VNN Editorial - ISKCON, Exile And Conflicting Vows

EDITORIAL April 6, 2001 VNN6688 Comment on this story

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ISKCON, Exile And Conflicting Vows

BY SWAMI B.V. TRIPURARI

EDITORIAL, Apr 6 (VNN) — "Prabhupada wanted his disciples to remain within Iskcon. He also wanted them to become Krnsa conscious... Krsna told Arjuna, 'When two vows conflict with one another you must determine the value of each and act accordingly.'"

Q&A discussion with Swami B.V. Tripurari.

Q. I was intrigued to read your comment in a recent Sanga, "More advanced devotees than yourself have concluded that adherence to Prabhupada is better accomplished by serving separately from Iskcon." Could you please elaborate?

“Let the disinherited be reinstated, and let them humbly share what they have gained during their exile.”

A. This does not mean that all devotees should leave Iskcon in order to better adhere to Prabhupada. It means that for some devotees this has proven to be the case. Others are better off within a large institution which offers support for their spiritual practice. No institution is better suited to do this than Iskcon, especially with regard to devotees from the West. Some devotees are dedicated to keeping this facility available, and this is certainly noble and no doubt pleasing to Srila Prabhupada. I offer my dandavats to them.

Q. How do those who have left Iskcon justify their decision in light of Prabhupada's instructions?

A. In order to answer this we must first go to the heart of Prabhupada's words. In so many books, through so many instructions, what is the spirit of his words? What is it that he desired of his disciples? What did he want from us? He wanted us to develop love of Krsna. How? Somehow or other, 'yena tena prakarena, manah krsna nivesayat.' Still, one might question how it would be possible to accomplish this by leaving Iskcon, when Prabhupada clearly wanted his disciples to remain within Iskcon. How could his disciple attain love of Krsna and disobey him by leaving Iskcon?

During the Battle of Kuruksetra, Karna insulted Yudhisthira in front of Arjuna. Yudhisthira then left the battlefield. Arjuna and Krsna followed him, and Yudhisthira criticized Arjuna for allowing Karna to vilify him. In doing so, he insulted Arjuna's bow, Gandiva. Previously Arjuna had taken a vow to kill anyone who insulted his bow, and if he could not do so, he vowed to take his own life. So he took out his sword to kill Yudhisthira.

At that point, Krsna intervened and chastised Arjuna. "What are you doing you fool? Are you going to kill your elder brother for the sake of keeping your word? Is this the purport of the moral law? Is there nothing higher than moral law? And given the circumstances, what is the value of this promise when you vowed many times over to make Yudhisthira the king?"

Krsna continued, "Do you think that in the midst of the battle through which you have vowed to establish dharma by returning the throne to its heir, your elder brother, that it will be appropriate to behead him or kill yourself because of another vow you have taken. When these two vows conflict with one another you must determine the value of each and act accordingly." Understanding his foolishness, Arjuna put down his sword, and Krsna then told him that there are eight kinds of death, one of which is to praise oneself. So he told Arjuna to praise himself and die in this way, thereby enabling him to fulfill his vow and also fulfill the purpose of killing of so many soldiers - establishing Yudhistira as king.

Prabhupada wanted his disciples to follow his Governing Body Commission and remain within Iskcon. He also wanted them to become Krnsa conscious. If one perceives a conflict between these two, he must seek a dynamic solution, finding the spirit of the law.

Many years ago Iskcon's GBC took an extremely offensive posture toward Prabhupada's beloved Godbrother, Srila B.R. Sridharadeva Goswami Maharaja, despite the fact that Prabhupada had suggested that they consult with him on matters of philosophy after his departure. Prabhupada indicated that Sridhara Maharaja was competent to act as a siksa guru for his disciples.

Sridhara Maharaja had acted in this capacity previously for some of Prabhupada's disciples at Prabhupada's request, and Prabhupada himself said that he considered Sridhara Maharaja his own siksa guru. Thus when some devotees developed affection for Sridhara Maharaja and accepted him in their hearts as their siksa guru, the offensive posture taken by the GBC toward Sridhara Maharaja became intolerable.

At that time these devotees had to decide how to harmonize Prabhupada's instructions to follow the GBC and remain within Iskcon with the threat of becoming implicated in Vaisnava and guru aparadha (siksa guru). Such aparadha would have been tantamount to spiritual suicide, rendering them incapable of fulfilling the ideal of Srila Prabhupada, indeed the very purpose of Iskcon - facilitating the awakening of Krsna prema.

As it turned out, the GBC at that time came up with a resolution directed against Sridhara Maharaja, stating that anyone who took siksa from an authority outside Iskcon had to leave. So those who had developed an affectionate, siksa guru relationship with Sridhara Maharaja, followed the GBC and left Iskcon. In this way they avoided spiritual suicide and honored Sridhara Maharaja in the way they were taught by Srila Prabhupada himself.

They also followed Prabhupada's instructions to follow the GBC, who had ordered them to leave Iskcon.

Q. Didn't the GBC later resolve this dispute?

A. Several years later the GBC sent a committee to apologize to Sridhara Maharaja, acknowledging that they had offended him. However, to my knowledge they have not contacted the devotees who were forced to leave Iskcon by their policy regarding Sridhara Maharaja's siksa and apologize to them, or to ask them to return to Iskcon. Thus these devotees remain separate from Iskcon, serving Prabhupada from their position.

Those who accepted Sridhara Maharaja as their siksa guru and are preaching successfully today must have the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, otherwise they could not be successful. In some instances we find that they have made considerable spiritual advancement evidenced by their preaching and persona. If Iskcon suffers from anything today, it is a shortage of such leaders.

Q. What can be done now?

A. Although I understand the logic of Iskcon's policy toward Sridhara Maharaja that forced people like myself to leave Iskcon, I do not agree with it. It was a great mistake that has not, in my opinion, been sufficiently rectified. No doubt we all make mistakes. Let us all acknowledge this one, bearing no grudge on either side and move forward as Prabhupada would have expected. Let the disinherited be reinstated, and let them humbly share what they have gained during their exile.

Short of this, I have suggested several times that Iskcon acknowledge 'sister societies' such as the one I formed and work cooperatively with us for preaching and association. To date this suggestion has not been taken up by Iskcon. Perhaps our thousands of Sanga readers, many of whom are Iskcon members, including a number of Iskcon leaders, might like to champion this idea?

Questions or comments may be submitted at the Q&A Forum http://dailysanga.com/, or email editors@dailysanga.com.

[Reprinted with permission from DailySanga 4/4/2001 http://dailysanga.com/]

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