The Ultimate Peace Formula: Why Nuclear War Will Not Happen

by Rudra Pandita Dasa

A recent image circulating the globe has brought immense joy to the assembled devotees: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Here we see the hand of Lord Chaitanya. In the very epicenter of current global tension, where the threat of World War III looms largest, the Supreme Lord has entered in His literary form. This confirms what Srila Prabhupada always taught us: the only way to stop the cycle of war and destruction in this Age of Kali is through the sankirtana-yajna. The only force capable of counteracting the ugra-karma of modern civilization is the distribution of the Holy Name and transcendental literature. As Sukadeva Goswami assures King Pariksit in the Srimad Bhagavatam (12.3.51):

“kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet”

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.”

The Divine Arrangement of 1965

We must remember that the Krishna consciousness movement was launched during a similar time of crisis. The timing of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the West was not a coincidence. It was Krishna’s arrangement.

In 1965, the world was on the brink. The Vietnam War was exploding with “Operation Rolling Thunder,” and the Cold War was freezing the world in fear. It is significant to note that great demons had incarnated at this specific moment to orchestrate global destruction. Consider J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. He was not merely an ignorant materialist; he actually knew Sanskrit and studied the scriptures. Yet, like a classic asura, he utilized this knowledge for destruction, famously quoting the Gita while witnessing the nuclear test: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

This mentality is perfectly described by Lord Krishna in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, which outlines the nature of the demonic:

“etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno ’lpa-buddhayaḥ
prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato ’hitāḥ”

“Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works [ugra-karma] meant to destroy the world.” (Bg. 16.9)

While such powerful figures were preparing the world for annihilation, Srila Prabhupada was crossing the Atlantic on the Jaladuta. As the demonic mentality peaked, a pure devotee arrived to distribute the antidote. Prabhupada didn’t bring a peace treaty. He brought the Maha-mantra.

Clearing the Atmosphere

The material world is governed by subtle laws. Before a war manifests physically, it manifests in the polluted consciousness of the people. Therefore, the only way to stop war is to purify the atmosphere. This can be accomplished by this sankirtana movement as glorified by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastakam prayers (cited in Chaitanya Caritamrta, Antya 20.12):

“ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ…
paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam”

“Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death…”

We saw this practically demonstrated in the early days of the movement. Through the agency of George Harrison, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra was broadcast on a massive scale that is hard for us to comprehend today. In the current era of fragmented streaming and internet media, we forget the singular power of radio in the 1960s and 70s. The Holy Name was literally vibrating through millions of radios across America and Europe simultaneously. This fulfills the prediction of the Lord Himself found in the Chaitanya-bhagavata:

“pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma”

“In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.” (Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya 4.126)

An article from Back to Godhead described how this chanting also penetrated the anti-war protests of the era:

“Even more New Yorkers became acquainted with the “Hare Krishna” chant recently at the November 5th Peace Parade… Poet Allen Ginsberg, a friend of this Society, led the “Hare Krishna” mantra during the three hour jaunt… The scene might have duplicated Lord Chaitanya’s march some five hundred years ago… We also feel that when mankind sings the transcendental praises of the Supreme Lord instead of the praises of nationalism and materialism, he will not only have “peace on earth” but will have peace in his heart and soul.”

Books Are the Real Weapon

While chanting purifies the ether, Srila Prabhupada emphasized that book distribution is the permanent solution. Ignorance is the root cause of war. To stop the war, you must smash the ignorance. This strategy adheres to the instruction given by Lord Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura in the Chaitanya-bhagavata:

“śuno śuno nityānanda, śuno haridāsa
sarvatra āmāra ājñā koro parakāśa
prati ghare ghare giyā koro ei bhikṣā
bolo kṛṣṇa, bhajo kṛṣṇa, koro kṛṣṇa-śikṣā”

“Listen, Nityananda! Listen, Haridasa! Spread my orders everywhere! Go from house to house and beg the residents: ‘Chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, and teach others about Krishna.'” (Chaitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 13.8-9)

When devotees in the 1970s were terrified of a nuclear holocaust, asking if they should build bunkers, Srila Prabhupada gave them a higher vision. In a conversation with Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, he declared:

“Assure them that there will be no nuclear war if they take to Krishna consciousness. In fact, because of our Krishna consciousness movement, there will be no nuclear war.”

He made it clear that our “bombs” are the books. In a letter to Balavanta (Nov 23, 1976), Srila Prabhupada wrote:

“I am very glad to hear how the book distribution is increasing more and more. This is our greatest weapon. The more the books are distributed, the more the ignorance of the Age of Kali will be smashed.”

This “smashing” of ignorance through literature is famously predicted by Narada Muni in the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.5.11), where he describes literature meant to bring about a revolution in the impious lives of the world’s population:

“tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
nāmāny anantasya yaśo ‘ṅkitāni yat
śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ”

“On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the Unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization.”

Conclusion

The massive injection of spiritual sound vibration and the millions of books distributed by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy created a buffer against total destruction. Today, seeing the Bhagavad-gita in the hands of the Russian President is a powerful sign. The method hasn’t changed. If we want to save the world from the madness of Kali-yuga, we need to distribute more of his books. As Srila Prabhupada said, this is our greatest weapon.