(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban, South Africa, 22nd September 2012) Lecture: SB 11. 31. 24-28
Recently we have seen the posthumous publication of the academic thesis of Tamal Krishna Maharaja. I must say that this is a book worth reading. It’s an academic book but it is extremely cheap for an academic book. In Europe it is available for twenty euros, which is a deal, because usually academic books are 5, 7, 8 times more – very expensive.
It’s a significant book, and it’s so cheap because it is made available for devotees. I recommend it because Tamal Krishna Maharaja has made Srila Prabhupada the centre of his thesis and his purpose was to establish that Srila Prabhupada was not just another charismatic personality. In the 60’s so many came – Maharishi Yogi, etc and they got a following. He points out that Prabhupada was not just a charismatic personality; Prabhupada was more than that. He said:
’Prabhupada was like a theologian who was redefining a religious tradition.’
Theologians, that is exactly what they do. They take the tradition and the scriptures, analyse and crystallise these and apply it according to time, place and circumstance. And that of course is what Prabhupada did – he is the acarya for the modern world who gave us Krishna Consciousness in the form that we can deal with!