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EDITORIAL  United Nations Of The Spiritual World BY SAMEER GOUR DAS EDITORIAL, Mar 12 (VNN) — Srila Prabhupada once told his disciples a story, pregnant with meaning - The old and aged father had two strong and capable sons. Once, as he lay on his bed, tired and exhausted, the father requested them to massage his legs. "I want the right leg", shouted the first son and the second one accepted the left.
Soon, the first son noticed a fly seated on the other leg and taking the opportunity, he chastised his brother, "You don't pay much attention to your service, you are totally spaced-out." Saying this, he aimed a blow at the fly, to drive it away. Disturbed at this, the second son replied, "How dare you punch 'my' leg!" and delivered a similar one to the other leg of his father. In the battle that ensued, the father's two legs were beaten out of shape. While each of the sons was 'trying his best' to please his father by giving harder and harder blows, the poor old father, who was too old to speak, lay gasping for breath and shed tears of agony. Srila Prabhupada, with forty rupees in his pocket and two heart attacks in his log, set out undeterred, at the age of 70 on a cargo ship. He was determined to conquer the world for Lord Chaitanya's mission. He envisioned a society where devotees from diverse backgrounds would unite under one roof and live like brothers and sisters with love. Indeed, what his "affectionate" disciples are offering him today is the perfect opposite. As each leader in Srila Prabhupada's home professes to understand perfectly what their spiritual father's desires were, the house is torn asunder by internal rivalries complemented by expensive court battles. As the women - the 'mothers of the society' - fight for more rights and leadership roles, scores of abused children scream for justice and compensation. As spiritually advanced over-aged sannyasis choose a capable life partner to "expand" their service and get married, the newly-born "fired-up" brahmacharis proudly tell the whole world how pure their wonderful movement is. As members of the "guru" species vie with each other for followers and fame, the descendants of the "ritvik" virus, forgetting all sastra, try to counter them with oratory skills and knowledge of English grammar. And even as more and more comittees are set up each year to handle existing problems, more and more skeletons fall out of the cupboards and contribute to the existing pile. Srila Prabhupada said "everything is in my books, there is no need to look elsewhere". But there certainly must be something more with the lawyers and judges also, otherwise why would our leaders look to them? As the "karmi" lawyers get fat on Krishna's money, devotees in the temples close their preaching programmes for want of resources and manpower. Srila Prabhupada confidently said that the United Nations could not create real unity - the wars are still going on - and he wanted to create a "united nations of the spiritual world". But the wars within this "united nations" are threatening to exterminate that very sublime vision of the founder. The arms of Srila Prabhupada's body are innumerable, and so are the sons who have offered them loving massages. As we watch in horror, the massage has turned into third-degree torture, the agony of which only Srila Prabhupada and his true sympathisers will feel. How long will this society last? "Lord Chaitanya's movement will last 10,000 years", said Srila Prabhupada happily. But I feel, that if it lasts another 10 years, it will be a memorable achievement. (I am a devotee in Bangalore, India and have been involved in the movement's activities for the last 18 years or so. I am a silent spectator of the unfortunate happenings here. Those who wish to correspond with me can send me mail at: sameergdas@yahoo.com)  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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