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EDITORIAL  Intersecting Cultures BY UJJVALA SAKHA DAS EDITORIAL, Mar 12 (VNN) — I have tooken a part of a story to illustrate a irregularity within our society. The captain of a U.S. submarine that hit and sank a Japanese fisheries training ship offered a statement of regret to Japanese television on Sunday but stopped short of a formal apology.
Japan's NHK television network broadcast the written statement of Cmdr. Scott Waddle nationwide Sunday. In it, he expressed his "most sincere regret" over the February 9 sinking of the Ehime Maru, which left nine people missing at sea and feared dead. The Ehime Maru was carrying a group of students from a commercial fisheries training school in Japan. It sank within minutes of being struck by the much larger USS Greeneville, which was performing an emergency surfacing drill. Waddle has been relieved of command of the nuclear-powered attack submarine pending an investigation by a Navy court of inquiry and a civilian-led probe. "No words can adequately express my condolences and concern for those who have lost their loved ones. I too grieve for the families and the catastrophic losses that the families have endured," Waddle said in the statement to NHK. He said he wants full disclosure of the causes "so that such a disastrous accident never again occurs." However, the Japanese were not satiated, due to the fact that the US navy did not apologize immediately, which is the custom of Japan during such catastrophic circumstances. This just underlies the crossing of cultures. Why, I chose to present this story: Prabhus, it has been a current dilemna in our Vaisnava society that we have conflict between different camps and one of the actual conflicts we have experianced some how or other through our sense preceptors, that senior vaisnavas are not been given proper respect upon frequenting anothers math-(cultivated land) within the vaisnava society. There has been a few incidents in the Iskcon temples where senior Vaisnavas were not properly honored and were subjugated to the administrative disposal of their juniors. Such incidents were: 1) Being offered a seat lower than their juniors. 2) Not greeted with proper etiquette procedures. 3) Being forced to remain silent. Within these there are so many details of receiving a senior Vasinava acarya. What we have here is crossing of cultures. The vaisnavas a very strict etiquette being that it is allotted from divinity. Most of hindu India abide by a similar etiquette of honoring the renounced and senior. Yet, in America these virtues are not so prevalent. There is some regard, but not so religious. Now, we have to ask ourselves who is the founder of all the Iskcon buildings and movement. That would be His Holiness Srila Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, now then, we have to ask ourselves which culture should be disharged in his establishment. That I assure is Vedic Vaisnava etiquette. So, what should be done as President Bush is on TV apalogizing Iskcon leaders should do the same. Using proper pronouns such as I instead of you, example: I should have properly greeted you with a smile and a garland begging you to share some sweet katha. Instead of: you did this because I said you did, therefore I did that. Now, in the matter of the Japanese they are not satisfied with apalogies from even president Bush and the top U.S. admiral going to Japan in person with folded hands bowing in front of all the Families begging forgiveness. They were not satisfied until the admiral bowed down, which he did. But, they are still requesting a full investigation. Now, Prabhupad has built a society that should educate the entire world, but yet we have even a mleccha yavana government more ethically advanced. He did not request "take me to your leaders so they can educate me" what he did request to some of his senior disciples was to learn vaisnava ettiquite from advanced vaisnavas such as Srila Narayana Maharaj, which they now boycott with articles and straight oral presentations. So, the crossing of cultures goes on leaving thee with decisions to make... Statement to Iskcon leadership: You have heard tons of requests for refinement so I bother not to breath down your neck, but give an effort to educate yourself. Isaac Newton said I know I'm more learned than you all because I can understand that I'm picking pebbles up on the shore of the ocean of knowledge. Please understand that in some comprehensible way you are holding the sanctuary of the entire planet, allow the freedom of love and understanding to inundate this human civilization. Be good sons of your master.  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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