One must try to understand that Srila Prabhupada is neither an Indian author nor
Indian culturist nor Hindu sectarian. The first teaching of the Bhagavad-gita is that
no one is Indian, no one is American—our real self is beyond this temporary bodily
designation; our permanent identity, eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, is with
the Supreme Personality of Godhead as His eternal servant; and our position is to be
situated beyond the material universes in the spiritual planets, within the spiritual
sky. This is the platform of Krsna consciousness.

To think, “I am American,” “I am Russian,” etc., is our disease, and is due to
forgetfulness of our eternal nature as spirit soul. Unfortunately, under the spell of
illusion, every embodied creature is satisfied with his present material body. Even
the worm in the stool is thinking, “I am all right.” Despite so many disadvantages
and miseries, all living entities are engaged in satisfying their senses and are
thinking it is all right. Therefore when the bona fide guru comes with the
transcendental message, calling the souls back to home, back to Godhead, they do
not want to come out of material encagement. Often, people prefer to be encouraged
in illusion and therefore pay fees to learn that they are God or equal to God in all
respects and thus “free” to go on “enjoying” material life of sense gratification. So we
see yoga and meditation teachers advertising that they will improve one’s material
facilities. They overlook the fact that elimination of sense gratification is the first
step in the standard yoga or transcendental system. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami does
not encourage unrestricted sense gratification, or the belief that one is God, or that
God is impersonal or void. He is passing on, as it is, the information from Vedic
literature, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a person and that devotional
service unto Him is the perfection of all purificatory processes. Lord Krsna in
Bhagavad-gita is recognized as the Supreme Lord, and Sri isopanisad confirms the
Personality of Godhead as the antimaterial supreme controller and the only enjoyer.
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami is teaching surrender to Krsna, the Supreme Lord.

Srila Prabhupada is the living example of the saintly person pointed to in all Vedic
literature who is personally free from all material contamination and active in
spiritual understanding. He is the Krsna conscious personality who is so dear to
Krsna, who understands that the highest welfare is not to pose oneself as the friend
of humanity, but to teach that God or Krsna is the dearmost friend who alone is
capable of alleviating the misery of each and every living entity. A.C. Bhaktivedanta
is teaching what is really common sense to our intelligence, but we are so bewildered
by the glitter of the material Nature that we are distracted from his message. He is
simply canvassing for God on the order of his spiritual master. Once Srila
