Prabhupada was a master who never stopped learning

Srila Prabhupada was a deeply compassionate soul where he put his life to spread the message of Krishna. He did that till the very end without stopping or slowing down. He still woke up in the dead of night to translate Srimad Bhagavatam as a service to his guru even when he was in his last days on earth. But such determination and durability in preaching is possible only if we know when to be fast and furious and when to slow down. When to pat the person in the back and give a moral instruction on material grounds and when to give a deep philosophical exposé. It requires intelligence with compassion.

At times, Prabhupada did not speak to his guests but letting his tape recorder speak instead. Sometimes, he just played the harmonium and sang bhajan and in that way preached and sometimes he was fast and furious like the lion going for its kill. Srila Prabhupada was a master of preaching who never stopped learning from his disciples and the environment around him. Otherwise, how else can we explain the impact an old Calcutta man had on the hearts' of misguided youth of America. We have to learn from him, take lessons from the memories given by his disciples and try to humbly follow.

But one thing is for sure, if Prabhupada showed anything, he showed us blind following or blind talking about Krishna will not change the heart of the person listening. He used his intelligence and presented Krishna philosophically, critically, musically, jovially, silently, cynically etc fitting the person, time and circumstance. He did whatever it took to bring the person into the fold!

To do this, requires for us to understand our own capacity (strengths and weaknesses) and depending on our capacity, we assess the environment around us and accordingly present. This takes time because we will make many mistakes, not being hard on our self or feeling discouraged, we should continue to learn from our mistakes and other's as well and gradually cultivate the art of being a good judge of time, person and circumstance. When we are in-tune with our self and surrounding, we will have the confidence to navigate the turf. Having said all this, it is our duty to be a devotee of integrity, practice what we preach and not compromise on the principles of bhakti as given in the Bhagavad Gita. When we are aligned internally and externally, always practicing the art of shelter to Krishna, our effort to present Krishna will never go in vain!

Hare Krishna