I was watching some Srila Prabhupada videos the other night, which is a very enlivening experience for me because I never personally met Srila Prabhupada but felt as if I had after imbibing his wonderful purports to Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam etc. these past 23 years.

I was never formally initiated because I was in household life but lived near the Los Angeles temple for 14 years (1980-1994), so it was as though I were "in" the movement although not living in the temple. I came to ISKCON and Krsna consciousness when I was 33 years old. Prior to that, I did a short stint in Muktananda’s ashram in New York City, so there were aspects of Indian religion that were not foreign to me.

In a way, this must be Krsna’s arrangement, at least for me, as I have been a very objective observer of ISKCON’s many devotees coming and going over the last two and a half decades. I had the great good fortune of not only reading many books but also doing service by Krsna’s grace, and perhaps the best days of my life were those days when I would hang out at the temple and talk with devotees about many things. I knew the fringies, the devoted, those in, and those out over those years, and now, what I have put together is a mosaic, if you will, where at 57 years old I can stand back, as it were, and see the whole picture. And what is that picture?

Although I never met Srila Prabhupada, I have had several very significant dreams about him, and yes, I suppose if it’s Krsna’s will, Srila Prabhupada can enter our dreams, which is a very startling and intimate experience, and I’m sure there are many devotees who have had these dreams over the years. It’s very personal.

Lately, because my family life, in terms of raising children, is drawing to a close, I have had the opportunity to re-read many of Srila Prabhupada’s books and watch again perhaps the most emotionally wrenching film, "The Final Lesson," of Srila Prabhupada’s last days on earth (his pastimes) before going back to Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana.

And upon the second viewing, something struck me.

Ironically, I was sent two videos, and the one I saw first was "The Final Lesson." The second one was "Hare Krishna World" and while I had tears in my eyes watching "The Final Lesson," what was glorious upon seeing the second tape is that the person who left his body (Srila Prabhupada) in tape one, accomplished in the 12 short years what was revealed in tape 2, a Hare Krishna World, if you will. As Srila Prabhupada lives on in the hearts of his sincere devotees and as the Vedas are non-different than Krsna, so Srila Prabhupada’s books are non-different from him.

In that realization, he does live by his divine instructions. There is no doubt about it. That’s a fact. I think this is self-evident to those who know.

The idea being that the person who was in "The Final Lesson" created single-handedly what the outcome was in the "Hare Krishna World" video. Thus, tears were turned into joy watching temples that were built worldwide with devotees chanting the holy names of God, Krsna. Srila Prabhupada was a living testament to what a pure devotee can accomplish without ulterior motives, empowered by Krsna.

Therefore, for those new devotees who are coming into ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada will always remain the grand acarya or in the future, great, great, grand acarya. Therefore in my personal opinion, I feel it is essential that new devotees coming to ISKCON also seek out and take initiation from a Prabhupada disciple for reasons that are too numerous to relate in this short article. Again, this is self-evident based upon my own direct realizations. This is in keeping with parampara, and that’s a fact.

Which brings me to the title of this paper. Why do I say unequivocally, "That’s a fact"? Because it is. It’s final. Does this sound familiar?

In re-reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, another thing that struck me was the way he ended his many purports. When he said, "That’s a fact" or that to become Krsna conscious is the supreme goal of human life" you knew he meant it and that everything else the mind could concoct was speculation.

You knew he realized this directly, and as such, as devotees get older, such as I myself, you also realize Srila Prabhupada’s sole mission was not only to spread the holy names of God as a direct representative of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but also to make us immortal, to save us from the horrible sufferings of repeated birth and death. These are facts.

Thus, it is also important now, as the world is headed toward war, that Srila Prabhupada’s sincere devotees pick up the banner, as it were, on this battlefield of life and become guru in the truest sense of the word, as Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada wanted, so that the next generation of living entities may be benefited with bhakti yoga, the only real remedy or peace formula for this world, as Srila Prabhupada often said. This is the only real mercy.

One day soon, the whole world will be chanting Hare Krsna and a Vedic culture will be established for the next 10,000 years even though we may not see it in our current lifetime. It’s happening now. Srila Prabhupada’s sincere disciples are living proof.

And that’s a fact.

maha@reelmind.com 

© dipika.org November 24, 2002