In the Srila Prabhupada VedaBase, a search of the phrase “my mission is”, came up with 51 hits, (references). Of these 51 hits, it was found that 30 were not relevant to our discussion. However, the remainder were attributed to the following personalities, and are very relevant in defining what is Srila Prabhupada’s mission:
- Krishna, 3 (all the same).
- Lord Caitanya, 2. (and we all know what his mission is)
- Srila Prabhupada, 16
With careful reading and studing of all of Srila Prabhupada spoken and written words, one can, by inference, determine specific details of what Srila up Prabhupada’s missions are. Srila Prabhupada works, are the mother-load of what Srila Prabhupada’s mission is. Nevertheless, the following is a summarized, and illustrative articulation of what Srila Prabhupada’s said his “missions is”.
Srila Prabhupada articulated, between 1965 and 1977, his Krishna-consciousness Movement Mission; by specifically expressing the phrase “my mission is”, only a few precious times. It did not become apparent to me, until I researched this phrase on the VedaBase, that these purports, lectures, letters and conversations were inherent, to the essence of the “Moving Forward” Treatise. Hence the following prose composition, is inspired by the references found in Srila Prabhupada’s VedaBase, and can be reviewed in (Appendix C: “My Mission Is”, According to Srila Prabhupada).
I write the following for anyone, for any follower of Srila Prabhupada, however, I do so especially for his surviving disciples, who live in North & South America, Western Europe, and Australia. The core of the following prose, comes from the above-mentioned references.
In this Treatise, I made some charges, I prosecuted them, and I have proven them to be true. So, before I start writing solutions and proposals on how to proceed with “Moving Forward”, I will now make my final “plea” to you all. Actually, there will also be a “plea” from Srila Prabhupada too.
I will answer the following question,
“What would you say, today in 2022, in a final plea, to Srila Prabhupada followers, especially to his disciples, who maybe are seeking general direction from him.”
Whenever God incarnates, He has Two Missions. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita 4.8, 5,000 years ago, Krishna says,
“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.”
These two missions are,
- To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants.
- To reestablish the principles of religion.
Srila Prabhupada, being empowered by the grace of Krishna, made it his mission, to also help Lord Caitanya, by physically delivering Lord Caitanya Sankirtana Movement to all the nations of this Earth, beyond the borders of India, including India as well, by making it his mission, “to deliver all the fallen souls of this age”, by “preaching Krishna consciousness.”
It is not hard to understand mission 2, and the first part of mission 1, to “deliver the pious”; however, the second part, to “annihilate miscreants”, needs some discussion.
The word “annihilate”, literally means to destroy utterly, obliterate completely and without qualification; absolutely.
As we know, Krishna surely “annihilated” many personalities known as “demons”, i.e., by “killing them” physically, by all sorts of methods, like “cutting their heads off”, “choking” them to death, and many other ways that were harsh and unpleasant to say the least. I would not be wrong in saying that “a lot of blood” was spilled in “annihilating” the miscreants 5,000 years ago. Is “a miscreant” synonymous to “a demon”.
What is a “demon”? It is a person who is cruel, evil, reckless, and mischief.
What is a “miscreant”? It is a person behaving badly or in a way that breaks a law or rule.
Why did Krishna not say “annihilate the demons”? The answer is, because a “demon” is a “miscreant, par-excellence”, that is why, He killed Kamsa, Putana, etc. On the other hand, killing personalities, like on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, they were run of the mill miscreants, persons behaving badly or in a way that breaks a law or rule; which qualified, the Kuru’s and their supporters, to be killed.
Bhagavad-gita 16.6:
“… in this world there are two kinds of created beings. One is called the divine and the other demoniac. …”.
PURPORT:
“The conditioned living entities are divided into two classes in this world.
- Those who are born with divine qualities follow a regulated life; that is to say they abide by the injunctions in scriptures and by the authorities. One should perform duties in the light of authoritative scripture. This mentality is called divine.
- One who does not follow the regulative principles as they are laid down in the scriptures and who acts according to his whims is called demoniac or asuric.
There is no other criterion but obedience to the regulative principles of scriptures. It is mentioned in Vedic literature that both the demigods and the demons are born of the Prajapati; the only difference is that one class obeys the Vedic injunctions and the other does not.”