Gainesville

"Prabhupada;" one who has taken the position of the Lord. Such a great soul is very rare, and if by chance one gets the opportunity to associate with such an exalted personality, he should take it as the ultimate boon of life.

Many times people ask the devotees about their statements the Krsna consciousness is for the "intelligent" class of men. Conditioned by the impersonal disease that everything is one and the same, foolish critics try to eliminate these natural distinctions amongst the various species, and put forward the mistaken theory that all paths lead to the same goal; that it does not matter what you do, because everything is illusion anyway. They therefore foolishly criticize the Krsna consciousness movement for recognizing the individuality of all living entities, and they say the devotees discriminate by limiting Krsna consciousness to the "intelligentsia" only.

In examining this argument, one quickly comes to the conclusion that this belief is simply a product of their mundane conditioning only. By "intelligent," we do not mean the ability to do well on material I.Q. tests, or make a lot of money, or speak several languages. No, to the contrary, an intelligent man is one who can actually understand that he is suffering, and that the cause of his misery is lack of spiritual knowledge. The perfect example are the two Goswamis, Rūpa and Sanatana. Although they had all facility for material happiness-money, fame, power and knowledge-they were still not satisfied. Why? Because they did not know the purpose of life! They did not even know who they were!

Sanatana Goswami prayed to Lord Caitanya in the following way: "I am born of a lower family, my associations are all abominable, and I am fallen, the most wretched of mankind. I was suffering in the dark well of material enjoyment, and I never knew the actual goal of life. I do not know what is beneficial for me. Although in the mundane sphere, I am what is known as a learned man, I am in fact so much of a fool that I accept that I am learned. You have accepted me as your servant, and You have delivered me from the entanglement of material life. Now You can tell me what my duty is in this liberated state of life."

From this plea, we can learn a great deal about the nature of the real guru and disciple. Although Sanatana Goswami was such a great personality, still, in the presence of his spiritual master he considered himself a great fool. It is therefore stated that one who remains a fool in the presence of his spiritual master is a real guru, while one who says he is so advanced that he can speak better than his guru is a rascal.

Srila Prabhupada, we see your following in the footsteps of Sanatana Goswami as your real qualification. In spite of so much success, in spite of so much honor and respect, you have never personally taken credit for your accomplishments, but have always placed them at the lotus feet of your guru-maharaja for his satisfaction. That is the real guru! Guru is not one who thinks that "Because my disciples are offering me respect as God (the guru is considered as good as God on account of his being the confidential servitor of the Lord), therefore I have become God." A real guru will never speak such nonsense.

The real guru knows that God never becomes God, but always is God. God means the Supreme, all-powerful; therefore, hoe can He be controlled by anything? How can God, the highest authority, the Absolute Truth, be controlled by ignorance? It is not possible. Because we ourselves are controlled by material nature, and because we are thinking ourselves to be God, we therefore think that Krsna's form must be material. We try to bring God down to our level.

When Krsna told Arjuna that He spoke the science of yoga to the sun-god, Arjuna asked "The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?" Krsna replied, "Many, many births both you and I have passed, Arjuna. I can remember all of them, but you cannot." Krsna's memory is perfect in all phases of time, and we cannot even remember what we doing a few days before. Krsna has the potency of God, but not ourselves.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is further stated "tene brahma hrda;" this knowledge was imparted into the heart of the first created being, Lord Brahma, by the same Krsna that spoke to Arjuna 5,000 years ago and the sun-god some 120 million years ago. The fact that there is no difference between these various incarnations is confirmed by Krsna Himself in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita:

ajo 'pi sann avyayatma
bhūtanam isvaro 'pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
sambhavamy atma-mayaya

"Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form."

Krsna, God, has form. He is not formless, or impersonal, and it is that form that evokes our love. What's more, Krsna's form is svarat, eternal and full of knowledge. God does not have to take knowledge from anyone. He is the source of all knowledge. We too may also have knowledge, but it is limited. I may know what is going on in my body, and you may know what is going on in your body, but we cannot know what is going on in each other's body. But Krsna says:

sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattaḥ smrtir jnanam apohanam ca

"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness."

That is the difference between ourselves and God. God's knowledge is all-pervasive and perfect, whereas our knowledge is limited and subject to illusion. Lord Brahma therefore prays:

isvaraḥ paramaḥ krsnaḥ
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaḥ
anadir adir govindaḥ
sarva-karana-karanam

"Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes."

How great, then, is the difference between meditation on the transcendental loving pastimes of Radha and Krsna, and meditation on the fearsome virata-rūpa, or the gross material manifestation of the Lord. How great the difference between directly serving your lotus feet and the lotus feet of the great acaryas who you represent, and the so-called Christian who claims to have a "personal" relationship with God, but who do not know who God is or how He is great. This knowledge which you are giving us, Srila Prabhupada, is your real contribution to mankind.

Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita; "Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me." So, just as the demons are not willing to surrender to Krsna, they are just as inimical to the process of surrendering to His pure devotee. Yet, in spite of so many obstacles, your firm dedication to the instructions of your guru-maharaja, and your unlimited compassion for the conditioned souls suffering the pangs of repeated birth and death, has pushed this movement forward with great force and purity. That is your qualification.

There are so many rascals Srila Prabhupada. They publish translations of Bhagavad-gita, and though Krsna clearly says "Sarva-dharmam parityaja mam ekam sarananam vraja," "Give up all other nonsense and just surrender unto Me," they have not taught anyone to become devotees of the Lord.

You are delivering the real message of Godhead; you are the confidential servitor and representative of the Lord; you have never changed one word, one letter of the Vedic knowledge; in every action you prove yourself to be on the top rung of spiritual perfection (although in your own mind you feel yourself to be the most fallen); you are bringing light where there was once darkness; you have been authorized to speak on behalf of the Lord and the disciplic succession; for these and innumerable other reasons, the Krsna consciousness movement, under your direction, is the only spiritual shelter for the world today.

The non-devotees can't touch you Srila Prabhupada. They can't come up to the standard of the ground on which you walk. They are simply rascals, contaminated with thoughts like, "I am God," or "God is formless," or "God is void." If they do not accept Bhagavad-gita as it is, and if they do not accept Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then they are simply rascals. That's all.

So what can we say but thank you. Thank you Srila Prabhupada, for not cheating us, for giving us the reality at a time when everyone is simply concocting imaginary principles. Thank you for standing firm amidst our attempts to water it down and make it cheap. Thank you for tolerating our unceasing offenses and ingratitude for the great mission you have undertaken on behalf of your guru-maharaja and Krsna.

Following in the footsteps of Sanatana Goswami, we are now praying with all earnestness that this knowledge of devotional service may manifest in our hearts, and the desire and determination to spread this movement all over the world, become our sole desire in life. Now we have received so much instruction about our relationship with Krsna, and now we are simply hoping that by your causeless mercy, we may somehow develop a taste for serving the lotus feet of Radha and Krsna.

Amarendra dasa adhikari / Bhakta Jeff / Suresvara dasa brahmacari / Bhakta Andy / Sahkarsana dasa brahmacari / Bhakta Norman / Bhakta Don / Bhakta Geoff / Bhakta Steve / Bhakta Peter / Bhakta Roger / Bhaktin Lisa / Bhakta Dennis / Bhaktin Heddy / Bhakta Jerry / Bhaktin Heidi / Bhakta Eric / Bhaktin Beth / Bhakta Buddy / Gayatri devi dasi

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