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EDITORIAL  Prabhupada, George Harrison, And Bold Preaching BY SEVANANDI DASI  EDITORIAL, Jan 28 (VNN) — Respected Maharajas, Prabhus and Didis, Dandavat pranama. Jaya Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.Usually you receive, from this address, the recent darsanas and lectures of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, and on the odd occasion you receive one of his older darsanas or lectures. Today you are receiving an old darsana of Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja, which took place in July of 1974, and which came from one of the few cassettes that had never been typed for folio. George Harrison was sincerely trying to be one of Prabhupada's 'new bhaktas', and he posed the same types of questions and doubts that many of us have, even at present, regarding enthusiastic and bold preaching of Krsna consciousness and proper siddhanta in the face of obstacles and potential enmity. My revered Gurudeva, Srila Narayana Maharaja, is always encouraging his disciples, followers, and friends to boldly preach the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the mission of our Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada is doing the same in this darsana. My god-brother, Sripad Sarvabhauma dasa Adhikari of Maui, Hawaii, was kind enough to lend me his cassette recording for the following transcription, which I pray will be pleasing to the devotees. Aspiring for the service of the Vaisnavas, Sevanandi dasi Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada A UNIQUE ROOM CONVERSATION July, 1974 [George Harrison:] Syamasundara and I were talking just on the way here, and it's like when you commit yourself to something, in a way it's like putting your head on the chopping block. [Prabhupada:] Not chopping block. [George Harrison:] Because somebody can turn around and chop it off, or it may be you're lucky and it doesn't get chopped off. I find that the more commitment I've made, though it's such a little commitment relatively speaking, it's such a little one, now I'm getting in the area where I find that people are...it provokes... [Srila Prabhupada:] Thoughts. [George Harrison:] Sometimes it provokes bad reactions. [Syamasundara dasa:] Sometimes people become agitated by his words. [Srila Prabhupada:] Murkhayo 'padeso hi prakopaya na santaye. There is a verse, which states that if one is foolish and if you give him good instruction, he becomes angry. Payam panam bhujanganam kevalam visa-vardhanam. The example is given that if you keep a snake and give him milk, the result will be that his poison will be increased. Sometimes it happens that if one is foolish and you give him good advice, he becomes angry. But has it happened like that? No, I don't think so. [George Harrison:] I can feel that a little animosity comes from people who, and I don't know for what reason, but people... [Srila Prabhupada:] Enviousness. [George Harrison:] And in some ways the more committed you are to the thing, and the stronger you are in what you do, then the stronger the animosity. [Srila Prabhupada:] The other side [George Harrison:] Sometimes I get the feeling that maybe there's one person who it means something real to and ten people who it doesn't mean anything to; and I'm not sure how or if it all balances out in the end. [Syamasundara dasa:] But if you reach one person... [George Harrison:] But say you don't reach any people, and then you have a choice of reaching people, and you only reach one, and by reaching that one you have twenty people who are annoyed. [Srila Prabhupada:] Yes, sometimes it happens. [Syamasundara dasa:] His question is that if you preach and you meet many men, ten men, you may make nine of them enemies but one will become helped by your preaching. So how is that... [George Harrison:] But if you don't say anything, then maybe all ten of them are quite friendly. [Syamasundara dasa:] So how is that beneficial? [Srila Prabhupada:] Yes, the preaching is different. You see, when one preaches he must tell the truth - just like Lord Jesus Christ. People did not like his preaching, but he did not stop his preaching. That is another point. In the preaching propaganda there is possibility of creating animosity. Yes, there is possibility. Unnecessarily, some of my god-brothers [unclear - in a certain temple], although we are innocent, we are simply worshipping, we have given them money, and everything is all right, but they are creating some animosity. Especially in God consciousness such things are possible, you see? We have to pay sometimes. Even Prahlada Maharaja. He was a five-year old boy, and his only fault was his Krsna consciousness. His father became his enemy, what to speak of others. Because his father did not like God consciousness, he became the enemy of his child, even though the child was only five years old. So there is possibility of such things. [Syamasundara dasa:] Those who take the biggest risk for Krsna, even though they stand the risk of losing everything, Krsna always comes to help and protect them. [Srila Prabhupada:] That is the history of everyone. Just like the Pandavas. They were bereft of their kingdom, bereft of their wife, they were insulted, so many things. Still, at last they came out victorious. Arjuna and Yudhisthira. And the other party was defeated the Kuruksetra war. That is fact; Krsna protects His devotee. That mercy is there. Kaunteya pratijanahi na me bhaktah pranasyati . So you have this record album, Living in the Material World, and I heard that it was appreciated by so many people. Even one teacher was telling me... [Syamasundara dasa:] Our teacher came to visit Prabhupada. He said he played your record in his classroom, he teaches religious education, and they were standing, the children, and one of them began to pray. It had a great effect. [George Harrison:] There is one song in particular, which is directly the result of the conversation we had when you came... [Srila Prabhupada:] Yes, in your house. [George Harrison:] About fame and fortune and... [Srila Prabhupada:] So the record is now received well there... the people are seeking after something, about spiritual enlightenment. That's a fact. Especially in the Western world. That is a fact. We have to administer very cautiously and carefully, and then it will be taken. One thing is when you speak of restrictions, the four principles, that is when they become angry. Because everyone is addicted to these things.  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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