About Us
lease Note that this Website is going through an extensive modification that will take several months to complete. The writing Content will remain the same; only Headers & Footers are being modified. This work is being done in Real-Time. The goal is to have it completed by years end of 2023.
For the Distressed, Desirer of Wealth, Inquisitive, & Those Searching for Knowledge of the Absolute
On November 14, 2023 it Will Have Been 1.45 Billion Seconds
In India, born a man named Abhay,
With a mission that would pave the way,
For enlightenment, truth, and devotion,
Srila Prabhupada, his deep emotion.
He travelled to the West alone,
Leaving behind all he had known,
With a humble heart and a fiery zeal,
To spread the word, to make it real.
With Bhagavad-gita as his guide,
And Krishna consciousness by his side,
He founded a movement, a way of life,
For those seeking peace amid strife.
Temples and books he established,
Sacred mantras he chanted,
The Hare Krishna movement he ignited,
A new era of spirituality, soon ignited.
His teachings and love continue to inspire,
Millions around the world, whom he did inspire,
Srila Prabhupada, a true spiritual guide,
Whose mission and legacy forever will abide.
Oh, readers keen to know the purpose that is true,
Of Saragrahi.Org, that is born anew.
First, I must draw your attention close,
To the reason why I chose,
To revive and enhance this old website,
And bring it once more into the light.
Listen closely, for a story of inspiration,
Of a website born anew, with dedication.
The purpose clear, to revive and enhance,
Bringing light to Srila Prabhupada’s glorious dance.
It's been 24.8 million minutes,
Since Srila Prabhupada departed;
His breath of Earth's atmosphere, ceased,
Leaving behind a legacy so great.
But his vision of ISKCON does not extend,
To the institution we see today,
In name only does it stay.
Despite 402,00 Hours since Prabhupada’s departure,
His vision of ISKCON will never bend,
And so, this website shines anew,
To guide us all to a purpose true.
16,790 Days have come and gone,
Since Srila Prabhupada departed on,
As time went by, it is clear to me,
The world needs his teachings inherently.
Once more, his wisdom we must heed,
For our lives to truly succeed.
2,399 Weeks have come and gone,
But Srila Prabhupada’s teachings live on,
And in this time, we have felt a need,
To share his wisdom, for all to heed.
Listen, ye all, both young and old,
562 months have come and gone,
Since Prabhupada bid farewell,
A sage whose wisdom we cling on.
Before you delve in deep, my friends,
Recall the reason why I strive,
To keep this website up and running,
And bring truth to all, to thrive.
Prabhupada’s legacy, a shining light,
Guiding souls to truth and peace,
Such wisdom must be shared with might,
For it is a treasure, worth to seize.
So let us all, with fervent heart,
Carry on his noble quest,
And spread his teachings far and wide,
Till every soul finds true rest.
Inquisitive, reader be inspired to delve in deep,
For this website’s purpose will surely keep,
To bring this truth to all mankind,
A message of love, devotion, and peace divine.
In the fringes lurks a tiny spark,
Of Prabhupada's mission, now dark.
Its leaders and their subordinates,
Are corrupt, immoral, unethical, and dishonest.
Crooked, shady, deceitful, and false,
They are untruthful, duplicitous, and double-crossed.
Two-faced, tricky, and wicked too,
Evil, depraved, malevolent, and malicious through and through.
They are murderers, assassins, sinners, and Vaisnava Aparadhadis.
Described as demons, asuras, and rakshasas in scriptures akin.
May the Lord above guide us through,
And save us from the grasp of such a treacherous crew.
ISCKON is now dark and grim,
Corruption and abuse seeped within.
Leaders failed to uphold sacred vows,
Victims silenced; justice disavowed.
The media exposed the horror show,
But still, some refuse to let it go.
The leaders and their cohorts,
Must face their inner demons,
For failure to do so,
Leads to fate with outer demon beings.
Offences to Srila Prabhupada,
Can they truly make amends?
It seems doubtful in their pursuits,
Driven solely by greed's trends.
Eleven who took over his mission,
When questioned for their act,
Their reply was prabhu, only money,
Leaving spirituality in neglect.
Can they realize their wrongful ways,
And correct their chosen path?
Or will they stay engulfed in darkness,
Ignoring their moral aftermath?
In Prabhupada's footsteps we tread,
With devotion and love in our head,
Our mission is to spread his word,
And make sure his message is heard.
But as we journey along this path,
We face many obstacles and wrath,
For corruption has crept in our midst,
And our resolve is put to the test.
But we will not falter or fail,
Our efforts will forever prevail,
For we are the sincere disciples and followers of Prabhupada,
And we will not let his legacy fade away.
We have exposed the corruption and wrongs,
And strive to correct them in our songs,
With truth and righteousness as our guide,
We will uphold Prabhupada's message with pride.
So let us together, as one,
Restore Prabhupada’s Mission, to its former run,
And uphold the good name of our Spiritual Master,
For his teachings shall live on forever after.
A new generation brings hope,
With fresh ideas and a wider scope.
They seek to rebuild trust and faith,
To honor the teachings of the Eternal Faith.
ISKCON has burned to ashes,
Its spirit is like stone.
It can still rise from the ashes and atone.
For the true essence of its creed,
Is love and compassion, indeed.
In Kali Yuga, the age of gold,
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we hold,
A beacon of love and devotion,
With wisdom and selfless emotion.
He preached the Yuga-dharma and the path of Bhakti,
To rid the world of evil and disunity,
For 10,000 years, His teachings will spread far and wide,
Bringing hope to all who abide.
His Golden Age will be filled with grace,
A time of peace and divine embrace,
Where hearts are pure and minds clear,
And souls are free from all fear.
Oh, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
We bow to thee with gratitude,
For the light you brought to our world,
And the love and joy you unfurled.
Oh, cruel fate, how swift thy hand doth move,
To rob us of the one we hold so dear,
As 46 years have swiftly passed from view,
Since Prabhupada left, shedding many a tear.
And yet we linger on, in sorrow's hold,
Our grief as fresh as on that fateful day,
With hearts so heavy, burdened and so cold,
Unsure of what to do, or what to say.
Should we not honor him in every way?
As his memory echoes through the years,
And in our hearts his teachings still do play,
Filling us with hope and driving out fears.
So let us raise our voices and chant the Holy Name,
And vow to keep his teachings bright and true,
For though he is physically gone, his instructions remain,
And we shall carry it 'til our lives are through.
“First-Time Visitors to this Website” are encouraged to read the contents of these “About-Us”-Pages, that starts with this Introduction Page. Also, you have the option of listening to this Introduction and the other 5 “About Us” Segments, in the Audio Play List, which you can find on the Home Page Link on the “Website Contents” Page.
The contents of this “Website Contents” Page are briefly described in About-Us “Segment 3”.
(Please Note: Today is June 22, 2023, and I am re-writing this “About-Us” portion of this Website. So, the Audio Version, at this time, is not up to date; nevertheless, it will still useful. After I finish the re-write, I will produce a new audio version, and will then delete this message.)
I know that for some of you, especially you “young” ladies and gentlemen; this Home-Page maybe be somewhat lengthy; but it is definitely “worth-it”.
Nevertheless, as the saying goes, “you gotta-do, what you gotta-do”. In other words, I will do whatever I have to do, even if there is some nature of difficulty for some; or I run the danger of discouraging you to investigate, consider, and contemplate the contents of this website. Moreover, it does have the element of being “essential”.
Srimad-bhagavatam 1.5.16 Purport:
“The expert devotees also can discover novel ways and means to convert the non-devotees in terms of particular “time and circumstance.”
“Devotional service is ‘dynamic activity’, and the expert devotees can find out competent means to inject it into the dull brains of the materialistic population. Such transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His subsequent followers exhibited ‘expert dexterity’, in this connection. By following the same method, one can bring the materialistic men of this age of quarrel into order for peaceful life and transcendental realization.”
Such discrimination is an “essential condition”, necessary, and indispensable requirement of progressive spiritual life; so much so, that a saint of the highest spiritual attainment, is honored in India as a “paramahamsa”, which means, “supreme swan”.
This site is devoted to the encouragement of the Saragrahi mentality; primarily in relation to the philosophy, theology, and sadhana of Gaudiya Vaishnavism as presented by the acharyas Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Srila Jiva Goswami, Srila Krishna-dasa Kaviraja, Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakur, and the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana.
However, we also recognize that spiritual wisdom and truth, are also to be found in non-Vedic sources of knowledge, such as the Jewish, Christian, Islamic traditions; and in addition, the Western philosophical tradition, and modern psychology, among others. Integration of ideas from such sources, with the Vedic knowledge, and the teachings of the acharyas, are of great benefit to devotees living in modern society, particularly in the preaching field, and such diversity, will frequently be incorporated into these pages.
We hope to stimulate, and help develop our readers’ capacity for “critical thinking”, about “Spiritual Truth”; recognizing that such thinking is the means to attain a deep understanding of the essence of the teachings of shastra, sadhu, and guru.
The writings on this site have a central purpose–to foster independent thinking in the reader, within the framework of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada, who brought the teachings of Krishna consciousness to the West, wrote to a leading disciple,
“The Krishna consciousness movement is for teaching men to be independently thoughtful.”
Unfortunately, virtually all institutions foster dependency in their members, and, sadly, the Krishna consciousness movement fell into the same hole.
Today, dependency is so ingrained, it is believed to be the way, the tradition. Consequently, there is no deliberate effort to train members in independent thinking.
Indeed, such thinking has become “the enemy.” Any hint of it is to be uprooted.
Another thing Srila Prabhupada said was,
“Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate.”
This he uttered from his deathbed; and it has been assumed, wrongly, to mean that cooperating blindly with the institutional authority figures is the only way to prove one’s appreciation and love for Srila Prabhupada, whose message of devotional service to Krishna gave meaning and purpose to our lives.
Meaning beyond the typical materialistic goals of get educated, make money, raise a family, grow old and die. Instead, he taught us the means to conquer repeated birth and death.
It is further assumed, again wrongly, that cooperation is only possible in a mode of dependency rather than inter-dependency, which is believed threatens the very foundations of institutional stability. Thus, true cooperating spirit means to blindly follow, although it must be admitted, that sometimes the blind following, is cleverly disguised as following from one’s own volition.
Many think they think, when they only think with what Erich Fromm called “the voice of swallowed authority.” It is a far cry from independent thinking, but one in that condition, is not aware that one’s thoughts are “dictated”, and one is in fact a blind follower. One has the illusion of being an independent thinker and an inter-dependent actor.
As the writings on this site show, the essence of cooperating, is that one cooperates with those plans, ideas, and understandings that are inherently Krishna conscious.
To cooperate by any other standard, is to help kill the spirit and intent of the institution, even if it remains intact with buildings and other external symptoms, because Krishna consciousness is really about people, people achieving their personal power, and then using it voluntarily, joyfully, in the service of God. An institution can facilitate that, or it can come between the Deity and the devotee.
The books, assorted papers, and essays on this site, are primarily concerned with achieving the capacity for independent thinking, within the framework of Krishna conscious thought. While they were written with the reader already familiar with the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literature in mind, the completely uninitiated reader may also read them with relish.
Moreover, there will be a project, for content that will target someone new to the Krishna-consciousness philosophy, and for those Vaisnavas (Devotees), who are on the beginner level of a Kanistha-adhikaris (a neophyte devotee in lowest stage of Vaisnava life. The intent will be to elevate such a devotee, to the intermediate, and then advanced level of a Kanistha; which will facilitate the advancement to the stage of a Madhyama-adhikari (devotee who worships the Lord with firm faith, makes friends with His devotees, preaches to the innocent, and avoids atheists; Madhyama-bhagavata). This state all will have three levels, the beginning, intermediate, and advance (the Madhyama-bhagavata).
The philosophical foundations on which the conclusions herein, are based, are the most thoroughgoing understanding of the Absolute Truth as presented in the ancient Sanskrit works known as the Vedas.
Some 500 years ago, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and His associates revitalized those teachings by bringing out the esoteric conclusions contained therein, and explaining them with logic and reason, giving them an internal consistency, that makes them peerless in the realm of religious, and philosophical thought. Those works are available elsewhere. Here we focus on the practical application of those ideas to everyday life, as they are prescribed in the works of Srila Prabhupada, and the Previous-Acharyas.