Help Me Retain My Faith in Srila Prabhupada: I'm Losing It

Pankaja_Dasa · July 10, 2006

I think there are many examples in Bhagavatam about Guru giving something small to the disicple. Like when Brahma didn't tell Indra he was a soul straight away, but later Indradeva was told. Not that Lord Brahma said something else, anyway that disicple if he had a little 'guts as we say', would or should have said, how can Krishna say Never? When He doesn't really mean it?

This is a long subject..

Kulapavana · July 10, 2006

If I continue as a follower of Prabhupada, I will be constantly hopeless and discouraged. But if I follow another Gaudiya acarya who teaches that we stay permanently in the spiritual world, I can follow with hope and enthusiasm. But I will miss Prabhupada. What should I do?

such esoteric concepts can be explained in many ways by both the shastra and the acharyas. sometimes they are explained in a way that gives us hope, sometimes they are explained to invoke humility and fear of the material world. both such explanations can be true and correct - within a certain frame of reference. with time these apparent insonsistencies will no longer matter to you.

as to the issue "who to follow"... there is no need to chose one and not the other. there is room in our heart for more than one teacher. it is natural for a devotee to take shelter of another senior Vaishnava when his guru departs. it is Krsna who is the real Guru and He will continue to teach us through another media.

July 10, 2006

Regarding the first post, you are taking someone's recollection of what he thinks Prabhupada had said to him more than 30 years ago and using that to overturn what Prabhupada has written in his own books. You may also want to ask whether this person is still a follower of Prabhupada, and whether he is in a position to properly represent Prabhupada.

Prabhupada's own standard is that if it isn't in writing, don't believe that he said it.

EXCELLENT REPLY PRABHU! WELL SAID!