“I see it this way: somehow or another a devotee or group of devotees will soon be recognized for their purity and an event will take place that will draw millions again to this Krsna consciousness.”

— VAIKUNTHA DASA
      Offering his thoughts

Battle Plan for the Millennium: Response to Govinda Madhava Prabhu
By Vaikuntha dasa

This brief article is in response to Govinda Madhava dasa's recent article, "What is ISKCON's Battle Plan for the Next Millennium?" What can one say? Perhaps Krsna Himself is arranging the "new" battle of Kuruksetra. Will it be nuclear? Will it be economic? No one knows since we cannot enter Krsna's mind.

However, the bottom line for any Vaisnava is, "What would Srila Prabhupada do or say in any given situation if he were personally present?" I think we know. Just chant, try to follow the four regulative principles (no meat eating, no gambling, no illicit sex, and no intoxication) and let Krsna take care of the rest.

Be that as it may, I would like to give my prognosis if I may as to any future battle plan for ISKCON for the this millennium.

I see it this way: somehow or another a devotee or group of devotees will soon be recognized for their purity and an event will take place that will draw millions again to this Krsna consciousness. Just how, where and when this will take place I cannot say, but it will. It may be happening we speak - maybe not quickly at first, but gradually. We all must be patient and have faith. Srila Prabhupada was patient and did not arrive on western shores until 1965, armed with knowledge, love and purity. Only Krsna knows what is to be done and when.... make no mistake about it.

It may be that we are all frustrated now as the movement Srila Prabhupada started has been, at least here in America, 33 years old and like any fledging institution fraught with many obstacles. This is to be expected in an atmosphere surcharged with atheism. But Rome wasn't built in a day. It also takes nine months to be born.

Therefore, as I see it, perhaps the battle plan will come from individual devotees who are purifying themselves now. It may be a man or woman walking around a temple room somewhere on this planet chanting their 16 rounds. It may be a child who is born in the slums of New York, a man or woman in the street who just received their first Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita. It may be a fourteen-year-old child who just had their first plate of prasadam and will one day be a glorious Vaisnava, all-powerful. These things are going on at present.

Perhaps it's devotees who have spent 30 years or more in purification and are establishing seminaries and colleges like HH Danavir Maharaja in Kansas City, Missouri. Perhaps it is I, who am trying to go on national tour with a 2-man "Mahabharata" that will enlighten forgotten souls in towns and colleges across America. Maybe it will be a Broadway play of the "Ramayana" or a major feature film on the Life of Lord Caitanya that will draw the masses to this wonderful movement and Srila Prabhupada's books.

All these things will and can happen... when Krsna deems the moment is right. Don't worry about anything, Krsna IS God, of this there is absolutely no doubt and this ISKCON will endure into the future wherein thousands, millions will one day chant the holy names. I have no doubt about this. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Vaikuntha dasa
vaikuntha@hotmail.com

© CHAKRA 30-August-2000

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