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Prabhuparda,Der Mensch,der Weise,sein Leben sein Vermächtnis.
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September 15, 2024
THE “AUTHORIZED” BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOUNDER OF THE “HARE KRISHNA” MOVEMENT
Abhay Charanaravinda (A.C.) Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) was the Founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON; the "Hare Krishna Movement"). He wrote many books/booklets, such as 'Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead,' 'The Nectar of Devotion: The Complete Science of Bhakti-Yoga,' 'The Path of Perfection,' 'Yoga for the Modern Age,' 'The scientific basis of Krsna consciousness,' 'The Perfection of Yoga,' 'Perfect Questions Perfect Answers,' 'Beyond Birth and Death,' etc., and translated many East Indian scriptures, such as 'Bhagavad-Gita As It Is,' 'Srimad-Bhagavatam,' etc.
When Prabhupada was younger, his own teacher told him, "'I had a desire to print some books. If you ever get money, print books.' ... [Prabhupada] felt these words deeply enter his life." (Pg. xx) Although he was married and had children, his wife and family were not interested in spiritual matters. He recalled, "So finally, after thirty years, I could understand---she [his wife] would not be any assistance to me." But "Then one day she made a serious mistake: She traded her husband's copy of Srimad-Bhagavatam for tea biscuits... [He] was shocked, and the incident pushed him to leave his family for good. In a mood of stark determination, he left his family and business." (Pg. xxv-xxvi)
Later, "He wanted to preach Krsna consciousness, but few were willing to listen... When a librarian advised him to write books (they were permanent, whereas newspapers were read once and thrown away), [he] took it that his spiritual master was speaking through this person." (Pg. xxxi)
Goswami explains, Prabhupada "stressed the supremacy of the personal feature... following the Vedic theistic philosophy that the most complete understanding of the Absolute Truth is personal... [his] theistic philosophy accepted the individual spiritual self (atma) as an eternal servant of the supreme spiritual being." (Pg. 11)
After he had acquired in America a small group of disciples, he told them prior to their formal initiation, "Initiation means that the spiritual master accepts the student and agrees to take charge, and the student accepts the master and agrees to worship him as God." This shocked his disciples, and he later explained, "That means [the teacher] is due the same respect as God, being God's representative. Therefore, he is as good as God because he can deliver God to the sincere disciple." (Pg. 55-56)
But when someone would say, "I am God," Prabhupada "was not one to simply pacify people... He would say, 'What do you mean? If you are God, then you have to be all-knowing... Are you omniscient and omnipotent?' ... he would rationally explain to them, 'If you are God, can you do this? Do you have this power?'" (Pg. 109)
Goswami reports about the London disciples, "in the middle of a winter of struggle came a fortunate break... a meeting with George Harrison of the Beatles. For a long time the devotees had been thinking of ways to get the Beatles to chant Hare Krsna... " One day, as one of them was visiting Apple Records, George Harrison came along, saying, "I've really been trying to meet you people... Why don't you come to my place tomorrow?' The next day [the disciple] went to George's for lunch, where he met the other Beatles... They all had questions, but George was especially interested... [the disciple] continued to see George regularly, and they soon became friends. George, who had been practicing a mantra given him by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, began to hear for the first time about bhakti yoga and the Vedic philosophy. He talked openly... of his spiritual quest and his realisations of karma." (Pg. 158-159) John Lennon allowed Prabhupada and some disciples to live in one of the buildings on his estate. (Pg. 163-164)
Goswami points out, "Prabhupada's idea was that when Indians saw young Western people adopting the principles of Krsna consciousness, the faith of the Indians in their own culture would increase." (Pg. 181) Prabhupada proposed a festival in India, as "the perfect way to link America's ingenuity with India's spirituality... America, because of materialism and ignorance of God, was blind. And India, because of foreign invasions, poverty, and misinterpretations of Vedic knowledge, was lame. America had technological advancement and wealth, and India had spiritual knowledge. The job of the Krsna consciousness movement was to combine the two strengths and uplift the world." (Pg. 189)
This is a very informative, compelling biography of a religious figure who has been nearly forgotten since the '60s and '70s, but whose movement and ideas still has contemporary influence.
Abhay Charanaravinda (A.C.) Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) was the Founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON; the "Hare Krishna Movement"). He wrote many books/booklets, such as 'Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead,' 'The Nectar of Devotion: The Complete Science of Bhakti-Yoga,' 'The Path of Perfection,' 'Yoga for the Modern Age,' 'The scientific basis of Krsna consciousness,' 'The Perfection of Yoga,' 'Perfect Questions Perfect Answers,' 'Beyond Birth and Death,' etc., and translated many East Indian scriptures, such as 'Bhagavad-Gita As It Is,' 'Srimad-Bhagavatam,' etc.
When Prabhupada was younger, his own teacher told him, "'I had a desire to print some books. If you ever get money, print books.' ... [Prabhupada] felt these words deeply enter his life." (Pg. xx) Although he was married and had children, his wife and family were not interested in spiritual matters. He recalled, "So finally, after thirty years, I could understand---she [his wife] would not be any assistance to me." But "Then one day she made a serious mistake: She traded her husband's copy of Srimad-Bhagavatam for tea biscuits... [He] was shocked, and the incident pushed him to leave his family for good. In a mood of stark determination, he left his family and business." (Pg. xxv-xxvi)
Later, "He wanted to preach Krsna consciousness, but few were willing to listen... When a librarian advised him to write books (they were permanent, whereas newspapers were read once and thrown away), [he] took it that his spiritual master was speaking through this person." (Pg. xxxi)
Goswami explains, Prabhupada "stressed the supremacy of the personal feature... following the Vedic theistic philosophy that the most complete understanding of the Absolute Truth is personal... [his] theistic philosophy accepted the individual spiritual self (atma) as an eternal servant of the supreme spiritual being." (Pg. 11)
After he had acquired in America a small group of disciples, he told them prior to their formal initiation, "Initiation means that the spiritual master accepts the student and agrees to take charge, and the student accepts the master and agrees to worship him as God." This shocked his disciples, and he later explained, "That means [the teacher] is due the same respect as God, being God's representative. Therefore, he is as good as God because he can deliver God to the sincere disciple." (Pg. 55-56)
But when someone would say, "I am God," Prabhupada "was not one to simply pacify people... He would say, 'What do you mean? If you are God, then you have to be all-knowing... Are you omniscient and omnipotent?' ... he would rationally explain to them, 'If you are God, can you do this? Do you have this power?'" (Pg. 109)
Goswami reports about the London disciples, "in the middle of a winter of struggle came a fortunate break... a meeting with George Harrison of the Beatles. For a long time the devotees had been thinking of ways to get the Beatles to chant Hare Krsna... " One day, as one of them was visiting Apple Records, George Harrison came along, saying, "I've really been trying to meet you people... Why don't you come to my place tomorrow?' The next day [the disciple] went to George's for lunch, where he met the other Beatles... They all had questions, but George was especially interested... [the disciple] continued to see George regularly, and they soon became friends. George, who had been practicing a mantra given him by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, began to hear for the first time about bhakti yoga and the Vedic philosophy. He talked openly... of his spiritual quest and his realisations of karma." (Pg. 158-159) John Lennon allowed Prabhupada and some disciples to live in one of the buildings on his estate. (Pg. 163-164)
Goswami points out, "Prabhupada's idea was that when Indians saw young Western people adopting the principles of Krsna consciousness, the faith of the Indians in their own culture would increase." (Pg. 181) Prabhupada proposed a festival in India, as "the perfect way to link America's ingenuity with India's spirituality... America, because of materialism and ignorance of God, was blind. And India, because of foreign invasions, poverty, and misinterpretations of Vedic knowledge, was lame. America had technological advancement and wealth, and India had spiritual knowledge. The job of the Krsna consciousness movement was to combine the two strengths and uplift the world." (Pg. 189)
This is a very informative, compelling biography of a religious figure who has been nearly forgotten since the '60s and '70s, but whose movement and ideas still has contemporary influence.
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