The Generals Who Could Not Be Defeated
BY: RUPANUGA DAS (ACBSP)
Oct 26, 2012 — JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA (SUN) — His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada once remarked to his disciples, "You must become a general like me. I cannot be defeated." Srila Prabhupada was commissioned by another undefeated general, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, who against all opposition established the legitimacy and influence of the Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta in India. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta met resistance from every quarter: professional gurus, prakrta-sahajiyas, caste goswamis, ecumenists, eclecticists, et al., but anyone who dared to sally forth and meet his challenge was ultimately trounced.
Travelling extensively throughout the sub-continent, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta often re-traced the sacred path of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His preaching tours carried him to nearly one hundred villages, towns and major cities. The Thakur did not travel alone. He trained an army of competent disciples, who accompanied him, often under very austere conditions, enabling him to establish and staff sixty-four maths large and small.
The plan of the Parampara was unfolding. The father of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Bhaktivinode Thakur, had established four hundred nama hattas, centers for propagating the Holy Names. Just a few hundred years after the disappearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Gaudiya Sampradaya had fallen into disrepute. Numerous pseudo-Vaisnava cults claiming lineage from the Lord had festered, obscuring the Gaudiya siddhanta. Bhaktivinode Thakur had begun the task of rejuvenating the heritage and he left the unfinished business to his son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, with the additional assignment to carry the gospel of Lord Caitanya beyond the borders of India.
The strategy for fulfilling the prediction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that His name would be chanted all over the world, was manifesting by the grace of the two undefeated generals, Bhaktivinode Thakur and Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's part to play in the great plan was twofold: 1) to establish beyond a doubt the legitimacy and authority of Gaudiya Vaisnavism and 2) to train up preachers to go abroad. During his manifest presence, the first part of his task was successful and a solid foundation of respectability was recognized in India, including amongst the British elite. But it was the second part that, although to become ultimately successful, encountered protracted difficulties.
A hint of the difficulties to come was evident in 1932, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta recalled a prominent disciple sent to England, who had failed to establish, after a years time, a genuine beachhead there. A problem was emerging: his disciples were having trouble comprehending the absolute necessity of propelling the preaching work, the missionary spirit of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, out to the Western world. How else could he possibly fulfill the prediction of the Lord and the desire of Bhaktivinode Thakur? It was to be done -- but not during his lifetime.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, our Param-guru, passed from this manifest plane on December 31, 1936. Earlier that year, one of his prominent disciples had given the last Vyasapuja address, in Bombay. That speaker ended his glorification with the following words:
"Personally, I have no hope for any direct service for the coming crores of births of the sojourn of my life, but I am confident that some day or other I shall be delivered from this mire of delusion in which I am at present so deeply sunk. Therefore let me with all my earnestness pray at the lotus feet of my divine master to allow me to suffer the lot for which I am destined due to my past misdoings, but to let me have this power of recollection: that I am nothing but a tiny servant of the Almighty Absolute Godhead, realized through the unflinching mercy of my divine master. Let me therefore bow down at his lotus feet with all the humility at my command."
At that time, no one present could have known that the speaker, Abhay Charan das, would be the next Srila Prabhupada and fulfill the mission of the Parampara.
Soon after his disappearance in 1936, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur's disciples became embroiled in endless controversies, disputes and schisms. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was to say in a lecture on October 22, 1972 in Vrindavan:
"We have got practical experience how a great institution was lost, by whimsical ways. Without carrying out the orders of the spiritual master, they manufactured something and the whole thing was lost."
Previously, in his Viraha Astaka, published in the Gaudiya Patrika in February, 1959, he had written:
Fifth Octet
The Disciple's Empowerment is Lost
Your so-called disciple, the jackal named Ananta Vasudeva, disobeyed your final instructions to keep the mission united, and thereby created a scandalous fiasco. The result of this philosophical deviation is evident to this day as imitative sahajiyas are being worshiped as gurus in your temples. (verse 2)
Is there a single temple to be found where your instructions are still being followed? As it is said: "punar musiko bhava"—Everyone has "again become a mouse." (verse 3)
In the Eighth Octet, he continues:
The world has now filled up with many Jagais and Madhais to deliver. Everyone is anxiously looking down the road waiting for Caitanya-Nitai to come to their rescue. (verse 3)
If, at such a time as this, you were to personally return to this world and once more preach about all these things the way you always used to do… (verse 4)
If there were enthusiastic preaching activities again taking place in every direction, then all the people as before would be stirred up in blissful excitement. (verse 5)
Your profound shouting would cause the demons and atheists to flee, and your narrations of Lord Caitanya's message would fill the hearts of the innocent souls. (verse 6)
O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer to see the suffering of the fallen conditioned souls. On this day of your separation I am utterly despondent. (verse 8)
(There are 65 verses in this composition, a must read.) Then in his 1961 Vyasapuja Offering, His Divine Grace wrote 75 verses, a few of which follow:
23. If you simply imitate, there will be the opposite result,
For as long as you try like that, there will be failure.
24. Now all of you are returning here on his order to worship him on his Vyasa-puja day
All together you are engaged in His worship.
25. But a festival of flowers and fruits is not the real worship:
One who serves the guru's message really worships him.
26. The service of the message is the real transcendental vibration.
Don't be falsely proud, brother; come back to that.
In these poetic compositions, Srila Prabhupada recorded his observations of the dismemberment of the Gaudiya Math as an effective preaching institution, a theme later summarized in the above 1972 lecture in Vrindavan. And by 1972, still another theme regarding the members of the Gaudiya Math had emerged in Srila Prabhupada's letters. His God-brothers had been developing a negativistic attitude about his struggle to establish Krsna consciousness in the West, an attitude quickly evolving from indifference and non-cooperation to criticism and outright interference in some instances.
Back in February of 1969, Srila Prabhupada had written a long letter from New York to a leading God-brother in India, which contained a reasonable request (emphasis added):
"In 1967, when I went to India, five American disciples were with me…. four disciples were entrusted to live at the Institute of Swami Bon Maharaja, but on account of his canvassing them for becoming his disciples they left him, although one of them, Hrsikesa, is still living c/o Bon Maharaja as his re-initiated disciple (?) Two other of my disciples are still at Vrindaban in my place at Radha Damodara Temple, and Bon Maharaja is still after them to deviate their faith upon me.
I have therefore requested Sripada Sraman Maharaja (because you have stopped correspondence with me and I don't know why) to give some place for my disciples at Mayapur."
Sraman Maharaja's reply was then quoted by Srila Prabhupada:
"Even though you make payment for your students, the other students will feel inferiority complex. You know very well our standard of living, and therefore it will not be possible for us to accommodate your European and American students here in Mayapur…. Srila Prabhupada is so kind upon you that he is causing you to act in such wonderful way, and by seeing your activities I am feeling very much proud of you. "
This is most discouraging and against the will of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura and Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I therefore request you to give me a plot of land within the precincts of Sri Caitanya Math to construct a suitable building for my European and American students who are loitering in Vrindaban chased by Bon Maharaja, and who may go in numbers to visit the site of the Birth place of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu…."
But nothing happened, and as the attitude of his God-brothers toward Srila Prabhupada were becoming more known in ISKCON, he didn't want his neophyte disciples to be disturbed. Therefore, in a letter to a disciple in July of 1969 he writes:
"So far as your question about controversy amongst the disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Goswami Maharaja, that is a fact. But this controversy is not material…. amongst the disciples there may be some controversy, but the central point is how to preach the mission of His Divine Grace. If the central point is fixed up there is no harm in such controversy… Every individual being must have his opinion, that is the significance of individuality, but all such differences of opinion must coincide in Krishna… So do not be disturbed by such controversial points. Better you engage your mind very seriously in the matter of service entrusted to you." (Letter to Mandala Bhadra das, July 28, 1969)
Srila Prabhupada didn't want to see his disciples entangled, but as time progressed it became more clear that "the central point of how to preach the mission of His Divine Grace" and that "all such differences of opinion must coincide in Krishna" were not mutual principles motivating his God-brothers. After forming the GBC in July 1970, Srila Prabhupada wrote:
"I am very pleased that you all GBC members are remaining vigilant so that the disturbance in our Society may not continue… it is now clear that my Godbrothers take objection of my being called as Prabhupada and on this point they wanted to poison the whole society -- that is now clear. But now it was manipulated -- that is a mystery."
(Letter to Rupanuga das, September 25, 1970, emphasis added)
One of the first duties of the newly created GBC had been to confront the propaganda infiltrating the Society that Srila Prabhupada was actually an incarnation of Lord Krsna, but that his students were not yet advanced enough to understand. Unfortunately, four ISKCON sannyasis were actually preaching this and it had to be stopped, quickly, but not before a number of devotees of unfirm faith, who thought such impersonalism coming from sannyasis must be the official ISKCON doctrine, and decided to leave the movement. That seed of impersonalism had apparently been planted via correspondence from India.
Revealing his personal experiences to a disciple who was having difficulties in his relations with other ISKCON devotees, Srila Prabhupada wrote:
"Do not be depressed. All along my godbrothers gave me only depression, repression, compression -- but I continued strong in my duty. So never mind there is some discouragement, continue with your work in full enthusiastic Krishna Consciousness attitude of service." (Letter to Guru das, August 29, 1972)
In India, especially, Srila Prabhupada's disciples were often in proximity to his God-brothers and prone to their influence, as indicated in a following letter to a sannyasi disciple:
"Their policy has been all along to suppress me and take credit… Their proposal for cooperation is a myth. They haven't done anything which is cooperative… you know they managed to write in such a way that Madhava is doing the world movement and we are his subordinates. From the beginning that has been their mentality. So there is no possibility of cooperation with them. They are not after preaching but material gain and reputation and adoration. Otherwise, why they are non cooperating with me? Do not think or indulge in loose talks. Be careful always. Let us do our duty of propagation sincerely and seriously on our own principles. Krsna and Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura are our only hope and they are helping us…" (Letter to Achyutananda Maharaj, June 8, 1974)
Two months earlier Srila Prabhupada had written a definitive letter, which is often quoted and often misunderstood. That letter was in response to a monthly report from one of his GBC zonal secretaries and it was widely distributed. The report had begun with a comment resulting from that devotee's hearing a statement from a most prominent God-brother of Srila Prabhupada. The comment was:
"Sridhar Maharaj "thanked" us for coming to Mayapura from all over the world to "encourage them in their work." But what work are they doing? Your God-brothers only revealed that they are kanistha adhikaris without any world vision of this movement. They have no manifest Vaisnava compassion of which you are the embodiment." (Letter from Rupanuga das to Srila Prabhupada, April 17, 1974)
The occasion described had been a program at the Gaudiya Math mandir down Bhaktisiddhanta Road from the Mayapur ISKCON compound. Many ISKCON devotees had gone there because the event was included on the posted Festival itinerary -- although later disapproved of by Srila Prabhupada for being listed without his knowledge. Srila Prabhupada's reply included important details:
"You are right about Sridhar Maharaj's genuiness. But in my opinion he is the best of the lot. He is my old friend, at least he executes the regulative principles of devotional service. I do not wish to discuss about activities of my Godbrothers but is a fact that they have no life for preaching work. All are satisfied with a place for residence in the name of a temple, they engage disciples to get foodstuff by transcendental devices and eat and sleep. They have no idea or brain how to broadcast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. My gurumaharaj used to lament many times for this reason and he thought if one man at least had understood the principle of preaching then his mission would achieve success.
In the latter days of my gurumaharaj he was very disgusted. Actually, he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. Still he requested his disciples to form a strong Governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya Math. But Sridhara Maharaja is responsible for disobeying this order of gurumaharaj, and he and two others who are already dead unnecessarily thought that there must be one acarya. If gurumaharaj could have seen someone who was qualified at that time to be acarya he would have mentioned. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. His idea was acarya was not to be nominated amongst the governing body. He said openly you make a GBC and conduct the mission. So his idea was amongst the members of GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected. So Sridhara Maharaja and his two associate gentlemen unauthorizedly selected one acarya and later it proved a failure. The result is now everyone is claiming to be acarya even though they may be kanistha adhikari with no ability to preach. In some of the camps the acarya is being changed three times in a year. Therefore we may not commit the same mistake in our ISKCON camp. Actually amongst my Godbrothers no one is qualified to become acarya. So it is better not to mix with my Godbrothers very intimately because instead of inspiring our students and disciples they may sometimes pollute them. This attempt was made previously by them, especially Madhava Maharaja and Tirtha Maharaja and Bon Maharaja but somehow or other I saved the situation. This is going on. We shall be very careful about them and not mix with them. This is my instruction to you all. They cannot help us in our movement, but they are very competent to harm our natural progress. So we must be very careful about them." (Letter to Rupanuga das, April 23, 1974)
When Srila Prabhupada referred to his Guru Maharaj as being "very disgusted" with his disciples, this should not be interpreted for whatever reason as a rejection of his disciples. They had served him most admirably in helping to accomplish the first part of his strategy, to establish the respectability of the Gaudiya Math on a solid, sastric foundation. That is to their eternal credit. Yet they failed miserably to grasp, to comprehend, his cherished desire to implement the second part of his strategy, to establish the Hare Krsna Movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu beyond the borders of India. Instead, even before Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's disappearance they had exhibited too many signs of clinging to a parochial, localized conception of attachment to properties and position, i.e., a kanistha perspective, a perspective they were to maintain throughout decades of infighting.
Blinded by their shortsightedness, the disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta could not recognize the self-effulgent Godbrother, predicted by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, who would appear to lead them, a real acarya. Instead, as it is being amply demonstrated herein, they rose to oppose him. It was a golden opportunity in the Golden Age of Lord Caitanya to fulfill the cherished desire of their Guru-maharaj by willingly allying themselves with their Godbrother Abhay Charan das, who had by word and deed manifested as the next Parampara Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Instead, they rose to oppose him.
By 1975, Srila Prabhupada found it imperative to make his wishes clear and instructed his personal secretary to send the following to all ISKCON members (verbatim, including the crossed out portion):
NOTICE TO ALL CENTERS
Dear President,
Prabhus, please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada has asked me to write to you to make it very explicit that there should be no dealings between you and Prabhupada's so-called godbrothers. They are all jealous and are all trying to do harm to our mission and also to Srila Prabhupada. So without Srila Prabhupada's permission, no one should correspond with any of them, and no one should have anything to do with any of them, without asking Srila Prabhupada. No one should give them any of Srila Prabhupada's books, no one should purchase their books, no one should visit their temples without authorization. I hope this is clear. It is very important. Please instruct all your devotees regarding this. [crossed out words] And when the devotees come for the annual festival, you should also instruct them not to visit or have any dealings with any of the godbrothers. I hope this is clear and I hope this meets you in good health.
Your servant,
Brahmananda Swami
Personal Secretary to
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada
BS/mdd
The history of all the trials and tribulations instigated by his Godbrothers will not be lost in the annals of time. Srila Prabhupada immortalized the true story in his letters, lectures and purports, indelible sastra, for everyone's education. He set the record straight for future followers and readers. For example, in Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila, 7.95-96, he writes:
"Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, at the time of his passing away, ordered all of his disciples to work conjointly to preach the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. Later, however, some self-interested, foolish disciples disobeyed his orders. Each one of them wanted to become head of the mission, and they fought in the courts, neglecting the order of the spiritual master, and the entire mission was defeated. We are not proud of this; however, the truth must be explained. We believed in the words of our spiritual master and started in a humble way -- in a helpless way -- but due to the spiritual force of the order of the supreme authority, this movement has become successful."
Similarly, during a lecture in Philadelphia in July, 1975, Srila Prabhupada reminded his disciples:
"You must know what is your duty, from guru. You are singing every day, 'guru-mukha-padma…' Are you not singing daily? But do you understand the meaning? Or are you singing only? Yes, this order 'guru-muka-padma vakya cittete koriya aikya.' Now cittete means consciousness or heart. 'I shall do this only, but my gurumaharaj told me, I shall do it.' So, it is not my pride, but I can say for your instruction--I did it! Therefore, whatever little success you see, than my all God-brothers, it is due to this. I have no capacity, but I took the words of my guru as life and soul. So this is fact, 'guru mukha padma vakya,' everyone should do that. But if he makes addition or alteration, then it is finished. No addition or alteration."
Srila Prabhupada had offered ample opportunity to his God-brothers to cooperate with him and work conjointly, especially Sridhar Maharaj. On a number of occasions he tried to convince his God-brother to be a partner in ISKCON. But Sridhar Maharaj maintained his concept of independence, remaining at arm's length, unable to make a meaningful agreement. Such occasions were reminiscent of the old storefront days at 26 Second Avenue, when we learned that "Swamiji" had "God-brothers" back in India. "God-brothers" sounded impressive! Surely some of them would come and help us spread this great movement across America! It was such a big task to think of in such a little storefront. but we were soon to learn there would be no reinforcements. And a decade later nothing had changed, not really.
Finally, on November 8, 1977, when he was about to depart this visible plane Srila Prabhupada, the emblem of Vaisnava humility, begged forgiveness for his offenses to his God-brothers. As the master of Vaisnava etiquette, he knew well the custom that at the time of death the devotee should show regret for any offenses he may have committed knowingly or unknowingly. But the truth is, as Srila Prabhupada stated during a room conversation a few days before he disappeared, "I have never done anything inauspicious to anyone."
Factually, it was his God-brothers' opposing behavior which had been inauspicious. And when he said, "The war is over," he was simply saying that now that he was going, the war should stop. But that war was not Srila Prabhupada's war, it was a war declared and maintained by his God-brothers and he didn't want the war continuing against his disciples after his departure.
Near the end, Narayana Maharaj, a disciple of a God-brother, was being employed by Srila Prabhupada as a messenger to his God-brothers. The gist of the message was simple: "Help, don't hinder them." That was it. He was not asking Narayana Maharaj or anyone else to instruct his disciples in the future on how to manage a worldwide preaching movement and he already instructed them on numerous occasions not to fight amongst themselves. He wanted Narayana Maharaj to assist in the arrangements for the upcoming samadhi ceremony and the requisite paraphernalia and rituals. Srila Prabhupada, after the events of 1967, never instructed his disciples to accept guidance from his God-brothers. Just the opposite. But he did mention to the GBC that if they reached an impasse on some technicality or philosophical point they could (not should) consult with Sridhar Maharaj, and he indicated no one else. Of course, it would be hard to imagine a philosophical question which could not be answered from Srila Prabhupada-vani.
In any case, after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance, when his ISKCON was in chaotic condition, members of the Gaudiya Math encouraged and received ISKCON refugees with open arms, thereby attaining a temporary jolt from the infusion of preaching spirit already inculcated in those devotees by Srila Prabhupada. Sometimes some of those devotees say that the troubles in mainstream ISKCON are due to offenses to Sridhara Maharaj and/or other members of the Gaudiya Math. But the problems in mainstream ISKCON are actually due to the same cause that has been the bane of the Gaudiya Math's existence -- neglect of the orders of the Founder-Acarya.
Many of Srila Prabhupada's initiated disciples have left the jurisdiction of "mainstream" ISKCON over the years since Srila Prabhupada's disappearance, most often for good reasons not to be delineated here. But leaving Srila Prabhupada himself is another thing and/or accepting another spiritual preceptor as equal to or greater than Srila Prabhupada is a great mistake, a valid excuse for which cannot be found moving hell or heaven.
Generally, the Gaudiya Math's condescending attitude towards Srila Prabhupada has not changed really, considering the fact that over the years they have attempted to create an artificial competition between Srila Prabhupada and Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur as to who is the last Acarya (capital A) in the parampara. They consider Srila Bhaktisiddhanta to be the uncontested last great Acarya, to be presumably succeeded by all of his disciples (each of whom would be on the top of the list for their own disciples). Some see Srila Prabhupada and Sridhar Maharaj as the two equal successor Acaryas to Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur.
One disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who joined the Gaudiya Math early on, is fond of a saying he attributes to Sridhara Maharaj: "Two eyes are better than one," which is of course true. But the implication is that by having both Srila Prabhupada and Sridhara as equal guiding authorities, one can make better spiritual progress. And of course, Sridhara Maharaj was still a 'living guru' at the time. But the analogy has serious flaws, because it is a fact -- as confirmed by any optometrist -- that one eye is always the weaker, the 'weak sister,' and one eye is dominant or stronger. And from the disciples' side, a disciple's two eyes can focus only upon one object at a time. Actually it is a physiological impossibility ordinarily that one eye can focus on one object while the other eye is focused on a different object at the same time. No.
In this connection, Srila Prabhupada gives a nice example: another word for "swami" is husband and when a wife is unfaithful to her swami she is considered a prostitute. Similarly for a disciple who is unfaithful to his spiritual master. Besides, no one takes the utterances of a prostitute very seriously. In addition, it is known from the preaching of Prthu Maharaj in the Srimad Bhagavatam to his future constituents, that to praise someone for having superior qualities he is yet to demonstrate or develop in the future is administering poison to that person.
To summarize and conclude, it was the great fault of the Gaudiya Math leaders that they could not recognize Srila Prabhupada's spiritual leadership. At bottom, they could not adjust the fact that the "paka [pukka] caliber grhastha",* Abhaya Charan das Prabhu, became the "self-effulgent acarya" Srila Bhaktisiddhanta predicted, and had emerged by word and by deed as the obvious Acarya of them all, indeed of all the Vaisnavas and the whole world! But since they could not recognize their own spiritual master as World Acarya and venture forth to foreign lands as he desired, it is not surprising that they could not fathom the magnitude of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's heroic accomplishments. Certainly they were jealous of the fact that he did what they could not do. And that stymied their intelligence.
* "I was a grihasta, a paka caliber grhasta." (Room Conversation, Bombay, January 7, 1977)
Had the God-brothers finally decided by those last months in 1977 to work conjointly, everything could have been rectified to the glory of the movement, including the decades of wrangling amongst themselves and the obstinate opposition to their God-brother Srila Prabhupada. Doing the needful would have been to give genuine and unequivocal assurances to Srila Prabhupada that the Gaudiya Math would act in a cooperative spirit with his ISKCON after his disappearance.
Ultimately, it has all been a story about getting Lord Caitanya's Sankirtan Movement, His Hare Krsna Movement, out to save all the (less than) Jagais and Madhais rotting in the world beyond the borders of India. If it hadn't been for the inconceivable mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the glories of the Vaisnava Sampradayas would still be locked up in the Indian sub-continent, hampered by the elitism, parochialism and sectarianism of Kaliyuga which separated them from the suffering masses of the world. And the crowning glory of it all is the fact that Srila Prabhupada brought the Hare Krsna Movement back to the Holy Land of his birth, where the Movement began to regain a wide recognition not seen since the days of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years before him.
Future Vaisnava historians will note the most significant events of the 20th Century to be the success of Nama Hatta, the founding of the Gaudiya Math, the subsequent founding of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and the worldwide dissemination of the Holy Name and Srila Prabhupada's books on sanatana-dharma, especially the Srimad Bhagavatam.
In the concluding sentence of The Life and Precepts of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu (TLC 1st Ed.), Bhaktivinode Thakur wrote: "His treatment of Haridas (senior) shows how he loved spiritual men, and how he defied caste distinction in the cause of spiritual brotherhood." Lord Caitanya accepted two brahminical outcastes and made them His most trusted disciples, Rupa and Sanatan Goswamis. He made Haridas Thakur, born in a Mohammedan family, the Acarya of the Holy Name. Had the members of the Gaudiya Math recognized the former mlecchas and yavanas who became disciples of Srila Prabhupada as truly spiritual men, and Srila Prabhupada's efforts to satisfy their mutual spiritual father, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur -- in the mood of spiritual brotherhood -- the impact of Gaudiya Vaisnavism on the course of world history would most certainly have been much accelerated.
Be that as it may, whatever Krsna Consciousness exists outside of India is due to the humble efforts of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who openly challenged the scientific voidism and sectarian impersonalism dominating the world. Like Bhaktivinode Thakur and Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, his predecessors in bringing Lord Caitanya's causeless mercy of Harinama out of India, His Divine Grace remains undefeated, and is prepared to commission any and all of his followers to carry on the tradition of victory.
But those commissions are battlefield commissions, to be earned preaching, challenging the world domination of impersonalism, voidism, and hedonism. There is no other way. The Generals who could not be defeated have already provided the strategy, weapons, and knowledge, the spiritual strength, to guarantee ultimate victory. The Parampara Acaryas have chosen Srila Prabhupada-vani to lead the mission into this 21st Century, which will see Mayapur Dham become the next wonder of the world.
Therefore, the wise shall accept the infallible guidance and protection of Srila Prabhupada and to best capacity help deliver, by His Divine Grace, the inconceivable benediction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
