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EDITORIAL February 22, 1999 VNN3133 Begging Forgivness BY ARISTANASANA DASA EDITORIAL, Feb 22 (VNN) — Open letter to the GBC of ISKCON - Begging forgiveness (3) Dear Maharajas, Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. This is my concluding letter in a series of three open letters to the GBC. In that 3rd letter, I want to present another humble request to you all which I feel is even more important than the external issue of initiation. It is the troublesome relationship we have, ISKCON, with our relatives the Gaudiya Maths. As I was investigating what went wrong in ISKCON, I discovered the anomalies of Guru Tattva and initiation in our movement but also discovered that the way, our leaders in ISKCON, specially the GBC body, have behaved with the devotees of the Gaudiya Math, and particularly how they treated Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja was totally abominable. I consider these offenses, to this intimate friend of Srila Prabhupada, intolerable and much, much more dangerous than the offense of imitating Srila Prabhupada, by rubber stamping oneself as pure absolute diksa gurus, deluding innocent devotees and torturing them. Those who want to know about what happen with Srila Sridhara Maharaja can read the book "Our affectionate Guardians" by Visnu Swami. Available from Vrinda Book Store in Vrindavan or from the editor in Eugene in Oregon. It is clear that the GBCs have made great great offenses to Srila Sridhara Maharaja and implicated all devotees in ISKCON in their terrible actions. It is most mortifying. It is painful that our elders in ISKCON have done nothing about it. Our heart can only cry out of sadness. Our devotional life is at stake. In an attempt to repair our mistake, I solemnly ask the GBCs: - to investigate about those terrible offenses to Srila Sridhara Maharaja that culminated by the resolution they took in March 1982 at Mayapura during their annual meeting, declaring that all devotees from ISKCON who go outside the Society for association and guidance are banned from ISKCON. This resolution was specifically directed against Srila Sridhara Maharaja, expelling him as well from ISKCON, although Srila Prabhupada introduced him to His movement. - to abrogate this resolution without delay at this Mayapura 1999 GBCs meeting. - to implore forgiveness to Srila Sridhara Maharaja for having ill treated him, defamed him, induced all ISKCON devotees to consider him in an offensive manner as an enemy of ISKCON. the cause of the troubles in our society, and banned him and his followers from Srila Prabhupada's movement by passing that abominable resolution. I beg the GBCs to invite at "Mayapura 1999" all the followers of Srila Sridhara Maharaja for a big festival to beg their forgiveness in the name of Srila Sridhara Maharaja. The GBCs must make relevant statement and action to apologize for the whole of ISKCON. ISKCON must also print a book about Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhara Maharaja. That nothing was done to rectify those awful offenses is evident when we observe how ISKCON is officially behaving towards other vaisnavas. What a shame! Even our leaders are still claiming in public that the cause of the problems in ISKCON is coming from outside sources, pointing at the elders vaisnavas from the Gaudiya Math, specially at Sridhara Maharaja, the origin of all problems. Dear Maharaja, dear Prabhus, we cannot follow you in this direction. We must stop this behavior in ISKCON, and repair the wrongs done in the past. Please let us do the needful now. A loving invitation of welcome and forgiveness must be send to the Gaudiya vaisnavas we offended by all the bad feeling towards them, our uncles and relatives in this big Sarasvata Family. Although we should firmly uphold and preserve Srila Prabhupada's teaching and instructions, we must express to all that they are most welcome in ISKCON for darshan, Harikatha, prasadam and rest with their followers while touring the world preaching the Sankirtan movement. With a piece a dirt in my mouth, I fall down at the feet of all my elder godbrothers in ISKCON imploring them to take actions in the above matters and dispel the horrible cloud of inauspiciousness above our head in ISKCON. Do not delay, Do not delay, do not delay! I hope you will kindly consider this prayer of mine. Your servant. Aristanasana dasa - New Mayapura, France. Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9902/ET22-3133.html
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