Unit 1 Q)1
Introduction:
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is a pure devotee of the Lord and
was dedicated to advancing Krishna consciousness, often preaching through his books even
to this day. Srila Prabhupada's mission was to create an original Paramparā explanation of
the Bhagavad-Gītā because he wanted a series of books without adulteration.
Srila Prabhupada also wanted to establish that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead and to educate people that real happiness is serving Krishna.
The issue with misused knowledge:
Misused knowledge of Krishna is what Srila Prabhupada was most concerned about. In the
preface, Prabhupada explains "Generally the so-called scholars, politicians, philosophers
and svamis without perfect knowledge of Krishna, try to banish or kill Krishna while writing
a commentary on (Bhagavad-Gītā)". Srila Prabhupada calls this unauthorised commentary
Mayavada-Bhasya. The Mayavadi is so dangerous because they can lead others down the
wrong path away from Krishna. Even worse than this, they can also bring other devotees into
the Mayavadi philosophies and in this way, one can become truly lost. However, if one sticks
to the Maha-mantra: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare”, then one will undoubtedly go back to
Godhead. This Maha-mantra and Srila Prabhupada's books are the backbone of ISKCON
especially in today’s day in age (Kali-yuga) and should be preached by devotees to everyone.
This way it is kept simple and any adulteration is most likely avoided.
Understanding, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead:
Throughout the preface of the Bhagavad-Gītā, Srila Prabhupada's tone is primarily set on one
topic of thought and that is ‘Krishna’, Prabhupada is either seen always giving credit to
Krishna or He is saying that "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead", this sentence
itself holds complete truth yet for some it is hard to grasp and understand.
Under the direct order of his Spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He
emphasises that the Bhagavad-Gītā is for all mankind so that one can come to understand
who the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna is and what our relationship is with Him.
This unravels all confusion for devotees at ISKCON. Because if the Bhagavad-Gītā was
designed for all of mankind, then there should be little issues in preaching the Bhagavad-Gita
to the outside karmic people. This is the importance of establishing that Krishna is
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because if people are aware of this, then immediately
their Krishna Conscious journey begins from the moment they hear the name ‘Krishna’.
The mood of a devotee in ISKCON:
"Instead of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to satisfy the senses of the
lord. That is the highest perfection of life. The Lord wants this and He demands
it." (Bhagavad-Gītā Preface). Ultimately when one realises that Krishna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and starts to satisfy the senses of the lord, one automatically will find
happiness. Whereas if one finds happiness through material sense gratification, eventually
happiness will turn to misery and the cycle will repeat itself. However, if one is educated on
how to attain true happiness through the service unto Krishna and His devotees, then
happiness will never leave. Because if Krishna's senses are satisfied then automatically the
devotee's senses are satisfied. This is a crucial aspect for a devotee in ISKCON to understand
as happiness is a vital factor for the quality of one's devotional service unto Krishna.
Although this can be very difficult as Srila Prabhupada says, "...for everyone is strongly
bound by the stringent laws of material nature". (Bhagavad-Gītā Preface). Similarly, if one
outside of ISKCON sees a devotee nicely performing devotional service then the average
karmic person will be inspired/ intrigued by ISKCON purely from the devotee’s sheer
happiness. This is what Srila Prabhupada wanted and this was his mood.
Conclusion:
If one can seriously read the Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is and understand the contents of its
knowledge then one can gradually come to understand who Krishna is and become a pure
devotee. This is because Prabhupada has so clearly explained and given us the original
Bhagavad-Gita with complete Paramparā explanation. This enables even a non-devotee to
pick up the Bhagavad-Gītā and start reading without feeling completely lost. Spreading the
pure teachings of Lord Krishna across the world is Srila Prabhupada's goal and mission. So
that eventually people all around the world can lead Krishna Conscious lives and attain pure
love from Krishna.
Hare Kṛṣṇa.
