Srila Prabhupada would often tell the story of the son of a very rich man who left home and started to wander in the streets. Seeing him hungry someone offered him food, he gulped it due to his hunger but continued his aimless wandering. Then someone else comes and offers him a new set of clothes and he happily wears that and conituned his aimless wandering. Then someone gives him few free medicines which give him physical relief but it cannot help him with his internal distress. Then someone comes, takes him in a car, brings him home, bathes him and when he has sobered down, talks to him with affection about his loving father's affection for him, and removes the misunderstanding in the relationship with his father. When he has sobered down, then he takes him back to his father's mansion where he gets unlimited foodstuff, best clothes, permanent medicines for relief and support of his father. This is solving his problems permanenetly.
We are all the beloved children of God just like the wealthy son of the King but due to misuse of our free will, we have left the loving shelter of our father and are wandering here in this material world aimlessly for some pleasure due to which we are sometimes promoted to heavenly kingdom (A class prison) or animal kingdom or hellish planets (C Class prison) without any way out. The Vedic texts give us information that we are spiritual beings belonging to the eternal kingdom of God but due to the misuse of our independence we choose to enjoy separate from the shelter of the Father just like the child who left home.
So material welfare workers are like the people who offered food, clothing and medicines to the child but the devotees are the people who take the child back to His father for eternal happiness.
- From Spiritual Scientist Newsletter by Iskcon Youth Forum
Under HG Radheshyam Das and HG Chaitanya Charana Das
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