Caitanya Mahaprabhu's soldiers to fight with maya!
In the early afternoon Tamal Krishna Maharaja brought the Radha Damodara party for a special darsana with Srila Prabhupada. Radha Damodara TSKP has over one hundred men working out of six Greyhound-style buses, twenty-five men under Tripurari Swami working in six airports, and another ten men presently converting two more buses. Over seventy eager young men, most of them in their early twenties, packed the room and crowded the doorways. They gave Prabhupada a large donation of travelers checks, and he encouraged them to continue their work of book distribution and fund raising.
He complimented their efforts, and showed them the plans for future Mayapur development. Encouraging them to collect more and more funds for Mayapur's construction, he told them, "So you are the pillars of this construction work. We are doing all our construction work on your contribution. So go on preaching and distributing books."
Srila Prabhupada was in the best of humor, and deeply appreciative of the work his disciples are doing to establish Krishna consciousness in the world. Typically, he wanted to know whether they were all comfortably situated. Tamal Krishna informed him they were occupying an entire wing of the building on the floor above.
Prabhupada shook his head in mild wonder. He said that when this first building was completed, he was thinking, "Such a big building! How will it be filled?" Now it is packed and overflowing. He likened it to the appearance of Matsya-avatara, the fish incarnation. When He first appeared He was tiny, and a muni kept Him within his water pot. Yet He continued to grow and grow, and each time He was put into a bigger container. Finally He was put into the ocean, and still that was not big enough.
Glancing affectionately at the bright youthful faces, Prabhupada declared, "Caitanya Mahaprabhu's soldiers to fight with maya!"
They cheered back, "Jaya, Prabhupada!"
Prabhupada went on to explain that cooperation is the essence of the movement. Quoting a line from Ohe Vaishnava Thakura he told them, "The purport of the verse is that even Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu He is God himself, Krishna Himself, He felt, alone, unable to do this task. So this is the position. You are cooperating; therefore I am getting the credit. Otherwise alone what could I do?
"Ekaki amara nahi paya bol. Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself wanted our cooperation. He is God, Krishna. Therefore cooperation is very important thing. Nobody should think that 'I have got so great ability. I can do.' No. It is simply by cooperation we can do very big thing. 'United we stand; divided we fall.' So be strong in pushing on Krishna consciousness, and Krishna will help. He is the strongest.
"Still, we must be combined together. Sankirtana means many men combined together chanting. That is sankirtana. Otherwise kirtana. Bahubhir militva kirtayeti sankirtana. Bahu means many; many combined together. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission combined together. All nations, all persons, they should combine together. There is hope in our society, combination. There are Hindus; there are Muslims; there are Christians; there are black, white. Combine them. That looks very beautiful, just like combination of many flowers."
Bringing the darsana to a close, Prabhupada glorified them with a final few words of praise. "Hare Krishna. All glories to the sankirtana party, Radha Damodara!"
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 1 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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