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EDITORIAL February 23, 2000 VNN5539 Related VNN Stories Ravindra Svarupa's Response To Praghosha BY RAVINDRA SVARUPA DAS EDITORIAL, Feb 23 (VNN) — Effeminate GBC and Sannyasis Dear GBC Members PAMHO AGTSP Here I would like to respond to a few of the points brought up in discussion of my recent posting. I am criticized for not coming up with a "solution" and for failing to do what some are convinced is the necessary immediate step, namely, the removal of certain women devotees from COM. My posting, however, was an attempt to explain why I believed that the demanded action would, in this case, make matters worse and not better. The response from Praghosa dasa (ACBSP), which Trivikrama Swami elicited from him and posted here, and which gave off much heat but hardly any light, ignored my point.
At any rate, the organization that runs COM has official declared that it is independent of the GBC, so the demand that the GBC should control COM discussions is now what is called on this conference a "mute point." (Can we correct this to "moot point," the actual expression, "moot" meaning a debated issue deprived of practical significance.) When the controversy first came up, the GBC executive discovered right away that de facto it had little authority over COM. As far a practical steps to begin to rectify matters, there are many, and I haven't the time now to treat them all. But I will begin: The most important step is that we should actually fulfill the assertion Prabhupada made about his "true followers": "Interviewer: How would I recognize a true follower of the Krsna consciousness movement by his behavior? What would his traits be? What would his outward expressions be?If this had been realized, if we had actually been sadhus, we would have had no problems. It may not be too late: We should therefore become "perfect gentlemen," which Prabhupada himself said was the distinctive symptom by which his true follower would be recognized. But by this criterion, how many of his purported followers actually are his followers? What about Praghosa dasa (ACBSP), as judged by his letter posted here? While it was gentlemanly of Trivikrama Swami to apologize for breaking the confidentiality of this conference, a conspicuous absence was the lack of any apology for the content of Praghosa dasa (ACBSP)'s posting. Therefore, I can understand that Trivikrama Swami did something a little bit tricky. Being unwilling to directly reveal his own mind on this conference, he sent my posting to Praghosa dasa (ACBSP), and when he got the expected response, he hastened to post it here. In this way, Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) acts as Trivikrama Swami's proxy or spokesman. This proposal that we become perfect gentlemen or sadhus may therefore be entirely impractical, even within the GBC body. It seems that our Trivikrama Swami may have become the victim of some bad association, in that he is keeping loose company with the likes of Praghosa dasa (ACBSP), Shyamasundara dasa, Ameyatma dasa, and others, and even puts one of them forward as his spokesman. I think we can see from the very letter from Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) posted here that his association, at this time, should be taken carefully by anyone who wants to become a gentleman, a sadhu. Particularly, he exemplifies in this letter a false style of mundane masculinity, a certain type of bodily pride that is actually an anartha. In fact, it is the generating ground of the ungentlemanly behavior that had produced so much abuse of power in our movement. It is this anartha, this false style of mundane masculinity, which Praghosa dasa (ACBSP), Trivikrama Swami, and their circle seem to be seeking to promote as the true teachings of Srila Prabhupada. A sign of this false style of mundane masculinity in the posting by Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) is the often touched upon theme that he is the real man, and those who oppose him are "effeminate" wimps who side with the girls: "And then Bir Krsna Goswami cuddles up with one of the women in cyber space and says, "Tsk! Tsk! Are they still after you girls? What's wrong with them?"(Notice the obnoxious use of sexual innuendos here, and below, the repeated use of the word "pander," which means "to pimp") He calls my bringing up the abuse suffered by women as "pandering to the ladies," and "pandering to sentiments of the audience" and thus see me as one of those "effeminate men who are too much needing the approval of women." He repeatedly accuses me of being sentimental, of wallowing in feeling without being able to act (all signs of effeminacy), and then proclaims: " THIS RABINDRA SWARUP PRABHU - IS THE PROBLEM! So spare us the sentimental drivel about how you FEEL! You are talking to men here."Of course, this style of pseudo-masculinity is quite familiar, and the letter of Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) puts me right back in the tenth grade (1960, Marple-Newtown High School, Newtown Square, PA, where I had dealing with a certain Ritchie Marlin, the school j.d., whom I knocked on the ground with a single punch when, in front of the school after band practice, he came up and grabbed my jacket collar for no reason but to show off to his smirking buddies and his girl-friend), and so I recognize well this style of low-class, pseudo-masculinity that express itself through aggressive hunting of girls while abusing and demeaning them at the same time, and by engaging in obsessive assertive displays of masculinity which included the repeated taunting and belittling of some other men as effeminate, wimps, "fairies" and so on. Now I recognize that Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) represents an extreme, but I also believe that Trivikrama Swami's strategy in posting this letter of Praghosa dasa (ACBSP)is to intimate any men on the GBC who would vote for proposed measures of rectification toward women with the fear that by so doing they would reveal themselves as effete, sissy, and so on. Such a taunt is hard for any guy to bear, and I am afraid most of us remain susceptible to such an attack, even though it is on the platform of false-ego. To all of use who might be so influenced let me point something out. I have claimed that Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) exhibited a "false style of mundane masculinity." It is false not only because it represents a particularly dense and impervious carapace of false-ego, but also because its very thickness and rigidity discloses that it is actually an over-compensation for unacknowledged inner feelings of fear and self-doubt. This unacknowledge, inner sense of weakness makes such men easily threatened and intimated by women, especially if the women happens to exhibit any intelligence, skill, or strength. To put it the matter bluntly, for I speak now on the platform of Praghosa dasa (ACBSP) and Trivikrama Swami, my response is: "I'm not the wimp. YOU are!" The standard response at this point is to challenge me to step outside and settle it like a "real man," and I'll just say here: Watch out! I know martial arts. However, I urge my male-embodied fellow GBC members to deal with this issue on the transcendental platform. It is time we showed people that we can be gentlemen. Do not make the grievous error of blowing off the history of ISKCONs dealing with women as "tripe" (the word of Praghosa ACBSP). Take it seriously. Bhakti-Tirtha Swami's warnings are very important. If we do not heed them, we will be very sorry. Moreover, now it is important that we should go out of our way--we make an extra effort--to see that the women are properly taken care of, and that they know they are. I also want to deal with another fear, raised in several responses. That is, the fear that those of us who favor rectifying our abuse and neglect of women want to "change the philosophy." Kavicandra Swami cited some texts to the point that women should always be protected. I agree. Does Maharaja think I don't know these statements? But given the history of women's "protection" in our movement, we have to ask, "Who is going to protect them from their protectors?" That is the issue. Why have protectors become exploiters and abusers? There are any number of "quotes" Trivikrama Swami and others can and will throw about, but the quotes are really a decoy to mislead you into thinking that I want to change the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. I do not. I agree with what Prabhupada says. However, when these same quotes are used to defend and maintain a entrenched system of neglect and abuse erected on the mundane platform of male false ego, then I will use this quotation to describe what is happening: "salagrama dia badam bhanga," you are using a salagrama-sila to crack nuts. I am committed to the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. I am convinced that in the real world there are divinely established hierarchies and fixed essences. Modern feminists, on the other hand, think that hierarchy is a male invention, and for them "essentialism" is a term of abuse. They they "male" and "female" are humanly concocted categories. If you push all these sorts of notions to their conclusion, you will encounter the familiar arch-enemies of Krishna conscious, nirvesesa and sunyavada. Anyone in ISKCON has any affinity toward these staples of contemporary Maya, and who thinks we need to reject hierarchy and essences in order to reform ourselves, then I oppose them vigorously. Nevertheless, in the world today we have democracy because the power monarchy was abused, we have socialism because the power of capital was abused, we have feminism because the power of masculinity was abused. I understand why women want independence in the same way that I recognize why ordinary citizens want to control the government. Both positions are, however, against our philosophy. So I think I am as conservative as you can get. However, if we want to restore Vedic culture, first we must produce a class of people who can exercise power and authority and not abuse it. I think we have to recognize our practical failings in this regard, and set a clear course toward rectification. Now I've run out of time. Thank you for your patience, if you have gotten this far. yhs Ravindra Svarupa Dasa Related VNN Stories  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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