Possible or Impossible?

Our Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta. has stated that the entire world will become Krishna conscious, and he has also stated that it is impossible for this to happen. So how are we to relate to this apparent contradiction?

From a material point of view it is indeed unthinkable that in the midst of the Kali Yuga the entire world can become Krishna conscious because Krishna always honors the free will of the living beings. So there would have to be a massive spiritual awakening with millions and billions of people deciding on their own volition to take to Krishna consciousness. Is it possible for there to be such a massive paradigm shift? If it did happen, it would be the most massive spiritual revolution in the history of the world.

In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna states that even one devotee who becomes a powerful acharya can attract the entire world to Krishna consciousness. So according to Krishna, it is possible. Therefore we can conclude that the only way that it could happen would be if there emerged one or more completely pure devotees of Krishna who reach out and bestow Krishna's mercy upon the suffering masses. Instead of praying that such a pure devotee or devotees can be present amongst us, the best course of action is that each of us become such a pure devotee and convince others to also become such pure devotees. Then working together as an ever-expanding team of pure devotees there can be a real chance that we can see that entire world take to this Krishna consciousness movement during our lifetimes.

If we remain attached to material sense gratification, we are part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. Therefore we should diligently strive for pure bhakti because it is the only thing that will make us happy and make the world happy.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

One Pure Devotee Can Save the World--Srila Prabhupada Dancing in London

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Cause of Our Fall Down

In your 21 May 2009 edition of "Thought for the Day" you state, "We who through misuse of our free will have cast ourselves into the prison of this world of suffering." My question is, what form did our original misuse of free will take before our becoming embodied in the material world? In other words, if we are eternally existing as individual living entities emanating from the Supreme Cause, how and when did we first manifest our distaste for serving Krishna? Did we exist for a period each uniquely involved in some way in the pastimes of The Lord and then like spoiled rich children become dissatisfied with our state of privilege not realizing the alternative? Are we all guilty of individual acts of free will or was there an event of mass revolt against Krishna resulting in a collective banishment, like the story of Satan's fall to earth with his cronies in the Book of Genesis? Also, what is the nature of our eternality? Are we eternal in substance only, receiving our unique personality upon emanating from Krishna (as sparks from a fire) or is our unique personality itself coeternal with our spiritual substance? I have been curious about these matters for some time and have full confidence in your knowledge and guidance.

Your servant,

Jason

Answer: Hand in the Fire

Thank you very much for your deeply thoughtful questions. I can see and appreciate very much that you are person who is sincerely seeking the answers regarding our existence. Fortunately I have been blessed with enlightened wisdom from one of the greatest spiritual masters in the history of the universe, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Therefore in humble service to him and to you I will now explain to you what I have learned from him regarding the questions you have asked.

Your first questions is: "What form did our original misuse of free will take before our becoming embodied in the material world?

The answer is that the first manifestation of free will misuse is envy of the Supreme Person.

Then you asked: "If we are eternally existing as individual living entities emanating from the Supreme Cause, how and when did we first manifest our distaste for serving Krishna?"

The answer is that as the Supreme Person is fully independent and as we are part and parcel of him, we also possess a minute degree of independence. For independence to be real it must have the potential to either be correctly used or misused. When it is misused we fall into this material existence.

Your next question was: "Did we exist for a period each uniquely involved in some way in the Pastimes of The Lord and then like spoiled rich children become dissatisfied with our state of privilege not realizing the alternative?"

The answer is that we were like the curious child who stuck his hand in the fire because it looked so beautiful.

And then you asked: "Are we all guilty of individual acts of free will or was there an event of mass revolt against Krishna resulting in a collective banishment, like the story of Satan's fall to earth with his cronies in the Book of Genesis?"

The answer: It was individual.

And your final question: "Also, what is the nature of our eternality? Are we eternal in substance only, receiving our unique personality upon emanating from Krishna (as sparks from a fire) or is our unique personality itself coeternal with our spiritual substance?"

The answer is that we are factually eternal since we are eternally emanating from Krishna as unique individuals.

I hope that these answers have satisfied your intelligence. I can point out further that by diving deeper and deeper into the chanting of Hare Krishna you will be blessed with more and more profound realizations regarding the nature of the Absolute Truth, Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari