Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
I take this occasion of again celebrating your blessed appearance in our midst as an opportu-
nity to offer prostrated, heartfelt obeisance to your lotuslike feet.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, of your countless wonderful qualities, one stands out for me in my present
reflection on your glories, namely, that you always put forward a grand vision of Kṛṣṇa conscious-
ness for the whole world, a vision full of hope. You always radiated confidence that this vision
would become a reality. In this spirit, you anticipated a historiography that would acknowledge
the realization of your vision when you wrote in a letter to Jayaśrī (November 13, 1969),
Our movement is the greatest gift to the human race. They may not immediately appreci-
ate it, but time will come and history will give evidence that this movement saved the
human society from being fallen into barbarianism.
Thus, you anticipated a radical change in civilizational direction, from a steady decline into “bar-
barianism” to an elevation toward widespread engagement in devotional service. In a Caitanya-
caritāmṛta purport (Madhya-līlā 25.121) you further envisioned that “[e]veryone has an equal
right to execute devotional service. That is the platform of oneness and the basis for a classless
society.” In referring to “equal rights” in relation to devotional service as the “platform of oneness”
that becomes “the basis for a classless society,” you hinted at the practical enactment of how the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is “meant for bringing about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected
civilization” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, preface). By hearing, reading, reflecting on, and sharing the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, our minds and hearts can be incrementally transformed. This transformation
is inclusive: Recognizing all human beings as having “equal rights” means that everyone should
have the opportunity to hear the message of Śrīmad-Bhaāgavatam. This was always your firm
conviction.
Reflecting on the notion of “revolution” as the expected result of engagement with the
Bhāgavatam, I like to think of reading and sharing it as a subversive act. In a quiet, nonconfronta-
tional manner, everyone has the right to participate in the slow and steady erosion of materialistic
consumerism, replacing it with humble acts of devotion that nourish the soul, honoring all living
beings as sparks of divinity.
In a further reflection on your anticipation of “history giving evidence” that this Kṛṣṇa con-
sciousness movement is to be credited with turning the tide toward a favorably directed – rather
than a misdirected – civilization, I was inspired this last February to give a presentation at the
ISKCON Leaders’ Saṅga in Māyāpur titled “‘History Will Give Evidence’: Writing Our His-
tory to Prepare ISKCON’s Future.” After raising questions about the nature, process of gather-
ing, archiving, accessing, and presenting of historical “evidence,” and pointing out some efforts
already being done in this direction, I and my co-presenter Lokarāma Prabhu urged devotees to
develop oral history projects that would document the experiences of individual devotees and
groups of devotees.
I concluded the short presentation by noting three benefits of gathering and writing our his-
tory. First, it can help foster a sense of mission continuity for Vaiṣṇava communities over multiple
generations. Second, it can inspire present and future generations of devotees to enthusiastically
preserve and spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And third, it can positively direct our
future, enabling your prediction to come true, namely, that “history will give evidence that this
movement saved the human society from being fallen into barbarianism.” Responses to our pre-
sentation were very positive.
With your kind blessings, Śrīla Prabhupāda, as your follower and humble student, I will con-
tinue to be a small instrument to encourage everyone to pursue and persist in the subversive act
of hearing, reading, and sharing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and to encourage your followers to record
the history of how this “revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization” is becoming a
reality.
Always your servant,
Krishna Kshetra Swami

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