Remembering Srila Prabhupada - I Have Smashed Him

[Guest guest]

During the 1977 Mayapur festival, a government

minister visited Srila Prabhupada and gave a lecture

as part of the opening-night festivities.

 

Before going to the outdoor stage, Srila Prabhupada

and the minister went to see the photo display of

ISKCON temples. Walking down the long hallway and

viewing pictures of preaching activities in almost

every country of the world, Srila Prabhupada was

himself impressed at the vast scope of ISKCON. At one

point he shook his head, turned to the accompanying

devotees, and said, "It is inconceivable."

 

In his introductory speech, the minister surprised the

audience as he began glorifying Vivekananda as one who

helped humanity, just like the incarnations of God,

Rama, Krsna, and Visnu. Giving faint praise to Lord

Caitanya, the minister said, "Of course, we don't know

whether Caitanya was an incarnation, but certainly He

did great good." At the end of the minister's lecture,

he gave his appreciation for Prabhupada's movement,

stating that it was spreading by "moral strength," and

that he hoped it would do good to humanity at large.

 

Srila Prabhupada had been prepared to lecture on

Srimad-Bhagavatam. He had brought his volume of the

Bhagavatam and reading glasses. After he heard the

minister's speech, however, Prabhupada spoke very

strongly in response. The speech was in Bengali, so

most of the devotees could not understand it, but they

could appreciate that Prabhupada was countering the

speculations of the official guest.

 

Later that night in his room, Prabhupada laughed as he

discussed the minister's speech. He had his servant

bring the tape recorder and Prabhupada again heard his

own lecture. At one point, when he heard himself

stating that Vivekananda had never made a single

disciple despite his propaganda, Srila Prabhupada

grimaced and slapped the palm of his left hand with

the palm of his right. Looking up to the devotees in

the room he said, "I have smashed him."

 

Hari Sauri dasa, diary. Devotees were always happy to

hear Prabhupada smash the arguments of atheists and

nondevotees. We also knew that this was the spirit of

Prabhupada's spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati, who liked bold disciples who did not

compromise. Prabhupada set the perfect example, but on

some occasions he also pointed out that in our own

smashing of the nondevotees we cannot exactly imitate

him, but we have to find the strongest method

according to time and place. One time in New York

City, Prabhupada visited an Indian official in the

U.N. The man was younger than Prabhupada, and

Prabhupada sternly reprimanded him when the man spoke

his concocted philosophies. After leaving the U.N.,

while driving in the car, one of the devotees praised

Srila Prabhupada and said, "Prabhupada, you really

chastised that man like anything." Prabhupada replied,

"Yes, but you cannot do that."

 

Prabhupada thus explained further that the particular

way he had dealt with this man (who was junior in age

to him and who was an Indian countryman) would not

have been the way that one of Prabhupada's young

American disciples could have dealt with him. The

intelligent disciple learns how to follow the

spiritual master in a way that will please him. We

should not be like foolish Asvatthama who thought he

would please his guru Drona by presenting him with the

dead bodies of Draupadi's sons.

 

- From the Prabhupada Nectar by HH Satsvarupa dasa

Goswami Maharaj

 

 

 

 

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