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EDITORIAL June 17, 1999 VNN4119 Comment on this story Breaking The Walls BY GIRIDHARI DAS EDITORIAL, Jun 17 (VNN) — The following excerpt of a COM-letter by a GBC ISKCON sannyasi-guru of Bengali origin, is symptomatic of the sectarian attitude which prevails in some segments of the Vaishnava community: "If someone takes initiation outside of ISKCON he breaks his relationship with Srila Prabhupada. Because Srila Prabhupada structured ISKCON to enable his disciples to serve his mission and protect their spiritual life. He emphatically instructed, "No matter what happens don't ever leave ISKCON". Since they have opted for taking initiation from outside (the Gaudiya Math), their link with Srila Prabhupada is broken. When Srila Prabhupada said that there is no spiritual life outside of ISKCON, he literally meant that ISKCON is an institution where His Divine Grace is the founder-acarya and Governing Body Commissioner is the executor of his will. They may get some sporadic sadhu-sanga but where is the structure that will protect them from the onslaught of Maya and enable them to render service to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtan movement ?" Such sectarian statements have ruined the good name of ISKCON. No true devotee feels attracted to an institution which harbours such narrow-minded sentiments. The root of bhakti is sadhu-sanga. According to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu even a lava-matra of sadhu-sanga yields all perfection. No Vaisnava acarya will ever forbid his disciples to read books or have the association of other Vaisnava acaryas. As a disciple of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaj I am free to associate and read the writings of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, Srila Bhaktiraksaka Sridhar Maharaj, and all other su-sisyas and true followers of Srila Sarasvati Prabhupad, though they might not be formal members of the Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. Bhaktivinod Thakur has written in his book Sri Caitanya Siksamrta (3rd vrsti, 3rd dhara, 6th chapter): "Without sadhu-sanga there cannot be any prosperity. Being overpowered by ku-samskar (bad impressions) one doesn't associate with vaishnavas from other spiritual societies. Hence ones inclination towards bhakti gradually dwindles. This is a dreadful fault." I humbly request the readers to consider the following words by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja: "I told people everywhere in England and California, and also here, that those who accept Caitanya Mahaprabhu , who follow Rupa and Raghunath in the line of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur and Swamiji, we are all one family. We should not fight nor envy anything. Like godbrothers in one family, we should try to help each other. It will make us very strong. We are Mahprabhu's family. Anyone chanting, who believes in Caitanya Mahaprabhu and chants the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna, he is in our Gour family. We don't have any cast and creed. That he is the disciple of that person, to that person or that person. We will embrace them all. ... ISKCON is an eternal thing. It does not take birth and it does not die. ISKCON has not taken birth at any time, no death, no stopping. It was there with Krishna, also in Satya-yuga and it will be forever. Krishna consciousness is only pure love for Radha and Krishna." (Costa Rica, Summer 1997) "As I have mentioned many times before, when Swamiji called for me in his final days, in everyone's presence he requested me to assist his disciples in all respects after his disappearance. He is a pure Vaisnava, there can be no doubt about this whatsoever. I consider it my duty and religious principle to follow the order of the pure Vaisnavas. Therefore as soon as I meet any devotee regardless of what group he may be from- whether the group of Srila Sridhara Maharaja or other acaryas or within ISKCON , I accept them all as followers of Srila Prabhupada. As far as is possible I respect and help them all in a liberal manner; I do not see different parties of devotees. It is not that I only consider those in our Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. Rather, I go beyond that, breaking the walls of institutions. I know that when a Vaisnava is serving his bona-fide guru, especially a guru in the line of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he always tries to serve everyone without consideration of caste or creed. I consider it my duty to help everyone who comes to me by answering their questions and giving them guidance to the best of my ability. Srila Swami Maharaja was pleased that I served him with this mood before, and I am still continuing to try to serve him like this. Once I was travelling from Navadvipa by train. Acyutananda dasa and two other devotees were in the same compartment. An Indian gentleman asked Acyutananda, "Who are you? Are you Gaudiya Vaisnavas?" He flatly replied, "No, we are from ISKCON. We are disciples of Srila Prabhupada. We're not connected with other Gaudiya Vaisnavas." Upon hearing this, I became sorry. "I know that Swamiji would not tell you to speak like this, to say that you are not affiliated with the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Perhaps you are not understanding correctly. If you declare this then you are like a kuputra, a disobedient son who is not a real son of his father." I told the persons who were asking that his Gurudeva was a Gaudiya Vaisnava, a very bona-fide and exalted disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and that he had taken sannyasa from our Gurudeva, Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. I explained that we are all different branches in the same tree of the Gaudiya Vaisnava parampara. I never discussed with Swamiji that some of his students were declaring they were not part of the Gaudiya Vaisnava movement. I knew that Swamiji is in the same line as all the disciples and followers of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, but some of Swamiji's disciples didn't yet understand the siddhanta. I defeated their arguments because I know that everywhere he has explained guru-parampara and all of his purports and teachings came from the same guru-parampara. Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami's parampara is our same parampara. If it had been different, then why did he take sannyasa from our gurudeva? Personally I was fully satisfied about these points; there was no confusion for either me or Swamiji. At that time I thought it was a very minor problem, that soon it would be adjusted properly. In our Gaudiya Matha there are also many students who don't follow all these concepts correctly because they don't know anything yet. They don't understand about siddhanta and guru-tattva. Some of Swamiji's disciples may have had misunderstandings, but it seemed minor then. I have always ordered everyone in our matha not to be sectarian, to be very respectful towards all Vaisnavas, and not to speak badly against anyone. Some are immature and if there is a problem, I continue to order them to improve. We must say that any devotee who does these incorrect things is not the proper son of his father, but is mistaken." (excerpt from "My Siksa-guru and Priya-bandhu") Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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