BENGALURU: Where science fails, faith begins.’ These words by author and philanthropist Sudha Murty at the launch of historian-journalist Hindol Sengupta’s book, Sing, Dance and Pray, capture the essence of this book, which is an account of founder of ISKCON Srila Prabhupada’s life and teachings. Murty went on to say that after reading the book, she truly understood Prabhupada’s vision, and ‘who this person really was.’
To her, the writing, which was detached from its subject and did not contain an overpowering sense of awe and devotion, made it more successful because it brings in a ‘logically convincing’ point of view to prove why Prabhupada is so influential. The author, being a historian and devotee, was able to not just state why Prabhupada said something but also bring in the socio-cultural conditions that prompted him to say what he did.
While explaining what drew him to the Krishna Consciousness movement, Sengupta says, “My mother told me that you should make the purpose of your life to open cages and set people free.” According to the writer, the purpose of this book and his connection to Prabhupada began here. “The story has great relevance because his life was about setting people free from fear…when we open the cage and set people free, the real person we are setting free is only ourselves,” he says.
Grammy award-winning composer and environmentalist Ricky Kej, who was also in attendance, says, “Music is my religion. To see singing, dancing, and prayer all together in this book is great, because I think that is a 360 degree approach to life.” Madhu Pandit, president of ISKCON, Bangalore says he was ‘personally chasing the cause of all causes.’ A chance encounter with a volume by Prabhupada in the IIT library changed his life. “I had tears in my eyes,” he says.
After reading the book, he realised that Prabhupada knew what the cause of all causes was. With his core teachings, Prabhupada was able to connect the macrocosm with the microcosm because both of those have the same dynamics, says Somnath, chairman of ISRO. He believes that it is ‘natural for human beings to explore the outer world and the inner world.’ That is what Prabhupada does, by connecting science and belief.