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EDITORIAL  Comment on this story Reply To Prithu Das's Article BY KRSNACANDRA DASA EDITORIAL, Apr 16 (VNN) — Om ajnana timirandasya jnananjana salakaya caksur-unmilitam yena tasmai sri-guruve namah Namah om Visnupadaya Radhikaya Priyatmane Sri-Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Iti namine Vanca kalpa tarubhyas ca krpa sindhubhya eva ca patitanam pavanebhyo Vaisnavebhyo namo namah First I would like to offer my many humble dandavat pranams to the lotus feet of my beloved diksa guru Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashottara shatta Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayan Goswami Maharaj. I beseech his mercy now in order to answer these claims made against him in this online assembly of Vaishnavas
It disheartens me greatly to see Prithu Prabhu's commentary on (chakra.org), but it is only a drop added to the sea of discontentment apparently aimed toward my Gurudeva, churned and contributed by such personalities as Ravindra Swarupa Prabhu and Srila B.G. Narasingha Maharaj. First of all, Prithu Prabhu claims that "Wives are being initiated without consultation of the husband, even parents, initiated by Srila Prabhupada, are often left in utter dismay since children are being initiated without concerns for the feelings of their parents. In fact Narayanan Maharaja sees no wrong initiating even minors." It cannot be denied that disharmonious family interactions such as the situations that he outlined above are most unpleasant, but what Prithu Prabhu does not seem to acknowledge here is that occurances of this type have not been an infrequent occurance in our Gaudiya Vaishnava Guru Parampara. For example, is he aware that Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami left his home against the will of his wife and family, and soon afterward came into contact with Swarupa Damodara Goswami in Puri, whom he immediately accepted siksa from? The "concerns for the feelings" of Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami's parents were minimal. This is far more pronounced a deed than to merely take diksa from an uttama adhikari without the permission of one's family. But to imply that committing such a deed impeded Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami's spiritual life would be pure blasphemy. Even his diksa guru, Sri Yadunandana Acharya, was not offended at the very least, but rather, he rejoiced in the fact that his diksa disciple was getting such sanga. Perhaps the disgruntled family members of those who take initiation from my gurudeva would feel better to follow Sri Yadunandana Acharya's golden example. But no, this is not an option for those who cling to sectarianism as crutch that will supposedly lead to salvation. But what will truly save us? Only sadhu sanga: CC. Madhya lila 22.54 'sadhu-sanga', 'sadhu-sanga'----sarva-sastre kaya lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya SYNONYMS sadhu-sanga sadhu-sanga--association with pure devotees; sarva-sastre--all the revealed scriptures; kaya--say; lava-matra--even for a moment; sadhu-sange--by association with a devotee; sarva-siddhi--all success; haya--there is. TRANSLATION "The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment's association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success. PURPORT According to astronomical calculations, lava is one eleventh of one second Cc. Madhya lila 22.83 krsna-bhakti-janma-mula haya 'sadhu-sanga' krsna-prema janme, tenho punah mukhya anga SYNONYMS krsna-bhakti--of devotional service to Krsna; janma-mula--the root cause; haya--is; sadhu-sanga--association with advanced devotees; krsna-prema--love of Krsna; janme--awakens; tenho--that same association with devotees; punah--again; mukhya anga--the chief principle. TRANSLATION "The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krsna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one's dormant love for Krsna awakens, association with devotees is still most essential. " It is sad to see that my Gurudeva's interactions with western devotees are interpreted as some kind of perverted turf war against ISKCON. Nothing could be further from the truth. On one occassion, I had stayed in the Honolulu, Hawaii ISKCON temple. I helped the temple president at the time doing various duties, and on one occassion, I noticed he wrote a heart-felt letter to the GBC, begging them to bring some "nice devotees" to revitalize the sanga there. No bhagavatam classes were being given in the morning, and sometimes only 1-2 people would come for Mangal aratik. Obviously, the temple president's prayers had fallen on deaf ears. Or had they? It was at this time, that Srila Narayan Maharaj and his entourage were staying hours and hours away, on the other side of the island. And suddenly, people were getting together, exchanging books, speaking hari-katha. At my Gurudeva's programs, those who seemed so lethargic and indifferent a few only days ago were given a new lease on life. Ecstatic kirtan, delicious prasadam made with love, people expressing interest in taking harinama and making a lifetime commitment to Krsna consciousness. It was here that I accepted my Gurudeva as my spiritual master and made a permanent commitment to Krsna consciousness. I have no doubt that the Paramatma, the Chaita Guru, was listening to that devotee's prayers that day. It is only so unfortunate that this sincere, hardworking man of Srila Prabhupada's Movement was forbidden by his duty as an ISKCON officer to even so much as take short darshan of my Gurudeva. Proponents of the ban on Srila Narayan Maharaj such as Ravindra Swarupa prabhu cite numerous anecdotes and inconcise philosophical reasons for their offensive posture towards my Gurudeva, and yet they are so easily refuted, as can be seen here http://www.vnn.org/world/WD9810/WD16-2367.html Prithu Prabhu follows suit in this tradition by making such excuses as "No, giving the Gayatri Manta by tape as Srila Prabhupada used to is not authorized." It is said that the Acharya is a manifestation of Krsna and that our instructions are always the same. However, it cannot be denied that each acharya has his own distinctive identity, and therefore, a distinctive personality. So there will be some minute variations in their methods of preaching and instruction. A point like this above is merely a vain attempt at splitting hairs. Srila Prabhupada's movement in the 1960's and the 1970's, was skyrocketing exponentially. In some temples, there would be 4 new converts per week. Quoting my Gurudeva, Srila Narayan Maharaj, "(Srila Prabhupada) is actually the one who fulfilled the prophecy that the holy name of Krsna would be heard and sung in every town, city and village throughout the world. We are eternally grateful for his immense and prolific contribution. It is actually not possible for me to properly praise and glorify him, for he was following the path of raganuga-bhakti at the topmost level of madhurya-rasa. This level is extremely difficult to ascertain and understand. Human beings who manifest characteristics of this nature are extremely rare and their true natures (not the ones we see, but their true natures), which they themselves cover, are extremely esoteric and not to be comprehended by the mundane mind and intelligence." (Narayana Maharaja lecture in Vrndavana, India) In a situation where the Holy Name is being distributed worldwide by a rasik Vaishnava such as Srila Prabhupada, various allowances in the name of quantity had to be made. Many were given sanyas initiation and many devotees may very well have learned their diksa mantras in a medium besides seeing their own spiritual master in the flesh. In the case of the former, many of these sanyasi preachers fell down, and some unfortunately left spiritual life altogether. But their collective efforts in spreading the holy name as instructed by Srila Prabhupada cannot be denied. In a situation where we are all experiencing a "plateau" in our preaching missions, not having quite so many new devotees as the 60's and 70's, there is an opportunity to accentuate on quality. If my Gurudeva demands to give the diksa mantras to his new disciples personally and no other way, what is the harm in such an activity?? And if such a detail might differ slightly from Srila Prabhupada's routine, so what? As for the stories, I could sit here writing emphatically that I know my dear Gurudeva better than his persistant institutional opponents, but this would only come off as emotional sentimentality -- hardly what the intelligent reading public wants to see. Plus, so many of these baseless anecdotes have been disproven as purely fictional by writers who are so much more qualified than I am. One thing I can tell you is, he does not have preference for those prospective disciples with heavier pockets. I came to him, as a curious, unwealthy, wide-eyed student from Columbia University, fervently wanting to know the the meaning of life. Despite the fact that I read over a dozen books on the subject, I hardly considered myself a devotee. He most mercifully gave this fallen jiva harinama initiation, and shortly after, I attempted to give him dakshin, as is custom. But he instead insisted that I give him no money, since I was only a student. Still I gave him whatever I felt I didnt need out of love. I suspect that Prithu Prabhu knows little if anything about my Gurudeva, as anyone who spends just a little time at Sri Kesavaji Gaudiya Math, my Gurudeva's home for many decades, would not even mentally speculate that he has ever had material motivations. The sanga is lovely, the brahmacharis pukka and well-trained, mangal aratik is borderline ecstatic every early morning, but its spiritual potency is way superior to its material traits. Perhaps in the topsy-turvy post 1977 years of the western sankirtan movement, it is customary for westerners who have "seen it all", to suspect that all gurus accepting disciples have some material, ulterior motive, and thus denounce every such soul which is outside of their institutional organization. This can be the only excuse that opponents of my Gurudeva can ever hope to muster once all of the fradulent quotations have been proven thus, the "philosophical objections" proven inconclusive and misguided, and the false ego that "somebody is in my zone, accepting disciples that could have been mine", subsides. This is when we shall all come together as Gaudiya Vaishnavas, and our archana will become true bhajan, under the guidance of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, and living sadhu, which we can partake of his shining vapuh association. Please forgive me if I have offended anyone by stating my opinions in such a manner. Vaisnava dasanudas abhilasa, Krsnacandra dasa css43@columbia.edu Related VNN Stories Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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