Four Fantastic Benefits From Serving and Giving to Vaisnavas

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

Why give charity, money, articles and seva to great Krishna bhaktas? In many places, the Veda Shastras describe the wonderful benefits of serving devotees and giving charity for the seva of Sri Hari, Sri Guru and the Vaisnavas. Here are a few verses to illustrate this point.

Skanda Purana says

vishnum -uddishya -yatkincid, vishnu -bhaktaya -diyate
danam -tadvimalarh -proktam, kevalam -moksha -sadhanam

Anything given to devotees of Krishna/Vishnu with the aim of satisfying Bhagavan definitely gives one liberation. Hari Bhakti Vilasa 11.64

Visnu-dharmottara says, Bhagavan accepts whatever is offered to Him with devotion, even if it is mixed with material desire. Even an insignificant thing offered to Bhagavan without any personal desire awards one unlimited benefit. Hari Bhakti Vilasa 11.69-71
However, the following Srimad Bhagavatam verse describes the best and greatest of all possible benefits to be attained from giving seva and charity to great devotees:

Srimad Bhagavatam (1.2.16) says,

shushrushoh -shraddadhanasya, vasudeva-katha-rucih
syan -mahat-sevaya -viprah, punya-tirtha-nisevanat

Sri Suta Goswami said, “O Vipras, just listen! By serving great devotees one will attain four things:

1) Get attraction to hear Krishna katha;

2) Attain deep faith in Krishna and Vaisnavas;

3) Attain the real and lasting sweet taste for hearing and reading Krishna katha (katha-ruchi);

4) Attain the desire to surrender to Sri Guru.”

Sri Visvanatha Cakravartipada tika: “How can one attain genuine and real attraction to hear and read about Bhagavan Sri Krishna? This verse answers by saying that attraction arises simply by serving great devotees. By that seva one will also increase one’s faith in Krishna and Vaisnavas (shraddadhanasya). Then when faith increases, one will ultimately surrender and take shelter of the feet of pure guru.”

Without any doubt, these are the best possible results to be gained from giving charity to and serving great devotees. In return for your few rupees daan, a box of sweets, a chaddar or a bag of rice, you get the most coveted and rare gem of a real heart felt interest in and taste for, ruchi, hearing Radha-Krishna katha.

Then you will receive the benefit of a tremendous booster increase in your faith in Bhagavan Sri Krishna and devotees. Finally, for your Vaisnava charity and seva, Sri Krishna will mercifully give you the best reward and His topmost blessings by arranging for to meet and to attain Vaisnava diksha from a pure Guru.

Proper Vaisnava diksha and faithful surrendered Krishna bhakti bhajan will then give one mukti, liberation and Krishna prema, along with unending love, peace and happiness in the eternal service of Sri Sri Radha Govinda Yugala in the groves of Vrndavana.

And what greater benefits or returns for your charitable offerings could one ever even dream of than this?

Sri Vaisnava seva ki jai! Jai Jai Sri Radhe!