Srila Prabhupada’s Expertise

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto One, Chapter Five. “Nārada’s Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,”

TEXT 22

idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā

sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ

avicyuto ‘rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito

yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam

TRANSLATION

Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada.

Human intellect is developed for advancement of learning in art, science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, psychology, economics, politics, etc. By culture of such knowledge the human society can attain perfection of life. This perfection of life culminates in the realization of the Supreme Being, Viṣṇu. The śruti therefore directs that those who are actually advanced in learning should aspire for the service of Lord Viṣṇu. Unfortunately persons who are enamored by the external beauty of viṣṇu-māyā do not understand that culmination of perfection or self-realization depends on Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu-māyā means sense enjoyment, which is transient and miserable. Those who are entrapped by viṣṇu-māyā utilize advancement of knowledge for sense enjoyment. Śrī Nārada Muni has explained that all paraphernalia of the cosmic universe is but an emanation from the Lord out of His different energies because the Lord has set in motion, by His inconceivable energy, the actions and reactions of the created manifestation. They have come to be out of His energy, they rest on His energy, and after annihilation they merge into Him. Nothing is, therefore, different from Him, but at the same time the Lord is always different from them.

When advancement of knowledge is applied in the service of the Lord, the whole process becomes absolute. The Personality of Godhead and His transcendental name, fame, glory, etc., are all nondifferent from Him. Therefore, all the sages and devotees of the Lord have recommended that the subject matter of art, science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, psychology and all other branches of knowledge should be wholly and solely applied in the service of the Lord. Art, literature, poetry, painting, etc., may be used in glorifying the Lord. The fiction writers, poets and celebrated litterateurs are generally engaged in writing of sensuous subjects, but if they turn towards the service of the Lord they can describe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. Vālmīki was a great poet, and similarly Vyāsadeva is a great writer, and both of them have absolutely engaged themselves in delineating the transcendental activities of the Lord and by doing so have become immortal. Similarly, science and philosophy also should be applied in the service of the Lord. There is no use presenting dry speculative theories for sense gratification. Philosophy and science should be engaged to establish the glory of the Lord. Advanced people are eager to understand the Absolute Truth through the medium of science, and therefore a great scientist should endeavor to prove the existence of the Lord on a scientific basis. Similarly, philosophical speculations should be utilized to establish the Supreme Truth as sentient and all-powerful. Similarly, all other branches of knowledge should always be engaged in the service of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā also the same is affirmed. All “knowledge” not engaged in the service of the Lord is but nescience. Real utilization of advanced knowledge is to establish the glories of the Lord, and that is the real import. Scientific knowledge engaged in the service of the Lord, and all similar activities, are all factually hari-kīrtana, or glorification of the Lord.

COMMENT

This important verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam suggests how persons engaged in the pursuit of knowledge in different fields can utilize the knowledge in the service of the Lord, and thus attain perfection. Srila Prabhupada was revolutionary in his approach to presenting Krishna consciousness and spreading Krishna consciousness. Of course, he continued the same mood in the same line as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, but he engaged his disciples in activities that engaged their abilities and knowledge in the service of the Lord. He engaged artists in painting pictures of the Lord to illustrate the publications. He engaged more artists in the F.A.T.E. Exhibit. FATE is an acronym for First American Theistic Exhibition, and it involved the devotees making sculptures and scenic decorations, music, light, voice, to present the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. And even now, if one goes to the Los Angeles Temple, one can see the F.A.T.E. Exhibit and see what a powerful presentation it is.

Similarly, scientists can use their knowledge to establish the existence of the Lord on a scientific basis, and on the authority of the present verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Srila Prabhupada formed the Bhaktivedanta Institute where he engaged scientists to use their knowledge of science and mathematics to establish the existence of God. Although the present translation and purport were written by Srila Prabhupada in India before he even came to America and before scientists like Svarupa Damodara Prabhu and Sadaputa Prabhu and Madhava Prabhu joined him, still what Srila Prabhupada wrote in the purport forms a perfect description of the mission of the Bhaktivedanta Institute that Srila Prabhupada formed only years later.

One sentence in particular is relevant: “Advanced people are eager to understand the Absolute Truth through the medium of science and therefore a great scientist should endeavor to prove the existence of the Lord on a scientific basis.” So Srila Prabhupada engaged Svarupa Damodara Prabhu, who is now His Holiness Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja, to write a book called The Scientific Basis of Krishna Consciousness. And the book presents scientific evidence to prove the existence of spirit and the existence of the Supreme Spirit who is the Lord, Krishna. At the time, Svarupa Damodara Prabhu informed Srila Prabhupada about an experiment where a plant or the seed of a plant or a primitive plant was kept in a closed system. And after some time, the scientists measured the total weight of the entire system, and the weight had actually increased although the system was closed. One of the basic maxims of science is that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, so where did the extra weight come from? So Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Maharaja cited the experiment as proof, not only that life comes from life, but that matter comes from life. And because of the presence of the soul within the primitive plant form, more matter was actually created, because not only does life come from life, but matter also comes from life. And thus he explained the mysterious manifestation of more matter within the closed system.

So in the same way, Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Maharaja cited many scientific experiments that prove the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā, the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. And Srila Prabhupada advised him that actually he would be presenting the same philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā, but decorating it with scientific terminology and examples. So Srila Prabhupada was expert. There were devotees who were expert musicians, expert dancers, expert theatrical performers and he encouraged them to use their abilities and their knowledge in the service of the Lord. He formed the Vaikuntha Players. That was a very talented group of actors and actresses.

In 1977, when the Juhu Temple was almost complete, Srila Prabhupada had the Vaikuntha Players come to Bombay. Srila Prabhupada actually envisioned a World Traveling saṅkīrtana Party that would travel all over the world, and there would be very nice musical rendition of Hare Krishna kirtan, there would be nice philosophical discourse, there would be dramatic performances, there would be art exhibitions, and Srila Prabhupada felt that we could take over the world by cultural conquest of Krishna consciousness. The Vaikuntha Players came to Bombay, and they were very accomplished artists. And at the time, we had arranged a pandal program for Srila Prabhupada across Maidan. And on Sunday evening as part of the program, the Vaikuntha Players performed a version of Rāmāyaṇa on the stage. That included mainly dramatic acting, but also some dancing.

There is one item called The Dance of Hanuman which depicted how Hanuman, with his tail on fire, jumped all over Lanka and burned the city to ashes. And at the end of the performance when the artists had their curtain call (Of course, there was no curtain on the stage of the pandal), Lord Rama who was played by a devotee named Prajapati Prabhu (who has been in Dallas for the last so many years) came forward as if he was Ramachandra, Himself. And he was flanked by Sita and Lakshman and Hanuman just like we see in the picture of the Deities. And he addressed the audience that, “My devotees are building a temple for Me in Juhu, and they require more funds for their work. So please, come forward and contribute whatever you can.” And really, it is as if Lord Ramachandra Himself was speaking to the audience. And people came forward to the stage, and they were offering money at his feet. And then he took off his helmet and devotees took the helmet in the audience. People were putting money in the helmet. But what took place was not simply a matter of sentiment, because as Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, on the absolute platform there is no difference between Krishna and Krishna’s name, Krishna’s form, Krishna’s qualities, Krishna’s pastimes, Krishna’s paraphernalia, and so on. So when dramatic artists perform kṛṣṇa-līlā or rāma-līlā, or gaura-līlā, the transcendental personalities actually become manifest, and it is not just a matter of sentiment, but it is a matter of fact.

Once, Mrs. Gopi Kumari Birla invited me to see a performance of caitanya-līlā in Bombay. And from the material point of view, the artists, or the performers, were not so accomplished. The costumes were nice, but the setting was not that realistic. But soon after the performance began, it was as if Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda had actually manifest, and we were completely captivated by the pastimes. Not because of the material artistry of the performers or the material expertise of the costumes or scenery or music, but because the presence of the Lord was actually invoked by the performance by the absolute nature of the Lord. So the same thing happened when the Vaikuntha Players performed Rāmāyaṇa in Bombay. And therefore, the paintings of the Lord, the sculptures of the Lord, the descriptions of the Lord, the performances that depict the pastimes of the Lord, they actually are all the same on the absolute platform. They are all Krishna. And therefore, Srila Prabhupada concludes the purport by saying that they are factually Hari-kirtan, because Hari-kirtan is Hari, Himself. So a painting of the Lord is the Lord.

A scientific proof of the existence of the Lord is the Lord, the dramatic performance about the Lord is the Lord, and of course, Hari-kirtan, the holy name of the Lord, is the Lord. And therefore, on the absolute platform all of the activities related to the Lord are the Lord. And therefore, using one’s scientific or artistic knowledge in the service of the Lord is factually the same as Hari-kirtan. Because on the absolute platform, the Lord’s name, form, qualities, pastimes, paraphernalia, all the things that may be discussed and depicted through scientific knowledge and art are the Lord Himself. And therefore, devotees who use their scientific knowledge in the service of the Lord or their artistic abilities in the service of the Lord are engaged on the absolute platform as if they were engaged in Hari-kirtan. And therefore, persons who consider such activities to be mundane lack the proper vision of the absolute platform in the field of spreading Krishna consciousness.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: It seemed like Srila Prabhupada, he took whatever talents people came with, and then he engaged them in Krishna’s service. If someone was a scientist, then he tried to engage that. But it didn’t seem like he so much would say, “Okay we need someone to be involved in the scientific field, and maybe you are very qualified. You should go and study that or you should go and get training for that.” But it seems like nowadays, we are more wanting, more open to that, and more seeing it as also, like you said, Hari-kirtan, because previously it was kind of a more narrow field we had that devotees simply directly engage in preaching. Like Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, “When will that day come when the judge is wearing tilak.” But our idea is that we will make a judge a devotee rather than some devotee deciding he wants to become a judge and studying like that. But it seems like both approaches are valid, in one sense. Even in your own case, first Srila Prabhupada said, yes, you should go out and study. And then, when you felt that when you wanted to serve the mission directly out there, then he said that that is the best education. So I wondered if you had any comments about it.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. When I joined, I also heard the same thing that Srila Prabhupada said we don’t have to study to become doctors, but by our preaching we can engage doctors in Krishna’s service. But in the period after Srila Prabhupada left, somehow the economic base of the movement was not able to support all the devotees as they were supported during Srila Prabhupada’s presence, in particular, the householders. So, when the householders realized that they couldn’t depend on the temples to maintain them, then they had to do some work. So then, devotees began to consider, quite rightly, that if someone becomes a devotee and eventually he will marry and need to maintain his wife and family, then why disrupt his education or his career, but let him continue with his education or his career and be Krishna conscious in his own position, and then he could go ahead and become whatever.

Then there are some devotees who joined at a certain stage in the development of the movement where they were told, just surrender to Krishna, and Krishna will take care of you, or the temple will take care of you. But then, they began to see or hear that actually the temple might not take care of them, and then they left the temple. They remained devotees, but they left the temple. And then, they went back to school in some field of study. And then, there are some who felt that they have certain abilities that the movement is not able to engage. When Srila Prabhupada was present, he could practically engage anyone, like the artist. When Srila Prabhupada was present, he could engage the artist, but we can’t. No, we don’t either have the vision, or we don’t have the resources. But we don’t.

And similarly, there are devotees with a sort of intellectual bent who feel that their intelligence needs to be more challenged. And so they go to the university in the field of philosophy or religious studies or philosophy of science, whatever, and they engage their intelligence in the study with the idea to use the knowledge in the service of the Lord. There are women who have felt that they couldn’t realize their full potential within the movement, so they left the movement to—not that they gave up Krishna consciousness, but they left the movement to realize their potential in the field of their choice.

So, there could be different explanations as to why devotees now are studying and learning things that they can use in Krishna’s service, rather than just preaching to people who already have the knowledge and inspiring them to use the knowledge of Krishna’s service. And one wonders, if we had followed Srila Prabhupada strictly, and because during Srila Prabhupada’s time, the economic basis of the movement was book distribution. And then, after Prabhupada left, the leaders found that they could make money more easily by selling records, candles, paintings, and whatever. And so for a while, the movement was getting a lot of money, and the arts were flourishing for a while. But, the basis wasn’t that solid, and eventually, leaders fell down and devotees left. Devotees who were selling things for the temples got married and they might have even kept selling the same things, but not for the benefit of the temple. So the movement lost its economic base, and so the devotees had to make their own arrangements for their livelihood.

And some say that, in the beginning, Srila Prabhupada had to spread the movement very quickly. He didn’t know how much time he would have, and therefore, he was engaging everyone, more or less, as if they were brahmacharis, even the householders. And the circumstances were favorable, and Prabhupada was personally present, and the spirits were very high. So he could engage everyone: householders, artists, scientists; and he could support everyone. But that could never have been anything but a temporary phase, and that eventually the movement would have to come into a situation more like the traditional varnashrama where the householders work and earn and maintain the brahmacharis, and the vanaprasthas and sannyasis. And that the movement was never really meant to maintain the householders in the long run—except for a few whose service was essential.

But there is more scope in India to engage in the same types of studies in direct relationship to Krishna. Like you mentioned, that Srila Prabhupada didn’t have devotees learn to become artists, but if someone was already an artist, he engaged them in painting. But with some of the artists, like Bharadraj Prabhu and Rukmini, he actually sent them to India to learn the Bengali art of doll making, to make the doll exhibits. But in India, you can do that. Here, you would have to learn sculpture but in India, you can learn the specific art of figuring forms of Deities of the Lord, and the devotees of the Lord.

So similarly, even Sri Prahlada, who had such a taste for the holy name and for Krishna consciousness, but even he felt that he had a need to use his intelligence more than he could just on the festival tour, and he actually planned to enroll in the university. But then, he met Tamal Krishna Goswami, and Tamal Krishna Goswami suggested that he could study in India and help establish higher education for devotees in India. Because in India there is a tradition that is comparable to the universities of the west, but there, the tradition involves Sanskrit logic, rhetoric, Vedas, things that are coming from the Vedic culture. So now, he spent six months on the festival tour and six months in studying. But in India, he also has that inclination, or that interest. He is able to study Sanskrit, Vedic literatures, Vedic rituals, and thus help establish an academy in Mayapur. But the training, in principle, is as rigorous as the training one would have to do to get a PhD. in the other parts of the world.

Any other questions or comments?

Agaya Lila Prabhu is an example. He was a brahmachari in the Berkeley Temple. And he understood that, eventually, he would marry as most people do, and he would have to support his family. So he left the temple and went to the university and became qualified as an engineer?

Devotee: Biochemist.

Giriraj Swami: As a biochemist. As a biochemist. Now, he is maintaining his family and continuing Krishna consciousness. Of course, that was when they were starting to sell records; records or candles.

Devotee: Paintings in New York.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. So, he also had trouble believing that that is what Srila Prabhupada actually wanted us to be doing. But on the other side, he thought he will like to marry, he will have to maintain his family. So he has to become qualified for the type of job that he would like to pursue.

And there are a few devotees who just have abilities that they feel they can better engage outside even if they are not householders, but they just feel they can engage their abilities better outside. Prishan Prabhu told Tamal Krishna Goswami that, “Don’t compete with us. We are too small for you.” (laughter) “You go out in the world and compete with them. We are too small for you.” So he went to the university, and then later he commented that in the university, he was competing with himself, competing against himself, and he said that was the hardest competition he ever had. (laughter)

Granthraj Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!