For over two hundred years, detailed scholarly research has not yielded a consensus on who occupied India in 3000 B.C.E. Yet Srila Prabhupada is quite convinced, as he writes in the Fourth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam: “This tract of land, which is called Brahmavarta, consists of what is known in the modern age as portions of Punjab and Northern India. It is clear that the kings of India once ruled all the world and that their culture was Vedic.” He also mentions in the same purport that Maharaja Prthu resided in a tract of land between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

In the material world perfect cannot be more perfect or most perfect. In the spiritual world perfection knows no such limits.

Srila Prabhupada generally gave special attention to influential, highly positioned and wealthy people, and yet he insisted on regular harinam parties. These twin attitudes showed that he understood the importance of preaching to leaders and the intelligent classes, but demanded that preaching to the ‘common’ man should continue uninterrupted. Sometimes his guru was criticized as a sadhu who appeared to pander, on occasion, to the rich and famous (although his personal lifestyle was in many ways most austere). Once, at India’s Ravinshaw College, a student challenged, “You are not udara (liberal). You are sectarian and not generous to all, because you do not mix much with the poor, downtrodden people.” Saraswati Thakura is said to have replied, “Are you udara (generous to all)? If you are you should accept us. Why are you critisizing us?” In other words a truly liberal preacher will not exclude ANY class of human beings, including those who are highly placed.

That Krsna is “hard as thunderbolt and soft as a rose” was evidenced by Srila Prabhupada’s uncompromising and sometimes lion-like philosophical stance, and his loving, caring attitude towards all living beings.

In Vedic literature human life is compared to the impermanence of water on a lotus leaf. Srila Prabhupada used this beautiful poetic metaphor once in a lecture on Bhagavad-gita. He was speaking on the fifth chapter, verses seven through fourteen, in New York, on August 27, 1966. He said, “Even a drop of water, if you put it on [a lotus leaf], it will at once fall down.”

Once Srila Prabhupada was walking with Hari-vilasa prabhu in France, explaining how important it was for his scientists to explain things in a scientific way. He said that if he (Srila Prabhupada) said such things, people would take him as a crazy old man. Hari-vilasa said that because Srila Prabhupada was so CONVINCED about the structure of the universe, the temporary nature of material existence, and the eternality of the soul, it would be hard not to accept these principles as facts of life.

In a letter, Srila Prabhupada answered a query posing that devotees sometimes acted impersonally. He wrote, “It is not so much that because there may be some faults in our godbrothers and godsisters, or because there may be some mismanagement or lack of cooperation, that this is due to being impersonalists, no. It is the nature of the living condition to always have some fault. Even in the Spiritual World there is some fault and envy–sometimes the Gopis will quarrel over Krishna’s favor, and once Krishna was so much attracted to Radharani that by mistake he tried to milk the bull instead of the cow, and sometimes when the Gopis used to put on their dress and make-up for seeing Krishna, they would be too much hasty and smear kumkum and mascara in the wrong places and their ornaments and dresses would appear as if small children had been trying to dress themselves and they were not very expert, like that. There are so many examples. But it is not the same as material fault or material envy, it is transcendental because it is all based on Krishna. Sometimes when one Gopi would serve Krishna very nicely, the others would say, ‘Oh, she has done so nicely, now let me do better for pleasing Krishna.’ That is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice. So we shall not expect that anywhere there is any Utopia. Rather, that is impersonalism. People should not expect that even in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be Utopia. Because devotees are persons, therefore there will always be some lacking–but the difference is that their lacking, because they have given up everything to serve Krishna–money, jobs, reputation, wealth, big educations, everything–their lackings have become transcendental because, despite everything they may do, their topmost intention is to serve Krishna. ‘One who is engaged in devotional service, despite the most abominable action, is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated.’ The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person. Not like the utopians, who are like the flies who always go to the open sores or find the faults in a person, and because they cannot find any utopia, or because they cannot find anyone without faults, they want to become void, merge, nothing–they think that is utopia, to become void of personality. So if there is sometimes slight disagreements between devotees, it is not due to impersonalism, but it is because they are persons, and such disagreements should not be taken very seriously. The devotee is always pessimistic about the material world, but he is very optimistic about the spiritual life; so in this way, you should consider that anyone engaged in Krishna’s service is always the best person.”

For all his cruelty, some Bengalis regard Hitler as one of the founding fathers of mother India. Why? He disliked the English and their empire so much that he actually helped Subash Chandra Bose build up his Indian National Army. He returned captured Indian soldiers (mostly Gurkhas and Sikhs) who had been fighting on the side of the British, helping them expand their empire. This assistance helped Bose to eventually dishearten the British nation, causing it to pull out of India permanently.

As far as I know, only five ISKCON Americans and one Canadian have obtained Indian citizenship. And they had to give up their USA and Canadian passports. They are Jayapataka Swami, Aditya devi dasi, Vasu Ghosh prabhu, Mahanidhi Swami and Aindra prabhu. I don’t know the Canadian’s name. It’s being said that Indian Parliament may soon pass a law that allows dual citizenship with America and India, but only for Indian-born people (NRIs). When Mahanidhi Swami received his Indian Citizenship six years ago, he had to fill out a “renunciation” form (compiled by the US Government) when he turned in his US passport at the US Embassy in New Delhi.

In Caitanya Bhagavat Vrindavana Das recalls an incident in which Lord Caitanya reminds a poor Bengali Vaisnava brahmana of something. The lesson is to see the Lord everywhere. One day the vaisnava was stranded after dark while his wife and family were across the river. He fretted for them and couldn’t cross the water. Lo and behold a boat appeared, and in great relief the man arranged for the boatman to ferry him across the river after which he rejoined his family to protect them. The Lord informs that man that He was in fact the boatman, and the he should always remember the Lord is constantly thinking of His devotee and always looking out for his well-being and safety.