This post is a follow up of my three earlier posts titled "Mayavadi to become stool worm","I want to kick them, never mind I go to hell " and "More face-kicking". All these posts contained quotes of Srila Prabhupada speaking very strongly against the mayavadis even to the point of kicking them on the face. The following text is an excerpt from the book "The Hare Krishna Explosion" by HG Hayagriva Prabhu. Srila Prabhupada was addressed as "Swamiji" in the earlier days of the movement.Excerpt:New York, 1966Swamiji particularly criticizes the Radhakrishnan commentary to theBhagavad-gita verse (9.34), in which Krishna tells Arjuna, “Engage your mindalways in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completelyabsorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”Upon this verse, Radhakrishnan comments that it is not to the personalKrishna that we have to surrender but to “the unborn, beginningless, eternalwho speaks through Krishna.”“Just see!” Swamiji says when this verse and commentary are read at theevening class. “I told you Dr. Radhakrishnan was an impersonallst. ThisMayavadi philosophy is worse than atheism.”We are not really certain what “Mayavadi” means. When asked, Swamiji saysthat impersonalists are called Mayavadis because they consider Krishna’stranscendental, eternal body to be maya, or illusion. “For them,” he says,“the impersonal Brahman is the Absolute Truth, and Krishna is subordinate toBrahman. But in Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says that He is the Supreme AbsoluteTruth and that the impersonal Brahman is subordinate to Him.”Surprising us all, Keith [later, Kirtanananda] rallies to the defense of Dr.Radhakrishnan. “I think he’s right,” he says. “After all, Krishna is in allof us. So, if we surrender to the unborn within us, then we attain theAbsolute Truth.”To support his view, Keith quotes Shankara and Huang Po, Buddha and Christ,Spinoza and St. Paul. Swamiji just sits on the dais, and for the first timeI notice him turn red. This is surprising, considering his goldencomplexion. When Keith pauses, Swamiji asks, “Are you finished?”Keith isn’t finished. He talks on about the Self and the One Mind, quotingliberally from various scriptures before winding down.“Are you finished?” Swamiji asks again.“Yes,” Keith says.“So, you have understood what we have been saying, that Krishna is God?”“Yes,” Keith says.“And that worship is due God?”“Yes,” Keith says.Suddenly, Swamiji, red and furious, begins to stand up. “Then why do youwant to take it away from Krishna?” he roars, shaking the small storefront.“It’s Krishna! It’s Krishna!” He slams his hand down on the lectern. “It’sno unborn within Krishna! It’s Krishna!” We all sit stunned, as if a lionhad pounced on the dais. “Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, isdirectly telling Arjuna, ‘To Me. Worship Me.’ And Dr. Radhakrishnan saysthat it is not to the person Krishna but to some void. Just see what anonsense rascal! Do you want to worship some unborn void instead of Krishna?Krishna is the Absolute Truth. His body, mind and Self are absolute. And Hesays, ‘Think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me.’ And even Shankara says,Bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam: ‘Worship Govinda, worshipGovinda, worship Govinda. Your nonsense will not save you at death!’ And yetthis rascal wants to take it away from Krishna. Do you want to follow such arascal? Krishna says, ‘Worship Me.’ Do you not understand? Then why are yousaying it is not to Krishna? Why? Why not to Krishna?”We all look at Keith as if he’d suddenly turned into an untouchable. Thissurprises us all, since usually he is so expert. Yet he simply articulatedthe Mayavadi mentality of us all. We sit in stunned silence, not daring toventure further.“Did you see how red Swamiji got?” I ask Wally [later, Umapati] afterwards.“Boy, was he angry!”“But he’s right,” Wally says. “All the commentators try to avoid Krishna.You’ve read Bhagavad-gita before. Until meeting Swamiji, did you ever thinkof worshipping Krishna?”I have to admit that it never crossed my mind.Thus we discover that we are also Mayavadi impersonalists. Addicted toinactivity and hedonism, we know nothing of spiritual personality andaction. Swamiji has to shout loud indeed to make us understand that God is aperson and that action for His sake is on the spiritual platform.“This is Bhagavad-gita’s most essential message,” Swamiji says the nextmorning. “Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to fight, but He says, ‘Do it for Me.’When we work for Krishna and chant His name, we are already liberated andliving on the spiritual plane. Just as a person feels heat when he touchessomething hot, you are liberated as soon as you enter into the service ofKrishna.”We all feel as though we’ve just touched something very hot. There is nodoubt that our long slumber is being disturbed.“We are declaring war,” Swamiji says. “War on maya.”From The Hare Krishna Explosion by Hayagriva Prabhu
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