your credit
- Don't neglect the Hindus. Collect money from them for printing and pushing on our preaching work. They are able to give enough money
E
- Every morning we shall be empty-handed, get collection of a million dollars during the daytime, and by evening it should be all spent. That should be our motto
- Everyone requires possessions such as food grains, clothing, money and other things necessary for the maintenance of the body, but one should not collect more than necessary for his actual basic needs
- Everything can be turned. Hari-sambandhi-vastunah: without any attachment. Just like these boys, they are collecting money, but not a single farthing they are spending for themselves. Not a single farthing
F
- First of all grhastha is advised not to bother himself to earn more than he requires. That is Vedic civilization. Just like the brahmana - brahmana means he collects money so much as he requires. That's all
- First of all show your capacity that you have managed these two things very nicely. Why there should be complaint? How you can solve it? And why the temples should be maintained by collection of the BBT? It is meant for printing and constructing temples
- Foolish materialistic people collect money and steal from other thieves, but they cannot keep it. In any case, it must be spent
- For any magazine published money should be collected and then republished. Accounts should be kept - money invested money collected
G
- Gargamuni Swami is collecting for Mayapur. Is he sending you any money? How is the money being utilized?
- Gopinatha Pattanayaka is in charge of collecting money on behalf of the government, but he misappropriates it. Not fearing the King, he squanders it to see dancing girls
- Gopinatha Pattanayaka would collect some and pay some, spending it at will, but I would not consider this very seriously. This time, however, he was put into trouble because of a misunderstanding with the prince
- Greedy capitalists accumulate wealth under so many miserable conditions, the result being that because they collect money by questionable means, their minds are always agitated
- Greedy capitalists accumulate wealth under so many miserable conditions, the result being that because they collect money by questionable means, their minds are always agitated. Thus they are unable to sleep at night, and they have to take pills
- Gurukrpa Maharaja has taken charge of the collecting for Mayapur now. You can simply send his food relief collection money to Mayapur. When the Bombay project is finished and Mayapur begins, the Mayapur project should be financed in the same way
H
- Hatha-yoga is not practiced in assembly of so many men. Just you go to a hatha-yoga class. There are hundreds of members practicing, and he is collecting money, five dollars per seat. And you are thinking, "I am practicing." That is useless waste of time
- He (Krsna) convinced them (the cowherd boys) that one who is engaged in collecting or begging should not think that he will be successful everywhere. He may be unsuccessful in some places, but that should not be cause for disappointment
- He (Rupa Gosvami) collected whatever money he had accumulated in Bengal and divided it among his relatives, the brahmanas and the temples
- He served in the place known as Malajathya Dandapata, soliciting and collecting money there and depositing it in the government treasury
- Henceforward all collections for Vrindaban Temple Construction should be deposited in this newly opened fund account
- Hiranya dasa was collecting 2,000,000 coins and therefore should have delivered 1,500,000 to the government. Instead, he was giving only 1,200,000, thus making an extra profit of 300,000 coins
- His only business is to acquire money. He is collecting money like anything and is not contributing to the society. So what can I do? I did not say anything to him. I am simply praying to Krishna for his welfare
- Human society is exactly like a beehive, for everyone is engaged in collecting honey from various flowers, or collecting money from various sources, and creating large empires for common enjoyment
I
- I am arranging to collect and send money from here for the Vrindaban project and I also want you to concentrate on collecting there. We want to finish this project as soon as possible so that we will have our Center firmly fixed up in Vrindaban
- I am glad to hear that the Calcutta temple is progressing nicely under your direction, that devotees are going out daily distributing books and collecting
- I am surprised to know that the actual collection was $1,750 and the doctors and lawyers, etc. have taken more than $1,000. Anyway, something is better than nothing. Whatever we have got will be used for Krishna's service
- I am travelling all over the country and whenever there is some collection I transfer the money by mail transfer
- I could have recommended something for you, but you could not reply me a proper account, what was collected and what was spent
- I do not find any mention of how the work is going on there at Mayapur. I have entrusted you as the leader of this project to see that it is always going on at full capacity, that the men are working, that the money shall be collected and spent wisely
- I have made a Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. That is my will, and I have given my will that fifty percent of the collection should be spent for reprinting the books and fifty percent should be spent for spreading the movement
- I have made a trust will in which fifty percent of the collection is spent for reprinting the books, and fifty percent is spent for spreading this movement
- I may inform you that in Bombay they have received the sanction for constructing the temple in Juhu. Until further order whatever money you collect should be sent to Bombay
- I may inform you that we have received the permission for constructing our Juhu temple. I want that your collection should be sent there so that the buildings may be completed as soon as possible
- I think you can let me know how you are doing there in Delhi for collecting for our Vrindaban temple
- I think you should take special license or permission from the authority because as a religious society, we can collect in such a way. Simply the authorities have to be informed that we are a serious institute for spreading God consciousness
- I was getting some money by contributions in my lectures. But in the beginning my all expenditures were not sufficient collection
- I would have collected millions of dollars if I would have cheated like that. But I do not want that. I want one student who follows my instruction. I don't want millions
- I would like to know whether or not you have collected the money for that German book you took here from me. You can please send one set of Srimad-Bhagavatams to this address, to Sri Vamana dasa: Walther Eidlitz - Bavergrand 18A-III - Uppsala - Sweden
- If I go to India for some days, I am sure I shall be able to collect a considerable amount of money for this purpose, but I wish that people from this part of the world should be sympathetic with my movement
- If I would have collected the money and used for my sense gratification. Then nobody would help me
- If one continuously poses himself as possessing nothing and collects money by begging, he should be killed - sainam tatraiva hanyat
- If possible you can collect something for our Gurukula and Temple also, and if some high-class men want to offer their children to Gurukula we can accept
- If someone feels cheated by our men because they are using dubious methods of distribution and collecting money our purity may be doubted and reputation spoiled
- If you can get permission from the authorities for chanting and collecting on the streets, that will be a great boon to your activities. Please try for this wholeheartedly
- If you go on collecting in this way, where is the difficulty? Of course if there is great need, I can give you, but if you think that you can manage something independently, then try for that, that will be better
- If you think you shall keep the money you collect there for future use for temple, that's alright, but my Guru Maharaja used to say, "Trust no future, however pleasant"
- In Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is clearly stated, in the Sixteenth Chapter, verse 17, that rascals of self-made authority, being puffed up by illegally collected money, perform yoga without following the authoritative books
- In Bombay there are many charitable institutions and Trusts, so if you approach them and they are convinced about our activities, enough money can be collected intelligently
- In case you do not like this arrangement, then you may keep the temple as your private property and as my disciple I will give you guidance. But you may not use the ISKCON name to collect funds or to take loans
- In India especially, there is now a class of professional Bhagavatam readers whose means of livelihood is to go from village to village, town to town, reading Bhagavatam and collecting daksina, or rewards, in the form of money or goods
- In India the Brahmacaris collect alms and subscription but here it is not possible to do like that: therefore all Brahmacaris may work at least part time so that our financial difficulty may be minimized
- In the system of democracy, thieves and rogues naturally collect money from other thieves and rogues, and thus there is chaos in every government, and no one is happy
- In your last letter I understood that you are collecting at least $70 to $80 weekly by selling books. That is a great service to the society
- Institutions collecting money
- It is a good idea to use the money which had been collected in Madras to complete the Hyderabad Temple. The immediate necessity must be met first
- It is my habit to see that money is not being squandered. If money is spent unnecessarily, I feel very badly. You are collecting with great effort, and I do not like to see it spoiled
- It is prohibited for a brahmana to make any bank balance. It is prohibited. He should daily collect some money, because if he makes bank balance it will be attraction
- It was not the desire of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that Gopinatha Pattanayaka be excused of his debt to the government, nor was it His desire that his salary be doubled or that he be reappointed collector at the same place
M
- Maharishi Mahesa has left your land (America) with great disappointment - but his mission to cheat your people was successful. He wanted to collect some money and he cheated so many people because they wanted to be cheated
- Making a show of devotional paraphernalia, they (materialistic persons) may also collect money from the public and use it to cure the disease of some family member or near relative
- My blessings are there for you in your collecting program. After all you are already Gurukrpa
N
- Not that we should use all collected money for maintenance. Better to print books and distribute
- Now that our ISKCON is growing into a huge, worldwide organization, it has come to my attention that sometimes centers are printing my literature, taking collection and spending all outside the jurisdiction of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
- Now you have in stock about 10,000 copies of KRSNA, face value of which is about $75,000, so kindly try to collect as much as possible and send your weekly collections to this deposit fund
O
- Of course by their collecting more money and giving to Krsna, He will relieve them of all anxiety of telling lies. But not everyone is able to catch the big fish without themselves becoming wet
- Once when he deposited the collection, however, a balance of 200,000 kahanas of conchshells was due from him. Therefore the King demanded this sum
- One must collect money for the temple expenditures, or if one is a householder he must go to work in accordance with the prescribed duties of a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra
- One should rigidly avoid hearing the Bhagavatam from a Mayavadi or other nondevotee who simply performs a grammatical jugglery of words to twist some meaning from the text, collect money from the innocent public, and thus keep people in darkness
- One thing is whether they have collected enough to cover all the costs. I have heard that despite all this distribution, now there is a big debt to the Book Fund. The GBC has to manage so expertly that there will not be debts
- Our money is collected with great difficulty. I want that not a single farthing may be at stake
R
- Regarding collecting money, a sannyasi's name is vikshu, or licensed beggar. Not only sannyasi, but a brahmachary also is required to collect for his Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master spends for missionary activities
- Regarding collection from the public: I think you should take special license or permission from the authority because as a religious society, we can collect in such a way
- Regarding your nice Sankirtana collections, this should be kept in a separate account so that it may help in some great emergency. You should become a little spendthrift. I know that you do this, but still I am reminding you
- Regarding your plane fare to India, it will be best if you can collect that money by selling some books on sankirtana. Then there will be no shortage
S
- $70,000. or $80,000. should have been collected, but Karandhara has only collected $24,000. So where is the rest of the money? This means that the money is not being collected properly. What can be done?
- Simply we have to work and people will give contribution for this good cause. It is better to get money by collections than to work
- Since leaving India, I have not heard from you. Gurudas has written that the work has stopped in Vrndaban for want of finances. What is the position of your collections in Delhi? I am arranging to collect and send money from here for the Vrindaban project
- So far as the money is concerned, it is not meant for banking, but it is meant for spending. Our policy should be to collect millions of dollars or more than that daily, and spend it daily
- So if there is shortage of money for maintenance, I have no objection if you divert some of the money from advertisements collection to improve the sanitary and health conditions
- So many rascal, they are simply collecting money and eating themselves. Daridra-narayana-seva. And all the daridras are lying on the street. So these are only humbug. It has no meaning. You cannot do anything
- Sometimes they (materialistic persons) become babajis or collect money on the plea of worshiping the poor, whom they call daridra-narayana, or for social and political upliftment
- Sometimes, for business purposes, large crowds of men are taken to different places of pilgrimage, and money is collected from them
T
- That brahmacari rules and regulation are there in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, that he would go door to door for collecting alms for his spiritual master
- That is a very lucrative business (taking large crowds of men to the different places of pilgrimage & collecting money from them), but Rupa & Sanatana Gosvamis, expressing their opinion in the presence of Caitanya, disapproved of such crowded pilgrimages
- The brahmanas or Vaisnavas do not live at others' cost; they live by spending their own money, although it appears that they are collecting this money from others
- The collections will increase as people come more and more. The temple should become self-sufficient, that is wanted. However, see that stealing is stopped. I am doubtful that things are being stolen, otherwise how is the expenditure so high
- The Indians there have been cheated by so many rascal swamis who have come simply to collect money and then leave. So our work will be done locally
- The King told Gopinatha Pattanayaka, "You are excused for all the money you owe the treasury, and the place known as Malajathya Dandapata is again given to you for collections"
- The Krsna conscious devotees collect the money of others for the service of Krsna, and they are satisfied with Krsna’s prasadam and whatever He gives them for their maintenance. They do not desire material comforts
- The Ramakrishna Mission, they are collecting money, huge money, from your country, here also, to mitigate the sufferings of the poor people, daridra-narayana seva. But actually you see that how many poverty-stricken people are there in India
- The safe course is to say no. Although it is a falsehood, it protects one completely, it draws the compassion of others toward oneself, and it gives one full facility to collect money from others for oneself
- Their expenditure is at my direction. Not a single paisa they can spend in their own discretion. They are laboring hard to get this collection, but the money is mine. This is the arrangement
- There are also institutions (in India) collecting money from all parts of the world in the name of welfare activities for poverty-stricken people, but they are spending it for their own sense gratification
- There are so many yajnas... And sometimes India, they perform so-called yajnas. They collect some money. That's all. It cannot be successful because there is no yajnic brahmana. The yajnic brahmana is not in existence at the present moment
- There is no scarcity of material, so we may distribute the message regularly, never mind it is not so highly printed. So far collections is concerned of the sales proceeds of Back To Godhead
- They (disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura) merely came back to India falsely advertising that they had converted all the foreigners to the ideas of Vedanta or KC, & then they collected funds in India & lived satisfied lives of material comfort
- They (materialistic persons who become preachers, gurus, religionists or philosophers) spread a network of business schemes to collect money for sense gratification by cheating people in general, who have no knowledge of pure devotional service
- They shall operate wherever they are allocated, that they shall only sell books, no collecting without selling books, and that, above the wholesale price of the book, any profit there is must be given at least 50% to the local temple
- This lamentation you have got is not good. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati. This is not Krishna consciousness. Do not lament, but go on with your collecting engagement enthusiastically
- Those who collect contributions on behalf of ISKCON should be very careful not to use even a farthing of the collection for any purpose other than the transcendental loving service of the Lord
- Those young boys are living as true brahmacaris. Brahmacari's business is to study and then go to make some collection on behalf of the guru. This is very good engagement for them
- To collect seventy thousand dollars and spend every month, do you think is very easy job? A big government is concerned, or a big company, to collect seventy thousand dollars and distribute it again. It is a big problem
- To collect so much from visitors is Krishna's grace. This is very good. If you simply please the visitors, you will get so many Life Members
W
- We are constructing our temple in Vrndavana. We require fifty lakhs. That is required. But I shall not collect more than fifty lakhs even one cent. This is atyahara. Similarly, if your body can consume foodstuff one kilo or half kilo, you can eat
- We have got one means: we have got very good books. If you collect some money by selling our books, then we can have a nice place
- We have not come here to collect some money. Money is supplied by Krsna. I am going back and forth to India - not only I, but my students as well. For a rich man there would be many expenditures; it would cost ten thousand dollars or such trips
- We worship Laksmi (Radharani) along with Narayana (Krsna). We collect money from various sources, but that money does not belong to anyone but Radha and Krsna - Laksmi-Narayana
- What is this stealing and violence. This is not good. By stealing, did Gurukrpa Maharaja collect that money? Stealing is not our business. Our business is to become Krsna conscious
- Whatever amount you have collected, that also deposit in this account. But the main point is whether any negotiations or settlement
- Whatever money is collected should be spent for Krsna, and not a farthing for sense gratification. This is the Bhagavata principle
- Whatever you have collected for poor feeding may be sent to Bombay Bank of America
- When I was in Nairobi I took away from Cyavana all managerial duties. There were so many complaints against him from our men and from outsiders. He could not manage nor could he collect
- When Madhavananda and Hamsaduta were there, they were collecting funds to construct a temple there at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Please report to me what was done with these funds
- When our Krsna conscious devotees go out to beg charity or collect contributions 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
- When the Deity is coming out, the servitors in the temple put forward the daily accounts before Them: so much was the collection, so much was the expenditure
- Why is it that money that has been collected on behalf of ISKCON Food Relief program has not been sent to India? Where is that money? This is not good. If you are not intending to send for food distribution, then do not collect in the name of Food Relief
Y
- Yes I know very well that Gargamuni Maharaja is an expert collector and preacher. He is so expert in collecting therefore I call him Gargamoney
- You know very well that I went to India this time empty handed but we spent there not less than five lakhs Rupees during my 10 month stay and all the money was collected simply on the strength of our books and literatures
- You must have the best kind of treatment available, and you can spend from the money you are collecting on behalf of Krishna
- You should duly collect for Mayapur and I shall advise you when the time comes for utilizing the money. In the mean time go on collecting. I thank you very much for proposing to collect $100,000 for the Mayapur project
- Your idea for selling advertisements for Rathayatra issue of BTG is very good. This idea we have implemented both in Bombay and Calcutta and it has proven very good for collecting money