Criticizm & attack on Prabhupada | Memories of Srila Prabhupada Series-03 | Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

28 Sept 2021 · 5 min

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4:41

In this reminiscence, Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī recounts three notable episodes from Srila Prabhupāda’s 1968 stay in Montreal. First, during a high‑school lecture, a devotee publicly attacked Prabhupāda; instead of retaliating, Prabhupāda quietly blessed the critic, illustrating his magnanimity and teaching a lesson in non‑retaliation (sannādhapī‑sa‑nicchāna). Second, Prabhupāda discovered that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was charging high fees on the temple’s account; he promptly ordered the account closed to avoid waste, demonstrating his meticulous stewardship of Krishna’s money. Third, Prabhupāda observed several Montreal buildings and envisioned the city as a possible world headquarters, showing his strategic foresight in using available resources for the movement’s service. The speaker draws practical inspiration from these stories for personal conduct and organizational management.

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In June '68, we had gone to a high school engagement in a Christian school. It was a school for girls, and there were many nuns in the school. And this program was arranged by a French-Canadian devotee called Janadan Prabhu. He was doing his PhD at that time. So Prabhupāda gave the lecture, and as usual, after Prabhupāda's lecture, he would say, "Any questions?" The same Mr. Mukherjee, who had told me that Prabhupāda was a different type of saint, got up from his chair and started attacking Prabhupāda. He started saying, "Why do you have to come and preach this philosophy in these Christian countries? They have their own philosophy. You don't need to do this." Devotees were very upset in the way he was being attacked. Prabhupāda was not being criticized by the Christian nun. He was being criticized by one of the people who came in his entourage. So devotees were very upset, but Prabhupāda was very cool. In August, Prabhupāda was leaving Montreal to go to America, and he told me, "Go, pal. Go and call that Mr. Mohanmoharjee." I said, "Prabhupāda, he insulted you so badly, why do you want to see him?" And Prabhupāda said, "I must have done something to him in my last life for which he took revenge." So Prabhupāda— I called this gentleman and Prabhupāda blessed him before leaving. So from this we can see how magnanimous and merciful Prabhupāda paused. And even though this man had humiliated Prabhupāda, he really attacked Prabhupāda very badly, Prabhupāda tolerated it, did not utter one word, and in fact, he blessed him before leaving. So I think from this example, we should draw inspiration and not retaliate the moment somebody criticizes us. We have to learn to practice sannādhapī-sa-nicchāna. When Prabhupāda was in Montreal, he opened a bank account in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and the branch, I believe, was on Sherbrooke Street. And Prabhupāda told me to handle that account for him. So I was giving Prabhupada regular reports, and Prabhupada saw that the bank was charging a high fee for some reason. And Prabhupada was so concerned about saving every penny of Kṛṣṇa's money, he said, "Tell the bank not to charge this fee." And Prabhupāda and I think, They had to close the bank account because the bank was charging a high fee. As we know from numerous examples, Prabhupāda's concern was not to waste even a penny of Kṛṣṇa's money. He viewed everything as Kṛṣṇa's property, and whenever he saw some misuse, he would take steps to stop it. Prabhupāda was in Montreal, many leaders would come there, and Montreal had become a focal point. In fact, Prabhupāda saw some buildings in Montreal and said, "This could be our world headquarters." He was at one time planning on making the world headquarters in Montreal. And Prabhupāda saw everything as a possible— Prabhupāda always was thinking how he can use everything in service of the Lord.