Why Prabhupada sometimes repeats himself in his books?

We can see that it is not uncommon to see Prabhupada speaking on the same topic on different purports. We may miss, is that there is a good reason for he doing so.

We can see that it is not uncommon to see Prabhupada speaking on the same topic on different purports, sometimes even on two purports that are close together in the same chapter. For example, there are hundreds of passages in which Prabhupada explains the basic concept of varnāśrama, mentioning the four varṇas and four āśramas, and how the system is based on qualification and not on hereditary privileges. Some may question the necessity of this repetition, and some even go as far as accusing Prabhupada of being repetitive in his commentaries, emphasizing the basics instead of going deeper into the subjects being discussed. If this ever passed through your mind, this article is for you.

First of all, it is important to understand that there are different styles of commentaries in Sanskrit works. Most of the works from our previous ācāryas were written in bhāṣya style, in which the original verses or sūtras are explained in a deep, but concise way. We can note this style in the commentaries of the four sampradāya ācāryas to the Vedanta-sūtra, for example. The problem with the bhāṣya style is that it is often incomprehensible for someone who is not already familiar with the subject. Even if one thinks he understands, he will still probably just be touching the surface. If you want to check for yourself, take a look at the original bhāṣya commentary of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa for the first verse of the Vedanta-sutra and compare what you understood with the commentary I wrote on it. You can see that the points I explain in the commentary are present in a seed form in the original bhāṣya commentary of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, but unless one already knows the topics discussed, most of the points will be missed.

When one writes a bhāṣya, there is little repetition, and the topics are usually explained sequentially, starting from the beginning of the book, but the bar is set very high. Had Prabhupada written all his books in this style, we would not be able to understand much.

Prabhupada indeed sometimes follows the bhāṣya style in his translations, adding key information for understanding the verses, instead of just direct translations. However, we can see that not many can go deep into the meaning of the texts by just reading the verses. What sets Prabhupada apart is exactly that he adds detailed commentaries, written in tīkā style.

Ṭīkā means a detailed commentary, or a detailed gloss, that goes deep into the meaning of the passage, adding all information that is necessary for its understanding. Apart from offering long, accessible explanations, Prabhupada usually presents each verse as a self-contained unit, including all details that are necessary for its understanding, which allows us to understand a verse from later in the book without necessarily having to study the whole book from the beginning. It also allows us to continue understanding the book even if we didn’t get some of the previous explanations.

Another point is that although Prabhupada can often repeat the same conclusions, each time he does so, he adds new details, new angles, or new applications for the same principle. The conclusion remains the same, because the truth doesn’t change, but each repetition brings a deeper understanding of it.

For example, there are many purports where Prabhupāda speaks about varṇāśrama-dharma. If we just glance superficially, it might look like he is repeating the same concept each time, but if we read carefully, we will notice that every purport contains unique details, something new that expands our understanding of the topic. We thus always have a mixture of something we already know and some details that are unknown to us. What we need to pay attention to in these cases, however, are those new elements, those added insights that appear in each explanation. These additions are the important explanations that increase our realization of the subject.

Another important point is context and application. For example, Prabhupāda speaks about varṇāśrama in many different passages of the Bhāgavatam. The topic may be the same, but the context is different, and therefore, the application is also different. By seeing how the same concept appears in different circumstances, we begin to understand how the principle adapts to various situations. The truth remains constant, but how it’s applied depends on time, place, and circumstance. This is the way Prabhupada found to teach us this malleable and nuanced understanding of the philosophy that is essential to apply it in real life. We can observe that many devotees have a much harder and inflexible view of Krsna Consciousness, which often comes from not studying his books long enough.

An analogy that can be given is that the action of clicking a button is superficially the same every time. However, context changes everything. One can click a button on a computer, on a phone, in an elevator, or on a washing machine – each situation is different. The result, the purpose, and even the kind of button clicked will all vary. In the same way, when Prabhupāda repeats an idea, he’s not just repeating the same concept over and over; he is showing us how the same principle works in many different contexts. Each time we read a different passage that mentions the same topic, we discover a new layer of meaning, just like pressing different buttons in different circumstances gives different results.

We can imagine it like this: every time Prabhupāda speaks about varṇāśrama-dharma, for example, it’s as if he is opening a file in our heads and adding some new information there. At first, one may just know that there are four divisions in society: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, and śūdra, and so on. However, after hearing another explanation, more details are added to the varṇāśrama file, and the discussion moves on. Later, in another chapter, he again refers to varṇāśrama, and once again, adds a new piece of information to the same file. This gradual accumulation of knowledge builds depth over time. And by the time we finish studying all of his books, we have thousands of such files in our minds: about varṇāśrama, one about family life, cosmology, practical application of Krsna Consciousness, etc., each one packed with deep insights and practical understanding. This is how his teachings work: adding to our comprehension, layer by layer, detail by detail.

Another important point is that the great challenge in understanding Vedic knowledge is that each concept has multiple levels of depth. For example, in the beginning, one may think that varṇāśrama means just “brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, and śūdra”, but that’s a very basic, superficial understanding. Someone who is more mature begins to understand varṇāśrama at a much deeper level: how it can be applied to society, how it adapts, how it connects with bhakti, how it is meant to serve the purpose of pleasing Krsna, and so on. He will understand how to apply the concept to different situations, personalities, and communities, beyond simple stereotypes.

But here’s the problem: beginners can’t jump to that higher level of understanding right away. If someone tried to write a single book explaining the complete, multi-layered concept of varṇāśrama in all its depth, a beginner wouldn’t be able to grasp it all in one go. We can’t fully understand varṇāśrama or any other deep philosophical concept without understanding all the rest of the philosophy first. Everything is connected.

To solve this problem, Prabhupāda feeds the knowledge gradually, letting it build up inside of us, piece by piece, as we grow in our philosophical understanding. That’s why the method of repetition with variation in context is such a powerful and essential method in his books.

We actually have a similar concept in modern education. When we go to first grade, we study subjects like math, english, geography, history, and so on. Then in second grade, we study the same subjects again, but at a deeper level. This continues year after year. In every grade, we revisit the same core subjects, but each time we go further into the complexity of those topics. And then, when we finally reach university, we begin to specialize in one area. But before that, our education requires that we learn everything in layers.

Why? Because without this gradual foundation, we will simply not be able to understand what is taught at the higher levels. We can’t jump into university-level physics or biology unless we have been trained step by step, building a broad base of understanding. In the same way, the only effective way to teach varṇāśrama, cosmology, or any deep topic in Vedic philosophy is to break it down into parts and explain each part little by little, in different contexts. Over time, and along with all the other topics of philosophy, the full picture begins to emerge.

Prabhupada’s way of teaching is thus not to confuse us; quite the opposite. It’s because this is the way these deep topics can be properly understood. It is simply not possible to explain everything in one go. It has to come gradually, step by step, layered over time.

The key is to look at the context in which Prabhupada mentions a certain concept, and pay attention not to the part we already know, but to the specific details that are added. If we just rush over it, thinking we already know what he’s going to say, we miss the deeper layers.

A significant obstacle, however, is that we often have a more consumerist mindset in terms of study, which we bring from school or university. We’re used to quickly reading through books just to finish them, and then writing papers or dissertations just to meet deadlines. We often don’t take the time to actually study deeply. We read like a cow chewing grass, just grazing over the surface.

We expect to just “get through” the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but these are works that can be understood only by attentive and protracted study, with the help of other devotees who understand these books deeply and can share this taste and realization with us. It is not something we can learn in a week, or even in a year.

Originally, the scriptures were meant to be studied alongside a spiritual master. That was the traditional system: hearing, reflection, and deep absorption in the teachings, one verse at a time, all under the direct guidance of the spiritual master.

Of course, most of us today don’t have that luxury, to study for years under the direct supervision of a self-realized soul. The good news, however, is that Prabhupada anticipated this problem and created a path for us by writing his books in a deep yet understandable way, allowing us to understand many aspects of the philosophy directly from him. We still need the association of other devotees and the guidance of the spiritual master to understand his teachings, but much of our progress comes from just repeatedly and submissively studying his books, one at a time, following the process he created.

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