© 1998 VNN
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02/19/98 - 1624 Preaching Outside Of ISKCON
USA (VNN) - Letters from Narasimha das and Madhudvisa das Dear Madhudvisa prabhu,
Dear Narasimha Prabhu Haribol! Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada! Thanks for the letter. I have forwarded it to the devotees I know so perhaps someone will read it who can preach with you. It is such a difficult time. Even preaching outside ISKCON is not that simple also, and ideally a world-wide society of devotees worshipping and following Srila Prabhupada would be the most powerful way of spreading Krishna consciousness. I spent two years establishing a preaching center in Canberra, Australia, at that time there was no ISKCON center there. They were some of the best years of my devotional life really. I just completely ignored ISKCON and tried to preach and distribute Srila Prabhupada's books as best I could, and Krishna reciprocated in so many ways. He provided a nice house for the temple, a nice place to hold the Sunday feast and Food For Life program and He inspired 100+ people, many of them university students, to come along every week to hear something from the Bhagavad-gita, chant Hare Krishna and respect Krishna prasadam. It was really a very ecstatic program, none of the people had any experience with ISKCON before and we were having really ecstatic kirtanas and they were listening to the philosophy and it was wonderful. So many amazing things happened. I was by myself (apart from Srila Prabhupada and Krishna!) and not really encouraging anyone else to "live in the temple" as ISKCON Sydney were prowling around and preaching to anyone who seemed to take an interest that I was a demon, etc, etc. They were offering to take them to Sydney to see a "real temple", etc. etc... Also a whole crew of Sridhar Maharaja disciples moved there soon after I started preaching, and they were doing the same thing, coming to the feasts and trying to spot anyone who was seriously interested or helping me and taking them aside and inviting them to their "temple" and telling them I was to much of a fanatic, actually one doesn't need to take it so seriously, just chant a few rounds and go on with life as it is... So I thought, at that point, it was just best to let everyone chant Hare Krishna, take Krishna Prasadam, hear the Bhagavad-gita and read Srila Prabhupada's books and that would be wonderful. And it was wonderful really. Krishna looked after me in so many ways. One time I was cooking the Sunday feast and had used all the Laxmi to buy the bhoga and the gas ran out. So I said to Krishna, "Well what are You going to do now? How are You going to get me out of this one?" So a few minutes later my new neighbor jumped over the fence and knocked on the back door, he said he had heard me chanting Hare Krishna and wondered if I had any those "Srimad-Bhagavatams" he could buy from me! He had read one years ago and wanted to read some more. So I said, "Yes I have got some." and he bought about three volumes and gave me $50. So I went and got the gas and continued cooking the Sunday feast... So many things happened... So eventually ISKCON sent some devotees to "help me" with the preaching there and after a little while they threw me out! They are still running that temple and worshipping the Deities there (I hope!) (Sri Sri Guara-Nitai and Their Lordships Jagannatha, Beladeva and Lady Subudra). So it is certainly possible and very ecstatic to preach to the innocent outside ISKCON, as you suggest. But it would be far better if ISKCON could be purified. Then we could all go back to ISKCON and serve Srila Prabhupada and Krishna there and preach to the innocent the real philosophy from within ISKCON! Wouldn't it be wonderful if ISKCON started to give people the opportunity to hear the real thing Srila Prabhupada has given us again, and take initiation from Srila Prabhupada! That would be the most wonderful thing really. You say you don't think you can purify ISKCON, but Krishna can purify ISKCON if He wants to, He can also smash ISKCON if He wants to. Krishna is present in the form of His holy name. So we just have to purely chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and Krishna will purify ISKCON or smash ISKCON, whatever He wants to do. After all it is up to Him, whatever He wants to do is fine by us. For me, I am just trying to do what Krihsna is prompting me to do, I am ready to preach outside ISKCON, I suppose I am already doing that a little bit, but it would be better if there was some organization, some structure, some common philosophy even if we all have our own independent centers. It is not so easy or effective for everyone to try and start completely independent and competing organizations. That is not very good for the preaching. Somehow there has to be unity in diversity...After all that is Srila Prabhupada's desire for ISKCON. He wants independent temples, but only one philosophy... Anyhow, we shall see what happens. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Your servant Madhudvisa dasa Email: balarama@webcom.com |