19950819 Śrīla Prabhupada's Appearance Day

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on Aug 19th 1995 at Bangalore, in Karnataka India. The class is given during a Śrīla Prabhupad’s Appearance day.

His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhakivedantha Swami Prabhupad founder Ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. We worship the Guru, as the representative of Lord Vyāsadeva.

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, it is instructed that we should do daily worship of the Bhagavath. Bhagavath is described in 2 categories. The Bhagavath is the Śrīmad Bhagavath puran which is the ripened fruit of the Vedas written by Vyāsadeva, it is called Bhagavath because it is connected to Bhagavān and it is the means to understand Bhagavān. Then there is another kind of Bhagavath other than the Book Bhagavath, and that is the person Bhagavath.

So Śrīla Prabhupad and all bonafide gurus and all the pure devotees who are representing the book Bhagavath through their thoughts and words and deeds they are the person Bhagavath. So, the Guru is representative or is worshipped as the person Bhagavath as the representative of Lord Vysadeva.

This Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement is a Vedic Sampradāya. We are based in the Vedas. There are many new spiritual movements which have come up around the world and sometimes, people categorize us in that category, not understanding that this is actually a very ancient timeless movement based in the Vedas but Śrīla Prabhupāda has given it a new receptacle (Anuvāda).

The old liquid is there in a new bottle. He made the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness movement, Śrīla Prabhupad vision was to provide a shelter for people who are interested in advancing in their God Consciousness.

Śrīla Prabhupad used to say that there are so many organisations to do philanthropic activities without any spiritual connection. There are so many organisations for the chambers of commerce for every conceivable kind of activities there are some organisation. Sports, Clubs, Hobbies and so on. Then why not one organisation, why not one association where people who are interested in achieving the ultimate goal of life, they can all gather together. So, it is great vision, Śrīla Prabhupad he went forward to preach the message of his spiritual master the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrīla Prabhupad was always a visionary. The vision manifested when he had achieved the very ripe physical age. That is all ultimately the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Bhagavān). In history you find that, there are many great preachers who did not spend a lot of time preaching, even Lord Jesus only was preaching for 3 years.

Some Ācāryas they were only preaching for a short period. So Prabhupad, he established the Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement in 1965, and he preached until 1977 around the world only 12 years. Before that he was preaching as a house holder, as a vānaprastha, as a sannyāsī in India. But his real potency became revealed when he took up fearlessly the order of his Guru to take the Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement to the west.

Śrīla Prabhupad was used to hearing from people, it can’t be done, it can’t be done, it’s impossible. But he had the firm belief that impossible was the word in a fool’s dictionary. His conviction was that by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa nothing is impossible. When he had the direct order to spread the Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement to the countries of people speak English, His Guru didn’t tell him to go to England. He said go where people speak English because you are English educated. So, he decided, so many had gone to England, I want to go to America and there he established the Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement in New York but he gave the same purposes as his organisation in India. Was very sad, he said so many people they think that Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is an American movement. They don’t understand, they don’t know Śrīla Prabhupad. Prabhupad went as an Ambassador of Vyāsadeva. Ambassador, Spiritual Ambassador of India.

But in order to operate in any country of the world, in the modern setup, you can ask any lawyer you have to have incorporation or registration, you cannot just function, so he registered and he is the chairman and founder. So, when he came back to India with many devotees from western countries then he was heartbroken, not heartbroken but he was very upset, and disturbed. How, many people they were not appreciating, and giving so many false kinds of statement.

Can you believe it?

When we first reached Bengal, people were saying oh these foreigners have come here like the East India Company they want to take over India and do business and so on and so forth. So many difficulties Prabhupad faced.

He met Indira Gandhi and requested you please help me and Indira Gandhi said how do you know that all your followers are not the CIA. He said ah I know them they are not CIA. But how do you know? See we have these 4 principles no meat eating, no illicit sex, no gambling, no intoxication. I get them to shave their hair off, I get them to raise 3 o’clock in the morning and go to Mangal ārati they are doing spreading of Bhagavad Gītā they are understanding japa’s everyday 16 rounds what was CIA be doing all these things they want to stay in 5 star hotel, eat meat, enjoy life ahhh.. Ok then Indira Gandhi accepted.

So, what do you want?

I want long term visas for them so they can stay in India and I want some of them to be citizen, alright! I believe in you. Prabhupad, didn’t have it easy. He had to face obstacles, where nobody faced obstacles. Nobody questioned sister Nivedita whether you are CIA. Nobody obstructed Vivekananda bringing them in India. Nobody obstructed Aurobinda bringing in the mother. So many people are like, Prabhupāda even simple things he faced difficulties here in India. And when he started his movement in the west, he also faced difficulties. But for him difficulties seem to be like water of the duck bag. It didn’t disturb his determination. But he would express why these difficulties are coming.

Many times, we hear from neophyte devotees. Yesterday one lady told me that I was chanting 4 rounds but then I faced difficulties. So Even if I am chanting and I have to face difficulties, then what is the use, so I stopped chanting. Dear devotees we should know the path of Bhakti is difficult in one sense and very easy in another sense. Chanting, feasting on prasādam, reading Prabhupad’s books, enjoying these festivals it’s very easy. But being in the material world there will always be obstacles and māyā normally it’s very difficult to leave this material world.

Lord Śiva says it takes 100 births just to get the place in Brahmaloka and if you do much pious activity you can go from Brahmaloka to Śivaloka. But in the 4th canto of Bhāgavatam, Lord Shiva explains to the Prachetas, you are dear to me because you are Kṛṣṇa Bhaktas and a Kṛṣṇa Bhakta he can go back to Golok Vṛndāvan even in one birth. He can go beyond Brahmaloka, beyond Śivaloka, beyond Brahmā Jyoti, beyond Vaikunta, right to Kṛṣṇaloka in one birth. Therefore, you are so dear to me. But dear devotees you should know that mother Durgā, her job as the prison housekeeper in this world along with Kali who wants to maintain his domain in this age of Kali. They got all kind of tricks up their sleeves and they want to make sure whether you are really a true devotee or not. Because if we simply follow Prabhupad there is no doubt we are going back to Kṛṣṇa loka.

Nitāi Gour Sitanath Premanandiiii Hari Haribol!

But we will be tested, whether we really want to follow Prabhupad or not. So sometimes if we face problems, we should remember that Prabhupad also faced the problem. But he maintained his determination to serve Kṛṣṇa and so eventually the problems were overcome. Problems, Prabhupad said they are also opportunities. A problem is an opportunity for us to show how determined we are to serve Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa sees that no matter what, we are going to serve him. Even we are not able to serve him, we are determined to try to serve him, then he becomes very merciful. But more merciful then Kṛṣṇa is Prabhupad. He is a mercy personified.

When Śrīla Prabhupad heard about congregational members who were struggling to chant, struggling to follow the principles, struggling to get up in the morning, struggling to be a devotee, he would cry. And say just see how people are struggling to be Kṛṣṇa Conscious. He told some big big Hindu leaders in Bombay, what you are doing just see how all over the world people are struggling to be god conscious, what do you think? They said actually we are born in this. We don’t even struggle but we don’t make the extra effort to stop taking onions or to stop drinking tea or even to do any Japa. We are just happy being born in the culture and proud to be a Hindu. But we see that your followers, they are actually struggling so much we feel embarrassed that, they are actually true Bhaktas.

So Prabhupad I am not able to be a true bhakta, then I am thinking of all of you who are struggling. But this was so moving to Prabhupad, he would literally cry, this is what he wanted to impress that we should all try to be devotees. We may be devotees you see, we are not, being born in a western country, I didn’t know about Kṛṣṇa’s name when I was born. Although my name included Kṛṣṇa’s name and I did not know it was Kṛṣṇa’s name. But you being born in this country every one of you Lord Caitanya said,

“Bharat Boomi le manushya janma hoilya jat janma sarthak kari koro para upakar”.

 He said, “You perfect your lives, and you help others”. But for the rest of the world for all human beings in the universe he said you take up Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and give it to others. He didn’t specifically say perfect your life, he just said take up Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and give it to others. It may take more lives, but in your one life you can do it and following Prabhupad no matter what birth someone takes they can all do, it if we try. But if we think that, I don’t want to take any trouble to reach Kṛṣṇa, I don’t want to undergo any difficult to reach Kṛṣṇa. You may be so fortunate not to face any difficulty by Prabhupad’s mercy. But there may also be tests. I know some devotees they faced hardly any difficulties for years and years. Only blissful …but sometime or the other māyā is going to see this person going back to Godhead in one lifetime getting totally free from my prison house. Is this really, is this person really a devotee?

I have to check. At that time even if we fail the test, even if we fail the test, we have to be determined to hold on Prabhupad’s Lotus feet, hold on the guru paramparā. Because we will get again and again tests. We will get more chances but if we go on clinging, we know that Prabhupad is crying for us. Seeing that we are trying, he is going to help us.

Seeing this project, I know that the devotees have to face so many difficulties but by the mercy of Prabhupad coming down somehow things are going on. Today I am sitting here I am only initiated disciple of Prabhupāda that I can see here, but everyone is here all Prabhupadanugas. All Followers of Prabhupad if not disciples, grand disciples and followers and as Prabhupad said in his introductory lecture from Bombay in 1934 I believe; The guru who is representing Vyāsadeva is JagatGuru. He is Guru of everyone. Because he is representing Bhagavān.

So Prabhupad is that kind of Guru, Universal Guru for everyone and he came with a message not only for one caste or one creed but for every human being. When he went to America and Europe in the west their people told him why you are coming here with Indian culture, we are different culture. He said, “You think you are American?”

But you are not this body, you are not American, you are not Russian, you are not Chinese you are not Indian. You are the Ātmā and Ātmā is the part of Kṛṣṇa. So, every Ātmā in the world is a devotee of Kṛṣṇa but some have realized it and some have not yet realized it. So, all of you devotees are already realizing it that you are the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, but there are so many Ātmā’s who don’t know that they are devotees of Kṛṣṇa. They are covered by Māyā and this is what was the biggest anxiety that Prabhupad felt. What was burning him more than any obstacles he faced, was that he had to put out the fire that people were burning in. He used to tell us, the world is on fire, people are suffering, you look around and you may wonder why people are suffering. They have cars, they have food but he could see the real suffering. The suffering of being without God Consciousness.

Even the devas in Swarga are crying, even with the material happiness they are crying because they don’t have Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is beyond material happiness, it’s beyond material suffering, it is the ultimate spiritual achievement. The real peace in life, the real happiness in life. And in this Kali yuga people are literally burning without it.

So Prabhupad, he wanted to put out that fire. He said I can’t do it alone; I want help so Kṛṣṇa has sent all of you to help me.

So here in this Bangalore project, we can see how yesterday Janmāṣṭamī festival, tens of thousands of people they came here and took darshan and they offered their pooja to Kṛṣṇa and Balarām and Prabhupad. It is not possible to organise such a thing without so many devotees. I heard there are about 500 volunteers and may be 150 monitors were there. So many devotees have combined together in order to put on one festival. In order to do the goals that Bangalore temple has taken up it requires so many volunteers so many devotees. Not only 100’s but 1000’s and 10’s of 1000’s and lakhs.

Karnataka is a wonderful state, great Acharya’s have put their padadulis here. People here are naturally poetic, religious minded. They have devotion for Kṛṣṇa but, is a need now to put this devotion to Kṛṣṇa in a priority list not on the back burner. And that is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu and his representative Śrīla Prabhupad have come to tell everyone that bhakti to Kṛṣṇa is not one of the activities of life. It is THE activity of life. It is THE purpose of life. It is THE goal of life. And that is what the great Ācārya’s what Purandara and other great devotees have all sung that bhakti is actually the Summum Bonum. But today if he take a census we will find people have not put bhakti as their number one goal in their life and therefore they are suffering. In order to change that, people need to be brought to the light.

Tamaso maa jyotir-gamayaa and that is possible by devotees. Lord Caitanya when he was travelling in South India, he would tell people chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, they would start to chant and they would tell their relatives and friends to chant. And they will tell their friends and relative in this way this go from village to village.

Prabhupad personally went and told 10 people about Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and then they told another 10 people and they told another and then Prabhupad went to another country and told another 10 people and went on like that. Devotion is always transmitted from one devotee to the next. Śrīla Prabhupad will empower every one of you to be also an ambassador. Just like he was empowered by his Guru, and just like he is empowering devotees through the paramparā he is going to empower anyone of you who want to be empowered to be devotees of Kṛṣṇa and to spread bhakti to others. This is his mandate from Kṛṣṇa.

Just like Vyasadev was empowered to write the Vedas, Prabhupad is empowered to spread the wisdom of the Vedas. But he has requested that he wants the help from everyone.  So how many of you are wanting to help Śrīla Prabhupad?

You can raise your hand. Who wants to help Śrīla Prabhupad?

Nitāi Gaur Sitanath Premanandi Hari Hari bol!!!

Śrīla Prabhupad ki Jai!!!

Prabhupad ki Jai!!!

Prabupad ki Jai!!!

So Śrīla Prabhupad we pray at your lotus feet, for your mercy on all these devotees, who want to assist you in your mission to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa. Please have your blessings on them, that they can achieve all that you want them to do, to realize your dreams.

Śrīla Prabhupad, if you had not come in this world, if you had not brought this science of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in the modern world we can only cry to think what would have happened. Without you Śrīla Prabhupad how would we have gotten this science of Bhāgavatam in a way that we can use in the modern world. Without you Śrīla Prabhupad how would we have known about the glories of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa whose Nanda Utsav day is today on your holy Appearance day. Without you Śrīla Prabhupad if you had not come, then how would we have gotten the holy name, and how would we see that all over the world in Russia, in China, in America, in Japan, Australia, Africa, South America, Europe that everywhere now people from all countries all racist have transcended their material upadis and designations and they are simply as one family under Kṛṣṇa they are chanting the holy names

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.

If you had not come then who would have done this? Śrīla Prabhupad if you had not come how would we know about this “Yuktaḥ Vairāgya” to engage everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa, we don’t have to change what we are doing but we have to change our consciousness and do it out of bhakti and then we can achieve the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. We would have been taught false renunciation. Taught to give up things when they trouble us and accept things because they please us and we would have missed real Bhakti without you.

Śrīla Prabhupad, if you had not come how would we have known about Kṛṣṇa and Balarām and Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in the Vrindavan pastimes. How would we have known about the Vraja līlā which are the most confidential part of the Vedas. Śrīla Prabhupad, if you would had not come how would we have known about the mystery of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I am your most insignificant and incapable disciple; I can only pray at your lotus feet that you please never cast me away and keep me always at your lotus feet allowing me to serve you eternally. Those who are depending on your mercy Śrīla Prabhupad, and have approached me, please give your blessing to them. I am simply your humble servant and always dependent on your mercy.

nama oḿ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale

śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe

nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

All glories to

Oṁ Vishnu-pada paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya ashtottara-shata Śrī Śrīmad ISKCON Ācārya prathistita Abhaycharanarvinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda ki Jai!!!

Śrīla Prabhupad ki Jai!!!

Śrīla Prabhupad ki Jai!!!

I want to thank all the devotees who spoke and all those who listened. For those devotees who spoke, it was so inspiring to see how Prabhupad’s mercy is flowing through you. These testimonies everyone can be a witness, how actually Prabhupad’s mercy is coming. Even how devotees who have not seen Prabhupad are seeing him in the dream and he is preaching to them. We are not able to preach to people and reach them, Prabhupad has to preach to them in dream. So merciful is Prabhupad and now we have to also help Prabhupad and seeing how devotees are getting his mercy, I feel very very enlivened and hopeful. How Prabhupad’s mercy is very soon going to get manifest in all of you and we can again see how this Karnataka state and how the Bangalore city will be completely Kṛṣṇa Conscious.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!!!