A Summary of Srila Prabhupada’s Miraculous Accomplishments from 1965 to 1977
In reading many of the profiles of Srila Prabhupada, I’m saddened that a number of his important projects, programs and achievements are never mentioned. In the following summary I’ve tried to compile a more comprehensive list of his credits. Although this list is also incomplete, I hope it presents a fuller picture of Srila Prabhupada’s greatness.
In 1965, at seventy years of age, he ventured outside India for the first time to fulfill the order of his spiritual master. During his voyage at sea, he suffered two severe heart attacks. He reached the shores of America with virtually no money to his name.
He founded the International Society for Krsna Consciousness with a small group of disciples, after a year of struggling alone in New York City. This marked the only time in history that a Krsna devotee successfully trained non-Indians in the strict disciplines of Vaisnavism. Amazingly, this was achieved during the blossoming of America’s hedonistic counterculture movement.
He sent his followers, chanting the names of God, into the streets of cities and towns everywhere and Hare Krsna became famous in every corner of the earth.
I remember years ago when I was just a young new devotee, and we were asked to go out and distribute books, we were asked so many questions by people we met. One question I will never forget; “What does the mantra mean?” How to explain this to someone who has never heard of Krishna? So I replied; “O Lord please engage me in Your loving devotional service”. Even as a new devotee I knew there was more I could have said, but I left it at that.
But that basic question always stayed with me.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Another definition I discovered is;
Hare– Srimati Radharini (the divine energy of the Lord)
Krishna– The All Attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead
Rama– Name of Lord Krishna who is the reservoir of pleasure. (as in Radha-Ramana, the giver of pleasure to Srimati Radharani) The name Rama also means Lord Ramacandra, and Lord Balarama.
But for me, I like this verse I discovered in my reading;
“O Srimati Radharani, O All Attractive Reservoir of Pleasure, Lord Sri Krishna, please engage me in your loving devotional service”
This morning I was reading from the “Nectar of Devotion”, about devotional service. Srila Prabhupada was explaining the nine processes of performing devotional service and referenced the “Teachings of Lord Kapila”, which was a book I have not read for such a long time, so I thought I would share a chapter with you today. And also this very important verse from the Srimad Bhagavtam.
“Hearing, chanting and remembering the holy name, form, pastimes, qualities and entourage of the Lord, offering service according to the time, place and performer, worshiping the Deity, offering prayers, always considering oneself the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him—these are the nine processes of devotional service.” (Bhāg. 7.5.23)
There are nine basic processes of devotional service—hearing and chanting about the Supreme Lord, remembering Him, serving His lotus feet, worshiping Him, offering prayers to the Lord, acting as His servant, becoming His friend, and surrendering everything to Him. The beginning is śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, hearing and chanting. One must be very eager to hear and chant.
Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Chapter Three, Text 3
Last night was the Full Moon (Purnima), and as I saw it appear over the Eastern Horizon, I was reminded of the chapter of the Bhagavad-gita entitled: “The Opulence of the Absolute”. And this verse came to mind.
“Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”
PURPORT
Any glorious or beautiful existence should be understood to be but a fragmental manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s opulence, whether it be in the spiritual or material world. Anything extraordinarily opulent should be considered to represent Kṛṣṇa’s opulence.” (Bg. 10.41)
In another verse Krishna states: “…of lights I am the radiant sun, … and among the stars I am the moon.” (Bg. 10.21)
So really Krishna Consciousness is not so difficult. Every time we see the sun, or moon, we can be reminded of Krishna.
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” (Bg. 10.8)
The Spiritual Master is present wherever his sincere disciple is trying to serve his instructions. This is possible by the mercy of Krishna.
In your attempts to serve me, and in all your sincere devotional sentiments, I am with you, as my Guru Maharaja is with me. Remember this always…I shall never leave you. You are my disciple and I am your Spiritual Master, so there is no question, as long as you follow my instructions, that I shall never leave you.
Recently I have been cleaning out the warehouse, organizing things, moving boxes, and I realized that I still have many box’s of small books. What to do with so many small books??? My book distribution days are for the most part over. I mean I can still drop off books in the mail, but pounding the streets with a book bag days are over. So I decided to open the treasure chest of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy and offer any of our readers Free Books!
Anyone can write to me at: theharekrishnamovement@gmail.com and request free books. I no longer have any Bhagavad-gita’s left but I do have so many of the others. You can request specific books or just a random assortment, and I will mail them out to you.
Book distributors can write and a larger package can be arranged.
I request anyone who does not already have Srila Prabhupada’s books to feel free to write, or anyone wanting to add to their collection. Maybe you just want to give them to your friends or family, this is, after all, the season of gift giving. Hare Krishna!
Recently I have had this image of Visnu in my mind. I find that my mind often goes back to the days when we went out on book distribution every day and passed out books, magazines, and Spiritual Sky incense. I guess because I had distributed hundreds of BTG magazines, I have a clear memory of the magazine covers. I forgot most of what I learned in school, but I can still recall those early days of Sankirtan, and the joy I felt when someone took a book or magazine, or said Hare Krishna for the first time. Actually, being out there on the streets was a real education in human nature. And I fondly remember so many of the magazine covers.
ON THE COVER
Sri Visnu the maitainer of the universe and goal of the yogis’ meditation.
We often say “Chant and be Happy”, but there are offences to be considered. If we want to feel the full ecastscy derived from chanting the Holy names, we need to avoid them.
There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Krsna one does not become ecstatic. ( Cc. Adi-lila 8.24) 1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord. 2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma to be equal to or independent of the name of the Lord Vishnu. 3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. 4) To blaspheme the vedic scriptures or scriptures in pursuance to the vedic version. 5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be an imagination. 6) To give some interpretations to the holy name of the Lord. 7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name. 8) To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna as one of the auspicious ritualistic activities which are offered in the Vedas as frutive activities (Karma kanda). 9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name
10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy name and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter. It is also an offense to be inattentive while chanting.
Every devotee who claims to be Vaishnava must guard against these offenses in order to quickly achieve the desired successKRISHNA PREMA!!!
Yesterday was Gita Jayanti, or the Advent of Srimad Bhagavad-gita,which is an annual celebration to commemorate the day when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna on the first day of the battle of Kurukshetra. Recital of the Bhagavad Gita is performed throughout the day in most ISKCON centers throughout the world.
In honor of this day, Gita Jayntia, we present the Complete 1972 Edition of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami in a link to our other page Prabhupadagita Where you can read the entire book online a chapter at a time with the original illustrations.
“The Holy Name is so powerful, that even by chanting with offense, gradually one becomes pure. Therefore we should not give up chanting under any circumstances.” -Srila Prabhupada
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day homage
by Vyasasan das
Dear Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my fallen obeisance’s, and my love, on this auspicious day of your disappearance. With your arrival on the shores of America, you brought with you the shinning lamp of knowledge; the wisdom on India and the Supreme Absolute Truth. You appeared on the shores of America the way the sun appears on the Eastern Horizon. Slowly revealing itself at first, then dominating the sky with its blazing effulgence. Illuminating the entire world with its golden light. Where there is light there is no darkness. And wherever your words are being sung and repeated, there is a glimmer of hope for the materially conditioned souls.
Your words and instructions are the very life and soul of a genuine disciple. It is said that the best process of understanding Krishna is to hear about Him, either from Krishna Himself as given in statements from the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, or from the self realized pure devotee. One does not even need to change his worldly position; he simply has to hear the message of Krishna.
It is from you only, Srila Prabhupada, that I know anything at all about Krishna or the spiritual world. By your grace only, the knowledge is revealed, and you become revealed to your disciples and listeners. Anyone who submissively hears from you, either by reading your books, or hearing your lectures, can attain the highest perfectional platform. Just as there is the sun and the sunshine, so, there is Krishna and Krishna’s pure representative. When we feel the sunshine, we know the sun is there, and when we hear from you, we know that Krishna is there.
Today we celebrate Govardhana-puja, when Krishna exhibited His transcendental pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill to protect the inhabitants of Vrndavan. In honor of this auspicious day, we are posting the entire chapter from the KRSNA Book entitled “Devastating Rainfall in Vrndavana”. Enjoy!
…Lord Kṛṣṇa picked up Govardhana Hill with one hand, exactly as a child picks up a mushroom from the ground. Thus He exhibited His transcendental pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. Lord Kṛṣṇa then began to address His devotees, “My dear brothers, My dear father, My dear inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, you can now safely enter under the umbrella of Govardhana Hill, which I have just lifted. Do not be afraid of the hill and think that it will fall from My hand. You have been too much afflicted from the heavy rain and strong wind; therefore I have lifted this hill, which will protect you exactly like a huge umbrella. I think this is a proper arrangement to relieve you from your immediate distress. Be happy along with your animals underneath this great umbrella.” Being assured by Lord Kṛṣṇa, all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana entered beneath the great hill and appeared to be safe along with their property and animals. …The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and their animals remained there for one week without being disturbed by hunger, thirst or any other discomforts. They were simply astonished to see how Kṛṣṇa was holding up the mountain with the little finger of His left hand.
… After this incident, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surrounded by His dear friends and animals, returned to His home. As usual, the gopīs began to chant the glorious pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with great feeling, for they were chanting from the heart. (Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Chapter 25)
Here is a new word for your vaisnava vocabulary; laulyam which can be defined as desire and great eagerness, or as greed
“My dear Lord, O lotus-eyed one, when will that day come when on the bank of the Yamuna, I shall become just like a madman, and continue to chant Your holy name while incessant tears flow from my eyes?”
One should feelingly pray and become eager to render his particular type of service to the Lord. This is the teaching of all great devotees, especially Lord Caitanya.
In other words, one should learn how to cry for the Lord. One should learn this small technique, and he should be very eager and actually cry to become engaged in some particular type of service. This is called laulyam, and such tears are the price for the highest perfection. If one develops this laulyam, or excessive eagerness for meeting and serving the Lord in a particular way, that is the price to enter into the kingdom of God. Otherwise, there is no material calculation for the value of the ticket by which one can enter the kingdom of God. The only price for such entrance is this laulyam lālasāmayī, or desire and great eagerness.
“Prabhupada: Hare Krsna. So we have published our Nectar of Devotion. So every one of you should read this Nectar of Devotion repeatedly. The whole substance of Vaisnava philosophy and activities, everything is there. So every one of you read this Nectar of Devotion once, twice, thrice.”
The Appearance Day of Our Beloved Spiritual Master
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Dear Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my humble obeisances, and kindly forgive my offences. I am truly grateful to you for all that you have given me. Every day when I go into our temple room, and I light a candle or stick of incense, sit down and chant japa or sing bhajans, whether I am cooking an offering or preparing the Lord’s plate, picking a flower to offer or washing and drying the Lord’s plate, reading from one of your many books, or simply thinking about Lord Krishna or Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I feel a deep sense of gratitude, and appreciation.
Today we celebrate the Appearance of Lord Krishna (Janmastami) with a full day fast, followed by a nice vegetarian feast. As we like to do on this day, we read from the KRSNA Book. So we are posting the complete chapter; “The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa”.
…As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that His appearance, birth, and activities, are all transcendental, and one who understands them factually becomes immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the Second Chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohiṇī was also predominant because this star is considered to be very auspicious. Rohiṇī is under the direct supervision of Brahmā. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious. ( from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Chapter 3)
Today, being Krsna Janmastami, we are offering a free scanned copy of the original ISKCON Press 1970 Edition of KRSNA Book Vol. 1, which you can download. Just click on the following link to began downloading. This could take a while depending on the speed of your connection. This free scanned copy includes all the original art work as well.
I would like to share a very Special Photo of Srila Prabhupada in the San Francisco temple 1968 signing His name to a set of India published, first canto, Srimad Bhagavatam consisting of three volumes.
There is a backstory that bring back exciting memories to me. When Srila Prabhupada arrived in the USA, He carried with Him 200 sets of these books, which most were sold. The remaining books (assorted volumes) in India were shipped and arrived in the winter of 1966. In Srila Prabhupada’s Apt. it was me and Brahmananda that unpacked these volumes. They were shipped in thin steel painted black trunks. There were three or four of them and pretty banged-up during shipment. But the books were undamaged. There were only a small number of full sets left, most were 2nd and 3rd volumes of the set. The front-covers were packed separately. And it was my service to carefully put the front jackets on all the books right in front of Srila Prabhupada. I was so excited unpacking these volumes thinking as a young boy, what a great treasure I found. I had to carefully fold the jackets around each and every book while His Divine Grace watched. We stacked some books in His room and remainder one trunk that wasnt damaged we put all the other books. So this photo of Srila Prabhupada signing this set brought me back to those days that I was allowed to perform this humble service with great enthusiasm, and in my old age it brings my heart great happiness……your servant gargamuni das………
One of the most used books in our temple room is the songbook. Everyday it seems, I am flipping through the “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas”, singing one of the many songs or reciting some of the numerous pranams (prayers) as part of my daily sadhana. The following post is the first 13 pages of songbook, which in my mind is a nice way to start the day and is a good prelude to other devotional service.
Pranams from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
SRI GURU PRANAMA
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
om-address; ajnana-of ignorance; timira-by the darkness; andhasya-of one who was blinded; jnana-anjana-by the ointment of spiritual knowledge; salakaya-by a medical instrument called a salaka, which is used to apply medical ointment to eyes afflicted with cataracts: caksuh-eyes; unmilitam-were opened; yena-by whom; tasmai-unto him; sri-gurave-unto my spiritual master; namah-obeisances.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
This morning when I opened my computer I saw this Headline;“Middle East braces for week that could determine the course of the Gaza war”. And I was reminded of all the conflict at present in the world. Then I opened the Srimad Bhagavatam and began reading the Preface by Srila Prabhupada and it seemed so timely.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Preface
We must know the present need of human society. And what is that need? Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particular countries or communities. Human society is broader than in the Middle Ages, and the world tendency is toward one state or one human society. The ideals of spiritual communism, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are based more or less on the oneness of the entire human society, nay, of the entire energy of living beings. The need is felt by great thinkers to make this a successful ideology. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need in human society. It begins, therefore, with the aphorism of Vedānta philosophy janmādy asya yataḥ (Bhag. 1.1.1.) to establish the ideal of a common cause.
Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness of oblivion. It has made rapid progress in the field of material comforts, education and economic development throughout the entire world. But there is a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore there are large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of the entire human society.
The Hare Krishna Movement 