Happy Valentine's Day from H.D.G. Srila Prabhupada!

[Guest guest]

**** Prabhupada's Mayapura

Valentine ****

 

Hare Krsna Prabhus!

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

It's St. Valentine's Day in the U.S. That means a day dedicated to

loving relations. But who could be a better lover than the Supreme

Cowherd Boy -- Sri Krsna with His most beautiful Srimati Radharani by

His side?

 

And who could be a better messenger of actual love than our most beloved

param-guru, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada?

 

And as if to underscore that fact, on 22 years ago today, Srila

Prabhupada had his last major discussion of varnasrama in Sridhama

Mayapura with his disciples. That discussion has become known to a

number of us as "Prabhupada's Mayapura Valentine."

 

In the beginning of his discussion, Srila Prabhupada points out that

under normal circumstances that below the brahmana platform, it is not

possible to become a Vaisnava. But as the conversation commences he

reveals that if a system of varnasrama is established based on proper

training in a varnasrama college, even the sudra can come to the highest

level of Krsna consciousness - even though he remains a sudra.

 

Devotees express their reservations to Prabhupada's proposal, saying

that Lord Caitanya rejected varnasrama. At that point, Srila Prabhupada

makes a stunning revelation showing the unique nature of our particular

mission:

 

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Prabhupada: ...We are stressing on the point of education. You educate

certain section as brahmana, certain section as ksatriya, certain

section as vaisya. In that education we don't discriminate because he's

coming of a sudra family. Take education. Be qualified. Then you talk.

Not by votes.

 

Satsvarupa: Lord Caitanya, when Ramananda Raya brought this up He said

it was not possible in this age to introduce this.

 

Prabhupada: Yes. Not...He did not say possible. Iha bahya. [From Madhya

8.59: "The Lord replied, ‘This is external. You had better tell Me of

some other means.'"] Caitanya Mahaprabhu was interested only on the

spiritual platform. He had no idea of material side. He rejected

material side.

 

Satsvarupa: But don't we do that also?

 

Prabhupada: No. ***Our position is different.*** We are trying to

implement Krsna consciousness in everything. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu

personally took sannyasa. He rejected completely material. Niskincana

["{one} who has nothing to do with this material world"]. But we are not

going to be niskincana. We are trying to cement the troubled position of

the...That is also in the prescription of Bhagavad-gita. We are not

rejecting the whole society. Caitanya Mahaprabhu rejected everything,

iha bahya. Rejected meaning, "I do not take much interest in this."

Bahya. "It is external." He was simply interested in the internal, the

spiritual.

***But our duty is that we shall arrange the external affairs also so

nicely that one day they will come to the spiritual platform very

easily, paving the way***. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu, personality like

that, they have nothing to do with this material world. But we are

preaching. We are preaching. Therefore we must pave the situation in

such a way that gradually they will be promoted to the spiritual

plane...Therefore varnasrama-dharma is required. Simply show-bottle will

not do. So the varnasrama-dharma should be introduced all over the

world, and...

 

Satsvarupa: Introduced starting with ISKCON community?

 

Prabhupada: Yes. Yes. Brahmana, ksatriyas... There must be regular

education.

 

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And, in the context of such an educated social system,

even the sudra will be able to attain spritual perfection:

 

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Why should a sudra artificially be made a brahmana?...Let him remain a

sudra, and if he follows strictly the rules and regulations of a sudra,

he’ll be as good as a brahmana… Even if he remains a sudra, he’s a

Vaisnava… As a sudra, he can get perfection.

 

**************************

 

So, that's the message of love from Srila Prabhupada, our mission is to

design a society so perfectly that even a sudra will gain love of

Krsna. That's real love. That's love from Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya

in one package. That's Prabhupada's Mayapura Valentine.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi