— Śrī Śrīla Shyām Dās Bābā Mahārāj
Śāstra always teaches us that ācāran is the most vital thing in our life. In this connection the exemplary life of Cāṇakya Paṇḍita (although he was not Vaishnava) stands as a shining instruction for all of us.
One time a learned paṇḍita came to visit Cāṇakya Paṇḍita to inquire about some points. With simplicity and respect Cāṇakya Paṇḍita invited him to sit. However, to the astonishment of the visiting paṇḍita, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita extinguished the oil lamp that was already burning at that time and immediately lit another one. Seeing this, the visitor humbly asked the reason behind such an action. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita replied with great gravity: “This lamp burns with oil supplied by the rājā. I use it only for matters connected with the king and public service. Now that you have come for a personal discussion, I must light my own private lamp.”
By this simple action of Cāṇakya Paṇḍita it was clearly demonstrated the topmost honesty of his life which is really rare at present. Under no circumstances he wanted to misuse even the smallest facility given by the king. Such absolute honesty is extremely rare at present. Even in our devotional society we can see that for one’s personal interest some so called devotees can go more and more down than beast level to fulfil their dirty selfish end. Degradation of humanity is really very painful.