Interview with a World Preacher: Uttama Shloka das

By Patita Pavana das Adhikary

As Krishna consciousness continues to spread to all corners of the world, so is a new breed of world preacher is arising. Today vibrant new methods to spread a timeless message are being discovered. But can the essential principles that Shrila Prabhupada held so sacred continue to be communicated without compromising the philosophical essence upon which this movement is based? I spoke with a member of the rising generation of preachers in order to find out. Uttama Shloka das, though a brahmachari from Russia whose family has roots in Islam, represents the next generation of Lord Chaitanya’s rising moons.

I first met Shriman Uttama Shloka Prabhu while I was doing horoscopes on the Polish Festival tour this summer. Immediately I became intrigued by this brahmachari easing into his future as a committed world parivrajaka. After a discussion of Krishna conscious astrology, it was my turn to ask him a few questions about his vision for preaching. The extent to which he has honed his approach to spreading Krishna consciousness left me amazed.

Patita Pavana das Adhikary: Please tell us briefly about your travels and your plans for spreading Krishna consciousness in the Twenty-first Century.

Uttama Shloka das Brahmachary: Yes, I have been traveling quite widely for the last 2-3 years conducting educational and training programs based on Bhagavad Gita, mostly for Russian and English speaking devotees and they kindly reciprocate by sparing generous donations which enables me to continue my preaching.

But my main goal is to establish a network to facilitate global social development which would help devotees become more appreciated by and active in the society at large. This project we call SUN is officially headed by HH Mukunda Goswami and I’m coordinating it. We have a website:
http://spiritualunitednations.info/index.php

PPd: What can you tell us about SUN?

USd: SUN was developed gradually through discussions with different devotees about the effective means of introducing Krishna Consciousness to the society at large without having to compromise spiritual ideals. We discussed the idea with HH Mukunda Goswami, who is a very well known and respected senior disciple of Shrila Prabhupada. He immediately showed deep interest in the subject, having a good experience in the social field. Being one of the first devotees in the Movement he was also a pioneer in number of important projects such as ISKCON Public Affairs and Food for Life. Mukunda Maharaja’s vision for these projects was meant to help devotees to establish mutually beneficial connections with the outside world.

We know well that both of these projects have helped ISKCON and continue doing so. Shripad Mukunda Maharaja showed so much support to the SUN project that he volunteered to become its International Director, despite of his years and retired status.

PPd: There’s a saying that a rose upon the earth imparts its fragrance to the earth, but the rose never takes on the fragrance of the earth. In the same way, a devotee imparts his or her qualities to those around him; the preacher does not take on the karmi’s bad habits or water down his spiritual master’s teachings. Although Prabhupada warned us of compromises, at times, it seems, sincere devotees go overboard in trying to bring others into the fold. Are the efforts of SUN directed towards reaching out to the world without compromising ISKCON’s spiritual and moral principles?

USd: Of course, that is the test and the important issue. It is also said that the lotus may grow from the mud but it is not touched by the mud. So about the relationship of SUN to Krishna Consciousness: there are many devotees around the globe established in different brahminical roles, helping people to appreciate and to join this movement. We have number of impressive examples in the fields of education, welfare and culture. During his Bombay lectures in April of ’76, Shrila Prabhupada has said that devotee should be the one who knows “everything about something and something about everything”.

PPd: Then what is your global vision for ISKCON and Sun?

USd: It is necessary that some devotees should be encouraged to develop both their spiritual as well as professional qualifications. Shrila Prabhupada gave the example of how Buddhism was spread under Emperor Ashoka. Our vision is that worldwide development of Krishna Consciousness will only be possible when there is a serious interest and support on by governments and on international levels.

PPd: What obstacles do you run into in the implementation of this very broad vision of yours?

USd: We are working to overcome the stumbling blocks which prevent us from gaining such a support. First, some see ISKCON as a specific type religious organization and classify us as a part of Hinduism, despite of our objections.

Then, almost all the world governments, including India’s, are secular. But is the secular approach to government wrong in itself? Again, looking into Prabhupada’s statements we will find some appreciation for the idea of a secular government as neutral by nature. A government is duty-bound to make sure that everyone follows certain specific practices regardless of denominations. His Divine Grace did disapprove of the modern approach to the secular system which is actually indifferent to any religious practices as such. Our SUN project has deeply considered the vision of ISKCON’s Founder-acharya. Shrila Prabhupada desired and expected the governments to make sure that all the citizens advance spiritually through their religious practices and thereby elevate the world. And it is very clear that spiritual development means nothing less than public development of the divine and devotional qualities described in many parts of the Vaishnava literatures.

PPd: I listened to a very long and engaging conversation just on this point between His Divine Grace and India’s ambassador to Sweden in which he made just these points Neither could the intelligent ambassador do anything but agree. But the problem is that people seem to have their own convenient ideas of religion which exclude the important principles devotees are sworn to follow.

USd: Unfortunately, religious organizations in Kali Yuga are more inclined to policies of “divide and rule”. That is how the prominent religions of the world have left bloody footprints in the history of mankind without giving as much benefit to their believers as they should have.

Then again, we may say, “O well, of course scriptural misrepresentation is true for other religions, but not for the followers of the Vedic scriptures, or specifically the Bhagavad Gita”. But this is not actually a historical fact. Look at the Nazis. Adolph Hitler’s ideas were based upon a false notion of establishing a perverted concept of “true Aryans” to rule the world. Misappropriating the innocent symbol of the swastika, this tyrant led a massacre of tens of millions of people. His soldiers had the slogan “God is with us” engraved on their daggers. It is said that some of the rationalizations of the Third Reich were misinterpreted from the Bhagavad Gita. We can’t say whether it was a fact, but it’s pretty obvious that even the Vedic ideas summarized in Bhagavad Gita were heavily abused and there is no guarantee that it will never happen in future. That is why the Bhagavad Gita must be understood as it is, through the bona fide method of parampara. Religious zealots without any link to the Supreme Personality of Godhead through an authorized spiritual master have fed the flames of fanaticism in the past as today. And it will happen in the future unless we can present the message of Bhagavad Gita As It Is as Shrila Prabhupada taught it to the governments of the world. That is a vision of the SUN project.

PPd: We all know that even in India itself the Bhagavad Gita has been misinterpreted and abused due to the mindless proliferation of mayavada. Recently I entered into the Vedabase the word mam, meaning “to Me” as spoken by Lord Shri Krishna to Arjuna in the Gita. The world mam lit up all over the screen. Here, the Supreme Lord Krishna again and again kindly emphasizes for our benefit this path of pure devotion unto Him. But rascals have screwed some new meaning, some novel and non-existent void. To paraphrase the Archbishop of Canterbury, “They want the Kingdom of Krishna without Krishna.” They are envious of God, and therefore even the greatest atheists in this world must see Him in due course as Time when they take their last breath.

USd: Well, we are mentioning these points of shastric misuse not to be unnecessarily critical of our own Vedic roots. Why does Shri Krishna the Supreme Lord Himself makes the ultimate statement as a conclusion of the Gita to “abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me”? Lord Shri Krishna declares mam ekam saranam vraja. We can understand that Krishna Consciousness as such is very different from any religion. Still it belongs to every living being. Krishna consciousness is defined by one’s qualities and level of consciousness, rather than by one’s external religious denomination. A living entity’s pure spirituality in is original form is called Krishna Consciousness. This phenomenon is different from any religion, in the same way as the spirit soul or jivatma is different from the body. The vision of the SUN project is taken from Shrila Prabhupada’s vision for ISKCON: it is meant to unite the whole world under Bhagavad Gita As It Is. We can understand from Shrila Prabhupada’s example that he attracted everyone by his Vaishnava qualities as much as by his presentation of philosophy. Therefore in order to have a real support from the government there is a need in the social organization which will be presenting purely spiritual principles rather than religious ones.

PPd: As Shrila Prabhupada took the position of acharya or “one whose example is the same as his teachings” and he expected nothing less of us his disciples and members of his worldwide family. So if we who preach Bhagavad Gita As It Is do not embody those very principles we claim to represent, then our efforts will be useless.

USd: Of course. Whoever claims to represents the words of Bhagavan and who preaches the Song of Bhagavan, or Bhagavad Gita As It Is, must himself be a person Bhagavat. That is the only way to please the bona fide spiritual master and become dear to Krishna. Krishna advises us in the Gita, 12.13 advesta sarva bhutanam maitra karuna eva cha. First on the list is advesta or non-enviousness. Then maitra or friendship, which means that the persons should be capable of forming a good relationship with individuals from all walks of life. Friendship of devotees should be extended beyond our svajana, “those to whom one is directly related”. And the final quality Krishna explains is karuna or “compassion”, which means to be tolerant towards the imperfections of others. We have a number of such devotees, who are the leaders by nature, and not only by the appointment. Through the initiative of such leaders, SUN is meant to unite and provide mutual support amongst these persons. We would like to see the creation of a global network, one which could also help the governments in their work, by providing “spiritual solutions to material problems”. And we are looking towards working on the partnership basis with individuals and organizations in goodness on as wide a scale as possible.

PPd: You may not know that I was fortunate to work under Mukunda Maharaja in London in the early seventies when I was providing articles to Indian Newspapers. The technique was to present our philosophy in a way that would interest their readers yet never adulterate Prabhupada’s teachings. At the time, I even had a regular column called “Krishna’s Column” in the Gujarat Samachar Newspaper which Shrila Prabhupada always appreciated. But I am bringing this up because you have reminded me of one of Mukunda Maharaja’s oft-repeated Prabhupada quote. That is, “People should love devotees.” Mukunda used to tell me that when people see a dhoti and shikha, they should feel their hearts filled with love. But sometimes, unfortunately, we fall short of that goal. It seems to me that your work aims at getting people at the highest level to love what devotees stand for.

USd: Yes, like that. It is along these lines that SUN is meant to “unite and serve” the whole world, facilitating the establishment of Krishna Conscious principles in different areas of human activities. It appears to be a Herculean task, but the beauty of it is that it’s not us, the tiny group of volunteers who are making it happen. We are only sharing information and contacts and the rest is coming together naturally. It is just another indication of the herald of the Golden Age of Krishna Consciousness. Devotees are a part of the plan predicted in the scriptures and orchestrated by the Supreme Golden Lord Himself according to His infallible plan, and SUN is no exception. I have traveled quite widely for the past few years throughout four continents, and can attest to witnessing everywhere very visible traces of original Vedic culture. Moreover there is a deep interest and desire to restore it as well among people all over the world. It is nothing less than the unfolding of Shrila Prabhupada’s plan when he introduced the ideas of world unity as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

PPd: How about a few examples of what you are witnessing in terms of governments becoming friendly to Krishna consciousness?

USd: Well, for example, today we have two leaders of the world’s Superpowers, the US and Russia, demonstrating quite a good interest on it. The Russian President D. Medvedev has such a deep interest in yoga that he claims to know the entire Patanjali Yoga Sutras. In a recent interview, he said that he practices yoga daily for “only two hours due to the busy President’s schedule”. And some devotees remember that the American President, Barack Obama, coming to the Hare Krishna temple in Hawaii and taking prasadam there in his student years. At least we can say is that these two leaders represent a higher level of goodness and spirituality than their predecessors. It appears in many ways that the branches of the global tree of Krishna Consciousness, that was planted by Shrila Prabhupada is bearing serious fruits.

PPd: No pun intended, but what are your activities in the SUN?

USd: Well, that’s the point, that Krishna consciousness is as brilliant as the sun. So as far as my personal involvement in the project is concerned, I’m acting as the International Coordinator. This means that I’m developing contacts, spreading the information and facilitating the opening and functioning of the branches of the project in different places. I’m also conducting few educational and training courses, all based on Bhagavad Gita As It Is. These courses are meant to enable devotees and others interested in spiritual development to practically apply the Gita’s teachings to their daily lives. So far, the most popular one is the “Bhagavad Gita As It Is Crash Course”, which gives a very clear understanding of the entire scripture in an hour and a half.

It includes a review of each of the eighteen chapters and explanations of the Gita’s twelve key verses. The class is followed by a slide show, and then a training course called “The Yoga of Success”. This course is based on the first six chapters. Following this, a course called “The Yoga of Love” is based on the middle six chapters.

One of my other goals in teaching these courses is to help the participants to see the Gita from a universal point of view. People come out of the courses understanding that Krishna consciousness is a spiritual science meant for every human being, regardless one’s caste, color or creed.

PPd: You are an initiated disciple of my Godbrother His Holiness Indradyumna Maharaja. How did this come about in your life?

USd: I knew from the beginning that this was Krishna’s arrangement. When I met HH Indradyumna Swami, I immediately decided that he is my Guru because he is completely sold out to the Holy Name and nothing else.

From the very beginning of my coming in touch with Krishna consciousness, I was convinced that the Holy Name will lead me on the spiritual path of my life. I found a very strong faith in chanting right from day one, because it was putting me in contact with Krishna. I knew that chanting will be my guiding light. I felt absolutely no fear because of this conviction that Krishna will take full care of me. As long as I’ll chant His Names He will guide me.

PPd: And you intend to accept sannyasa initiation for Shripad Indradyumna Maharaja?

USd: Yes that’s correct.

PPd: So how is it you came to Krishna consciousness and the holy name?

USd: Even before I met my Guru Maharaja, I started chanting with one of my friends, who was also a pacifist. We decided that in order to achieve enlightenment we should travel to India.

In those days, the mid-eighties, we stood no chance of going to India. The Communists were in still power, and with our anti-government reputation no one would let us out of the country through any legal channel. But we were determined so we decided to cross the border illegally and escape. With this plan in mind we proceeded to Uzbekistan which borders Pakistan, and from there to make our way to India. Of course, this was a crazy idea, but we did not care. We were convinced that Krishna would help us. And He did, throughout the trip! We witnessed His protection is many incidents along the way.

PPd: How about sharing some of your travel adventures for our readers?

USd: Well, one particular episode comes to mind. Upon our arrival in Central Asia, while moving here and there, I attracted the attention of one of the local street gangs. They must have noticed that I was a stranger from Russia and figured that I must have some money on me. They surrounded me, demanding that I empty my pockets or else they will kill me. To emphasize their point, one of them put a blade to my throat. I had some money on me, but had I no inclination to give it to them. I was convinced that they could not do anything. In fact somehow I saw humor in the situation and began laughing loudly right in the face of the boy who was holding the blade to my throat. Somehow I knew he had no guts to do anything as Krishna is with me. Surprised by my reaction and with his hand shaking, he declared: “He’s a mad man!” He put the knife back in his pocket and left followed by his friends.

Finally we reached Fergana in Uzbekistan, situated on the foot or Pamir Mountains. Pamir means “roof of the world” and this range formed at a “knot” in the Himalayas lie the other side from India. It was a crazy idea, but we were very determined so we decided to cross these imposing mountains to reach India! We had no experience of mountain climbing and neither we had any information of how to go about it, but we were convinced that Krishna will make the impossible possible. We were singing Hare Krishna practically nonstop.

First warning of the complete madness of the idea we’ve got when we visited
the local Mountains museum where we saw what kind of animals are living
there – wolves, tigers, panthers and other predators. But even that did not stop us. We bought some primitive cheap mountain equipment we could find in local shop and went up the range to start our climbing.

On the first level, just few hundred feet up we saw a woman who was running around in panic calling for help. We approached her and asked what was happening. She explained that her husband went up here in a very desperate state of mind and she followed him fearing that he will commit suicide. She was pleading with us to find him. We told her not to worry and started searching for the man.

Soon we found him – standing on the edge of a cliff ready to jump off.
We started running towards him shouting that he should stop as from this
point onwards in his life he will has nothing to worry about, since Krishna will take full care of him. He was puzzled, but curious to understand what we were talking about. We just flooded him with our enthusiastic preaching which not only made him to stop his attempt, but also prompted him to invite us home as his guests of honor. We agreed, feeling that it’s was Krishna’s hand at work.

At his home he told us that his life was ruined by the local Government
authorities, who completely blocked all the opportunities for him to work and maintain his family as he did something they have not approved. This made him so desperate that he wanted to commit suicide.

We realized that it would be safe to discuss our plans with him, so we revealed our mutual disgust with the dictatorship and our intention of crossing the mountains. He thought for a moment. He said that even with Lord Krishna’s help it would still be a very challenging task. The wild animals are not the only danger in the mountains; there are also very narrow trails on the edges of cliffs covered with ice. He explained how even mountain goats slip and fall down the edge to their death. But even if we somehow manage to survive the predators, icy weather and the other hardships, then there would be the border guards…

Helicopters control the border twenty-four hours a day, and there is nowhere to hide in the mountains well above the tree line. If they spot a human being along the frontier, they never bother trying to stop and chat. Convinced that they are intruders, the border patrol just shoots them down from the helicopter. They make sure that the persons are dead and carry on.

After this enlivening description he said that we can go for an easier
option. He suggested we highjack a track and try to break through a Pakistan road border, which was quite near. He said that of course there will be shooting and chasing behind, but this will still give us better chances. Our prospects seemed dismal, so we reconsidered and went back to Russia, considering that the man whose life we had saved had now saved ours by Krishna’s grace.

Certainly, we thought, Krishna had a better plan for us. And He did – at least for me, because quite soon I met devotees and acquired Prabhupada’s books and learned more about Krishna consciousness. The main aspect which always attracted me was the chanting of the Holy Name, especially japa. Therefore when I met a spiritual master who was completely dedicated to chanting and spreading the Holy Name, I had no doubt that this is my Guru.

I first heard about HH Indradyumna Maharaja in the fall of 1989. I had come to Moscow to join a large group of devotees who were conducting daily harinams. They were also protesting that the first Prabhupada’s books officially sent to Russia by European BBT had been seized and held by customs. Just before this, HH Indradyumna Swami had come to Moscow for the first time. He had charmed everyone with his classes, kirtans and personal qualities. Today, twenty years later I’m very happy that I made the best choice for myself as I can’t imagine anyone else so patient and caring towards me, despite of my unlimited faults and shortcomings.