Jahnava Nitai Das

Thank you for the kind words, but none of the credit is mine. These devotees have done everything themselves without any need for my advice. Prabhupada is guiding them directly.

It is likely your internet provider has a cache of websites to lessen their bandwidth costs. It is up to them when they will refresh the cache (usually 3 days). Also try control-F5 to reload the page in case your browser is using the cache.

Devotees participating in Bhajans at Sri Krishna Janmashtami celebrations www.bvashram.org In August the Bhaktivedanta Ashram opened a new center in the South Indian city of Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). The devotees organized their first satsanga on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. Over 300 devotees attended the function, participated in bhajans and listened to a lecture on the sacred Bhagavad Gita. The Ashram has also begun weekly satsangas, conducted every Sunday, beginning at 6 pm with Tulasi arati and a class on Bhagavad Gita, followed by distribution of prasadam to all the guests. We request all of our friends residing in Coimbatore to please visit and participate in these spiritual activities. Sri Adi Shankara describes the benefits of Satsanga in his famous Bhaja Govindam prayers: satsangatve nissangatvam nissangatve nirmohatvam nirmohatve nishchalatattvam nishchalatattve jivanmuktih "From Satsanga one develops non-attachment; from non-attachment one attains freedom from delusion and mental perplexities; freedom from delusion leads to self-settledness, and from self-settledness comes liberation." Thus the simple process of Satsanga leads one to spiritual perfection. "Sanga" means association, and "Sat" indicates Bhagavan, the Supreme Absolute Truth. When one chants the divya-nama of Bhagavan, and when one reads the divine instructions of Sri Krishna given in Bhagavad Gita, one is coming in direct contact with Bhagavan. This is the meaning of Satsanga, keeping direct company with the Lord. We hope that the new center of the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Coimbatore will offer all devotees an opportunity to congregate and participate in Satsanga, allowing us all to always remember the Lord. The center is located at 82/113, West Ponnurangam Road, Opp. Eureka Forbes, in R.S. Puram. If you have any further questions, or need instructions on how to come, please send an email to guruprasadbsc {at} {dot} com. We look forward to seeing you every Sunday at 6 pm. Below please find some pictures of the recent Sri Krishna Janmashtami program organized by the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Coimbatore, as well as some pictures of our other Satsangas held in the city. Devotees participating in Bhajans at Sri Krishna Janmashtami celebrations Children from our Sunday School Performing a Drama on Sri Krishna Janmashtami Devotees line up to swing the deity of Lord Krishna Bhajans during the Abhisheka of Lord Krishna Satsanga held during Panihati festival Weekly Sunday school for Children which was started in May Devotees teach the children their weekly lessons from Bhagavad Gita

Just to clarify, Sridhar Maharaja doesn't accept that part of the statement about jivas falling from Vaikuntha. According to most Gaudiya Acharya's we fell from tatastha shakti, and Sridhar Maharaja repeated this teaching.

http://www.hare-krishna.org/articles/212/1/A-Little-Misunderstanding/Page1.html

There is one Brahma for each universe. The size of the universe is roughly unlimited from our tiny perspective. Millions and millions of planets and galaxies, etc. Each universe is covered by an impenitrable shell composed of the basic elements of material existence. One Brahma has jurisdiction up to this shell, which indicates it is not connected with galaxies.

The entire material world is a reflection of the Vaikuntha realm. In general, the structure that exists here is reflecting from there. But in Vaikuntha it is without limitation or material quality.

Lord Ramachandra appears in each Treta Yuga, which was millions of years ago.

What tells you its a Hindu building? Christianity exists in India as well.

It is odd that ISKCON severely and strictly bans you if you are a follower of Narayana Maharaja or a Rtivik, but if you are a child molester you somehow are allowed to stay.

It's harder to watch whats happening to your luggage if its in the trunk. Its best to keep it next to you if you can.

Most ATM cards work if they have the Star, Cirrus or Plus logos on them. The usual fee is $1.50 per transaction. If your withdrawl limit is $400, then it comes to 0.4%, which is better than travelers cheques or most money changers. Drink bottled water. The better brands would be Aquafina or Bailey. I would avoid Bisleri unless the other two aren't available. There are two restaraunts at the ISKCON temple in Vrindavan. One is next to the temple guest house and is ran by a local person. But there is a much better restaraunt inside the MVT guest house complex ran by devotees.

Prabhupada has mentioned in one purport that sleeping with the head to the North results in negative mental influence, so it should be avoided.

Prophecy of the Golden Age from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/24/1/Prophecy-of-the-Golden-Age

A couple points about this: 1) Haridas Thakur's example was that of how a saint may think and act. But if we actually take the mindset that we are too fallen to enter the temple and they are right for refusing us, then we must not go to any temple at all. If you really believed you were too fallen to enter Jagannatha's temple, then you are also too fallen to enter any temple of the Lord. Thus what is being suggested here: ...is artificial unless you actually believe you are unfit to enter any temple of the Lord's. And that would entail one to act on such a belief by not going to the Lord's temples anywhere in the world. Anything less would show that you didnt actually believe you were fallen - and if you don't actually believe it, then why the false show? Devotees do accept whatever happens to them as their past karma, but it doesn't necessarily mean we accept what others do to us as just action on their part; especially not while in the conditioned state (i.e. being a sadhaka). Mahatmas act in many mysterious ways, but for us to imitate them is external. Are you prepared to let thieves walk away with your possessions? Are you prepared to let criminals beat you senseless? If not, then you aren't one of those mahatmas who will sit silently while injustice is carried out against yourself. 2) Another point is that this is not just a matter of foreigners not being allowed entry into a temple. In Orissa, even today people from lower castes are not allowed entry into most village temples. This was the case in Puri as well, up till recently. With so many thousands of people visiting puri every day it is impossible to identify people's castes, so it is no longer enforced. It should be noted that this practice of baring entry of lower caste people into a temple is illegal in India. The law has not been enforced in Orissa (though most other states follow it). What we have here is not a matter of one person being discriminated against, but rather a very large social injustice being perpetrated against millions of people. When people are being discriminated against, exploited and mistreated it is very easy to sit back silently and quote nice philosophical passages about the need for humility, but the real need is for people to fight such social evils. When slavery was still legal in the world, everyone could have sat silently saying true saintly people would be humble. But the fact is true saintly people would speak out against such social evils. India has many such social and religious corruptions that need to be rooted out, such as Sati, the system of Devadasi, and untouchability (all three very prominent in the history of Orissa). 3) As everyone else has said, if your not welcome there then why go? It is one thing to speak and fight against such discimination, but there is no need to try to force your way. It is much more effective to educate people then to just try to fight for your personal right. 4) I am sure these devotees were unaware of the practices in Orissa and entered the temple by accident. Most of the temples in Orissa do not have any written policy. Even though the article claims there was a "sign", I would bet it didn't exist, because I have been to many temples in Orissa and know what is usually found. Some local priests likely saw it as a chance to shake these people down for money. None of the money would have been used for the temple or for "purification rituals". 5) The practices within particular temples are also often based on the whims of whoever is there at the time. For example in Kapilash (an ancient Shiva temple), sometimes they ask me to enter the puja room to touch the Shivalinga, and other times they tell me I cannot enter the temple. Its all based on the whims of whoever happens to be doing the puja at the time. It makes it a little confusing, because someone may have told these people that this temple allows foreigners inside, but then when they come someone else is doing puja and he has his own idea of who should be allowed inside.

Prabhupada said in one conversation with Allen Ginsberg that after 10,000 years "no more Hare Krishna". I will post it when I get time.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur: "Is it chance, then, which brings Bhakti? No, Sukriti, or good work, is the prime moving principle. Good work is of two classes. One class, passing as morals, includes those works which bring virtue and aggrandizement. The other class of good work includes all acts which have a tendency to bring spiritual culture. This latter class of good work brings one in contact with a sincere Vaishnava, from whom one at the first imbibes Shraddha, or faith in spirit, and being then capable of receiving Bhakti, one obtains a flash of that principle from the Vaishnava who is the actual Guru of the man."

"So this is His special mercy upon me and I always think about this with gratitude to this exalted personality coming directly from Vaikuntha World and we had the great fortune to meet Him. I think that is the only credit on our part that we happened to meet Him by some "ajnata sukriti'' or unknown auspicious activities." - letter from Prabhupada about meeting his guru.

No, that would be punya. Sukriti is altogether different, and permanent.

This book is in Thai language, so I would say no, unless he speaks Thai. Go ahead and get him some English books. There are many for sale on ebay.

Your initiation is accepted as a shaivite initiation, not as a Gaudiya initiation. It's like if I go to Shankaracharya Math, I shouldn't expect they will let me perform the puja in their temple, as I am not initiated in their line. Similary, if you aren't initiated in a Gaudiya line, there are some things that you may not be able to do in a Gaudiya temple. But bhakti is of course beyond initiation, so you can always cultivate devotion without any ritual.

Registered users who are regular posters have a lot more freedom to express their veiws on controversial subjects. There are certain restrictions taking into account that these forums are meant for all varieties of guests, from many religious backgrounds. If anyone has a question about the moderation they can send a PM to Admin. I am no longer involved in moderating and haven't been for several years. There are several devotees who do that service. Occasionaly, even I cross the line of politeness and my posts will be moderated as well, and thats only fair. It doesn't mean the posts are necessarily wrong, but just not fit for the general audience. Other reasons for post removal could be: Endless argument topics (ritvik, poision, swami narayana [not Narayana Maharaja], islam, etc.); topic diversion (offtopic, better in its own thread); hijacking topics (like posting your complaints in this thread when it has no connection with your complaint); etc.

A summary of the document above is something like this: 1) A guru may be a homosexual pedophile and remain as guru, provided he is not a regular homosexual pedophile (just once in a while is fine) 2) That homosexual pedophile will naturally be explelled from ISKCON, but he remains a guru representative of Krishna, outside of ISKCON 3) Disciples of that homosexual pedophile who return to ISKCON could initiate their own disciples, provided they get written authorization from their living guru (who is a pedophile). Otherwise it would be an offense to their guru if they initiated disciples of their own without his written consent. Yeah... they are just repeating whats in the scriptures, right?

GBC discusses whether Kirtanananda disciples can initiate within ISKCON. Conclusion: Not without permission from Kirtanananda, that would be an offense to the spiritual master. --- To the Executive Committee of the GBC Respected Vaishnavas, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. On 3 July 2005, the EC asked the Sastric Advisory Committee (SAC) to offer some assistance in the GBC’s consideration of the request that Sukadeva Maharaja be allowed to initiate disciples. Sukadeva Maharaja received all of his initiations from Kirtanananda Svami, the former ISKCON guru and sannyasi. Here is the letter from Lilasuka Das requesting SAC’s assistance: “On request of the GBC Executive Committee, I am presenting you the following issue: HH Sukadeva Swami has approached the South Indian Divisional Council for approval as an ISKCON initiating guru. He is originally from Andhra Pradesh, joined in Bombay in the late 70’s or early 80’s, and took initiation as well as sannyasa from Kirtanananda. He was in charge of Kirtanananda’s center at Kurukshetra in the late 80’s or early 90’s. He was welcomed back in ISKCON around the same time as the Chowpatty devotees, but he did not take reinitiation subsequently. He still preaches in Kurukshetra in cooperation with the ISKCON temple there and is also preaching in some previously undeveloped areas of Andhra Pradesh. “The South Indian Divisional Council was reluctant to consider his application until it was clarified whether there would be any future objection on the technical grounds that he could not submit a letter from his diksa-guru directing him to go through the authorization process. The matter came to the India RGB. Jayapataka Swami gave an undertaking to the RGB that he would approach the GBC Body for clarification on this point. I am assisting him in this regard. “First, for your reference, here is the entire current ISKCON law section on eligibility to be a guru, updated to include the change made in 2002: 6.3 Eligibility of Devotee to Be Guru in ISKCON 6.3.1 All Devotee’s Initiations From ISKCON Gurus 1. No devotee shall be eligible to become a diksa-guru in ISKCON unless he has received all of his initiations from ISKCON-approved gurus in good standing. 2. A devotee initiated by a bona fide Gaudiya Vaisnava guru before joining ISKCON may be considered as a special case by the GBC body. 6.3.2 No One Can Give Diksa While Guru is Present As taught by Srila Prabhupada, the etiquette of not initiating in the presence of one’s diksa-guru will be upheld in ISKCON. However, Srila Prabhupada and historical precedents also teach us that disciples may sometimes initiate in the physical presence of their diksa-gurus. If a diksa- guru desires for this to happen, he can direct his disciple to go through the normal GBC procedure for initiating. 6.3.3 Requirement for Consent of Mantra Guru Devotees who have received first initiation from Srila Prabhupada and second initiation from one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples may, with the written consent of the mantra-guru, be accepted as candidates for initiating spiritual master like any of Srila Prabhupada’s other disciples. “Could the Sastric Advisory Council discuss this problem and inform the GBC EC how they see a solution through sastric references?” SAC’s Reply The SAC has decided to accept the request to consider the specifics of this case. Upon careful study, we believe that the following ISKCON law needs to be revised: “6.3.1—All Devotee's Initiations From ISKCON Gurus: (1) No devotee shall be eligible to become a diksa-guru in ISKCON unless he has received all of his initiations from ISKCON-approved gurus in good standing.” This law appears to be in conflict with the GBC paper on reinitiation. That paper gives the circumstances in which it is necessary for a devotee to retake mantras. That law, based on sastric evidence, says that one should retake mantras if the guru is not a Vaishnava or has become something other than a Vaishnava (e.g. a Mayavadi) or if he becomes inimical to Vaishnavas. The basic definition of a Vaishnava is given in Hari-bhakti-vilasa and its commentary (1.55) verse as follows: grihita-vishnu-dikshako vishnu-puja-paro narah | vaishnavo’bhihito’bhijnair itaro’smad avaishnavah || avaishnava ity uktam | tatradau samanyato vaishnava-lakshanam likhan tad-itaratvenavaishnavam lakshayati—grihiteti | asmad vaishnavad itaro bhinnah ||55|| “After having taken Vaishnava initiation, a person should involve himself seriously in worship of Lord Vishnu. Such a person is designated a Vaishnava by those who are learned, while a person who is different than this is called a non-Vaishnava.” The term ‘non-Vaishnava’ has been spoken. ‘Non-Vaishnava’ is herein defined by first listing the general characteristics of a Vaishnava and then stating that a non-Vaishnava is someone who is different from that.” Thus far, our definition of a Vaishnava is one who has taken Vaishnava initiation and is seriously worshipping the Lord. Therefore, a devotee who has these basic symptoms is a Vaishnava even though he may be having difficulty in his spiritual life. The GBC paper also addresses the question of a fallen Vaishnava guru. The indications from sastra are that a disciple should not reject a guru or his mantras who remains a Vaishnava although fallen. The sastric recommendation is that the disciple should see if the guru can be reformed somehow. In Sri Krishna-bhajanamrita (verse 59-61) it is stated: “If the spiritual master commits a wrongful act breaking Vaisnava relative principles then one should, in a solitary place, confront him for his rectification using logic and appropriate conclusions from sadhu, sastra and guru references, but one is not to give him up. One should not be hesitant or fearful because one is confronting or challenging a spiritual master. For it has been prescribed that one must appropriately discipline even a spiritual master who is (1) bewildered about what he should or shouldn’t do (2) who is inexperienced or ignorant (3) who has deviated from the Krishna conscious path or (4) who is bewildered by false pride. This statement of the revealed scriptures is applicable at all times and under all circumstances.” However, according to Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a guru is also considered a “non-Vaishnava” if the he refuses to be reformed and (1) becomes a Mayavadi or (2) becomes envious of Vaishnavas or (3) preaches against the truth or (4) acts immorally and sinfully such as running after women for illicit sex or (5) is bereft of devotion to Sri Krishna. In these cases one should also retake one’s mantras from a Vaishnava who displays Vaishnava qualities. These statements are in context with the Narada Pancaratra verse that orders one to retake one’s mantra (avaishnavopadishtena). In Bhakti-sandarbha (anuccheda 238) it is stated: sri-gurv-ajnaya tat-sevanavirodhena canyesham api vaishnavanam sevanam sreyah. anyatha doshah syat, yatha sri-naradoktau, gurau sannihite yas tu pujayed anyam agratah sa durgatim avapnoti pujanam tasya nishphalam iti. “It is for one’s ultimate good to also serve other Vaishnavas, by the order of one’s divine spiritual master and not in conflict with one’s service to him. By acting otherwise one will accrue fault, as is stated by Sri Narada: ‘If one in the presence of one’s guru worships someone else first, he will obtain an evil destination and his worship will bear no fruit.’ ” yah prathamam sabde pare ca nishnatam ity-ady-ukta-lakshanam gurum nasritavan, tadrisa-guros ca matsaradito maha-bhagavata-satkaradav anumatim na labhate, sa prathamata eva tyakta-sastro na vicaryate. ubhaya-sankata-pato hi tasmin bhavaty eva. evam-adikabhiprayenaiva, yo vakti nyaya-rahitam anyayena srinoti yah tav ubhau narakam ghoram vrajatah kalam akshayam iti sri-narada-pancaratre. “It may happen, however, that one has failed to take shelter initially of a guru who fits the description of words such as ‘fully absorbed in the sound form and the personal form of the Supreme’ (Bhagavatam 11.3.21) and has not received permission to show proper respect, etc. to great devotees from his guru due to the guru’s envy and so on. Such a prohibition (from the guru) is fundamentally against the order of revealed scripture and should be disregarded. Indeed, to follow that order would endanger both the disciple and the guru. With this and other considerations in mind it has been said in Sri Narada Pancaratra, ‘One who speaks unjustly and one who hears unjustly both go to a fearful hell for an immeasurable duration of time.’ ” ata eva durata evaradhyas tadriso guruh, vaishnava-vidveshi cet parityajya eva, guror apy avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanatah utpatha-pratipannasya parityago vidhiyate iti smaranat, tasya vaishnava-bhava-rahityenavaishnavataya avaishnavopadishtena ity-adi-vacana-vishayatvac ca. yathokta-lakshanasya sri-guror avidyamanatayam tu tasyaiva maha-bhagavatasyaikasya nitya-sevanam paramam sreyah. sa ca sri-guru-vat sama-vasanah svasmin kripalu-cittas ca grahyah, yasya yat-sangatih pumso mani-vat syat sa tad-gunah sva-kularddhyai tato dhiman sva-yuthyan eva samsrayet iti sri-hari-bhakti-sudhodaya-drishtya, kripam vina tasmin cittaratya ca. “Therefore such a guru should be worshiped only at a distance, and if he is inimical to Vaishnavas he must simply be rejected, according to the statement of smriti, ‘It is enjoined that a corrupted spiritual master who cannot distinguish what should be done and what should not be done, who has gone astray from the right path, must be abandoned.’ (Mahabharata, Udyoga-parva 178.24) After all, he is not a Vaishnava because he is devoid of the mood of Vaishnavas, and he is described in such words as the verse beginning avaishnavopadishtena (Narada Pancaratra). In the absence of the kind of divine spiritual master defined previously, the best thing to do for one’s ultimate benefit is to regularly serve an advanced devotee (maha-bhagavata). A devotee should be selected who is sympathetic as sri-guru should be and whose heart is inclined to showing one mercy. Or, in the view of Sri Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya, ‘Whatever a person associates with, he will acquire its qualities just as a gem reflects ambient light. Thus one who is intelligent should for the prosperity of his community take shelter of those who belong to his own flock.’ One more point is that unless a guru shows mercy the disciple’s heart will not form attachment to him.” And in Jaiva-dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written, Vijaya, “The scriptures forbid giving up the diksha-guru. However, if he is incapable of imparting proper knowledge of devotion and of Vaishnava etiquette, how can he be in a position to teach?” Raghunatha dasa Babaji, “Before a person accepts formal initiation from a guru, he must test the guru as to whether he is well-versed in the Vedas and in the science of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Only such a bona fide guru is indeed able to instruct his disciple in all matters. It is true that the diksha-guru should not be rejected, but there are two bona fide reasons to give him up. “First, if for some reason or another at the time of initiation the disciple did not recognize the devotional caliber of the guru and later found out that the guru was neither conversant with the conclusions of sastra, nor a Vaishnava, so that he, the disciple, could not make any spiritual progress, then the disciple should reject the unqualified guru. Many scriptural sources support this course of action. For example, the Narada-pancaratra, as cited in Hari-bhakti-vilasa, 1.62, states: yo vyakti nyaya rahitam anyayena srinoti yah tav ubhau narakam ghoram vrajatah kalam akshayam “‘Any person posing as an acarya, but speaking unauthorized philosophy contrary to the teachings of the sastra and any one who claims to be his disciple and hears such, thereby lending credibility to such nonsense, both of these are bound for Hell.’ “The Mahabharata, Udyoga-parva, 179.25, explains in the story of Amba: guror apy avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanatah utpatha-pratipannasya parityago vidhiyate “‘A person who is wallowing in carnal pleasures and material comforts, who is confused about the human goal of life and is devoid of bhakti, and who poses as a guru, such a depraved charlatan must be rejected.’ “Another quotation from the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, 4.144: avaishnavopadishtena mantrena nirayam vrajet punas ca vidhina samyag grahayed vaishnavad guroh “‘If one receives mantra-diksha from a non-Vaishnava who runs after women and is bereft of devotion to Sri Krishna, one is certainly doomed to Hell. Therefore, one must immediately act according to scriptural injunctions and take re-initiation from a real, properly qualified, Vaishnava guru.’ “The second reason is that if a guru who was a Vaishnava and knowledgeable in Krishna consciousness at the time of initiation becomes a Mayavadi and a Vaishnava-hater as a result of bad association or otherwise, or he behaves immorally and sinfully, then the disciple must give him up. “However, if the guru is neither inimical to Vaishnavas, nor a Mayavadi, nor addicted to sinful activities, but however lacks knowledge of the scriptures, then his meager scriptural understanding should not be a cause for rejection. In this case, the disciple may approach his guru with due deference to procure his permission to receive spiritual knowledge and instructions from an advanced, pure Vaishnava, and thus engage in serving and learning from the knowledgeable Vaishnava.” Under these sastric understandings, it is possible for an ISKCON guru not to be in good-standing and still be considered a Vaishnava. And therefore his disciple would not have to retake the mantras he received from him. In other words, the guru could be still a member of ISKCON—and still a Vaishnava—but not in good-standing because of a temporary fall-down or difficulty. An example of this could be that of a fallen guru who is under a program of rectification by the GBC and only temporarily suspended from giving initiations. Therefore, under the GBC’s 1989 reinitiation paper and its sastric support, the disciples of such a guru should not reject their guru or retake the mantras they received from him. Thus the law that states that a guru must have all his mantras from a guru in good-standing in ISKCON appears to be in conflict with the reinitiation paper and related sastric injunctions. This contradiction could be resolved if the guru-authorization law were rewritten in the following way: “In order to be a ISKCON guru, a devotee should have all of his mantras from a guru who is an ISKCON member and has maintained at least minimal Vaishnava qualifications and can thus still be considered a Vaishnava according to the relevant definitions given by guru, sadhu and sastra.” This would bring the two laws into harmony. Under this new law, it would be possible for a prospective guru to have his mantras from a living Vaishnava guru who is not in good-standing in ISKCON. For example, a fallen guru who accepted a program of rectification and temporary suspension of the right to give initiation may still considered a Vaishnava. We have given some relevant sastric evidence for what constitutes being considered a Vaishnava. If there are doubts about whether or not a guru is a Vaishnava in any particular case, the GBC should decide. But that decision should be taken after the disciple has first formed his own opinion. We believe that in the first instance it is the disciple who should make this judgment. If the close associates of the devotee or his local authorities believe he has made a wrong decision, they should try to educate and reason with him in an informal matter. A wrong decision occurs if one prematurely decides to retake mantras from another guru when one’s existing diksha-guru remains a Vaishnava despite a temporary fall-down. A wrong decision also occurs by not retaking mantras in a timely fashion from another guru when one’s existing diksha-guru has become a non-Vaishnava. How does this apply to the current case? Kirtanananda Svami has been expelled from ISKCON, but the GBC law provides an exception for devotees who have received mantras from Vaishnava gurus outside ISKCON. So the real question here is the status of Kirtanananda Svami as a Vaishnava. The GBC should decide if he has become a non-Vaishnava according to the definitions given above. Perhaps the first step should be for the EC to show Sukadeva Maharaja the relevant ISKCON laws and paper about reinitiation, and then ask him how he sees his position in relation to the specific matter of retaking mantras. As we have seen, the evidence from guru, sadhu, and sastra tells us that mantras should be retaken (1) if the guru was not an initiated Vaishnava when he gave the mantras, or (2) if the guru has since become an non-Vaishnava by becoming a Mayavadi or atheist after giving the mantras, or (3) if the guru has become an non-Vaishnava by becoming addicted to sense gratification or worse, (4) an offender or hater of Vaishnavas. Having considered this, Sukadeva Maharaja should express his opinion about whether or not he should retake the mantras he received from Kirtanananda Svami. If he feels that Kirtanananda Svami is still a Vaishnava according to the relevant considerations, this will explain why he has not retaken the mantras he received from him. In this case, the GBC would have to decide whether or not to accept his opinion. If the GBC does accept this, then Sukadeva Maharaja would require permission from Kirtanananda Svami in order to start initiating disciples of his own. The normal system is that a disciple should not initiate in the presence of his living diksha-guru. That is considered an offense unless the diksha-guru gives the disciple the order or permission to do it. If Sukadeva Maharaja considers Kirtanananda Svami to be a non-Vaishnava according to the relevant definitions given above, then he is obligated to retake the mantras he received from him. Consequently, to start initiating his own disciples, he would require the order or permission of the new diksha-guru. Signed by SAC members: Drutakarma Dasa Gopiparanadhana Dasa Purnacandra Dasa Irmila Devi Dasi

Prabhupada cooked with hing and ate carrots as well as tomatos. He never said that the color of the tomato makes it unofferable to Krishna. The list of foods that are not to be eaten given in Haribhakti vilasa needs to be studied logically and scientifically. The first step is to properly identify the botanical items accurately. With so many slight variations of plants, and with transformations that occur over thousands of years (due to cross breeding, importing foreign crops, etc.) it isn't as simple as saying "carrot, eggplant, tomato". The second step is to understand why a particular food is forbidden. It is not always the food itself that is the problem, but certain effects it produces. Some other foods are only forbidden during certain times, or when performing particular activities. Other items are only forbidden if taken in excess. There is a particular type of eggplant that contains poison in it, which would clearly make it unofferable to Krishna. There are other eggplants that contain worms (the word vrinta itself means a worm as well as eggplant). So which particular variety of eggplant is being forbidden in the scriptures is what needs to be understood. When we study these things logically everything will make sense. Otherwise it will all be decided based on the colors of the vegetables.