Page 37 - OSSISPS - Eng
P. 37
9 preaching Means fighting
“So, you have understood what we have been saying—that Kåñëa is
God?”
“Yes,” Keith says.
“And that worship is due God?”
“Yes,” Keith says.
Suddenly Swamiji, red and furious, stands up. “Then why do you want
to take it away from Kåñëa?” he roars, shaking the small storefront.
“It’s Kåñëa! It’s Kåñëa!” He slams his hand down on the lectern.
“It’s no unborn within Kåñëa! It’s Kåñëa!” We all sit stunned, as if
a lion had pounced on the dais. “Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is directly telling Arjuna, ‘To Me. Worship Me.’ And Dr.
Radhakrishnan says that it is not to the person Kåñëa but to some
void. Just see what a nonsense rascal! Do you want to worship some
unborn void instead of Kåñëa? Kåñëa is the Absolute Truth. His body,
mind, and self are absolute. And He says, ‘Think of Me, be devoted
to Me, worship Me.’ And even Çaìkara says, bhaja govindaà, bhaja
govindaà, bhaja govindam: ‘Worship Govinda, worship Govinda,
worship Govinda. Your nonsense will not save you at death!’ And yet
this rascal wants to take it away from Kåñëa. Do you want to follow
such a rascal? Kåñëa says, ‘Worship Me.’ Do you not understand?
Then why are you saying it is not to Kåñëa? Why? Why not to Kåñëa?”
We all look at Keith as if he’d suddenly turned into an untouchable.
This surprises us all, since usually he is so expert. Yet he simply
articulated the Mäyävädé mentality of us all. We sit in stunned
silence, not daring to venture further.
“Did you see how red Swamiji got?” I ask Wally [later initiated as
Umäpati] afterwards. “Boy, was he angry!”
“But he’s right,” Wally says. “All the commentators try to avoid
Kåñëa. You’ve read Bhagavad-gétä before. Until meeting Swamiji, did
you ever think of worshiping Kåñëa?”
I have to admit that it never crossed my mind.