Srila Prabhupada’s Outlook Was Not Mundane

Many people who were dissatisfied with straight American life became attracted to Srila Prabhupäda’s starkly different alternatives, but time showed that not all were ready to fully follow him. Knowingly or unknowingly, numerous devotees carry with them the baggage of worldviews developed from the speculations of various demons (Darwin, Marx, Freud, et al) For them, some of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, particularly those regarding gender roles and non-egalitarianism, are very difficult to accept. Most newcomers to Krsna consciousness (especially in the West) are steeped in these kinds of wrong understandings and have zero knowledge of dharmic principles, roles, and duties. Even after they have begun the steady practice of Krsna consciousness, they do not imbibe such ideals- one reason being that such topics are hardly encouraged or discussed within ISKCON.

But a major objective of Srila Prabhupada’s mission was to, as far as possible, reestablish pristine Vedic culture, including early marriage, polygamy, and a non-egalitarian social system. To most people raised in the modern ethos, such concepts will seem unrealistic, bizarre, primitive, and repressive.

Hence the dichotomy of a movement that theoretically follows Srila Prabhupäda but is actually much influenced by persons whose outlook is largely antithetical to the culture that he represented. Because Śrila Prabhupāda’s social outlook is disliked by many of his so-called followers, it is now not uncommon to hear statements such as “I agree with Śrila Prabhupäda’s spiritual teachings but not his material teachings,” nor unusual to encounter the notion that Šrila Prabhupāda’s social outlook was influenced by his education in a British-run school, whence (it is supposed) he imbibed Victorian attitudes.* However, a better understanding is that any similarities between Victorian morality and Śrila Prabhupāda’s position are because Victorian ethics match the directions of sāstra.

It is not that Śrila Prabhupäda was just old-fashioned and out of sync with contemporary “progressive” thought. Yet persons who are perhaps unwittingly “attracted by demonic and atheistic views”¹ derived from the liberal humanistic culture in which they were raised, try to portray Srila Prabhupäda as having been influenced by mundane ideas.

Srila Prabhupāda always emphasized that he was presenting perfect knowledge, he himself having strictly adhered to guru, sadhu, and sāstra. It was through sästra-cakşur (the eye of sästra) that he discerned various problems in human society and offered solutions to them. He always claimed to abide by sastra, and would extensively quote śästra to substantiate his statements. He did not attempt to introduce anything contrary to the principles of sästra. He therefore was an ideal ācarya- one who knows the principles of śāstra and how to apply them in different times, places, and circumstances.

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*See http://www.dandavats.com/?p-12095 (retrieved 22 Apr 2015). The Victorian era is broadly the latter part of the 19th century, when Victoria was the British monarch and middle-class morality was notably conservative, especially in regard to sexuality and gender roles. This era was also the Empire period, during which Britain achieved unprecedented influence throughout the world.

1. From Srila Prabhupada’s rendering of Bg 9,12.

Book: Mothers and Masters, Page 14-16