There is nothing new to be said. Whatever I had to say, I have already said in my books. Now you must all try to understand it and continue with your endeavors. Whether I am present or not present doesn’t matter. Just as Krsna is living eternally, the living being also lives eternally.
At 7:20 p.m. on November 14, 1977, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada departed from this world. At the time, he was in his quarters at the Krsna-Balarama temple in Vrndavana, India, surrounded by loving disciples chanting the Hare Krsna mantra.
As long as all of his disciples constantly look to his instructions and remain faithful, there will not be any chaos. But if they look away from or neglect the teachings of their spiritual master, or if they fail to follow them, then there will be chaos.
Wherever Srila Prabhupada went, on fourteen journeys around the globe, he constantly spread the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, and when he finally departed he was surrounded by disciples from around the world, loudly chanting these names of God he had given them.
Although we do not want unhappiness, by our dealings we create enemies, and there is fighting and war. This forest fire of material existence goes on perpetually, and the authorized person who can deliver you from this fire is called guru, the spiritual master.
While it is natural for us to be sorrowful that Srila Prabhupada has passed away, we can know for sure that he will never pass away, for he is “living still in sound.” As he himself said, “I will never die. I will live forever in my books.”
Srila Prabhupada has circled the globe thirteen times to talk on Krishna consciousness with disciples, reporters, professors, and public officials. What follows is a sampling of highlights from Srila Prabhupada’s tour of America this summer.
The event climaxed with a special gift to Lord Krishna: a half-ton cake shaped like an ancient Indian palace, complete with domes and balconies, colored lights, nectar-showering fountains, and gingerbread elephants.
If I throw a handful of stones into the water, the circles they make will overlap and clash. But if I could throw the stones all at one center point, the circles would never clash. If we find the perfect center, we’ll have perfect harmony.
Devotees outside the St. Louis center of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. 1976.
The September 1976 issue of Back to Godhead magazine features a photo-article “Summer Sessions” presenting some of the highlights of Srila Prabhupada’s summer tour.
My dear Dhruva because you are not born of my womb you do not deserve to sit on the king’s lap, nor on the royal throne. If you desire the throne, you must first satisfy Krishna by severe austerities.
Each of us seeks pleasure. But we do not know how to seek pleasure perfectly. We are frustrated at every step in satisfying our desire for pleasure, because we have no information regarding the real level on which to have real pleasure.
The king had many wives, but, strangely, he couldn’t have a son. What happened when he finally got one was even more strange.
“Alienation,” social scientists say, is our inability to relate meaningfully to others, to nature, and to ourselves. Alienation is growing at an alarming and unprecedented rate. This trend appears to result from a radically different life view imposed upon the past few generations.
Even the residents of South Honda have never heard of the Jobaticaba tree or the star apple tree. Yet there they are, right on an 8.5-acre estate that fifty devotees have transformed into a tropical paradise.
As Emerson said, “It is natural to believe in great men.” And in his book, The Hero, American Style, Marshall William Fishwick remarks that “people are ineffective without leaders.”
“I can remember being a young man, a boy, a baby. What was I before that—what will I be next?” Mike Robinson of London Broadcasting Company interviews Srila Prabhupada.
Anyone can chant the Hare Krishna mantra, anytime, anywhere. The main thing is to listen closely to the sound. Whether you sing it or say it, alone or with others, the Hare Krishna chant brings about joyful spiritual awareness.
Krishna and His cowherd boyfriends are coming back home at the end of the day, and the cowherd girls are looking on. Being the Lord naturally means being completely likeable which makes sense, because the name Krishna means ‘the all-attractive one.