One of the
elderly friends said, "My dear Maṇḍalībhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you were running
toward Ariṣṭāsura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You unnecessarily bearing that heavy plow? My dear Vijaya, don't be unnecessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no
need to make these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely you
will see that it is only a thunder cloud upon Govardhana Hill; it is not the Ariṣṭāsura in the shape of a
bull, as you have imagined."
These older,
well-wishing friends of Kṛṣṇa had imagined a large cloud to be the Ariṣṭāsura,
appearing in the shape of a huge bull. In
the midst of their excitement one of them ascertained that it was actually only
a cloud on Govardhan Hill. He therefore informed the others not to take the
trouble of worrying about Kṛṣṇa, because there was no
present danger from Ariṣṭāsura.
(Nectar of devotion - Chapter Forty-one)
Thank you for
your letter and invitation for the Istagoshti. I will definitely be present on 6th Nov. 10 am for the
Istagoshti.
But I would first like to see that we set
the ground rules for the Istagosthi as there has been a great confusion created which has spoiled
the right mood for the Istagoshti. You write that it is due to me. I do not
know what you mean by that. All I am hearing is a lot of loose talk, rumors,
fears etc.
So let me make
it completely clear ONCE FOR ALL.
NONE of your temple
brahmacaris have been contacted by me- ---either by phone or email or in
any other manner like through other devotees or any other way.
NONE of your congregation
devotees have been contacted by me ---either by phone or email or in any
other manner like through other devotees or any other way.
NONE of the parents of
children in the gurukul have been contacted by me ----either by phone or
email or in any other manner like through other devotees or any other way.
NONE of your hostel boys
have been contacted by me ---either by phone or email or in any other manner
like through other devotees or any other way.
NONE of your regular
donors have been contacted by me - either by phone or email or in any other
manner like through other devotees or any other way.
NONE of the foreign
devotees outside of Rajasthan have been contacted by me.
SO WHAT IS ALL YOURS CAUSE OF ALARM,
FEAR, CONFUSION AND WHAT NOT!
There was no plan other then to hold an
Istagosthi.
WHO AND WHY IS SOMEONE CREATING THIS
CONFUSION?
There have been
a total of 6 devotees whom I have been in communication with about these
issues. You will all see as we go down
the list that these are the devotees, who are running their own preaching in
Rajasthan and an older friend of Dayalu Prabhu - Vedvit Prabhu.
I contacted them
as communication with Dayalu Prabhu had broken down since I met him in March
with Murali Mohan Prabhu at your center when I understood that he is
unfortunately becoming a blind follower
of immature Mmp and that talking to him alone is of no use, it will only
create further enmity.
I felt that he has become enamored by
Mmp, his “purity” and how he feels mistakenly believes that Mmp alone has cured
him of the long term mental disease that he now
even wants to give him Sannyasa per his last email!
This is craziness.
Mmp has barely joined the temple 2 years
back, does not have almost any preaching experience to non-devotees (gone on
Sankirtan for a few days not even weeks), and does not chant well and regularly
sleeps during chanting and classes.
He has many good qualities, he is a
devotee like all of you are, but are these the symptoms of an advanced devotee
or a Sannyasi?!
THAT IS ONLY MAIN CONCERN OF MINE. All
other concerns are flowing from this main point- brahmacari is superior etc.
all are preached by him and accepted by Dayalu Prabhu now and hence preached to
all.
I am not
offending Mmp but being discriminatory as per Rupa Goswami’s advise in NOI.
The main query from me Dayalu Prabhu has
not addressed in his email:
1.
How
is Mmp certified by him as a “real brahmana”?
2.
How
is Mmp despite sleeping regularly during chanting, in the class, considered a
high class devotee?
(I
now hear that he is explaining that Mmp sleeps during chanting as he goes out /
was going out for Karma Kandiya Pujas till late at night----I do not know
whether to be amused or cry with this argument!)
3.
How
is it that a new brahmacari, however nice he is, who has not even gone on
regular Sankirtan, he is giving guidance on all issues of Sankirtan mission,
and Dayalu Prabhu is asking all of you, who go out on regular Sankirtan for
Lord Caitanya’s service, to take guidance from him?
I
would not have had so much of an issue with this but for the reason that all
you devotees have been progressing nicely trying to take guidance from Srila
Prabhupada, coming closer to Srila Prabhupada, and that was my happiness.
But
then Dayalu Prabhu started preaching to me in our last meeting that this “is
Sahajiya platform” to try to take guidance from Srila Prabhupada through his
books! Now gradually he has started preaching this more and more at the center
and to the devotees in the congregation and others to instead take guidance
from Mmp as we cannot understand Srila Prabhupada’s books directly or get
guidance from him directly.
This
is the main point I CANNOT TOLERATE.
His angry reaction to my bringing up
this unpleasing topic to his notice is to- try to KILL THE MESSENGER-me, rather
then to address Mmp’s lack of qualifications for his artificial elevation.
Hence is it any
wonder that after sensing his surrender to Mmp, and his narrow mindset then, back
in March, I decided to keep aloof from the center and its devotees, and when
the circumstances came such that I had to do something to keep some devotees sane
who were leaving the center association due to these issues, and as I hoped
that preaching together in Rajasthan would be beneficial to all, and as Dayalu
Prabhu was writing to me regularly asking me to respond to various queries, I
decided to approach a group of senior devotees in Jaipur, devotees who are running
their independent preaching locally and his friend like Vedvitt Prabhu to
resolve this issue within mature discussions. This is so that cooperation could
be there for combined preaching.
Group of TPs body
This is the
prescribed method given by Srila Prabhupada to resolve issues with other leaders, given there is no
GBC yet as was the case before GBC was formed in 1970.(He asked TPs in West
Coast and East Coast Temple Presidents of USA to come together and resolve
simple issues before GBC formation).
And this was one of the main resolutions
from the March Prabhupadanuga meeting held at your center under your hosting.
We all participated in the meeting- held around March 1-3rd 2013 at
your center, with other visiting devotees and when the issue – how to appoint Ritviks was being discussed.
So the end resolution which Dayalu
Prabhu happily accepted and wanted to do and announced, was for him to organize all the devotees who are
running their independent preaching centers, in Rajasthan and probably in India,
if possible, in the next 6 months or so – by Kartik 2013, as a body of TPs.
Then in Kartik
2013, which is now, he was then going to bring this topic up there, maybe who
will elect ritivks or maybe elect a GBC who will appoint ritviks and then hold
elections.
Please
inquire from any devotee attending that meeting - Was it not so? What happened
to that?
I am forwarding
this email to Balarama Prabhu from Turkey who was present at that meeting, for
his comments.
These are the group of devotees I communicated
with for resolving these issues with Dayalu Prabhu so that cooperation among
all could be established on an even keel.
Some of them
have been communicating with me about these issues from earlier rest got
involved as part of organizing the Istagoshti.
As mentioned earlier, NONE of your congregation
devotees, NONE of your brahmacaris, NONE of your hostel boys, NONE of your
regular donors, NONE of the parents of Gurukul children or anyone else not
already running or preaching separately from your center was even touched or
disturbed about these issues. I had no intention to involve anyone other
then mature devotees, whom we had already resolved to be made a body of
devotees to resolve issues including ritvik appointments etc.
I hope this is proof is enough for all
sane personas that I had no intention to disturb all yours preaching efforts
that are nicely already going on.
As far as some of the devotees in the
world, who are now jumping on Dayalu Prabhu’s angry bandwagon to get back at me,
let them write to me directly and openly, organize an Istagoshti among
senior devotees at their location, to resolve the issues with me and preach to
me in that association. This is Srila Prabhupada’s prescribed method to resolve
issues, NOT THIS WRITING BEHIND THE BACK PHUS PHUS PHUS WITHOUT GIVING ME SUFFICIENT
CHANCE TO PUT MINE AND OTHER’S SIDE.
However one is considered “senior” and
“advanced” let them follow this basic symptom – of being straight forward in
one’s dealings-and thereby we will judge.
Hence it seems to me that it has been
made such a big issue, or an issue at all among most of the devotees for NO
REASON. Most devotees would not have come to know of my issues at all.
The 6 devotees whom I forwarded this
email and invited to join the Istagoahti are:–
Independent preaching in RAJ. - Prema
Bhakti Prabhu, Chanchal Prabhu, Madan Mohan Prabhu and Abhay Charan Prabhu.
Independent preacher in Jaipur – Kuva
Prabhu
Old friend of Dayalu Prabhu and mine –
Vedvitt Prabhu who left his job in Singapore and came to Jaipur to work with
Dayalu Prabhu but has gotten fried. We both are the only 2 devotees who have
been friends of Dayalu Prabhu for maybe 20 years and can still speak to him
about his difficulties, and he to us. Hence in our normal talk when these
topics came up we thought it will be a good idea for me to come to Jaipur and
try to sort out these issues by sitting together.
The 3 below devotees whom Dayalu Prabhu
is incorrectly calling “his congregation devotees” while also acknowledging
that they are having their preaching center’s independently.
Prema Bhakti Prabhu, Chanchal Prabhu and
Madan Mohan Prabhu.
How are they “his congregation
devotees”? They have
their own congregation.
The definition Dayalu
Prabhu himself gave in March Prabhupadanugas meeting for Prema Bhakti Prabhu to
be part of that group of “TPs” was of “independent preaching center like Prema
Bhakti Prabhu’s in Gopalgarh”. That time you were to be sent to Jodhpur to
preach and hence even though you were not already gone and were still living in
Jpr center, he was calling you a “TP” for that purpose. Hence including HKC
Jaipur, he was saying there are 3 centers in Raj. And also Hari Mohan
Prabhu…and other devotees were being talked about. Dayalu Prabhu was lamenting
that he did not invite Hari Mohan Prabhu for the Prabhupadanugas gathering for
this reason in this context.
So how are they
“his congregation devotees”? Or is this
the basic misunderstanding that is propelling him to act likewise angrily.
As Dayalu Prabhu did not follow through
with this practical approach of forming a TP body, so what should I do? Tell me if any devotee has trouble with
Dayalu Prabhu whom is he going to approach, especially when there is no
GBC. Is Dayalu Prabhu or Mmp or myself
perfect that they will not make mistakes or take wrong decisions? Do you think
Srila Prabhupada wanted an ISKCON of overlords with no one to answer to?
Ironic is that
Dayalu Prabhu is accusing me of acting as if there is no one over me. But at
least I want this to happen and have been in the process to form these group of
TP/Preaching center heads bodies as the 1st step in electing GBCs
from among them all over the world. Currently our cooperation in North
America is not so advanced to speak of a TP body of devotees but I do answer to
diff bodies in my various services and legally they have power to over see me.
Hence I wanted this to be formed at
least here in Rajasthan so that the valid issues with me while executing preaching
projects in Rajasthan that Dayalu Prabhu has raised, this same body can deal
with in a cooperative organized manner.
Otherwise
Dayalu Prabhu had declared unilaterally before the Prabhupadanugas festival
that “Nimai is not allowed do any project in India (or Rajasthan- I forgot
which)”!
Hence feeling
the need to resolve the issues that I had with Dayalu Prabhu so that we can all
preach organizedly and having no other recourse to approach anyone else, and as
I am also preaching here in Rajasthan for many years, also have been fortunate
enough to be advising almost all the senior devotees including your good self,
in and around Jaipur including Dayalu Prbahu and Mmp, as I was already doing
this duty of advising against deviations in so many cases I can recount over
the years as you may well recall and even before you came to the center, as I have
been already doing the duty of trying to inpire all of the devotees including
your good self, so as to be able to approach Srila Prabhupda directly and
personally through his books and lectures and letters, by reading studying him
and inquiring…and as Dayalu Prabhu is my dear friend still and kept writing to
me for responding for advise on some issues, and as some devotees brought these
similar issues with him to me, and as I am truly very disturbed that the path
to continue taking shelter of Srila Prabhupada is being disturbed for you all,
I was forced to tackle this problem head on – in the best possible way I could
think of – to contact the same TP kind
devotees in Rajasthan and attempt to hold an Istagosthi at your center in front
of deities, Srila Prabhupada and mainly these Vaisnavas and if Dayalu Prabhu
wanted, then a few senior brahmacaris.
So that is what
I did.
Please have HKC let me know is there
anything wrong in that? What other recourse do I have? Whom else should I approach for resolving
issues with Dayalu Prabhu when I cannot resolve them with him personally?
If in trying to
utilize this process for resolving these issues, I have caused anyone to be
alarmed unnecessary or caused any one of you any grief, I am well and truly
sorry for it. In hindsight I ought to have made it clear to Dayalu Prabhu that
I am hoping Chanchal Prabhu could act as mediator to organize the Istagoshti
and hence for any information or any confirmation of any doubt Dayalu Prabhu could
have asked him, and if he had wanted to he could approach me. I did not make it clear. I did request Chanchal
Prabhu to act as a mediator though.
Earlier Chanchal
Prabhu on his own went to meet Dayalu Prabhu before contacting me and then in
the evening came to me on his own accord to try to see if we can have a
meeting. So I told him I would be glad and gave him possible dates, informed
him who would I am hoping can come and as for topics, I told him I was writing
to Dayalu Prabhu an email so that he has in writing the various issues I want
discussed as well as the sastric basis for it.
I could have made it clear to him that I
have not contacted anyone else nor anyone else is involved. This is all in hindsight now looking
back. At that time I could not think that you all would develop all these extreme
misunderstandings to this process I am trying to follow to resolve these issues.
Extreme misunderstanding and extreme
overreaction as now I have been told that
1. You all are
thinking I am trying to call all members to remove Dayalu Prabhu as TP of
HKC!!!!!, (what nonsense!)
Is there any basis whatsoever for this
allegation? This is totally unbelievable. I do not know if these 6 devotees are
current members of HKC or not. But it could have been easily found out by
calling all the members of HKC and seeing if I have contacted them or anything
of that sort.
What kind of talk was told to you all to
make you believe all these things?
2. That it is
an “Attack of Nimai Pandit on HKC -
Ludicrous!
Please do let me know after reading this
email what was the attack?
3. That
I am getting a prostitute to call you - I have never in my almost 20 years in
ISKCON heard this kind of low false talk made to smear someone!- of course
there will be no proof but that does not stop you all from propagating it!
4.
That
Nimai Pandit is here to destroy the preaching here (when it is just the
opposite!).
5.
“That we are going to loose the Lawsuit in
LI this Nov so I am trying to get a foothold in Jaipur” – Unbelievable that
these kind of talks or any other rumors told by people who want to see me fail
like Veda Guhya Prabhu, who are opposing us legally, is entertained. What is
the substantiated basis for this? Any factual
basis. It is another almost a year till the Trial will be held for everyone’s
information and our chances to win are excellent as the judge himself has
observed in writing twice.
You called me 2
days back and started berating me in a derogatory way. I heard from others that
you and Arjuna Prabhu are doing it all around, challenging way, barely seem to
be constraining the urge to beat me up!
Is that what you have heard and learned
from Srila Prabhupada?
What I feel is
similar to those devotees who earlier dared to raise issues with the Gurus,
which their blind followers could not tolerate, and hence raised threats while some
devotees were even beaten. I have myself been subjected to similar threats
thrice earlier – In BLR from the Guru-vadi congregations when incited by their
guru when he thought that “he was being offended”, in Juhu temple when the
guruvadis wanted to kill me as I had replied to a young devotee Gaurangasundar (Gaurav
then) when asked who is my Guru – “Jayapataka swami initiated me but Srila
Prabhupada is everything for me” and then in Long Island temple – when the Guru
vadis barged into the temple and wanted to kick us all out particularly me as I
had dared to be “offensive” to their gurus and GBC by not accepting their
instruction to not have Srila Prabhupada as guru and have continued with their
combined threats all these almost 10 years!
Prabhu I am not finding any difference
now then from those circumstances in terms of sentimental fanatic reaction because
I dared to question your leader’s surrender to Mmp and Mmp’s qualification!!, that too only among a select few
senior devotees running their independent preaching!
I dare say that you are all by your own reactions
in fact proving to all Prabhupadanugas worldwide what I wanted to bring to the
notice of only the few mature devotees here –
that Dayalu Prabhu is becoming a fanatic
blind follower of Murali Mohan Prabhu,
and that now all others as his followers are being incited by him to go on a “warpath”
and this is the danger of following a still immature devotee like Mmp.
As all can see, this is what I saw in my
last personal talk with Dayalu Prabhu and Mmp - that there is no chance I can
sit down alone and “peacefully” discuss these issues with him. Hence I have
been trying to organize the Istagoshti with the involvement of a few senior
devotees, by first writing the issues with their philosophical basis to them.
The only good
reaction that you all have done in this aspect is to hold a 24 hour kirtan at
the center. Even though it is done to “protect the center from Nimai Pandit’s
attack!”
As all who know me Prabhu that none of
these kind of “threats” or “attacks” bother me much anymore as “Rakhe Krishna
Mare ke, Mare Krishna rakhe ke”. What can anyone else do?
Hence it is
funny to see this reaction to say the least. Also sadness at the direction this
has gone and I am partly to be blamed for this as I write earlier.
Hence I say this
is a false alarm and to humor myself and trying to see a positive from this I quote
the Nectar of Devotion-
One of the
elderly friends said, "My dear Maṇḍalībhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you were running
toward Ariṣṭāsura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You unnecessarily bearing that heavy plow? My dear Vijaya, don't be unnecessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no
need to make these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely you
will see that it is only a thunder cloud upon Govardhana Hill; it is not the Ariṣṭāsura in the shape of a
bull, as you have imagined."
These older,
well-wishing friends of Kṛṣṇa had imagined a large cloud to be the Ariṣṭāsura,
appearing in the shape of a huge bull. In the midst of their excitement one of
them ascertained that it was actually only a cloud on Govardhan Hill. He
therefore informed the others not to take the trouble of worrying about Kṛṣṇa, because there was no present danger from Ariṣṭāsura.
(Nectar of devotion - Chapter Forty-one)
Even though
this is a lofty comparison, I hope you all will similarly quieten this mob
mentality, instruct all to follow the Vaisnava etiquettes as Srila Prabhupada
would want them to be followed to protect all from unnecessary offenses.
As for the
Istagosthi, to make sure that the proceedings go forward smoothly, and that we
actually achieve meaningful discussions, I am proposing:
1.
That
the topics for the Istagosthi ought
to be decided upon now before hand.
I
propose that I offer 3 main topics of discussion and you
all/Dayalu Prabhu offer 3 topics. We start by discussing 1st one
topic of either mine or his, then the 1st topic of the other one,
etc. We can decide whose topic to start discussing 1st by a system
of chits or whatever, I do not care as long as we both get chance to have our
topics discussed one after other without the whole discussion becoming an angry
crowd crusade or a mob attack.
2.
We
need to decide beforehand which devotee
will facilitate the Istagosthi or a group of 3 devotees who can mediate,
keep the discussion on the topics, keep to the time, and allow each concerned
one to speak or defend oneself. I have brought up some issues so Dayalu Prabhu
and Mmp ought to get time to defend this and similarly I be allowed to explain
these in detail if required. Similarly his issues with me vice versa.
3.
I
also propose that the meeting be recorded
by video so that all what was discussed can be, if required, sent to any senior
devotees around the world for confirmation or rebuking of what I am saying.
4.
Also
the participants at the Istagoshti need
to be finalized beforehand. Earlier I wanted mainly the mature senior
devotees preaching heads and whoever Dayalu Prabhu wanted. But now seeing this
incited mob mentality among the poor devotees I want that for the sake of sane
serious discussion ON THE TOPICS, the
list of final devotees who will be present be agreed upon by the end of today 4th
Nov.
Basically if you want a mob lynching,
then you can find someone else. That is not a Vaisanava principle nor
instructed by Srila Prabhupada hence I am not interested. If HKC wants
serious discussion, back and forth giving enough time to each to speak/defend, then
I am ready and agreeable to come and participate willingly and
happily 6th Nov morning
10 am.
I will come alone.
I have certain issues that are important
for the sake of spiritual life of all devotees there, foremost for my dear
friend Dayalu Prabhu and then Mmp and all of you too, whom I have seen grow
more and more under the shelter of hearing of Srila Prabhupada only, and that
is what I want to see continue happen.
I know Dayalu Prabhu has some issues
with me, so let us work on a framework to get this organized today and tomorrow
so that the Istagosthi day after tomorrow pleases Srila Prabhupada.
“First
hearing, then chanting. Hear from the right source and discuss amongst
yourselves. Iṣṭagoṣṭhi.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.5.13 -- New Vrindaban, June 13, 1969)
“we got your new books, Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So we were reading constantly from early in the
morning. We found it was very enlivening, the fact that we were reading amongst
a number of devotees.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore it is called iṣṭagoṣṭhī, or discussion.”
(Morning
Walk, September 9, 1975, Vṛndāvana)
“Please
accept my blessings. I am in receipt of a copy of your last Istagosthi dated
Jan. 27, and I am very much satisfied with your replies on the questions made
in the Istagosthi. The meeting is called "Istagosthi'' and not
"Istagosthi''
(Letter
to: Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 25 February, 1968)
Please
accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated March 19th, along
with Istagosthi notes, I am always so pleased to see how nicely the Istagosthi
meetings are being carried on, so I am always anticipating your letters, along
with Istagosthi reports. Thank you very much.
(Letter
to: Balai -- San Francisco 22 March, 1968)
Again, please forgive any of my offenses
in bringing up these issues and the disturbance this has caused among you
involuntarily.
Let us discuss the issues on Sastric
basis one by one so that these are cleared up and then we can all preach in a
cooperative manner all over Rajasthan and then the world.
Remaining your aspiring servant,
Nimai Pandit Das
For Part 2: CLICK HERE
For Part 3: CLICK HERE
For Part 4: CLICK HERE
For Part 5: CLICK HERE
For Part 6: CLICK HERE
For Part 7: CLICK HERE
For Part 2: CLICK HERE
For Part 3: CLICK HERE
For Part 4: CLICK HERE
For Part 5: CLICK HERE
For Part 6: CLICK HERE
For Part 7: CLICK HERE