Bhakti Caru Swami Criticises Srila Prabhupada's Household Life
The catalogue of offences against Srila Prabhupada by our GBC continues. Now Bhakti Caru Swami (BCS), who loves to paint himself as someone who is always promoting Srila Prabhupada, has launched an attack on grhastas (householders), sparing not even Srila Prabhupada, who was also married before he came to preach in the West. In preaching to a devotee, we are told BCS said the following:
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"In certain circumstances, Srila Prabhupada sometimes spoke very openly about brahmacarya. Nobody criticized him for that. Similarly, Guru Maharaja, following Srila Prabhupada's footsteps and example, spoke to a devotee yesterday about brahmacarya.
He told him, "Don't think of women. Actually, when a man thinks of woman, he becomes weak."
He added, "To get involved with a woman is completely useless. You can ask any mature woman, and they'll also tell you that, because they KNOW that when men become involved with women, it makes them weak. At the same time," he continued, "we are not supposed to run away from them. We have to confront them. We must respect them, otherwise that is another attachment. They are spirit souls in a certain body, and they are, in spite of themselves, playing a certain function, namely that of attracting men."
He said "the grihastha asram is not practical for dynamic preaching. Look at Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Thakura. And look at Srila Prabhupada: He became involved in preaching after he got out of householder life."
(Text PAMHO 6457480, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 04:32 +0200, Candrasekhar Acarya (das) BCS)
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Firstly, we can see that this anti-women/anti-family bashing from ISKCON sannyasis is still alive and well in today's supposedly 'reformed' and 'family/women/children'-friendly ISKCON. Just more evidence that the 'Zonal Acarya' bogus Guru culture is still running ISKCON. But more to the point we see that Srila Prabhupada directly contradicts BCS' offensive speculations against both marriage and himself:
“I want that some ideal families of Krishna Consciousness should be established in your country, so that people can see that our movement is not one sided or dry. So we do not want dry renouncers. Krishna Himself married so many wives as a Ksatriya. Caitanya Mahaprabhu although He was to take sannyas at the age of 24 years, still He married twice within 20 years. Lord Nityananda Prabhu also married. Advaita Prabhu and Srivas Prabhu, they were also householders. So to become married is NO impediment for advancement in Krishna Consciousness. One should be vigilant only that he is not diverting from Krishna Consciousness. One has to follow the footprints of the great Acaryas then everything is all right. I was also a married man – my family is still existing. So you should always remember that marriage is NOT impediment.” (SPL Madhusudan, 10 March 1969)
“They (women) have also come to Krishna, we cannot reject them. Therefore I have advised my students to get themselves married. I was householder, my Guru Maharaja was life-long brahmacari. But we are doing the SAME work of preaching Krishna Consciousness, so what is the difference, grhastha and brahmacari?” (SPL Danavir, 17 December 1972)
Here, Srila Prabhupada is clearly saying that marriage is NO impediment to preaching, despite BCS' speculations to the contrary. But of course, even more offensive is BCS' brazen criticism that Srila Prabhupada only “become involved in preaching after he got out of household life”. That means that Srila Prabhupada, according to BCS, did NO PREACHING before he left his family. That is, he was simply some ordinary grhasta completely wrapped up in his family affairs, who had to wait until be became an old man before he could “become involved in preaching”. BCS may take pleasure in criticising and putting Srila Prabhupada down like this, but thankfully the truth is somewhat different, as told to us by Srila Prabhupada himself:
Srila Prabhupada’s Practical Example of Preaching IN Household Life:
"So during my householder life I was printing this paper and almost distributing free, and some of them were paying me subscription, and some of them not. But I was trying my best at my cost." (SPL Rayarama 68-06-12)
"I was publishing that BTG paper even from my grhastha life, from 1944." (Room Conv., May 20th 1975, Melbourne)
"I was publishing that BTG paper even from my grhastha life, from 1944." (Room Conv., May 20th 1975, Melbourne)
Interviewer: Were you a businessman?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, I was connected with some chemical industry. I was manager in a big chemical industry. Then I started my own business. In this way I was family man.
Ramesvara: But at the same time, Srila Prabhupada was always Krsna conscious.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes.
Bali-Mardana: And He was writing.
Ramesvara: And also he was writing transcendental or spiritual books even at that time.
Bali-Mardana: 1944
[...]
Srila Prabhupada: This Back To Godhead was started in 1944, when I was still a family man.
(Interview with Newsday newspaper, July 14, 1976)
"It is very encouraging to learn that you are so enthusiastic to sell BTG. I consider sale of BTG so valuable because in the beginning I worked for BTG day and night alone in India. I still remember the hardship for pushing on this BTG. In the beginning, when I was householder, I did not care if somebody paid or not paid; I used to distribute liberally. But when I left my household life and I was living alone sometimes in Vrndavana and sometimes in Delhi or sometimes travelling for pushing on BTG, they were very hard days. Therefore, when BTG will be published not in hundreds of thousands, but in millions, that will give me great solace." (SP Letter to Madhudvisa, 14/4/70)
"After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine BTG sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu through this magazine.” (Concluding words, Antya-lila, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta)
"At our first meeting, he ordered me to preach Krsna consciousness in the West. I was then 25 years old, a married man with two children. I tried my best to carry out his orders and started managing BTG magazine in 1944, when I was still in household life." (Science of Self Realisation, chapter 1)
“So I was thinking very seriously, and then, as late as 1944, I started my paper, “Back To Godhead.” Gradually, in 1954, I retired from my family life and began to live alone in Mathura Vrindaban.” (SPL to Hanuman Prasad Poddar, 5 February 1970)
So BCS, whose main contribution to 'preaching' is to travel around the world stealing Srila Prabhupada's disciples and taking lavish worship meant for Srila Prabhupada alone, has the temerity to say that Srila Prabhupada “working day and night alone” for BTG, having started, written, published and sold his own magazine, is NOT an example of him 'preaching'.
The GBC's offensive attitude towards Srila Prabhupada knows no bounds, it seems. Having shown their contempt of Srila Prabhupada via their deeds, having usurped his position as the Guru of ISKCON, they are now also happy to verbalise this offensive attitude. We have already seen their recent so-called 'Vyasa-Puja glorification' (Please see IRM Newsletter 58 - "GBC Publically Dishonors Srila Prabhupada”).
The GBC's offensive attitude towards Srila Prabhupada knows no bounds, it seems. Having shown their contempt of Srila Prabhupada via their deeds, having usurped his position as the Guru of ISKCON, they are now also happy to verbalise this offensive attitude. We have already seen their recent so-called 'Vyasa-Puja glorification' (Please see IRM Newsletter 58 - "GBC Publically Dishonors Srila Prabhupada”).
