Can phala-shrutis be used to attract people looking for material benefits?
Phalashrutis of various bhakti limbs in bhagavatam, then that will inspire them to develop their bhakti and bhakti bhakti.
Otherwise, they will go to other places because anyway, they are interested in material benefits. Yes, that is true. So phalashrutis in the bhagavatam can definitely be told.
And we have the example in the bhagavatam itself. We have Diti, you know, she wanted a son. And what did Kashyap Muni do? He engaged her in a sacrifice.
Kumsavan or Payog? Kumsavan. And then by that, she wanted actually, she wanted someone who would kill Indira. But then at that time, she did the whole ritual and Indira also came and then the whole process happened.
In the process of that, by the end of it, the Maruts were born and she was purified. So by engaging in the process of bhakti, her intention was clearly material. See, that way, if we say, very, very rare are the souls who are going to come to us for spiritual purposes, isn't it? That manushyanam sahasreshu kashyagati siddhi.
So, there are very few people actually endeavouring for spiritual perfection. Most of the people, there is Chaturvidha Vajantemam. Four categories of people come to Krishna.
In Kali Yuga, four categories of people who come are the distress, the distress, the distress, the distress. So, actually, it is like, mostly it is stress and distress which makes people come to Krishna. So, we also talk in our corporate seminars or in Kali Seminar, we talk about how chanting is the main means to stress management and that is perfectly valid.
So, the problem comes when this is the only thing that we talk about. If this is the starting point to get people to take to the process of bhakti, then we should have faith that the process of bhakti can purify people. But if this is all that people hear and based on that, people don't follow the process of bhakti, people just, and they don't hear the broad philosophy.
See, if this is all that we talk about and we don't talk about anything else, then we are going to be distressed. But if this is like a starting point to attract people to hear about the philosophy, to understand the message and to start practicing the process, that is fine. In that way, Prabhupada used a slogan like, stay high forever.
Isn't it? That's completely like a drug, a slogan from the drug context. So, initially, we can apply the principle, ye na ke na prapada na na krishna nirvichara. Somehow or the other, we get people to try and become attracted to Krishna.
But we have to give them a proper understanding eventually. Initially, it's fine, whatever we use. But eventually, we have to get them towards proper understanding, proper understanding of philosophy, proper understanding of the process.
And then, it's up to them, whether they want to practice it or they want to leave it. So, if we, the scriptural promises are a part of a whole philosophy and a process. If we isolate the promises from the philosophy and the process, then it becomes a problem.
But if you use the promises as an initial spur to get people towards the philosophy and the process, then it's perfectly fine. Does that address your question? Okay. So, are you saying that, will those promises be fulfilled? Will those things actually turn out to be true? It will vary according to time and circumstance.
We cannot really say that. So, and if you see that way, somebody says that, you know, if you build a temple for Vishnu, then you will get wealth as much as Brahma or whatever, you know. Now, are people really attracted by the literal promise? Do they even know how much wealth Brahma has? Are they interested? They just want to be wealthy.
So, most of the scriptural promises in that sense are not quantifiable in today's terms. In today's, the way people analyze things, scriptural promises are not quantifiable. So, we don't have to really bother about literal parts.
So, when we tell these promises, people say, yes. So, certainly, Krishna is in their heart and Krishna will arrange their life in such a way that he may either fulfill those desires or he may give them some understanding by which they will be able to appreciate what is happening and they will move onwards. Our goal is to connect them to Krishna.
The promises can be initial spur. So, whether those promises will literally get fulfilled, we can't say that. We don't, it's not that Krishna can't fulfill them.
But it's not that Krishna is obligated to fulfill every promise in every situation. See, Krishna is the well-wisher of all human beings. And as the well-wisher, he does what is best for people.
So, in some cases, the fulfillment of a particular promise through some miraculous intervention, that may be the best for them. In some other cases, that may not be the best. So, Krishna will do what is best for.