“Saving The World From Complete Disaster.” What Did Prabhupada Really Mean?

When Srila Prabhupada said: “I wish that it will be noted down in history that this Krishna Consciousness Movement is responsible for saving the world. Practically, our Movement is the only hope for saving the world from complete disaster.” Srila Prabhupada Letter to: Sucandra, Bombay, 1 January, 1972

What exactly are we to understand by the word disaster? One may understandably think that this would refer to a third world war with nuclear weapons.

My understanding from the study of Prabhupada teachings would clearly reveal to me, that it would not be war itself which would be the disaster but rather the real disaster for humanity would be found in who may become the victors of that war.

 

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Ramesvara: Prabhupada, in the Adi-lila, you wrote that the Communist movement is greater than the capitalist movement because there are more sudras than vaisyas so that in a war between Communism and capitalism, the Communists would win.
Prabhupada: Naturally. They are in greater number.
Ramesvara: But these modern wars are fought with missiles and bombs more than armies.
Prabhupada: Yes. Formerly, also, there were brahmastra, fire, firearms, brahmastra. (break) …problems that we are facing, they were also in the past under different name, different form.
Nalini-kanta: (break) …Communists win, that will not stop our preaching?
Prabhupada: Hm?
Nalini-kanta: They do not like to hear of God.
Ramesvara: You wrote that if the Communists are victorious they would destroy whatever is left of the culture.
Prabhupada: Yes. Victory for the Communists means the whole human culture is lost.
Ajata-satru: Does it mean that they will also attack the Krsna consciousness?
Prabhupada: Yes, they have already begun. They are not passing our temple in Bombay.
Nalini-kanta: If after the war the preaching will be still good, that means the Communists will not be victorious.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Nalini-kanta: The Americans will win?
Prabhupada: Honest people will take to religious way of life. The Communists becoming victorious means they (the honest people) are also ruined.

Prabhupada Morning Walk  Conversation (World War III) April 4, 1975, Mayapur

 

Prabhupada: …two classes of men: the communist and the non-communist. Not exactly communist and capitalist, but communist and non-communist. Out of these two, the communists are going to be powerful. This is the world tendency. So if the world becomes full of communists, then the human civilization will be finished. All rogues and rascals, that’s all. The American government wants to check this tendency. But they cannot check it if they remain “so-called trust in God.” That will not be possible.

So according to our proposition… Not only now, it is forever. Two classes of men are there: sura and asura. Surāsura. Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved devaḥ. Deva and sura, the same thing. Asuras tad viparyayaḥ. And the asura, or the demons, godless. So if the Americans remain godless in the name of so-called trust in God, they will not be able to check this communistic movement. They will not be able. Now, if they are serious to check this communistic movement, save the American country as well as the whole world, then they must be very serious to understand what is God and what is trust in God. Otherwise this communistic movement will finish the civilized human society. So you are thoughtful. They must be very serious about it. And this is the only movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which can make all people actually trust in God and explain what is meant by God. Demons, they… If the communists are demons and the capitalists are also demons, fighting between demons, there will be war and loss of life, but nobody will come out victorious. That is going on. There is occasional world war, but the situation of the world remains the same. No party has become able to change the situation of the world. What do you think, Karandhara?
Karandhara: No, no significant change.
Prabhupāda: Simply they fight and loss of life and money, energy. War must be for the good. If there is some war, it must be for some good. But where is that goodness? The world remains the same; rather, it becomes more worst. Then why fight? But they will fight. Because both of them demons, they will fight. But not for any good result. War means… War is not bad. Just like disease. If somebody is diseased, then he becomes healthy. The whole polluted situation of the body becomes repaired. Just like when you get a boil or dysentery, all the poisons of the body, they become purged out. Then your health becomes nice. That is the law, nature’s law. Similarly, war or famine or pestilence, they are meant for purging out all undesirable men. But the demonic principle is so strong that it is not becoming so. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Make this approach. The Americans have placed in their constitution, “In God we Trust.” It should be done very scientifically and philosophically, what is God and what is that trust, not a vague idea. Vague ideas will not help. They will not be able to conquer over the atheistic world. Actually, if there is organized party who believe in God factually, then this demon class of men will always be vanquished. Yes. Just like there was war between the surāsura, demigods and the asuras. God, Viṣṇu, took side of the demigods and came out victorious. But if both of them are demons, why Viṣṇu will take side of anyone of them? “You fight and go to hell.” That is going on.

(Morning Walk, December 12, 1973, Los Angeles)

 

Ramesvara: Now, what I am thinking is this, that you have mentioned many times, several times, that there is a conflict which is inevitable between Russia and America.
Prabhupada: Hm. No, if they understand Krsna consciousness, both of them–now we are publishing–then there will be no conflict on…
Ramesvara: If Russia…
Prabhupada: Yes.
Ramesvara: But if not…
Prabhupada: Then we shall force America to fight with them. Finish this philosophy.
Ramesvara: Now, if this conflict takes place, then you mentioned that many cities both in America and Russia will be bombed or affected by this conflict.
Prabhupada: Hm, hm.
Ramesvara: So when the war is finished…
Prabhupada: Then they will come to their senses.
Ramesvara: Then there will be nothing left. Their jobs, their factories, it will all… So then they’ll be able to easily understand, “Now let us start again. We’ll live on the farm. Simpler life.”
Prabhupada: Yes.
Ramesvara: But…
Prabhupada: Yes. That will be good lesson for them.
Ramesvara: So is this conflict part of the spreading of Krsna consciousness?
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. To… Conflict means to finish the sinful activities, finish, stop it.
Ramesvara: It seems that then this conflict will be a great opportunity for our movement.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes.
Ramesvara: And afterwards there will be an opportunity to influence people.
Prabhupada: We shall take every opportunity. We are the best opportunists. Anukulyena krsnanu… This is anukula. This is favorable for spreading Krsna consciousness. We shall immediately accept. It doesn’t matter what it is. We do not depend on the public opinion–“This is good” or “This is bad.” Our “good” “bad” is: if it is favorable for spreading Krsna consciousness, it is good; otherwise bad.
Ramesvara: So it seems that as our movement grows more and more…
Prabhupada: Strong.
Ramesvara: …then America will more and more be considering active stopping of Communism. It’ll be logical.
Prabhupada: Everything will be stopped, all bogus social, political or religious systems. They will be all stopped.
Ramesvara: Then this will be a natural development of the growth of the Krsna consciousness movement.
Prabhupada: Yes. Yes. Two things: paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. As the duskrta–na mam duskrta mudhah–will be reduced, the sadhu will increase. Or the sadhu will increase, the duskrta will decrease.
Ramesvara: This conflict will be global. It will affect the whole world.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. That doesn’t matter.
Hari-sauri: We’re already in every country now.
Prabhupada: Yes. That is the Kuruksetra fight.
Ramesvara: So this conflict will take place…
Prabhupada: Support Yudhisthira Maharaja and kill Duryodhana. This is Kuruksetra.
Ramesvara: It seems our movement has to grow much more…
Prabhupada: It will grow.
Ramesvara: …before this will take place.
Prabhupada: It will grow: It is growing. Simply our workers should be very sincere and strict, and it will it grow. Nobody can check. That’s a fact. Simply we have to be very strict and sincere. Then nobody can check.
Ramesvara: Because after such a conflict the whole world will…
Prabhupada: Conflict is already there. Just like they’re opposing.
Ramesvara: But I mean actual destruction of their culture, their…
Prabhupada: Now they are trying to destroy us. And we are trying to destroy them. The conflict is already there. And this is now psychological fight. And then there will be actual fight. And we must take part in that fight.
Ramesvara: We will be the only ones who have any vision what to do after the war.
Prabhupada: Yes. We have got clear vision. We are not putting any theory. We are always presenting fact, and that is materializing. Just like we started this farm. It is materializing gradually. It is not yet fully organized; still, there is hope that it will give peace to the people. There is sufficient hope.
Hari-sauri: Is our goal to actually establish Vedic principles back into society again at large?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Ramesvara: Of course.
Prabhupada: That will be Satya-yuga. Again the Vedic principles will be established after finishing this Kali-yuga. And that is Satya-yuga. That is going on. Just after summer, there is winter. There is… After winter, there is summer.
Ramesvara: But this is extraordinary. Lord Caitanya’s movement, the ten thousand years of His movement, that is a special exception for the Kali-yuga.
Prabhupada: Special for this millennium. But the thing is going on like that, rotating.
Ramesvara: But in general, first it gets more and more degraded. Then it’s all finished.
Prabhupada: Yes. Unless there is degradation, there is no question of improvement. So this is going on. This is nature’s way, bhutva bhutva praliyate, appearance and disappearance.
Ramesvara: Now, this Krsna conscious government… Will many of the things that are going on in America, like schools and education, teaching people to read and write…
Prabhupada: They’ll have to reform.
Ramesvara: That will all continue, but it will be adjusted so that Krsna consciousness…
Prabhupada: Yes, Gurukula, Gurukula education.
Ramesvara: Still we’ll be teaching subjects like history and math.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Without teaching, how the human society will exist? There must be.
Hari-sauri: No, he’s talking about some of the subjects they teach now.
Ramesvara: Material science as well as spiritual science?
Prabhupada: No. No, no. There is no need of so-called material science–how to kill children in the womb. These things will be kicked out. Nonsense.
Ramesvara: Do you think that they will adopt Indian medicine over Western medicine, things like that? Because there has to be some varnasrama.
Prabhupada: No, medicine, if it is actually medicine, it will be accepted. It doesn’t matter whether it is Indian or Western. If it is medicine it will be accepted.
Ramesvara: So that kind of research is in the mode of goodness.
Prabhupada: That is already there. We have to make little research. It, already there. There are books, Ayurvedic books. They are very nice. Everything can be done. Dhanvantari. It is given by Dhanvantari avatara, incarnation of Krsna.
Ramesvara: You have written in the First Canto that we welcome scientists, doctors…
Prabhupada: Yes, if it is beneficial.
Ramesvara: We welcome all these people if they dovetail their work for Krsna.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Ramesvara: So it’s not that these…
Prabhupada: We do not approve anything which is not actually beneficial. Otherwise it doesn’t matter, homeopathic or allopathic. But there is standard medicine given by Dhanvantari.
Ramesvara: Yes. But what about certain technological advancements like airplanes and automobiles?
Prabhupada: There are subtler aeroplanes. Aeroplane is mentioned in the sastras. Now they are working on machine, but there are aeroplanes which can work on mantra.
Ramesvara: But that science is lost.
Prabhupada: Not lost. It is there.
Hari-sauri: It’s hidden.
Ramesvara: We can’t practice that.
Prabhupada: No, we can practice what is called akasa patala. This book is there in Germany. It was purchased by the Germans.
Ramesvara: But do you think that the Vedic sciences will be revived as our movement becomes…
Prabhupada: No, no, our main purpose is to revive Krsna consciousness. In favor of this Krsna consciousness, whatever is available, beneficial, we shall adopt.
Ramesvara: Yes.
Prabhupada: That’s all.

Room Conversation January 21, 1977, Bhubaneswar

 

Ramesvara: Devotees once told me you said that the demigods like this movement very much so that they’re standing in line to take their birth in the Krsna consciousness movement.
Prabhupada: Yes. They like to come here on this planet. Just like you Krsna conscious men, you are very much enthusiastic to go to India. India has no material attraction, but why our men wanted to go to India in spite of so many difficulties? Similarly, in the higher planet, heavenly planet, they are so much engrossed with material happiness that there is no facility. But here there is facility, in this earth, Bhurloka. Bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam tayapahrta-cetasam. One who is too much attached to material convenience and everything, they have no opportunity for Krsna consciousness. (break)

Morning Walk, June 9, 1976, Los Angeles

 

So you all, boys and girls, those who have come from America, I am very much thankful to you. But don’t be less serious. Be very serious. And another thing I’ll request especially to the Americans, that America has got good potentiality to save the world, so if you preach very nicely in your country… And not all of them will be interested, but if a section of men in your country, you can turn them to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, it will be great benefit to the whole world.

But the aim is the same, punar-janma-jayāya: to gain victory over this process of birth, death and old age. This is not fiction; this is fact. People are not serious. But you can teach your people; otherwise, the whole human society is at risk. They are like animals, without any… Especially this communist movement is very, very dangerous—to make a big animals. They are already animals, and this movement is making big animals.
So I am speaking to America because America is a little serious against this communistic movement. And it can be counteracted because the process is current since a very, very long time. Deva asura, devāsura, the fight between the demigods and the demons. So the same fight is there in different name, “Communists and the capitalists.” But the capitalists are also eighty percent, ninety percent demons. Yes. Because they do not know the science of God. That is demonic principle. So there is good chance in your country to make them, or they rectify their demonic principles. And then they will be very, (I) mean, strongly able to fight with the other demons.

Prabhupada Lecture – Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.11, Māyāpur, April 4, 1975