In Defense of Isvara and Bhakta dasa Prabhus
BY: PUNDARIKA VIDYANIDHI DASA
Mar 19, ALACHUA, FLORIDA, USA (SUN) — Dear Mahavidya Prabhu, After rereading the concerned articles, I felt that your implied conclusion that Isvara and Bhakta dasa were minimizing Srila Prabhupada's lectures, conversations, and letters was unjustified. They merely said that there is more authority in Srila Prabhupada's books. There is a difference. Although we are certainly not authorities, there are others with similar opinions. For example, the following may be found at the beginning of The Bhaktivedanta VedaBase, version 4.11 (I have not as yet heard any objections to the content):
What to Make of What You Find
by Jayadvaita Swami
"The followers of Srila Prabhupada look to Srila Prabhupada's writings and spoken words as a source of knowledge and authority. As Srila Prabhupada writes in Bhagavad-gita As It Is, "The process of speaking in spiritual circles is to say something upheld by authority. One should at once quote from scriptural authority to back up what he is saying." The scriptures have authority, and so too does the acarya. Therefore what we say gains strength when we can quote scripture or legitimately uphold our statements with the words "Prabhupada said."
But what Prabhupada said sometimes differed. Sometimes he spoke for the benefit of an individual, sometimes for the world. Sometimes what he said was for the moment, sometimes forever. So as well as we can we need to recognize, in what Prabhupada said, not only the content but the intent.
Levels of Authority
To get the meaning right, it will be useful for us to look at the materials in this VedaBase as having different "levels of authority." Here we are not making absolute divisions, but merely rules of thumb.
Books and Formal Documents
At the highest level of authority we can place Srila Prabhupada's books. These are the works in which Srila Prabhupada formally presented for the world the message of the scriptures and the previous acaryas. At the next level, we can place Srila Prabhupada's lectures. These too, like his books, are formal public presentations.
We may also take into account that each lecture has its own context. Each is spoken at a particular time and place and to a particular audience.
In the next category of authority, we come to Srila Prabhupada's letters. Here, more variables come into play. Srila Prabhupada is again addressing a particular person, in a particular time and circumstance. And this time his words are sent in a sealed envelope, not spoken in a public assembly. His words, therefore, may be intended for many people or only for one. They may give instructions meant to apply always and to everyone or only to a special circumstance and one recipient. Consider, for example, these various instructions:
"this sankirtana or street chanting must go on, it is our most important program." (to Bali Mardana and Pusta Krishna, September 18, 1972)
"Now the most important point is to recruit life members as many as possible." (to Dayananda, February 8, 1971)
"Now I very much appreciate your activities for conducting our school . . . and I consider your work the most important in the society. . ." (to Son and Daughters in Dallas, June 20, 1972)
"I consider this Mayapur Project to be our most important work." (to Tamala
Krishna, June 28, 1972)
"The most important thing is that you must follow all of the rules and regulations very strictly." (to Tapana Misra Dasa, May 26, 1975)
"There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity." (to Ramesvara, August 3, 1973)
Clearly, what Srila Prabhupada chose to emphasize as "most important" differed according to the time, place, and person. This is by no means to say that the instructions in his letters can simply be waved away as "relative." But one must be careful to understand how, when, and to whom he intended them to apply.
A final concern about letters might be that some letters Srila Prabhupada personally wrote or dictated, others he signed after a secretary composed them, and still others a secretary wrote and signed and Srila Prabhupada countersigned as "approved." Such a concern, however, should have little impact. All such letters have authority. Srila Prabhupada's signature shows his clear endorsement of whatever the letter might say.
Conversations
Now at last we come to Srila Prabhupada's conversations. Here, as in letters, again we have variables of time, place, and circumstance. In one sense, though, the conversations are more public, several devotees (often large groups) being in attendance. But the full dynamics of a conversation are particularly hard to follow in print. Gone are the smiles, frowns, glances, and hand gestures that often tell more than the words. Gone the surroundings. Gone, most often, whatever was said before and after. What remains may be valuable-but it's far from everything.
Levels of Authority, Summed Up
In summary, a quick chart of the levels of authority we might accord to the materials in this VedaBase, starting with the highest, could look something like this:
Books; Legal documents and similar papers
Lectures
Letters
Conversations
Again, this is merely a guideline, not a cast-iron standard. Letters and conversations may often give significant, even invaluable, knowledge and guidance not to be found anywhere else. And for the person to whom Srila Prabhupada originally directed his words, they might be the most important words in the world."
