20230908 Śrīla Prabhupāda Vyāsa-pūjā Homage

Today we are observing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s vyāsa-pūja. Prabhupāda, he took his instructions of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and spread the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement around the world. So, as the Founder-Ācārya of ISKCON, he has a special relationship with every devotee of ISKCON. Ultimately every devotee became a devotee, because of the mercy of His Holiness A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. And as such we observe daily guru-pūjā and all our services, we offer to Rādhā Mādhava, Pañca-tattva, etc., through Śrīla Prabhupāda and guru-paramparā.

In the year 1989 I [JPS] wrote a Vyāsa-pūjā homage for Śrīla Prabhupāda whose message is more urgent than ever, especially for devotees who are not direct disciples of our Founder-Ācārya. To describe Prabhupāda’s foundational relationship with all his followers, I was quoting Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Harināma-cintāmaṇi. Here’s my favorite part from my 1989 homage:

In the Harināma-cintāmaṇi, His Divine Grace Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has explained the position of a succession’s ādi-guru, or founder-ācārya, in relation to that succession. Although ISKCON is a branch of an older disciplic succession, since Śrīla Prabhupāda is the ādi-guru, or founder-ācārya, of this specific branch and the empowered representative of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it is appropriate for those devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu following Śrīla Prabhupāda to offer him the respect, loyalty, and devotion due an original guru of a succession. As explained below, the honor Śrīla Prabhupāda’s followers show him should be unique in comparison to that shown to other gurus of the disciplic succession:

(Hari-nāma-cintāmaṇi Ch 6, verses 22–23) “In the disciplic succession of Vaiṣṇavas, the previous ācāryas are established respectfully as śikṣa-gurus for the sampradāya. However, the founder-ācārya, or original guru of a disciplic succession, is appropriately worshiped and respected as the topmost crown jewel of the spiritual masters. His perfect philosophical conclusions are to be followed by all in the sampradāya; any contrary instructions will not be accepted.” (Hari-nāma-cintāmaṇi Ch 6, verses 22–23) Hari-nāma-cintāmaṇi

So, as such we accept Prabhupāda as our Founder-Ācārya, and he is the śikṣā-guru of all the devotees. You can say, he is foundational the śikṣā-guru. And we also follow Prabhupāda’s instructions, we read his books that he translated and engage in devotional service according to his instructions. So, it is very important that we recognize, how Śrīla Prabhupāda has very intimate and personal relationship with each and every devotee. So every devotee of ISKCON should attend the regular, daily guru-pūjā of Prabhupāda. Should attend the various special programs and should attend the Śrīla Prabhupāda vyāsa-pūjā. It is not that only our dīkṣā-guru is important, because we receive the mercy from the guru-paramparā, through A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

As most of you know, for many years I’ve also been preaching in South America, where Śrīla Prabhupāda paid only one visit, to Caracas, Venezuela, in February 1975. For one week, Prabhupāda gave classes, met with guests, and inspired a whole continent to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. I too was inspired when I heard Śrīla Prabhupāda say something in his February 21^st lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.1. He was talking about how Śrīla Vyāsadeva was presenting the origin of creation as being alive. And then Prabhupāda gave a beautiful analogy.

So here it is said that origin is life because here it is said, yato ‘nvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. Just like if I am taken as the origin of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that means I know everything directly and indirectly of all this movement. If I do not know directly or indirectly everything of this movement, then I cannot be called the founder-ācārya. And as soon as the origin becomes a knower, he is life.”

Therefore, we should recognize our special relationship with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. He has given us the seed of devotion, which was handed down via the guru-paramparā.

 In other words, as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the origin and knower of all creation, so our founder-ācārya, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is the origin and knower of ISKCON and the life and soul of all generations of his followers.

So Śrīla Prabhupāda also adapted ISKCON for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness around the world, and it is very important that we keep our relationship with Prabhupāda – very strong and very active. We accept that all the service that we are doing is meant... are according to the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Furthermore, whichever śikṣā and dīkṣa-gurus enrich our common identity as followers of Śrīla Prabhupāda “Prabhupādānugas” is also glorious, deepening the cooperation we’ll need to take Śrīla Prabhupāda and Lord Caitanya’s mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to every town and village on earth.

Therefore, it is very important that each devotee sees how that their relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda as their foundational śikṣā-guru, it’s very important. And this is one of the biggest festival in the year. So, each devotee would like to express how much we appreciate, what Prabhupāda have done for us. Of course, he went around the world so many times and spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he also came to Māyāpur, twice a year and stayed here. So he wanted Māyāpur to be a special temple, a spiritual world headquarters of ISKCON.

ISKCON Māyāpur has launched an initiative to deepen everyone’s core identity and foundational relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda through what is called “Prabhupāda experiences”. This year students of all three schools of Māyāpur Śrī Māyāpur International School, Bhaktivedanta Academy and Bhaktivedanta National School participated in a competition after studying the Introduction and First Chapter of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s abridged biography "Your ever well-wisher" with about 200 students who had enrolled  from age 12 to 19. There are competitions planned in the near future for other members of the community. There are other events planned too to bring Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples to share their experiences with Śrīla Prabhupāda. Overall, the idea is to increase our absorption in the memories of Śrīla Prabhupāda and carry out our life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness with enthusiasm through the inspiration that such "Prabhupāda Experiences" brings and help others in the outside world also take up to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by being inspired through Śrīla Prabhupāda’s life.

So we hope that devotees in Māyāpur will take this as their special commitment to be the most Kṛṣṇa conscious, Prabhupāda conscious all over the whole world. We would like that at least, but we hope that everybody in the world would also be fully Kṛṣṇa conscious and Prabhupāda conscious. So, every devotee has got their special personal realizations and we want that devotees’ realizations should be shared and that devotees in the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement will appreciate His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and all our previous ācāryas. In this way, we preserve Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Thank you very much!

I request all my disciples and other members of the community to participate and help in this. I hope that disciples and other devotees in various parts of the world would take up such initiatives in their local centers.

Yours in the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda,

Jayapatākā Swami