Destination South Africa - Book Excerpt

DESTINATION SOUTH AFRICA

Chapter 7 (excerpt)

O n the S outh A frican T our

The poster promoting Srila Prabhupada's South African tour was nicely laid out by Visnu Duta and distributed everywhere

7^th October 1975

During a morning walk near the Old Fort in Durban, Pusta Krsna took Srila Prabhupada to a British Military park. Pusta Krsna seemed to bring out the fire in Prabhupada, reminding him of the days when he was in the civil disobedient movement of Mahatma Gandhi. During Srila Prabhupada’s college days he was actually at college with Subash Chandra Bose, India’s mysterious but famous freedom fighter. They had known each other at that time. I couldn’t help but think of Prabhupada as a greater revolutionary than Bose. Although he was a freedom fighter who performed great works of liberation, Srila Prabhupada was destined for a spiritual revolution, real freedom from the cruel grip of the material world.

As Srila Prabhupada calmly walked through the park he looked at the British war graves and was reminded of their so-called military honour. He recalled how Indian soldiers had been undermined under British rule and enlisted in a foreign army in his country. Indeed many heroic Indians were forgotten.

In addition to the Army and other Indian services more than 300,000 Indians served in the Royal Indian Navy. In the Royal Indian Airforce there were 1,638 officers and 26,900 of other rank. By the end of the second world war some 36,092 Indian lives were lost defending British colonialism. 64,354 were wounded and some 80,000 were taken prisoners. Many of them came from heroic Hindu ksatriya (warrior) families, but had been let down by former British sahibs who manipulated them. The former British rulers took the credit themselves and did not give Indians their due praise. It was only recently known that thirty Victoria Cross medals were awarded to Indian soldiers. Srila Prabhupada remarked:

From India the British made India their centre, and they conquered both sides Far East, Middle East, and Africa with Indian soldiers. They organised Indian soldiers particularly Sikhs and Gurkhas, and they employed them for extending their empire. The real soldiers were Indians.

Knowing what Prabhupada was talking about, so I continued: “ The Indian soldiers were known as the Gurkhas from Nepal.” Prabhupada replied: “ Gurkhas and Sikhs. You know that?”

“ Yes Srila Prabhupada.” I replied. I had spent some time during my youth in Nepal, and therefore I knew about the Gurkhas, Sikhs and their Hindu ksatriya warrior tradition very well. Just as I was feeling proud for answering the question, Srila Prabhupida stopped and in the flash of the moment he lifted his knee high up to his waist like a martial arts stance and with his walking stick high as well said . . .

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