Recapturing the Wonder of the Early Days

In the early days of surrendering to the Swami, we believed the sastra of whatever the Swami said just because he said it.  And we were attracted to his teachings not because an institution taught us the “official truth”, but because we were very pleased and enthused to hear from him.  We found his writing style exciting.  All of this wonder is still available.  But with time and repetition, we tend to become familiar and read only as duty.  I notice that when I do read more carefully, and when I seek a rendezvous with Prabhupada and Krishna, then the vital appreciation comes back.  Recalling the early days may also be helpful, reminding us how Krishna consciousness was so personal and entertaining.  If we do not keep up the process for staying alive and awake to the original nectar, we may fall dead in spiritual life, even without knowing it.

Our enthusiasm for hearing philosophy from Srila Prabhupada in the early days was not without sound basis.  We understood that the Absolute Truth did not jive totally with mundane science or material reality.  There was a higher principle of truth coming by the descending process.  We accepted this principle with vigor and enthusiasm.  It is probably a fact that our innocence has been lost over the years.  It has been replaced realistically with strong foundations of knowledge and faith in Prabhupada.  ISKCON continues to take Srila Prabhupada’s statements very seriously, but we have also become “sadder but wiser” in seeing our inability to carry out those instructions.  We have also become gradually aware of the many kinds of philosophies and groups who are in opposition to what Prabhupada is saying.  As Krishna consciousness has spread, it has been challenged more, and there has been more counter-reply.  Thus we become more aware that our appreciation of Prabhupada clashes with material reality.  We are concerned with “presenting” Prabhupada in a palatable way and we are more careful with our logical presentation.  We also sometimes assume that we have now fully grasped Prabhupada’s message; now we are more interested in tracking down the details and working out the apparent contradictions in what he said.  This kind of sober scholarship can sometimes become boring.