Remembrances of Bhakti Svarupa Damodar Maharaja from Prabhupada Lilamr

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Gopal Hari (das) GKG (Oxford - UK)

06-Oct-06 15:41 (17:41 +0200)

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Remembrances of Bhakti Svarupa Damodar Maharaja from Prabhupada

Lilamr

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Remembrances of Bhakti Svarupa Damodar Maharaja from Prabhupada Lilamrita:

 

After the G.B.C. assembly in Vrindavana, Svarupa Damodara had traveled to

Manipur and Calcutta and was now returning to Vrindavana to see Srila

Prabhupada. As soon as Prabhupada heard Svarupa Damodara had arrived he

asked to see him. As usual, Srila Prabhupada treated him very specially

and gave him much time and attention. From Prabhupada's first meeting with

Svarupa Damodara when Svarupa Damodara had been Thoudam Singh, a Ph.D.

candidate in organic chemistry at UCLA, Prabhupada had taken great care to

cultivate their relationship.

 

Thoudam had grown up in Manipur but after graduating from high school had

come to America to continue his education at the University of California.

He had been attracted by the devotees chanting Hare Krishna on the streets

of Los Angeles and had visited the temple. When he met Srila Prabhupada,

he became convinced that he had met a genuine spiritual leader. At first

Thoudam had maintained his stance as a representative of the world of

empirical scientific knowledge, and Srila Prabhupada had invited him for

morning walks on Venice Beach.

 

Day after day, Srila Prabhupada would draw Thoudam into arguments about

the origin of life. When Srila Prabhupada was ready to argue, he would

glance around and ask, "Where is the scientist?" And on catching sight of

Thoudam, he would ask, "So, what do they say?" Thoudam would then argue

that life had arisen by chance through chemical evolution, and Srila

Prabhupada would smash the argument with a stunning display of logic and

common sense.

 

Thoudam, by regularly associating with Srila Prabhupada and by reading the

Bhagavad-gita As It Is, had become more inclined to Krishna consciousness

than to material science, and eventually he had become Prabhupada’s

initiated disciple, Svarupa Damodara dasa. With Srila Prabhupada’s

encouragement, Svarupa Damodara had soon received his Ph.D. and pledged to

serve Srila Prabhupada through scientific lectures and writings against

the theories of modern, atheistic science.

 

Srila Prabhupada was well aware of the powerful sway science held over

people everywhere, and he was out to combat their godless propaganda. He

knew that Bhagavad-gita was the highest science, and he saw how

outrageously prejudiced many modern scientific assumptions were. For all

their high technical jargon and faith in the scientific method, the

scientists were actually ignorant of the origin and purpose of life.

Svarupa Damodara and a few other devotees holding graduate degrees had

formed the Bhaktivedanta Institute and were working within academic

circles to establish the scientific basis of Krishna consciousness.

 

Srila Prabhupada had been especially pleased when at a large meeting of

scientists Svarupa Damodara had challenged a Nobel Prize-winning scientist

who held that life was a phenomenon that occurred at a certain level of

chemical complexity. "If I give you the required chemicals," Svarupa

Damodara had asked him, "will you be able to produce life?" And the

embarrassed scientist had replied, "I don't know." Repeatedly Srila

Prabhupada had referred to that incident in his conversations and lectures.

Srila Prabhupada often praised the work of Svarupa Damodara and the

Bhaktivedanta Institute and assured them that the BBT would provide funds

for their printing, research, and building projects. He had given them the

arguments, and they were developing them with scientific language.

Now Svarupa Damodara had come for more association with Srila Prabhupada,

and after offering obeisances, he presented Srila Prabhupada with several

pink lotus flowers. Srila Prabhupada took one in his hand and opened the

petals; the others he gave to his secretary for presenting to the Deities.

Svarupa Damodara had also brought several ripe pineapples, and Prabhupada

immediately asked for a glass of fresh pineapple juice.

 

Svarupa Damodara was arranging for a conference of scientists in

Vrindavana to discuss "The Origin of Life." He had been meeting with

various scientists and professors, many of whom had shown interest in

Svarupa Damodara's approach and in participating in the conference.

Svarupa Damodara read Prabhupada the prospectus he had prepared announcing

the upcoming conference. Prabhupada listened silently and at the end

said, "All glories to Svarupa Damodara!" Later in the afternoon they spoke

again. It seemed that Prabhupada was never too tired or too indisposed to

speak with Svarupa Damodara about defeating materialistic science.

Svarupa Damodara was getting hope from his conversations with scientists.

He told Prabhupada, "I think they're interested in the program we are

making. Otherwise they wouldn't take time to discuss. Some of them feel

our approach is unique."

 

"There is no other such proposal," said Srila Prabhupada. "They have taken

God as something mystical. Especially this rascal Darwin's theory. They

have become like animals, and they are seeing everyone as animals. This

rascal has convinced them, "Your grandfather was a monkey.' How could they

become the son of a monkey? But this is going on. A grand rascal, this

Darwin. And his theory is taken as the greatest principle of anthropology

in the whole world. So scientists by combined meeting should speak out

against this Darwin's theory."

 

On the day of Svarupa Damodara’s arrival in Vrindavana, the first rains

also arrived, indicating the end of summer and the start of the monsoons.

Heavy rains beat down while Prabhupada and Svarupa Damodara continued

talking. Prabhupada said that the Vedic evolutionary theory had been

presented in the Padma Purana thousands of years before Darwin.

"If we can get some big scientists on our side," said Svarupa

Damodara, "at least a few, that will be enough."

"That I am asking," said Prabhupada.

 

Tamala Krishna figured that Srila Prabhupada would be tired after two

hours of talking, so he interrupted, "Would you like a kirtana party now,

Srila Prabhupada?" But Prabhupada corrected him. "This is kirtana now

going on. People have to understand what is kirtana. Any topics on

Krishna, that is kirtana. Shukadeva Goswami became perfect by kirtana, but

what kind of kirtana did he do?"

"He was speaking the Bhagavatam," answered Tamala Krishna.

"Yes," said Prabhupada. "You are simply thinking drums and karatalas is

kirtana. But anything we do here is kirtana. There is no material

connection here. We are not talking how to increase our business and enjoy

women and wine. That is not our aim. Ka uttamaçloka-guëyanuvädät. We are

trying to establish Krishna-that is kirtana. Çravaëaà kértanaà viñëoù. Do

you know this?"

 

Taking this remark as his cue, Svarupa Damodara went on to speak about

scientists he had met who were interested in the proposed "Origin of Life"

conference. "I am thinking of the title of our conference," he said, "as a

Bhaktivedanta Vijnana Conference in Vrindavana."

"No," said Srila Prabhupada. "They will take it otherwise, thinking that

Bhaktivedanta is not a jnani. They will take it lightly because

Bhaktivedanta Swami is not a scientist." One of the devotees said

that "Bhaktivedanta" actually indicated the highest science, and Srila

Prabhupada agreed. But to understand bhakti, he said, was very difficult

for the ordinary man.

"Why not "Life Comes From Life'?" asked Prabhupada. And Svarupa Damodara

immediately agreed.

"Make something extraordinary," said Prabhupada. "We are not just some

magicians like the other yogis. There is money, intelligence, and I can

give you inspiration."

 

***

 

Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were urging him not to exert himself, so when

Svarupa Damodara arrived, Srila Prabhupada asked him to give the evening

lecture. Prabhupada was very impressed with Svarupa Damodara’s scientific

presentation of Krishna consciousness. One of the devotees remarked that

Svarupa Damodara’s talk seemed too technical for the audience, but another

devotee replied that even if no one else had appreciated the speech, Srila

Prabhupada had, and so it was a success. Following Svarupa Damodara’s

lecture, Srila Prabhupada spoke for about five minutes and left, without

taking any questions.

 

The following night Prabhupada did not speak at all, but he sat onstage

while two of India's leading cardiologists, Dr. Kesharrao Datey and Dr

Sharma, spoke. Srila Prabhupada had been garlanded by Dr. Datey, and he

sat patiently and silently on the vyasasana, satisfied that prominent

Bombayites were honoring the Krishna consciousness movement. Dr. Datey

spoke about heart disease and said it could be eliminated by controlling

anxiety. He then praised Srila Prabhupada and his movement. After the

doctors' brief talks, Svarupa Damodara gave another scientific lecture and

showed slides. Srila Prabhupada later told Svarupa Damodara and

others, "This scientific program is giving me extra strength to preach

Krishna consciousness."

"It seems like you are giving more stress to science in recent years than

previously," said Tamala Krishna Goswami.

"That is required for convincing the modernized man," said

Prabhupada. "Perhaps I am the first man who protested against these

unauthorized scientists."

"Oh, yes," said Svarupa Damodara. "Everybody is afraid of them except

Srila Prabhupada. Frankly speaking, I never knew that the problem was this

serious before I met Srila Prabhupada. I never thought about this."

"Therefore I took it so seriously," said Prabhupada. "Every morning walk I

would look for you and ask, "Where is the scientist?' I thought, "Here I

have got an opportunity to impress a scientist, and that will fructify.'

That was my aim. Therefore I was bothering you in so many ways."

"It is your incredible mercy, Prabhupada," said Svarupa Damodara.

"Because I cannot use the technical words," Prabhupada said, "and he can

do that. So I wanted that he should be trained up."

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