namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesha-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
“Our respectful obeisances are unto you, who are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadevaand delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.”
So many people around the world have heard of Srila A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his Hare Krsna Movement. They have seen the saffron clad monks and elegant women dressed in saris. Dancing, chanting, distributing books, and erecting marvelous Krishna temples have been among the popular activities of the western Krishna devotees.
Srila Prabhupada’s achievements in expanding awareness (especially throughout the western hemisphere of the world) of Krishna, devotion to God, and vedic knowledge in general were absolutely unprecedented in history. He has indeed become famous too people in general for these reasons.
Yet, Srila Prabhupada was not the only Swami or Guru that traveled from India to the western lands in the recent era. There were others such as Swami Satchidananda, The Dalai Lama, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Yogi Bhajan, Osho and others.
So what exactly makes Srila Prabhupada stand out amongst the other gurus, yogis, and saints of the modern era? It is precisely the fact that Srila Prabhupada spoke and taught with the utmost effort on the detailed and conclusive truths of an authentic bhakti tradition which stems from Sri Krishna Himself. To showcase the path of transcendental love.
By way of contrast, the other gurus mentioned above spoke primarily and almost exclusively on yoga practice, meditation, and abstract philosophy. In this way, these teachers promoted that such yogic and meditational practices find their ultimate end in cessation of the self’s existence (nirvana), or merging of ones identity (sayujya-mukti) with the all encompassing aspect of Divinity known as brahman. Some even taught that God as a person does not exist, or that the individual self is God, yet has the tendency to become illusioned (as in the human state.)
Until Srila Prabhupada came to the west, most liberation seekers certainly chose the monistic practices and ideals of these yogis over the then current theological teachings of the Christian churches, Jewish temples, or Muslim mosques.
The young people could clearly see that the mostly mechanistic and average daily/religious routines of their parents were not fulfilling in any way. Therefore why would the revolutionary young people ever want to follow such a dry model? It is really not a surprise that so many young people contemplated thus, “If these people represent God, then that is a God I want nothing to do with.”
So the youth set out to find existential meaning, to become liberated, to become free from the mundane pushing’s and pulling’s of this world. To become free from a life that is completely overflowing with nauseating dualities. Freedom from suffering is indeed a very intelligent aspiration, yet this type of liberation is truly only the first scent of spiritual existence.
In this way, the vast majority of spiritual seekers did indeed find some solace in the yogic teachings of these gurus. Learning the process of giving up identification of the material self gave them peace. Cultivating the consciousness that all temporary and worldly manifestations are false, illusory, and unworthy of pursuit, gave them neutrality. Gradually, they become freed from the suffering that was so intimately intertwined with the material paradigm that they had known.
Yet something was missing, love. Where is loves place in all this? Why does each soul have such an unwavering desire for love and affection? Why does it feel so good to give and receive love?
The seekers began to understand, love, as they had known it was also a falsity. Mostly it was a covered version of lust. Love, as an exploitative agent. This was the nature of the love they had experienced. Love that has its basis in the bond between two units of imperminence. Such love is almost entirely unworthy of pursuit.
This understanding left so many in a deep struggle. Every soul wants to feel love! Yet now they had no idea where or how to perceive love. They didn’t want to be in illusion, yet the overwhelming and intoxicating effects of love are so desirable! They thought, “Love must have an original, true, and eternal nature.”
Then all of a sudden, a new guru appeared on the scene. Srila Prabhupada, a saint who most apparently knew everything that all these other gurus knew. Every truth that they had given was also found within his teachings. Yet something new, something fresh, something unique and so enchanting. Sri Krishna, reality the beautiful.
Now that the ground work of becoming free from material identity had been finished. It was now time to realize eternity with new eyes. The eyes of a servant, a lover, a friend. To go beyond the void, go beyond peace, neutrality, and contentment. To realize the full potential of the soul, selfless devotional love for God (Krishna.)
And not only love for God, but love for Krishna. The supreme source (avatari) of all Godly forms (avatars). The most complete and perfect form of transcendence. Krishna explains this very truth in the following way,
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” –Bhagavad Gita 10.8
Krishna, the eternal God who is always immersed in sweet love and play (lila) with His divine associates (parikaras.) The only form of God whose servitor’s are totally immersed in a type of love which is untouched by feelings of Godly awe and veneration. Completely independent, spontaneous love and emotion (ragatmika-bhakti) are the only driving forces of such servants.
Such servants of Krishna have crossed the threshold of liberation and completely dissolved the mundane ego-mind-intellect-body complex, which all spiritualists desire to do. Being liberated and detached from everything except for ones particular type of love (bhava) for Krishna, those fortunate souls fully realize themselves as a divine person with a transcendentally perfect identity and body (swarupa-siddhi.) This divine identity is a revelation and manifestation of ones love for Sri Krishna, and is perfectly suited to facilitate that servitors unique and special type of love for Him.
In this way the perfected devotees (premi-bhaktas) who are imbued with divine love for Krishna eternally revel with Him in unlimited ways amongst all His other associates. The realm of such an existence is called Goloka Vrindavan and is an eternal sphere of ever-increasing and dynamic love.
With this understanding we can see why the impersonalistic and voidist conceptions of spiritual perfection are just a mere fragmental aspect of divine life. The plane of non-dualistic brahman is simply the place where material existence’s realities of impermanence and suffering meet their end. Krishna very clearly says that brahman is just one of the aspects of His higher Personal identity,
“And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness, and which is immortal, imperishable and eternal.” –Bhagavad-Gita 14.27
This was the exact job of Srila Prabhupada, to show the entire world that God is not an abstract concept. To show the world what true love of God is all about. Freeing people from their material identities and giving them the information and mercy, which would allow them to discover their eternal identities, made of love. In this way Srila Prabhupada gave passage for all spiritual seekers to find true Divine Love, and its source and center, Sri Krishna.
Now all these staunch revolutionaries. The young seekers, so strong, fell crumbling to their knees. Begging and pleading for guidance to that place of love divine. They begged, “Please show us to Krishna, please place us in His company, and let us honor our true internal nature, our souls undiscovered function. To love unlimitedly.
These are simply some of the major reasons why Srila Prabhupada’s honorary pranam mantra specifically describes his activities of clearing the variegated impersonalistic conceptions from the hearts of the westerners. Without this very crucial revelation in the process of spiritual understanding, one can never find the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.