Following Our Acarya—with Partha Sarathi

Partha Sarathi dasa: When I was reading Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, today, I came across a very interesting point. Lord Chaitanya was visiting Benares, also called Varanasi and Kasi, which is the home of many Mayavadi philosophers. Prakasananda Sarasvati was living there, and he was a great Mayavadi. He was an offender to Krishna. Lord Chaitanya said, māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī. What does that mean? “The Mayavadis are the greatest offenders of Krishna.” This Prakasananda Sarasvati was so offensive that he actually had leprosy and could not even utter the name “Krishna.”

One day a brahman came and told Prakasananda Sarasvati, “There is this person called Krishna Chaitanya. He is a sannyasi, and He is chanting and dancing.” But Prakasananda could not say the name “Krishna.” He could say only “Chaitanya.” Srila Prabhupada mentions that he was too offensive to utter the name “Krishna.” Prakasananda Sarasvati dismissed Lord Chaitanya as a bhāvuka, a sentimentalist, and an indrajālī, a magician. And he warned this brahman, “Don’t associate with Chaitanya.”

In the next verses Lord Chaitanya explains a very important point. He says that the Vedas, the Puranas, and the great saints do not always agree with each other. Thus, dharma-sthāpana-hetu sādhura vyavahāra: real religious principles are established by the behavior of a devotee. Real religious principles, dharma, are established, sthāpana-hetu (hetu means “cause")—real religious principles are established sādhura vyavahāra, by the behavior of devotees. Then Lord Chaitanya said, “Therefore Srila Madhavendra Puri personifies all religious principles.”

Real religious principles are personified in the behavior of a devotee. It is a very interesting point. For us in ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada is that example, and he personified real religious principles. So we are always quoting him, giving his examples, and trying to model ourselves after him. His activities and instructions are the essence of religious principles: dharma sāra. Sāra means the essential ingredient, like the essential ingredient of milk is cream. So, dharma sāra, real religious principles, are showed, taught, and personified by the behavior of the devotee. Lord Chaitanya immediately glorified Madhavendra Puri (who happened to be his parama-guru), that he is the essence of all religious activities.

For us, Srila Prabhupada is the essence of all religious principles. So we try to invoke his remembrance and follow in his footsteps. Whenever we speak, if we can quote something that Srila Prabhupada said, it gives what we say authenticity, and this will be true for thousands of years to come. He is actually śaktyāveśa, fully empowered.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

So, we will ask His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja to speak.

Giriraj Swami: I can, but my ears are thirsty for the nectar flowing from your moonlike face.

I was struck by His Holiness Partha Sarathi Maharaja’s brilliant and appropriate discourse. What he said about the truth of religious principles being enshrined in the heart of the devotee is true:

arko ‘pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā
nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam
dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ

“Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.” (Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.117, quoted in Cc Madhya 17.186)

So we should follow the path that has been chalked out by the mahājanas, the great devotees. And certainly for us in ISKCON, and I dare to say for all of us in Kali-yuga now after the appearance of Srila Prabhupada, he is the mahājana whom we should follow.

Of course, there are many qualified teachers of the science of devotion who appear in the line over the years. But once in a while one, such as Srila Prabhupada, will be an especially empowered personality who adjusts the eternal principles of sanātana-dharmain special ways that are appropriate for the time and circumstance. Srila Prabhupada was such an Acarya, with a big “A.” There are acharyas with a small “a,” but he was an Acharya with a big “A.” His position, therefore, is quite special.

Sometimes devotees argue that just as Srila Prabhupada is following Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, others are also following Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, so that to follow them or to follow Srila Prabhupada is the same—because they are all following Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Or they argue similarly that both Srila Prabhupada and others are following Jiva Gosvami, or Rupa Gosvami.

But such statements deny Srila Prabhupada’s unique position, because he is not just a follower like other acharyas with a small “a"; of course, he is a follower, but he is an Acharya with a big “A.” He has made adjustments in the application of the eternal principles that are unique to him and that are especially important for us to follow. Therefore the best that we can do is to study and follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and example, and in some cases we can learn more from his example than from his instructions. “Example is better than precept.”

In the early days of ISKCON Srila Prabhupada remarked, “The chanting of the Pancha-tattva mantra is more powerful and beneficial than the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.” One disciple asked, “Then why don’t we just chant the Pancha-tattva mantra? We can chant the Pancha-tattva mantra on our beads, instead of the Hare Krishna mantra.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “We chant the Hare Krishna mantra because Lord Chaitanya chanted it, and example is more important than precept.”

Similarly, when Srila Prabhupada was speaking on the history of Ajamila from the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Indore, he said, “Even if you are a fool and can’t read the books [by “fool” he may have meant “uneducated"], if just you do what you have seen your acharya do, you will be perfect.” So we are extremely fortunate to have had Srila Prabhupada’s association and even to have the association of the direct disciples who have had Srila Prabhupada’s association.

There are four different ages, called yugas—Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga—that repeat in cycles like the four seasons. In each age a specific method for self-realization is recommended, and in each age a yuga-avatar, a specific incarnation of Godhead, comes to propagate the method for that particular age. In Satya-yuga the recommended method is meditation, in Treta-yuga it is sacrifice, in Dvapara-yuga it is temple worship, and in Kali-yuga it is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

Lord Chaitanya is the yuga-avatar for this Kali-yuga. Within one day of Brahma there are one thousand yuga cycles, and in one of those thousand yuga cycles Krishna appears at the end of Dvapara-yuga, and only in the Kali-yuga that immediately follows the advent of Lord Krishna does Lord Chaitanya appear. Although He serves the function of the yuga-avatar for Kali-yuga, He is more than just a yuga-avatar. He is avatāri, the source of all avatars. He is Krishna Himself (kṛṣṇas tu Bhagavān svayam), come in the mood and with the luster of Srimati Radharani. So to take birth in the Kali-yuga in which Lord Chaitanya appeared is extremely fortunate.

Lord Chaitanya predicted, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma: “In every town and village of every country of the world, My name [Krishna’s name] will be preached.” (Cc Adi 17.203) And His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the one to fulfil the prediction and desire of Lord Chaitanya. How could something so wonderful happen? Even Lord Chaitanya’s devotees were astonished by the thought. In Caitanya-maṅgala, Locana dasa Thakura explains that Lord Chaitanya appeared and preached in Navadvipa to establish the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra as the religious process for Kali-yuga and that Lord Chaitanya declared, “I want to flood the whole world with the chanting of the holy names. I will personally preach and flood India, and in time my commander-in-chief devotee (senapati-bhakta) will come, preach in distant countries, and flood the world with the chanting of Hare Krishna.” That general who was sent to lead Lord Chaitanya’s saṅkīrtana army is Srila Prabhupada.

How fortunate we are to be born in the Kali-yuga that began just after Krishna’s pastimes in Dvapara-yuga, and within that Kali-yuga so soon after Lord Chaitanya’s appearance as the yuga-avatar, and practically at the same time that Lord Chaitanya’s special devotee Srila Prabhupada came to execute His mission and fulfil His desire.

So Srila Prabhupada is not just an acharya. Of course, an acharya is a big thing in any case, but Srila Prabhupada is a special one, with a big “A,” and the best that we can do is to follow him and serve him and glorify him. That is our constitutional position, and it is the best thing that we can do for ourselves and for others.

As I was preparing to come to tonight’s program, I thought of the film that you were to watch, “Prabhupada in Bombay,” and one incident with Srila Prabhupada came to mind.

Srila Prabhupada had a disciple named Amoghalila dasa, who was assisting in Bombay. Amoghalila did not have so much personal association with Srila Prabhupada, but one morning he joined Srila Prabhupada for his morning walk. Srila Prabhupada wasn’t feeling so well, so instead of walking on Juhu beach as usual, he was walking on the rooftop of one of the old buildings that you saw in the film. Amoghalila took the opportunity and came up the stairs and joined Srila Prabhupada. Now, in the temples in America, all of the devotees would do all of the services. There was no question of hiring someone or paying someone to do work in the temple. The devotees would do everything. They would cut the vegetables. They would cook the prasādam. They would wash the pots. They would clean the kitchen. They would do the laundry. There are many funny stories about how we would do the laundry then, but still, we would do the laundry, and we would clean the bathrooms—everything. From top to bottom, the devotees would keep the temple clean and do all the services. And in India, maybe because there were so few of us, or because the labor was so cheap, we began to hire people to clean the toilets and wash the pots and even cook.

So on the rooftop walk, Amoghalila said to Srila Prabhupada, “I heard that you quoted a saying that anyone who goes to Lanka becomes a Rāvaṇa and that similarly, when devotees come to India they become Rāvaṇa. Can you explain what you meant and how we can avoid that happening?” Srila Prabhupada replied immediately, “Ask the leaders!” He explained that he was saying that in all our other branches our devotees managed the cooking and kitchen but that as soon as they came to India they became bada sab, big masters. “That is Rāvaṇa. Why do they not do here? Here we have to keep some cook who is neither initiated nor very clean. In all other branches the boys and girls manage everything.” Then Amoghalila asked, “So the solution is to follow your instructions, to chant the holy names and to follow the regulations more strictly?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “That means Rāvaṇa. He is asking. I am repeatedly saying to follow, and he is asking. That means he is a Ravana. Why you are inquiring? If you know this is the solution, why don’t you do it? Therefore I say, yāya sei laṅkā sei haya rāvaṇa: ‘Anyone who comes to Lanka, he becomes Rāvaṇa.’”

Obviously, if we follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, if we follow the process that he has given, all the problems will be solved.

So Amoghalila started going around saying, “Srila Prabhupada wants us to do all the cooking ourselves. We should get rid of the hired people and do all the cooking.” The next morning the local GBC told Amoghalila Prabhu that he had informed Srila Prabhupada that Amoghalila was going around and saying that we should get rid of all the hired help, and that Srila Prabhupada had said, “Why is that rascal creating a disturbance?” That is what the GBC said. [laughter] And later, when Amoghalila told one of the other temple presidents in India what the GBC had said, the president replied, “Do you believe him?”

In any case, we do know what Srila Prabhupada said, and we have to do it. At the same time, there are considerations of time, place, and circumstance, and that also presents a challenge for us. The world is changing very quickly now. So we have to be able to understand in a deeper way what Srila Prabhupada taught and why he said what he said and did what he did; otherwise, if we just imitate, that also won’t work.

You might have heard the story that Srila Prabhupada told about a famous veterinarian and his assistant. The apprentice accompanied the expert and watched him cure so many animals’ illnesses. In one case, they came to treat a horse that had a huge enlargement in his throat. The veterinarian called for a hammer and began to strike the neck of the horse, and the lump went away. Now, the apprentice was a little envious and ambitious. He thought, “Why should I just be the assistant? I have seen what the vet does. I can do the same thing.” So soon thereafter, he started his own practice.

Word soon reached the veterinarian that his apprentice was creating havoc and killing many of the animals that he was supposed to be treating. When the experienced practitioner finally caught up with his former assistant, he exclaimed, “What are you doing? You are killing the animals!” And the apprentice replied, “I saw you hammer the throat of a horse, so I am using the same technique.” The expert replied, “You fool, that was for a particular circumstance. That horse had swallowed a water melon. [laughter] So I had to take the hammer to break the melon into pieces. But you can’t do that to every horse. [laughter] You have to understand why I did it.”

So, we need to follow Srila Prabhupada’s example, but we also have to understand why he did what he did under certain circumstances. Otherwise, if we try to just imitate his activities without really understanding his reasons, we may produce the opposite result. So while we wholeheartedly accept the principles and precedents that Srila Prabhupada set for us, we also have to understand why he did and said what he did. We cannot imitate.

And we have to act according to our position and our realization. For example, Srila Prabhupada often used words such as “fool” and “rascal” and expressions such as “We kick them in the face with boots.” In Juhu he said something even more radical. Should I say it? [laughter] I won’t mention his name, but there was a famous person in Bombay who in a way had defamed Krishna consciousness. So a friend approached Srila Prabhupada: “Have you heard of So-and-so? Do you know what he has done? You should take some action against him.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Oh yes, I know him. I urinate in his face!” [laughter] Srila Prabhupada could say that and no one would question his position as a saintly person. And he could say many other things as well, but we cannot imitate him. We have to be who we are. Otherwise, it will be artificial and it could have an opposite effect.

We have powerful godbrothers too, and we may not be able to imitate them either. Once our dear godbrother Tamal Krishna Goswami—we worked together in Bombay for many years, and early in our experience there we were approaching prominent people to enroll as life members. One well-known and wealthy man operated a Hindu cultural organization and lived on the top floor of one of only two really tall apartment buildings in Bombay then. Many people told us about him: “You must make him a life member.” So Tamal Krishna Goswami went to the top floor of the “skyscraper,” as Srila Prabhupada used to say, and told the man all about Krishna consciousness. He showed him pictures of our activities, presented Srila Prabhupada’s books, explained the life membership program, and asked him to sign the form. And the man refused. There was no reason why he should have refused, but no matter what Tamal Krishna Goswami said, he wouldn’t agree.

Finally Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “You know, Mr. Bhatia, I am glad that you didn’t become a life member, because we don’t want people like you as members of our society!” [laughter] And he put away all the books and pictures, picked up his briefcase, and walked out. But then Mr. Bhatia came running after him. “No, no, Swamiji. No, Swamiji, I want to become your member. I want to become your member. Please come back. Please come back.” And he became a life member. [laughter] But that was Tamal Krishna Goswami. I couldn’t have said that. [laughter] He could say it, and he could make him a life member. I couldn’t have. I also might have made him a life member, but in my way—not in his way.

So that is also a very important lesson, that we have to speak and act according to our realization and who we are. We can’t be someone else. Yet, at the same time, we remain the most loyal and obedient servants of our predecessor acharyas, in particular of Srila Prabhupada.

Anyway, coming back to Phoenix, Durban, after so many years, I am glad to see the progress in the temple. I remember when we got the land, how all the devotees were so excited because it was such a prime property in such a choice location. Soon thereafter we opened a small restaurant in a shopping center across the street. It was a nice restaurant, and once I had a program there. But now we have a big building, and so many devotees come. So there has been a lot of progress. But the real progress will be in our devotional attitude. That will be the real progress.

In fact, the answer might surprise you, but in one conversation Srila Prabhupada himself raised the question “Why do people follow us?” It is not because of the big buildings, because many organizations have big buildings.

And when one disciple proposed, “It is because of your books,” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Many institutions have books,” and added, “Besides, although we distribute so many books, very few people actually read them.” Prabhupada himself said that.

So what makes them follow us? Srila Prabhupada himself gave the answer: “People follow us because we lead ideal lives; we exemplify what is in the books.” So, in plain language, we have to practice what we preach. We have to exemplify what people read in the books and hear in the lectures, just as Srila Prabhupada did. We may not use the exact same words that Srila Prabhupada used, and we may not copy exactly what he did, but one thing he did that we all must do is exemplify what he taught. That we must do. That is mahājana yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ, to exemplify what we have learned from Srila Prabhupada and to repeat in our own way, according to who we are and according to who our audience is, what Srila Prabhupada taught. Then Srila Prabhupada will be pleased and people will actually benefit; we will benefit.

One last thought. A few days ago there was a reception for me at the Radha-Radhanath temple. Although it is unfortunate that my example involves me—or maybe the example is even more appropriate with one as unworthy as me—I felt that Srila Prabhupada was pleased that the devotees were following the etiquette. With all the difficulties that we have had in the movement over the years, including difficulties with leaders, devotees are still following the etiquette, and I actually felt that Srila Prabhupada was pleased. And that is also part of Vaishnava behavior, to follow Vaishnava etiquette.

Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.