Srila Prabhupada: “I Never Said That”

Srila Prabhupada: “I Never Said That”
[http://vaniquotes.org/wiki/I_never_said]

Srila Prabhupada: “Under the pretext that ” Krishna said, “My spiritual master has said,” “Prabhupada has said,” we manufacture something. Don’t do that.” (Lecture, sept. 28, 1976, Vrindavan)

All Glories To Srila Prabhupada. Please accept my humble obeisances.

It is always a dangerous situation when we quote second or third hand without shastrik reference what Srila Prabhupad supposedly said. Often we find that indeed he didn’t say that, or even worse the person we got it from had misconstrued the entire thing to mean something completely different, or even according to where we are at and what we’re undergoing with those around us we emphasise a certain word or term to get extra milage out of what “Prabhupad said“. There can be many incidents that thus take us away from the truth – it is known as Chinese whispers. As each person passes the message on the original words of the speaker are either lost, or become incoherant, or downright changed. However, that is not what Srila Prabhupad’s teachings stand for, that is not his emphasis. Rather his stood for following the parampara, handing the words down unaltered, nothing added, nothing taken away, just like men who stand in the branches of a Mango tree they carefully pass each ripe mango fruit to the next person in the line down the branches of the tree. No one adds anything, no one takes anything away, and no changes are made to the original fruit. Thus consumers of fine mango fruits can relish the unadulterated nectarean taste of that pure fruit AS IT IS, and share that in confidence with all that they meet.

This paper shows just some of the misunderstandings or even in many cases open defiance against Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada clearly stated many times “I never said that.”

74-05-08. Letter: Govinda
The enclosed newspaper story, “Krishna followers freed from police harassment,” is just further testimony of the great victory made by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Chicago. I understand that the Chicago area is the most lucrative place in the world for distribution of our books and that you have done very careful work in getting all permission. Therefore this rumor that within a few years there will be police repression and people will have no more money to buy books and sankirtana will stop is completely bogus. Whoever told you that is a rascal, saying it in my name. I never said that. Rather sankirtana movement will expand, continuing so long as we are sincere.

74-08-08. Letter: Satsvarupa
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 26, 1974 and your Vyasa Puja Offering. It is very encouraging that many professors have purchased books for themselves and are considering to order them for their students. I very much like this program of the standing orders. Try to increase it up to 50,000 such orders from the libraries. I have written to Bali Mardan Goswami in this connection. Regarding the remark that distributing a book to a professor is 100 times better than to a ordinary man, I never said that. I said it was very important.

74-09-25. Letter: Sukadeva
Regarding your question that if I have ever said that the Society authorities must suffer for the devotees under their protection, no, I never said that.

74-12-12. Letter: Gopijanavallabha:
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated October 27, 1974 and have also seen your letter addressed to Brahmananda Swami dated November 21, 1974. I never said that what Taitiriya was doing should be overlooked because of getting the buildings. Anyway where are the buildings? Bali Mardan says he will know who she is in the next 8 weeks, so just see he has made her pregnant twice, thrice, and he does not know who she is?

75-03-18. Letter: Hanuman
Please accept my blessings. I have received one letter from Narayana dasa, saying that he has been informed by some of your men that you are GBC there and that he must subjugate to your authority. I never said that you were the GBC there. You cannot say that.

76-09-11. Letter: Sukadeva
As far as the problems mentioned in your letter, especially the comments attributed to you, I may clearly say that I never said that.

76-10-22. Letter: Sudama
I never said that your troupe should come to Bombay for the opening. That is not very necessary.

76-10-23. Letter: Gurudasa
I never said that you should go undercover for preaching in Eastern Europe. Everything should be done openly and very carefully. Krsna will protect your efforts.

76-10-25. Letter: Vidya
In answer to your questions; 1) Tulasi is one devotee who appears wherever there is devotion to Krsna. 2) Tulasi’s body is spiritual. 3) Yes, jewelry is alright. 4) If possible. 5) Tulasi leaves should be offered to the Deity. 6) If possible. 7) Yes. 8) Yes. 9) You may cut the dead branches, but what is the necessity. 10) I never said that. 11) No. 12) Yes. 13) Use the wood for beads as far as possible, the balance may be placed within the earth. 14) I said no chemical sprays. 15) Undisturbed means what? 16) Use common sense and if you have none then consult with others. 17) No. 18) Don’t try to introduce something new. The most important thing is the love and devotion.

750513mw.per Conversations
Paramahamsa: Srila Prabhupada, I remember once I heard a tape where you told us that we should not try to read the books of previous acaryas.

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Amogha: That we should not try to read Bhaktivinoda’s books or earlier books of other, all acaryas. So I was just wondering…
Prabhupada: I never said that.

Amogha: You didn’t say that? Oh.
Prabhupada: How is that?

Amogha: I thought you said that we should not read the previous acaryas’ books.
Prabhupada: No, you should read.

Amogha: We should.
Prabhupada: It is misunderstanding.

Paramahamsa: I think maybe he was thinking that there was some things about some of the Gaudiya Matha books.
Prabhupada: Maybe.

Paramahamsa: And sometimes you said that better not to…, better to read your books.

Amogha: When the devotees went to India this year, they said that Acyutananda Swami very…, chastised them that “You should never… If I catch any of you buying Bhaktisiddhanta’s books from Gaudiya Matha then I will take it away,” something like this.

Paramahamsa: Yeah, that was, the reason was because of, he didn’t want the devotees going to Gaudiya Matha. But there’s nothing wrong with the idea of studying the previous acaryas’ books.

Prabhupada: No. Who said? That is wrong. We are following previous acaryas. I never said that.

Paramahamsa: All of your commentaries are coming from the previous acaryas.
Prabhupada: Yes.

Jayadharma: But that wouldn’t mean that we should keep all the previous acaryas’ books and only read them.
Prabhupada: That is already there. You first of all assimilate what you have got. You simply pile up books and do not read–what is the use?

Jayadharma: First of all we must read all your books.
Prabhupada: Yes.

760607mw.la Conversations
Mahendra: Eating maha-prasadam is also fasting.
Prabhupada: Who says?
Mahendra: You said that to Paramahamsa Swami once.
Prabhupada: And you heard from Paramahamsa.
Mahendra: No, I was in the room. It was when he was trying to observe Caturmasya.
Prabhupada: I never said that.
Mahendra: Oh, okay, I must have heard wrong.
Prabhupada: If there is service and, on my fasting, service will be stopped, then I can take. First consideration, service. Now if somebody feels weak, he can take maha-prasada, render service.

760731rc.par Conversations
Bhagavan: The boys, they should learn how also to cook?

Prabhupada: Huh? I never said that. Why you are bringing that question? I said the girls should be. Cooking is not boy’s business. But cooking is not a very difficult art. If they want, the boys can… (coughs) There are so many, in the Bhakti-rasamrta sindhu it is stated, how Radharani was qualified. So these things should be taught to the girls. If the girls are taught to give service to the husband to the greatest satisfaction, there will be no disagreement.

75-09-02.Omk Letter: Omkara
Please accept my blessings. I have seen your letter dated August 17, 1975 and have noted the contents. I never said there should be no more marriage. By all means legally you can get married. How can I object? They misunderstand me. Unless it is there from me in writing, there are so many things that “Prabhupada said.”

I have no objection to marriage, but to bless it by a fire sacrifice, that I am thinking that if they don’t stay together, then it is not good. But if they can remain together for one year, then there can be fire sacrifice. But changing three times in a month husband and wife, that is not good.

Finally Srila Prabhupada knew these Most Dangerous “spiritual masters” and also warned this in his books:

Madhya 1.218 The Later Pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says, chadiya vaisnava seva nistara payeche keba: unless one serves a Vaisnava, he cannot be delivered. The spiritual master initiates the disciple to deliver him, and if … two brothers, Rupa and Sanatana, who had just been initiated by the Lord. When a Vaisnava sees that another Vaisnava is a recipient of the Lord’s mercy, he becomes very happy. Vaisnavas are not envious. If a Vaisnava, by the mercy of the Lord, is empowered by Him to distribute the Lord’s … is, if they are truly Vaisnavas.

One who is envious of the success of a Vaisnava is certainly not a Vaisnava himself, but an ordinary mundane man. Envy and jealousy are manifested by mundane people, not by Vaisnavas. Why should a Vaisnava be envious of another Vaisnava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaisnava is very pleased to accept another Vaisnava who is bestowing the Lord’s mercy.

A mundane person in the dress of a Vaisnava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the sastra (upeksa). The word … or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krsna consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaisnava. When Narottama dasa Thakura says chadiya vaisnava seva nistara payeche keba, he is indicating an actual Vaisnava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaisnava.

Isopanisad 12
The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor detachment from material affairs, for most of them want to live in the golden shackles of material bondage under the shadow of philanthropic activities disguised as religious principles. By a false display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acaryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession. They ignore the Vedic injunction acaryopasana–“One must worship the acarya”–and Krsna’s statement in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2) evam parampara- praptam, “This supreme science of God is received through the disciplic succession.” Instead, to mislead the people in general they themselves become so-called acaryas, but they do not even follow the principles of the acaryas. These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society.

Because there is no religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the state. They cannot, however, escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in the Bhagavad-gita that envious demons in the garb of religious propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest regions of hell (Bg. 16.19-20). Sri Isopanisad confirms that these pseudo religionists are heading toward the most obnoxious place in the universe after the completion of their spiritual master business, which they conduct simply for sense gratification.

Thank-you very much.
Mahesh Raja
In the Service of Srila Prabhupada,
[http://vaniquotes.org/wiki/I_never_said]

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THE “PRABHUPADA SAYS” MYTHS

1) Dec 7 1975 Vrndavana

Aksayānanda: I heard that if you pass stool more than once a day you become a bhogī? You are called a bhogī?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Aksayānanda: Does that mean a serious devotee should only pass stool once a day?
Prabhupāda: Don’t artificially do that. (laughter) First of all become yogi. Then do it.
Aksayānanda: Yes. Of course, it can only be done by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, but one should at least try for that.
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Don’t try for passing stool once. (laughter) That does not make you a yogi.
Bhavananda: Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā [Bg. 6.47].
Prabhupāda: Antara… Yes. That makes you yogi, not by passing stool. (laughter) Hare Kṛṣṇa. [break] Huh?

2 ) Nov 1 1975 Nairobi

Jñāna: Prabhupāda, I’ve heard that even in hell the people think they are enjoying. Is that right?

Prabhupāda: Where you have heard? (laughter)
Jñāna: I thought that that was your own words.
Prabhupāda: Don’t think like that.
Cyavana: Not to think but to know.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our position.

Cyavana: As soon as he says, “I think,” he’s disqualified. As soon as he’s speculating.

Devotee (8): Prabhupāda? Some of the people I’ve met… Like in the later volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, some of the information is so much against what the living entities are experiencing and being educated in, that I’ve noticed that some people have turned away from Kṛṣṇa who already had some attraction when they hear these different topics, like the situation of the universe.

Prabhupāda: Hm? What is that?

Brahmānanda: That because in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the knowledge there contradicts the mundane scientific knowledge, people who had some faith in Kṛṣṇa become discouraged and turn away from Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Let him go away. Don’t care for him. Let all the fools go away. There is Bengali proverb, “Instead of maintaining some bad cows, let the cowshed be vacant.” We shall prefer the cowshed vacant, no cow, than keeping all bad cows who does not give any milk, create disturbance.

Devotee (8): In our temple…

Prabhupāda: We are giving chance, but we don’t want bad cows. We haven’t got to agree with their views. They must agree with our views, then they can live. Otherwise let them go away. This is position.

Indian man (9): Your Divine Grace, are we all equal in sight of God?

Brahmānanda: Are we all equal in the eyes of God?

Prabhupāda: But if you become unequal, you must go away. No. His question was they are disturbed. So that means they are unequal. Why they should be disturbed?

Cyavana: Kṛṣṇa says, “All of them, as they surrender, I reward accordingly.” So that means they are surrendering in different…

Prabhupāda: Yes. He has not surrendered. He keeps himself separate from Kṛṣṇa, and he is, artificially he shows surrender. Surrender does not mean that you reserve something for you. That is not surrender. Surrender means without reservation. That is surrender.

Devotee (8): Devotional service must be unconditional, or else it will drive us away.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like a child is surrendered to the parents. The parents say, “Sit down here.” He sit down. That’s all. No argument. That is surrender.

Indian (10): Śrīla Prabhupāda, when we speak of parts and parcels of God, does it mean that we were there with God before we came to this world?

Prabhupāda: You are part and parcel then? What is that?

Brahmānanda: If we are part and parcels of God does it mean that we were with God before coming to the…

Prabhupāda: You are always with God, even your rebellious condition, you are with God. Just like a prisoner. A prisoner is always with the government, (laughter) but in one department he is kicked, and in one department he is patted. That’s all. So if you prefer to be kicked, you remain in māyā. But you are always in connection with God.

Indian man (11): Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “I am in everything.”

Prabhupāda: Yes. Your, this punishment condition is also God’s creation, external energy. You cannot live for a second without God. But one who knows, he is blessed, and who does not know, he is condemned. But you know or not know, you are always with God. That is your position.

Devotee (12): Śrīla Prabhupāda, how best can we present the teachings of…
Prabhupāda: Just abide by the orders of God and His representative. Then you be happy. Otherwise not.

3) Dec 10 1975 Vrndavana

Akṣayānanda: I was recently told by one devotee that the ācārya does not have to be a pure devotee.

Prabhupāda: What?
Akṣayānanda: That the ācārya does not have to be a pure devotee.
Prabhupāda: Who is that rascal?
Akṣayānanda: Well, he said it. Who said it?

Prabhupāda: Who said? Who is that rascal? The ācārya does not require to be a pure devotee?

Akṣayānanda: He said it. Nitāi said it. He said it in this context. He said that Lord Brahm is the ācārya in the Brahma-sampradāya, but yet he is sometimes afflicted by passion. So therefore he is saying that it appears that the ācārya does not have to be a pure devotee. So it does not seem right.

Prabhupāda: So who is that rascal? I want to know who has said.

Akṣayānanda: Nitāi. Nitāi dāsa.
Harikeśa: Nitāi said that?
Prabhupāda: Who is Nitāi dāsa?
Harikeśa: Our Nitāi.
Akṣayānanda: Nitāi.
Prabhupāda: Oh, our Nitāi? Oh.

Akṣayānanda: He said he couldn’t understand it, but he thought, he said that he thought…

Prabhupāda: He manufactured his idea. Therefore he’s a rascal. Therefore he’s a rascal. Nitāi has become an authority?

Akṣayānanda: No, actually he said that he thought…

Prabhupāda: He thought something rascaldom, and he is expressing that. Therefore he is more rascal. These things are going on. As soon as he reads some books, he becomes an ācārya, whatever rascal he may be.

Akṣayānanda: So there’s no doubt that Lord Brahm is a pure devotee?

Prabhupāda: Whatever he may be, he is ācārya. So you… Then Kṛṣṇa is also passionate. Kṛṣṇa is also passionate. Kṛṣṇa danced with so many gopīs; therefore He is passionate. They… These things are to be seen in this way, that “Such exalted person, he sometimes become passionate, so how much we shall be careful.” This is the instruction. Then we petty things, petty persons, how much we shall be careful. It is not that “Ācārya has become passionate, therefore I shall become passionate. I am strict followers of ācārya.” These rascals say.

Harisauri: So Lord Brahma’s being attracted to his daughter, that is just as an example…

Prabhupāda: So why you discuss this? Therefore you shall be attracted with your daughter, mother? Do you think so, like that?

Akṣayānanda: No.
Indian man: In this world this is our disease. This is our disease.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That disease… Brahma… Lord Śiva also, he was attracted to the Mohinī. So they are īśvara. They are controllers. So the instruction is that even such personalities may be sexually attracted, so how much we shall remain careful. This is the instruction. [break] …like the other rascal. Who was saying that “Kṛṣṇa was killed by a hunter; therefore hunter is greater than Kṛṣṇa”?

Indian man: Raja Gopalācārya, he has written in Mahābhārata that Kṛṣṇa was killed by a hunter.
Prabhupāda: Therefore the hunter is…
Indian man: “Kṛṣṇa Passes Away,” the heading of his chapter.

Harikeśa: You said about a couple of years ago that “What ordinary man would be killed if he was shot in the arrow by a heel,” I mean, “shot in the heel by an arrow?” No ordinary man dies that way.

Prabhupāda: So who reads Raja Gopalācārya’s Mahābhārata? (laughter) They are rotting at Bharatiya Vidyabhavan.

Akṣayānanda: They’re rotting in the bookshelves and the insects are eating.

Indian man: But in Somanath… I went last year there when I was in Gujarat. The people, they don’t believe, the people of Somanath, that he was killed by… like that. So these philosophers, simply for their name, they put some kind of theories so that people can, “Oh!” They can understand all this nonsense. [break]

Prabhupāda: These pastimes of Kṛṣṇa is to make the fools more fool. One who is thinking of Kṛṣṇa as ordinary man, Kṛṣṇa is playing this part to show them, “Yes, see. I am dying, this. You see.”

Indian man: What He said? Avajānanti mā mūḍhāḥ.

Prabhupāda: Mūḍha janmani janmani [Bg. 16.20]. He’ll remain mūḍha janmani janmani [Bg. 16.20]. This is this pastime. Life after life, he shall remain a fool, rascal. So this Raja Gopalācārya and company, they’ll remain in darkness life after life. For them this pastime is there. Avajānanti mā mūḍh mānusīm tanum āśritaḥ: “The rascals, they think of Me as ordinary human being.” To such rascals, He is playing like: “Yes, you see I am ordinary human being. Just see. I am dying.” This is… To keep them life after life in darkness. If it is so easy to understand Kṛṣṇa, that He is dying-Acchā. “I have read it. I have seen. He has died.” Then what is the use of saying, manuṣyāṇā sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānām [Bg. 7.3]? Out of many millions of persons one can understand Kṛṣṇa. Then what is the use of saying this? If it is so easy to understand Kṛṣṇa, what He is doing, what for He is doing, then everyone could understand Kṛṣṇa. Then what is the use of saying, manuṣyāṇā sahasreṣu? This requires intelligence.

Some Conclusions-We began this short collection with some devotee thinking that to become a REAL yogi one must pass stool only once a day. Then the next one was about how people in hell were actually enoying life. The third one was how some devotee heard from the rascal Nitai das that the Acarya does not have to be a pure devotee.

So this is only 3 examples of how much and how often devotees got it and continue to get it wrong, their so called understanding of what Srila Prabhuapada was teaching. These things got so bad that even Srila Prabhupada himself coined the term-”Prabhupada says” just to point out to us that we be careful of what others tell us as “truth”.

The quest for truth is there in all of us, but to guard against lying , cheating and our own faulty selves we must be very careful about what we accept as “Absolute Truth. If one accepts and fully understands what conditional life means and how only one who is NOT conditioned can give us perfect answers, then the next thing is WHO can give these truths to us? That is another topic but which must be studied thoroughly otherwise we will continue to be cheated by others and even our own selves. In the last quote Srila Prabhupada is telling us that what ordinary man dies from an arrow shot in his heel? But Krsna did this pastime just to fool all the fools life after life because they wont accept the foolproof param para system of perfect knowledge handed down since time immemorial by the perfect Acaryas.

Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das