EVER SINCE THE BBT Press marathon in the summer of 1975, the Press had continued to keep up with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s writing. A sweet, transcendental competition had developed between Prabhupāda, his Press, and the book distributors. In November of 1975, Prabhupāda had written to one of the leading book distributors,

The BBT says that they are publishing at the speed of my translating and that you will distribute at the pace of publishing. That’s nice. But still I am ahead in my translation work. They owe me now the sixth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. I am working already on the seventh canto.

In recent months, however, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s literary output had been diminishing, mostly because of his involvement in management. His direct supervision of the construction in Bombay, his month-long managerial drive in Vṛndāvana, his struggle to heal a major ISKCON schism – such activities were not conducive to writing. In Māyāpur when the devotees had failed to control the slamming of doors, he had complained bitterly that this “heart-cracking” sound interrupted his meditative translating. He explained that he sometimes thought for two or three days about a single purport before actually writing it.

Actually, the word translating is incomplete in describing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s writing. Translating involved only the verses and synonyms, but Prabhupāda’s deepest meditations – what he referred to as his “personal ecstasies” – were his Bhaktivedanta purports. Composing the purports, as well as translating the verses, came best when he could think about them throughout the day, not just when he turned on his dictating machine at one A.M. He was translating the extremely grave and complex Vedic knowledge into a modern context, thus making it understandable to Western readers. And it was a great, demanding task.

To best speak to the people of the world through his Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam writings, Śrīla Prabhupāda required a very conducive situation. After the Māyāpur festival, therefore, he formulated an itinerary that, in about a month’s time, would bring him to Hawaii. There he expected to find an atmosphere beneficial for his literary work. His traveling secretary, Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa Swami, wrote ahead to Hawaii shortly after the Māyāpur festival.

Prabhupada must do a lot of translating, so don’t set up programs outside. And if there have to be guests, it must be restricted to 5 p.m. only, until about 6:30 each evening. If these things are nicely arranged, then Prabhupada will stay some time to translate.

Since Prabhupāda’s itinerary also included another U.S. tour, his secretary wrote ahead to Kīrtanānanda Swami in New Vrindaban.

Prabhupada has revealed a bit more about things. He said that as time goes on he is less and less concerned about seeing visitors. He mentioned that Aurobindo saw visitors only once a year on his birthday. Although Prabhupada deemed this is not possible now, I asked him where he would like to go for some time to translate. He said New Vrindaban, and he said he would go there after the Ratha-yatra in New York.

Hawaii
May 3, 1976
After brief visits in several Indian cities, as well as stops in Melbourne, Auckland, and Fiji, Śrīla Prabhupāda arrived in Hawaii on schedule. Immediately he began to increase his writing. The devotees were keenly noting the number of digits he ran up each night on his dictating machine, which for them was like a measure of the benediction for all humanity. Whereas in India he had done usually no more than a hundred digits a day, and sometimes none, in Hawaii his rate jumped to two hundred and even three hundred, day after day. Hari-śauri, who had accompanied Prabhupāda from Vṛndāvana as his servant, wrote in his diary, “Prabhupāda is translating like anything now, and he did 290 digits again last night.”

The temple was in a quiet neighborhood, with several acres of gardenlike property. In the backyard stood a large, stately banyan tree, and in the front, the largest tulasī bushes anywhere in ISKCON. The devotees grew their own vegetables, and flowers, mangoes, and coconuts were so plentiful that they were available free. The weather was sunny, interspersed with occasional showers.

Prabhupāda felt ill and could not sleep more than one-and-a-half hours at night and one or two hours during the day. But being transcendental, he used this inability to sleep as another way to increase his writing time. Despite his emphasis on writing, however, he continued lecturing in the temple, going on morning walks, holding discussions on the beach, and daily answering his mail. Still, Hawaii was far from being like Vṛndāvana or Calcutta, where old friends and new admirers demanded hours of his time. Here he was mostly alone with his trained staff.

He had been in Honolulu about a week when he announced one morning, walking along Waikiki Beach, that he expected to finish that night the last purport to the Seventh Canto. When Hari-śauri expressed his happiness to hear this, Prabhupāda replied, “Oh, I can finish very quickly, but I have to present it for your understanding. It requires deep thought, very carefully, to present it for the common man.”

That night around nine, Prabhupāda called for Hari-śauri and said that he would not take his evening massage; he wanted the time for finishing the Seventh Canto. Shutting the door and returning to his desk he worked all night until five in the morning. At the end of the Seventh Canto, he dictated a closing remark.

— Completed on the night of Vaiśākhī-śuklā Ekādaśī, the tenth of May, 1976, in the temple of the Pañcatattva, New Navadvīpa (Honolulu), by the mercy of śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Thus we may happily chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Immediately Prabhupāda turned to the Eighth Canto, beginning with a prayer: “First of all, let me offer my humble, respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Goswami Prabhupāda.” Prabhupāda explained that his spiritual master had instructed him at Rādhā-kuṇḍa in 1935 to stress book production more than temple construction. He had followed that instruction, beginning with his starting Back to Godhead magazine in 1944, and in 1958 he had begun Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. As soon as he had published three volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in India, he had started for the U.S. in August 1965.

I am continuously trying to publish books, as suggested by my spiritual master. Now, in this year, 1976, I have completed the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and a summary of the Tenth Canto has already been published as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, the Eighth Canto, Ninth Canto, Tenth Canto, Eleventh Canto and Twelfth Canto are yet to be published. On this occasion, therefore, I am praying to my spiritual master to give me strength to finish this work. I am neither a great scholar nor a great devotee; I am simply a humble servant of my spiritual master, and to the best of my ability I am trying to please him by publishing these books, with the cooperation of my disciples in America. Fortunately, scholars all over the world are appreciating these publications. Let us cooperatively publish more and more volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam just to please His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.

Prabhupāda said he was making the Bhāgavatam understandable for the common man. This did not mean his writings were lacking in substance; they were pure substance. But in the essential spirit of the Bhāgavatam itself, Prabhupāda was omitting anything extraneous and distracting, selecting from the commentaries of the previous ācāryas whatever would best impel his readers to pure devotional service. At the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the author, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, states that the Bhāgavatam excludes all materially motivated forms of religiosity and offers only pure devotional service. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is therefore called the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge. And just as the Bhāgavatam is itself the most essential spiritual knowledge, so Śrīla Prabhupāda, in translating and commenting on the Bhāgavatam, utilized the same spirit of delivering the pure message, without any speculation or deviation.

According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations, the cause of all causes. And Prabhupāda revealed this conclusion on every page. Although some Sanskrit scholars disagreed with Prabhupāda’s emphasis on Kṛṣṇa, his “Kṛṣṇa-izing” of the Sanskrit was not whimsical but followed strictly the ancient tradition of paramparā. Overwhelmingly, those university scholars who seriously read Prabhupāda’s books appreciated the faithful quality of his paramparā rendering. Reviews came from all over the world.

“… For those who have no access to the Sanskrit language, these books convey, in superb manner, the message of the Bhāgavatam.” Dr. Alaka Hejib, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University.

“… It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived, and beautifully explained work. I don’t know whether to praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gītā, its daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the Gītā with such an important voice and style. … It will occupy a significant place in the intellectual and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come.” Dr. Shaligram Shukla, Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University.

“… For the first time we possess a readily accessible edition for this great religious classic that will provide opportunity for scholars in Indian literature and followers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness tradition alike to compare the original text with a modern English translation and become acquainted with the deeper spiritual meaning of this work through the learned commentary of Śrī Bhaktivedanta.

“… Anyone who gives a close reading to the commentary will sense that here, as in his other works, Śrī Bhaktivedanta has combined a healthy mixture of the fervent devotion and aesthetic sensitivity of a devotee and the intellectual rigor of a textual scholar. At no point does the author allow the intended meaning of the text to be eclipsed by the promotion of a particular doctrinal persuasion.

“… These exquisitely wrought volumes will be a welcome addition to the libraries of all persons who are committed to the study of Indian spirituality and religious literature, whether their interests are sparked by the motivations of the scholar, the devotee, or the general reader.” Dr. J. Bruce Long, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University.

“This English edition translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is superb. It contains the original Sanskrit and Bengali verses with their English transliteration, synonyms, translations, and elaborate purports, easily bearing testimony to the author’s profound knowledge of the subject.” Dr. O. B. L. Kapoor, Emeritus Chairman and Professor, Department of Philosophy, Government Postgraduate College, Gyanpur, India.

The Vedic literature mentions various spiritual paths and forms of yoga, and unless the commentator has realized the highest Vedic conclusion, he can easily miss the essential message of the Bhāgavatam. Indeed, impersonalist commentators have attempted to use the Bhāgavatam to support their speculations that the individual soul is in all respects one with the Supreme – even though this contradicts the purpose of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. As a commentator on the Vedic literature, Śrīla Prabhupāda was distinguished, even among Vaiṣṇava scholars, because of his being in disciplic succession from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is glorified as patita-pāvana, the savior of the most fallen. As a follower and empowered representative of Lord Caitanya, Śrīla Prabhupāda was faithfully and perfectly carrying on the tradition of rescuing fallen souls, bringing them back to their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Prabhupāda’s making Bhāgavatam’s message “available,” therefore, did not mean mere simplification. It meant urgently addressing the reader to give up the world of illusion and take to the eternal liberation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Prabhupāda was making available to the average reader spiritual truth that had been hidden and unavailable, even to austere practitioners of yoga and learned brāhmaṇas proficient in Sanskrit. “Old wine in new bottles,” Prabhupāda called it.

The Vaiṣṇava’s arguments against impersonalism had been chalked out by Madhvācārya and Rāmānujācārya and later synthesized by Lord Caitanya into the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, “simultaneous oneness and difference.” These eternal truths had to be presented in every age, but in the traditional debates between the Vaiṣṇavas and the impersonalists, the authoritative basis had always been Vedic scripture.

Modern society, however, was so degraded that a preacher could no longer appeal to the authority of Vedic scripture – no one would accept it. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s writings, therefore, dealt with such theories as the origin of life by chance, Darwinian evolution, and chemical evolution. And he defeated them all with strong logic, establishing that life comes from life, not from dead matter. Prabhupāda had dedicated one of his first books, Easy Journey to Other Planets, to “the scientists of the world,” and had even adapted the Bhagavad-gītā verses quoted in that book into scientific jargon of “matter and antimatter.” Deftly he used both śāstra and logic to establish the Vedic conclusion.

Prabhupāda’s writings also combatted the false teachings of bogus yogīs, gurus, and “incarnations,” who had appeared like a tidal wave of falsity in Kali-yuga, both in India and in the West. His writings criticized modern political institutions also, analyzing why monarchies fell, why democracy was also failing and how dictatorship would increasingly harass the citizens. The governments’ policies of abusive taxation and their propaganda to bring people to the cities to work in the factories, abandoning simple, agrarian life, were all discussed in light of the scriptures.

In his travels, Śrīla Prabhupāda had observed the rampant degradation of human society: sexual liberation, the latest fads in intoxication, and the vicious crimes of animal slaughter and meat-eating. A Bhagavad-gītā purport dealt specifically with the threat of nuclear holocaust.

Such people are considered the enemies of the world because ultimately they will invent or create something which will bring destruction to all. Indirectly, this verse anticipates the invention of nuclear weapons, of which the world is today very proud. At any moment war may take place, and these atomic weapons may create havoc. Such things are created solely for the destruction of the world and this is indicated here. Due to godlessness, such weapons are invented in human society; they are not meant for the peace and prosperity of the world.

Prabhupāda’s criticisms were strong and authoritative, befitting a true ācārya; his uncompromising spirit was appealing. He was not a timid scholar pointing out some obscure historical references. Yet underlying his writing, a humble tone of request spoke to the heart. As the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa, he asked everyone to please take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be restored to his original, constitutional position of eternity, bliss, and knowledge.

Prabhupāda was making his books practical. But to do so required care and deep meditation. He combined the thoughtfulness of a textual scholar with the practical applications of a transcendental social and political reformer. So many scholars had already presented their English editions of Bhagavad-gītā, yet not a single reader had become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, however, was creating thousands of devotees.

More than simply rendering valuable Vedic literatures, Śrīla Prabhupāda had come to the West, starting in New York City, to establish a way of life based on that Vedic literature. Consequently, he had gained firsthand experience in bringing the most materialistic persons to the standard of renunciation and devotional service. His books, therefore, reflected these practical realizations, and many times in his purports he would relate his difficulties and triumphs in trying to introduce spiritual principles within materialistic society.

In the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he had presented the story of Dakṣa’s cursing Nārada Muni, after Nārada had instructed Dakṣa’s sons in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The jealous father, considering Nārada his enemy, had cursed him to be always traveling, without any home. In his commentary, Śrīla Prabhupāda had written that he also had been cursed by the parents of his disciples; therefore, despite his having many centers around the world, he had to constantly travel and preach.

And in the Seventh Canto, while commenting on the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu’s harassment of his son Prahlāda, Śrīla Prabhupāda had related the difficulties of the ISKCON devotees in distributing books amid the harassment of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s modern counterparts.

Thus Prabhupāda was imbuing his literature with the thoughtfulness of his own personality, that of a pure devotee faithfully dedicating his body, mind, and words in service to the Bhāgavatam. As the word bhāgavata refers not only to narrations about the Supreme Lord but also to the Lord’s devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda was himself bhāgavata. And through his books one could gain the inspiration of service to both the book and the person bhāgavata.

After two weeks in Hawaii, Śrīla Prabhupāda was well into the Eighth Canto, averaging up to three hundred digits daily. His health improved also, although his sleeping remained minimal. “Of course,” Prabhupāda said reflectively, “it is very good from the spiritual point of view if you don’t sleep much.”

When news came of a temple president having difficulty with his G.B.C. authority, Śrīla Prabhupāda saw it as another example of how his writing work – his most important preaching – could be hampered by disruptions. He therefore composed a letter addressed to all the Governing Body Commissioners.

My dear G.B.C. disciples,
Please accept my blessings. Over the past ten years I have given the framework, and now we have become more than the British Empire. Even the British Empire was not as expansive as we. They had only a portion of the world, and we have not completed expanding. We must expand more and more unlimitedly. But I must now remind you that I have to complete the translation of the Srimad Bhagavatam. This is the greatest contribution; our books have given us a respectable position. People have no faith in this church or temple worship. Those days are gone. Of course, we have to maintain the temples as it is necessary to keep our spirits high. Simply intellectualism will not do; there must be practical purification.

So I request you to relieve me of management responsibilities more and more so that I can complete the Srimad Bhagavatam translation. If I am always having to manage, then I cannot do my work on the books. It is document. I have to choose each word very soberly and if I have to think of management then I cannot do this. I cannot be like these rascals who present something mental concoction to cheat the public. So this task will not be finished without the cooperation of my appointed assistants, the G.B.C., temple presidents, and sannyasis. I have chosen my best men to be G.B.C. and I do not want that the G.B.C. should be disrespectful to the temple presidents. You can naturally consult me, but if the basic principle is weak, how will things go on? So please assist me in the management so that I can be free to finish the Srimad Bhagavatam, which will be our lasting contribution to the world.

While maintaining his excellent progress on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Prabhupāda also got the opportunity in Hawaii to begin another book. His long-time disciple and editor Hayagrīva wrote, asking to assist Śrīla Prabhupāda in a series of interview-commentaries on the Western philosophers. This was the same project Prabhupāda had begun with his former secretary, Śyāmasundara, but when Śyāmasundara had abandoned his duties in ISKCON, he had also misplaced the tapes and transcripts of the considerable work they had done together.

Hayagrīva proposed to start again, beginning with Socrates and Plato. The process would be that Hayagrīva would present before Prabhupāda a summary of a particular Western thinker’s philosophy. Prabhupāda would then respond extemporaneously, giving appreciation and criticism of the philosopher according to the Vedic viewpoint.

Prabhupāda and his disciples had been enthusiastic about the interviews done in former years, and Prabhupāda had even titled the series – “Dialectical Spiritualism.” But when Śyāmasundara had misplaced the tapes, the project had dissipated. Now Hayagrīva, the former college English professor and original editor for Back to Godhead in America, asked to be allowed to come to Hawaii for reviving the philosophy book and for spending time with Prabhupāda.

Like various other disciples, Hayagrīva had given up strictly following the regulative principles. Śrīla Prabhupāda had come to tolerate the reality that some disciples, even after taking vows of initiation, would be unable to resist the strong pull of the senses and would give up the path of active devotional service in ISKCON. In the early years, he and his followers had reacted with great shock whenever a devotee had gone away; but with time, as the unfortunate event had continued to occur, sometimes even striking down leading, trusted disciples, Prabhupāda had grown to live with it. But he never stopped feeling bereaved over a lost son or daughter, especially if that disciple had rendered him significant service. And he never withheld his affection from them or his open, loving invitation for them to return.

Such a case was Hayagrīva, a dear son who had come to Śrīla Prabhupāda during the summer of 1966 in New York. He had given valuable service, but had eventually been unable to follow the simple but strict principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Now, after suffering the vicissitudes of material life, he had gathered his resolve to come back to his beloved spiritual master.

Hayagrīva entered Prabhupāda’s room. “It’s your old Hayagrīva, Prabhupāda,” he said, and he fell to the floor, sobbing.

Prabhupāda gave him a garland and asked him how he and his family were doing. Then in the presence of the other devotees, Prabhupāda related how Hayagrīva had been sent by Kṛṣṇa to help him spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world.

When Hayagrīva said he had never forgotten Prabhupāda, even for a day, Prabhupāda replied, “And I also never forgot you. I was thinking, ‘Has Hayagrīva gone away?’ I was thinking like that.” Prabhupāda’s voice broke, his eyes filled with tears, and he could not speak. Finally he asked everyone to leave the room.

Prabhupāda and Hayagrīva began meeting daily, sometimes for as long as two or three hours. Dialectical Spiritualism was again underway, moving side by side with the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Hayagrīva was again in his original position, at Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lotus feet.

Although Prabhupāda had written to the G.B.C. requesting them to solve ISKCON’s problems, he continued to keep informed of the problems as his assistants reluctantly reported to him the bad news. One day a telegram arrived from Madhudviṣa Swami, a dynamic G.B.C. man in charge of ISKCON in one region of the U.S. Madhudviṣa was having serious difficulty remaining strong in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In most cases, the difficulties of Prabhupāda’s disciples were urges toward sensuality. Almost never did disciples turn against Prabhupāda, nor did they often reject the philosophical conclusions of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They simply fell victim to māyā’s allurements.

Madhudviṣa’s telegram was a resignation from the G.B.C. Although he wanted to continue in devotional service, he felt forced to resign due to spiritual weakness. The telegram gave no details, but Prabhupāda heard rumors that Madhudviṣa had had an affair and had left the temple. Prabhupāda said that this was his Godbrothers’ main argument against Westerners’ taking sannyāsa: they would not be able to maintain the strict vows. He said that a German Godbrother of his had also caused disruption by his intimate dealings with women.

“What can I do?” Prabhupāda said sadly. “I am working with all third-class men – fools and rascals. Things are going on simply by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.” Prabhupāda sent a telegram back, asking Madhudviṣa to come and speak with him. Although he restrained his emotions, the devotees could see that he was distracted. It was another case of a strong affectionate bond for a son who had rendered wonderful service, a disciple whom he had patiently trained over the years. Again the possibility of Prabhupāda’s retiring from active management looked doubtful.