Walking with Srila Prabhupada II
Today I followed again Srila Prabhupada in the form of vani while feeling His vapu.
On this morning walk He defied any pandemic threats, ignored the concomitant paranoia being spread by the ruling demoniac class of society, and kept on traveling, preaching and creating „a society on our own“.
And so He describes on 16.7.1975 while walking in San Francisco, that there are two items finally protecting us from infections and viruses. (Some devotees don't even believe viruses exist as we can only see them via karmi made instruments, created by imperfect individuals with imperfect senses.)
But surely disease as such exists and it has its symptoms. Being a medical man, a pharmacist most of His life, Srila Prabhupada was known for being absolutely averse to any hospitalization and was very suspicious about the promised effects of any medicine. But he was also pragmatic, giving room to a possibility that „something may help“.
After all, God helps those who help themselves. But ultimately He very firmly established that health is based on the strong immunity system and that system is based first on our karma, secondly can be changed by Krsna's mercy, and in order not to provoke any break down of immunity, healthy diet in the form of prasadam is required. (When severely sick, Srila Prabhupada requested only caranamrta and Tulasi leaves.)
Then upkeep of hygienic standards (when possible two baths a day, washing hands and mouth, etc.) and above all, freedom of anxiety by living in full awareness, that without the will of the Supreme Lord not even blade of grass can move is necessary.
That was Srila Prabhupada's final formula for cultivation of immunity against all the pandemics in full awareness that when the Supreme Lord calls for us to leave this body, no artificial means of protection can change that.
How refreshing it is to hear such words from Srila Prabhupada in the present days filled with fear and paranoia in regards to some artificially installed pandemic threat organized by demons to keep the population in fear and readiness to be submitted to even more brutal restrictions and control mechanism!
On the same walk Srila Prabhupada rejects any form of psychology which is aiming towards establishing this world as our ultimate home where should be „happily hanged“.
Then I walked with Srila Prabhupada in Vrndavana on 4.12.1975, where in full awareness of incoming sahajiya spirits He warned us not to indulge in imitating, but rather following the instructions given by the pure devotee or the Supreme Lord Himself. He spoke about Lord Rama who, playing the role of a ksatriya, is reported to have eaten meat. Srila Prabhupada established that Lord Rama can eat the whole universe and that doesn't have to be necessarily a vegetarian meal :-)
So we cannot imitate, we can only follow Lord Ram in His exemplary actions while being a king, husband and the ultimate protector of a true religion, true spiritual power and consequent arriving wealth and prosperity.
Then I joined Srila Prabhupada in Vrndavan in His Nectar of devotion lectures, a book He called „the ISKCON law book“ (the first part), while he cautioned us not to indulge in lecturing from the second part where all the intimate rasas taking place in the spiritual world are described in detailed form.
On 3.11.1972 on the basis of NOD, He describes why people may not like homeopathic medicine as it doesn't have any taste. Using this example He illustrates how most people can get easily cheated by going for a distinct taste without understanding the quality of the medicine. As a matter of fact, good medicine may taste bitter to start with, but its effects are finally sweet.
Krsna Consciousness may work the same way for a beginner, but those who overcome the initial impression and keep on tasting it, discover the immense sweet taste of the process of bhakti yoga.
A few days later, on 9.11.1972, Srila Prabhupada in another NOD lecture in Vrndavana describes how the proof of a sannyasi losing his spiritual taste is his engagement in altruistic mundane activities like opening hospitals, schools, etc.
How accurate and how up to date this is! Hearing such uncompromising statement from His Divine Grace brought to me a memory of one of the prominent sannnyasis in ISKCON opening hospitals in Srila Prabhupada's name, claiming that this altruistic act is a sign of Srila Prabhupada's mercy! Nothing could be more offensive and more insulting to His Divine Grace and when present in his vapu form surely Srila Prabhupada would vehemently protest. In His lecture on this day He defines engagement in altruistic activities being the sannyasis ultimate fall down.
Then, joining the Srimad Bhagavatam lecture of Srila Prabhupada on 5.9.1972 in New Vrndavana, I could only marvel about Srila Prabhupada's most accurate observation how people project their false egos into their cars, thinking that in every big car a big man must be sitting. Even having often not enough funds, they don't hesitate to borrow, steal and cheat just to get a big car so they can impress upon others what kind of big man they are. How up to date! How easily we can watch this display of absolute stupidity in the form of big men in big cars today!
To hear Srila Prabbhupada lecturing from Srimad Bhagavatam on 20.2.1973 explaining how in Vedic times „old man worked even more“ (in the form of disseminating wisdom), while using the examples of the Six Goswamis, who due to their intense writing work forgot even to sleep and eat, Srila Prabhupada's presentation can be most invigorating for those who refuse to enter some artificial samadhi or retirement in form of stopping any external activities in name of a „bhajan“.
Such samadhi was never approved by Srila Prabhupada who envisioned us to leave our bodies in absolute preaching spirit, always seeking new ways to introduce others to Krsna Consciousness.
Having myself a 67 years old body and being still on the move, hearing Srila Prabhupada in this way I felt most encouraged. Srila Prabhupada never retreated, and left His body while preaching in public view, and so should we.