I Want To - Prabhupāda’s Visionary Desires for the World
In the material world, the phrase "I want" is the driving force of conditioned life, constantly pushing the living entity to acquire wealth, prestige, and temporary comforts. But in the spiritual vocabulary of a pure devotee, "I want" transforms into the ultimate expression of compassion and divine surrender. When Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke the words "I want to," he was not revealing personal ambitions or mundane cravings. Instead, he was opening the doors to his visionary blueprint for saving a suffering world. He left the quiet, holy atmosphere of Vṛndāvana because he wanted to execute the order of his spiritual master. He endured physical hardships and traveled the globe relentlessly because he wanted to deliver the real science of God to those wandering in ignorance. By studying exactly what Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted, we are given a direct mandate. His desires are not historical footnotes; they are the guiding light for the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, instructing us on exactly how to organize our own lives and our global society to please him.
Flooding the World with Transcendental Literature
Śrīla Prabhupāda's most frequently expressed desire was to translate, print, and distribute his books. He viewed the publication of transcendental literature as his primary mission and the most effective preaching tool. He constantly expressed his desire to sit down peacefully to write, while simultaneously urging his disciples to distribute these books as widely as possible to educate the public.
- I want to present Bhagavad-gita as it is; that is my mission.
- As much as possible go on reprinting all the books and distributing them profusely. Your idea for issuing a series of Transcendental Teachings is good. We want to flood the market with Krishna consciousness publications.
- Now I am feeling more and more inclined for philosophy, so I want to sit down here in Los Angeles and translate my Srimad-Bhagavatam without much interruption.
- I want to sell as many books as possible, that is the main thing. By selling books, that is the best preaching work.
Expanding Temples and Global Preaching Centers
Śrīla Prabhupāda possessed a limitless, spiritual ambition to see Kṛṣṇa consciousness established in every corner of the globe. He wanted to open hundreds of centers, construct magnificent temples in major cities like London and Vṛndāvana, and introduce ecstatic festivals like Ratha-yātrā worldwide. For him, every new facility was a hospital to cure the material disease of the conditioned souls.
- My aim is that I want to start at least 108 centers during my lifetime. So there are about 23 centers already existing, and your list completes another 16.
- I want to open hundreds of centers for preaching this Krishna Consciousness, and one who helps me in this endeavor is certainly very dear to Krishna and all of the acaryas.
- I want to construct very big Temples in England so please take care and do it nicely and expertly.
- This book distribution and Ratha Yatra Festivals should go on all over the world. I want to introduce this Ratha Yatra Festival programme all over the world.
Establishing the Ideal Spiritual Society
Beyond simply chanting and opening temples, Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to restructure human society to make it conducive for spiritual advancement. He spoke passionately about wanting to establish varṇāśrama-dharma—an ideal Vaiṣṇava society with proper social divisions. He wanted to train brāhmaṇas to guide society, open gurukulas for children, and create farm communities to demonstrate simple living and high thinking.
- I want to have a small Vaisnava state - varnasrama, ideal. Ideal Vaisnava state. Brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, they are doing very nicely, and people will be surprised, "Oh." There is no question of hatred. It is division for proper discharge of duty.
- In our society we want to establish divine society. Therefore there is need of all classes of men and all classes of social orders. Our Vedic conception is varnasrama-dharma.
- We want to create some men who can give guidance to the human society, because at the present moment the society is without any intelligent head, namely Brahmins.
- Very crude, unsophisticated, but intense love for Krsna - that is Vrndavana. We want to introduce this farm project means intense love for Krsna.
The Training and Care of Sincere Disciples
Śrīla Prabhupāda's "wants" were often focused on the success and well-being of his disciples. He expressed a desire to train them with such conviction that they could deliver the world from ignorance. He wanted to delegate management to his senior students so he could focus on writing, and he even wanted to introduce spiritualized social systems, such as arranged marriages, to ensure their stability and happiness.
- You are an intelligent boy, and I want to train you very nicely so that you will be able to preach this great Krishna Conscious philosophy with conviction, and help to deliver all the spiritually-starving souls in this age.
- I am always glad to hear from my beloved disciples, but I am finding difficulty to reply so many letters daily, so I want to encourage the disciples to refer their questions as much as possible to the GBC men and other senior students.
- Even there is some disagreement at times, that is not taken very seriously. In this way, in mature life they become happy. I want to introduce this system of arranged marriages in the Western countries, amongst my disciples at least.
- I wanted to make some sannyasis to do what I am doing, and if you keep the standard, always chanting Hare Krishna, then it will go on continuously without impediment.
A Compassionate Revolution to Save Humanity
Underlying all of his specific plans and projects was a singular, powerful emotion: supreme compassion. Despite his advanced age and failing health, Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly stated that he wanted to keep working and traveling. His ambition was to start a spiritual revolution against godless civilization, wanting nothing more than to see the entire world become genuinely happy by learning to love Kṛṣṇa.
- My health is not always going on nicely. Still, why I am trying? I want to begin one revolution against godless civilization. That is my ambition.
- Because I want to deliver the real thing, therefore in my feeble health I am prepared to go. If one man can understand, that I want to see. I am traveling all over the world to see that at least one man may understand.
- We want to unite the whole world under this Krsna consciousness movement.
- Continue chanting and associating with devotees and your spiritual growth will be assured. In this way, be happy, that is my blessing. I want to see the whole world happy in this way - that is my only ambition.
Conclusion
When we review all that Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to accomplish, we see the perfect exhibition of a life fully surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He wanted no personal adoration, no immense wealth for his own enjoyment, and no quiet retirement. He only wanted to flood the world with transcendental knowledge, build sanctuaries of spiritual peace, establish a sane and divine social structure, and unite suffering humanity under the banner of Lord Caitanya's saṅkīrtana movement. As his followers, the greatest perfection of our lives is to align our own desires with his. If we simply want what Śrīla Prabhupāda wants, and dedicate our energy to fulfilling his visionary desires, we will undoubtedly please him, please Kṛṣṇa, and achieve the ultimate success of human life.
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 I Want To (Prabhupada). We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.