Your Ever Well-Wisher

Your Ever Well-Wisher

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Our Beloved Spiritual Master and Savior

Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila

text 45
guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane
guru-rupe krsna krpa karena bhakta-gane

translation

According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Krishna. Lord Krishna in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.

purport

The relationship of a disciple with his spiritual master is as good as his relationship with the Supreme Lord. A spiritual master always represents himself as the humblest servitor of the Personality of Godhead, but the disciple must look upon him as the manifested representation of Godhead.

Lord Krishna in the form of Srila Prabhupada delivers His devotees. How great is our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada!

"Besides being a man of deep moral strength, humility, and holiness, he was genuinely renounced. Unlike many modern gurus, he was content to live as his disciples did. Even when his health failed and he returned to the blazing heat of Delhi for his recovery, he sought nothing better than a poorly furnished room, without air-conditioning, in a Hindu temple where he had resided before coming to America. Srila Prabhupada's life. . . is the epitome of his ideal, an ideal that he set forth for others to follow. In an age of pervasive hypocrisy and cynicism, it is this kind of rare model that we need."

--Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor Emeritus,
History of Religions and Director of Libraries Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California

Prabhupada:” Yes. Both of them God, but one God is worshipable, and another God is worshiper. So for the disciple, both of them are worshipable because both of them are God. That is the distinction. Sevya-bhagavan, sevaka-bhagavan.”
[Conversations December 15, 1973 Los Angeles]

Therefore the guru is addressed as Prabhupada. The word prabhu means "lord," and pada means "position." Thus PRABHUPADA means "he who has taken the position of the Lord. [Science of Self Realization 2].

Therefore we accept Srila Prabhupada as God; worshiper God and Lord Sri Krishna as worshipable God. Both God. Both worshipable.

Harinama Sankirtana in Salem, Oregon

Excerpt from “the Hare Krishna Explosion” – the birth of Krishna Consciousness in America (1966-69) by Hayagriva dasa

There’s a moment reflective silence, finally broken by Luke, one of the boys awaiting initiation. Luke seems a big talker, big speculator, but basically he is a simple farmboy.
“The Buddha’s teachings are very similar to Bhagavad-gita,” he says.
Prabhupada looks at him squarely, calmly. “Do you follow Buddha?” he asks.
Luke hesitates, surprised to have the subject bounce back.
“Well…no,” he admits.
“You simply talk of him?” he explodes suddenly, as if just talking of Buddha were some terrible outrage.
All eyes turn to Luke, who now seems very startled. Like all of us, he’s receiving Prabhupada’s mercy without realizing it.
“If you are serious about Buddha, then meditate,” Prabhupada says sternly.
”But you are not serious. You simply talk.”
Luke glances at the floor, his face now red with embarrassment.
“Do something!” Prabhupada shouts so loudly that we all jump.” Whether you follow Christ or Buddha or Krishna, it doesn’t matter! Don’t just sit and talk! Follow someone! Lord Buddha is very nice. If you like, you can become Buddhist priest and meditate. Go do it. But that is your problem. You don’t do anything. You talk much. Just do something and do it perfectly.”
As always, Prabhupada hits the mark. That is indeed our dilemma: to do or not to do. Inactivity, the bane of armchair speculators.

ALL GLORIES TO SRILA PRABHUPADA!