Prabhupada life-story 07 – Seeking to reach the Western mind

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Welcome back to the series on Srila Prabhupada s life story. We are now discussing the stage when Prabhupada has written the Srimad Bhagavatam and he is ready to go abroad, to share the Bhakti residue with the world as was instructed by his spiritual master.
We’ll take a little backdrop to see how Prabhupada prepared himself in terms of his literary production. He started Back to Godhead in 1944. Even before that, he had written some offerings, some poems, some articles, but Back to Godhead was his consistent offering.
And then he shifted between the writing books and the magazine, which he started sometime. He started the writing the Bhagavatam in 1959. He decided this will be his life’s magnum opus.
He started working on it. But along with that, he was always eager to pursue whatever projects would come his way. And his purpose was to get people to become interested in the Bhakti wisdom of ancient India.
He felt that if people could just open their minds and start seeing it from a serious intellectual and applicational perspective, then they would find its benefit, they would appreciate its benefit and then they would apply it. So the Bhagavat Kathas would be very common in India at that time, but they were more of in the genre of traditional religious ritualism, or we could say even traditional pious entertainment. People went and heard and they thought that they are doing some punya, some pious activity.
And if there was something useful they learned, that was considered surplus. So it was not seen so much as something based on which we had to transform our lives. It was seen more as something we do out of reference to our tradition or religion or culture.
Prabhupada wanted to change that. And thus, he was always looking for opportunities to present the wisdom in a contemporarily appealing way. The 1950s and 1960s was the time when the world’s imagination was captivated by the space race.
The attempt to put man first into outer space through satellites and then eventually into the moon that had captivated the imagination. And after the First World War, the world had got divided into the Western bloc and the Soviet bloc. So Western bloc had concentrated power on the United States and the Soviet bloc, of course, was a huge confederation of countries known as the USSR.
So now both of them were competing to be the first to take man into space and first to take man to the moon. Because this idea of the space race had captivated people’s imagination, Prabhupada took that opportunity. And he wrote a small book entitled Easy Journey to Other Planets.
And people were fantasizing that with technological advancement, we will be able to go to other planets. In fact, at that time, the craze was so much that there were also companies who were selling land on the moon. Of course, there are companies like that even now.
But the idea was that in future, we will have tourism going on. Just as we go to some hill station, we will be able to go to the moon and we can have outings there. You can even have land over there.
You can have your resorts over there. You can have some luxury houses there. So, as this was going on, this craze was there.
Prabhupada tapped that public interest and he talked about the Vedic methodology of practicing yoga by which one could elevate oneself. So, Prabhupada used contemporary terminology and he talked about matter and antimatter. That was also a concept that was very common that was catching the public imagination, especially the imagination of the educated people at that time.
And Prabhupada postulated that if antimatter were truly anti to matter, then it would have the properties opposite of matter. That would mean that if matter were temporary, antimatter would be eternal. So, whereas physics had conceptualized antimatter as something which was the opposite of matter in the sense that say we have positive and negative.
So, plus one and minus one when they come together, we have zero. So, like that their idea was when matter and antimatter come together, the result is that both get destroyed. But Prabhupada said if matter should be really antimatter, is really anti to matter, then it should be spiritual.
It should be indestructible. Thus, Prabhupada introduced the concept of the soul in very contemporarily appealing scientific language and he talked about the various methods by which people could journey to the other planets. That one could actually do punya, worship the devatas and yanti deva vrata devan.
Krishna says this in the Bhagavad Gita in 9.25 that those who worship the devatas go to the planets of the devatas. And then he also said that how the mystic yogis, like say the Bhagavatam describes Durvasa Muni, he by his mystic powers could go from one planet to another planet. And also sometimes there are spacecrafts where we say Arjuna is given a chariot.
So, Indra sends the chariot down to the earth and Arjuna ascends on that chariot and then he goes to heaven. So, in Prabhupada s teachings based on the Vedic scriptures, he has broadly explained that there are these three ways, you know, through spacecrafts, through transmigration next life, you are guided by worship of the devatas and through yogic mystic powers. And then in this way he brought the wisdom tradition of India in dialogue with the issues that were occupying the contemporary mind.
And several intelligent people, some educated professors and other thoughtful people, they read his books and appreciated it. Of course, one of the questions that Prabhupada was faced, okay, you say that by these means we can go to other planets, but can we come back? And Prabhupada said that if you go to other planets, the living conditions are so much better over there, why would you want to come back here? So, in this way, Prabhupada would try to expand the conceptions of people as he was writing and speaking. Now, in 1961, one of Prabhupada s acquaintances showed him the report of a conference that was to be held in Japan, because there is a conference for elevating, expanding the human spirit, for spiritual cultivation.
And the people were also nature lovers and they wanted spiritual wisdom through natural imagery and natural conceptions. So, Sri Prabhupada immediately got an idea for this and then he conceptualized a theme called the light of the bhagavata. And in the tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, when Shukadeva Goswami, the speaker, is speaking to Parikshit Maharaj, who is the primary audience, and he is describing Vrindavan s beauty, he uses many rich natural metaphors and draws valuable human lessons from those metaphors.
So, Sri Prabhupada took all of them and he made, he had a commissioned artist who depicted it. And then he called this as the light of the bhagavata. So, there was artistic depiction and then there was a description of what it means.
And there was Mr. Nakano from Japan, who was the organizer of the conference and Prabhupada wrote to him with this concept. And he got a very warm reception and he said, we are very eager to have you here. And he even said that if you come here, Swamiji, after a conference, you can stay with us for a month and you can do more programs also in Japan.
Prabhupada was very eager for this opportunity. Now, the challenge now was for him to get funds. For him now visa was not a problem because the conference was organized in Japan, Japanese organizers were extending an invitation to him.
So, he wrote to different patrons. Long ago, a patron had offered to sponsor him when there is an opportunity for him to go to South America. But somehow the governmental permissions had not worked out at that time.
Now the permissions were there, but now the financing did not work out. He wrote to whoever he knew, various patrons, but no one actually reported. He even wrote to the Indian government at that time, Dr. Radhakrishnan, who was a spiritual scholar and he was considered to be a sympathizer for spiritual cause, who had actually himself written books on philosophy.
He, Prabhupada wrote to him, but he got a negative response. Prabhupada sought a personal meeting with him and again he got the same negative response. And then he wrote to the Japanese organizers and he told them that, you know, I am a sannyasi, unfortunately, I am not able to get any support for coming there.
So, I request you to arrange for my ticket. And they said that they did not have the budget to sponsor the travel of the organizers and thus Prabhupada’s plan could not materialize. But Prabhupada’s spirit remained determined.
And as he moved on from there, so 1961, the book that he at that time conceptualized was later published as The Light of the Bhagavata. So, 1962 was the time when Shri Prabhupada got the first volume or the first, we could say the first canto, the Bhagavatam has 12 cantos. At that time, Prabhupada published each canto in multiple volumes.
So, he got the first volume of the first canto published in 62. In 64, he got the second volume of the first canto published. In 65, he got the third volume of the first canto published.
And with this, Prabhupada felt prepared. Now I can go to the West and I can speak. I can share Krishna’s message there.
He knew that books gave him an authenticity, an authority, which could not come easily by anything else. And these were not just small booklets. They were volumes.
They were volumes of books, which were ancient classic texts translated and commented by him. And it also got good reviews from eminent people, including Dr. Radhakrishnan, who was the President of India and Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Prime Minister of India. So, Prabhupada had been trying for a long time to explore avenues for going abroad.
So, as he was trying this, whenever he would meet people, he would talk with them about his desire, his aspiration to share Krishna’s message in the Western world. And many people would sometimes misunderstand him. He says, you are a sannyasi.
Why do you want to go to the West? Some people would appreciate and they would offer some support. Yes, yes, in the West also, we should share this knowledge. And there was, of course, the precedent of there were many other swamis who had gone from India to the West and they had got many followers in the West.
And there was this idea of national pride, which was there, which was what an Indian enabled them to move onwards. So, they had this idea that India’s national pride will be furthered if some Indian monk goes abroad. So, they supported him.
And some people said that, you know, yes, I have some contact there. I’ll help. I can arrange this.
But actually, nothing worked out. But still Prabhupada’s spirit was, he was asking people, but ultimately, he was actually expressing his desire to serve Krishna. And he was only externally dependent on people.
Internally, he was dependent on Krishna. And he was ready that whatever opportunity would present himself, Prabhupada, he would use that and he would serve Krishna. So, while he was traveling, now he was based in Vrindavan, but he had got opportunities in Mumbai also.
There was a, for when Prabhupada started publishing his Bhagavatam volumes, at that time, he had realized that he had needed money for getting sponsorship for publishing the Bhagavatam. And so, at that time, he had come in contact with one lady, Sumati Muraji. She ran a shipping company.
And she was also a devotee of Krishna Vishnu. She was from the Pushti Marg sampradaya. And she had appreciated Bhaktivinand Swami’s work.
And Prabhupada had come to her and she had sponsored some of his Bhagavatam publication. And then he had spoken at her house and nearby venues. So, they had quite a good relationship.
So, Prabhupada was traveling to various places. And one day, he got a mail saying that your sponsorship for visiting America has been approved. Prabhupada was surprised because he had not himself initiated the procedure in that connection.
They looked, who has sponsored it? And he saw the name, there was one couple, Gopal Agarwal and Sally Agarwal had sponsored his invitation. And then Prabhupada remembered that long ago, several months ago, he had met one Mr. Agarwal. And he had said that I have my son in America.
And he can sponsor, I’ll ask him. So, like this, many people had made promises, but none of them had actually lived up to the promises. So, Prabhupada had stopped taking such promises seriously.
But now, something seemed to have worked out. So, normally, when a person has to go to America, or goes to go to a foreign country, especially Western country, there are multiple challenges involved. The first biggest challenge is the legal challenge.
The visa has to be cleared. And secondly, after that, also, the finances have to be arranged. That to go to America, it requires money for financing the trip and money for staying there also.
And there has to be a plan, a purpose of what is he going to do there. Now, Srila Prabhupada, first obstacle had become, had removed, at least he had got legal clearance. Then he started working to get the, to get some opportunity to get some financial support for his journey.
So, he explored different contacts. And finally, he decided to come back to Sumati Murari. And now, she had already supported him for his Bhagavatam.
And secretary, when Prabhupada met his secretary, her secretary at that time, he felt that this is impractical. Swamiji is so old. How will he be able to go out to America? And he would not let Prabhupada even meet her.
And he said, she is too busy, she cannot meet and she will not be able to support this. So, Prabhupada was so eager, so, you could say almost devotionally desperate, that he decided that he will stay there. And he is outside the office, on the stairs, he sat for hours waiting to meet her.
And then, now the secretary was not letting him to stay in the office also. So, he still waited outside for hours and for hours. And then, when Sumati Murari, after finishing her office work, she was going home, she saw who is this elderly sadhu sitting on the footsteps, on the stairs outside her office.
And when she came to know that he had been waiting for hours, she was very concerned. He said, Swamiji, what can I do for you? So, he said, I want to talk with you. Secretary was not allowing me to meet you.
So, he says, you know, now it is late, I have to go. Tomorrow, you please come and I will talk with you. And the next day, Prabhupada came.
And the secretary had already told her that Swamiji is nearly 70 now. How will he go abroad? So, he had actually filled her mind with fear because somebody sponsors somebody to go abroad. But then, if that person falls sick, if something happens to that person, then it can lead to not only distress because the sadhu is going to be hurt, but also it will lead to legal complications.
So, she said, Swamiji, you want to go to America, but you know, you are so old and America is so cold. How will you survive there? So, Prabhupada said, I will survive by the blessings of Lord Krishna, by the blessings of my spiritual master. Now, I have to go.
My life’s purpose is to carry out the instruction of my spiritual master. My life’s purpose, the only purpose I am living, the only purpose that I am doing, whatever I am doing, is to share Krishna’s message. And this is an opportunity I have got after many years.
So, I said, please, you have a shipping company. Give me one place and one ship. And that is all I asked.
So, Prabhupada’s fervent appeal touched her heart and she was still concerned. But Swamiji, you are healthy, you are so elderly. Prabhupada said, I have been living alone as a sanyasi, traveling all over the country.
Nothing has happened to me. She says, my health will be all right. You don’t worry about that.
Please give me passage. And he finally agreed. So, of course, this was a shipping company.
This was not a shipping company. Shipping company means they were not primarily into shipping passengers. They used to transport cargo.
Just like in trains, we have passenger trains and then we have cargo trains or mail trains, whatever you want to say. So, the passenger trains are what? Have facilities for passengers to be carried. Whereas in mail trains, they carry primarily luggage or grains or commodities.
So, mail trains are not very suited for that commutation of passengers. But at that time, they had only a cargo ship, cargo ship going in America. So, Swamiji said that she would arrange for him to have a place on a cargo ship.
And she arranged for a cabin for him and there was one Captain Pandya who was going to lead that ship and his wife was also there on the ship with him. And in Prabhupada, he felt a surge of energy within him. He knew that this could be Krishna providing him the big break that he was looking for.
Of course, going to America was a huge challenge. Prabhupada had till now not even gone even once outside India anywhere. And to go to America was an extraordinary act of courage.
But Prabhupada was ready for it. In fact, his whole life had been filled with courageous acts. You know, he had, even while having his business, been consistently working on outreach.
He had, in the middle of the World War, when it was not even at its peak, he had started printing a book. He started printing his magazines. He had renounced the world, renounced his business, so that he would focus on preaching.
He had, in his old age, even when he had fainted on the ground because of a sunstroke in Delhi streets, still he had persevered. So, if there’s any characteristic that defined Prabhupada’s life, it was courage and adventure in the service of the Lord. But whatever he had done till then, this was going to be the greatest.
Yes, there have been many Swamis who had traveled from India abroad, but none of them had traveled at his age. Now, for many people, when they go beyond 60, 70, they don’t even have, they even are apprehensive of crossing a street alone. But Prabhupada got to speak of crossing a street.
He was going to cross an ocean alone. And when Srila Prabhupada finally decided to go, he arranged for copies of his Bhagavatam, the three volumes of the first canto which he had published, he wanted those to go with him. So, he arranged them to be shipped so that they could come on the ship and then he himself, after making various arrangements in Mumbai, in Delhi and other places, getting the legal clearance, doing everything, he came to Kolkata.
And it was in Kolkata that he boarded the ship, which significantly was named Jal Doota. Jal Doota, the messenger through water. So, Prabhupada was going to be a messenger who came by the waterway to the Western world to give the timeless message of spiritual consciousness to one and all.
And when Srila Prabhupada climbed up the Jal Doota, it was on August 30, 1965, he climbed up those steps to ascend that ship. It was just a few steps getting climbed up, but it is one of the greatest acts of courage in human history. For an old man who had no knowledge, no experience of any culture outside India, for him to go to a remote land to speak a message of spiritual love to an audience that was utterly materialistic, that had no familiarity with the spiritual wisdom and spiritual culture, and to do it all alone, he had no financial support, he had no institutional support, he did not even know the people who had sponsored him and invited him.
This was an act of stupendous courage. And that act of stupendous courage done with faith in the Lord, who is the source of all good things, would flood eventually the world with the best thing, with the message of spiritual love that would enrich the lives of millions. What happened when Srila Prabhupada embarked on that ship in Jal Doota, we will discuss in our next session.
Thank you.