RamChand

You said, "I am not saying that any of the things you mention in the letter could be untrue. I know nothing about the situation in Singapore and I do not know the devotees there... ", yet (before I could forgive you for your ignorance) in the same breath, you said, "... it seems to me that your letter is not constructive in any way. Do you make any suggestions as to how the congregational members will still have somewhere to go for darshan?.." What you saw was a letter --- from which you would not have known anything about what I or others have done to help. Hence, it behooves you to remain disqualified from commenting on my efforts. Bible's Lucifer came into being because it was (and still is) His Will. Hrinyakashipu existed and calumniate Him because the Lord allowed him to do so. Isn't it presumption on your part to believe that the contrary of what we want cannot be His Will. Whatever --- underline "whatever" --- it is, including perceived injustice, it cannot happen without His Will. If it is His desire that something should go, it shall; and if it is not, it shan't, however much one prays. "How are we to know exactly what Krishna wants?" --- that is a $64,000 question, which only a Guru makes a disciple understand. It is no academic exercise. Ask your Guru, and you shall be answered. Yes, try to serve Him and Guru --- and if your service is not tainted by egoism, egocentricism and egotistical attitude, you shall attain your life's goal. Who a disciple is, and who is not, and what constitutes duty/dharma, and to what extent one can go to execute one's obligation are issues that have been discussed at length in (end of) chap 1 to (the whole of) of chap 4. Perhaps, we can revise them together. Before you assume things --- assume who a devotee/disciple is, what some of us in Singapore have done, and whether the Singapore authorities are right --- it is in your interest to find out more about what is happening in Singapore first --- this will give you the locus standi to comment on things (and also help you absolve yourself of the charge of "presuming" things, which you suspected me of). Your last paragraph will be a grim reminder to yourself: "Focusing our attention on the faults of others, instead of focusing on how to serve Krishna, is a negative way to live. I ask that you give some thought to this matter."

What is going on? Well, the letter to the temple president is quite clear. There is no abuse. Everything happens according to His Will --- including the closure of the Singapore temple. The Bible, for instance, says that God's will is "good, pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2). And according to Quran, this, too, is an immutable divine norm, "God will never change the destiny of a society until its people change that Society." (13:11). This latter point brings into question what could have gone wrong behind the scenes in the Singapore temple. A Point to Ponder "He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination." (16.23)

The one and the only Ritvik temple in Singapore that which talks down to all ISKCON members is at its last stage of survival on the small island republic.

Dear Sundar Gopal Das, I am deeply troubled by what has been happening to your temple --- "troubled" not by what the landlord is doing to you, which is, by any standards, legal, but by the way that you have chosen to respond. To begin with, if you were to see my first sentence here, you will notice that I have referred to the temple not as a "home to the deities of Sri-Sri-Radha Krishna" (as you had dissemblingly mentioned in your petition), but as "your temple", which is what it has been all along: your private abode for your son, you and your late wife. You have been running it like your home, using it as a cover for your comfort and enjoyment. I shall come to that later --- let me now come to your petition, which you have posted on the net, rallying support against the so-called "grave injustice" done to you and the "agonising ordeal" that you are going through. By that mischievous petition, to put it but mildly, you have run afoul of a number of laws --- and let me, for your benefit, list them briefly: a. Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, Chapter 167A (which gives the Minister the powers to take actions against you under Section 8 of the Act) b. Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, Chapter 184, (Section 13B) c. Penal Code, Chapter 224 [section 505(b)] When the first Act (Chapter 167A) was in the bill form before the Parliament in 1988, your insensitive conduct was one of the episodes that was mentioned in the White Paper. After almost 20 years, you are once again getting into trouble --- knowing you --- with of course the sanguine hope that the Singapore authorities, which have prodigious memory (unfortunately), would have forgotten you. You have not, despite your various sorties to the ISD office, learnt your lesson, have you? Knowing fully well that the landlord is acting legally, you are still stirring up trouble, all for but one egocentrical reason --- to preserve yourself --- yet making it seem devilishly altruvistic: "exalted personalities have given up their entire lives and possessions so that our society can prosper wholeheartedly", "a victim of circumstances", These monks are doing a great service to the welfare scenes in Singapore by providing free food to the old folks and children as well as distributing free food to the general public (at least 20,000 people monthly) at their centre at the abovementioned building site. They also run counseling programmes for families, troubled teens as well as for prisoners." That point now takes me to --- for your benefit as well others who will be reading this missive --- to the issue of my proving your calculating behaviour, which causes alarm and panic to a certain section of the community, which is likely to turn against your lordlord and even the government. Let me begin with your petition's opening line --- "Grave Injustice". What "grave injustice" are you talking about? The landlord's taking away what rightly belongs to him, which you dubiously dub, "grave injustice"? Isn't this assertion a tad "grave injustice" in itself? If I may speak to you in the parlance that you are familiar with, would you call God's action of taking away someone's life "grave injustice"? He takes what rightly belongs to Him. By the same token, does the landlord's taking back his property from you, a "grave injustice"? Pray, tell me. I never knew that your temple has "Renounced monks"! Who are these "renounced monks"? You have a bloated Brahmacharyi, who is making illegal CDs (which the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore will be interested in), and selling them to the unwary public at exorbitant prices. You have a teenaged son, who is in every respect a prince than a devotee, bossing around the Bangla workers, half of whose legal status in Singapore is questionable. And of course you have yourself, one who has not, since the national service days, held down a decent job, but has been "fattening" on the generous donations. And to add insult to injury, you have been bad mouthing our government at every conceivable opportunity you get! (Do you remember what your views were on the water controversies between Malaysia and Singapore? What you said about the recent Singapore elections?) Could you explain in your website what you meant when you said, "These monks are doing a great service to the welfare scenes in Singapore by providing free food to the old folks and children as well as distributing free food to the general public (at least 20,000 people monthly) at their centre at the abovementioned building site" ? Is running a profitable restaurant on your premises your concept of "providing free food"? The food there, which you claim "prasadam" (santified food) is not free --- everyone pays. And I stand in wonder at your "20,000 people monthly" figure. The Ministers, who may be reading this letter too, would be interested in knowing the truth. I mean "The truth". What "counseling programmes for families, troubled teens..." you have? Since when? I have known you, the temple activities and the temple for so many years, and I am nonplussed to discover there is, indeed, a programme such as this. And in the New Paper (dated 2/4/07), you had said that the temple provides even "free legal services". Really? You provide free legal services, yet at your website you have said, "we appeal to everyone to help us find a solicitor who may take up our cause". Did I miss something or are you dissimulating? Please prove me utterly wrong by providing some information of this sudden programmes and services! You said that, "The deities and the monks ....are synonymous with people in the area...", and I am keen to know since when you have been holding this view. Really! You are a bigot, and a racist at that, who fervently believe that the Tamils, in particular, are the most misguided, and you have not hesitated expressing this opinion quite openly too. Anything "Tamil" is poison to you, yet, in this dire need of help, the Tamil people in the area are (your strange bedfellows and) synonymous with your temple and, especially, you. How extraordinary! You called your landlord's action "harassment and bullying" --- in point of fact, it is you who are resorting to such unholy and puerile tactics? You asserted that the impending eviction will affect "numerous people especially the financially unstable class of people" --- show to your readers and the government that this is a incontrovertible fact. Other than you and your faithful coterie of 2 unemployed followers, which of course includes your son as well, which other member of the public is going to be thrown out onto the streets? Today you say "Perumal temple that also accommodates the similar deity of The Supreme Lord as Sri Krishna", but if my memory serves me well, you have always disparagingly referred to the temple as the "Ramanuja men temple". And what temerity you have in calling yourself and your 2 supporters the "exalted personalities (who) have given up their entire lives and possessions so that our society can prosper wholeheartedly". Exalted, indeed, is your arrogance! I think it is about time that the Deities were freed from your haughty and doughty behaviour?! Ramchand Das