KKS in Australia 2004.
In 1999 I was doing a seminar which is called “From ’66 to ‘99”, you can look at my fingers- from ’66 to ’99! So in ’66 everything was, ‘ Yes, Yes we’re all going back to Godhead! No doubt about it.’ In ’99, the mood was, ‘If your guru is a Paramahamsa priyasakhi and somehow or other you get the right association and you surrender completely to the process, then maybe after many, many lifetimes, theoretically it is possible that someone may go back to Godhead!
We’ve never seen it happen; it doesn’t really happen. But there is a rumour that Prabhupada said, some people say that Prabhupada said (we’re not even sure) that you can go back to godhead in this very lifetime!’
That’s like…come on! Bizarre! So anyway, ‘From ’66 to ‘99’ was the seminar. It was really interesting. And then now we have the ISKCON of the new millennium- whatever that is, I’m trying to figure it out! But whatever may be, here we are. But the point is that actually, nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. The same potency is still here now. Srila Prabhupada brought the very same potency that was available to the associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; he brought the very same process. He brought everything that the associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu got from Lord Caitanya directly; Prabhupada brought it to the hippies on the lower east side. And now, it is still there! And if one simply takes up the process with great faith and just follow it and be sure that everything will be all right, if we take shelter of the process, of the simple process to chant Hare Krsna and to preach Krsna consciousness, to take shelter of these books, read Prabhupada’s books; then surely everything will happen.
It is said that Haridas Thakura was once with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was asking. “What about all those living entities who are in very low bodies, who cannot chant? Such as the trees and all kind of species that cannot chant, what about them?”
Haridas said, “No problem my Lord! They are already delivered. Just the echo of the chanting that bounces off the trees will deliver the trees and those living beings that hear the chanting, they also will be delivered.” And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was saying that how could have Haridas understood His purpose. So this is a very significant pastime because from that pastime we can understand that studying the books is not an intellectual, academic pursuit. It is not a matter of analysing the book this way and that way and trying to really philosophically understand the book. That is important- if we have that capacity. But, the essence is more to take the spirit at heart and if we simply take up the mood of faith- the same mood of faith that is displayed by the great devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; who totally believed that if you take shelter of the Holy Name and simply glorify Krsna that all success will be there.
