Chapter 5 of Prabhup\u0101da Vijaya, 'Prabhup\u0101da\u2019s Mission, Ideal and Achievements' is summa\u00adrised in relation to our previous \u0101c\u0101ryas \u2013 a fundamental and necessary principal for the spiritual success of all Vai\u1e63\u00ad\u1e47avas. It explains how his achievements were appreciated by his god-brothers and who proclaimed him as a \u015bak\u00adty\u0101ve\u015ba-avat\u0101ra is made known.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>
I would like to say a few things about \u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da. Today I thought of three things in particular regarding His Divine Grace \u2013 his mission, his highest ideal and his achievements. Each one of these subjects could indeed be the topic of a book.<\/p>\n
His mission is the mission of all Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas, particu\u00adlarly those who are the followers of \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktivinoda \u1e6ch\u0101kura and \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktisiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura in these modern times. Recently, on \u015ar\u012bla \u015ar\u012bdhara Mah\u0101r\u0101ja\u2019s Vy\u0101sa-P\u016bj\u0101, we mentioned the name \u015ar\u012b Caitanya S\u0101rasvata<\/em> \u2013 \u015ar\u012b Caitanya means \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu, and s\u0101rasvata<\/em> means \u2018from \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktisiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura.\u2019 This is our line of Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avism. Our Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja\u2019s mission is the mission of all those Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas from the time of Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu down to \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktisiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura, and those who have followed in his footsteps.<\/p>\nOur Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja\u2019s ideals are also the highest ideals of all Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas. When we begin in this life, we may have some suk\u1e5bti<\/em> from our previous lives. Those who are born in India are accredited with some great suk\u1e5bti<\/em>. Once, Prabhup\u0101da said that an ant in India is more fortunate than a human born in another country. That same week he also said that a rickshaw-wallah<\/em> in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana is superior to the president of the United States. If you speak to a few of the older rickshaw-wallahs<\/em> and if you have a chance to meet the president of the United States, you will under\u00adstand this point. Whoever is born in India has some suk\u1e5bti<\/em> and they begin from there. Those who are born in foreign countries have no suk\u1e5bti<\/em> and we must begin from that stage. But regardless of where we begin, very few, if any of us, are born with a high ideal in mind. Within Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avism there is an extremely high ideal and this is exemplified in the lives of great \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em> since the time of \u015ar\u012b Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu. Thus, our Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja\u2019s high ideal is the same ideal shared by all bona-fide Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas.<\/p>\nThus, his mission and ideal is the same as other Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u00ad\u1e47avas, but as far as his achievements are concerned it could be said that it is possible only in dreams. \u015ar\u012bla \u015ar\u012bdhara Mah\u0101r\u0101ja said, \u201cSwami Mah\u0101r\u0101ja has done a miracle.\u201d What is a miracle? A miracle is something beyond our capabilities, something which is beyond ordinary human strength. \u015ar\u012bla \u015ar\u012bdhara Mah\u0101r\u0101ja also said, \u201cThe Divine came down through him and worked through him. \u015ar\u012b Nity\u0101nanda Prabhu personally lived within him. Nity\u0101\u00adnanda Prabhu lived within the body of Swami Mah\u0101r\u0101ja and danced a miracle for twelve years all over the world.\u201d In regards to \u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da\u2019s achievements, I have also heard many of our friends and well-wishers in the Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Ma\u1e6dha quote this verse:<\/p>\n
p\u1e5bthiv\u012bte \u0101che yadi nagar\u0101di-gr\u0101ma<\/em>
\nsarvatra prac\u0101ra haibe mora n\u0101ma<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIn every town and village of the world, My Holy Name will be sung.\u201d (Caitanya-bh\u0101gavata, Antya-kha\u1e47\u1e0da.<\/em> 4.126)<\/p>\nWe cannot conceive how this happened. How will the Holy Name of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a be sung in every town and village of the world? Have you ever been to Khartoum in Sudan, Addis Ababa in Ethi\u00adopia or Uganda? Have you ever been to a remote village in Chile? You can go to any place on the globe nowadays and the name of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a will be there to greet you. Some people say that \u2018Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019 has become \u2018a household word,\u2019 but actually the name of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is not a household word \u2013 it is a divine sound. In the 1970\u2019s I went to the ancient city of Oman in North Africa. When we got off the plane, the baggage handler looked at me and said, \u201cHare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a!\u201d We thought we were bringing the Holy Name there, but that fellow had been to London and seen the devotees there, so when he saw us he remembered, \u201cOh, Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a people.\u201d From the remote aborigine villages of Africa to Trafalgar Square in London, to Times Square in New York \u2013 all around the world the Name of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is there. That is to \u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da\u2019s credit. \u015ar\u012bla \u015ar\u012bdhara Mah\u0101r\u0101ja used to say, \u201cWe are so proud of what Swami Mah\u0101r\u0101ja has done. We are so proud. We could not think how it will happen. He has done a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
It seems that there is an intrinsic characteristic within Gau\u00ad\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avism since time immemorial, that whenever there is an \u0101<\/em>c<\/em>\u0101<\/em>rya<\/em>, past or present, there is a controversy surrounding him. It seems that is inherent from the spiritual world. There is even controversy within the eternal l\u012bl\u0101<\/em> of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana \u2013 the v\u0101tsalya-rasa<\/em> section has some complaint about the m\u0101dhurya<\/em> sec\u00adtion. Maybe such controversies stem from there, or maybe they simple come due to the nature of this world, which is always filled with controversy. Nonetheless, we see that in the lives of so many great personalities, some controversy surrounds them. One of the reasons is because the contribution of an \u0101c\u0101rya<\/em> breaks the norm. We have an expression in modern English \u2013 \u2018a wake-up call.\u2019 It is like an alarm going off. The plane of this world is sedentary \u2013 it always wants to slow us down. \u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da used to say that if a sanny\u0101s\u012b<\/em> stays in one place, he will become expert in eating and sleeping. That is the nature of this world. We settle down and become fixed in our ways. The nature of this world always goes down, not up. Those whom we mark as \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em> make major contributions. They are doing something to wake up, not just the masses of ignorant people, but they are often times shaking the devotees also. Thus, whenever a great personality appears in our midst, it seems like there is always some contro\u00adversy surrounding him and our Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja was no exception to that. Controversy means complaint, but this is not a new thing. There are certain sections here in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana who claim that \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktisiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura was not initiated, therefore everything after him is useless! That propaganda was made sixty years ago and it was passed down within their little groups. Now\u00adadays, people our age or even younger make the same claims. They will fight and we will defeat them! At present, there are devotees in various missions all over the world \u2013 all that is due to \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktisiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura Prabhup\u0101da.<\/p>\nOur Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja carried the dignity of the Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Ma\u1e6dha and the Gau\u1e0d\u012bya samprad<\/em>\u0101<\/em>ya <\/em>all over the world, and so that it would be known and there would be no mistake about it, he ordered that the logo of the Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Ma\u1e6dha should be painted on both sides of the gate at his headquarters in M\u0101y\u0101pura. We are<\/em> Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Ma\u1e6dha, and anyone who thinks otherwise is both blind and foolish. Our Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja carried what he had been given by the order of \u015ar\u012bla Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura. In this contemporary world, everything begins with Bhaktivinoda \u1e6ch\u0101kura and Bhakti\u00adsiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura. Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas wearing saffron cloth began with Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura; carrying the sanny\u0101sa-da\u1e47\u1e0da<\/em> started with Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura \u2013 so many things that we do in this preaching mission was started by him, and his followers are carrying this far and wide \u2013 both in India and abroad.<\/p>\nWe do not think that our Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja is the only preacher, but we must say that his contribution in these modern times was something that other could only dream about. It was unthinkable how it would happen. Even in his own dreams, he could not actu\u00adally conceive how it would happen! However, he was always very positive. When he had absolutely nothing but the cloth that he wore and a few books, one man in New York asked him, \u201cDo you have any mission?\u201d \u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da told, \u201cYes, I have temples all over the world in many countries \u2013 they are just not manifest yet.\u201d But that was not simply a statement \u2013 he knew. Why? He had guru-ni\u1e63\u1e6dh\u0101<\/em>. He had prema<\/em> also, and he had faith in the order of his guru. He knew, \u201cI am here on the order of Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura, therefore all success will come to me.\u201d He had that conviction and I have seen it. He used to say, \u201cMy Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja is always by my side.\u201d<\/p>\nOnce, I asked \u015ar\u012bla Bhakti Pramoda Pur\u012b Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, \u201cIs there any tape recording of \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktisiddh\u0101nta Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura?\u201d He looked at me as if I were a fool and said, \u201cB\u0101b\u0101, Sarasvat\u012b \u1e6ch\u0101kura is always present with us.\u201d We are thinking that we must have a tape machine to find him, but those disciples who have faith, know that he is with them always. Similarly, if we have faith in our Guru Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, his presence and his blessings are always with us and the potency to succeed in following his order is also there. With sincerity we must try to follow that and we may be successful by his grace.<\/p>\n
(From a lecture given on \u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da\u2019s disappearance day, in V\u1e5bnd\u0101\u00advana, on November 7th, 1994)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chapter 5 of Prabhup\u0101da Vijaya, ‘Prabhup\u0101da\u2019s Mission, Ideal and Achievements’ is summa\u00adrised in relation to our previous \u0101c\u0101ryas \u2013 a fundamental and necessary principal for the spiritual success of all Vai\u1e63\u00ad\u1e47avas. It explains how his achievements were appreciated by his god-brothers and who proclaimed him as a \u015bak\u00adty\u0101ve\u015ba-avat\u0101ra is made known.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[207],"tags":[206,208],"krishna_talk_article":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5606"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5606"},{"taxonomy":"krishna_talk_article","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rupanugabhajanashram.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/krishna_talk_article?post=5606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}