CONTENTS:
- bhuri-da buri-da, indeed he is the most munificent, indeed he is the most munificent! part 2;
- Srila Prabhupada's Appreciation;
- Guru Maharaja’s Instructions.
1. BHURI-DA BURI-DA, INDEED HE IS THE MOST MUNIFICENT, INDEED HE IS THE MOST MUNIFICENT! PART 2
Now you can see the significance of this verse, is it clear to everyone? This verse is actually indicating Srila Prabhupada. Otherwise, whoever has achieved this accomplishment? Spreading Krishna Consciousness all over the world and how did Srila Prabhupada do it? Isn’t it a miracle? Srila Prabhupada himself used to say people like to see miracle but this is the greatest miracle, the way he spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. He came a great distance to America where nobody knew who Krishna was. When Prabhupada was registering ISKCON, he had a lawyer and a few of his disciples to be the witness to the management board. Prabhupada told them that the institute will be known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The lawyer suggested rather call it the International Society for God Consciousness because nobody knows who Krishna is, Prabhupada said, “Yes I have come here to let the whole world know who Krishna is. I have come here to let everyone know that Krishna is God. People think about and speak about God but they do not know who God is.” God is Krishna and Prabhupada came to give that to the world, the proper understanding of who God is.
Before that you can consider how did Srila Prabhupada come to America, at the age of seventy. Is there anyone here who is above seventy or seventy years old? At the age of seventy-one does not want to go anywhere, rather live in a comfortable situation. Once one devotee was preaching to some people in New Delhi and that person he was preaching to, he asked him, “Do you know what Prabhupada did?” So, the young devotee quite confidently said, “Yes, I know what Prabhupada did.” He said, you don’t know, he was an elderly gentleman and he told him, “That in order to understand what Prabhupada did you first have to become seventy years old and then only you will understand what Prabhupada achieved. Consider how Srila Prabhupada did it? At the age of seventy he came to a total uncertainty without a single penny in his pocket. He did not know a single person in America, one distant acquaintance he had, a person who sponsored his visa, he never met him. He was a son of one of his acquaintances in Mathura, Gopal Agarwal, and he wrote to him that he is arriving at such and such date in New York. That person didn’t even have the opportunity to write to Srila Prabhupada whether he will be willing to receive him or not and, in that uncertainty, Srila Prabhupada came to America. Then we can see what did he do? In a short span of ten years’ time, he spread this movement all over this world. Nowadays we can see how difficult it is to make a single devotee isn’t it, we literally have to go through blood, sweat and tears to make a devotee. But Srila Prabhupada made at least ten thousand followers at that time, not only in America, all over the world.
I started a project in Ujjain about 15 years back and decided to build a temple within one year’s time. Mind you prior to that what to speak of building a temple I didn’t even build a shack. There was a press conference and one of the reporters asked me, “Swamiji, will you be able to build the temple in one year?” My response was, “My spiritual master built one hundred and eight temples in ten years what’s the big deal of building one temple in a year?” Fortunately, I completed building the temple in nine months and twenty days. The point actually is to build one temple in one years’ time appears to be such an inconceivable task, now consider Srila Prabhupada built 108 temples all over the world! And not only that look at Prabhupada’s achievements, not only he built 108 temples, he translated about 100 volumes of books, he spread this movement all over the world travelling around the world 14 times, meeting people, inspiring individuals to become devotees. Consider Prabhupada’s achievements. He went to Russia, those day Russia one could not go unless they had some serious business so Prabhupada arranged an invitation from one Indologist from Moscow University, Professor Kotofsky, he went there for 3 days only. In Russia when a foreigner went there his every move was watched.
Sumati Morarji the manager of a Steam Navigation Company, Sindia Steam Ship Company, Prabhupada got to know her and was persuading her to give him a passage to America and she was persuading Prabhupada “please don’t go to America, I can arrange a passage for you that’s not a problem but I don’t want you to go there. Swamiji who will listen to your words there, you don’t know what America is like you won’t get anything to eat, you don’t know how cold the winter gets.” But Prabhupada just kept on insisting, “Please give me a passage my Guru Maharaja wanted me to go to the West and spread Krishna Consciousness and this fag end of my life I would like to give it a try.” Eventually Sumati Morarji agreed but she knew what the condition of America was like so she made arrangement, “Okay Swamiji whenever you want to can come back.” And arranged a return passage also. She thought Prabhupada will be a failure and within one month he would come back. But did Prabhupada go back to India? He went through these hardships and as a result of that we can see what he has achieved. Nobody could even imagine that such a thing could happen. And as devotees of Srila Prabhupada at least we know it happened because Srila Prabhupada was a pure devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu sent Srila Prabhupada to this world to fulfil His prediction that Krishna Consciousness movement will spread all over the world in every town and village.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Srila Prabhupada built 108 temples all over the world! And not only that look at Prabhupada’s achievements, not only he built 108 temples, he translated about 100 volumes of books, he spread this movement all over the world travelling around the world 14 times, meeting people, inspiring individuals to become devotees.
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
Nobody could even imagine that such a thing could happen. And as devotees of Srila Prabhupada at least we know it happened because Srila Prabhupada was a pure devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
(The content of this E-magazine is based a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on the Youtube channel, Bhakti Charu Swami Media, entitled “Special session on Inconceivable achievements of Srila Prabhupada in just 10 years” released 30 September 2021)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Dasi)