Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my respectfully humble obeisances at your lotus feet, Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to Your Divine Grace! All glories to all those who try to follow your instructions strictly and keep the grand legacy you bequeathed to us intact.
You Said It!
Its wartime, Śrīla Prabhupāda. You predicted it would come, and it has. The root cause is fake religion, kaitava-dharma. The Jews, Christians, and Muslims who are at war on muddled historical events, fueling hate, are killing one another for puerile reasons, having no value for human life. It is a religious war, no doubt.
A God-centered society is hence indispensable for humankind to march forward toward the goal of life in security, happiness, and a mood of service and sharing. But they will deny it.
It’s election time in India. All the politicians have been busy seeking votes on the basis of religion or religious hatred fueled by instances and events. They will stoop to an all-time low to fetch votes. It’s religion again. It’s pathetic. India and Hinduism is no different, it seems, as we grapple with colonial hangovers.
People are highly stressed, insecure, and confused under these leaders. Countries lack the political, social, and economic will to have a reasonable dialogue to solve issues as they have zero spirituality in their leadership. Its mayhem and more, unleashed by Kali. Again, you said it.
Against this background, I understand how purposeful and meaningful is your mission, Śrīla Prabhupāda. What a great philosopher, visionary, and practical leader you are, while not even mentioning your pure devotion to guru and Kṛṣṇa! You again said it: “In the future they will talk about how I came to change the course of humanity in its dark hour.”
We know we have the solution to the problem as clear as crystal, but we also know we have a long way to go to implement it. The world so much needs the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement – like never before. The greatest impediment glaring at us is from inside of ourselves and inside your own ISKCON society. It’s the insides! Again, you said it: “Our movement cannot be destroyed from the outside, but can be definitely destroyed, from the inside.”
We Should Do It!
Do we also lack intelligence and the organizational will needed to solve our issues and push forward? Is subtle, personal ambition standing in the way of our elite Vaiṣṇava leadership? Is cooperation lacking utterly? Such thoughts and more often assail my mind and intelligence, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
I love your movement, the devotees, and the great opportunities it provides for sharing Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the confused world. You worked so hard to give this to us amidst myriad challenges. We cannot let this go, without using our collective intelligence and organizational skills laid at the altar of sacrifice to please you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Genuine Vaiṣṇava collegiality, heartfelt dialogues, and a willingness to go the extra mile in understanding and implementing your vision is a burning need if we wish to take your mission forward, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
On this auspicious day of your appearance, I beseech you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, to bestow clear intelligence and organizational will on all of us who sincerely want to take this movement forward maturely and help you solve the world’s problems through your special vehicle, ISKCON.
From my side, in my area of responsibility, many amazing opportunities our devotees have worked with for many years are reaching fruition. Devotees have acquired precious properties in many towns and cities for ISKCON. These will serve as bases for preaching strategically. More youngsters are able to take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, being attracted to kirtan and prasādam, initially. Kindly bless all these sincere devotees who distribute your books, educate from your books, read and understand your books, and cherish pure devotional service with the yearning and hope that they will achieve pure kṛṣṇa-prema soon!
Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for everything precious you gave us, and bless us to use it intelligently and cooperatively progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Your servant,
Bhakti Vinoda Swami