Answer
No. Whatever mercy we receive, we should give it out. Again, give it out.
But you don't give it out indiscriminately without considering whether the person has the qualification to receive it. There are hundreds of people who come for darshan. Why don't we tell the highest philosophy to everybody?
Adhikara means seeing the qualification. It is not simply about telling everyone that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and so on. There are different steps, and gradually the knowledge will register in them.
So many people come. Some of them become congregation members, some start chanting, some buy books, and so on. There are different levels. We also have to see whom we are talking to and, according to that person's qualification, give Krishna consciousness or preach the mercy that we have received from Prabhupada.
But the spirit is always to share. The spirit should always be to share.
The more realizations you share with devotees—submissive devotees who want to receive them—the more you get fresh realizations.
So this is called bodhayantaḥ parasparam. Devotees live by exchanging their realizations, and in this way there is a continuous flow of mercy from the spiritual master, not only to individuals but to the whole community.
That is why Nitya Bhagavata-seva is very important. Everyday Bhagavatam class is very important, where devotees share their realizations. Just like if you pour water on a rock, it cannot absorb it. You pour water on sand, and it can absorb it. A sponge can absorb water.
So, a submissive attitude means that we should be like a sponge. Our attitude should be a sponge-like attitude. Then we will immediately absorb whatever we read from Prabhupada.
That is what we have to cultivate. A lot depends on the receiver also.
Just like Prabhupada says, sunlight is everywhere, right? It is up to us to go and stand under the sun and receive the heat. Light is everywhere.
Similarly, I have repeatedly said that the cloud of mercy is raining down. Krishna is incarnating in His sound. We are all chanting.
The rain is the same, but how much of that rain we receive—how much our soul catches that rain of mercy—depends from person to person.
So that is our attitude.
What is the attitude with which you are doing japa? What is the bhavana with which you are doing japa?
You receive because that mercy is personal; Krishna is there and He operates through it.
You said that in the beginning those people didn't have that devotion and submissiveness. Is that correct?
No. Whatever little they had was sincere. You have to understand that.
And that much they had, and because of that they received mercy. Because they received a little mercy, they became a little more sincere.
Then, again, because of that little more sincerity, they had the ability to offer more devotion and submissiveness.
In this way, by the association of a pure devotee, the qualification, or adhikara, to receive increases.
So the source is the same. The source is standing steady and giving freely.
But we have to churn, take, improve; take, improve; take, improve; take, improve our submissiveness.
Receive. Learn how to surrender.
When you surrender more, you receive more. When you receive more, you become more surrendered. When you are more surrendered, you'll receive more.
One feeds into the other.
That's how our japa also works. You don't have to worry. As you improve, as you follow Guru's instructions, the quality of your japa will go on increasing. You simply have to follow the instructions.
