What was Prabhupada’s mood when going through reversals?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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Can you elaborate on Prabhupada’s move while he was going through all the adversities that you mentioned in the lecture? Yes. Prabhupada faced difficulties.
Prabhupada did not exactly keep a journal by which he can know what his move was. But the nearest to a journal that we have is his prayer, Markini Bhagavad Dharma. When he saw the Western empire, at that time he wrote a song in Bengali which was which is called Preaching the Bhagavad Dharma.
Markini Bhagavad. And that song, if you conceptualize, what is Prabhupada doing? It is, he is like a, if you consider preaching like a spiritual war against ignorance, not a physical war, like spiritual war against ignorance. Prabhupada was like a lone warrior going into a land which is filled with material misery and he was about to launch a spiritual mission in a land which is completely ruined.
So normally if a warrior is going to a war, then the warrior knows the most important position of the warrior is his weapon, his weapons. Because that’s what is going to be implemented to him. So just as if somebody is going to a place where there is gun shooting going on, a police person is going and the police will keep checking, do I have my gun? Is it loaded or not? Just keep checking.
Naturally their thoughts will go there. So similarly when Prabhupada is facing the imposing skyline of the American coastline, at that time when he is thinking, he is revealing to us what was the weapon that he was going to use to fight that war. And what does Shri Prabhupada’s view? He quotes several verses from the Bhagavatam and he essentially says that The meaning of the Bhagavatam is saying that Krishna, you, that is the incarnation of you and when you become sober you should be Bhagavatam.
If you just hear what is that. Here is Bhagavatam again and again one becomes sober. And Prabhupada is not thinking that that I am going to by my intellectual by my intellect convince all of them and make them to re-notice.
Now Prabhupada, his vision is so deeply spiritual. He doesn’t see the prosperous American Mohsenai, who think all these people are so wealthy, so gorgeous. He sings, Vajasthamohonera sabaiyachan Vasudev katha uchi naise asan He says all these people are covered by the modes of fashion in the place.
And that’s why they are not able to understand us. So it’s amazing, Prabhupada is not thinking I am an Indian, they are American, I am speaking the Bhagavad Gita, how will they understand me? Prabhupada is singing from his spiritual perspective. The obstacle is not that they are Americans or they have never heard about Krishna.
The obstacle to their understanding of Krishna is the mode of fashion in the place. And therefore, Prabhupada knows, if you read his chapter diaries, he is also aware, when he initiates when he talks, he knows that people are not able to understand his pronunciation. But he, sometimes when Indians go abroad, they try to learn American pronunciation, so that they can pronounce properly.
Prabhupada is not praying to Krishna, Krishna please improve my English pronunciation. He says, Alankruta koribara khamata kumar. He says, please ornament my katha.
And what is that ornament he wants? He wants an improved pronunciation. That ornamentation says, Krishna, you are present in their heart. Tomara ichchaye sabahoy maya parash.
Tomara ichchaye nash maya parash. He says, Krishna, it is under your supreme will that these people have got an intonation. And by your supreme will, they can come out of the religion.
If you so desire, please make my words understandable to you. And then Prabhupada concludes his prayer, not by saying that let me establish a worldwide preaching mission. Let me give you thousands of followers, give me hundreds of temples.
Prabhupada says, actually he concludes by saying, nachao nachao prabhu, nachao si. Kashtera puttali jata nachao si. Please make me dance, Prabhupada.
However you want, make me dance. Just take it from me. In fact, Prabhupada begins by saying that, Aniya ji ke jo ayogra siddhi.
He says, why have you brought me here to listen to music? Which Indian after going to America will say this is a terrible place. Prabhupada, he loves spiritual music. So far I have heard from Krishna, it is not a very good place.
But he is saying, Krishna, why have you brought me here? You must be having some kind of anuman. It is interesting, we say anuman is not speculative. Prabhupada says, yehi anuman hai.
I infer, I guess that you must have brought me for some purpose. And whatever is your purpose, you make me dance accordingly. So Prabhupada’s move was, whatever obstacle he was facing, we can infer from this subject that, he saw himself as a servant of Krishna.
And whatever situation he was in, he was seeing it from the Shastra Chakshu. And he was saying, ok, how did this occur? So it was not like when Prabhupada went to America, he had a complete blueprint, everything clear. I will go here, I will do this, I will go there, I will do that.
No. Whatever opportunity he got, he kept using that opportunity. And sometimes that opportunity led to a dead end.
And sometimes, towards the later part of life, that opportunity led to a glorious expansion. So Prabhupada’s move primarily was that, please make me dance. Please Krishna, engage me in your service, the way you want me to be preached.
So that’s why, when Prabhupada was asked, what is the best prayer to Krishna, he said, give me the strength to serve you. So if we have that movement, whatever obstacles come, we can face those obstacles. We can, because when we have a desire to enjoy, enjoyment depends on many conditions.
And those conditions are not there, we can’t enjoy. But if you have a desire to serve, service can be done in any condition. Of course, if you want to do service in a particular way, you may not be able to do it.
But if you want to serve yourself, service can be done in any condition. So Prabhupada’s move was, please give me, engage me in your service, please make me dance. So with that move, it’s of course a very exalted move, but in our own small way, if we utilize that move, whatever obstacles come, we can also weather those obstacles and emerge stronger.