The mood and mission of Srila Prabhupada is to spread unadulterated teachings of Lord Krishna all over the world. So that you and I can lead a Krishna conscious life and ultimately attain love of Krishna. According to Srila Prabhupada the purpose of human form of life is to establish relationship with Krishna and return back to the kingdom of Krishna. This is the panacea for all material sufferings. And this is the ultimate perfection of life.
But for most of the spiritual leaders, spirituality is a means to improve material life. But Prabhupada did not focus much on improving one’s material well – being. Why so? Because he contends that if we lead a pure spiritual life then our material life will be automatically taken care.
In this world, we suffer because of the sins we committed in the past and because of the sins we are committing now because of ignorance. But when we bring Krishna in our life then he burns our past sins and removes our ignorance so that we do not commit any more sins. So, by practicing devotion to Krishna we become happy in this world also.
The mood and mission of Srila Prabhupada is best reflected in the preface of Bhagavad Gita as it is. There are three aspects to it. Let us try to understand:
Three aspects of the mood and mood of Srila Prabhupada
1. To present the message of Krishna to the world without any adulteration.
Srila Prabhupada wrote several books. One of the most widely read books of Srila Prabhupada is his commentary on Bhagavad Gita. He called his Bhagavad Gita commentary as “Bhagavad Gita as it is.” The word “as it is” means that his book presents the message of Krishna without any adulteration.
Srila Prabhupada explains, “Our business is to present the will of Kṛṣṇa, not that of any mundane speculator like the politician, philosopher or scientist, for they have very little knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, despite all their other knowledge.”
There are many scholars who have commented on this sacred book but have misinterpreted Krishna’s message. They use ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to propagate their own agenda. Someone even wrote a book and called it as “My Gita.” It has nothing to do with Krishna’s Gita. Many writers/commentators freely use the word ‘Gita’ because Bhagavad Gita is famous all over the world. Prabhupada strongly condemns these so-called scholars who in guise of writing commentary on Bhagavad Gita present their own mission and not Krishna’s mission.
In his commentary Prabhupada directly talks about Krishna’s mission. Krishna’s words are presented as it is. There is no personal interpretation. Whatever Krishna spoke to Arjuna, the same conversation is presented. Most importantly Prabhupada’s commentary is as per the knowledge which is coming down through the chain of disciplic succession (paramparā). So, it authentic.
2. To establish Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead
In Bhagavad Gita Krishna says that he is the Supreme God. Few examples are:
- “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” Bhagavad Gita 10.8
- “O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” Bhagavad Gita 7.7
Krishna even shows his virat – rupa (universal form) in which entire universe is situated.
Later Arjuna too confirms that Krishna is indeed the Supreme Lord, and this truth has been accepted by great sages like Narada and others.
Arjuna says “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsa confirm this truth about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.” Bhagavad Gita 10.12-13.
In spite of these evidence there are mayavadi scholars and mundane scholars who write commentary on Bhagavad Gita but do not accept Krishna as the Supreme Lord. They reject Krishna. These so-called scholars say that Krishna and his inner spirit are different. They deny Krishna’s personality. But this is mental speculation. There is no verse in Gita where it is said that Krishna and his inner self are different. Prabhupada strongly refutes this illogical understanding.
He writes, “Kṛṣṇa is absolute, and there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s name, Kṛṣṇa’s form, Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, etc.” In his Bhagavad Gita commentary, Prabhupada again and again underlines that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He gives reference from Bhagavad Gita and also from other Vedic literatures to confirm Krishna’s Supreme position.
3. To educate people that real happiness is in serving Krishna and not in serving one’s senses
Prabhupada has made one thing very clear that no matter how hard you and I try but we cannot attain complete bliss as long as we have material consciousness. The more we try to fulfil our material desires, more miserable we become.
We are souls and Krishna is the Supersoul. As souls, we are part and parcel of Krishna. We are eternally related to Krishna. Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is the Supreme Controller, the cause of all causes. He is the source of all happiness.
So, to attain eternal happiness, we should connect ourselves to Krishna. We should endeavour to develop relationship with Krishna. And how to develop relationship with Krishna has been explained in detail in Bhagavad Gita and other books of Srila Prabhupada.
Whatever activities we do in this world, we should keep Krishna in the centre. Whatever results we achieve we should offer it to Krishna.
Krishna in Bhagavad Gita 9.27 says, “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.”
And instead of satisfying our material senses, we should always try to satisfy Krishna’s senses. This will bring peace and happiness.
And we should regularly chant the names of Krishna like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
By doing so our hearts will get free from all material impurities and we will gradually develop love for Krishna. Once we attain love of Krishna all our sufferings will end. We will attain complete perfection.
Conclusion
The mood and mission of Srila Prabhupada was to fulfil the mission of Krishna. Krishna does not want anyone to suffer. Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of Krishna, felt pain when he saw people are suffering. Prabhupada wanted everyone to live as per the teachings of Krishna given in sacred books like Bhagavad Gita. He wanted people to become devotees of Krishna and attain love of Krishna. This is the best way to attain freedom from all sufferings.
To help people lead a Krishna conscious life, Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON. Today ISKCON is playing a very important role in spreading unadulterated message of Krishna in every nook and corner of the world. Millions of people are becoming devotees of Krishna because of ISKCON.
