On Fulfilling Srila Prabhupada's Desires
Srila Prabhupada told us that the only question he asked of his Guru Maharaja was, "How can I serve you ?" Now, several years after Prabhupada's apparent departure from this world, there is sometimes confusion and disagreement over how we should best serve him. "What does Srila Prabhupada want of us? What do we have to do now to please him?" The answer is simple, for Srila Prabhupada made it clear what he wanted: a world revolution of Krsna consciousness. The number one program for effecting such a change is book distribution. We also need preaching on all fronts: regular public chanting, massive prasadam distribution, and dynamic programs to recruit devotees. We need vibrant temples, with strong devotees strictly following sadhana-bhakti. We need to establish varnasrama society and model farm communities. What we have to do is clear. How to go about it sometimes elicits different opinions among Prabhupada's followers.
Sometimes Srila Prabhupada said that one program was the most important, and sometimes he emphasized another. There is no doubt that he was especially interested in book distribution. Nevertheless, when an enthusiastic sankirtana devotee asked Srila Prabhupada, "What pleases you most?" expecting to get the reply, "Distribute my books," Srila Prabhupada simply said, "If you love Krsna."
Even more important than building temples or making much propaganda is for us to become pure devotees. After all, other religious figures have also established worldwide institutions, built big buildings, and attracted many followers. Quantitatively or externally they may compare with or even exceed the achievements of Srila Prabhupada, but qualitatively they cannot even come close. Only a pure devotee can produce pure devotees, and only Srila Prabhupada has produced so many genuine candidates for pure devotional service -- and those from the most unlikely source. This is not to minimize the importance of expanding the Krsna consciousness movement by all possible means, or to suggest that advancing in Krsna consciousness should be attempted independently of the standard process of cooperating within the sankirtana movement. But we have to keep the proper focus.
- From the "My Memories of Srila Prabhupada" by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami
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