Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
I take this occasion of again celebrating your blessed appearance in our midst as an opportunity to offer prostrated, heartfelt obeisance to your lotuslike feet.

Śrīla Prabhupāda, of your countless wonderful qualities, one stands out for me in my present reflection on your glories, namely, that you always put forward a grand vision of Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the whole world, a vision full of hope. You always radiated confidence that this vision would become a reality. In this spirit, you anticipated a historiography that would acknowledge the realization of your vision when you wrote in a letter to Jayaśrī (November 13, 1969):

Our movement is the greatest gift to the human race. They may not immediately appreciate it, but time will come and history will give evidence that this movement saved the human society from being fallen into barbarianism.

Thus, you anticipated a radical change in civilizational direction, from a steady decline into “barbarianism” to an elevation toward widespread engagement in devotional service. In a Caitanya-caritāmṛta purport (Madhya-līlā 25.121) you further envisioned that “everyone has an equal right to execute devotional service. That is the platform of oneness and the basis for a classless society.” In referring to “equal rights” in relation to devotional service as the “platform of oneness” that becomes “the basis for a classless society,” you hinted at the practical enactment of how the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is “meant for bringing about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, preface). By hearing, reading, reflecting on, and sharing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, our minds and hearts can be incrementally transformed. This transformation is inclusive: Recognizing all human beings as having “equal rights” means that everyone should have the opportunity to hear the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This was always your firm conviction.

Reflecting on the notion of “revolution” as the expected result of engagement with the Bhāgavatam, I like to think of reading and sharing it as a subversive act. In a quiet, nonconfrontational manner, everyone has the right to participate in the slow and steady erosion of materialistic consumerism, replacing it with humble acts of devotion that nourish the soul, honoring all living beings as sparks of divinity.

In a further reflection on your anticipation of “history giving evidence” that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to be credited with turning the tide toward a favorably directed – rather than a misdirected – civilization, I was inspired this last February to give a presentation at the ISKCON Leaders’ Saṅga in Māyāpur titled “‘History Will Give Evidence’: Writing Our History to Prepare ISKCON’s Future.” After raising questions about the nature, process of gathering, archiving, accessing, and presenting of historical “evidence,” and pointing out some efforts already being done in this direction, I and my co-presenter Lokarāma Prabhu urged devotees to develop oral history projects that would document the experiences of individual devotees and groups of devotees.

I concluded the short presentation by noting three benefits of gathering and writing our history. First, it can help foster a sense of mission continuity for Vaiṣṇava communities over multiple generations. Second, it can inspire present and future generations of devotees to enthusiastically preserve and spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And third, it can positively direct our future, enabling your prediction to come true, namely, that “history will give evidence that this movement saved the human society from being fallen into barbarianism.” Responses to our presentation were very positive.

With your kind blessings, Śrīla Prabhupāda, as your follower and humble student, I will continue to be a small instrument to encourage everyone to pursue and persist in the subversive act of hearing, reading, and sharing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and to encourage your followers to record the history of how this “revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization” is becoming a reality.

Always your servant,
Krishna Kshetra Swami