8 Proofs That Srila Prabhupada Is A Pure Devotee

by Damaghosa dasa

Below we have 8 proofs that Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee of the Lord. So many pretenders and cheaters today falsely  claim the status of a bona fide spiritual master, but if they do not have these  qualifications then they cannot be considered pure devotees of the Lord and  therefore not qualified to initiate anyone into the transcendental science of  bhakti yoga, or devotional service.

“UNLESS ONE IS UNDER THE  SHELTER OF A REALIZED SPIRITUAL MASTER, HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUPREME  IS SIMPLY FOOLISHNESS.”   Teachings of Lord Caitanya  (TLC).

“When a devotee is  perfectly qualified in chanting the Transcendental vibration of the Holy  Names, he is quite fit to become  Spiritual Master  and  deliver all the people of the world.” (TLC)


 Prabhupada is a pure devoteePrabhupada-happy-in-his-garden-in-Los-Angeles-USA

1.) Guest (3): So, Srila Prabhupada,  have you realized God? Srila Prabhupada: What do you think?  What is your opinion? Guest (3): I can’t say. Srila  Prabhupada: Then if I say, “yes,” then what you will understand? If you  are not yourself expert, then even if I say, “Yes, I am God realized,” how you  will take it as truth? If you do not know what is God realization, then how you  can ask this question and how you will be satisfied by the answer? You do not  know. Guest (3): Well, what is God realization? Srila  Prabhupada: Then… Then you were asking, “Are you God realized?” If I say,  “Yes,” then how you’ll believe it? You do not know what is God realization. Then  why do you put this question? You do not know yourself. If I say, “Yes,” how  you’ll understand that I am right? Therefore you should not put all these  questions. It has no value. You do not know yourself what is God  realization. Now, just like a medical man, if he asks another man, medical man,  so if he says, “Yes,” then medical man will understand him by technical terms  whether he is medical man. So unless one is medical man, what is the use of  asking another man, “Are you medical man?” Unless you are prepared to take  the answer whatever I give. Are you prepared?  Guest (3):  Yes.  Srila Prabhupada: Then it is all right. I am. I am  seeing God every moment. So unless we are prepared to take the answer, we  should not put ourself…


 2.) In the Caitanya Mangala by Locana  das Thakur, pg 48,translated by Subhag swami, Lord Gauranga states-“Even if  the sinners reject religion or flee to foreign countries, still they will get  the mercy. I will send mor senapati bhakta to go there and deliver  them.  [Mor means My; senapati means a military field commander, and bhakta  means a devotee. So Lord Caitanya will empower His own devotee to spread Krsna  Consciousness around the world.]

This was a prediction  of the appearance of Srila Prabhupada and his worldwide preaching activities  where he would travel the world over, open 108 temples, and initiate millions  into the chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. How could this person be  anything less than a Maha Bhagavat, empowered pure devotee of Lord  Gauranga?


 3.) Wednesday,  March 6, 1968       Freeport,  Grand Bahama Island Letter to Andrea Temple
“Yes, whoever  you tell the chant to, it is effective. You have heard it from me and my  disciples, similarly I have heard it from my Guru Maharaja, and so on, and  on. Because you have heard it from a pure devotee of the Lord,  therefore it is transmitted from you to another. Just as an aerial  message, is transmitted from one place to another, similarly, this Guru  parampara system is working. My disciples are my agents, my  representatives, so by hearing it from them, you are receiving it from  me. And because you are a sincere soul, those who are hearing  the Mantra from you are receiving it in disciplic succession, from Lord Caitanya  and from Lord  Krishna.”


 4.)  Saturday, December 16, 1967  

San Francisco, Calif.
When I left your country on the 22nd of  July, I had very little hope to come back again. But Krishna informed me that  I’m not going to die immediately; therefore, I have come back again to get  inspiration of Krishna Consciousness from you all good souls. Although  officially I am your Spiritual Master, I consider you all students as my  Spiritual Master because your love for Krishna and service for Krishna teach me  how to become a sincere Krishna Conscious person.


 5.) Yes the spiritual master is also  present in his picture, though more importantly he is present  in his teachings. I think this is explained in one letter that has already  been distributed.

Thank you very much for assisting me in this  way. Hope this finds you in good health.

Your ever well wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta  Swami

ABCS/bmdg Sukadeva das Adhikary, Seattle  ISKCON

Calcutta 29 January  1973


 6.) 70-06-21.Tam              Letter: Tamala Krsna            

   So far I am concerned, I cannot  say what I was in my previous life,  but one great astrologer calculated that I was previously  a physician and my life was  sinless. Besides that, to corroborate the statement of Bhagavad-gita “sucinam srimatam gehe yogabhrasta  samyayate” which means an unfinished  yogi takes birth in rich family or born of a suci or pious father. By the grace of Krsna I got these two  opportunities in the present life to  be born of a pious father and brought up in one of the richest, aristocratic families of Calcutta  (Kasinath Mullick). The Radha  Krsna Deity in this family called me to meet Him, and therefore last time when I was in Calcutta, I stayed in  that temple along with my American  disciples. Although I had immense opportunities to indulge in the four principles of sinful life because  I was connected with a very  aristocratic family, Krsna always saved me, and throughout my whole life I do not know what is illicit  sex,intoxication, meat-eating  or gambling. So far my present life is concerned, I do not remember any part of my life  when I was forgetful of Krsna.


 7.) SB  2.3.15 P  But Maharaja Pariksit was more than that because he had been a  great devotee of the Lord since his previous birth, and as such he took his  birth in an imperial family of the Kurus, and especially that of the  Pandavas. So from the very beginning of his childhood he had the chance to  know intimately the devotional service of Lord Krsna in his own family.  The Pandavas, all being devotees of the Lord, certainly venerated family  Deities in the royal palace for worship. Children who appear in such  families fortunately generally imitate such worship of the Deities, even in  the way of childhood play. By the grace of Lord Sri Krsna, we had  the chance of being born in a Vaisnava family, and in our childhood  we imitated the worship of Lord Krsna by imitating our father. Our  father encouraged us in all respects to observe all functions such as  the Ratha-yatra and Dola-yatra ceremonies, and he used to spend  money liberally for distributing prasada to us children and our friends.  Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaisnava family,  got all inspirations from his great Vaisnava father, Thakura  Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaisnava families. The celebrated  Mira Bai was a staunch devotee of Lord Krsna as the great lifter  of Govardhana Hill.   The life history of many such  devotees is almost the same because there is always symmetry between the  early lives of all great devotees of the Lord. According to Jiva  Gosvami, Maharaja Pariksit must have heard about the childhood pastimes of  Lord Krsna at Vrndavana, for he used to imitate the pastimes with his young  playmates. According to Sridhara Svami, Maharaja Pariksit used to imitate the  worship of the family Deity by elderly members. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti  also confirms the viewpoint of Jiva Gosvami. So accepting either of  them, Maharaja Pariksit was naturally inclined to Lord Krsna from his  very childhood. He might have imitated either of the  above-mentioned activities, and all of them establish his great devotion from  his very childhood, a symptom of a maha-bhagavata. Such  maha-bhagavatas are called nitya-siddhas, or souls liberated from  birth.


 8.) SB 4.18.5   A foolish person who manufactures his  own ways and means through mental speculation and does not recognize the  authority of the sages who lay down unimpeachable directions is simply  unsuccessful again and again in his attempts.

 PURPORT –   At the present moment it has  become fashionable to disobey the unimpeachable directions given by the  acaryas and liberated souls of the past. Presently people are so fallen that  they cannot distinguish between a liberated soul and a conditioned soul.  A conditioned soul is hampered by four defects: he is sure to commit mistakes,  he is sure to become illusioned, he has a tendency to cheat others, and his  senses are imperfect. Consequently we have to take direction from liberated  persons.This Krsna consciousness movement directly receives instructions  from the Supreme personality of Godhead via persons (Srila  Prabhupada) who are strictly following His instructions.  Although a follower may not be a liberated person, if he follows the supreme,  liberated Personality of Godhead, his actions are naturally liberated from the  contamination of the material nature. Lord Caitanya therefore says: “By My order  you (Srila Prabhupada) may become a spiritual master.” One can  immediately become a spiritual master by having full faith in the transcendental  words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by following His  instructions. Materialistic men are not interested in taking directions from  a liberated person, but they are very much interested in their own concocted  ideas, which make them repeatedly fail in their attempts. Because the  entire world is now following the imperfect directions of conditioned souls,  humanity is completely bewildered.


 

Conclusions
  1. In number 1 Prabhupada tells us he is seeing God at every moment.
  2. The divine appearance and activities of Srila Prabhupada, a saktyavesh  avatar, is made in the 16th century by a great devotee of Lord Gauranga.
  3. He tells us that when we hear his messages we are hearing them from  a pure devotee of the Lord.
  4. He tells us that Lord Krsna directly spoke to him about how long he had to live.
  5. He tells us that he is actually present in his picture or  photograph. What kind of person has this power, but a pure devotee?
  6. He says that a famous Indian astrologer told him he was without  sins in his previous life and Srila Prabhupada personally says that in this  life, there never was a time that he forgot Lord Krsna. 
  7. He tells us that there is always some kind of symmetry in the early lives of  pure devotees and their later lives. This means they are born into very  pious pure devotee families.
  8. He tells us that this Krsna Conscious movement  (namely all of us) are directly getting instructions from the Supreme Lord thru  him, Srila Prabhupada. Just like the demigods got instructions for their work  thru Lord Brahma, when they all went to Svetadvipa and chanted the Purusha sukta  prayers to Lord Visnu, then Lord Visnu spoke His instructions thru the heart of  Lord Brahma and he then gave those same instructions to all the attending  demigods present.
 
So if anyone is aspiring to have a bonafide spiritual master direct him ,  then he needs to have these above qualifications-otherwise you can be sure  without these few mentioned above (and there are many more) you have a  “counterfeit guru”. So dont be cheated, take shelter at the lotus feet of a pure  devotee of the Lord, A C Bhaktivedanta  Swami Srila  Prabhhupada.!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *