Prabhupāda Empowers Everyone Among His Disciples to Preach and Become Pure
A genuine spiritual movement thrives on the absolute equality of its members. In this extensive collection of instructions, Śrīla Prabhupāda elevates his followers by establishing a universal standard of practice that applies to absolutely everyone in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness society. He insists that every single disciple must rigidly adhere to the regulative principles, attend the daily temple programs, and continuously engage in service, ultimately expecting all his followers to transcend material designations, serve one another humbly, and qualify themselves as genuine spiritual masters.
The Universal Vow of Purity
Spiritual life is not based on sentimental claims but on a foundation of strict, measurable vows. Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently reminds his disciples that every single member of the society must rigidly follow the four regulative principles and complete their sixteen rounds of japa daily to remain immune to the attacks of māyā.
- The devotees must bear in mind they are promising to follow four regulative principles and chanting a minimum of 16 rounds of japa daily. Everyone should take very seriously this vow and make steady and sure progress in Krsna consciousness and go back to Godhead in this lifetime.
- I may inform you that in order to maintain our status of spiritual strength, everyone of us must very rigidly chant daily sixteen rounds without fail and follow the regulative principles strictly.
- Make sure that everyone is pure by following the four regulated principles and chanting at least 16 rounds daily. Without these things, there is no spiritual life.
- You must set nice example for the others by following very rigidly the regulative principles, such as chanting 16 rounds on the beads, reading the books, getting up to attend mangala aratrika, etc. In this way everyone shall be encouraged.
Punctuality and Temple Programs
The temple environment is scientifically designed to purify the conditioned soul. To maintain this spiritual atmosphere, Śrīla Prabhupāda expected every resident, regardless of their position or seniority, to rise early, attend maṅgala-ārati, and participate in the standard morning program.
- All the temple members, without exception must rise by 4 AM and attend mangala arati. Everyone living in the temple must agree to the standard by proper understanding of the philosophy of tapasya.
- Every morning I go to the temple and see the Deity and offer obeisances, so I expect each and every one of my disciples should also follow what I have given in this connection, arising early, taking bath, attending mangal arati.
- Everyone should join the mangal arati. Gradually, we should become more regulated and strict for following the rules and regulations. Otherwise we shall fall down.
- Everyone must attend the morning and evening program, otherwise it will be a dead temple.
The Universal Mandate to Preach
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is fundamentally a preaching movement. Śrīla Prabhupāda instills in his followers the understanding that the greatest welfare activity is distributing transcendental knowledge, and he requires every member to take up this mission seriously.
- Every member of the Krsna consciousness movement is interested in going door to door to try to convince people about the teachings of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the teachings of Lord Caitanya. That is the purpose of the Hare Krsna movement.
- First of all he must know what to preach. If he does not know what to preach, what he will preach? You have got a preaching capacity, provided you learn the art of preaching. But everyone can preach. That's a fact.
- 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.
- People are suffering for want of Krsna consciousness. Therefore each and every one of us should be engaged in the preaching work of Krsna consciousness for the benefit of the whole world.
Empowering Future Gurus
Śrīla Prabhupāda did not want to maintain a society of perpetual neophytes; his vision was to create spiritual masters. He repeatedly empowers every disciple with the expectation that, by strictly following the paramparā, they will mature into qualified guides capable of delivering others.
- Every one of you become guru and deliver the residents of your neighborhood. Ei desa. Wherever you are living, just deliver them. Become their guru.
- I am also obliged to them (my students) because they are helping me in this missionary work. At the same time, I shall request them all to become spiritual master. Every one of you should be spiritual master next.
- Everyone will become guru when he is expert disciple, but why this immature attempt? Guru is not a thing, imitation. When one is mature, he becomes guru automatically.
- Every student is expected to become Acarya. Acarya means one who knows the scriptural injunctions and follows them practically in life, and teaches them to his disciples.
Equality and Mutual Respect
In the spiritual realm, there is no place for mundane hierarchy or the desire to dominate. To establish genuine Vaiṣṇava relationships, Śrīla Prabhupāda mandates that every disciple must humbly serve one another and utilize the title "Prabhu" with deep sincerity and realization.
- We are trained up to say my brother, that "prabhu," "such and such prabhu." Prabhu means master. Nobody think himself that he is master. He should always think that everyone is his master because he's serving the master. This is our philosophy.
- We teach to address amongst the devotees, "Prabhu," "Prabhu," "Such and such Prabhu." This should not be simply spoken by the lips; it should be realized. Everyone should think other devotee as his prabhu, master, not he should try to become master.
- I have asked you all to address your Godbrothers as prabhu. This prabhu means boss. If everyone of us thinks of his fellow worker as boss there is no question of misunderstanding.
- Everyone should treat his Godbrothers as Prabhu. But nobody should try to claim any extra honor on account of an official position.
Engaging Individual Propensities
Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not an artificial imposition but the art of utilizing one's natural tendencies for the Lord's pleasure. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that true cooperation occurs when everyone's unique intelligence, possessions, and skills are completely dovetailed in devotional service.
- Everyone has got some propensity. The art of preaching is to engage that propensity in the service of Krsna. Whatever we have got, our mind, our intelligence, our possessions, our time, our energies, let them all be used in Krsna's service.
- We should cooperate. The hand and leg should cooperate for maintaining the whole body. Similarly, everyone should use his talent for satisfaction of Krsna. That is perfection. Not compete with one another. That is mistake.
- Krsna has given everyone something extraordinary and to serve Krsna with one's extraordinary talent means successful life.
- Every one of us, one who is offering arati, he is also working for Krsna, and one who is building this construction, temple, he is also working for Krsna. So as worker for Krsna there is no distinction. Variety. Variety of service.
Full-Time Spiritual Engagement
An idle mind quickly becomes a victim of material desires. To ensure steady spiritual growth, Śrīla Prabhupāda decrees that everyone—whether a brahmacārī, sannyāsī, or gṛhastha—must be engaged twenty-four hours a day in active devotional activities.
- Everyone should be continuously engaged in either chanting, studying or working and preaching. This full schedule will save you from engagement elsewhere. Maya and Krsna are always side by side. Either one is serving Krsna or he is serving Maya.
- Idle brain is devil's workshop. And the devil is kamini-kancana, woman and money. This is devil. So if you remain idle, then you shall think of devil. So we should see that everyone is engaged properly.
- Whether grhasthas, sannyasa or brahmacari everyone has to be completely engaged all the time in devotional service. That is the meaning of good management, to see that everyone is engaged 24 hours a day, and not sleeping unnecessarily or talking idly.
- I learn that in the temple there are sometimes men with no work. This should not be allowed. Every one must be busy with some work in Krishna Consciousness. Idleness is not Krsna consciousness. Please take care of this omission I shall be glad to hear from you about this.
Philosophical Study and Book Distribution
Without a deep understanding of the philosophy, a devotee's faith can easily be shaken by mundane logic. Śrīla Prabhupāda places immense importance on the meticulous study of his books and their wide-scale distribution, asserting that everyone must become fully conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa.
- Without preaching, without understanding philosophy, you cannot keep your strength. Everyone should be thoroughly well-conversed with the philosophy which we are putting... That means you must read thoroughly every day.
- Every one of you should very carefully read. Every one of you must have one book and read it carefully and appear in the examination next Janmastami. You'll get designation, Bhakti-sastri.
- All of the leaders should study my books very carefully, since now everyone will have to appear for the examination.
- One thing that everyone should understand is that I am not so interested in selling incense as I am in selling books. Distribution of my books is the most important thing.
Harmony and Cooperative Management
Because the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement operates on voluntary service, compassionate and intelligent management is required to keep devotees inspired. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that leaders must guide by example, avoiding bureaucratic force and ensuring that everyone feels valued and satisfied in their service.
- Everyone is offering voluntary service. So not that anyone is paid, and if he cannot, dismiss or... Yes. This bureaucracy is not... Train him. Train him. If he does not know, train him. But things must be done very nicely by cooperation. That is wanted.
- Everyone comes to us to offer voluntary service, so amongst ourselves there must be good behavior. One may not feel sorry. So the leaders must take precautions as far as possible.
- Everyone should consider himself the servant of the other. That will make management very nice.
- Management should be done very cautiously so that everyone is satisfied in their autonomous managing capacity. Of course, the central point is the order of the Spiritual Master, and I am very glad that you are trying to give importance to this.
Protection and Ultimate Perfection
The ultimate goal of all these strict principles and engagements is to grant the disciple complete immunity from material existence. Śrīla Prabhupāda guarantees that if everyone maintains unalloyed faith in the holy name and stays firmly engaged in bhakti-yoga, they will be fully protected and successfully return home, back to Godhead.
- Everyone of you should be thoroughly convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra to protect you in all circumstances and chant accordingly at all times without offense.
- Everyone will die. So before death one should be complete in Krsna consciousness. That is success of life.
- Once one is engaged in the spiritual activities of bhakti-yoga, one does not fall down. Our Krsna consciousness movement is therefore an attempt to engage everyone always in spiritual activity, by which one becomes transcendental to material actions.
- Every one of my disciples should act in such a way that they may go with me and may not have to come back to take another birth.
Conclusion
The power of Śrīla Prabhupāda's movement lies in its uncompromising, universal application of spiritual principles. By establishing that every disciple must strictly follow the regulative principles, rise early, study the philosophy, and preach, he effectively dismantles the concept of spiritual idleness. Furthermore, his insistence that everyone must view themselves as a humble servant of their Godbrothers fosters an environment of profound cooperation and mutual respect. Ultimately, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s vision is not just to maintain a following, but to empower every single sincerely practicing devotee to become a qualified spiritual master, perfectly protected from illusion, and ready to return back to Godhead in this very lifetime.
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 Everyone (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.