Guruvani

Hypothetical possibilities and actual facts are two different things. Present some facts, or otherwise your hypothetical situation is useless and meaningless and above all a cheap-shot.

There is no such concept in Gaudiya Vaishnavism as "one-master dog". That is some kind of anti-Vaishnava idea. In Vaishnavism one is supposed to learn to see guru in everything and everyone. The one-master dog idea is for dogs, not devotees.

I have already harmonized them, but who is going to accept my rationale. So, instead of trying to show them the meaning I see, I just react to the fanatics like a fanatic to show them how stupid they look.

Or, sometimes they are just obvious. Nobody should have to be in a position of trying to balance two opposing ideas given by the same guru. Srila Prabhupada treated most all of us like idiots, so if he thought we were idiots then why didn't he talk in such a way that us idiots wouldn't find apparent contradictions in his teachings. Keep it simple for us idiots. Don't confuse us with APPARENT contradictions that takes a thesis of philosophy to rationalize.

If anyone finds true facts to be offensive, then whose fault is that? Someone has shown how Srila Prabhupada has made contradictory statements and has proven his case with references from the actual words of Srila Prabhupada. If someone has a problem with facts, that is just too bad for them. Not everyone is OK with contradictions and double-talk. If you are, then fine. But, don't expect everyone else to buy into it.

An old devotee friend of mine who is now deceased once told me about a time when he was "blooped" and in a bar having a beer. He met a woman in the bar and they developed a romantic relationship. In the course of their relationship he taught her about Krishna conciousness and she eventually got initiated and as far as I know is still a Hare Krishna devotee. So, anything can happen - anything is possible. I remember one time in Atlanta we were on Harinama and Urukrama prabhu was leading the party downtown through the streets. As we passed by a bar, he led the Sankirtan party in the bar and we danced around in the bar for probably 5 minutes and everyone in the bar was just tickled and amused. As we left, a bowery bum on the streets came up and gave us $20 - the only thing he had to his name. He was very impressed. I am sure he got great benefit from that. So, I don't go for these stereotyped, institutionalized standards and norms. Krishna can take something bad and make something good out of it. If devotee women dancing in circles attracts anyone to Krishna consciousness, then I say all power to it. Not everybody is attracted by dry, boring Swamis setting on the big cushion pontificating in self-righteous arrogance. Any novel way to bring people to Krishna consciousness is fine with me. I heard that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur once said that he would even be willing to serve meat if it would attract prominent leaders of Indian society to come and hear Hari-katha.

I would change that to "to the fanatic neophyte almost anything looks like an offense".

Considering that modern astronomers have identified 129 moons around the six planets of modern astronomy, I am now questioning which Moon the Bhagavatam is referring to. I am convinced it is not the Moon of the Earth. It must be the Moon of some more important planet. The idea that the Earth is the center of the universe has been debunked since Copernicus and Galileo. The one Moon concept is also an ancient myth. There are many Moons, probably thousands or millions throughout the Galaxy.

As I have said before and I will say it again, I think that probably one of the main reasons Srila Prabhupada spoke against Srila Sridhar Maharaja in his letters etc. was because in fact he knew Srila Sridhar Maharaja was a bhajananandi type Vaishnava for the most part and Srila Prabhupada had to figure out a strategy for keeping his followers from flocking to the Math of Srila Sridhar Maharaja and disturbing him with the kinds of petty questions and curiousity that these western devotees were all disturbing Srila Prabhupada with. If Srila Prabhupada would have spoken very highly of Sridhar Maharaja then there would have been a flood of western devotees flocking to the Matha and bothering Srila Sridhar Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada wanted to prevent that. The best way to really try and prevent that was to talk bad about Sridhar Maharaja, for the protection of Sridhar Maharaja, and hope that this would prevent Sridhar Maharaja from being distrurbed and annoyed by unnecessary questions and problems of all the ISKCON devotees. That is what I feel is at the bottom of the badmouthing of Sridhar Maharaja more than any actual ill-will on the part of Srila Prabhupada. It was for the protection of the privacy of Srila Sridhar Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada took the fall of being the bad guy out of his respect and appreciation for the privacy of Srila Sridhar Maharaja who was old and seeking some seclusion and privacy in his old age.

If the Saraswata sampradaya is going to be forever divided like the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, it cannot be attributed to anything except the words and deeds of Srila Prabhupada in regards to ALL the other disciples of Srila Saraswati Thakur. Is that really what Srila Saraswati Thakur wanted? Is that really what Mahaprabhu wants to see in his sampradaya? Is this the legacy that ISKCON is going to leave the world - eternal sectarianism in the Saraswata Gaudiya sampradaya? It's difficult to sort out the mess. I understand Srila Prabhupada didn't want to lose a bunch of disciples to his Godbrothers who didn't have his fire for preaching KC worldwide. But, his words live on even in 2007 and at this point in time they are seeming to be creating sectarianism and division within the Saraswata Gaudiya sampradaya. I just don't see why we were supposed to bow down to every new bhakta that walked in off the streets in ISKCON and just be callous and disrespectful to all the other disciples of Srila Saraswati Thakur. This standard doesn't fly with me. Something about it just seems very bigoted and hypocritical.

I think the democratic convention of Vaishnavas is a basically good idea if the parameters and purview of the committe is defined in such a way that the committee itself doesn't become corrupt. However,the GBC appears to have lost connection with reality as far as the limits of their authority goes. They select gurus and are creating an ecclesiastical framework for mimicking the Catholic church. If the governing body's limitations are not written in stone and strictly enforced, then the committee is no improvement over the traditional Vaishnava society of self-effulgent and charismatic leaders with autonomous authority coming from the Godhead. I prefer the old system. This experiment in Vaishnava democracy has failed. It failed for the Gaudiya Matha and it has failed miserably in ISKCON. I don't see any hope for it. A real acharya cannot be sanctioned or subordinated to any committee of people.

I don't call that kind of talk Hari-katha. Hari-katha doesn't breed a class of offenders that don't know how to respect other Vaishnavas than the guru. ISKCON has paid and is still paying a high price for the kind of mentality these words of Srila Prabhupada created in his hoarde of ISKCON fanatics. At this time and place, such gossip about the Gaudiya Matha politics just sounds very petty and unnecessary.

nice to know I am not alone.

Rare. I think you have a good point. Absolutely on point.

I am not so sure that Srila Prabhupada was too busy. I think it could have been some fellows at the top that wanted to keep their special prestige as the inner circle and keep away as many people as they could.

Start by reading Bhagavad-gita of Lord Krishna as explained by a pure Vaishnava. Then, when you are done ask the questions. If you haven't heard Bhagavad-gita you will never have a chance.

I saw my old friend Jagadananda prabhu in that video. Probably, he was the dearest friend I ever had in relationship to Krishna consciousness. I have since seen him in dreams and woke up in tears. Damn, I really cherish my old friendship with Jaggy. We have a history. He probably thinks I am off the deep-end now. He is probably right.

This is the kind of thing that has ultimately brought me to the feeling that I was never really a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada never even knew I existed. I have stood right in front of him on a couple of occasions and he wouldn't even look me in the eyes. Maybe it is because I am a such a demon? Anyway, I was never a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. I was a disciple of the senior devotees who trained me up. I was a disciple of the GBC and ISKCON. ISKCON and the GBC have since become unacceptable to me and I have since rejected ISKCON because of the GBC and the loss of feeling that I am part of ISKCON or that I belong in ISKCON. At this point I don't consider myself a disciple of anyone really. I don't deserve to be called a disciple of anyone. I truly do not think that I was ever really a legitmate disciple of Srila Prabhupada and I have come to reject the idea that I can be the disciple of someone who doesn't even know I exist. I don't think that it was too much too ask that the guru spend at least 2 minutes with a devotee who had come to give his life to ISKCON. Especially, if the opportunity was there and a new disciple had come to give his life to ISKCON, I don't think that refusing to give one minute of the spiritual master's time to a person who had given his life to service of the acharya was really the way to treat people who had joined ISKCON after reading the books. I joined the movement in LA because I thought that Srila Prabhupada stayed their quite a bit and I thought I would get to meet him and actually get some personal contact. Sure, he came to LA when I was there, but he didn't have one minute of his time to give to me but he had time for Stilson Judah and some other people that the GBC gave access to Srila Prabhupada. I am done with it. I am not the disciple of anyone anymore. I am not a Hare Krishna devotee either. I am none of the above.

There are many letters that should never have been published. Letters and their contents have the option to be nullified or revised. Letters can and DO give people the wrong impression. Srila Prabhupada authorized and instructed to read his books. The lettervadis are misguided and most often misleading.

The reason that I posted the above letters above is to show how ridiculous and pathetic the LETTERVADIS can get that they have even probed into the private life of Srila Prabhupada as a grihasta having financial problems and begging his father-in-law for money to say afloat. This is where the lettervadi approach ends up. It is a disgrace and a shameless probing into the past.

Hmmmm.... Is that any worse than the Bharata-natyam dancing that has been sponsored by many ISKCON temples for many years? Did Srila Prabhupada ever approve of Bharata-natyam dancers in ISKCON temples? I don't know the answer to that. If devotee women can go out in "karmi clothes" and distribute boobs - I mean books, why can't they dance together in Harinama?

1955: October 5 New Delhi My Dear Sripada Gosvami Maharaja, Kindly accept my humble and respectful dandabats. I am in due receipt of your letter of the __ __ while you're staying at Howrah Gaudiya Math. I hope by the time this letter reaches your hand you might have come back to calcutta. I was anxiously awaiting your articles for October. Today is the 5th and I thought that by the 15th of this month the paper might be be out. So please send the articles per return of post and oblige. I have noted your instruction for reviewing Netaidas Brahmacari's book. The other book is not available from Sri Kesavanadaji. I am glad that you have purchased one model No 16 Remington Typewriter and I think you have done right in doing so. To conduct the Sajjan Tosani Patrika it is absolutely necessary. This typewriter is to be returned today because the period of one month expires today and as you are bringing very soon the purchased one, I shall return it today with out further rental expenses. I wish to see this paper just to the standard of "Illustrated Weekly" with numerous pictures in order to make it a very popular literature and for this I wish to move myself to secure rs as well as advertisers. I wish to visit good businessmen, insurance companies and Govt. officers in this connection. But I have no proper dress at all. I want two set of good dresses in order to take up this reponsibility and I shall be glad to have you decision on this matter. It is my heart's desire that this paper is improved to the highest elevation. I am glad that Sripada Sridhara Maharaja has advised you to purchase a land at Mayapur. Yes we we must have a temple at Mayapur. If every one of us possess a temple there, the importance of Sridhama Mayapur will automatically increase and we must have this ideal in view always. I am also glad to learn that you are securing some good land on long lease from the Port commissioners for our Howrah Math. Howrah is a good place for preaching our cult and it behoves that we have a decent Math there. Akincana Maharaja has received your cheque for Rs400.- and he is preparing to start for Jaipur as early as possible. Awaiting your early reply. Yours affectionately, A. C. Bhaktivedanta N.B. Some non-Bengali gentlemen are demanding my Hindi edition of Caitanya Caritamrta. They are prepared to pay any price for this (Rs 32. or Rs 25.- ) your Holiness has already seen the manuscript. I wish to get it out part by part. The first part will cost near about Rs 600.-. If this part is sold out, The other parts will automatically come out. I would request you to invest this initial Rs 600.- for this purpose under any arrangement you like. I shall be glad to receive your reply on this point. I hope you will give this starting & oblige. ACB.

1952: September 26 Allahabad My Dear Ramakrishna, In reply to Srimati Suluxmona's letter, I am sending herewith one letter for her which may be delivered to her. I came here to improve my lot but I see that my bad luck is impossible to be improved. For the last two years approximately I have met expenses from this business to the extent of Rs 600.- month. Calcutta, Allahabad, Ranchi High Court & Ry Journey altogether five different items of expenses have been so far met. But all of a sudden my sister opponent firms have designed to remove me from this place. By their trick the Drug Controller has suspended my business for the last one and a half month with the result that about Rs 1000.- has been locked up & sealed and I have been put to shame by my servants. I require immediately Rs 300.- to meet the establishment charges without which I am much humiliated. I am trying my level best to reopen the business but still it will take minimum one week to come to the normal condition. I am awfully stranded and put to much shame. Will you kindly help me as you have done so many times? As a son has no shame to ask his father, so I feel no shame for it because there is no other help at the present moment. If you can, please do send me T.M.O. for Rs 300.- & save my prestige & honour. I expect to return you this sum after a fort night. As soon as my business is opened I shall at once get back Rs 1000.-. May God bless you. Yours affectionately Father-in-law. N.B. I shall expect your T.M.O. by Monday next or latest Tuesday next. ACD

1947: October 21 Calcutta The Proprietor, Aska Distillery, Aska. Dear Sir, We have decided to open a branch manufactory of our above laboratory in a suitable locality of Berhampur. We are arranging to approach the local excise authorities to grant us permit for possessing and using rectified spirit for medicinal purposes. But before we do anything finally as would like to enquire from your good self whether it is possible to get sufficient quantity of rectified spirit from your distillery. The bearer of this letter is a messenger on our behalf and we shall be thankful if you will kindly let us know the following points per bearer. 1. Whether rectified spirit is obtainable from you at the rate of 100 gallons per month. 2. Whether you distill rectified spirit throughout the whole year. 3. Your usual strength of rectified spirit. Yours faithfully, For Vimaltone Laboratories Ltd. Abhay Charan De in chief.

I don't have to judge you. You have already told how you feel. You have explained your mentality in your own words. I haven't judged. I have simply responded to your own statements. I have plenty of gripes with the situation of the KC movement and even some of the things Srila Prabhupada said, but that will never ruin my appreciation of the ideals of Vaishnavism, even if the spiritual master says things that I personally don't appreciate.