Dear Srila Prabhupada:
I offer my heartfelt dandavats to your transcendental Lotus Feet. Please accept my small life into your caring hands, and never let me go.
Since I wrote you last year, the world situation has shown so many symptoms of advancing Kali yuga. The earth continues to bear the burden of sins by her inhabitants, showing a vast increase in earthquakes, weather calamities, severe drought, mass famine, pestilence and economic crises.
For many, there appears to be no spiritual support or shelter; the ‘haves and have nots’ being sharply divided. This year, more than most, we have seen a great downfall in the level of confidence for the managing of government and banking.
Millions have lost all of their savings, their homes have been taken by the bank and the government is at fault. Everything you shared with us through the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam are coming to pass very rapidly.
In 1936, shortly before the passing away of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada, he was stationed at Jagannath Puri Dhama.
From his bhajan kutir at Chataka Parvata, he performed constant chanting of the Holy Name, and penned the famous letter to you where he asked you to spread the mission to the English speaking world. In 1944 on the Vyasa Puja Day of your Divine Master, you dedicated your first Back to Godhead publication and indicated the contents of this letter to be your call to action.
From the very beginning of your mission you used words such as ‘urgent’, ‘mandate’, ‘moral re-armament’, and responded to politics of the world war going on, by preaching that governments were militarizing under the guise of nationalizing.
You wrote: “This dangerous ignorance of humanity is a gross nescience and has created a dangerous civilization in the form of militarization. This militarization, which in softer language, is nationalization, is an external barrier to come to an understanding of human relation” (1944, p. 2).
Your commentary on world war included the direct quotations of world leaders who were all speaking and writing on the desperate situation for millions of their citizens.
You responded directly to the likes of 236 members of the British House of Commons, Ex-president of the United States – Herbert Hoover, Sir Stafford Cripps- the Lord Privy Seal of Britain, Mr. Wendel Wilkes, Foreign Secretary of Britain, Mr. Anthony Eden, Sir Francis Younghusband, who spoke to the World Congress of Faiths, Sir Sarvapalli Radhakrsnan, and The Archbishop of Canterbury – who himself directly stated of the war that “our resolve must be back to God” (p. 8) quoting this in all capital letters in your publication.
You combined their statements with the order of your Guru Maharaja and thereby dedicated your publication as “Back to Godhead” joining in the fight for peace and spiritual shelter.
You wrote that “these psychological movements of the leaders of all countries-combined with the orders of my Divine Master Sri Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada has led me to venture to start a paper under the above name and style “BACK TO GODHEAD” which implies all the words we may intend to say in this connection” (p. 3).
Always keeping in touch with the times, you continued to address directly the Indian national and international audience, providing clear evidence for needing to attend to spiritual life as the panacea for all ills. You boldly declared at every possible instance we would become happy and secure when we gave up our attention to worldly matters and engaged in the chanting of Hare Krsna and activities of culturing of Bhakti.
For the purpose of providing all solutions to the world stage, you presented the Srimad Bhagavatam as the cream of India’s Vedas- that which could provide both spiritual wisdom and practical application for persons from all walks of life.
Beyond the boundaries of religious, cultural, institutional, political, and philosophical treaties, you implored the United Nations to be responsible for enacting true unity from a spiritual foundation.
You introduced the practical application of Daivi Varna-ashrama Dharma, the solution to the suffering caste system and ordinary disregard for historical varna-ashram.
This cut across national boundaries to the international community, where you implored one and all to take to the non-sectarian culture of Krsna Consciousness following this Daivi Varna-ashrama system for all creatures, human and animal, by accepting the principles of Lord Caitanya’s declaration: na ham vipro na ca nara patir, na pi vaisyo, na sudro…that we are not Brahmin, kshatriya, vaisya, nor sudra.
Nor brahmacari, grihastha, vanaprastha, nor sannyasa. That we are: gopi bhartu pada, kamal layor, dasa, dasa, anu dasa: the servant of the servant of the servant, a thousand times removed.
Today, this all-inclusive mandate to live a life-style of spiritual culture that includes agriculture, cow protection and dairy, cottage industry, principles of self-sufficiency and abundance, has been inherited to the charge of your sons and daughters and great grand children. We still have a long way to go to bring forward your dreams of established and thriving farming communities.
The big cities were for front-line preaching, and your country ashrams were meant for demonstrating the principles of simple living for high thinking that you constantly wrote about in your purports.
Each member finding his or her natural contribution to Lord Krsna’s temple while fulfilling both personal and greater good. It was your wish that we live this life-style for the rest of our lives.
Therefore, on this most sacred occasion of your appearance, I pray that here in Villa Vrindavan- Florence, Italy, this very beautiful vast acreage may be put into appropriate usage for food and grain production, flower production, honey production, and tree management that may result in a more self-sufficient and abundant life, both for the pleasure of Your Divine Grace and Their Lordships.
If this becomes a strong focus, I believe the manpower will come, the creativity and expertise will come, and devotees will find the endeavor worth the while. Thus sharing your dream for our happiness and the fulfillment of your mission to please your Guru Maharaja.
All Glories to You, Srila Prabhupada.
Sincerely,
Papaharini devi dasi
Reference
Prabhupada, A.C. B.S. (1944). Back to Godhead: 1944-1960 The pioneer years, 1 (1). Los Angeles, CA: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Speak Your Mind