| Home | “It is ironic that the Folio, which has done so much to perpetuate Śrila Prabhupāda’s corpus, is also limiting it.” (Brahmānanda Dāsa) |
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Dear Brahmananda Prabhu, please accept my humble obeisances. All
glories to Srila Prabhupada! At Anuttama's, back in late 1996, you told me, "Most of what Prabhupada said is not in the Folio, because 90% of the time, there was no tape recorder running." I have often thought about these words of wisdom, and they have inspired me to write the following (a work in progress). Your servant, Pratyatosa Dasa |
(Brahmānanda Prabhu’s reply is at the end of this web page.)
(Quotes most recently added are on top.)
62. “A woman who remarries becomes the enemy of her children.”
Source: Unknown.
61. “According to the Vedic system, it is perfectly acceptable for an 80 year old man to marry an 11 year old girl.”
Source: Unknown.
60. “Muslims are less intelligent because of centuries of in-breeding. They marry their first cousins.”
Source: Unknown.
59. “Just like in your country. New leaders every four years. Then we are safe.”
Source: Śrī Govinda Dāsa (ACBSP) told me this right after he had complained to Śrila Prabhupāda during Śrila Prabhupāda’s visit to the 55th Street temple in New York City in July of 1976. Śrī Govinda’s complaint was that he had been replaced as temple president of ISKCON Chicago (Evanston). The above was Śrila Prabhupāda’s reply.
58. “Competition gives life!”
Source: Unknown.
57. “Don’t be surprised when someone dies; be surprised when someone lives!”
Source: Unknown.
56. “90% of the Rādhā Dāmodara brahmacārīs will end up getting married.”
Source: Dhṛṣṭadyumna Svāmī, Gita Nagari Farm, Port Royal, PA, USA, 1976.
55. “A man should not work more than 8 hours a day to maintain his family.”
Source: Unknown.
54. “Any government which taxes it’s citizens more than 25% is punishable by Yamarāja.”
Source: Unknown.
53. “Kṛṣṇa consciousness is ‘kitchen religion.’”
Source: Unknown.
52. “When I hear Bharadvāja sing, I feel transcendental ecstacy.”
Source: I may have heard this from Kṛṣṇa Kānti in Los Angeles in ’72 or ’73.
Comment: I was told that Śrila Prabhupāda said this when someone played for him a copy of one of the recordings that I made in 1971 at ISKCON New York (Brooklyn) of Bharadvāja Dāsa leading a kirtan.
51. “Is it dead?”
Source: Danesh Dāsa, ISKCON Washington D.C., 1969.
Comment: Śrila Prabhupāda made this sarcastic remark at ISKCON 2nd Ave, NYC the first time he was served cereal containing raisins. Therefore, devotees, from that point on, only purchased golden raisins. Śrila Prabhupāda never complained when served cereal containing golden raisins.
50. “This was caused by the mayāvādī psychic influence, creeping
into ISKCON, of my very powerful, but very envious Gauḍīya Math
godbrothers.”
Source: I, along with all of the other residents of 1970 ISKCON Detroit, were told this by the then Detroit temple president, Bhagavān Dāsa.
Comment: Śrila Prabhupāda said something similar to the above when “ISKCON Press” published one of his books listing the author as “A. C. Bhaktivedanta,” Śrila Prabhupāda was furious with them for not using his whole title. He also said something similar when he was being held a virtual prisoner at ISKCON Los Angeles in 1970. His orders were being ignored by those “senior” disciples who were surrounding him, and his disciples messages to him were being censored. It was right after these two unfortunate events that Śrīla Prabhupāda formed ISKCON’s first “GBC.”
49. “New Vrindaban will someday become tropical.”
Source: Unknown.
48. “There should be cottages.”
Source: I may have been told this back in 1976, when I was living in the ISKCON Detroit “Fisher Mansion” temple. I was living in the married men’s quarters, which was the middle bedroom. My wife and infant son were living in the married women’s quarters, which was the servants’ quarters during Lawrence Fisher’s time. Later, the “servants’ quarters” were converted into offices for the temple administrators.
Comment: Śrila Prabhupāda reportedly made this comment in Detroit one of the first times that he saw the new “Fisher Mansion” temple property. This was his solution to the gṛhastha housing problem: one family per small cottage on the temple property.
47. “What will they do? Kill you?”
Source: Unknown
Comment: Śrila Prabhupāda reportedly made this sarcastic remark when one of his disciples was frantically trying to get ready to leave so that he wouldn’t be late for work.
46. “If you don’t bathe using oil, then it’s not a real
bath.”
Source: Urmila Devī Dāsī (ACBSP)
45. “The adults should drink one cup of milk a day; the children
two cups.”
Source: Unknown
Source: Urmila Devī Dāsī (ACBSP)
43. “It’s a sin to steal, but it’s not a sin to be stolen
from.”
Source: Unknown. Possibly a quote from Lord Chaitanya?
42. “Every night you should have a clean sleeping
cloth.”
Source: Govardhana Dāsa (ACBSP) and Sitarani Devī Dāsī (ACBSP) received this instruction in a letter from Śrila Prabhupāda in 1971, just after they had been married, and just before they started a new temple in Minneapolis.
41. “What is the need for such a system? Everything should
simply be provided.”
Source: Śrī Govinda Dāsa (ACBSP), the temple treasurer of ISKCON Detroit in 1970, wrote to Śrila Prabhupāda describing a petty cash system involving little envelopes and slips of paper. The above was Śrila Prabhupāda’s reply.
40. “A brahmin always leaves a place cleaner than he found
it.”
Source: Unknown.
39. “Motorcycles are for those who want to commit
suicide.”
Source: Unknown.
38. In reference to the Vietnam War: “If a country engages in
war, they should fight to win. They should not hold anything
back.”
Source: Unknown.
Comment: IMHO, this means that, according to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the U.S. should have nuked China, who was assisting North Vietnam, back to the stone age, if they refused, after repeated warnings, to give up their involvement.
37. “My guru mahārāja used to
say, ‘He who chastises me is my friend; he who flatters me is my
enemy’.”
Source: Aja Dāsa, Temple President of ISKCON Boston, 1975.
36. “Govinda Dāsī is perfectly qualified to be on the GBC,
except she is a woman.”
Source: Unknown.
35. “Puffed rice is too difficult for you to make. You should
simply purchase.”
Source: Devotees from the original ISKCON Washington D.C. temple on Newport Place in 1969.
34. “If Kṛṣṇa likes you, He’ll
give you everything; if He loves you He’ll take everything
away.”
Source: Unknown.
33. “If you eat meat, then you
must also drink wine in order to properly digest the
meat.”
Source: Unknown.
Source: Unknown.
31. “Vegetable oil is for external use only.”
Source: Unknown.
30. “Management is simple: you just keep everything very very
clean.”
Source: Achyutananda Svāmī (ACBSP) at New York’s 55th street temple in 1977.
29. “The mouth is the dirtiest
part of the body. It’s even dirtier than the anus.”
Source: Fellow brahmacārī, probably in 1972 or 73.
28. “Perspiration means good
health.”
Source: Unknown.
27. “They are killing mother cow in the slaughterhouse. They are
killing babies in the womb. Therefore they will have to send their
sons to the slaughterhouse of war.”
Source: Unknown.
26. “Just by reading my books they are initiated.”
Source: Kṛṣṇa Kumari Devī Dāsī (The original URL of the article, http://guru.kṛṣṇa.org/Articles/2001/08/007.html, no longer works, but the following web page includes a portion of the article: http://istagosthi.org/archive/open-forum/000032-16.htm. After bringing up the page, do an Edit/Find (on This Page) for “Just by reading my books they are initiated”).
25. “You can’t criticize a man for being dirty when he’s in the
shower.”
Source: Unknown.
24. “Here is Kṛṣṇa coming to kill me.”
Comment: When Calcutta was being regularly bombed by the Japanese during World War II, most people left the city. Śrīla Prabhupāda, however, refused to leave. He once made this comment while the bombs were falling.
Source: Unknown.
23. “If someone does not know the date, it can be understood
that he is insane.”
Source: Unknown.
22. “I do not trust any individual GBC man, but the whole GBC
body I trust.”
Source: Unknown.
Source: Pratyatoṣa Dāsa (ACBSP) - Chicago - 1973
Comment: This statement was made by Śrila Prabhupāda to my father-in-law, Mr. Manischewitz. At the time, I noticed that Makhanlāl Prabhu, the temple president of ISKCON St. Louis, was recording the conversation, but somehow or other, it never made it into the Vedabase.
20. “The men may not bathe naked.”
Source: Karāndhara Dāsa (ACBSP) - Los Angeles - 1972
Comment: The Los Angeles brahmachari quarters, at that time, had one large shower room with multiple shower heads, and the men would all bathe completely naked. After Śrila Prabhupāda made this statement, Karāndhara Prabhu, the resident GBC man, instituted a rule that the men had to have their genital area covered while bathing.
19. “Do not distribute my song tapes without the
purports.”
Source: Dinesh Dāsa (ACBSP) (Washington, DC, 1969)
Comment: At that time, Dinesh Prabhu was the official ISKCON “tapesvara.” His duties included distributing copies of Śrila Prabhupāda’s kirtan, bhajan, and lecture tapes to all of the temples. One thing that Dinesh Prabhu told me is that Prabhupāda said that his songs should never be distributed without the purports, because Prabhupāda wanted his disciples to learn the meanings of the songs.
18. “Distribute my lecture tapes in their entirety or NOT AT
ALL.”
Source: Kṛṣṇa Kānti Dāsa (ACBSP) (Los Angeles -1973)
Comment: Kṛṣṇa Kānti Prabhu told me this within minutes of Śrila Prabhupāda having told it to him. Kṛṣṇa Kānti was a little disappointed, because the reason that he had asked Śrīla Prabhupāda this question is because he wanted to include excerpts from Śrila Prabhupāda lectures in his “The Kṛṣṇa Show” series of weekly radio shows which were, at the time, being aired on several radio stations throughout the country.
17. “I do not know very much about these subject matters, but my
Guru Mahārāja: he knows!”
Source: Danesh Dāsa (ACBSP) (Washington D.C. - 1969).
Comment: In the early days of the movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda was once challenged by a guest at New York’s 2nd Ave. temple. The guest said something to the effect that, “How can the Moon be further away than the Sun?.” Śrila Prabhupāda humbly replied, “I do not know very much about these subject matters, but my Guru Mahārāja: he knows!”
16. “Someday history will record
that the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement saved the world.”
Source: Unknown.
15. “An intelligent person never gets bored. If he has nothing
to do, he will count the beams in the ceiling.”
Source: Unknown.
14. “Hope for the best, plan for the worst.”
Source: COM: Mādhava Gosh Dāsa (ACBSP) (New Vrindavan - USA).
13. Śrila Prabhupāda once told us to pray for a devotee right
after he or she (I can’t remember which) passed away. I was told
that Śrila Prabhupāda said that it was like serving as a favorable
witness at a trial.
Source: Unknown, but it was probably stated in Los Angeles in 1972 or 73 when I was living there in the temple, and Śrila Prabhupāda was visiting there.
12. “My books will be the lawbooks for the next 10,000
years.”
Source: Brahmānanda Dāsa (ACBSP): “I think this has been confirmed by Abhirāma who personally heard it on a London morning walk.”
11. “Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta was
very critical of his overweight sannyāsī disciples.”
Source: Brahmānanda Dāsa (ACBSP): “This I can also confirm. It may be in the books or lectures.”
10. “You can say anything, just
don’t put it in writing.”
Source: Brahmānanda Dāsa (ACBSP) (Vrindaban - India)
9. “The women can go on the
altar as long as their husbands are also there [on the altar with
them].”
Source: Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Dāsa GoSvāmī (ACBSP) and Pratyatoṣa Dāsa (ACBSP)
Comment: I was on Śrila Prabhupāda’s last morning walk in New York in 1976. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and I heard him tell Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Dāsa GoSvāmī, “The women can go on the altar as long as their husbands are also there [on the altar with them].” This was in responce to an earlier conversation wherein Śrila Prabhupāda was informed that the NY Temple brahmacārīs were complaining that they were becoming sexually agitated because of the women on the altar with them. A couple of years ago I asked TKG, by email, whether or not he recalled this statement, and he confirmed that he did remember these exact words.
8. “My disciples should not make
more than 10% profit off of each other.”
Source: Unknown.
Comment: In 1971, devotees were complaining to Śrīla Prabhupāda that ISKCON Press was charging high prices to devotees for their services, so Śrila Prabhupāda stated that his disciples should not make more than 10% profit off of each other.
7. “Everything is in my
books.”
Source: Unknown.
6. “They can dance on the heads of the men. Then they will be
satisfied!”
Source: Unknown.
Comment: When told that the women would be restricted to the balcony during the morning program in the new temple room in Los Angeles, Śrila Prabhupāda replied, “They can dance on the heads of the men. Then they will be satisfied!”
5. “The third generation will be
a generation of pure devotees.”
Source: Unknown.
4. “We can use anything in Kṛṣṇa’s service.”
Source: Śrī Govinda Dāsa (ACBSP), temple president of ISKCON Chicago, who said that he personally witnessed this conversation.
Comment: In 1973, in New York, after being told by Bali Mardon Dāsa (GBC) that my father-in-law, Mr. Manischewitz, owned a big company that made wine, Śrila Prabhupāda said, “We can use anything in Kṛṣṇa’s service.”
3. “If you want education, then go to London; if you want
culture, then go to Rome; if you want sense gratification, then go
to Paris; if you want money, then go to New York.”
Source: Navadvīpa Dāsa, Detroit, Mi, USA, 1980’s.
2. “Don’t be amazed when someones dies; be amazed when someone
lives.”
Source: Brahmānanda Dāsa (ACBSP) (Vrindaban - India).
1. “Just see what he has done!”
Source: Unknown.
Comment: Whenever Śrila Prabhupāda would hear about some great accomplishment of one of his disciples, he would say, “Just see what he has done!” He wouldn’t say, “Ultimately Kṛṣṇa is doing everything.,” or “He is being used as Kṛṣṇa’s instrument.” or “His talent is on loan from Kṛṣṇa.,” but, just like a proud father speaking about a great accomplishment of his son, he would say, “Just see what he has done!”
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Dear Pratyatosha Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. What you are doing in compiling what Srila Prabhupada said is interesting. Perhaps every devotee should do this and a compilation could be made. We are reaching a point that if something that Srila Prabhupada said is not in the Folio, either in recorded conversation, lecture or letter, it is being challenged, doubted, and rejected. For instance, the most notable quote about the books being the law books for mankind for 10,000 years. But, so much more was said that was not recorded. It is ironic that the Folio, which has done so much to perpetuate Srila Prabhupada's corpus, is also limiting it. After our generation of devotees is gone, Srila Prabhupada will only be known by what is in the Folio. Our witnessing will be gone. Yet, in philosophy, verbal testimony, sabda pramana, is accepted as a means to the truth. What you are doing is important.
Your servant, in the service of Srila Prabhupada, |
Questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.
Pratyatoṣa Dāsa ()
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