I’ve been waiting for 2 years for this moment.
If we type “Dialectic Spiritualism” in the searchbox of our beloved website Vedabase.io we shall find many conversations when Srila Prabhupada was asking again and again whether it was printed already or not. Early 1977.
Thus we can appreciate the importance he gave to this brilliant book. Just see the chapters:
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
4. Origen
5. Augustine
6. Thomas Aquinas
7. Kierkegaard
8. Schopenhauer
9. Darwin
10. John Stuart Mill
11. Marx
12. Nietzsche
13. Freud
14. Sartre
15. Carl Jung
Srila Prabhupada would always give credit where credit is due, so if some point of their philosophy would reflect the Absolute Truth, He would agree with it & quote scriptures in support of the statement. But if it would not – He would shred it to pieces with logic, common sense, best & choice arguments.
And you know what?
We are also supposed to learn how to do that.
Harikeśa: You so completely destroy the opposition, it’s very hard to say anything more.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That you have to prove. You can eulogize your Guru Mahārāja, but you have to learn it and face the public and be strong to defend yourself. That is success.
Not by praising your Guru Mahārāja. You’ll praise your Guru Mahārāja. That is not very difficult. But be victorious to the opposing elements.
Then you will praise your Guru Mahārāja nicely.
At home, you can praise your Guru Mahārāja, and Guru Mahārāja be satisfied, “Oh, my disciples are praising me.” That is not very… That is good, respectful. That is the qualification.
But you have to fight. Then your Guru Mahārāja will be glorified.
Type: Conversation
Date: Dec. 26, 1975
Location: Sanand
I pray that we glorify Srila Prabhupada in the way he would be very much pleased , by learning how to be victorious and defend every aspect of Vedic philosophy in Krishna consciousness
This book is an excellent guide to help us achieve this objective #newepisodealert
Sooo the next book will be “Beyond Illusion & Doubt”.
“That is required. We are publishing one book, Dialectic Spiritualism = Vedic Views of Western Philosophy. We are just going to publish one book, Dialectic Spiritualism. Marx theory is dialectic materialism. [laughs] We are going to establish dialectic spiritualism. Go on.”
June 10, 1976 Conversation
Aaand! I really love the title that Srila Prabhupada gave to it initially:
?Dialectic Spiritualism = Vedic Views of Western Philosophy.
I feel like it’s such an underrated, or you can say “unknown” book of Srila Prabhupada. Yet, it’s truly brilliant! Plus I love & adore Prabhupada’s mood in this book.
Another point that came up was that even though in my own readings I’ve covered the compilations like “Quest for Enlightenment”, “A second chance”, “The Journey of Self-Discovery” etc… in this podcast we’d like to focus on the books in the top square on the photo. Not to undermine the transcendental compilations, of course! But just to focus on this instruction:
“This is not necessary. My books are sufficient. Let all of my disciples read my books. This idea is over-burden. It will mean too many readings. Let them read whatever is there and digest it. Everything I have wanted to say I have said in my books. This will only be superfluous. Tell him to concentrate on reading my books, not on studying such transcriptions. Does he think he will find something else in these transcriptions that are not in my books?”
20th July 1977 – Letter to Prana das
With this point cleared up, in only 300 episodes we are just few steps away from the “maha big books”, which Srila Prabhupada always emphasized to study very thoroughly, spending so many nights dictating them for our benefit.
I pray and hope that one day we all know them as lawyers know law books.
