Praphupadas Vision Of American Outreach ADD Acronym

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare With you Lord Krishna, please guide us so that we can better appreciate the devotion and dedication of your great devotee Shri Prabhupada and become his better servants. I’m grateful to be here with all of you today and this Marke Bhagavad Dharma is probably among my, if not my favourite Vaishnav song. So I’ll speak on three principles of devotion that we can learn that Shri Prabhupada himself has not only spoken on but has demonstrated and so corresponding to that we’ll speak, we’ll sing only three lines from this song.
It’s a very fairly long song and we have finite time. So I’ll talk about, so each principle, I’ll be talking in an acronym ADD. How we can add value to whatever situation we are in, whatever service we are doing, whatever situation we find ourselves in.
So the first is A is acceptance. For acceptance, we all have to accept the situation we are in but we can accept with resentment or we can accept with appreciation. The first stanza actually of the song is what demonstrates this acceptance with appreciation.
So I’ll tell the meaning of the stanza, then we will sing it and then I’ll speak something on it. So we can sing maybe two three times that same line and after that we’ll discuss the meaning and then again maybe three four times you can sing that stanza again. We’ll contemplate the meaning and try to appreciate that and then we’ll go to the next stanza which we’ll sing after this.
So Shri Prabhupada is on the Jaladuta coming close to the American coastline beholding the continent that he has set off for through this long and troubled journey across the sea and what are the first words that Prabhupada speaks? Krishna you have been immensely merciful this fallen soul you have been very merciful you brought me here now do with me whatever you wish I have wondered and what is this mercy that Prabhupada is talking about, that if you consider from the material perspective Prabhupada practically had nothing. He was coming to a place where no one knew him, he had no followers, he had no money, he had no distribution backing, his health was also suspect. He survived, he recovered from the heart attack but still is a question so my understanding is that when we think about mercy there can be many aspects to it but Prabhupada is simply grateful to have the opportunity for service.
Now along with opportunity we need facility so Prabhupada has literally zero facility for service but that he has the opportunity for service itself that toward the fine end of his life he has now the opportunity to be in America and try to fulfil the instruction of his future master that Prabhupada is expressing gratitude just for that. So that acceptance is it’s a situation is very difficult but acceptance with appreciation that at least I have the opportunity for service. So let’s recite this so here if he considers acceptance with appreciation Prabhupada is in an extremely difficult situation and he has in one sense no idea what the future is going to bring.
Prabhupada said that when I landed I didn’t know whether to turn left or right so at the same time when we see Sri Prabhupada especially if we read the accounts of those who met Sri Prabhupada when he was in the early days in America whether it was first battle in Belsen, Lithuania then later he came here to New York one of the things that struck everyone was that Prabhupada was so happy happy speaking about Krishna if you look at Sri Prabhupada’s life his life from both a material perspective and a spiritual perspective from material perspective of course for a pure devotee everything is spiritual but from a material perspective in the sense that he tried to start a business it had there had been practically no success now if we consider Sri Prabhupada this is a map of India it is not but say Prabhupada was here in Kolkata then from there he went to the other coast that’s Mumbai and then he went to Allahabad in Prayag basically so now at those times people didn’t travel so much I have a friend who studied Indian pre-independence history and mobility was not that common in those times and here it was not just Prabhupada’s travelling Prabhupada had actually relocated and started an entire business just extreme hard work Mr. Jaydev was telling me that he came from London to here it’s challenging to a finder to settle in a new place so Prabhupada had done that and what is he driven by he was driven by the desire to support his spiritual master’s mission with his the financial resources that he would get from his business and somehow it did not work each time something or the other went wrong sometimes a fire occurred one of his servants just betrayed him and normally when such this kind of setbacks occur it’s it’s very devastating at times and when when you get setbacks and failures again and again it’s very easy it’s almost natural you could say to become bitter but those who met Prabhupada they never noticed any sense of this bitterness at all so if you look at the track record of his life things had not been much successful for him materially speaking now spiritually speaking also he had tried to start the league of devotees and there was not much to show so Prabhupada tried to work with his godbrothers Prabhupada had tried to run a magazine one thing that Prabhupada had to show was his Mahagatam volumes so he had that which he carried with him the first campaign published in three volumes but spiritually Prabhupada didn’t have that he was not a celebrated spiritual leader in India who is now coming to America and when someone has repeatedly experienced lack of success well it’s it’s easy to not only become bitter on one side but to also become pessimistic so because when success doesn’t occur if we are we are whatever limited or introspective we look at what all was lacking what all went wrong and it’s almost natural that when negative events happen to us we start looking for negative signs in our future prospects this indicates that I should not be doing this this indicates I should not be doing this it’s just like if we have had a difficult relationship and then that relationship didn’t work out then exploring a negative relationship then we are always very very almost on high alert to look for some some alarm signs now if Prabhupada was he was spiritual he was also he emphasised a lot of culture and ritual and practises started Krishna consciousness but if Prabhupada had been in any way a superstitious kind of person then he could have said maybe this heart attack indicates that Krishna doesn’t want me to be here isn’t it now Prabhupada now of course Prabhupada did tell that Krishna came in the vision and told him that’s also there but the overall that was something which he had a personal vision but what physically experienced was the shock for his body so it’s it’s a testament testament to Prabhupada’s devotion that even in a situation where he has had a long history you can say of negatives happening throughout his life and now in this tour itself multiple negatives have happened now of course you could say positives have also happened at least yes Krishna had Krishna came in that vision and then the tangible thing was that the the ride to the Atlantic was very calm and the Captain Pandya his wife she says Swamiji in our 40 years we never had such a calm ocean and Prabhupada said Krishna is taking care of it and she said Swamiji you come back with us again we’ll have a calm ride Prabhupada said Krishna has not done it for this purpose but so we often say you know be positive don’t be negative but Prabhupada is demonstrating that at a level which is incredibly challenging and there’s negativity all around just to see that I have an opportunity for service and so we accept the situation and accept the situation with appreciation that there is something positive over here and Prabhupada will see how he acted thereafter but this mood of acceptance with appreciation that is when you say it is not very easy to have that affection when you say I don’t want things for myself I want things for my service right it’s material desires getting frustrated we can say okay Krishna is asking me to become spiritually serious but spiritual desire is getting frustrated what does Krishna want me to do isn’t it so what is it that Krishna wants maybe Krishna wants me like that maybe I should not have any spiritual desires also I should just become just what does Krishna want so when we our desires it’s to see something positive and to appreciate that that materially they are frustrated spiritually they are frustrated so then what do we see at that time Parikshit Maharaj we have a similar mood when he suddenly cursed unfairly to die in 70s when the sages come after he has renounced the world he doesn’t ask the sages why did this happen to me he said now that this has happened you know I’m so grateful that you are here with me to guide me in this transition so that mood is very much a mood of devotion that you accept the situation and accept it with some appreciation something good will be there over here Prabhupada is looking at that good at last now I have the opportunity to serve my spiritual master and bhagavad-gita you are so merciful Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, So now Prabhupāda goes on and says that, Kṛṣṇa, you must have some purpose that you have brought me here. Otherwise why would you bring me here? Now acceptance can easily make a person passive. Okay, I accept the situation, I appreciate it.
But okay, there’s nothing, there’s no facilities, I can’t do anything. But Prabhupāda has a particular vision of what the problem is and what the solution is. So that is the second part.
The D is diligence. Diligence, Prabhupāda says something like that, Enthusiasm is intelligence directed, what is that, constructively or? Intelligence directed constructively, something like that. In the act of instruction he says that.
So diligence with vision. Okay, I accept the situation but I am going to be diligent. I am going to work hard.
And not just work hard but with a particular vision. So what was Prabhupāda’s vision? Prabhupāda says that, That everybody here is covered by the moods of passion ignorance. His vision is also, we’ll see remarkably, it’s not material, it’s spiritual.
In the sense that he’s not seeing the problem from material perspective. You know this is, I am going to speak a foreign message. These people are, these people are completely unfamiliar to it.
This generational gap, my accent is there. There could be a lot of material impediments. But Prabhupāda is not looking at any of those impediments.
Spiritual vision is seeing that the moods are covering people over here. And in one sense, it’s almost like Prabhupāda is, often we say, make judgments but don’t be judgemental. So you have to make a judgement but don’t become judgemental.
So Prabhupāda is making a judgement about what the problem is. Prabhupāda doesn’t say, in fact it’s ironic as well as significant that Prabhupāda is not saying these people are so fallen. He’s saying, I am so fallen.
Prabhupāda will make them, later on he’ll say the same thing again. So often we have the vision of Prabhupāda as an ācārya who smashes misconceptions. The fools and rascals.
Now yes, that was a part of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s personality. But at his heart, there’s the mood of devotion. The mood of devotion is Prabhupāda is seeing the problem is the moods are covering people.
And so he’s making a judgement but he’s not being judgemental. All these people are so fallen, how are they ever going to learn? What are they going to learn? Later on when Prabhupāda came back to India, he came first in 68 and in 70s he came back with a large contingent of devotees. At that time there were almost 50-60 devotees.
He came in a bus to Vṛndāvana. And he was like a home town boy who had become successful. They celebrated his return.
They organised big events in his felicitation. And then one of his godbrothers, he said, Bhaktivinoda Swami has been so successful. It’s great.
And he said that, you know, we all live in seven universities. We have lived very purely. Bhaktivinoda Swami was a grahastha for a long time.
He’s interacted with all kinds of people. He also managed businesses. So by his business experience, all these people he was able to make devotees.
And basically he was trying to downplay Prabhupāda. So I started to see his success in mundane terms. But we see, Prabhupāda’s vision is, he’s not calculating from material perspective.
The moods are there. The moods are covering people. And what is the solution for that? Prabhupāda is saying that, Prabhupāda says that, if people can just hear the message of the Lord, the bhāgavate rakhata.
So actually Prabhupāda follows the mood and the style of Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kali Rāja Goswāmī, the Chaitanya Chaitanya Dāmṛta, where the composition is in Bengali, but he profusely quotes Sanskrit verses and passages. So like that, Prabhupāda will quote a section from the Bhāgavatam. And the whole section is that, that how, if we consider disease, the moods are like a disease, the infraction by the moods, the influence of the moods, is like the disease.
And then, Kṛṣṇa Katha is the medicine. So Prabhupāda is saying that, I am going to share this Kṛṣṇa Katha. So Prabhupāda quotes a series of verses from the Bhāgavatam, where he basically says, the verses say that how, by the moods can be overcome.
If you read the Sanskrit verses, shunatāṁ sarathā kṛṣṇa, these verses go ahead, that if we hear about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa from within our heart becomes purified, He cleanses our heart, and once the heart is cleansed, then bhakti becomes strong. And then same, rajas tamo, this is a problem, this will be overcome. So Prabhupāda quotes these five verses over here.
dṛṣṭaivātmaṇiśvare, towards the end. So here Prabhupāda has a plan. So when we say, accept the situation, that does not mean that we don’t use our intelligence.
So Prabhupāda is diligently saying, I am going to speak Kṛṣṇa’s message. And he has a vision, that this will cure, this will cure the infection. So here we will recite.
So Prabhupāda is saying that here, rajas tamo, dhāte tabe, pahi benistār. That once the rajas tamo gona, the moods get, Prabhupāda in one sense is translating, or rephrasing in Bengali, what is said in Sanskrit verses. It’s interesting, Prabhupāda is not speaking this to anyone, and yet, even in his private meditation, he is quoting śāstra.
And, we memorise verses, and after memorising, we want to show others, how much I know the verses. Yes, I did. So Prabhupāda’s personal meditation, so he is quoting these verses, and then, he is, for Prabhupāda, Bengali is his mother tongue.
So, bodily mother tongue, you can say, whatever it is. But he is rephrasing that, rudair abhatra sate, gucci bito mār. So, that all the, all the impurities in the heart, will be destroyed.
And if you see, Prabhupāda, expresses his confidence, you know, sometimes in the vernacular languages, the same truths that are stated, sometimes they come out more poignantly. So Prabhupāda is actually making a stronger, direct statement, in his songs, than what is there in the Sanskrit verses. Prabhupāda, in this particular verse, which is like the eighth verse, this, in your flavour over here, bhāgvatera kathā, that the kathā of Krishna is, tava avatār.
It is you manifesting over here. It is your incarnation. Now there are verses in the Bhāgavatam, which say that, you know, that this is, this is actually non-different from Krishna.
Those verses are not there in this particular section of the Bhāgavatam. They come later. But Prabhupāda is making this direct assertion that, bhāgvatera kathā se, tava avatār.
It is you, Krishna, who manifests, when the Bhāgavat kathā is spoken. And then, what happens by that, dhīra haya, that a person becomes sober. Now dhīra, is used in the sense that, a person becomes free from the influence, of the modes of passion and ignorance.
Now, there are different, there are different Gita translators, and commentators, they have translated this word, dhīra, in different ways. Now, Prabhupāda consistently translates it as, sober. Now, sober is often used also in terms of, if somebody is intoxicated, and they give up their intoxication, or they come out of their intoxicated state.
So, Prabhupāda uses it in that sense. Just some of the lower modes, are like an intoxication. And, dhīra haya, a person becomes sober, free from that intoxication.
Now, śuṇe, jati, kāṇi vār vār. If just people again and again, hear Krishna’s message, then, they will become sober. So, Prabhupāda, in his transcendental, and, Prabhupāda doesn’t, at this stage, know any much about the counterculture in America, or he doesn’t, he’s not studied American history much, as far as we know.
But Prabhupāda still, he’s not just going in blind, he has a strategy. It’s a spiritual strategy, but it’s a very clearly articulated strategy. That, by hearing Krishna’s message, people will become purified, they will become sober.
And, bār bār, they just repeatedly hear about it. So, let’s recite this. jīrā haya sune jāni khande mārava jīrā haya sune jāni khande mārava jīrā haya sune jāni khande mārava jīrā haya sune jāni khande mārava jīrā haya sune jāni bhagavad-gītā-sindhu bhagavat-bhāg bhagavad-gītā-sindhu bhagavat-bhāg jīrā haya sune jāni khande mārava jīrā haya sune jāni khande mārava So, right from the beginning of his spiritual outreach till the end, this was Prabhupāda’s consistent message In the 10th canto, the 14th chapter, which is the last chapter Prabhupāda commented on, there also one of the final purports Prabhupāda says that the world is filled with the modes of passion and exuberance and these are very dangerous and we need to protect ourselves.
That is by hearing Kṛṣṇa kathā. So, there is confidence. Again, here the point is not to criticise anyone, but just to highlight what Prabhupāda has done.
When Prabhupāda’s godbrothers were sent to the west, to UK, they had gone with a lot of support from Bhakti Śānti Ṭhākura, who actually arranged for the financial support of their entire mission and when they came back, on the first statement that one of his, those two godbrothers who had gone, one of them said that, he said to his spiritual master, your process doesn’t work there. Now, Bhakti Śānti Ṭhākura was so disappointed, so really disappointed when he heard that. Now, it is true that he had not had success and there could be different factors which could be considered.
It is true that a lot of things happened over there, that Europe was in a turbulent phase and the Second World War was about to happen, so many people were not spiritually receptive. There could be material factors also which could be considered, but to make that categorical assessment, the process itself does not work. That is an unfortunate assessment to arrive at.
So quite often, so we can contrast that with Prabhupāda, he has confidence in the process, that by hearing about Kṛṣṇa, anyone and everyone can become purified and the way Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently emphasised, if you look at Prabhupāda’s life, he travelled extensively, spoke about Kṛṣṇa and he also, he was not too much into management. When the movement was expanding, Prabhupāda got consumed with the management and his not getting into management did mean that, on one side, the devotees got more freedom and leisure to do what they wanted to do, on the other side, sometimes they also, and that was good for them because they were young and passionate, they would not have succeeded if somebody was micro-controlling them, but on the other side, they often did wild things, because they were, it is not that they were ill-intentioned, but they were just extremely enthusiastic and uninformed, but Prabhupāda did not get very disturbed by anything, okay, you know, all this is happening, I will stop translating my books. He was focused, you know, he will speak about Kṛṣṇa and he will write about Kṛṣṇa, so that this Kṛṣṇa kathā will go on, and this is not to say that practical considerations are not important, but the thing is that ultimately, Prabhupāda said it is the organisation of intelligence that our movement will spread, so what is that organisation of intelligence? It is not just material management, yes, that is important in its own way, but it is primarily to have an organisation about how we can be sharing Kṛṣṇa kathā more and more, how we can be actually making people receptive to hear about Kṛṣṇa.
If we hear some of Prabhupāda’s early lectures, 1965, 1966, Prabhupāda is speaking direct philosophy, Prabhupāda is still speaking about the body and soul, we are not very advanced in philosophy, but Prabhupāda is speaking Kṛṣṇa’s message, and so it is that his confidence, Prabhupāda took some terms from people like stay high forever, things like that, but Prabhupāda focused on just giving the message of Kṛṣṇa. We can, Prabhupāda would say that, old wine, new bottle, things like that, Prabhupāda had confidence that the old wine is what will work, and this is what led to his diligence. So the diligence in speaking, the diligence in writing, Harish Yoripur writes in his Transcendental Diary that, even when Prabhupāda was speaking to one or two people, some guests would come and meet him privately, Prabhupāda was enthusiastic.
If he had a large audience, yes, Prabhupāda would become even more enthusiastic, but it was not that when there was a small audience, Prabhupāda was apathetic, because Prabhupāda was saying that this is an opportunity to manifest Kṛṣṇa through sound vibration. Now, that can be kīrtana, that can be kathā, whatever it is, just the sound vibration, it can be akhā. So this, for us, when we are ourselves, it is infected by the modes of passion in the universe, and we are also surrounded by people who are infected by that.
We can make many arrangements, many strategies we can have. At the end of it, we want people to hear about Kṛṣṇa. It can be an appropriate, attractive presentation, but what is going to transform people’s hearts is this, that bhāgo tera kathā se tava avatāra that the kathā of Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa Himself, and it is Kṛṣṇa who is going to transform people’s hearts.
Can we just recite that once again? bhāgo tera kathā se tava avatāra bhāgo tera kathā se tava avatāra jīrā māryā śūme jāni kāne mātabhā jīrā māryā śūme jāni kāne mātabhā bhāgo tera kathā se tava avatāra bhāgo tera kathā se tava avatāra jīrā māryā śūme jāni kāne mātabhā So now, Gopādh goes on speaking this theme that he is going to, that by the Kṛṣṇa kathā things will be transformed. So, kī kori bhūjābhū kathā varse jāhi There is a practical problem that, okay, Kṛṣṇa kathā will purify, but will they even understand Kṛṣṇa kathā? So in one sense, there are two things, they have to understand, and they have to hear again and again, they have to also develop some taste. So, kī kori bhūjābhū, how will they understand? varse jāhi This is the vara, this is the blessing I ask.
Often, when we pray to Kṛṣṇa, in general, we want our prayers to be filled with some devotion, some emotion, not just a mechanical prayer. And in general, emotions are associated with specifics. Emotions are not triggered by universal or generic principles.
It’s very difficult to, as Prabhupāda said, okay, God is like the sky, but you can’t really love the sky. Okay, what do you love? How do you love, but how do you reciprocate? How do you have a loving relationship? So, in general, when you offer prayers, the more specific a prayer is, the more we can be invested in that prayer. Our emotions get invested in that prayer.
So, if, when it’s Kṛṣṇa who is engaging in this service, or your service, okay, that’s a good prayer, that’s the mode of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. We are already praying that to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If you want to pray, no, it’s a specific prayer.
It’s not Prabhupāda saying, you know, give me a million followers. That’s like a teenager fantasy. Prabhupāda is asking for a specific prayer.
Later on, Prabhupāda will say that, you know, make me dance, make me dance. But bara, the specific, the only place where Prabhupāda uses the word, that I want a blessing. The only blessing that Prabhupāda asks for in this whole section is this one thing.
Now, Prabhupāda expresses his determination. You know, whether you give this blessing or not, Inspire, whatever is going to happen, I am going to speak the Katha. And then, Whatever is your Icchā, I accept that.
Whatever will happen. Because everybody has come under illusion by your arrangement, and everybody can come out of illusion by your arrangement. So, you are the, you are the person who are the spiritual master of the whole world.
So, you are the supreme spiritual master and my words, So, it’s not so much, Prabhupāda is confident, I have the ability to remove everyone from illusion. But he is saying that, Kṛṣṇa, you are the supreme spiritual master and you have the capacity to ornament my words. Now, this ornament is an interesting word.
Alankrut. So, what is this ornament? It’s not like some kind of special word that you can speak. Later on, when our movement started, I will conclude with two quick points.
Later on, our movement started going very big. And then, Buddhist students started going on very nicely. So, there are some devotees who are phenomenally successful in Buddhist religion.
So, they said to Prabhupāda, Prabhupāda, we have found out certain lines that we can speak to different people. And people get won over by that. So, we are planning to go on different places and do seminars that teach devotees these lines that they can speak.
And Prabhupāda actually became very creative. And Prabhupāda said that devotional service is is individual, voluntary and spontaneous. He said when a soul wants to serve Krishna, soul means, I have to serve Krishna, then devotional service is going to perform.
He says, don’t teach people specific lines. He says, inspire them to serve Krishna. And then Krishna will give them those lines from within.
What is required at that particular time. So, often, it is that we, sometimes we say, I am humble. And it is good to be humble, but humility can become, oh, I don’t have this ability, I don’t have this ability, I don’t have this ability.
And then we feel, oh, I can’t do anything. But humility is not so much about devaluing ourselves. It is more about valuing something bigger than ourselves.
So, Prabhupāda is valuing Krishna’s potency. That confidence in Krishna’s potency. Krishna can make things happen.
And it is this, you know, you can make, you have the capacity. Our confidence comes not from our ability, but from Krishna’s ability. And that’s why Prabhupāda later concluded by saying, Krishna, make me dance.
You are the supreme master. The way you want me to dance, please make me dance. So, we will dwell on this verse.
So, this is the last principle that I was talking about. It is about there is dependence. So, A was acceptance and D was diligence.
So, I accept the situation I am in. I am diligent about what I am going to do. But then, I will be dependent on you.
I can do what I have to do, what I am capable of doing. But beyond that, it’s dependence with submission. Krishna, if you want, you make me successful.
It’s up to you. But I am going to do my part. So, again, dependence is not passive.
Dependence is, yes, I accept whatever happens. But I accept whatever happens doesn’t mean that I will not do my part. So, Prabhupada is offering, expressing his confidence in Krishna.
And as devotees, our own inability should not blind us or overwhelm us so much that we forget Krishna’s ability. Yes. Akhila Jagat Guru.
Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting Chanting So, among Prabhupada’s early disciples, Haiguru was one of them. And Prabhupada decided to entrust him with the service of starting back to Godhead once again. And now, he said to Prabhupada, I have never done anything with a magazine except read it.
How can I run a magazine? And Prabhupada said, you pray to Krishna, Krishna will guide you. So, he writes something in the Hare Krishna Explosion and says other Prabhupadas have also done it. If you are with Prabhupada, actually Prabhupada’s conduct itself made everyone feel that Krishna was a real, living, loving person.
And he was not just like an abstract, remote reality. He was a concrete, intimate presence. And that Krishna would help us.
We all can memorise verses and we all can analyse concepts and all that is good. But what we get by associating with the exalted devotees, Mahabhag was actually Prabhupada, is that conviction. Not that just Krishna is God, but Krishna is an intimate, loving presence in our life.
He is acting in our lives. And he is there to help us, to empower us, to take us through whatever difficulties we might get through. So that So Krishna is not just like an abstract, Oh God exists, I believe in God.
He is up there somewhere. That’s not his Prabhupada. Prabhupada was more of a living, concrete presence.
And to the extent we take this particular conviction, to that extent, our devotional services will be filled with much, much more energy. And then you will see that when we start doing services, ideas will start coming and Krishna will start empowering us. In the book, Servant to the Servant, that is basically Prabhupada’s letters to Tamal Krishna Maharaj and then how he did various services.
So one of the things which comes repeatedly in those letters is, because you are so enthusiastic trying to serve Krishna, Krishna is giving you intelligence from within. So this is actually the magic of bhakti, that when we try to serve, that Krishna empowers us. Krishna can empower us in brilliant ways.
So we just try to serve. And then, so we are here, Krishna is here. And then Krishna guides us to serve.
For us, quite often, that trying to serve itself becomes weak because of various factors. We feel my conditionings are too much, my conditionings are too difficult, whatever it is. Now, Prabhupada, of course, had no internal conditionings, but still he was from a particular place, particular generation, particular accent, and then the conditions were not very hospitable.
But Prabhupada’s eagerness to serve was very strong. And Prabhupada, Krishna reciprocated. Prabhupada said, Krishna, make me dance.
And Prabhupada told Krishna, make me dance. And Krishna not only made Prabhupada dance, Krishna made the entire world a dance stage for Prabhupada. And what happened was a spectacular performance that has practically no parallels in world history.
These ten years, the way Prabhupada inspired a revolution of consciousness all over the world, is something that is going to be of inspiration for thousands and thousands of years to come. It all began over here. We are extremely fortunate to be here at Krishna Prabhupada’s lotus feet, to contemplate not just what he has done, but to contemplate that the basic principles with which he has done those things, those principles are as alive and available to us as they were to him.
So I’ll summarise. I discussed about how, what was Krishna Prabhupada’s consciousness and mood. I talked about, the first words in Martin Vagodharma, I talked about iconic TDD.
Does anyone remember what it is? Acceptance. Acceptance. But acceptance how? With appreciation.
Prabhupada is in a foreign land with practically nothing. But his appreciation is coming, he has no, he has opportunity to serve, even though he has no facility. But Prabhupada is not looking, he is just looking at, I have the opportunity to fulfil the instruction of my spiritual master.
And he is grateful for that. Boro Krupa Koile Krishna. Then the D was, anyone remembers? Diligence.
Diligence with vision. So he is working, he is going to do his part. And we saw how? So the obstacle, the challenge, Prabhupada is not seeing it from material perspective.
He is seeing it from spiritual perspective. The modes are like a disease and Krishna Katha is the cure. So as those who are trying to share Krishna Bhakti, we have to make judgments.
And Prabhupada is making, but it is a very non-judgemental way of making judgments. He is not ascribing to people being degraded. This is more, almost like a clinical problem.
So Prabhupada is non-judgementally judgemental. You can say. Non-judgementally making a judgement basically.
The last part was? Dependence. Krishna, you can do this. dependence with submission.
Krishna, you make me dance. So if there is dependence, then dependence again is not passive. There is, the focus is not on our inability.
It is on Krishna’s ability. Akhila Jagatguru, you are the spiritual master of the whole world. And you can ornament my words.
He talks also about specific prayers. When we are trying to do a service, the more specific our prayer can be, then the more emotions will get invested in that prayer. And the more emotions are invested, the more is a bhajatam priti purvakam.
So for Prabhupada, Krishna was a living and intimate presence. Not a remote or abstract presence. So when we make specific prayers to Krishna, sometimes we are afraid because we think, what if this prayer is not fulfilled? But just making that prayer, making that connection with Krishna will take us closer to him.
And even if that particular prayer is not fulfilled, Krishna will open some door for us. And that way, we will be able to move forward in doing whatever service Krishna and Prabhupada want us to do in their mission. Thank you very much.
Shreela Prabhupada ki Namaskar! Krishna Prabhupada ki Namaskar! Jai Shri Dhaniya Shara Prabhu ki Namaskar! Thank you very much.