Personal: Prabhupada and the Deity

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: He was so kind to bring the accessible Krishna murti. What did we know? How could we succeed? But he did it, starting with Lord Jagannatha, then little Radha-Krishna in New York City. Prabhupada crouched down before Them, ordered simple service, kept Them in his room, and explained to us that They are not idols. The Deity is Krishna. He advised us, "If you think of Swamiji and Lord Jagannatha all the day, then at night you will dream of them." Dancing before the forms of the Deity, he taught us. Otherwise, no one could introduce the Deity to the Westerners. Now that They are here in so many temples, future religious historians may think. They came by another means or that any devotee could have called them, but Prabhupada was the one empowered to call the Deity. In the beginning he asked Him to please take care of Himself if the mlecchas-turned-devotees made offenses. But it was also Prabhupada who later saw that the worship was going on nicely, and he approved that Krishna was being worshiped in grand style. Like the brahmana who called the Deity to witness, Prabhupada asked the Lord, and He agreed to come.

On Prabhupada's invitation, along with the sound of kirtana, Krishna was received in simple settings - in converted rooms, puja began for the Lord in rented houses in places such as Boston, St. Louis, Buffalo, and then in grand temples. Great acaryas of the past installed one Deity, their beloved Radha-Krishna, but Prabhupada worshiped dozens of Radha-Krishnas, and he traveled to see Them. He was the champion of Radha-Krishna, installing and distributing Radha-Krishna on every continent, again and again bathing, chanting, dressing, performing the installation. Srila Prabhupada crouched before the Lord and sometimes he cried joyful tears at the darsana of the glowing Radha-Krishna. He noticed how They were being served and dressed, and he made a stern point, that we should never change things whimsically after he had left. It was transcendental and matter-of-fact to Srila Prabhupada that we must worship the Deity of Krishna. Of course we must do it, or how will we remain purified? And of course He is Krishna, with flute and three-curved form, with Radha beside Him. And of course we have to give Them our devotion! It was a matter of devotional fact: He will come when there are devotees and they will worship Him. Yet, is it not a great miracle? Prabhupada has brought Krishna - Krishna has agreed and the ex-mlecchas have agreed to accept Him, and they pray, "O Lord of the universe, by Prabhupada's grace, kindly be visible unto me."