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Questions about Devotee Association In Today's World


Dear Dave



Haribol! Please Accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila 

Prabhupada.



Thanks for the letter. Everything you've said I also think about. Srila 

Prabhupada is trying to create a society of pure devotees so they can 

live together and help each other advance in Krishna consciousness, 

sharing the different types of loving exchanges Srila Rupa Gosvami 

describes in his Upadesamrta (Nectar of Instruction). Such pure devotees 

also give their association to the general public (without taking their 

association) while distributing Srila Prabhupada's books, chanting Hare 

Krishna on the streets and at the temple and Sunday Love Feast. He wants 

us  to live our lives in such a way that we always remember Krishna and 

never forget Krishna. That means doing some practical service which keeps 

our minds on Krishna as we are not so advanced that we can just sit down 

and chant Hare Krishna 24 hours a day.



As you mention Prabhupada is not at all keen on his devotees going away 

to a secluded place by themselves to become "Krishna hermits". He knows 

we're not so advanced and we would just eat and sleep instead of chanting 

Hare Krishna 24 hours a day. Prabhupada often quotes His spiritual 

masters' prayer:



        dusta mana! tumi kisera vaisnava?

           pratisthara tore, nirjanera ghare,

        tava hari-nama kevala kaitava



"My dear wicked mind, what kind of a devotee are you? Simply for cheap 

adoration you sit in a solitary place and pretend to chant Hare Krishna, 

but your chanting is all cheating."



Prabhupada doesn't want "bhajanandis", devotees practising Krishna 

consciousness for their own benefit, he wants preachers, devotees with 

the mood of Prahlada Maharaja:



        prayena deva munayah sva-vimukti-kama

           maunam caranti vijane na paratha-nisthah

        naitan vihaya krpanan vimumuksa eko

           nanyam tvad asya saranam bhramato 'nupasye



"My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons 

indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring 

for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to 

meditate with vows of silence (mauna-vrata). They are not interested in 

delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated 

alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that 

without Krishna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, 

one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at 

Your lotus feet." (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.44)



Even though an advanced devotee like Srila Prabhupada could stay in 

Vrndavana and chant Hare Krishna 24 hours a day, Prabhupada calles this 

the "easy life". He says those sadhus who have left Vrndavana, the "easy 

life", and on the order of Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja, have 

gone to the Western countries to preach Krishna consciousness, they are 

better sadhus...



Srila Prabhupada is very expert in designing service for his disciples to 

perform that keeps us constantly busy and always remembering Krishna. 

It's a very important thing to be always busy in Krishna's service, "an 

idle mind is the devil's workshop." Prabhupada makes it very clear he 

wants his books printed and distributed in unlimited quantities and the 

devotees who dedicate their lives to doing this are recipients of his 

special mercy. He makes it VERY clear, "If you want to please me, 

distribute my books..."



Thus, by the association of the pure devotees, the number of pure 

devotees increases (and it did quite dramatically in Srila Prabhupada's 

physical presence). Srila Prabhupada says this is the only purpose of the 

International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He's not interested in 

filling the temples with many neophyte devotees, nor is he interested in 

cheap disciples who don't follow the principles, nor is he interested in 

creating an international franchise of Hindu Temples... Prabhupada says 

there are so many temples in India and the people are going, but they are 

not Krishna conscious. So what's the use? Prabhupada's temples are places 

for his disciples to live in and gain spiritual strength by association 

so they can go out chanting Hare Krishna on the streets and distribute 

Prabhupadda's books with unlimited energy and enthusiasm. The temples are 

places for the army of Krishna conscious soldiers live who daily go out 

to do battle with maya by distributing millions of Srila Prabhupada's 

books and vibrating the holy names of Krishna:



       Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

           Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare



so the fallen conditioned souls have a chance to hear the holy name 

chanted by the pure devotees and thus they become purified and the 

dormant Krishna consciousness within their hearts is gradually 

uncovered... 



              harer nama harer-nama

                 harer namaiva kevalam

              kalau nasty eva nastya eva

                 nastya eva gatir anyatha



"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is 

the chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. There is no other way. There 

is no other way. There is no other way." (Brhad-naradiya Purana 3.8.126)



Srila Prabhupada wants pure devotees 100% surrendered to their spiritual 

master and Krishna. He's not attached to big, big temples, many followers 

or material facilities. Of course to provide accommodation for his 

disciples and for preaching he opened many big temples, but personally 

he's  just as happy living in a straw hut in Mayapura as in his very 

comfortable quarters in Bombay, London or Los Angles. He wants his 

disciples to live simply and use all their time and energy for serving 

Krishna...



One pure devotee can do more than millions of sentimental neophyte 

fanatics who can't even get out of bed in the morning for Mangal-aroti, 

chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra and follow the four regulative 

principles (no illicit sex life - sex is for having children in marriage, 

no intoxication, no meat eating and no gambling) Of course in Srila 

Prabhupada's physical presence his sincere devotees had no problems with 

these regulations as when one is experiencing the superior spiritual 

pleasure of Krishna consciousness, the mundane material pleasures seem 

unattractive in comparison. It's very real. It's not an austerity, it's a 

great pleasure. Life is much nicer without these things... The pleasure 

available from chanting Hare Krishna, serving Srila Prabhupada, reading 

Srila Prabhupada's books and living in the association of pure devotees 

is unlimited and ever-increasing... 



Unfortunately Srila Prabhupada's "followers" have sabotaged the process 

and completely changed the aims of the organisation he created. That 

association of pure devotees has now turned into a group of businessmen 

playing the "Lets All Be Prabhupada" game (without displaying any of the 

qualities of Prabhupada), exploiting the devotees and aspiring to fleece 

the Hindus... And they wonder, "Why did thousands of people surrender to 

and worship Prabhupada on the same level as Krishna? Why are they not 

worshiping me??" Many have become envious of Srila Prabhupada's glories 

and therefore they attack and expel from ISKCON anyone who tries to 

worship Prabhupada without taking initiation from them... And when we try 

to preach outside ISKCON they won't sell us Prabhupada's books, they send 

their lawyers after us and they send their "disciples" out to bash us 

also...

 

For me at least, Srila Prabhupada and Krishna have been very merciful and 

I have been able to remain in Krishna consciousness both inside and 

outside ISKCON. There are, of course, thousands of devotees in the same 

position and I sometimes live with other devotees and sometimes by 

myself. I'm in contact with many devotees outside ISKCON. So it's OK for 

me. But it is very difficult for new people as you mention. There are a 

number of centers outside ISKCON run by the Prabhupadanugas (the 

followers of Srila Prabhupada) and they are increasing now, so everything 

is going on there, Deity worship, Tulasi Puja, Guru-puja, Morning 

Program, Book Distribution, Srimad-Bhagavatam classes, Hari-Nama, etc. 

But it's lacking something still. Everyone leaves ISKCON in a somewhat 

disappointed condition and we find it difficult to put our trust in other 

devotees and cooperate... After being cheated by so many "devotees" in 

ISKCON one becomes a little careful...



Anyhow it's certainly possible for a sincere devotee to become Krishna 

conscious by taking advantage of Srila Prabhupada's association and there 

are small groups of devotees doing this now all over the world outside 

ISKCON. There's no stopping Krishna consciousness. So if you pray to 

Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, read Srila Prabhupada's books and hear his 

classes everything will be revealed and Krishna will make some 

arrangement for you to serve Him, to make spiritual advancement and 

associate with some nice devotees.



Of course living in the association of devotees is best, but sometimes 

the association of pure devotees is just not there or our family 

conditions or something else make it difficult, so we just have to go on 

chanting Hare Krishna and associating with Srila Prabhupada and Krishna 

wherever we are, in whatever condition of life we find ourselves. We're 

never alone, the more we become Krishna conscious the more we realise 

that. Prabhupada was also apparently alone for many years before coming 

to the West, but that didn't stop his Krishna consciousness or stop him 

following the instructions of his spiritual master. He was a householder 

and had very little personal association with his spiritual master, Srila 

Bhaktsiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Prabhupada's association was through 

following his instructions and serving, Vani, not physical Vapu.



So Prabhupada's Vani, instructions, are available for all of us to take 

advantage of. We can create an association of devotees also. Of course 

ISKCON has complicated the matter and they will try to (and are trying 

to) stop us but the process is still potent and if we are pure and try 

sincerely and Krishna and Srila Prabhupada want it then we can organise a 

society of pure devotees. Why not? Who can stop it?



Anyhow we will see what happens. As for me I have some serious studying 

and a lot of chanting to do so I'm taking the opportunity to do some of 

that now. (Of course Prabhupada wants us to preach so I'm always looking 

out for opportunities to do that also). We are servants of Srila 

Prabhupada and Krishna and we will try to do what They want us to do. 

Thank you for the encouragement and I wasn't thinking badly of you for 

not replying so quickly.



Your realisations are correct and also not correct. We need the 

association of devotees, but we can get the association of many pure 

devotees by reading Srila Prabhupada's books. Prabhupada is personally 

present in his books, so are all the great acaryas and personalities who 

appear in his books... So if we take advantage of their association we 

will certainly have no problems in advancing in Krishna consciousness in 

any condition of life. It's my personal experience, and that of many 

other devotees also, Srila Prabhupada is living still, he is a "living 

guru", we simply have to take advantage of his association...



Thanks again for the letter,



Chant Hare Krishna and be happy (it really is possible even today!)!!



Madhudvisa dasa
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Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada!