By Kesava Krsna Dasa
By now, devotees might be wondering why ISKCON, particularly here in South Africa is going to great lengths to acknowledge Madiba, as he is affectionately known. Did he not appeal to many other people of religion besides us? Was he an ally of our cause?
As devotees are known for being absorbed in their Krishna conscious practices, matters of world affairs and politics may not be high priority information. Devotees know that history tends to repeat itself and those leaders, royalty and heads of state come and go. What is so special about Nelson Mandela?
5,000 years ago, Lord Krishna actively instigated political change from the prevailing demoniac order to that of righteousness. Those world shaking events were of great interest to persons living beyond our earthly plane, what to speak of affected earthly residents. The demigods were just as anxious to see political change on earth.
Those changes dramatically affected the lives of people, and Lord Krishna, although transcendental to all worldly affairs, took great interest in restoring justice and order, for the pleasure of those who worship Him as the Lord. Does Lord Krishna share the same interest for Kali-yuga politics? Are we able to attribute major political, religious and social changes to Him?
On the basis that the Lord indirectly fulfils everyone’s material desires, good or bad, and He wants all beings to be reunited with Him, the Lord can help manipulate world affairs, if it leads to everyone’s spiritual welfare. But how these workings unfold and the timing of them, leaves many people wondering if God exists or not.
For instance, several decades of oppressive Soviet Bloc communism was not expected to end as suddenly as Lord Krishna’s despatch of King Kamsa. Yet, in 1989 the detested Berlin Wall did tumble. The Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev was under relentless pressure to end human repression – and how religion has flourished since then.
This historic time must have inspired other leaders and heads of state. Just one year later Nelson Mandela was released from a twenty seven year prison term, building up to the now famous “Long walk to freedom.” The then South African president F.W. De Klerk similarly faced enormous pressure to end decades of apartheid.
Both De Klerk and Gorbahev are to be admired for their courageous crossing “of the Rubicon,” but their fame and popularity is greatly eclipsed by that of Mandela. Because De Klerk and Gorbachev represented the “old order,” they did not symbolise the freedom that people worldwide aspired for – political pressure forced those changes.
After Nelson Mandela assumed leadership he had options to violently retaliate against his oppressors and the system that upheld it, but he reconciled. He was under intense pressure not to share the podium with F.W. De Klerk for receiving the Nobel Peace prize. His signing of the new South African constitution that guaranteed human rights and religious freedom earned him more plaudits. He rose from being a perceived threatening rebel to a hero for many who benefited from apartheid.
Terms such as “Rainbow Nation” are synonymous with South Africa. This is part of the legacy created by Mandela. He had a vision quite similar to Srila Prabhupada in spiritual outlook. Just as Srila Prabhupada would say that it did not matter whether one was a Christian, Muslim. Hindu or Jew, people can all unite in chanting the holy names of God, Mandela had a similar vision of a “Culturally many, spiritually one” concept.
Of course, Nelson Mandela was not a saint, but as a politician, and as an individual, his broadness of vision was way ahead of people. On this basis, he meant so much for people of all religious denominations in South Africa. He also means a lot for the ‘ethnic minorities’ here who feel secure under the present constitution.
ISKCON’s “Culturally Many, Spiritually One” outlook is also futuristic and it resonates with many of those in Government leadership. Although ISKCON does not side with anyone politically, if chances arise of cooperation with powers that be, it is helpful. ISKCON is also benefitting from this side of Mandela’s legacy.
Srila Prabhupada also said that people who achieve great things in life, or who hold powerful positions in society, should be respected – and Nelson Mandela was no exception. But there are additional qualities he possessed that caused him to stand out from the rest. His human ability to cross over political and religious divides – which many people are afraid to do – is again a material equivalent of what devotees do spiritually in order to tell the world that everyone is worshipping the same one God, no matter to what religion they belong.
More recently, we are witness to how great this individual is, in death. Continually thousands upon thousands of people voluntarily come to the suburb of Houghton in Johannesburg to pay their last respects to Madiba at his home. This coming Tuesday will probably witness the largest gathering of world leaders for another leader, at Mandela’s memorial.
Nelson Mandela’s influence had an immediate impact on the sentiments of people worldwide, but his ideals are mostly given current approval, hence his popularity. This is why leaders now urge people to try and live this legacy. What Srila Prabhupada and his teachings has done spiritually, will take more time.
The changes we are witnessing from revolutionary scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam, left remaining after Lord Krishna’s departure, and His words of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, are transforming society in steady and subtle ways.
For example, Queen Elizabeth of England, is known as “The Defender Of The (Anglican) Faith,” among her numerous titles. If Prince Charles takes to the throne, he would prefer that same title to be, “The Defender of Faith,” which is a broadminded departure from old-order tradition – he is acknowledging the diversity of religion.
This, allied with other undercurrent changes such as acceptance of vegetarianism, cultural integration of Diwali and Holi, concepts of soul and transmigration and so on, can all be accredited directly or indirectly to gradual spiritual influence, and Srila Prabhupada’s books and devotees have an unsuspecting role in this.
In a world still divided politically and religiously, hardly anyone will notice progress towards the ideals we cherish. Peace accords between sworn state enemies are rare and difficult. But when certain individuals can, on a material level create glimpses of the ideal, they tend to fight shy of normal trends.
It is in this capacity that Mandela is respected by devotees, because he was an ally in our long-term cause. How that respiritualised world will be, we are not sure. If it reverberates with the sounds of the holy names and multi-faith worshipers are allowed to pray at any mosque, temple, synagogue or church without hindrance, it might closely resemble “Heaven on earth.”
Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa
Follow in the footsteps of the Mahajanas…We have been repeatedly advised to follow the examples of the great beacons of devotion to Krishna. We have these examples in our literature. And, our Acharyas have also done the same. There are those in other religious traditions who also have their religious beacons like Jesus or Mohammed or Buddha. The focus is upon God consciousness. We must always remember how great God is. He is not an ordinary person, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Who is the Creator and Controller of all. We are merely puppets on a stage.
Srila Prabhupad said that Gandhi was a saint amongst politicians. But, his ambitions were political. Martin Luther King was a “follower” of the example of Gandhi’s way, as was the pious but nonetheless politically motivated Nelson Mandela. Indeed, externally their personalities and their ways are worship-able by others, but their conclusions do not solve the problems of existence, however noble their gestures and their restraint. No doubt, Nelson Mandela overcame or was blessed to be capable of detachment from the mode of ignorance with its hatred and retaliation for past wrongs. Still, the waves of the material world go on.
I recall when Janakaraj das Brahmachary and I (only two of us) performed Sankirtan in our saffron robes and stood downtown and boldly proclaimed: “We are not these bodies. We are all spirit souls. All children of God. No one is black or white or brown.” I remember the facial expression of relief amongst the many Africans of 1973 Capetown. Truly, the unity we are looking for was provided by genuine knowledge. Materially, we have in common our composition…earth, air, water…etc. But, spiritually (and that identity is eternal) we have God in common. None can exploit another if their center is God, Krishna.
We may be grateful for the nonviolent manner that the political environment appeared to have changed in modern South Africa. The problems of birth, death, old age, disease…existential problems that each person is confronted with…these remain, as evidenced by the aging, illness and passing of Mandela. Yes, he was appreciative of Krishna consciousness because he could appreciate the unity that is afforded by the philosophy of the Gita, Krishna’s words. But, we must also recognize the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita…sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam braja.
Pusta Krishna das
Srila Prabhupada has highlighted to us in his books, conversation, lectures and his personal life who are role models should be. They should be personalities that are totally devoted and 100% surrendered to Lord Krsna.
When Srila Prabhupada was a youth, his modeled his life under the teaching of Gandhi. But when He met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvathi Thakur, he understood were his priorities should be focused. Srila Prabhupada then discarded the teaching of Gandhi, understanding that it just mandune politics and took up a life following a real Viasnava acarya. From that point Srila Prabhupada re-modeled his life following in the footsteps of great arcayas and Vaisnavas in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
He knew when to draw the line between a real devotee of the Lord and a humantarian. As followers of Srila Prabhupada, we should also be realistic in knowning who is a devotee of the Lord and who is a humantarian, and we offer our respects accordingly.
Over emphasising the qualities of one who is not in our disciplic succession can be detrimental for our spiritual life. Every thing we do or say has an reflection on our consciousness and is stored in our sub-consciousness . If we over-emphasis the qualities of a non-devotee, then our consciousness can become comsummed by that persons attributes and qualities. Rather we stick to glorifying the previous acaryas and incarnation of Krsna, so we know that our consciouness will be pure and not be obstructed at the time of death or at the time of chanting Hare Krsna.
Mr Nelson Mandela was a great well-wisher of our society and certianly deserved credit for that, but placing his photo higher than Srila Prabhupada in temple and on the Ratha-yatra cart, that was taking it to the extreme.
Hare Krsna
Danagati das
If there is one thing I did not make very clear in this article, it is that I did not properly distinguish between following and respecting.
In the case of Nelson Mandela, we can say that we respect him, but we do not follow him, though some of his ideals are similar to ISKCON’s on a material level.
But there is one example of a congregational member here who got caught up in the euphoria of all things ‘Mandela,’ and spent 13 hours waiting among the throngs that queued to view Mandela’s body while lying in state in Pretoria.
Now, that is certainly an example of taking things way too far. There is no spiritual benefit to be earned by such a peek.
Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa.
As much as we might like to suppress our outer designations, we are bound to find their nature intrusive. Indians will become involved in the politics of India, Americans will become profoundly affected by events like the 9/11 terrorism, and the South Africans will likely be moved emotionally by the grand life of Nelson Mandela. Certainly, it is nothing to become adverse to. Both attachment and aversion are the equivalent of subtle bhoga and tyaga. If something is unfavorable for devotional service, we reject it. But, we do not need to become overly “heady” and intellectual about every thing that crosses our mind or crosses our paths externally. I remember living in Johannesburg in 1974-6 and we had one very nice African woman who lived in Soweto. She was employed by us to help clean our ashram while the bhaktas went out on sankirtan. She told us about much of the suffering that she had experienced in life. In addition to the sometimes horrible living conditions in Soweto, she described how her husband was robbed and murdered by other African men on the train from Jo-berg to Soweto. Her hope was minimal. So, the “liberating” effect of Mandela on the population putting an end to Apartheid was obvious for the many African dis-enfranchised people. However, the point is made: this will not solve the problems of existence, just as Gandhi or Subhash Chandra Bose did not solve the problems. The bhaktas are motivated by deeper and more profound problem solving. We are trying, grace of Sri Gurudeva, to solve the problems of repeated birth, old age, disease, and death. The lives of great politicians, poets, scientists, artists, can be inspirational. But, the focus of the bhaktas is elsewhere. Thus, we can, as Keshava Krishna das notes, offer the natural honor to rare and unusual heros like Mandela. We do not have to fight that. But, the focus of the bhaktas is on awakening our eternal love of God. Krishna consciousness is spiritual life in its purest form. But, naturally, any oppressed person living in South Africa notes the potential and real advantages of living without the constraints of apartheid, just as those in Russia would prefer to have the religious freedom of the US rather than be jailed and oppressed for practicing Krishna consciousness. The environment is ultimately under Krishna’s control as well.
Pusta Krishna das