Defeated by the Guru - Prabhupāda's First Meeting in 1922
History turns on small moments. For the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the pivotal moment occurred in 1922, on a rooftop in Calcutta. A young, educated man named Abhay Charan De was reluctantly dragged by a friend to see a sadhu. He was skeptical. He had seen many sadhus and was unimpressed. He expected another beggar. Instead, he met a lion.
In these quotes, Śrīla Prabhupāda recounts the electrifying first meeting with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura—a meeting that began with an argument and ended with a surrender that would change the world.
The Argument: "We Are a Subject Nation"
When Abhay arrived, he was dressed in khadi (homespun cloth), a symbol of Gāndhi’s independence movement. He was a nationalist. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta immediately challenged him: “You are educated boys, why don't you preach this cult?”
Abhay pushed back. He argued that as long as India was a subject nation under British rule, no one would listen to their philosophy. First independence, then preaching.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta smashed this logic, proving that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the eternal necessity of the soul, independent of political borders. Abhay was stunned.
Accepted in the Heart
Abhay entered the meeting as a skeptic; he left as a disciple. Although the formal initiation would come eleven years later, the spiritual transaction was immediate.
He recognized that here was a person who wasn't bluffing, a person who could give “real religious idea.”
The Seed of the Mission
That first meeting contained the seed of the entire future movement. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta didn't just defeat Abhay; he gave him a mission.
Forty years later, when Śrīla Prabhupāda arrived in New York, he was simply executing the order received on that rooftop.
Conclusion
The relationship began with a defeat, which was actually the greatest victory. By surrendering his own logic to the superior logic of the Guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda became empowered to conquer the world.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Prabhupada and Bhaktisiddhanta. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.