Srila Prabhupada – The spiritual master’s legacy is the desire to glorify Krishna

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna on the occasion of the disappearance day of Shila Prabhupada it is very sobering at the same time also very inspiring to meditate on what this day means for all of us it is because of Shila Prabhupada that all of us have the opportunity to practice Krishna consciousness and it is because of him that the whole world has an opportunity to know about Krishna and to similarly practice Krishna consciousness so Shila Prabhupada came to this world and he led an exemplary life his whole lifetime was a lifetime of preparation as the first volume describes and then his last 11 years were like a whirlwind since 66 when he started his con that he travelled all over the world 14 times sharing Krishna consciousness vigorously, fearlessly and tirelessly all over the world and after that after sharing the message of Krishna with all over the world with people all over the world Shila Prabhupada gave the final lesson it was a heart wrenching lesson the lesson of how to live in Krishna consciousness after demonstrating and teaching how to live in Krishna consciousness Shila Prabhupada taught us how to live in Krishna consciousness and he he was in Vrindavan at the age of 69 most people at that age if they are religiously inclined consider it a great success religiously to be able to leave the family entanglement and go and settle in Vrindavan Shila Prabhupada left his family for the sake of Krishna and then for the sake of the same Krishna he left him in Vrindavan however we may take a pure devotee out of Vrindavan but we can never take Vrindavan out of a pure devotee Shila Prabhupada never left Vrindavan he carried Vrindavan with him wherever he went and in the 108 temples that he established all over the world he created replicas of that same Vrindavan that same mood of selfless devotion to Krishna that he teach and inspire in all those temples and that legacy is continued over to several hundreds of temples now but Shila Prabhupada not only spread the message of Krishna, the mood of Vrindavan all over the world but by the perfect arrangement of Krishna this same Vrindavan that Shila Prabhupada had left for Krishna’s sake that same Vrindavan called him back and Shila Prabhupada spent his last months with his intimate disciples instructing them not necessarily in the esoteric truths of Radha Krishna Bhakti but in the essential truth of how to stay Krishna conscious even amidst the most painful reversals of life Prabhupada endured a debilitating and painful and prolonged period of sickness but through it all he was vigorous grabbing every opportunity to share Krishna consciousness Shila Prabhupada even went on a world preaching tour while he was so sick that he could practically not go out of his bed he went till London and then in London he saw a drama wherein the devotees were performing the drama of Bhishma Pitamah leaving his body and after seeing that drama and seeing his increasingly sick health Shila Prabhupada decided not to continue his world tour but to return back to Vrindavan and now from the external vision it may appear that Shila Prabhupada’s world tour was not successful but the external vision is actually a very inaccurate vision Shila Prabhupada’s world tour continued how? through the devotees that he inspired just by making the effort to go to England even when he was so sick that practically he couldn’t walk or not even talk so much he showed the devotees how eager how even to the point of death he wanted to share Krishna’s message and Krishna’s love with the world and that example was a legacy that continued on and on and it continues on even today so Shila Prabhupada returned back to Vrindavan and in the association of his loving devotees he while remembering Krishna at auspicious time in the auspicious month of Kartik Damodar at the most auspicious place in Vrindavan in the most auspicious Sangha the Sangha of loving devotees Shila Prabhupada departed from the world to go back to Krishna and to leave for us the path by which we can similarly come back to Krishna when Shila Prabhupada was asked how will your mission continue on after you depart who will be your successor Shila Prabhupada gave an enigmatic reply he said whoever wants to be the successor that person will be the successor what does that mean? Shila Prabhupada actually did not get anything from Bhakti Sahaja Yoga in terms of material resources he did not get any finances, he did not get any temples he did not get any material resources yet Shila Prabhupada said that I have inherited the legacy of my spiritual master the spiritual master’s legacy, the disciple is not in terms of material resources it is the desire to serve Krishna especially the desire to glorify Krishna so more than his god brothers Prabhupada took that desire from his spiritual master right from the first meeting when why don’t you preach in the English language you can make yourself into a very good preacher in the English language Prabhupada took that desire and through that desire his over 70 books his over 108 temples, his 14 preaching tours his capacity to inspire thousands and thousands of devotees all over the world manifested and Shila Prabhupada is giving all of us that same desire through his movement, through his books through his example, through his instructions so the legacy that Shila Prabhupada has given everyone of us whether we be his disciples, grand disciples or great grand disciples is the desire to serve and glorify Krishna and if we take up that desire then through the power of that desire glorious outreach programs will happen and Shila Prabhupada’s legacy will not only stay alive but will expand further and further by his mercy and by Krishna’s mercy so let us pray to Shila Prabhupada to give us his supreme legacy the legacy to serve and glorify Krishna Shila Prabhupada ki nicha