Jan 22 1977 Conversations
Rāmeśvara: It’s clear that for the first time these scholars are understanding the difference between the Bhagavad-gītā and the Māyāvādī conception. It’s clear that now you have saved them. Previous to this, all they knew about is this impersonal concept.
Prabhupāda: That is the business of ācārya, sampradāya-rakṣana, to save the sampradāya from falling down. Sampradāya. Sampradāya rakṣana.
Rāmeśvara: After centuries of rascaldom you are giving them the first clear choice.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That was the desire of my Guru Mahārāja. I am just trying.
Satsvarūpa: Another professor that was met is going to with ten students… I have his name, a Professor Kalewart from the University of Loeben in Belgium. He’s supposed to go to Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Mandir on February lst with ten people.
Prabhupāda: He has gone?
Satsvarūpa: No, on February 1st.
Gargamuni: He should stay in our guesthouse.
Prabhupāda: So inform them, “You come.”
Satsvarūpa: Yes. He’s going to study at that place, that research place at Loi Bazaar, the Vṛndāvana Research Institute.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Satsvarūpa: He’s some scholar of Rūpa Gosvāmī. But he has to stay at Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma.
Prabhupāda: So take some breakfast.
Rāmeśvara: Without your activities this man could not have written that… He could not have had that understanding. If you had not started this movement, there would be no difference, no contrast. There would just be Māyāvādī in the Western world.
Prabhupāda: Yes. People heard that Indian philosophy is Māyāvāda. Māyāvādam asac chāstraṁ pracchanaṁ bauddhaṁ ucyate. Caitanya Mahāprabhu repeatedly said, māyāvāda bhāṣya śunile haya sarva nāśa: “He is doomed.” Māyāvādī haya kṛṣṇe aparādhi. These are the direct charges against the Māyāvāda. My Guru Mahārāja also, a staunch enemy of the Māyāvāda philosophy. And you are also singing, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādī. The śūnyavādī are the Buddhist, and nirviśeṣavādī are the Māyāvādīs. Paścatya-deśa, they are embarassed with this śūnyavādī and nirviśeṣavādī. Now we are trying to give them solid personification of the Absolute Truth. Here also, India, they are spoiled by these Māyāvādī. Now it is in your hand, able hands. You are resourceful, intelligent. Spread this Vaiṣṇava philosophy and challenge this Māyāvāda and śūnyavāda. Thank you. Jaya. (devotees offer obeisances) Here is a would-be Vaiṣṇava. (laughs) Very nice. He is a very nice child.
Rāmeśvara: This is also… This review is a great praise that your writing is so clear that they cannot miss the point. He has understood the dif… You are forcing them to see a difference…
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Rāmeśvara: …between the Māyāvādī and the actual philosophy of Lord Caitanya. And that review is a credit that your writing is so clear that they cannot fail to understand the point.
Prabhupāda: He has written that “Bhaktivedanta Swami has very convincingly presented.” He said that.
Satsvarūpa: Yes. That was the first one.
Hari-śauri: He was writing how you were following strictly in the paramparā.
Rāmeśvara: Some of these scholars write “The message radiates and shines brightly from every page.” They’re writing like that.
Satsvarūpa: And after describing the whole tradition, he said that the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is the Western branch. So that’s a good testimony for our movement, not just the…
Hari-śauri: Not something concocted.
Rāmeśvara: Yes. That’s very good.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Rāmeśvara: That’s very important. He has given us historical…
Prabhupāda: Place.
Rāmeśvara: …perspective.
Prabhupāda: That is wanted.
Rāmeśvara: Prabhupāda said this past week that in the future, historians will study this period of world history, how this movement has changed the world. He said in the future they will just note this period, how the world is being changed.
Prabhupāda: Yes, a new Renaissance. What is called? Renaissance?
Rāmeśvara: Renaissance.
Prabhupāda: Historical Renaissance.
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Srila Prabhupada explains that his disciples should not only sell his books , but more importantly-read these books.
April 22 1973…So to become sannyāsī is not very great credit, according to our Vaiṣṇava philosophy. To become perfect house-holder, that is credit. Perfect householder, like Kṛṣṇa. Read Kṛṣṇa book regularly. Why these books are written? Only for selling? Taking statistics, “How many books you have sold?” You learn, read. Always read, twenty-four hours. As soon as you get time, read. I do that. I do that.Reading, writing, or chanting. But when there is no other way, you sleep little. Not to enjoy sleep, but because it is not possible to continue, all right, sleep one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, five hours. Not more than that. Not that I am sleeping, enjoying life, up to eight o’clock, twelve o’clock.
Dec 5 1976…Prabhupāda: Yes, otherwise where is consciousness? If you do not think of Kṛṣṇa. Just like these boys. They are always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, either chanting or reading book or selling book or writing book, preaching Kṛṣṇa, twenty-four hours, taking Kṛṣṇa’s prasādam, taking rest for working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, everything in Kṛṣṇa, chanting always Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They have no other business.
JUNE 16 1972 letter-A gorgeous temple means many flowers, beautiful decorations, and prasadam distribution. Some sort of kirtana must go on continuously. Further, chanting 16 rounds must be completed, that is our spiritual strength. And I am very much stressing nowadays that my students shallincrease their reading of my books and try to understand them from different angles of vision. Each sloka can be seen from many, many angles of vision, so become practiced in seeing things like this. If we are selling the books but we do not know what is inside the book, that will be a farce, especially if you are preaching and selling books to the students of Edinburgh.
Oct 1 1974 letter….The book sales are very encouraging, increasing, increasing. It is very good news. Thank you, I want this. Record selling is temporary. Even George Harrison’s record sales do not continue for a long time. But, a book sold becomes a permanent matter for enjoyment. We read the scriptures again and again and it is still fresh. When there is time I go on reading my own books.