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Later, speaking alone in the quiet ambience of Prabhupada's room, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami brought up a topic that he found had recently become a common concern amongst devotees -- the threat of nuclear war. He broached the subject carefully. "Srila Prabhupada, now India has the nuclear bomb and other small nations are rushing to get it"

"What is this nuclear bomb?" asked Srila Prabhupada bluntly with a dismissive movement of his hand. "I will drop it on you, and you in turn will drop it on me. What is the advancement over the dogs? This fearfulness of one nation for another with nuclear bombs is the dogs' mentality. Sometimes, even when chained by their respective masters, two dogs will fight as soon as they meet." Prabhupada looked at Satsvarupa and raised his eyebrows. "Have you seen it? It is no better than that."

Satsvarupa Goswami, pursuing a vague anxiety, ventured further. "Devotees sometimes think we are planning for the long-term future, when we distribute our books to schools and libraries; but if everything is going to end in nuclear war"

"Assure them," said Srila Prabhupada, "that there will be no nuclear war if they take to Krsna consciousness. And even if there is nuclear war, that is not going to end everything. Formerly there was the brahmastra. Everything is under the control of the Supreme Lord. We are not afraid of the nuclear bomb, because the soul cannot be killed by the atom bomb. Do you know that? Have you read it? So what do they want to do in fear of the nuclear bomb? To sit down and do nothing and cry?"

"Well," said Satsvarupa, "we are asking people to invest in sixty volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam, but they might say, 'I don't want to make such a long term investment in the future, because there is nuclear war ahead'."

Prabhupada answered with clear logic: "Then why are they going to the university? Why don't they stop eating? Do they mean one should not go for an education and should not have any hope and should stop everything?"

"Yes," answered Satsvarupa, "some think like that -- that it is all doom."

Srila Prabhupada's face expressed his concern that people were thinking in that way. He repeated to Satsvarupa that he should assure people that there will be no such war if they become Krsna conscious. "In fact," he concluded, "because of our Krsna consciousness movement, there will be no nuclear war."

Prabhupada paused. "And if there is," he added, "the soul cannot be killed, so we are not afraid that the bomb will kill the soul." Srila Prabhupada said nothing more and soon Satsvarupa excused himself to attend to his afternoon duties. He was impressed that even though the world situation was bad, and worsening due to the influence of the age of Kali, Prabhupada had full faith in the process of Krsna consciousness.

"Certainly," thought Satsvarupa, "if we just follow Srila Prabhupada, then we'll receive Krsna's blessings, and the collision course of the world will be changed."


- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu