From Raghunatha dasanudasa (Hawaii)
Jai Dhanesvara P,
I love this letter below because it personifies the state of the devotees. It reminds me of Prabhupad's first meeting Bhaktisidhanta where he proposed they could not be successful in preaching so long as they were a British colony. The odds were simply against them.
The devotees today can tell you in graphic details what the 'demons' are doing and yet, they have little to say of what they themselves can do. Meanwhile devotees spend tens of thousands on entertainment centers and other such peripheral hobbies while they have neither time nor money for preaching work for themselves or that of others. The final irony of course is that the devotees as a community have lost tens of millions in 'investments.' This was money that was suppose to be used for preaching and so it had to be lost for nothing instead. Had this been spent on preaching, it would have generated such a resounding sense of joy and empowerment as a community. Even in this campaign, it would only take say 200 devotees offering $20 a month for 3 months to do it. So little effort and yet, all impossible. In short, the real impact of kali is not the demons, but its ability to nullify the devotees. Decades ago, these same devotees would go in as a young couple and open entire countries with little more than their dhotis and saris and yet today, with all our sophistication, we are unable to come together for even some introductory talks about social reforms under a Vedic ideal. This is what is harrowing to me. The 'demons' are incidental to our efforts. Its the devotees that worry me. There participation has always been the deciding factor. Nothing more. lol.
[PADA: Good analysis ys pd]
Jai Dhanesvara P,
I love this letter below because it personifies the state of the devotees. It reminds me of Prabhupad's first meeting Bhaktisidhanta where he proposed they could not be successful in preaching so long as they were a British colony. The odds were simply against them.
The devotees today can tell you in graphic details what the 'demons' are doing and yet, they have little to say of what they themselves can do. Meanwhile devotees spend tens of thousands on entertainment centers and other such peripheral hobbies while they have neither time nor money for preaching work for themselves or that of others. The final irony of course is that the devotees as a community have lost tens of millions in 'investments.' This was money that was suppose to be used for preaching and so it had to be lost for nothing instead. Had this been spent on preaching, it would have generated such a resounding sense of joy and empowerment as a community. Even in this campaign, it would only take say 200 devotees offering $20 a month for 3 months to do it. So little effort and yet, all impossible. In short, the real impact of kali is not the demons, but its ability to nullify the devotees. Decades ago, these same devotees would go in as a young couple and open entire countries with little more than their dhotis and saris and yet today, with all our sophistication, we are unable to come together for even some introductory talks about social reforms under a Vedic ideal. This is what is harrowing to me. The 'demons' are incidental to our efforts. Its the devotees that worry me. There participation has always been the deciding factor. Nothing more. lol.
[PADA: Good analysis ys pd]
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