Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Wanted to Preach the Saṅkīrtana Movement of Love of Kṛṣṇa
This article explores the profound urgency and compassion behind the desire to distribute spiritual knowledge, as presented in the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda. A genuine devotee of the Lord is never satisfied with personal salvation alone; he burns with the desire to preach. By dedicating one's life to spreading the saṅkīrtana movement according to the authorized instructions of the spiritual master, any person can overcome material impediments and achieve the highest perfection of life.
The Duty and Determination to Preach
The hallmark of an advanced devotee is a profound sense of compassion for the conditioned souls. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a genuine Vaiṣṇava cannot sit down silently; he feels a duty to preach God's glories to others. This determination is so strong that preaching cannot be checked by any material circumstance. Whether one uses their life, money, intelligence, or words, the desire to preach transforms an ordinary person into a first-class spiritual leader, bringing them immense transcendental happiness.
- If one is devotee, he cannot sit down silently. He wants to preach God's glories to others, even at the risk of life, like Lord Jesus Christ did it. Even at the risk of life, he preached God consciousness. That is the duty of a devotee.
- Preaching cannot be checked by anything - if you want to preach. In any circumstances you can preach. Preaching can be executed by four things: by your life, by your money, by your intelligence, and by your words.
- I want everyone of our men to become first class preachers. So you want to preach that is best. Don't be worried, but go on with your preaching and you will be happy.
- Sadhus, saintly persons, want to preach to both the poor and the rich, but the poor take more advantage of the sadhus' preaching than the rich do.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's Global Mission
Five hundred years ago, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu inaugurated the saṅkīrtana movement with a specific, global vision. He wanted to preach the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in every town and village. Śrīla Prabhupāda fulfilled this desire by carrying the message across the world, shattering the foolish notion that Westerners could not become pure devotees or sannyāsīs. By systematically establishing the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness globally, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness acts as the direct continuation of Lord Caitanya's mission.
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to preach the sankirtana movement of love of Krsna throughout the entire world, and therefore during His presence He inspired the sankirtana movement.
- There are some foolish critics who say that Europeans and Americans cannot be offered sannyasa, but here (in CC Adi 7.163) we find that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to preach the sankirtana movement all over the universe.
- Our real purpose is to spread Krishna Consciousness. This means that there is one God; Krishna, one scripture; Bhagavad-gita As It Is, one mantra; Hare Krishna, and one work; service of Lord Krishna. We want to preach this cult all over the world.
- He (Haridasa Thakura) wanted to preach the glories of name, but there are teachers with title. Acarya title was given to Haridasa because he was chanting daily, regularly.
Preaching Purity and Authorized Knowledge
To be effective, preaching must be rooted in authorized, transcendental literature. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly emphasized that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement stands on the solid ground of his books. A preacher must never concoct ideas or present rascal philosophies while falsely using the Bhagavad-gītā for personal gain. Because Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly wanted to preach the pure message of his spiritual master, his followers are tasked with distributing these authorized books by any means necessary.
- The present Krsna consciousness movement was started with belief in the words of our spiritual master. He wanted to preach, we believed in his words and tried somehow or other to fulfill them.
- The thing is that our spiritual master wants to preach Krsna consciousness, and he has repeatedly stressed to distribute books, we shall distribute books by any means, that is good. That is good.
- Books mean solid ground. What we want to preach, it is recorded, not any concocted ideas.
- If you want to preach some rascal philosophy, you do. Why you take Bhagavad-gita? That is cheating.
Empowered Preachers in All Circumstances
Anyone who possesses a sincere desire to preach is empowered by the Lord, regardless of their social standing or the obstacles they face. Throughout history, great souls like Lord Jesus Christ and Yamarāja (in his incarnation as Vidura) undertook severe hardships because they wanted to preach the truth. Furthermore, Śrīla Prabhupāda reminds us that one does not need to be a renounced monk to spread the message; great ācāryas like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura were householders. The ultimate goal is to create countless qualified gurus to preach in their own surroundings.
- For example, Lord Jesus Christ wanted to preach amongst some persons who were practically against the principle of accepting God as the Supreme, and the result was that these people crucified him.
- He (Yamaraja) wanted to preach the glories of the Lord, and therefore by the will of the Lord he was cursed by Manduka Muni to come into the world in the incarnation of Vidura and work very hard as a great devotee.
- You complain that as a householder it is very difficult. Especially you want to preach. There are examples of great preachers who were householders, such as Bhaktivinode thakur, although we cannot hope to imitate him.
- We do not want to become alone guru, but we want to preach in such a way that every, the chief man, or any man, he can become guru in his surroundings.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that the desire to preach is the natural, blissful symptom of advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By recognizing that we are servants of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's global mission, we must boldly distribute the authorized knowledge found in Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. Whether one is a householder or a renunciate, rich or poor, anyone who dedicates their life to spreading the glories of the Lord and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra becomes immensely dear to Kṛṣṇa and secures their path back to Godhead.
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 Wanting to Preach. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.