As soon as a man takes his birth, he is immediately indebted to so many sources.

How to become debt-free once and for all

DCM employee Brenda Edwards on a call.

Debts of the father are inherited by his sons

Chanakya Pandit has analyzed how in the family we can become enemies of one another. Chanakya Pandit says, rina-karta pita shatruh: "A father in debts to others is enemy." Rina-karta pita shatruh. Because according to Manu-samhita, the son inherits the property of the father. That is everywhere. So Manu-samhita also makes responsible the son for the father's debt. Nowadays, if my father is debtor, I am not responsible. But according to the Vedic laws, the son is responsible the father's debt. Because he inherits the property; why he shall not inherit the debts of the father? According to Manu-samhita law he is obliged to pay the debts of the father. We have seen one very practical example. Even fifty years ago, in Calcutta there was a very big barrister. He was a political leader. He was Mr. C.R. Das. So his father died insolvent. His father was also very respectable man, but later on he became so much debtor that he died insolvent. Declared bankrupt. This Mr. C. R. Das, he did not get any property from the father, but by his practice as a barrister he became very rich man. In those days his monthly income was fifty thousand rupees. So he called all the creditors of his father and paid paisa to paisa, that "My father died in debtor. Now I have got money, you can take." So this is the duty of the son. But if one is poor man, he cannot pay, so he becomes a subject matter of criticism. Under the circumstances the father becomes the enemy. So therefore the Chanakya Pandit's enunciation, rina-karta pita shatruh.

Here is absolution from debt

In the Fifth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is clearly stated by Rishabhadeva to His sons, "Persons engaged in fruitive activities are repeatedly accepting birth and death, and until they develop a loving feeling for Vasudeva [Krishna], there will be no question of getting out from these stringent laws of material nature." As such, any person who is very seriously engaged in his occupational duties in the varnas and ashramas [social orders and stages of life], and who does not develop love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, should be understood to be simply spoiling his human form of life.

This is confirmed also in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 11th chapter, verse 32, in which the Lord says to Uddhava, "My dear Uddhava, any person who takes shelter of Me in complete surrender and follows My instructions, giving up all occupational duties, is to be considered the first-class man." In this statement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is understood that people who are generally attracted to philanthropic, ethical, moral, altruistic, political and social welfare activities may be considered nice men only in the calculation of the material world. From Srimad-Bhagavatam and other authentic Vedic scriptures we learn further that if a person simply acts in Krishna consciousness and discharges devotional service, he is considered to be far, far better situated than all of those persons engaged in philanthropic, ethical, moral, altruistic and social welfare activities.

The same thing is still more emphatically confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Eleventh Canto, Fifth Chapter, verse 41, in which Karabhajana Muni addresses Maharaja Nimi as follows: "My dear King, if someone gives up his occupational duties as they are prescribed for the different varnas and ashramas, but takes complete shelter, surrendering himself unto the lotus feet of the Lord, such a person is no more a debtor, nor has he any obligation to perform the different kinds of activities we render to the great sages, ancestors, living entities and family and society members. Nor has he any need to bother executing the five kinds of yajñas [sacrifices] for becoming free from sinful contamination. Simply by discharging devotional service, he is freed from all kinds of obligations." The purport is that as soon as a man takes his birth, he is immediately indebted to so many sources. He is indebted to the great sages because he profits by reading their authoritative scriptures and books. For example, we take advantage of the books written by Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva has left for us all the Vedas. Before Vyasadeva's writing, the Vedic literature was simply heard, and the disciples would learn the mantras quickly by hearing and not by reading. Later on, Vyasadeva thought it wise to write down the Vedas, because in this age people are short-memoried and unable to remember all the instructions given by the spiritual master. Therefore, he left all the Vedic knowledge in the form of books, such as the Puranas, Vedanta, Mahabharata and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

There are many other sages, like Shankaracharya, Gautama Muni and Narada Muni, to whom we are indebted because we take advantage of their knowledge. Similarly, we are obliged to our forefathers, because we take our birth in a particular family, where we take all advantages and inherit property. Therefore, we are indebted to the forefathers and have to offer them pinda (prasada) after they are dead. Similarly, to the people in general we are also indebted, as well as to our relatives, friends and even animals such as cows and dogs who render us so much service.

In this way, we are indebted to the demigods, to the forefathers, to the sages, to the animals and to society in general. It is our duty to repay them all by proper discharge of service. But by the one stroke of devotional service, if someone gives up all obligations and simply surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is no longer a debtor, nor obliged to any other source of benefit.

In Bhagavad-gita also, the Lord says, "Give up all your occupations and just become surrendered unto Me. I give you assurance that I shall give you protection from all sinful reactions." One may think that because he is surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead he will not be able to perform all of his other obligations. But the Lord says repeatedly, "Don't hesitate. Don't consider that because you are giving up all other engagements there will be some flaw in your life. Don't think like that. I will give you all protection." That is the assurance of Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gita.