SPD05-06 Only He Could Lead Them

SPD05-06
Only He Could Lead Them

SPD05-06

[21:10 minutes]

[ISKCON-produced Cable TV News Report: "Inside Hare Krishna," 1983]

[00:35] [Larry Laurent:] This man led a worldwide revolution in consciousness in the Sixties.

[00:39] Wherever he went, thousands of people were there to greet and honor him.

[00:43] His name was A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,

[00:47] and he brought the Hare Krsna religion to American shores.

[00:51] [Munya Surgi:] He even influenced the Beatles, and they helped spark interest in Krsna.

[00:56] Hi, I'm Munya Surgi.

[00:59] [Larry Laurent:] And I'm Larry Laurent.

[01:00] Today we're going to explore the life and character of the man who influenced the

[01:03] lives of millions and made "Hare Krsna" a household word.

[01:11] At different times, Swami Prabhupada was known as a scholar, a philosopher, a cultural

[01:16] ambassador, a prolific author, a religious leader, a spiritual teacher, a social critic and a holy man.

[01:23] He was not one of those modern entrepreneurial gurus who come to the West

[01:26] with slickly packaged, watered-down versions of Eastern spirituality.

[01:33] Swami Prabhupada was, rather, a true holy man, a person who is called "acarya,"

[01:38] which means a master who teaches by his own example.

[01:42] After arriving in the United States in 1965 at the age of sixty-nine,

[01:47] Swami Prabhupada formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

[01:51] This later developed into a worldwide spiritual community with hundreds of centers,

[01:56] schools, temples and farms, with thousands of dedicated disciples.

[02:04] To have achieved all this in only twelve years was a remarkable achievement,

[02:08] but in addition, Swami Prabhupada also wrote and published over eighty

[02:12] volumes of translation and commentary on the great classics of ancient India.

[02:20] His books were welcomed with great critical acclaim by the academic community,

[02:24] and they were soon accepted in many universities and libraries around the world.

[02:32] Before passing away in 1977, Swami Prabhupada had succeeded in transmitting

[02:37] the profound wisdom of the ancient Vedic culture in a way that

[02:41] was clearly understandable to the modern man.

[02:44] He could explain difficult philosophical concepts to people

[02:47] who were totally unfamiliar with the complex Indian religious tradition.

[02:57] Between 1966 and 1977, Swami Prabhupada circled the globe eleven times.

[03:04] Whenever he traveled, he would emerge daily into the chill and quiet of the early morning,

[03:09] and he would take a lengthy stroll with an entourage of students, disciples and guests.

[03:18] Swami Prabhupada also appeared very frequently on American television.

[03:21] Lets take a look at one of those interviews.

Press Interview, San Francisco, 1974

[03:25] [Interviewer:] You founded the Hare Krsna movement some seven years ago, in 1967, did you not?

[03:30] [Prabhupada:] Yes.

[03:31] [Interviewer:] In a capsule, what is the movement?

[03:35] [Prabhupada:] The movement is to awaken God consciousness of the human being.

[03:42] The human being is distinct, distinguished from the animals,

[03:48] that the animals cannot understand what is God.

[03:53] And if the human being also does not understand what is God, then he is animal.

[04:00] [Interviewer:] I see. And so your movement is to bring about an understanding of God among human beings.

[04:05] And "Hare Krsna" means what?

[04:08] [Prabhupada:] "Hare Krsna" means addressing the energy of God.

[04:14] "Hare" means the energy of God, and "Krsna" means God.

[04:20] [Interviewer:] Okay. You were here yesterday to attend your annual festival that was held here

[04:27] in Golden Gate Park, and we were there too. And in fact, here it is [shows a clip].

[04:32] A few thousand people came out to hear it.

[04:35] How many people are now disciples of the Krsna consciousness movement?

[04:40] [Prabhupada:] Dedicated life, about ten thousand.

[04:44] [Interviewer:] About ten thousand dedicated ones.

[04:46] [Prabhupada:] In the Western world.

[04:48] [Interviewer:] Your Grace, is there any significance at all in the shaved head? Why are heads shaved?

[04:56] [Prabhupada:] We keep ourselves very clean. That's all.

[04:59] [Interviewer:] It's just a cleanliness thing?

[05:00] [Prabhupada:] Yes.

[05:01] [Interviewer:] Is there any significance in the color of the robes?

[05:03] [Prabhupada:] At least, at the present moment, people think that by keeping long hair,

[05:10] you become very beautiful. So we are against this.

[05:15] [Interviewer:] Just as simple as that. Is there any significance in the yellow robes?

[05:20] [Prabhupada:] Yellow robe is the dress of those who are dedicated.

[05:28] [Interviewer:] It could very well have been a blue robe. It's just something that was arrived at.

[05:32] [Prabhupada:] This saffron.

[05:36] [Interviewer:] Your Grace, why do you feel that so many people are pulling away from the

[05:42] traditional religions in this country, such as Christianity and so forth,

[05:45] and going for the…, trying to understand the Eastern religions?

[05:49] We hear of a lot of svamis and gurus and other type of yogi and so forth.

[05:54] Why do you feel that people are pulling away from the traditional Christian standards here?

[05:59] [Prabhupada:] But we see that the Christian churches, especially I have seen in London, mostly closed.

[06:08] People are not interested, or the Christian leaders, they cannot make them interested.

[06:15] [Interviewer:] Why? Did Christianity fail the people, which is why they're turning to other things?

[06:19] [Prabhupada:] I think so.

[06:21] [Interviewer:] You say that Hare Krsna consciousness pretty much takes the absolute truths

[06:28] from the Bible, the Koran, the Torah and the Vedic.

[06:31] [Prabhupada:] Yes. Everywhere. Religion means to understand God.

[06:36] [Interviewer:] I understand. But do you feel that in getting truths from various places

[06:41] like the Bible and the Koran and so forth, don't you run into conflicts at all,

[06:44] or contradictions in those particular philosophies?

[06:47] [Prabhupada:] No. I don't find any conflict, because the ultimate goal is God.

[06:51] So we have to understand God and try to love Him.

[06:56] So you can go through any religious process. If the goal is attained,

[07:02] that you understand what is God, and you try to love Him, then your life is perfect.

[07:07] [Interviewer:] Why do we see so many of your followers chanting almost all the time?

[07:12] [Prabhupada:] The chanting means to keep association with God, always.

[07:17] [Interviewer:] So you have to audibly chant "Hare Krsna."

[07:20] [Prabhupada:] Yes. This is transcendental vibration. Just like a radio message,

[07:28] if you keep contact with the radio message, then you know everything what is going on outside.

[07:34] Similarly, this transcendental sound, "Hare Krsna,"

[07:38] if you chant, then you keep connection with God directly.

[07:43] [Interviewer:] Thank you very much, Your Divine Grace. It's been our privilege to talk with you...

[07:49] [Prabhupada:] Thank you. Hare Krsna. Jaya.

[07:50] [Interviewer:] ...and to meet you, and I hope that we can see you again when you return.

[07:51] We'll be back with more news in just a moment. [end of interview]

[08:01] [Larry Laurent:] We were also able to obtain some candid footage of Swami Prabhupada

[08:04] going about his daily activities, and we found that there is a remarkable consistency

[08:08] between his private life and his public life.

Arrival Address, Los Angeles, June 20, 1975

[10:11] [Prabhupada:] We are receiving the transcendental knowledge through guru-parampara succession.

[10:22] So we have to simply take instruction from guru, and if we execute that to our heart and soul,

[10:34] that is success. That is practical. I have no personal qualification, but I simply try to satisfy

[10:49] my guru. That's all. My Guru Maharaja asked me that

[10:56] "If you get some money, you print books." Therefore I am stressing on this point.

[11:05] So kindly help me. This is my request.

[11:10] Print as many books in as many languages, and distribute throughout the whole world.

[11:20] Then Krsna consciousness movement will automatically increase.

[dictating in room]

[11:26] [Prabhupada:] That Supreme Lord, He is omnipotent, omniscient. He knows everything.

[11:36] But the living being does not know actually what is the position

[11:45] of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

[11:47] That is the difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and ordinary living beings.

In Golden Avatar Recording Studio, Los Angeles, 1975

[12:06] [Prabhupada:] My father wanted me to become like this, know everything, what is going on.

[12:15] He never wanted me to be a worldly man, earning money. He never wanted.

Roof Conversation, March 27, 1974, Bombay

[14:35] That is explained in Narada Pancaratra:

[14:40] sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam, hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Brs. 1.1.12].

[14:51] When we become free from this artificial designations, "American consciousness,"

[14:58] "Indian consciousness," "African consciousness..." There is no such thing. This is artificial.

[15:05] Even bird and beast, they also feel consciousness, pains and pleasures.

[15:15] Just like when there is scorching heat, you feel some pains.

[15:21] Is that American, Indian or African? Scorching heat is everywhere.

[15:30] If you say that "I am feeling scorching heat American way…"

[15:35] [Hindi aside to Indian lady]

[15:40] Simply these are artificial.

Arrival Press Conference, Dallas, July 1974

[15:46] [Prabhupada:] The Western world, the younger generation were being frustrated, the hippie movement.

[15:54] So when they saw something tangible, they accepted it.

[16:02] [Interviewer 1:] What things… If everyone in the United States believed in Krsna, and to the extent that you do,

[16:12] what would happen to this country? How would it be transformed?

[16:17] [Prabhupada:] They would be very happy and peaceful. There would be no more hippies.

[16:28] [Interviewer 1:] What would you describe as a hippie? Someone who smokes...

[16:32] [Prabhupada:] You know better than me. Something extraordinary.

Garden Conversation, June 24, 1975, Los Angeles

[16:41] [Prabhupada:] So you may love humanity, but because you do not love Krsna, therefore you do not love the cows;

[16:48] you send them to slaughterhouse. So your love will remain defective. It will never be complete.

[17:01] And if you love Krsna, then you will love even the small ant.

[17:10] You're not interested even to kill even a small ant. That is real love.

Room Conversation on BBT Accounting,
June 25, 1975, Los Angeles

[17:20] [Ramesvara:] Now Gopala Krsna, in India, requested that the BBT give him a loan of $160,000.

[17:31] In India, just during the Mayapur festival, he requested a loan from the US BBT for

[17:39] $160,000, which would be used to construct the second residence building.

[17:48] [Prabhupada:] How he will pay back?

[17:49] [Ramesvara:] His plan was that the American temples would purchase rooms,

[17:55] and over a period of four or five years they would pay that money back.

[18:01] So is that still approved by Your Divine Grace?

[18:04] [Prabhupada:] Yes. I have no objection.

[18:06] [Ramesvara:] The only thing is that we will have to delay the loan, because for the next three months,

[18:12] all our money will be used to print these seventeen books.

[18:15] [Prabhupada:] First of all books, then loan. Our... We cannot hold up printing. That is not possible.

[18:26] This you must always keep in view. We are not going to…

[18:31] The surplus money we are going to pay. Not that at the cost of stopping printing.

[18:38] You must always keep it... When you require money for printing,

[18:42] there is no question of loan or temple building. This should be our principle.

[back to news desk]

[19:22] [Munya Surgi:] Dr. Stillson Judah is Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley.

[19:27] His field is the history of religion.

[19:29] We asked Dr. Judah to tell us about his association with Swami Prabhupada.

[19:35] [Dr. Judah:] The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a bona fide movement.

[19:41] It is a movement which is actually older than that of Christianity.

[19:46] The worship of Krsna is one which is extremely popular in India, and is one of the

[19:52] great religions of India at the present time, as it has been throughout all of the years of history. [end of interview]

[20:00] [Munya Surgi:] One of the questions most asked by people is whether Hare Krsna is just a passing fad

[20:05] or is it really here to stay. Next week, we're going to try and get all the answers.

[20:09] Will Hare Krsna survive through the Eighties?

[20:12] What happened to the movement after the passing on of their leader, Swami Prabhupada?

[20:16] And what kind of worship do they have?

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