7 minute read
How This Book Came To Be
INTRODUCTION How This Book Came To Be
In January 2015, at their annual meeting, the members of the Hungarian National Council (Közgyűlés) discussed how to implement ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s desire to establish var£§ªrama-dharma in both the devotee and the non-devotee societies of Hungary.
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Thirty-five devotees met for three full days, hearing ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s recorded instructions, reading ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam, and discussing what var£§ªrama and its implementation actually meant. We realised it was no small task!
But we understood that ¼r¦la Prabhup§da had said that it was the unfinished fifty-per cent of his mission. While some devotees in ISKCON question the truth of that understanding, there is ample first-hand evidence to substantiate it. For our readers we present two such pieces of evidence:
Describing an early-morning encounter with ¼r¦la Prabhup§da on August 10th 1977, Bhakti C§ru Mah§r§ja narrates:
“One night ¼r¦la Prabhup§da could not sleep, and I was massaging his feet. At that time he was lamenting that his health was so bad and he had so much to do. I tried to console him saying, ‘¼r¦la Prabhup§da,
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Introduction
what you have done is beyond anyone’s imagination. You should not feel that there is anything more to be done. Now you should just relax.’
“Then ¼r¦la Prabhup§da told me, ‘What I have done is fifty-percent; the other fifty-percent is to establish var£§ªrama. Not that everyone will become a devotee. Those who won’t become devotees, for them we need var£§ªrama.’”1
Abhir§ma Prabhu, who was ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s nurse in 1977, narrates two occasions when he heard ¼r¦la Prabhup§da say a similar thing:
“The first time, several devotees were with ¼r¦la Prabhup§da, and we knew that his health was getting weaker. He was talking to the devotees about his imminent departure. ‘I have no lamentation,’ Prabhup§da said, then paused for a few seconds and added, ‘No, I have one lamentation.’
“Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, ‘That you have not finished translating ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam?’
“¼r¦la Prabhup§da replied, ‘No, that I have not established var£§ªrama.’
“On the next occasion, some time later, I was with ¼r¦la Prabhup§da in his room when he made the statement, ‘Fifty-percent of my work is not complete because I have not established var£§ªrama.’”2
While some devotees in ISKCON may remain sceptical of the importance of var£§ªrama, the majority are increasingly convinced of the need to realise ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s mission.
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How This Book Came To Be
In Hungary, devotees and their leaders unitedly share this majority concern. And so it was with the Közgyűlés.
We are ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s followers and servants, and so we are duty-bound to make an attempt to fulfil his desires. From all evidence it is clear that His Divine Grace wanted his followers to establish var£§ªrama-dharma—in ISKCON and then in the world.
But where would we start? For the past decade the members of the Hungarian y§tr§ had dedicated themselves to fulfilling the first 50% of ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s mission, and by his own admission ¼r¦la Prabhup§da had not given us a var£§ªrama template to follow. In fact there is some indication that even ¼r¦la Prabhup§da felt he needed to give thought to what the second half of his mission was. In this regard Abhir§ma Prabhu wrote,
“I said, ‘¼r¦la Prabhup§da, you mentioned that you had wanted to establish var£§ªrama. How will you establish var£§ªrama?’ and he responded, ‘I will go to G¦t§-n§gar¦, sit down and teach you how to live off the land.’
“Being present on this occasion and the words being directly aimed at me, I understood this in a certain way… I gained some grasp of his way of speaking in these informal and practical settings.
“Reflecting on his words, I believe that one part of the phrase may be a little hidden and interesting. By His Divine Grace saying ‘I will sit down’ it is my personal speculation that this meant he did not yet know everything he would do or instruct. That it was something he would need to ‘sit down’ and observe,
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Introduction
reflect on and gain insights from Param§tm§, as to how to ‘establish var£§ªrama.’ He had not yet done this, so far as we know, since not that much detail is given in his writing. Thus, it is now for us to ‘sit down’ and learn how we can ‘live off the land’.”3
Following Abhir§ma Prabhu’s reasoning, if ¼r¦la Prabhup§da had to work out a game plan for var£§ªrama, we should not expect to—or be expected to—work out a master plan overnight. We, too, would have to “sit down” and reflect, and probably quite a lot. While even collectively we did not equal a fraction of ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s K¥¢£a conscious realisation, we were convinced that we had his order and the empowerment that came along with that order. And to satisfy that order we had to start somewhere.
Discussing the emphasis of what the Közgyűlés had heard and read at their meeting, we concluded that var£§ªrama began with two things. The first was acquiring the qualities and following the duties incumbent upon every member of the Society, and the second was identifying which was the var£a and §ªrama of each member. In regards to the latter it was also essential that the distinctive qualities and duties of the var£as and §ªramas were clearly delineated, and guidelines prepared for cultivating those qualities and learning those duties.
Defining and introducing that first step would take place in 2015, and education and implementation would begin the following year.
Since regulating sense gratification is one of the aims of var£§ªrama, the National Council also decided that the relationship and conduct among men and women would
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How This Book Came To Be
be the next step. Studying and introducing that topic would take place in 2016, and education and implementation the following year. In this way we envisaged a step-by-step, five-year plan as a strategic beginning to our var£§ªrama mission.
We did not know what the further steps of the plan would be, what to speak of what lay beyond them, but we were confident that if we moved forward, ¼r¦la Prabhup§da and R§dh§-¼y§ma would guide us.
To this end the National Council also established a Var£§ªrama-dharma Committee (VAD).4 That committee was deputed with the task of working out introductory material, presenting that to all the centres, and setting up a network of var£§ªrama representatives throughout the country. And by the end of the year it was meant to bring to the National Council a manuscript that fulfilled its first year’s remit: a handbook that outlined the qualities and conduct of devotees in each of the four var£as.
This is that handbook—the first in the Var£§ªrama Compendium series—and its title is The Var£as. It’s central theme is about being a good person and being a good devotee. Although being a good person is not a prerequesite to becoming a devotee, if one is still a conditioned soul, being a good person helps one to be a good devotee.5
Why?
Because devotional service is most easy and most effective when practitioners are situated in the mode of goodness. By practising bhakti in goodness, devotees can quickly rise to the transcendental platform, where the good qualities of demigods spontaneously manifest. Var£§ªrama for devotees is about helping them come to the mode of
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Introduction
goodness. When we cultivate the qualities and follow the duties of our var£as and §ªramas, then we are graced by the mode of goodness and the benefits it bestows upon us.
The contents of this book will be systematically taught to members of Magyarországi Krisna-tudatú Hívők Közössége (MKTHK), in the Bhaktivedanta College, bhakta programs, gurukulas, and counsellor groups—and hopefully in devotees’ homes. We envisage that this will be the basis upon which devotees are guided in their service, work, and §ªramas. Moreover, it should remove any subjectivity about what it means to be a good, responsible person and devotee.
Our hope is that members of MKTHK will themselves take seriously the mission left to us by ¼r¦la Prabhup§da and begin their journey in var£§ªrama by reading, personally applying, and teaching to others the contents of this book.
Thank you.
¼ivar§ma Swami On behalf of the Hungarian National Council
Indir§ Ek§daª¦, October 8, 2015
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How This Book Came To Be
NOTES
1. Letter to P¥thu D§sa, April 19, 2015. 2. Telephone interview with Abhir§ma D§sa by Hare K¥¢£a D§s¦, V¥nd§vana, India, February 18, 1996. 3. Letter to P¥thu from Abhir§ma, April 14, 2015. 4. The members of the committee are ¼ivar§ma Swami, R§dh§K¥¢£a D§sa, Pr§£a-vallabha D§sa, Mah§r§£¦ Dev¦ D§s¦, and Candra Dev¦ D§s¦. 5. Bhakti is completely spiritual and not dependent on any material quality, even on goodness. But if devotees are not spiritually situated, if they are conditioned souls, they are dependent on material qualities, and the quality most conducive to spiritual practice is goodness.
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