Deconstructing the Lilamrta, Part 12
BY: ROCANA DASA
Apr 24, 2022 — CANADA (SUN) — A critical analysis of the Srila Prabhupada-Lilamrta by Satsvarupa das Goswami.
Today we continue our exploration of Chapter 4 of Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta entitled "How Shall I Serve You?". The title of this chapter is supposed to be based upon one sentence that Srila Prabhupada stated, which was, "I never asked my Spiritual Master a question, except one: "How shall I serve you?" As with so many other references mentioned in this series, Satsvarupa dasa does not provide a reference for this quote, so the reader has no way of knowing what context it was made in. In fact, Srila Prabhupada was making a philosophical point in regards to how a disciple should treat a bona fide Spiritual Master.
Earlier in the Lilamrta, Satsvarupa stated that Srila Prabhupada did ask questions of his Spiritual Master. At one point the author indicates that Srila Prabhupada was asking questions of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur in a very challenging mood. Yet in this passage, he indicates that Srila Prabhupada has said he never asked any questions, which gives the reader the impression that Srila Prabhupada was just kind of mum, and didn't engage in any kind of dialogue with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. Not only is this contradictory to what he said before, it's not true. As I read it, this slant of Satsvarupa's is really code for how the Zonal Acaryas wanted everyone under them to get the message loud and clear, never to question them and to always have the mood of being ready to serve them.
The next section is where Satsvarupa decides to give us his in-depth insight into Srila Prabhupada's pharmaceutical business. This is based on the usual italicized quotation from Srila Prabhupada, wherein he stated that he was going to continue doing business and making money rather than taking up the invitation of his godbrothers to go begging door-to-door. This out of context quote gave Satsvarupa an opening to inject all sorts of information that he had obviously gotten from some outside source. We assume he got the information through interviews with family members or business associates, but we'll never know who, because now all the records are burned and can't be used to substantiate the accuracy of the Lilamrta. Regardless, whoever gave Satsvarupa this information was obviously of questionable consciousness, because the stories are not at all flattering to Srila Prabhupada. He is essentially depicted here as being a business failure who didn't take advantage of opportunities the way he should have.
There's a long explanation about how he ran up too many debts with Chandra Bose's Bengal Chemical, which he was a distributor for, and consequently had to turn everything over to them. I'm sure Srila Prabhupada himself didn't explain it this way. And now, thanks to Satsvarupa and the ISKCON leaders, we have this book enshrining such a story about Srila Prabhupada without any qualification as to who even provided the information. It obviously didn't come from someone who appreciated Srila Prabhupada as a topmost Acarya in our guru-parampara, that's for sure.
Satsvarupa also states that the Gaudiya Matha brahmacaries in Allahabad were trying to convince Srila Prabhupada to join them as a means for him to get free from all the entanglements of his unsuccessful business. He goes on to say how adamant Srila Prabhupada was about doing business rather than surrendering to the temple, then he launches into an explanation of how Srila Prabhupada left his wife in Allahabad and traveled to Bombay in an attempt to start-up his business in a big city.
Throughout the Lilamrta up to this point, Satsvarupa plays a repetitive drumbeat theme that is one of his many misconceptions of Srila Prabhupada. Satsvarupa seems to almost take a delight in minimizing Srila Prabhupada. While on one hand he says many nice things about Srila Prabhupada, because that's the obvious overall theme, on the other hand he continually depicts Srila Prabhupada as an attached householder who had a really hard struggle getting free from his material attachments. Satsvarupa repeatedly makes the point that over a long period of time, Srila Prabhupada did not take advantage of the opportunity to surrender. Of course, this is just the story according to Satsvarupa, who became a sannyasi at a very young age. He is joined in this distinction by all the other young sannyasis who became Zonal Acaryas. In other words, Satsvarupa makes the subtle point that they were more advanced than Srila Prabhupada was at the same age, because he was still entangled in family and business while they were elevated sannyasis.
It may be hard for the reader to understand that at the time Satsvarupa was writing this Lilamrta, he and his cohorts were doing their very best to promote the impression that we could all look forward to amazing results on account of the Zonal Acarya system being in place. The message the Zonal Acaryas were very clearly preaching at that time was that they were going to be able to accomplish far more than Srila Prabhupada had, because they started at a far earlier age than he did. Of course, the rank and file devotees foolishly went along with this nonsense. History has proved the exact opposite to be true - the Zonal Acaryas didn't remotely perform even up to Srila Prabhupada's standards for them, let alone to the standard of an exalted Sampradaya Acarya. But at the point when Satsvarupa was writing the Lilamrta, that's exactly what was going on.
Throughout this section of the book, Satsvarupa takes every opportunity to make Srila Prabhupada's wife look as bad as he possibly can. Of course, I've never heard Srila Prabhupada speak this way about his wife. Among other things, Satsvarupa tells us that while Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay his wife wasn't so concerned about him being away. This factoid is joined by much of what I consider to be irrelevant and disturbing information about Srila Prabhupada's family life and business. Again, the author depicts Srila Prabhupada as being far more absorbed in his business activities than he is in executing Krsna consciousness.
For example, Satsvarupa writes that when Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, he 'just happened' to bump into Bhakti Rakshak Shridar and Bhaktisaranga Goswami. Satsvarupa has to say things like "it seemed to be destined", and "the meeting seemed to be auspicious". There's no mention by Satsvarupa of the fact that this was destined as part of Srila Prabhupada's lila pastimes. I also doubt very much that Srila Prabhupada wasn't aware of the fact that the Gaudiya Matha had a center in Bombay, and that these Swamis were present in the city. Considering the fact that Srila Prabhupada already had a close relationship with Srila Sridhar, it's highly likely that he knew Sridhar was in Bombay. Satsvarupa gives us the impression that they just bumped into each other on the streets, not that Srila Prabhupada was keeping an eye out for his Gaudiya Matha acquaintance. This is just a subtle way of Satsvarupa saying that if it wasn't for Krsna arranging for Srila Prabhupada to bump into Sridhar and Bhaktisaranga Maharajas, he would never have considered searching out their association.
Satsvarupa also explains how these sannyasis were in a "somewhat helpless condition" until Srila Prabhupada, who according to Satsvarupa was good at collecting funds, helped them to gather enough money to open a center. The author injects many phrases into the story which indicate this his personal realization as to who Srila Prabhupada is, is simply not very great. For example, he tells us that Srila Prabhupada "was responsibility bound", not that he was empowered in his lila pastimes. At the same time, the author says things like Srila Prabhupada "didn't think he could ever live like the sannyasis --- no possessions, no business, sleeping on the bare floor, taking only simple meals". In Satsvarupa's mind, Srila Prabhupada could never be seen doing like that. Of course, at the point of writing this book, Satsvarupa had all kinds of historical evidence to prove that that's exactly what Srila Prabhupada did -- so why does he say that he could never see himself doing it, when Satsvarupa knew that he had already actually done it? This is simply an intentional minimization.
I was heartened to find that Satsvarupa chose to include a very advanced poem that Srila Prabhupada wrote on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's Appearance day. It is one of my very favorites, and I include it here for the reader's enjoyment:
Adore adore ye all,
The happy day.
Blessed than Heaven,
Sweeter than May.
When He appeared at Puri,
The holy place,
My Lord and Master
His Divine Grace.
Oh! my Master
The evangelic angel.
Give us thy light,
Light up thy candle.
Struggle for existence
A Human race,
The only hope
His Divine Grace.
Misled we are
All going astray,
Save us Lord
Our fervent pray,
Wonder thy ways
To turn our face
Adore thy feet
Your Divine Grace.
Forgotten Krishna
We fallen soul.
Paying most heavy
The illusion's toll.
Darkness around
All untrace,
The only hope
His Divine Grace.
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Message of service
Thou has brought.
A healthful life
As Chaitanya wrought.
Unknown to all
It's full of brace.
That's your gift
Your Divine Grace.
Absolute is sentient
Thou hast proved.
Impersonal calamity
Thou hast moved.
This gives us a life
Anew and fresh.
Worship thy feet
Your Divine Grace.
Had you not come
Who had told,
The message of Krishna
Forceful and bold,
That's your right
You have the mace.
Save me a fallen
Your Divine Grace.
The line of service
As drawn by you,
Is pleasing and healthy
Like morning dew.
The oldest of all
But in new dress
Miracle done
Your Divine Grace.
Abhay Charan das
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At the same time he offered this poem, Srila Prabhupada gave a speech that is also a phenomenal spiritual expression. Rather than just present the speech as it is, Satsvarupa decided to section off the speech and inject his own little purports between the passages. Of course, this adds absolutely nothing at all to the text. As the author goes on to explain, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati heard this poem and the speech he was very pleased. The poem was then submitted to the Harmonist, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta told the editors to always include whatever Srila Prabhupada submitted to them. Of course, this is very understandable considering the fact that Srila Prabhupada was a Sampradaya Acarya, and one nitya-siddha was recognizing, facilitating and appreciating the other. Unfortunately, this is not the message Satsvarupa gives, even though only someone on a very high level of Krsna consciousness could have written this poem and the subsequent lecture that went with it.
It's also interesting to note that the content of the lecture is somewhat contrary to the Zonal Acarya philosophy that Satsvarupa was participating in and acting as the GBC's official spokesman for. Yet he apparently didn't see any philosophical inconsistencies when comparing the Zonal Acarya philosophy to what Srila Prabhupada is saying about how all gurus are one.
I haven't had a chance to do any research on it, but according to Satsvarupa, this speech was the first thing that Srila Prabhupada gave to the Harmonist for publication. This is something I find hard to understand, because I was sure I'd read other things that Srila Prabhupada had written prior to this that were in the Harmonist. With the many other liberties that Satsvarupa has taken in this book, we can only wonder if this fact is accurate or not.
Next Satsvarupa goes back to describing another aspect of Srila Prabhupada's supposed business failure, this time in regards to some deal he had with the Smith Institute. While the author doesn't provide enough historical markers for us to be sure about the chronology of events, we are told that Srila Prabhupada moves back to Allahabad after his attempt to set himself up in Bombay business seemingly failed. Amazingly, Satsvarupa even has the nerve to say that everything Srila Prabhupada did pertaining to Krsna consciousness was a success, but all his business activities were a failure. Now considering the fact that Srila Prabhupada actually lived a fairly well-to-do life, despite the fact that he experienced some business reversals, this is also a suspect conclusion on Satsvarupa's part. Granted, Srila Prabhupada didn't become a multi-millionaire, but Satsvarupa infers that Krsna had to intervene in Srila Prabhupada's attempts to do business and make them a failure because he was so absorbed or contaminated and distracted by his business endeavours. This is absolutely offensive nonsense.
Satsvarupa again harps on Srila Prabhupada's wife, telling the reader how unsubmissive she was, and that she wouldn't cooperate with her husband's preaching endeavours. Satsvarupa repeatedly depicts her as sloshing down tea in the other room while obstinately refusing to help her husband. You'll recall that this is the same kind of approach Satsvarupa took with Srila Prabhupada's father, giving a repetitive impression of his father, who is interjected periodically into the story just as his wife is. She is always depicted in the same way, over and over again, as Satsvarupa tries to keep the story going. This is not only unnecessary from the standpoint of providing facts to the reader, it's just poor writing.
Satsvarupa then jumps back to his angle about Srila Prabhupada's association with Sridhar Maharaja. Even though according to him, Srila Sridhar was a house guest or lived with Srila Prabhupada for, I think Srila Prabhupada once said ten years, Satsvarupa does not stress this point. Instead, for some reason he says that occasionally Srila Prabhupada would discuss philosophical points and share his realizations with Sridhara, but for the most part, he did his studying alone. Now, this is not like anything that I've heard from Srila Prabhupada when he commented on this era of his life. Of course, one has to keep in mind that at this particular juncture, the Zonal Acaryas were busy trying to put Sridhar down due to his influence. While at the beginning of their takeover they were using him as a big authority, they later turned on him to divert the negative attention their actions were getting. In this section of the Lilamrta, I think Satsvarupa is purposely minimizing Srila Sridhar because it was the mood of the day amongst the Zonals.
The only philosophical point the author brings up, which is also a repetitive theme, is how Krsna takes away everyone's material possessions if you're trying to make spiritual progress and that's holding you back. One of the classic lines in Lilamrta that writers often point to as a gross example of how the author minimizes the pure devotee, is heard when Satsvarupa writes that Srila Prabhupada "shuddered":
"'When I [Krsna] feel especially mercifully disposed towards someone, I gradually take away all his material possessions. His friends and relatives then reject this poverty-stricken and most wretched fellow.' Abhay shuddered as he read the verse."
Needless to say, this is not a Sampradaya Acarya being depicted here. Rather, Satsvarupa tells us that Sridhar Maharaja had to straighten Srila Prabhupada out, and tell him that that's what was happening to him, the reason for his business failures -- not that Srila Prabhupada could figure it out for himself, even if that was part of his lila as a nitya-siddha, which I don't see as being the case.
In the next section Satsvarupa manages to come up with a few dates, including July 1935, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was installing the Deities in the Bombay temple. At this point the attendant swamis, including Bhaktisaranga Maharaja, informed Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati that "Abhay Baba" been instrumental in gathering the funds so that the center could be set-up. He was hoping that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati would instruct Srila Prabhupada to take over the temple as the Temple President and manage it, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta told him that it's better if Srila Prabhupada lives outside, and when the time comes, he'll do everything himself. Of course, Satsvarupa neglects to advise his reader of the obvious spiritual point, that this is an indication of Srila Prabhupada's nitya-siddha status and that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had the power to see into the future and recognize who Srila Prabhupada was. Instead, Satsvarupa concludes that this statement by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had a "mysteriously prophetic air", and Srila Prabhupada had to meditate on their meaning.
The bigger mystery is why Satsvarupa has taken so many opportunities in this book to minimize rather than glorify the Lord's pure devotee.
