Now many devotees seem to have lost the vision and of making this planet, and ultimately the whole universe, Krsna conscious. Many devotees who joined after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance don't seem to be aware of his strong revolutionary mood. Srila Prabhupada's idea was clear; we all knew it: "Krsna consciousness will lead the world." Although our numbers were tiny and we may have seemed like another frivolous cult, we were charged with Prabhupada's confidence and experienced the power of Krsna in ISKCON. We were dynamic and buoyant, at least up to 1977. Nothing could go wrong. We just had to keep on chanting Hare Krsna, passing out the books, following the GBC, and Krsna consciousness would take over the world. "History will mark this period, how Krsna consciousness changed the world."Quoted in Transcendental Diary Vol. 4 p. xi, by Hari Sauri Dasa
But Srila Prabhupada also warned that, although the movement could not be harmed from outside, it could be from within. Unfortunately, much of what happened in the years immediately following Prabhupada's departure is an unhappy testimony to those words.
When Srila Prabhupada said, "Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate to push on this movement," we probably took his statement too lightly. Maybe we were overconfident of how much we loved Srila Prabhupada, or took it for granted that unity could easily be maintained. We probably did not appreciate enough the tremendous power of Prabhupada's personal presence in offsetting the divisive influence of Kali-yuga. Whatever the causes of misfortune may be, the challenge still stands before us: "Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate to push on this movement." The success of our mission depends upon it.
Therefore we should meditate on how to really get together to please Srila Prabhupada. Not like the United Nations, who come together for meetings but remain divided forever. Let us pray to Srila Prabhupada for the intelligence to serve him properly. After all, we have all dedicated our lives to the same mission. We all believe the same thing, read the same books, and (hopefully) preach the same philosophy. Siddhanta is one, but differences of approach will always be there. Learning to really work together (not just cosmetically) is the key to, and measure of, our success. Our bond is our love for Srila Prabhupada. We may disagree with each other, sometimes strongly, but one point we all agree on is that we all want to please Srila Prabhupada. Coming together on the platform of glorifying Srila Prabhupada and Krsna is our only hope.
- From the "My Memories of Srila Prabhupada" by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami
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