by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
“So he (Chanakya Pandit) was a great politician. But still, he was living in a cottage. He was not accepting any salary because he was brahmana. Brahmana cannot accept any salary. Just like you have accepted me as your acarya, but you do not pay me any salary. This is forbidden. The teacher will not accept salary. Then he comes down to the sudra platform. The sudra accepts salary. “I serve you, you pay me.” And the brahmana will distribute knowledge freely, and the ksatriya will give protection to the brahmana. This is the system of Vedic system.
Even in fifty years ago, education in India, there was no charges. A learned brahmana will sit down in corner of a neighborhood and all the children will come there. They will learn primary education. And the parents of the children will send, somebody will send rice, somebody will send dal… Just like we are maintaining, by collecting. Not here, but in Bombay, our center is collecting and distributing.
The whole system was that. Love exchange. I give you some service; you give me something, out of your love. Dadati pratigrhnati. Love means six symptoms. I give you something, you give me something. I give you something for eating, you also give me something for eating. Dadati pratigrhnati bhunkte bhojayate, guhyam akhyati prcchati. If I am in trouble, I express my mind, I open my mind before you, and you also try to help me. These are the six signs of love. That is Vedic civilization. Everything exchange of love. No business, mercantile.”
