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Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada 1997
Introduction to Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa-Puja book 1997
Let the planetary systems arrange themselves so that all the constellations become auspicious. May the stars that herald blessedness begin to adorn the sky, as portents of good fortune pervade the earth, especially in the hearts and minds of the people. Everywhere, in all the ten directions, an atmosphere of Vedic peace and prosperity shall prevail.
Nature will reveal the peak of her splendor: pure rivers flowing musically, transparent lakes supporting lotus flowers of various colors, and exotic birds singing with the sweetest voices. Throughout the land, feel the pleasant breezes gently blowing, laden with fragrances of spring. At the seashore mild waves resound, and in the clear blue sky perfect white clouds occasionally thunder harmoniously. Meanwhile, on the heavenly planets, the residents—inaugurating their annual celebration—sing, dance, and shower flowers down upon the earth.
When everything in the universe becomes adjusted like this, then we may fittingly begin our attempt to glorify the advent of Srila Prabhupada, the confidential ambassador of Lord Krishna.
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Invoking all reverence and humility, we welcome you to the 1997 version of mission impossible. Full delineation of the glories of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is beyond our capacity. We do indeed have the word “impossible” in our dictionary. Yet once a year our sacred duty and privilege is to attempt the impossible: to offer suitable praise to Lord Krishna's choice for preceptor of the present age.
Certainly we are aware that our sincere efforts to honor the qualities and achievements of Srila Prabhupada verge upon the inconceivable. Amazingly, by his grace we are actually convinced that the inconceivable, acintya, is not impersonal. The scriptures reveal that the most unfathomable secret of existence is how the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally reciprocates with his dearest devotees.
The Supreme Lord, who is greater than the greatest, becomes submissive to even a very insignificant devotee because of his devotional service. It is the beautiful and exalted nature of devotional service that the infinite Lord becomes submissive to the infinitesimal living entity because of it. In reciprocal devotional activities with the Lord, the devotee actually enjoys the transcendental mellow of devotional service. [Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.145]
Additionally, we know Sri Uddhava's analysis of how the Lord personally intervenes in the prison house of maya to reform his rebellious parts and parcels:
O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science could not fully express their indebtedness to You, even if they were endowed with the prolonged lifetime of Brahma, for You appear in two features—externally as the acarya and internally as the Supersoul—to deliver the embodied living being by directing him how to come to You. [Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 1.48]
We have done our homework, studied the sastra, and mined the scriptural gems. Still, glorification of Srila Prabhupada always leaves a lingering question mark, both blissfully inspiring and soberly profound. When we reflect upon Srila Prabhupada, what exactly is the immensity we are dealing with?
First, we seem to have a peculiar case of a solitary missionary, very elderly and frail, who survives two heart attacks at sea just to land in New York almost penniless. With no fixed residence or support, he talks about trying to carry out the orders of his spiritual master, though obviously he is at the end of his life.
Second, we watch, as for the first time in conventional history, krishna-bhakti spreads beyond Indian shores to every continent of the world.
Third, we witness this most extraordinary person speak of a coming global transformation directly resulting from the movement he founded.
To write matchless Vedic scriptures and set into motion their worldwide distribution is unparalleled, no doubt.
To establish temples with authorized worship of Sri Vigraha on every continent is unthinkable, certainly.
Yet, for him to dare propose that the future holds more....! Our minds are still numb at the thought.
Vaisnava history is full of extraordinary predictions. Sometimes these divine forecasts far exceed even the comprehension of devotees. Sukadeva Gosvami, in the Twelfth Canto, foretold all the present symptoms of the Kali-yuga. Lord Caitanya, as recorded in the Caitanya-bhagavata, predicted, prithivite ache yata nagaradi grama/ sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama: “In every town and village of the world, My name will be heard.” Elderly well-wishers of Srila Prabhupada admitted that before the advent of his ISKCON they thought Mahaprabhu's words were meant as a poetic devotional outpouring, never to manifest literally. At best, they reasoned, the Lord was simply referring to every town on the Indian subcontinent.
We have all often heard of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's two famous assurances. He wrote that one day foreign devotees would gather in Mayapur chanting “Jaya Sacinandana!” We know that Srila Prabhupada actualized that miracle, and then founded the work to realize the second of the Thakura's astonishing visions. Quoting Lord Nityananda in his Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Srila Bhaktivinoda foresaw: adbhuta mandira ei haibe prakasa/ gauranga nitya-seva haibe vikasa: “An astounding temple will appear in Mayapur. From it the whole world will learn Sri Gauranga's eternal service.”
In last year's introduction to the Vyasa-puja book, we read of sastric references that did more than foretell unprecedented global preaching. These texts obviously directly referred to our Srila Prabhupada's divine appearance. The Brahma-vaivarta Purana announced the coming of the mantra-upasaka, the global worshiper of the holy name. The Caitanya-mangala proclaimed the future appearance of the senapati-bhakta, Lord Gauranga's special military field commander, who would pursue fugitives from krishna-upadesa to the ends of the earth.
True to the Vaisnava line, Srila Prabhupada also made his own startling forecasts. Early in his last year of physical presence, he calmly asserted that in the future historians would look back upon his ISKCON years as a major turning point in the course of world history. A “historical renaissance,” he called it. Historians would be able to trace, His Divine Grace stated, how from his twelve years of world preaching Krishna consciousness changed life on earth.
Obviously these are not light words. Though a transcendental poet and scholar, certainly Srila Prabhupada knew the habit of mundane intellectuals to highlight certain periods of human history as pivotal. Generally, they tell us there have been four or five major transitions in Western so-called civilization. The fall of the and the end of the Middle Ages are the two most recent watersheds, they say.
After studying the classic periods of change in the Western world, the reputable historian Lewis Mumford noted, “Every transformation of man has rested on a new metaphysical and ideological base,…a new picture of the cosmos and the nature of man.” We know that Western mind-sets have come and gone their way every few hundred years. But from Prabhupada's preaching, every corner of the globe—east, west, north, and south—finally got it right. The Vyasa-puja tithi of Srila Prabhupada is ripe for reflecting upon this gift.
He gave us the true, full, accurate picture—not just another pacifying myth for the masses, or a metaphorical tool for speculators. He won our intelligence by his completely documenting our total dependence on the Supreme—in every aspect of every creature's existence. A calm, unbiased deliberation easily reveals that Prabhupada's authorized, all-encompassing Vedic presentation has overwhelmed all other visions of the cosmos and the purpose of human life. Whether religious or materialistic, when other conceptions encounter Prabhupada's Vedic razor, they either tumble over at the root or correctly assume an importance diminutive enough to pass under the blade.
Please briefly consider just one omen of the impending Prabhupada historical juggernaut. Srila Prabhupada adroitly chose to give his worldwide Hare Krishna movement the official name International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The changing times are bearing out the uncanny brilliance of Prabhupada's choice.
After at least a century in exile, the study of consciousness has emerged out of academic oblivion and is gradually approaching the corridors of the university campus. “What is consciousness, and how can it arise in a physical body and universe?” On the abhakta conundrum list, the puzzle of the universe's origin perhaps has begun to slide into second place, now that the nature of consciousness is increasingly deemed the greatest frontier facing science.
Obviously, how can we account for the cosmos without understanding the accountant—the conscious agent that evaluates all scientific or religious theory and data? Fifteen centuries ago, the Catholic founding-father Augustine wondered aloud, “What we are looking for is what we are looking with!” Modern scientific circles have fared no better. After nearly three centuries of either deftly sidestepping the issue or squarely confronting it, no actual consensus exists.
As always, we are eternally indebted to Prabhupada for his famous Hare Krishna forthrightness, which leaves no ambiguity:
Asmin dehe. In this body there is the spiritual spark, who is the proprietor of the body.…What the scientists cannot imagine, or what they have no idea of, from there we begin our education in spiritual life—beyond the jurisdiction of the scientists. How can they understand this movement? It is beyond their jurisdiction. When they will receive one hundred or one thousand Nobel Prizes, at that time they may be able to understand where the Krishna consciousness movement begins. [Lecture in Los Angeles, 14 May 1973, slightly edited]
What is even more significant for Prabhupada-Renaissance watchers is that the emerging boom in speculation on consciousness doesn't end with professors. The fascination is spreading among ordinary persons as well. Srila Prabhupada's preaching stance held that since the problem of consciousness is obviously a problem of self-knowledge, it therefore affects everyone - not just scientists and philosophers. Now the more alert masses are becoming aware of the enormous hole in their knowledge. With a little prodding from Prabhupada's Vedic precepts, combined with the holy name and prasadam, many can realize that concern about consciousness means concern about themselves in the strongest sense of the word.
Recently, the main international newsweekly proclaimed on its cover, “Scientists peer into the brain, looking for that evanescent thing called consciousness.” The last words of its bewildered feature article hesitantly suggested, “It may be that scientists will eventually have to acknowledge the existence of something beyond their ken—something that might be described as the soul.” Nevertheless, even if they can accept that consciousness is the symptom of something or other transcendental to matter, so what! Part of Srila Prabhupada's futuristic legacy is the guarantee he gave us that no one can ever adequately understand consciousness without understanding Krishna. In other words, he taught genuine holistic knowledge: that is, we cannot understand the jiva independent of its subordination to the Complete Whole. The futile attempt leads straight to Mayavada.
We all have consciousness, but what is this consciousness? It is Krishna consciousness. We have forgotten Krishna; therefore we simply say “consciousness.” Actually consciousness really means Krishna consciousness, because without Krishna, you cannot have consciousness. Therefore the right name is Krishna consciousness, not “consciousness.” Just like without the sun, how can there be sunshine? Therefore we say “sunshine,” not just “shine.” Sunshine. Similarly, as soon as there is consciousness, it must be Krishna consciousness. If one talks of consciousness minus Krishna, he's a rascal. Consciousness means Krishna consciousness. This requires a little brain substance to understand. [Lecture in Los Angeles, 30 April 1973, slightly edited]
Much to our dismay, in major parts of the world, instead of the public turning en masse to Lord Krishna for understanding the soul and its consciousness, they search every rotting haystack in the kingdom of maya. The pockets of a so-called Ayurvedic, pop impersonalist writer they line to the tune of $15 million. Eagerly the poor fools snap up over five million copies worldwide of a trendy pseudo-spiritual prophecy, and even one million copies of a Westernized version of The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
It's time to bring our big guns of knowledge to bear. As an offering to Srila Prabhupada, let us pledge to work harder to seize back the day. Though by now saying so may be a Vyasa-puja cliche, the prime means of glorifying Srila Prabhupäda remains the same: “Yes, you should become the topmost temple for distributing my books.…That is the only way to please me. Distribute my books profusely. That is real preaching” (Letter, October 1976).
We pray that with intelligence purified because the first order of business is executed, then the brain may be able to reverberate with creative strategies to teach the books and draw mass attention to them. Consequently, we pray we will be able to present the format for civilization that Krishna Himself devised, and at least to some degree attempt to live by it.
Vyasa-puja day is certainly an appropriate occasion for rejoicing that anyone who actively reads Srila Prabhupada's books—especially in favorable association—easily solves the riddle of individual consciousness, the supreme consciousness, and how to live in this world in the most suitable way for actual progress. Whether these essential items of knowledge are on the academic agenda or not, each reader—alone and especially in groups—becomes a spark in the future mass explosion of the Prabhupada Renaissance world transformation.
Our ultimate aim is to take part in politics, because Krishna took part in politics, we have to follow—but if people do not become Krishna conscious it won't be possible. Actually if we can take up the government, our movement will be very easily spread and beneficial to the people. We can make happy, peaceful men, God conscious—this is our aim. The main thing is to distribute books more and more. [Letter, October 1976]
Sometimes it seems that all our efforts are required just to keep a temple afloat, or to fill one sankirtana van. Influencing a government, what to speak of transforming the world, seems at most a very distant, hazy dream. Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa-puja is the best day for remembering the person Krishna chose to bring about the Mission Impossible. It is also the best day for seeing within the pages of this book the potential Srila Prabhupada created—for fulfilling his impossible yet possible plans.
Devamrita Swami