Do Prabhupada books contain only preliminary points of Gaudiya philosophy, not its advanced tenets?

How can we answer those who say that Prabhupada books contain only preliminary points of Gaudiya philosophy, not its advanced tenets? Further, how can we answer those who say that because Prabhupada was a grihastha, he never had time to study exhaustively?

Question How can we answer those who say that Prabhupada's books contain only preliminary points of Gaudiya philosophy, not its advanced tenets? Further, how can we answer those who say that because Prabhupada was a grahastha, he never had time to study exhaustively? Answer Let me take the second part first. First, Ishwara Prabhupada, though he was a grahastha, he was not an ordinary grahastha. He certainly was busy in expanding his business and trying to become financially strong.

His motive underlying it was that he wanted to use the Lakshmi he could earn from his business for assisting the spiritual master, Bhakti Sadan Sri Thakur's mission. And where did this motivation come from? That came from attraction to Bhakti Sadan Sri Thakur and to Chaitanya Mahapuram. And what was the basis of that attraction? That was an understanding, a clear philosophical understanding.

Now, we could look at this from a transcendental perspective and say that because Srila Prabhupada is an eternal associate of Lord Krishna who descended to this world, so he is always aware of the glories of Krishna in a comprehensive way. No soul can know Krishna completely. But as far as the philosophical tenets of the tradition are considered, we could say that Srila Prabhupada knew that, but we will not take this approach here because the question is based on a non-transcendental or historical approach.

So, Srila Prabhupada, he would travel vigorously and the Leela Amrit describes that when he would travel, he would wake up early in the mornings or if he was alone in the compartment, he would be late. He would switch on the lights late at night and he would write. So if Srila Prabhupada could write his articles in a travelling train, surely he could study in a travelling train.

And if Srila Prabhupada did not have proper scriptural knowledge, then why would Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur have given him both first and second incision together? That was something which was quite rare for Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur to do. First he would give first initiation, Harinam Dikshan. Then after that, after observing the person he would give the second initiation.

But Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur gave him two initiations. And then, Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur also arranged for whatever he wrote, he instructed his disciples that whatever he writes, publish it. Because he felt that Prabhupada had understood his mood.

So how can we know whether a person has studied the scripture or not? We can look at the person's schedule, we can look at the person's associates, and we can look at the person's speeches and writings. So Srila Srila Prabhupada's schedule was busy always, and a devotee always keeps himself busy, whatever ashram he is in. But during travelling, he had adequate time to study.

And if we look at Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur, he gave him special recognition. Not only Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur, even his godbrothers. It was after the departure of Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur that in 1947, his godbrothers gave him the title Bhaktivedanta.

Now they had no obligation to give him a title like that. They gave him because they found that he was truly learned in scripture. And it was not just a nominal title that they gave.

His godbrothers appointed him as editor for the magazines that they were continuing. Now the Harmonist was a magazine which Bhaktivedanta Thakur had started. Then Bhaktivedanta Thakur continued it.

And then after Bhaktivedanta Thakur, his disciples were continuing it. And when they were continuing it, actually they made Prabhupada editor for that. For example, Keshav Maharaj and others, whatever magazines they were running, including the Harmonist, they made him editor for that.

So now the editor for any magazine is an extremely responsible post. And why would Srila Prabhupada be given such a post, if he did not have learning in scripture. So if we look at his godbrothers, they are making him editor, and they are giving him the title Bhaktivedanta, indicates that they recognized that he had scriptural knowledge.

Now if we look at Srila Prabhupada's books, first of all, there are scholars, several scholars, who have well appreciated Srila Prabhupada and his books. So among these scholars, there are western academic scholars like Thomas Hopkins, Harvey Cox, Wilson Judah, who showed lavish appreciation in Prabhupada's contributions in making the Gaudiya Vaishnava literature and the broader Vaishnava literature like Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita, available to the western world in an accessible way. And it is not just western academic scholars, but even traditional Indian scholars like Srivatsa Goswami, he also appreciated, he said this is one of the greatest contributions of Srila Prabhupada that he has made these books available.

So we have Prabhupada's spiritual master, his godbrothers, academic scholars, and other Vaishnava scholars like Srivatsa Goswami, who have all appreciated Srila Prabhupada's books. So there is a famous Sri Vaishnava scholar, Narayanacharya, when his disciples, some of his disciples were connected with the scholars, he asked them to study Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavatam. And he expresses this point that in practically no other Bhagavatam commentary is the correlation between Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam.

And the explanation of the Bhagavatam based on the Bhagavad Gita, done so beautifully. So there has been appreciation of Prabhupada's books by academic scholars. Now beyond that, if we look at the content of Srila Prabhupada's books, to the superficial eye, it may seem that he is just speaking the same things again and again and again, throughout, however, especially if we read Chaitanya Charita Amrit, he does speak quite a few subtle and deep points.

And the more important thing in representing a tradition is not just to display one's own knowledge of the tradition, or to display even the glory of the tradition. The key thing is to actually present the tradition in a way that is relevant to people. So the books like Nectar of Devotion or Shatsandarbhas, which talk about devotion to Krishna, will not even make sense to people who don't believe in the very existence of God, or who don't believe that devotion is the authorized way to approach Him.

So every Acharya in the tradition presents the philosophy according to what is needed by the audience at his time. And that is not a sign of any deficiency in the knowledge of that Acharya, but it is simply a recognition of what is the need of the audience. The Acharya is like a doctor.

And the doctor gives treatment according to the requirement of the patient. And the doctor, who seriously wants to treat the patient, doesn't go about just trying to impress the student with his knowledge. The authentic doctor focuses on treating the patient.

And whatever knowledge is required for treating the patient, the doctor uses that knowledge. So similarly, Shri Prabhupada had no desire to brag his knowledge. So that's why he did not take very advanced Gaudiya concepts.

And he also did not choose a very abstruse vocabulary. And because of this, because of focusing on the concepts that were relevant to the audience that he was writing to, and because of using a vocabulary that could be used, that could be understood by most people, his books have been potent transformational agents in the lives of millions of people all over the world. Now, even if somebody argues that Shri Prabhupada's books don't contain advanced Gaudiya concepts, the fundamental point remains that his books contain whatever we need to practice, to become purified and to return back to Krishna.

That they definitely contain. Beyond that, it is ignorance of the infinity of Krishna's glories to claim that a particular book is faulty because it doesn't contain everything about Krishna. So no book written by no Acharya, no matter how great that Acharya may be, can contain everything about Krishna.

Because Krishna is infinite. So Shri Prabhupada, or for that matter, or Jiva Goswami, or even Vyasadev, none of the books by any Acharya can contain everything about the Supreme Lord. So Shri Prabhupada gave us, from the tradition, what is most relevant to us.

And he also told us that he is not just giving us his own knowledge through his books, he is actually connecting us with a tradition through his books. And that is important for all of us to recognise. Just in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, in the first chapter itself, Shri Prabhupada underscores that the serious student of the Bhagavatam should study the commentaries of the previous Acharyas.

So what does this indicate? It indicates that Shri Prabhupada wanted to write further books, wanted to connect his audience with the tradition. So although he made the foundational concepts of the tradition, as well as whatever is needed for the devotees to become purified, and to go back to Krishna available, certainly that doesn't exhaust the stock of wisdom and realisations and revelations that are there in the tradition. And Shri Prabhupada wanted the serious practitioners to access that also.

So the idea that Shri Prabhupada's books contain only basic concepts is a misunderstanding of the nature of scriptural commentary. Scriptural commentary is primarily always based on what is relevant to the audience. And that is a principle that Shri Prabhupada follows.

So certainly we should ask and study Shri Prabhupada's books seriously. And as we become more and more strong and steady in studying Shri Prabhupada's books, then gradually we can, eventually, wherever we feel relevant, if we want to study the Bhagavad Gita more deeply, we can study the previous Acharya's commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita. If we want to study the Bhagavatam more deeply, we can study the previous Acharya's commentaries on Bhagavatam.

Some of these commentaries are getting translated. And we study them not in a sense of feeling that what Shri Prabhupada has given us is inadequate, but we study it to understand the glory of our tradition and just as we serve Shri Prabhupada by studying his books, similarly we study the previous Acharyas by studying their books. And in this way we become connected with the larger tradition.

So it's not that we minimize or reject Shri Prabhupada when we study the previous Acharya's books, but rather we fulfil the purpose that Shri Prabhupada came to fulfil, that is, become fully connected with the larger tradition with which he wanted us to connect. But if we study the previous Acharya's books with the attitude of minimizing Shri Prabhupada, thinking that his books only contain basic concepts, then we will not only be disrespectful, even offensive to Shri Prabhupada, which can be very dangerous for our spiritual life, but even from a material point of view, we would be ungrateful to Shri Prabhupada. Because without his books and without his mission, and without his vigorous outreach efforts, we would not ever have come to know about the previous Acharyas and their books.

So we should always have a respectful, grateful and appreciative attitude towards Shri Prabhupada. He is our savior and the way he is saving us is, not that we should expect that everything is there in his books, yes, everything that is necessary for us to become purified and to go back to Godhead is there in his books, definitely. But because ultimately he is revealing Krishna to us and Krishna is unlimited, and Krishna is revealed and realized by every Acharya according to his own nature, personality and rasa, so we can understand Krishna better and deeper by studying the previous Acharya's books also.

So we study those books to gain deeper understanding of specific subjects or specific books and we are always grateful to Shri Prabhupada for what he has given us. So yes, there are advanced tenets of the Gaudiya Sadhanta in previous Acharya's books and we should study them if we have studied Shri Prabhupada's books systematically in a grateful and humble attitude. And by such study we will please Shri Prabhupada.

So to summarize the answer, Shri Prabhupada, if we look at the way his God brothers, his spiritual master and academic scholars as well as traditional Vedic scholars appreciated his contributions, certainly his scholarship is not in doubt. And the point that Shri Prabhupada's book contains basic concepts indicates his understanding of his role as a commentator, that he gave whatever was relevant for his audience, whatever was necessary for his audience to hear. And whatever he has given in his books is relevant and necessary and is also complete in the sense that it can completely purify us and take us back to Godhead.

So a devotee doesn't have to study previous Acharya's books to go back to Godhead. If one studies Shri Prabhupada's books and applies the teachings therein, one will go back to Godhead. And Shri Prabhupada's books are like an ocean.

When we dive deep, we find jewels within the ocean. Shri Prabhupada's books, we can say that they contain seeds of wisdom. When we practice, when we read Shri Prabhupada's books submissively, those seeds enter into our heart.

And when we practice the principles that he is giving us, then we grow and cultivate the field of our heart so that those seeds grow and beyond that we get realizations. So Shri Prabhupada's books contain everything that we need to know to become self-realized, to get Atma Gyan. And once we get Atma Gyan, once we get self-realization, then because the Atma is Sat-Chit-Ananda, is Chit, is conscious, it has the capacity for knowledge and the knowledge about Krishna is dormant within the heart.

So even if we don't read previous Acharya's books, just by reading Shri Prabhupada's books, we can become self-realized. And when we are self-realized, internally all the knowledge about Krishna that is latent within the soul can become revealed directly, even without reading other Acharya's books. But Shri Prabhupada also, so in that sense Shri Prabhupada's book can not only give us basic principles, but they can also form the process by which we can get revelations of Krishna also, eventually when we become purified and realized.

At the same time, to stabilize ourselves intellectually and to gain deeper understanding of specific topics and subjects and to serve the previous Acharyas, to connect with the tradition that Shri Prabhupada gave us, if we want to study previous Acharya's books, we can take the guidance and the blessings of our spiritual mentors and study previous Acharya's books with an attitude of gratitude to Shri Prabhupada. And that will also please him and that will also nourish us spiritually. Thank you.