Prabhupāda Instructs His Disciples to Become Expert Preachers
The occupational duty of every sincere follower of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to distribute the message of Godhead to the suffering humanity. Throughout his global mission, Śrīla Prabhupāda systematically trained his disciples to become bold, expert, and deeply compassionate preachers. By emphasizing the absolute necessity of philosophical study, strict personal purity, and extraordinary tolerance, he created a spiritual army capable of challenging the greatest material illusions.
The Preacher as a Fearless Soldier
Taking the message of Kṛṣṇa into a hostile, materialistic society is not a task for the faint of heart. Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently compared his traveling preachers to frontline soldiers who are actively engaged in a fierce war against māyā. Because these dedicated devotees willingly undergo severe tapasya (austerity) and face constant difficulties to deliver others, they are recognized as the absolute best and most dear servants of the Supreme Lord.
- Preacher is the best devotee because he is a soldier.
- All the preachers of Krsna consciousness movement, they are maha-bahu, strongly armed by the weapons of Krsna. They cannot be defeated. They will push on the fight with maya, this illusion.
- The soldiers in this Krsna consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life.
- Why Krsna is recognizing so nicely a preacher? Because He knows that he has to face so many difficulties. It is not easy going. Armchair politician, no. He has to face so many difficulties.
- Without tapasya, nobody can approach Krishna. So preachers who boldly face all kinds of difficulties are considered to be under tapasya, and Krishna takes note of such tapasya of the devotee, and the devotee is recognized by Him.
The Foundational Qualification of Purity
It is completely impossible to save someone from drowning if you yourself cannot swim. To effectively convert materialistic people to spiritual life, a preacher's personal behavior must be entirely above suspicion. Śrīla Prabhupāda demanded that anyone attempting to preach on behalf of the movement must strictly adhere to the regulative principles and faithfully chant their sixteen rounds, as this undeniable purity is the actual force that changes hearts.
- For a preacher there are four principles to be followed. One, he must be fully surrendered to Krishna.
- Our method is very simple. The preacher should also be ideal, sincere, serious and strictly adhering to our principles, chanting 16 rounds and following the restrictive rules.
- Only a pure devotee can convert others to pure devotional service. It is therefore important for all the preachers in our Krsna consciousness movement to first become pure devotees and follow the regulative principles, refraining from illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication.
- Our preachers who are preaching Krsna consciousness all over the world should follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni and become purified by following the four principles and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. This will make them fit to become Vaisnavas.
- First behave yourself perfectly; then teach others to become perfect. That is preacher.
Equipping the Preacher with Philosophical Knowledge
A preacher must be fully armed with the exact philosophical conclusions of the previous ācāryas. Merely possessing a sentimental attachment to the Lord is not enough when facing atheists, impersonalists, and sophisticated scholars. To ensure his disciples were never defeated or embarrassed in debate, Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed them to deeply study his translated literatures, memorize the purports, and faithfully reproduce the teachings in their own words.
- All devotees, especially preachers, must know the philosophy of Krsna consciousness so as not to be embarrassed and insulted when they preach.
- Preaching shouldn't depend on me only. My disciples should become all good preachers, and that depends on studying the books nicely so that you can arrive at the right conclusion.
- You should all read very carefully Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, and you should be able to answer all questions like this, and only in rare cases approach me. But it is important that our students must be able to answer all questions for becoming preachers.
- There is no need to concoct anything new. You simply have to study carefully our books and then in your own words try to express what you have read. This will automatically make you a very successful preacher.
- The process is that you should memorize the purports of my books and then speak them in your own words. Do not adulterate or change anything. Then you will be the perfect preacher.
The Essential Attitude of Tolerance and Enthusiasm
When interacting with the conditioned souls, a preacher will inevitably encounter foolish arguments, insults, and direct opposition. If a devotee becomes angry when challenged, their preaching work is immediately ruined. Śrīla Prabhupāda explained that an expert preacher must exhibit immense tolerance toward demonic individuals, continuously fueled by an internal, joyful enthusiasm to glorify the sublime qualities of the Supreme Lord.
- A preacher should always be tolerant.
- Actually these persons are demons, but because we are preacher, we are preaching, if we simply become angry and cannot convince him, that means imperfect preacher.
- We are preacher, so if I simply become angry, then my preaching work will be stopped. Do you follow?
- It is not that one has to become very learned scholar to become a preacher. Simply it requires enthusiasm, "My Lord is so great, so kind, so beautiful, so wonderful. So I must speak something about my Lord."
- You must be very enthusiastic that "I shall preach the glories of the Lord to my best capacity." It is not that one has to become very learned scholar to become a preacher. Simply it requires enthusiasm.
Training the Next Generation of Preachers
To ensure that the global mission would outlast his physical presence, Śrīla Prabhupāda placed a massive emphasis on education. He considered the shaping of future preachers to be the single most important service within the society. By carefully training children in the gurukulas and guiding new disciples, the movement guarantees that highly qualified representatives will always be available to push the philosophy forward.
- I am now old man, and attacked with serious disease; I may be overcome by death at any moment. Therefore I wish to leave some trained preachers so that they can do the work of Krishna Consciousness in the western world. That is my ambition.
- I have a great hope to train some of my disciples for preaching work, even in my absence; I wish to leave some trained preachers so that they can do the work of Krishna Consciousness in the western world.
- I consider your work the most important in the society because you are shaping the future generation of our Krishna Consciousness preachers, and this is not any small thing.
- If we are able to make a whole generation of our children into fine Krsna Conscious preachers, that will be the glory of our movement and the glory of your country as well.
The Universal Mandate to Preach
In traditional Indian culture, preaching is often restricted exclusively to men in the renounced order of life. However, following the revolutionary spirit of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Prabhupāda shattered these artificial boundaries. He unequivocally stated that women, householders, and anyone situated in the science of Kṛṣṇa must take up the duty of a preacher. By actively enlightening others, any sincere soul immediately acts as a genuine guru.
- In Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Movement, everyone is preacher, whether man or woman it doesn't matter.
- But even though a woman is less intelligent, a sincere soul should be given proper chance to speak, because we want so many preachers, both men and women.
- My Spiritual Master used to send preachers who were all in the renounced order of life (sannyasis), but I am doing a completely different process - namely, preparing some young couples of husband and wife to take up this job.
- Whichever position one can find himself suitable, he can accept that. But the main business is krsna-tattva-vetta, and preach the cult all over the world, sei guru haya. Guru means preacher, to enlighten. One who can enlighten, he is guru.
- We are preachers on behalf of Lord Krsna, that is our occupational duty, we haven't got to search any further some new challenge or change our engagement. No, that has been already settled up. Best thing will be to develop more and more what we have begun.
Conclusion
The title of "preacher" in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a cheap designation; it is a hard-earned badge of purity, philosophical knowledge, and extreme tolerance. By training his disciples to face the illusions of the material world without fear or anger, Śrīla Prabhupāda established an unstoppable spiritual force. As long as his followers remain pure and enthusiastically repeat the message of the disciplic succession, the deliverance of the conditioned souls is guaranteed.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Our Preachers (Disciples of SP). We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.