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EDITORIAL March 22, 2000 VNN5733 Related VNN Stories Mahamantra's Abuse BY SITA DEVI DASI EDITORIAL, Mar 22 (VNN) — Our stomachs dropped when we read the horrifying details of the abuse experienced by Mahamantra's wife. We hope the local and extended community of devotees will give financial support to the family as per your request. It was however stated that Mahamantra donated $50,000 to his guru, Satsvarupa Maharaja. We are personally doubtful that Satsvarupa Maharaja would have accepted this money from his disciple, had he known the strife Mahamantra's family was experiencing. Thus we are hopeful that Maharaja will consider giving this laxmi back to Mother Shanta.
In a letter to Madhukara Dasa, 4 January, 1973, Srila Prabhupada wrote: "Krsna says that His dearest devotee is one who does not put others into difficulty, in fact, who puts no one other into difficulty. So try to judge the matter on these points, whether or not you are putting either your wife or yourself into some difficulty. The right understanding of Bhagavad-gita is Arjuna's understanding. In other words, Arjuna came to the conclusion that he must perform his occupational duty, not as a material obligation, for reasons of wife, family, friends, reputation, professional integrity, like that--no. Rather he must conduct the functions of his station of life only as a devotional service performed for Krsna. That means that devotional service is what is important, not my occupational duty. But it does not mean that because occupation duty is not the real consideration, that I should give it up and do something else, thinking that devotional service may be carried on under whatever circumstances which I may whimsically decide." Grhastha devotees, who abuse and neglect their family members cannot be practicing devotional service. Padmapani Prabhu wrote: "Over the years, Shanta-devi dasi has tried to tell her story to many devotees and leaders in the movement. Unfortunately, she was not taken seriously enough." This same thing has happened to Mother Mahavegavati as well. More than a dozen leaders knew of her plight and have done nothing. Our gurukulis have also suffered incredible injustice. Contamination of society arises from people like Mahamantra going unpunished. This is what Prabhupada wrote about the fate of irresponsible leaders (including husbands) who fail to protect those innocent people (especially women and children0 who have taken shelter of them: SB 6.2.5-6 "The mass of people should always feel security because of the government's protection. Therefore, how regrettable it is for the government itself to cause a breach of trust and put the citizens in difficulty for political reasons...One who betrays the confidence of a living entity who takes shelter of him in good faith, whether that living entity be a human being or an animal, is extremely sinful. Because such betrayals now go unpunished by the government, all of human society is terribly contaminated." Your servant, Sita devi dasi Related VNN Stories  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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