Mission Impossible

Mission Impossible West Bengal, circa 1953 One hour south of Mayapur is the town of Shantipur. West Bengal circa 1953 A small temple complex, known as Advaita Bhavan, has been established here as a memorial for Srila Advaita Acharya and his wife, Sita Thakurani. A pujari is always on hand to do the puja, welcome visitors, and take care of the temple. In the early 1950s a gentleman dressed in white khadi comes to visit Advaita Bhavan. After chanting for many hours he is about to depart. He approaches the temple pujari first and thanks him for allowing him to chant here. The pujari begins to notice that the gentleman comes regularly, once a month on a weekend. He always takes a seat on the floor in the back of the temple hall. Sitting there for hours at a time, he simply chants japa quietly and deeply. After several months of this routine the temple pujari expectantly waits for this gentleman and greets him warmly when he arrives. Again, the man simply smiles and sits quietly to chant japa at the back of the temple hall. The pujari has developed some affection for this Vaishnava gentleman but never invites conversation which might disturb his bhajan. Occasionally, the pujari hears the man's voice choke up as he chants his japa. Sometimes, he sees that his eyes are full of tears. His profound presence makes a strong impression on the pujari. Just as suddenly as the gentleman began coming, he suddenly stops coming. The pujari begins to miss the presence of his "friend." Time passes.

One Thursday afternoon on August 12, 1965, the pujari notices a saffron-clad sannyasi sitting in the back of the mandir chanting japa. Pujari: In a moment I recognized him to be my old friend from before. Again he sat for a long time chanting Hare Krishna. I could see his beads moving, his eyes closed in concentrated devotion. He was weeping unabashedly, even more than he used to, while he took the Holy Name. Finally, as evening came, he paid his dandavat pranams for a long time. When he arose he came up to me and again thanked me for my seva here at Advaita Bhavan. The pujaris interest is piqued and he asks, "Who are you? I remember you from so long ago." "My name is Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami. I am an unworthy disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada, my divine master. I have been coming here for such a long time because my gurudeva has given me an impossible mission. His desire was for me to go across the ocean to the Western countries and spread the sublime teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There are countless souls there who have never heard of Sri-Sri Radha-Krishna and so they are suffering greatly. "I have not known how this mission of his will be successful, so I have come here to this special house of Advaita Acharya where he, Nityananda Prabhu, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would gather together to plan the sankirtan movement. It was here that they launched the inundation of love of God that swept India and continues to this day. "I have been praying very earnestly here that they will give me their mercy that somehow they will empower me and guide me. I want to satisfy my gurudeva's desire, but I am feeling unqualified to do this. Tomorrow I am leaving for Calcutta to go upon a ship across the ocean to America. I do not know what will befall me there, but I am praying most earnestly here for help."

As the Vaishnava sannyasi reveals his heart to the pujari, tears begin to roll down his cheeks. Then he humbly asks the pujari for his blessings, and leaves. The pujari is deeply moved by the Vaishnava's sincerity and determination. He watches him as he departs, walking down the road and finally out of sight. He wonders about the journey that he will take across the ocean. Again, time passes. One day, the pujari is shocked to see several western Vaishnavas at Advaita Bhavan. This is the first time he has ever seen Vaishnavas that are not Indian. They are wearing dhotis and saris and chanting on tulasi-mala just like Indian Vaishnavas. He can't get up the courage to approach them although he is filled with questions. As they leave, one of them comes forward and gives him an English magazine. The title is Back to Godhead.

Pujari: As I was looking at the photographs, suddenly I recognized a picture of the Founder- Acharya who had brought Krishna consciousness to the West. It was a picture of my friend, Bhaktivedanta Swami, who had come and prayed here so many times before. Then I realized that he had actually accomplished that impossible mission of his gurudeva. I saw that it was indeed he, starting alone and without pretense, who had accomplished this glorious miracle against all odds. Before coming to America, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami felt himself to be a lone representative of the mission of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. The one Gaudiya Math had splintered into many separate maths. While in New York, Prabhupada corresponded with several of his godbrothers to elicit their support and cooperation in his attempt to fulfill Mahaprabhu's prophecy that the Holy Names be sung in every town and village worldwide. Unfortunately, he did not get the support he was hoping for. No doubt, this pained him because he was a sensitive man. One may justifiably inquire why the Gaudiya Math did not support or assist Prabhupada's effort to spread Lord Chaitanya's mission worldwide. The answer is disarmingly simple. Srila Prabhupada was never part of the Gaudiya Math inner circle. He was never a temple leader nor a guru with disciples. He was simply Abhay Babu, the householder. He was what we call a congregational member, a businessman with a family who came to the temple regularly and assisted the temple leaders. Even when he took sannyasa at the age of 63, he was a lone preacher, not connected to the Gaudiya Math management structure. It was no wonder, that his godbrothers felt he could not possibly accomplish what had never been done before. Thus, Prabhupada was obliged to take up the order of his spiritual master single-handedly. Under the circumstances he had no choice but to shift his affiliation from serving the body of his guru's mission in favor of serving the personal instructions he received directly from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. Seeing that his Western disciples were willing to render service on behalf of his guru maharaja, Prabhupada became very appreciative. In his heart he understood that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta had sent these young people to assist him. Thus, he accepted his first and foremost duty to protect them, nurture them, and establish them as the future guardians of Lord Chaitanya's mission. In September 1970, Prabhupada brought forty young western Vaishnavas to India from Europe and America. Together, they traveled around the country putting on grand programs that lasted up to a week.