The Business of a Gardener

Student: Everything man creates…
Prabhupada: And why does he die? Who has created death? Man creates everything, but who has created your death, Mr. Man? What is the answer?
Student: Well, man has not created death.
Prabhupada: That means somebody else did. So how you can say that man has created everything?
Suppose man has created this building. Where from the ingredients came? Is this stone, creation of a man?
Student: No.
Prabhupada: Then, you have done the work of a laborer. You have taken ingredients from God, worked hard and transformed it. Has man created these trees? Why do they claim man has created everything?
Student: But they will say that they made the garden.
Prabhupada: That is the business of a gardener—servant–not the creator. I can keep a gardener, servant, telling him: “Do like this, do like that.” The servant is not the creator. It is my money with which he has created. Therefore, everything is Krishna‘s. That is Krishna consciousness. You have not created anything. You are a servant. You are working, and Krishna is giving you your subsistence.

June 12. 1974