BY: ROCANA DASA
Nov 13, 2021 — CANADA (SUN) — Studying Srila Prabhupada's conversations with ISKCON leaders.
Today's Talks is inspired by Srila Prabhupada's lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.42 on March 22, 1976 in Mayapur. At this point in time the Mayapur Festival program is over. The devotees have gone on to Vrindavan but this year, Srila Prabhupada stayed in Mayapur with a few of his disciples, including Hari-sauri prabhu and Tamal Krishna.
As we read in Hari-sauri's Diary, on this particular day Srila Prabhupada has received the GBC reports and read through them. A few big issues were presented to Srila Prabhupada. One of the main issues, which Srila Prabhupada addresses to a degree in this class, is the question of whether or not the temples should engage in business activities. The devotees in Denver at that time were trying to do a jewelry business and in that instance, Srila Prabhupada suggested that they just do book distribution.
At this point in time Satsvarupa was behind the idea of closing all the businesses the devotees had started in the temples, but then Jayatirtha's report came out with an opposing position. He was quite famous for business activities, being the one who had started the Spiritual Sky, which at that time was still functioning as an auxiliary to the Los Angeles temple. Jayatirtha made a somewhat convincing argument for not closing the businesses, in Los Angeles, at least. In that instance, Srila Prabhupada agreed with Jayatirtha. Srila Prabhupada himself had run a business for many years while he was involved with his Spiritual Master's movement, and he was using a portion of his profits to help the Gaudiya Matha.
Another of the big problems being addressed was the gurukula and Jagadisa's report on how things were transpiring in Dallas. This centered around spending a lot of money, in either fixing up the facility in Dallas or finding better facilities somewhere else which complied with American standards. In this particular situation Srila Prabhupada put on his business hat and stated that the grihastas, before they had children, should consider the trouble and expense of educating those children. This meant that they would have to foot the bill for the gurukulas. Of course this was somewhat after the fact given that throughout the movement at that time, devotees were getting married and having children while still living relatively like brahmacaries. They weren't bringing in an income and there was an understanding -- or in some cases a misunderstanding -- that the temples would provide for the family and the children, including the schools.
Srila Prabhupada's comments on these two big issues reverberated throughout the movement at the time, particularly because businesses in the temple were run by the grihastas. Although they were ostensibly for the support and maintenance of the temple, for the most part they simply provided some income for the grihastas. Most of the grihastas were not trained as businessmen, consequently the businesses didn't always get off the ground due to a lack of business experience and knowledge. By and large, many didn't fulfill the expectations of the devotees involved, although they did provide the grihastas with an income.
Srila Prabhupada also made the comment that because of this situation, he didn't want grihasta Temple Presidents to involve themselves in any business other than book distribution. I was a Temple President at that time, and I also became the recipient of a certain portion of the children who had to be relocated from Dallas. We had to establish a gurukula in Seattle to accommodate them. So I can fully identify and grasp the significance of what Srila Prabhupada was saying. When reading and listening to this class, I understand this aspect of the message in the background.
Those who are following this Talks series will know that this section of the Srimad Bhagavatam focuses on the pastimes of Prahlad Maharaja. In this section he's speaking to Lord Nrsimhadeva, after the Lord has dispersed with his father, Hiranyakasipu. In the sloka, Prahlad Maharaja is making the philosophical point that everything of we see, both creation, maintenance and annihilation, the Original Cause is Krsna. Srila Prabhupada comments that we have to understand that everything that's created cannot be eternal. The material world is created by Krsna but by the very fact that He creates it, it means it's going to be maintained for a while, then annihilated. And although we living entities observe the wonderful activities of nature, unless we are conversant with the truth found in sastra and coming from the Spiritual Master, we can't understand what's going on behind the scenes. Behind these activities is Krsna. So while a devotees is amazed by the activities of nature, he's able to comprehend through the eyes of sastra, how and why Krsna is behind everything.
Srila Prabhupada comments on to the next line of the sloka, where Prahlad Maharaja is stating that everyone is suffering and everyone wants to stop this suffering. He's addressing Krsna in the Form of Lord Nrsimhadeva, and stating that Krsna is the only one who can stop suffering. It's impossible for anyone to stop suffering but Krsna Himself.
One statement Srila Prabhupada made that I found quite interesting is that he said: "So Krsna may think... Krsna does not think, but from our side we may suppose like that…"
Then Srila Prabhupada brings in Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu through the statements of another Sampradaya Acarya, Narottama dasa Thakur, when he sings "sri-krsna-caitanya-prabhu, daya koro, which means 'kindly give me your mercy'. Srila Prabhupada purports the rest of that song by saying that Narottama dasa is eligible for the mercy because he's so sinful, and that Lord Caitanya has come to liberate or save the most fallen.
Then based on that song, Srila Prabhupada comments extensively on the concept that everyone is hankering for some kind of a favour. In the material world if we want to get relief from suffering or solve problems, we try to get the favour of someone else in order to do that. Whether it's a big man, getting a job, or requesting someone with some power, money or potency to help us, Srila Prabhupada states that this is impossible, and that everyone is frustrated when they try to do this.
Then Srila Prabhupada gives the example of a father and a mother, who want to show favour to the children. Regardless of whether or not the father and mother themselves are very good and rich, they still cannot guarantee that the children will be happy. If the son commits a crime and he goes to the court to be punished, and he's condemned to hang, regardless of the father and mother's status in society, the son cannot be saved. The only one that could possibly save him would be God.
We can understand that Srila Prabhupada is directly addressing the devotees here, in the sense that all his disciples are instructed to go out and preach, to go on Sankirtana and distribute books. In that sense, this lecture is a transcendental motivational talk. When you're on Sankirtana, you have to understand the philosophical principle that Krsna is in everyone's heart and that unless he favours a person, unless Krsna internally instructs that person to fulfill the request of the devotee to take a book or chant Hare Krsna, or in someway participate in the Sankirtana movement, then that person is not able to do so. That's the reason they're saying "no" or giving us a hard time.
For devotees who have some idea of Srila Prabhupada's apparent struggle to push on Krsna consciousness, seeming to be alone prior to coming to the West, one can understand this principle very clearly. Srila Prabhupada had asked literally innumerable people to help in his efforts to spread Krsna consciousness, and so many people had turned him down. But here's how he was thinking during that whole effort. Of course, many of his disciples also left ISKCON, even after joining him. So this is how a pure devotee sees such activities - that it's Krsna who's not favouring them, not sanctioning that they should gain such great spiritual advancement, because they were too sinful. Each one of us should be wondering in what ways is Krsna not favouring us to be inspired by or attracted to some spiritual influence because we're too sinful.
Then Srila Prabhupada, in direct relation to the GBC report, said that devotees should not engage in businesses that require very hard endeavour. We should only engage in simple things. Of course, he clarifies that by saying if the devotees are willing to take the risk, which is what business is all about, then they have to make sure they're taking the risk for Krsna's sake and not for their own personal satisfaction.
Srila Prabhupada gives an example from the Ramayana, using Hanuman and his monkey friends to illustrate how it's possible for God to make things easy for the devotees, as long as they have the faith. When Lord Ramacandra wanted to know what was going on in Sri Lanka and how Sita was fairing in her activity, he empowered Hanuman to jump over the water. When he ordered Hanuman to do this, Hanuman immediately accepted the fact that he was also given the power to do this, because he understood Ramacandra to be God. In the same way, he asked the other monkeys to just bring some stones so they could build a bridge. They didn't hesitate to bring stones, thinking it was impossible for them to build a bridge in the usual manner. We know that Lord Ramacandra caused the stones to float, which is very easy for God.
Of course, the underlying message here for the those in the audience is that Srila Prabhupada has asked us to spread Krsna consciousness around the world, to distribute books that few are interested in, and to implant a completely foreign culture and religion in the West, and around the world. We should be like the monkeys and just assume that if Krsna's pure devotee has asked us to do such a thing, then it's going to happen. And it did.
Srila Prabhupada then reinforces this idea by saying that if you want to get Krsna's favour, you can't go directly go Krsna. You need the favour of his devotee, and this is what the parampara system is all about. In fact, he defines the parampara system by saying you receive knowledge through the parampara, which is based on the whole principle of dasanudasa -- it's the servant of the servant, which means that ultimately it's Lord Brahma who is giving us the knowledge, because he's originally heard it from Krsna, and that all the favours that we request, as long as they're for pleasing Krsna, are also transmitted through this parampara system.
Srila Prabhupada emphasizes here that parampara means knowledge, the process of understanding. Arjuna understood this, and it's clarified in the Bhagavad-gita that he's accepting Krsna because other great authorities accepted Krsna, such as Vasudeva and Narada - not by his own speculation that Krsna is God, but that it's confirmed.
Srila Prabhupada end the lecture by clarifying that the material world is full of persons who think that they are very big, big men, but no one is a big man. The only ones who can lead are devotees of Krsna, and you have to recognize who is a devotee of Krsna.
"One who is overwhelmed in ecstasy simply by hearing Krsna, you take lesson from them. Otherwise all rascals."
