In this devotional lecture delivered in Moscow, Gopal Krishna Goswami recounts the establishment and growth of ISKCON in the former Soviet Union, beginning with Srila Prabhupāda’s 1971 visit and the early efforts of devotees such as Prasad Raval, Shamsundar, and Anatoly. He highlights the challenges faced—scarcity of vegetarian food, governmental restrictions, and the need for perseverance—while noting milestones like the World Book Fair exhibition and the receipt (and loss) of a Russian government certificate praising the books. The speaker then shifts to the theological focus of Vyāsa Pūja, emphasizing that true guru‑glorification means glorifying Krishna through the Hare Krishna maha‑mantra, study of Prabhupāda’s writings, humility, and service. He stresses practical guidance for modern devotees: regular chanting, association with sādhanā‑saṅgha, enthusiastic service, and wise use of technology. Anecdotes illustrate the principle of serving the most important person—Krishna—by tracing a villager’s misguided attempts to serve increasingly “higher” figures until he realizes the ultimate servitor is the Supreme Lord. The lecture concludes with a call to take Krishna‑consciousness seriously, to read the scriptures, and to spread the message worldwide.
Chapters
Hare Krishna. Hare. Ebo. Om Mani Padme Hum. Prasad Raaval. I want to thank all the devotees for coming to the program. I want to thank Alagria and Amritsar and the Moscow devotees for organizing that. Initially, devotees for the last several years requested me to have a vyāspiti in Moscow. I was already hesitant, and then this year we agreed, and then I thought it may not be practical. But Amrish Manohar has insisted. He said, "The only point is that ticket." I said, "Pooja, it's a flight to India." I had to surrender. It's a little difficult for me because normally I come back from my American-Canadian tour, beginning of August. Then I had to go to India and come right back. So I'm very happy to be here. Then lastly I had to talk in a big event in India. And I'm very happy to be here. Tāra ra, kāṇḍaṇu, or, you may say, 500,000 visitors at the big temple. We had a big celebration even in Moscow on Janmashtmi. Speaking to countless villagers, I almost lost my voice. So that's why my voice is a little subdued. So it's a great pleasure to meet all of you. Russia is a huge country and it's not easy to travel to every corner of your country. So I'm happy that all of you were able to come here. The important point is that you make spiritual progress. This morning I was reading about Prabhupāda coming to your country. In 1971, Prabhupāda wrote to a devotee in Germany, "I want to go to the Soviet Union." And invitation was arranged. And Vṛṣṇa Prabhupāda came to your country. In '72? '71. 1971. So at this point, Prabhupāda had established Kṛṣṇa consciousness in America and Canada, in Europe and in India. And now he was taking on the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. Prabhupāda had very high regards for Russian and Soviet peoples. He knew they were very intelligent. So Prabhupāda finally came to your country. He met the late Dr. Guttowski. And Prabhupāda pointed out definition of spiritual communism. Soviet Union believed in communism. And Prabhupāda explained the Vedas advocate spiritual communism. Nevertheless, Prabhupāda planted a seed of Kṛṣṇa consciousness during his 5-day visit. Prabhupāda stayed at the National Hotel at Kremlin. Am I right? Yes. It was a small room. Kumbh, Mālinga Kumbh. Prasad RAVAL was accompanied by two of his American secretaries, Shamsundar and Arvind. Those days it was very difficult to get fruits and vegetarian food. So the devotees had to struggle, go from shop to shop to find fruits and milk products. But devotees continued persistently. And they met one Russian devotee, Russian, who spoke English and was very good in yoga, interested in yoga. Shamsunder Manjatsinhuri met Anatoly on the streets of Moscow. Shamsunder discovered Anatoly was interested in yoga. My girl is a yoga teacher, why don't you come and meet her? Prabhupāda inspired him, taking the path of bhakti-yoga instantly. And in 3 days Prabhupāda trained him up in all aspects of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, taught him Kṛṣṇa-caritā-vairādhya-dhoti, taught him how to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, taught him the basic elements of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and even initiated him, and even arranged for his marriage. And then Prabhupāda left that country, and his devotees started preaching. And before he started coming into the country. I had the privilege of first coming to the country in May '76, before many of you were born. I was there. So, at that time we played Prabhupada books in the library of Moscow and St. Petersburg, which was known as Leningrad at that time. Then we came again in '67 and '77. And they bought in the World Book Fair. We were accompanied by two devotees, the late Pitur Prabhu and Buddha Mahāprabhu. And great interest was shown in Prasad Raaval's books when they saw it in the book fair. In fact, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Bombay received a certificate from the Russian government See, the books promote peace and harmony. Prabhupāda was very pleased to receive that certificate. And in 1977, the last 3 months of Prabhupāda's stay on the planet, he was showing that certificate to everyone, saying, "Yā prekṣīṇa vijñānaṁ sādhiti viṇuṇa." Unfortunately, that certificate got misplaced. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness began to expand. Recently a book has been published. Yeah, it's not mine. He has published a book, one of my disciples, 50 Years of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in the Soviet Union. Establishing Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this country was not easy. There were a lot of restrictions. But the devotees were determined. Some of them had to sacrifice their lives. But in the end, Remission was the direction to appreciate God's name and the devotees' enthusiasm. So Prabhupāda gave us a pure path, pure process of purification. So those, all of us sitting here, are here because we have got connected with Srila Prabhupāda's movement. Prabhupāda gave us the pure message of happiness. He did not As you know, we recently celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Prabhupāda's sailing from India, the Golden Jubilee of Prabhupāda incorporating ISKCON in New York, building the Forest Temple on Second Avenue. And this year we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the first rāthiyātra that was held by Prabhupāda. In San Francisco. As you Moscowites may know, we had a wonderful ratiatra at Moscow 3 weeks ago. Om Mani Padme Hum. More than 100,000 people came. The problem came as everything that is adaptable universally. Kṛṣṇa consciousness It's universal philosophy. Chanting the Holy Name. What sectarian about it? The Lord incarnates in the Holy Name. In all over the world, people easily adapt to the Holy Name. In Africa or any part of the country, people easily adapt to the Holy Name. A real global unitarist, the Holy Name. On the occasion of Vyās Puja, You glorify the guru. And many times the glorification is exaggerated. Now what does the guru talk about? What does the guru preach? Glorify Kṛṣṇa! Not glorify the guru. Guru says, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." This is the mahā-mantra. You return to the Holy Name. What does the Holy Name talk about? Glorification of Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. So through the chant, we glorify the Lord. And cleanse our heart of the material dirt that has accumulated there. Then the guru says, "Study Prabhupāda's books." What is in these books? Nothing but Kṛṣṇa's philosophy and pastime. So the genuine guru, he doesn't glorify himself, but he really glorifies Kṛṣṇa. The genuine guru instructs everyone Glory to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. Prabhupāda was a classic example of a genuine guru. He never told us to glorify him. He always kept Kṛṣṇa in the forefront of the movement. People all over the world know it as ISKCON, as the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, not as the Prabhupāda movement. Where is Kṛṣṇa? Prabhupāda kept Kṛṣṇa in the forefront. So Prabhupāda's successors who are presenting the philosophy that Prabhupada and Nityānanda gave us are in the same mood. So the genuine guru, when he gets a māhārāja, when he accepts him on behalf of the previous sattva-rāja-yāya, he never thinks that he's a doer. Whenever we gave credit to Prabhupada for what he has done, he would say, "I have done nothing. It's my guru's work." He said, "I always had faith in the word of my guru." So the real guru's business is encouraging us to get attached to Kṛṣṇa. In the 3rd Canto, you read about Kapiladeva's instructions. Lord Kapiladeva was questioned by his mother Devahūti. She said, "My dear son, please tell me how can I become free from the miseries of birth and death?" She knew her son was incarnation of Godhead. So the son said, "Get attached to the transcendentalist." In material life we are attached to each other. With these attachments one will end up in distress. Whereas if you attach to a transcendentalist, you're going to get spiritual message. And by following that spiritual message, You make advancement. So the jnana-guru's business is to be a servant of the pīvadācārya and all the pīvadācāryas. The guru doesn't claim proprietorship over anything. So Kṛṣṇa gives prabhuṇḍhīs, disciples. They are all engaged in service of the Supreme Lord. If Kṛṣṇa gives wealth, it's only used in service of glorifying the Lord. That's an example that Prabhupāda gave us by his dealings. So that is chitrini caṇḍa caṇḍa-mudhaḥ maḥāraḥ. Prabhupāda explaining Vyāsmin. Essentially, it is the day we glorify that guru who gives you the pure message of Vyāsmin. Where it should be recognized. The real glorification is always of the Supreme Lord. So how do we please the guru? Doesn't matter who you're initiated by in ISKCON. All gurus are giving the same message. The guru is pleased to receive a disciple who chants the holy name. So that is our ultimate goal. Our goal is not to get some big position in ISKCON. Āramgōda is to get attached to the Holy Name. You can attach to the siddhānta. That's so nicely explained in Prabhupāda's book. He told that the mood of humility. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "We want to chant the Holy Name and cultivate the mood of humility." Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they said, 6 items and that constitute surrender to Kṛṣṇa in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. And the 6th one is what he said? This is humility. So what does humility in spiritual life mean? Just speaking something, Prabhupāda, Prabhupāda, you tell me what will I do? Open, not open, it doesn't matter what's there. That's also important, but what's more important is recognizing, I need direction, I need correction, I need guidance. We must recognize that we need guidance. Therefore we should always be in the association of devotees. If you remain in the association of devotees, there's a good chance that if you're deviating, you'll get corrected. So that's why sādhana-saṅgha is highly emphasized. Stay in the association. Prabhupāda gave us a guideline. He said we should be like the bee and not the fly. The fly and the dragonfly bird. The flying, the clean environment. So, look at the good in everyone. Prabhupada created this nice society which has branches virtually in every corner of the globe. Today there are more than 600 branches all over the world. And Prabhupada has shown us that this Vedic message is transcendental and universally acceptable. So my earnest request If we take the Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, the illusory energy is always trying to bewilder us. As Kṛṣṇa says, deva-īśa-gūṇa-māyā-māmāyā-dvṛḍya. This illusory energy is very difficult. When it's learned to be meditated, time and time we have to know. So please take the Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously. Śrīla Kīrtanānanda says, amena nālāsa cannot be made up with the wealth of the entire world. So with the tongue we should be attached to chanting the holy names. With the ears to hear the glories of the Lord. With the mind to think about the Lord's instructions. And we should remain connected to His holy temple or community of devotees. Technology has a plus point and a minus point. Just like having smartphones now. How many of you have smartphones? Those who are smart, they have proper books in their smartphone. And whenever they have a chance, read the Bhāgavatam, Gītā. And those that are not spiritually inclined have garbage in the kind of phone. So we have to endeavor Nothing comes without endeavor. Sri Prasad Raval's advice is on the devotional path we should be enthusiastic. Why should we not be enthusiastic? Who are you serving? Who? The greatest personality. Once in a village in India there was a man who desired, "I must serve the most important man in town." So he started doing a survey. Who is the most important man in town? He found there was a grocery store owner. Anyone came and saluted him, so he told— asked that big man, "Can I become your servant? You look to be the most important man in this village." He said, "Of course you can be my servant." He became his servant. But then he saw this big man also salute somebody else. There used to be a tax collector that would come regularly, and the big man would salute him. So he concluded this tax collector must be more important than that store owner. So he asked the tax collector, "Can I become your servant?" Krishna. He became his secretary. But then he saw the tax collector also goes to the king. He saw the tax collector goes, salutes the king, bows down to the king and says, "What can I do for you?" So he concluded the king must be more important than the tax collector. He asked the king, "Can I be your servant? You look to be the most important man here." "What? No." But then he saw the king also salutes to somebody else. That was a sadhu. There was a sadhu in town. The king would regularly go and offer worship. So he concluded the sadhu must be more important than the king, because the king goes and bows down to him. Can I be your servant? You look to be more important than a king. He became the servant of the sadhu. Then he saw the sadhu also got down and bowed down to someone. Who is the sadhu? Gajalī of Kṛṣṇa. He said, "I should serve Kṛṣṇa, who is everyone surrenders and bows down to him." So he became a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa is the most important personality. So we should engage in service enthusiastically, and we should be convinced about this. We have so many wonderful pieces of literature which Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us. We should make it a point to regularly read these books. So our request is, please take your Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously. We all have an eternal debt to Śrīla Prabhupāda. If it was not for Prabhupāda, we would not have been having this get-together today. Prabhupāda took the pure message and united everyone. When Prabhupāda was a young child, his father had an astrologer to his chart. And the astrologer said, "This man will one day build a house, make the whole world convert." He built that house after the age of 70. Prabhupāda built the house There's a whole world in there. So let us work together to make the house strong. Our first priority should be Kṛṣṇa's service. What pleases Kṛṣṇa, not what pleases me. Normally we think, "What pleases me is good for Kṛṣṇa and good for everyone. My happiness is Kṛṣṇa's happiness." That is the materialistic logic. Our logic is the opposite. What pleases Kṛṣṇa pleases us. That should be our moonshot. So we hope that all of you will benefit from this get-together. Please be determined to practice different functions and spread the message of the Lord everywhere. People all over the world are waiting, "When will a Hare Krishna devotee come and give me this pure message?" So we'll take on some questions now, and as we go, there'll be a gaming session starting one time. Small talk in the evening, let's talk. And those of you who want darshans should see Amrish Maharaj. And I take a few questions now. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Lama Lama Ale Ale.
