ISKCON’s control and influence was small.
Śrīla Prabhupāda asked what percentage of the world’s population the movement was controlling, and then answered the question: very insignificant.
A recorded instruction · Māyāpur · 14 February 1977
Big-Scale Preaching Has a System.
“For the big scale, this is required… Then it is required, systematic… Then we have to introduce this varṇāśrama-dharma.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda · Room Conversation 770214R2.MAY
In Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words
The Instruction.
PrabhupādaFebruary 14, 1977 · Māyāpur“Yes. In the... For the big scale, this is required. In big scale you cannot make all of them as brāhmaṇas or sannyāsīs. No. That is not possible. This is a small scale. How many percentage of people of the world we are controlling? Very insignificant. But if you want to make the whole human society perfect, then this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should be introduced according to the Kṛṣṇa's instruction, if you want to do it in a larger scale, for the benefit of the whole human society.
Now we are picking up some of them, best. That is another thing. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu said para-upakāra. Why a certain section should be picked up? The whole mass of people will get the benefit of it. Then it is required, systematic. Sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ. Para-upakāra means mass benefit, not there is certain section. Then we have to introduce this varṇāśrama-dharma. It must be done perfectly, and it is possible, and people will be happy.”
A worldwide movement
By February 1977
Major temples. Book distribution. Saṅkīrtana parties. Ratha-yātrā. Sunday feasts. Deity worship. Prasādam distribution. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. BBT art. Gurukulas. Farms. Restaurants. Scientific preaching. A worldwide movement. And so MUCH more!
Śrīla Prabhupāda was ISKCON’s leader and Founder-Ācārya. Its initiated devotees were his disciples; its members and leaders were his followers.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda called all of this small scale!?
Is This Instruction New to You?
Many devotees have spent decades serving Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission without encountering this instruction.
But an instruction concerning how this movement is to benefit the whole human society does not become less urgent because it has been overlooked.
The point is to hear it now!
Follow the Conversation.
The force of the instruction comes from its progression—not from an isolated catchphrase.
The aim was mass benefit.
Śrīla Prabhupāda moved from selecting a few qualified persons to para-upakāra: benefit for the whole mass of people. Are we willing to follow his lead?
That requires a system.
For society at scale, everyone cannot be made a brāhmaṇa or sannyāsī. Śrīla Prabhupāda stated that training and cooperative divisions are required.
The model must be shown.
The exchange turns toward introduction, education, example and the duty to give human society a practical model.
Listen. Read. Check the Context.
The source is a recorded room conversation. Read the complete exchange and hear Śrīla Prabhupāda in his own voice.
Hear and read the complete conversation74:52 · February 14, 1977 · Māyāpur
Three Reasons Not to Dismiss It Before Hearing.
The context is preaching.
The discussion is about carrying Kṛṣṇa consciousness beyond the brāhmaṇically oriented movement. It is about taking Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the whole human society.
Chanting continues.
The conversation explicitly keeps chanting in place while presenting varṇāśrama as necessary for devotees and for society in general. Śrīla Prabhupāda did not limit this instruction to outsiders; he explicitly included his own initiated disciples as well as the wider society.
The emphasis is training.
The exchange calls for regular education—training people to become qualified brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras, not assigning varṇa according to family of birth.
The Invitation
This question belongs to all of us.
If our Founder-Ācārya, Śrīla Prabhupāda, wanted to benefit the whole human society with systematic varṇāśrama, what responsibility does that place on me?
Our first responsibility is to take the instruction seriously: hear it, examine it in context, discuss it honestly, and consider what it requires of us.
01Hear the entire recorded exchange.
02Share it.
03Discuss it within your social circle.
04Explore how systematic training can begin.
What to carry forward
More Questions Are Natural.
You may leave this page with more questions than answers. That is all right. For now, come away with two clear understandings:
Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted us to reestablish varṇāśrama.
Śrīla Prabhupāda identified systematic varṇāśrama as big-scale preaching.
If these two points are not yet clear, take your time. Hear the conversation again. Sit with it. Discuss it within your social circle.
You may not yet know how it can be done—or even believe it can be done. But if you understand what Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted and what he called big-scale preaching, congratulations.
“You’re on your way to big-scale preaching!”
Questions worth asking
Did Śrīla Prabhupāda actually connect “big scale” with varṇāśrama?
Yes. In the February 14, 1977 Māyāpur conversation, he contrasts the movement’s then-small reach with benefiting the whole human society and states that systematic varṇāśrama-dharma is required. The full source is linked above.
Was he proposing varṇāśrama instead of saṅkīrtana?
No. He says chanting will continue. In the conversation, Śrīla Prabhupāda applies varṇāśrama to his initiated disciples within ISKCON as well as to society in general.
Is this website asking me to join an organization?
No. BigPreaching.com begins with a proposition, not an organization: hear the recorded instruction, examine it in context, and consider its implications for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s preaching mission.