Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Your lotus feet.
There are so many topics I was about to write to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. The glories of the won-
derful devotees in the area in which I’m serving and how they are striving to please Your Divine
Grace, like the amazing preaching and community development in Romania, or the outstanding
saṅkīrtana results in Turkey, the dedication of the Cyprus yātrā to kīrtana and harināma, the sin-
cere efforts of the Greek devotees, and of course the inspiring results of the Hungarian yātrā – in
book distribution, the college, the high standards of Deity worship, festivals, and so much more …
I was also thinking to write about the efforts of devotees amid great challenges, like the war in
Ukraine, the earthquake in Myanmar, or even the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in
cows in parts of Europe, and how devotees still continued your movement’s activities steadily …
But no, I have decided not to write about these now.
There is one topic I would like to write about. A concern. A fear. A burden I carry in my heart.
And that is the possible mission drift among the intellectuals within ISKCON and what appears
to be the gradual dilution of the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It worries
me deeply.
Recently, in an official gathering of devotee scholars, a majority of the speakers supported the
idea of theistic evolution. Some even publicly dismissed the Purāṇic account of creation and ques-
tioned whether Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam offers a clear picture at all. One well-known devotee speaker
claimed that the Bhāgavatam’s description of the origin of species is vague or metaphorical.
Another argued that such topics are not important for today’s society, and that accommodating
modern scientific views would help make Kṛṣṇa consciousness more acceptable.
But this is not what you taught, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Your purports are clear. You repeatedly emphasized that life does not come from matter, that
there is no evolution from chemicals, and that all living entities were created by the Prajāpatis, as
stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself: maharṣayaḥ sapta pūrve (Bhagavad-gītā 10.6). In your purport you
explain how the universal population came from Brahmā and the Prajāpatis. This is repeated
throughout the Second, Third, and Fourth cantos of the Bhāgavatam. The process of creation is
personal, purposeful, and transcendental, not random or evolutionary.
You also warned against compromising the truth to gain followers. In Bhagavad-gītā 4.2 you
write: “As soon as the original purpose was scattered by the motives of the unscrupulous commen-
tators … the purpose of the Gītā appeared to be lost.… Since there is a great need of an edition
of the Gītā in English, as it is received by the paramparā (disciplic succession) system, an attempt
is made herewith to fulfill this great want. Bhagavad-gītā – accepted as it is – is a great boon to
humanity; but if it is accepted as a treatise of philosophical speculations, it is simply a waste of
time.” This seems to be happening in subtle ways. The line between thoughtful engagement and
selective reinterpretation is being crossed. Some now use terms like “independent thoughtfulness”
to justify openly disagreeing with your statements, or to suggest that science and śāstra can be bal-
anced by downplaying śāstra.
But if we begin to dilute one part of your teachings, where will it stop? Will it one day reach
the four regulative principles? Or even the chanting of the holy name?
Freedom of thought does not mean freedom to contradict guru, śāstra, and sādhu. You never
discouraged genuine inquiry, but you never approved of speculation that leads us away from the
conclusions of the ācāryas. You warned us of this many times. In a class on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
2.3.24, given on June 22, 1972, you said, “Suppose you write one book, or anything; if it is just
according to the Vedic conclusion, then it is also … it is called smṛti. By remembering the Vedic
conclusion … You cannot go beyond the Vedic conclusion. Then it is useless writing. Vedic con-
clusion must be there. The guide must be there. On that conclusion, if you write something, that
is right, and if you deviate from that conclusion, then it is wrong. So we want to read authorized,
right books – not by imagination. You can write so many nonsense things by imagination. That is
useless. You must remember what is the Vedic conclusion.”
In the name of dialogue or academic acceptance, if we begin to reject the foundational truths
of our philosophy, then we may win the respect of the world but lose the shelter of your lotus feet.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I don’t write this in criticism. I write this out of concern. I know I am not a
scholar, not a preacher of worldwide fame, but I want to be loyal. I want to protect your teachings
in whatever little way I can. I want to serve as a guardian of your instructions, to remind myself
and others that the foundation of our movement is not up for revision. As one article recently
stated: “So, there is no need to fear that by doubting evolution, we will be seen as unscientific;
rather, it is science and logic that provide strong arguments against gradual evolution and for
a higher origin of species.” (ISKCON News: “Vedic Origin Theory Gains Credibility,” Īśvara
Krishna Dāsa (István Tasi, PhD) The Bhāgavatam’s fabric of metaphysics and ontology are inter-
woven; pulling out one thread risks unraveling the whole.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, please guide me. Please empower me to stand up respectfully but firmly,
with humility but also with clarity. Let me never compromise your words for the sake of popular-
ity. Let me never think I know better. And please bless me that I may inspire others to follow your
path with the same loyalty.
Your servant,
Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Dāsa
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Why is Śrīla Prabhupāda, the founder of ISKCON, our ācārya?
The Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 1.13) states that Advaita Ācārya is an ācārya because he propagated
the saṅkīrtana movement. The phrase used is bhakti-śaṁsanāt, meaning that he is recognized as an
ācārya because of his effectiveness in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Prahlāda Mahārāja states that one must accept an ācārya and follow his example and instruc-
tions in order to attain perfection (Bhāgavatam 7.5.32). Indeed, the Mahābhārata affirms that
everyone must choose a leader and follow him (mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ, Vana-parva 313.117).
If one follows a material leader who is influenced by the modes of material nature, one will reach
that leader’s destination. Conversely, by choosing a spiritual leader, one can attain the same spiri-
tual goal. Śrīla Prabhupāda once said that if you want to find Nārada Muni, follow his footprints,
because they will lead you to him.
Prahlāda Mahārāja also tells us that one of the qualities of an ācārya is that he is fully engaged
in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental loving service. The highest service, as Lord Kṛṣṇa affirms at the
end of the Bhagavad-gītā, is spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness (Gītā 18.69–70). Lord Caitanya con-
firmed this by telling His followers: “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as
they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master
and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 7.128)
According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has given practical hints that an
uttama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava and an ācārya can be recognized by their ability to convert many fallen
souls to Vaiṣṇavism. (The Nectar of Instruction, verse 5)
Because of the extraordinary way Śrīla Prabhupāda established the Kṛṣṇa consciousness move-
ment in this world, he should be accepted as an uttama-adhikārī, mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava, and a
great ācārya. The movement he founded, ISKCON, is dedicated to pure devotional service and
spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s unwavering adherence to the example and
instructions of his ācārya, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura, made him perfect, and by following
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s example and instructions, we too can attain perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Your servant,
Prahlādānanda Swami
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda;
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
I heard quite a famous quote being used the other day, and it made me think of you. Albeit
I think we need to update that quote a little, the quote being:
Never before was so much owed by so many to so few.
My proposed update:
Never before was so much owed by so many to just one single person: you, Śrīla
Prabhupāda!
As my life in this body (of ever-increasing misery) accelerates into its inevitable “home straight,”
I remain ever curious as to why the whole world of more or less eight billion people are not
offering an annual Vyāsa-pūjā homage to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
While the fundamental problems of this material world remain a constant – birth, death, old
age, and disease – the ādhyātmikā, ādhibhautika, and ādhidaivika back-up miseries seem evermore
prominent and evermore intense. Indeed, it is as if they are operating on steroids at this point
in time. So with ādhyātmikā, mental health issues are snowballing at a rate we have never even
come close to before. Then ādhibhautika: aside from the ever-increasing conflict in the world, and
particularly the increased viciousness of those conflicts, we only have to consider the cathedral of
hate that is perhaps embodied by social media. That cathedral’s spire rises higher than any physi-
cal spire we can imagine. The social media cathedral is, in many ways, the modern-day spiritual
master. Lastly, ādhidaivika: these days it seems we are all quite nervous as to whether our area of
the world will be hit by the next flood, wildfire, storm winds like never before, or drought.
When I was a teenager in the late seventies, I still held grandiose ideas of having a great life in
this world, completing my studies, getting a good job, settling down, and then retiring as early
as possible to relax and “have a good time.” However, when I was blessed to receive The Science of
Self-Realization, I realized my grandiose ideas were for the birds.
These days, though, for anyone with half a brain, such grandiose ideas must surely be daft to
the extreme. With all that is going on now, people should be flocking to our temples, and particu-
larly your books, in droves, as the world has entered a more chaotic state than ever before, at least
in my lifetime. Furthermore, it is clear that this chaotic downward spiral the world is on has only
just begun.
For us, as your followers and aspiring servants, this surely presents a wonderful opportunity
for us to offer all the souls in this world the solution to all the uncertainty and chaos. That solu-
tion, of course, is an ever-constant reality – Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As well as being surprised that
everyone is not offering you a homage every year, it also surprises me that everyone who is fortu-
nate enough to come across one of your books does not automatically accept your words as truth,
without a second thought. For those who do struggle to accept your words as truth, let them read
this purport you wrote, I think in 1976 – so about fifty years ago. As we read it, we can understand
that what you were writing fifty years ago could easily be a report on precisely what is going on in
the world today!
The word prophet tends to be associated with other religious traditions, but in the context of
prophesying or predicting the future, you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, sit head and shoulders above all
others. You wrote:
Thus Vindhyāvali, Bali Mahārāja’s intelligent wife, prayed that her husband be
released, by the Lord’s causeless mercy. Otherwise, Bali Mahārāja was nothing but a
shameless demon, specifically described as tyakta-hriyas tvad-avaropita-kartṛ-vādāḥ, a
foolish person claiming proprietorship over the property of the Supreme Person. In
the present age, Kali-yuga, the number of such shameless men, who are agnostics
disbelieving in the existence of God, has increased. Trying to defy the authority of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, so-called scientists, philosophers, and politicians
manufacture plans and schemes for the destruction of the world. They cannot do any-
thing good for the world, and unfortunately, because of Kali-yuga, they have plunged
the affairs of the world into mismanagement. Thus there is a great need for the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement for the benefit of innocent people who are being carried
away by propaganda of such demons. If the present status quo is allowed to continue,
people will certainly suffer more and more under the leadership of these demoniac
agnostics. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.22.20, purport)
Śrīla Prabhupāda, thank you. Thank you for being so kind as to bless the existence of this fallen
soul with the treasure of transcendental knowledge – the crème de la crème of route maps out of
this material world.
Falling at your feet and hoping to be
your eternal servant,
Praghoṣa Dāsa
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Your appearance day is the most important event in the universe. You have come at the right time
and to the right place to revive Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana movement and expand it all over the
world.
Lord Kṛṣṇa chose his most qualified sweet and powerful servant to conquer the hearts of all the
sincere and intelligent souls who were intensely seeking love of God. By observing this auspicious
Vyāsa-pūjā day, I deeply feel my appreciation and gratitude for your teachings and example. I met
you in your books and immediately fell in love with you. Every page I read, every picture of Your
Divine Grace I looked at, transported me to the most beautiful place my mind could find and
inspired me to practice my bhakti and follow you.
In my first years as a new bhakta, the Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta became more important to me
than the Bhagavad-gītā itself. I relished every word of each of the volumes that were starting to
come out. Your courage, determination, and pure devotion made me your aspiring servant and
has kept me loyal to you despite the many challenges I’ve endured during the more than four
decades since I met you.
Please keep me under the shade of your lotus feet and allow me, along with your sincere
followers, to contribute to the expansion and development of your glorious ISKCON.
Your humble servant,
Mathureśa Dāsa
Latin America Andean Region GBC Secretary
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my prostrated obeisances at your feet. All glories to your divine appearance day.
In those days when feelings of intense separation from you prevail over the ordinary semicon-
scious routine life, I recall how elevated souls are present in both kṛṣṇa-līlā and gaura-līlā.
How wonderful it must be to see you serving your eternal spiritual master, Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, relishing the association of Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī, pleasing
the heart of immensely dear Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and being blessed by Jagannātha dāsa
Bābājī. Śrīla Viśvanātha and Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa must be smiling sweetly at you, while the Six
Gosvāmīs are engaged in churning the ocean of rasa permeating the hearts of all. The emotions of
Śrīla Rūpa are your eternal inspiration.
Your infinite compassion must have melted the heart of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and forced Her to
bring to your feet the loving disciples who gave you their heart during your prakaṭa-līlā on this
earth.
My feelings of separation are for them as well – those surrendered souls who gave their youth
to your mission and loved you beyond bounds. May each of them canvass for the hopeless cause
of Madhusevita Dāsa, whose only desire, in the old age of this “plastic body,” is to rejoin your
family, the loving family of ISKCON, back home, back to Godhead.
Grasping your feet, I remain,
Your useless servant,
Madhusevita Dāsa
Empowered by Grace to Empower Others
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace!
Kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: “Unless empowered by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot propagate the
saṅkīrtana movement.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 7.11)
Understanding your unique position is crucial for the future of ISKCON. What you accom-
plished is no ordinary task. Only one who is extremely dear to the Lord and consequently fully
empowered is able to spread the holy name around the world. You are the direct senāpati-bhakta –
the commander in chief of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana movement, as expressed by
Locana dāsa Ṭhākura.
Being a liberated soul who descended into this world solely to save the conditioned souls,
you were fully empowered by the Lord and the entire paramparā. While staying at the Rādhā-
Dāmodara temple, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī personally appeared to you and encouraged you: “Don’t
worry about anything. Go ahead, travel to the West, and preach the message of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu. You will be successful. I will be right there with you all the time.”
Later, on the Jaladuta, on the thirteenth day of your voyage across the Arabian Sea, you suf-
fered a massive heart attack. But that very night you had a vision: Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared along
with His incarnations to assure you that you were fully protected and blessed for your divine
mission.
Your empowerment by the Lord is as undeniable as the rising of the sun – self-evident to all
who have eyes to see.
But there is another aspect that makes you even more glorious: you empowered so many others
to engage in Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana mission.
There is a proverb: “True leaders don’t create followers; they create more leaders.” The way
you spread the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement was by creating leaders – by empowering so many of your
disciples.
You once remarked, “Just as Lord Rāma had an army of monkeys to help Him, so do I.” You
transformed hippies into happies, the sinful into the pious, the “spaced out” into the pakkā, and
the selfish into the selfless. This was your true miracle – not simply producing ashes or a golden
egg but empowering your disciples and, with their help, creating a spiritual revolution. Being
empowered yourself and empowering others – this was the secret of your success.
I am an insignificant soul with many limitations, yet somehow, I have now been entrusted
with great responsibility. My seniors have encouraged me, placing their hope in me to serve your
mission.
On this auspicious day of your divine appearance in this world, I pray that you might empower
me as well so that I may always remember your instructions and keep your vāṇī as my life and
soul. You made it clear that you have given us all instructions, both verbally and in your books.
Today, I specifically pray for your empowerment so that I may serve as one of your GBC men,
with responsibility for the German-speaking countries, always remembering your guidance: “Any
person authorized by either the Lord or by His bona fide representative is already blessed, as
is the work entrusted to him. Of course, the person entrusted with such a responsibility should
always be aware of his incapability and must always look for the mercy of the Lord for the suc-
cessful execution of his duty. One should not be puffed up because he is entrusted with certain
executive work. Fortunate is he who is so entrusted, and if he is always fixed in the sense of
being subordinate to the will of the Supreme, he is sure to come out successful in the discharge
of his work.… Anyone who takes pride in doing responsible work but does not give credit to the
Supreme Lord is certainly falsely proud and cannot execute anything nicely.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
3.9.29, purport)
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I pray that I can imbibe this mood and, in doing so, one day qualify myself
for true empowerment so that I may render my service in a way that pleases you.
Hare Kṛṣṇa, your aspiring servant,
Krishna Premarūpa Dāsa (BSDS)
