How can we maintain the standard of purity that Prabhupada established?

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Transcript

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Yeah. So, Prabhupada has established some level of fluidity.
How can we ensure that that level of fluidity is maintained? Or it is extended but we don’t have further contamination of Kali coming in? Yeah. Actually, there are three different schools of thought right now in our movement. Trains of thought, I would say.
Not schools of thought. One is that Prabhupada was an acharya. He made some changes.
And because he was an acharya, he could make changes. He could make adjustments. We cannot make any adjustments.
So we should just stick to the adjustments that he had made. Nothing more. That is one school of thought.
The other is, towards the other extreme, that Prabhupada made changes and following in his spirit and understanding his teachings, we also need to make changes. So the other, that is on one extreme. The other is that Prabhupada made some changes but Prabhupada also gave standard in his book.
So as ISKCON becomes bigger, ISKCON should actually return to the standard that is given by Prabhupada in his books and roll back even the changes that he made. So for example, with respect to the women’s issue. So the idea is that Prabhupada empowered women in many ways but he gave a standard in his books.
So some people say that we should go back to that standard. And some people say that Prabhupada empowered women and we should continue empowering women in various ways. So now, this is going to be an ongoing discussion and it is unlikely that there will be a resolution that satisfies everyone.
But the important thing is that we should know that Krishna is bigger than my understanding of Krishna. Prabhupada is bigger than my understanding of Prabhupada. Therefore, if somebody who has been serving Prabhupada for many years feels inspired to present Prabhupada’s message in a way that I can’t understand, then I shouldn’t judge them.
I understand that I can’t appreciate this. This is what one of the very conservative leaders I met recently. He was very critical about certain things but now at his old age, he is on the verge of leaving his body.
So he said, now I understand that the most important instruction of Prabhupada is that you should cooperate. So cooperate means we have to understand that different devotees will have different inspirations for practicing Krishna Bhakti. It is very easy to label something as a deviation.
And we have to be careful that we don’t offend people. Sometimes we may focus so much on thinking that I am protecting the Siddhanta that we just offend people terribly. So we have to avoid that.
So that means if we feel that something is like an influence of Kali coming in, then it is best for us to talk with some senior devotees with whom we can get a better understanding. So, yeah, some things can be the influence of Kali but then what is happening? Is the purpose changing? Somebody may suggest, are we using technology? Is it an influence of Kali? Well, it is. But is it influencing our goals? Or is it simply influencing the process that we are using to go towards the goal? There is Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojan.
Sambandha is philosophical knowledge about whom we are to form a relationship with. Prayojan, Prema, that is the goal, that is something which is the same. Everybody wants to experience love for God.
But the Abhidheya will be different. The process for fixing the mind on Krishna will be different at different times. So, Prabhupada says in a lecture, one of his lectures in NOD that I practically invented the Krishna consciousness movement.
At other times Prabhupada said, I did not change anything. I did everything just as my spiritual master did. But then the emphasis on book distribution, that was Prabhupada’s.
Bhakti Sannyasi Thakur also had that but not in such a way. And certainly Bhakti Sannyasi Thakur did not have unchaperoned women going out for book distribution in public. That would have been unacceptable in Indian culture at that time.
So, Prabhupada had young women going out for distribution also. So, the point is that, so Prabhupada writes over there, what does he say, he invented the Krishna consciousness movement. That means he says that the spiritual master’s responsibility is to find ways and means by which the disciple can fix the mind on Krishna.
So, what will help people to fix the mind on Krishna will vary according to their culture, their background, their situation and that the spiritual teacher has to have the expertise for that. So, now if instead of fixing the mind on Krishna people are fixing the mind on something else, that is a problem. So, that is definitely a problem.
So, for example, technology. Through internet, we can actually reach out to so many people. So many people can reach out to Krishna.
At the same time, through internet, there are so many other things which can also be reached out to. So, what we have to see is whether the process is taking us towards the goal. The process in the sense of fixing the mind on Krishna, how specifically it is done.
Now, that is something which will change and which will need to change according to time, place, circumstances. So, if people are fixing their mind on Krishna, that is good. Now, whether it is if some specific issue is there which we feel is like an influence of Kali, then we can always consult senior devotees and get clarification from them.
One of the differences between a Kanishta and a Madhyama is Kanishta Adhikari is talk about people. Madhyama Adhikari is talk with people. Talk about people.
Oh, he did like that, she did like that. A speaks to B, B speaks to C, C speaks to D and they are all talking about Z. And nobody goes and talks with Z. So, instead of that, Madhyama Adhikari is just talk with Z. Now, try to get an understanding. If you don’t get an understanding by talking with Z, then maybe talk with somebody else who knows Z well and then try to get an understanding.
And Z needs to be corrected also. If we don’t have the Adhikari to correct, then we tell somebody senior and they will do the needful. So, if we keep our purpose clear that I have come here to be cured and I have come here to help others become cured.
So, if I see it that way, then we will get the intelligence to do the needful. If we start thinking of, oh, this is happening here, that is happening there, this is going wrong, that is going wrong, we have to know that Krishna’s movement is very big. If I want in Krishna’s movement money, I can get so much money.
If I want power, I can get a lot of power over people. A spiritual authority has tremendous power over our subordinates. If I want prestige, where else do I go? As soon as I enter into a room, people bow down to me.
If I want controversy, I can get a lot of controversy also. And if in Krishna’s movement, I want Krishna, I will get Krishna also. But in Krishna’s movement, Krishna is not the only thing I will get.
So, if we get caught in these things, we will get completely caught. If we keep our purpose clear, I am here to practice Krishna Bhakti, then we will stay focused. And there are many other things that are happening in Krishna’s movement.
In that sense, Krishna’s movement is also Kalpataru, desire-fulfilling tree. You want power, you want prestige, you want money, you want controversy? Tathaastu. You want Krishna? Tathaastu.
So, we can see for ourselves that in Krishna’s movement also there are many devotees who are advanced, who are devoted to Krishna and they are actually born closer to Krishna. So, we can also see from our own life that we are going closer towards Krishna. So, we keep moving towards Krishna and help others to move towards Krishna in a way that we can do.
For others, we leave it between them and Krishna. Did I answer your question?