On fallen gurus
November 07 , 2007
Hare Krishna
The simple answer is one cannot reconcile such harsh statements made by anyone representing themselves as a devotee of Lord Krishna. But as you are well aware, we are all ultimately personally responsible for our actions no matter what our "so called" position is in any society, especially one dedicated to the service of Krishna according to the directions of His pure devotee A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. We will ultimately fall down if we neglect or misrepresent our spiritual master. Unfortunately, this is what has happened with Kirtanananda and therefore he has lost his standing within ISKCON as a guru.
After a maha bhagavat, the most exalted of Krishna's devotees, departs from our presence, we can expect some turmoil as a natural consequence. Unfortunately ISKCON has experienced its fair share of unfortunate repercussions due to spiritual immaturity in the leadership and the influence of material motivation. However, we must also acknowledge the spiritual significance of this important movement to the upliftment of human society and not, so to speak, "throw out the baby with the bath water." I have been associated with this movement for close to 40 years, having joined in 1971, and believe me I have seen it all. But what I mean when I say "I have seen it all" is that I have seen not only the difficulties due to our immaturity, but I have seen also our great successes do to the mercy of guru and Krishna. The vast majority of sincere and humble devotees who have dedicated their lives to spreading Krishna Consciousness according to Srila Prabhupada's instructions greatly exceeds those few unfortunate exceptions who often only misrepresent devotional service.
So please, I beg of you, don't judge all of Krishna's sincere devotees by the ruler that should be taken to the back sides of errant leaders. Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada desire the ultimate success of this great ISKCON institution, and it therefore behooves all sincere devotees to dedicate their lives to supporting this institution for the glorification of its most exalted founder. This of course does not mean that we must support any foolish so-called leader who does not live up to Srila Prabhupada's spiritual standard.
Sincerely,
Dulal Chandra dasa
The simple answer is one cannot reconcile such harsh statements made by anyone representing themselves as a devotee of Lord Krishna. But as you are well aware, we are all ultimately personally responsible for our actions no matter what our "so called" position is in any society, especially one dedicated to the service of Krishna according to the directions of His pure devotee A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. We will ultimately fall down if we neglect or misrepresent our spiritual master. Unfortunately, this is what has happened with Kirtanananda and therefore he has lost his standing within ISKCON as a guru.
After a maha bhagavat, the most exalted of Krishna's devotees, departs from our presence, we can expect some turmoil as a natural consequence. Unfortunately ISKCON has experienced its fair share of unfortunate repercussions due to spiritual immaturity in the leadership and the influence of material motivation. However, we must also acknowledge the spiritual significance of this important movement to the upliftment of human society and not, so to speak, "throw out the baby with the bath water." I have been associated with this movement for close to 40 years, having joined in 1971, and believe me I have seen it all. But what I mean when I say "I have seen it all" is that I have seen not only the difficulties due to our immaturity, but I have seen also our great successes do to the mercy of guru and Krishna. The vast majority of sincere and humble devotees who have dedicated their lives to spreading Krishna Consciousness according to Srila Prabhupada's instructions greatly exceeds those few unfortunate exceptions who often only misrepresent devotional service.
So please, I beg of you, don't judge all of Krishna's sincere devotees by the ruler that should be taken to the back sides of errant leaders. Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada desire the ultimate success of this great ISKCON institution, and it therefore behooves all sincere devotees to dedicate their lives to supporting this institution for the glorification of its most exalted founder. This of course does not mean that we must support any foolish so-called leader who does not live up to Srila Prabhupada's spiritual standard.
Sincerely,
Dulal Chandra dasa