Archive - 2001

It was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja who made a distinction between those attached to rules, who act extremely humble, and those who are eager to hear. Srila Prabhupada cited his guru maharaja in this Srimad Bhagavatam lecture in Vrindavana on the 29th of October, 1972. He said, "My Guru Maharaja used to say... One who was not interested in hearing, he used to call him a dandavat-class. Dandavat-class of men. That means simply he knows how to make dandavats, that's all.

It's often been debated that varnasrama is Srila Prabhupada's 'unfinished business,' his yet-to-be-obtained vision of the future. He wanted, it seems, that world society should change. When we look at the present world, the McWorld dimension of it, it's clear why Srila Prabhupada wanted such a radical social change. He could see the new world dis-order, the commercial, totalitarian aspect of what is often called the celebration of diversity, or simply synergy.

In the wake of phrases like 'Hindus, Shmindus,' and the ongoing controversy about Indian ethnicity versus host communities in the Hindu diaspora, Srila Prabhupada at least once called Indians seeking a would-be better life in the West, the 'new crows.' Yet he DID say this about Indian piety, "...through the veins of Indians, the spiritual fluid is flowing." (13th Nov, 1973, lecture in New Delhi.)

Sometimes people wonder why ISKCON appears to be unnecessarily antipathetic toward other sampradayas, especially when they are apparently offshoots of, or apostates to ISKCON. In fact such spin-offs are complimentary, especially if, as is sometimes said, 'imitation is the highest form of flattery.' Seen from the perspective of interfaith dialogue, it makes little sense to eschew other Vaisnava groups (even those deriving from ISKCON) while embracing Catholics, Buddhists, Methodists, Confucians, Jews, and Muslims.

The late Conrad Hilton, founder of the hotel chain, has written a book (published in 1957), called "Be My Guest." At the very end of his book, he wrote about God, saying this: "What I like about prayer is that it is a means of communication with God. You can speak to Him any time, night or day, and you can know with certainty that He is listening to you?.You are free to send any message you want .

The male/female debate rages. Srila Prabhupada's perspective was based on flexibility, or what we might call a preaching perspective. Here are some of his words on the topic: "So a brahmacari is strictly prohibited not to see even one young woman. But what can be done?

Once Srila Prabhupada was asked why Jesus manifested fish along with bread to starving peasants. Srila Prabhupada replied that Jesus Christ could eat the whole world, so why should we be concerned that he manifested and maybe even ate a few fish?

He also said this about Jesus Christ after a Bhagavad-gita lecture in January 1969, in Los Angeles. First a devotee asked him, "Prabhupada, does Lord Jesus Christ appear in the spiritual sky with the body he manifested on the earth?" He answered, "Yes. Otherwise how there can be resurrection?

Srila Prabhupada informed us that real magic was to get the whole world to chant the Hare Krishna mantra and to 'convert' sensualists into Vaisnavas. But, as he told us, people prefer to see tricks, siddhis and inexplicable phenomenon rather than marvel at the infinite 'magic' performed by the Lord every day.

Srila Prabhupada's perspective on 'magic' was nicely captured when he lectured on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.6 in October 1972, in Vrindavana. He said, "Sometimes they do not like the devotees because the devotees, they cannot show this magic.

Sometimes people try to "copy" Srila Prabhupada. There's a fine line between following in the footsteps and copying. After a lecture in Edinburgh (July, 1972), Scotland, Srila Prabhupada asked his audience, "How political situation can be improved by KC?" Can anyone answer?

His enemies accuse Him of being a (butter) thief in childhood, a philanderer (married gopi friends) in youth and a murderer in manhood (the Kuruksetra war). But the Padma Purana reminds us that a Vaisnava is not ordinary. In this connection the Purana states (as written in Srila Prabhupada's Caitanya Caritamrita, purport to Adi 7.115) arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih ..