© 1999 VNN
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AMERICAS December 22, 1999 VNN5131 Comment on this story With My Heart Broken BY DHANANJAYA PANDIT DAS MENDOZA, ARGENTINA, Dec 22 (VNN) — Camp: Mendoza - Argentina Dear Iskcon members: Please accept our humble obeisances. All the glories to Srila Prabhupada Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krsna Conciousness. All the glories to the sankirtana movement of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We are writing to all of you Goduncles, Godbrothers, and Godsisters, as we have consider ISKCON to be our spiritual family since 1987 when we happily joined it. In my personal experience, the most beautiful thing that attracted me was the shelter that us ladies were given by Srila Prabhupada's teachings, and our relationships with father-like authorities. The Vaisnava philosophy given to us by our all-merciful Srila Prabhupada was amazing; it was exactly what I was looking for to escape from this hellish material world full of material ego--master ego, friendship ego, romance-relationship ego. For the first time in my life, at 25-years-old, I felt protected! As time passed, I met my dear diksa-guru, His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja, who gave the mercy of 1st & 2nd initiations. I also happily studied Srila Prabhupada's books. For more than a decade I spent my days rendering the insignificant services that I could do: helping Pujaris, cleaning the kitcken, making flower garlands to Sri Sri Radha Madana Bihari, translating, organize and develope Nama Hatta programs, book distribution and others. Later on, I came to know of problems in the top rank of our society. So many leaders and gurus fallen, so many nice devotees leaving our lovely institution. Why? Then I heard about Narayan Maharaja; I heard about ritviks; I heard about some ladies wanting to go against the Vedic teachings. I also heard of the situation of abused children in gurukulas. I read about Pradyumna's case. (In my local zone one devotee was censured for expressing something similar, and now this nice devotee has left.) I am married to a nice devotee, and we have 3 beautiful children. But problems in our extended spiritual family are growing like the aftermath of an atomic bomb. Before departing from this world Srila Prabhupada said: "Your love for me will be demonstrated by your cooperating to keep this institution together." It seems that too many of us have forgotten that--or misunderstood it. As a member of this society I am directly touched by all these problems, and I also feel some degree of responsibility for what has happened, but at the same time it is imposible to me to help. WOW! But first I want to say that I am no special devotee--not at all. I am lacking ability to express myself, but I am sincere; and I am very careful to speak only the truth because I understand the laws of karma and because I came to ISKCON to improve, not to speed my way to hell. But my family and I feel that we have been physiquically abused by the local authority of this zone, who has coarsely blamed my husband throughout the years and is now also blaming me. The most "beautiful" word that he actually used to describe us is "DEMONS." About a year ago we denounced an illegal printing of Srila Prabhupada's books in Mendoza, Argentina, done by a disciple of this guru, who publicly glorified him for doing it. Even materially speaking it was illegal! Even having so many managerial differences with this GBC, we NEVER spoke against him to anyone here, being very conscious of the danger of breaking the faith of a devotee. So, practicing "dadati pratigrinati...," we wrote in confidence to some senior devotees of this zone, because we understand that we must defend Srila Prabhupada's property left to us: his books. We don't know (and it's probably better that we NEVER know) how our private letter went to Virabahu Prabhu, but then it become public! That letter even went to other South American countries!!!! Am I wrong to think that this was not Vaisnava etiquette? Since then, we are being blamed by ALL his disciples and the GBC himself, always behind our back. Even after we waited for a meeting to clarify the situation, this GBC-guru never called us, but he met with the members of our zone--most of them bhaktas that don't even follow the regulative principles--and blamed us openly. Sadly, it is not the first time that this GBC- guru has made this kind of politics against devotees. All we did was denounce an irregularity. If we were wrong, why not bring it to our attention, instruct us properly, and solve the problem? If we were right, then great for ISKCON. But what need is there to blame and ban us? To try to destroy us? We feel abused and we feel cheated because a guru & GBC is supposed to be a well-wisher. But throughout all my years in Argentina, even before our having problems with this GBC-guru, we heard devotees complaining about his rude behaviour against some devotees who also have done nice service for Srila Prabhupada for so long. How can a guru feel good by spiritually killing devotees? Why does he NEVER try to develop a health comunication with the devotees? It became too much for us when two days ago some of his disciples came to our home and violently kicked the door, threatening us, trying to beat both of us, and thus presenting an ugly image of our movement in the neighborhood streets by shouting and yelling like madmen in the presence of nondevotee witnesses--and also even in front of our young children. Is this the behavior of a Vaisnava? Why do they always avoid a meeting? Seriously speaking, for us to be Hare Krsnas in this zone is embarassing. Some initiated devotees of our small congregation are openly taking different kinds of drugs; they fight during namahatta programs in front of guests... or even in the streets with devotional clothes. No authority wants to be in charge of this congregation because the devotees here prefer to make their own decisions. Any time a devotee has ever come with the idea to re-open the closed temple, he has been fired by the majority of the members including the GBC. But the worst of it all is how we are told that we can't say anything about the leaders even if they are misguiding or neglecting their service÷JUST because they are senior. But my Guru Maharaja taught us differently by his personal example. He said that that anyone who may have ANY doubt about his (my Guru Maharaja's) activities can openly ask and he will give explanation. I am having a sad vision. ISKCON is very ill--nobody can deny it. More and more devotees are fighting; more and more gurus are having problems. WE ARE TOO MUCH LACKING IN SINCERE COMUNICATIONS! WE ARE TOO MUCH LACKING IN SINCERITY! WE ARE TOO MUCH LACKING IN TRUTHFULLNESS! WE ARE TOO MUCH LACKING IN THE MOOD OF "DASA DASA ANUDASA!" I am denouncing being CHEATED by my local GBC. He lied. And he is cheating his well-wishers to believe in his words that are now stronger than ours. But I wonder if he would swear all that as true in front of the Lord? WE CAN SWEAR THE TRUTH BEFORE THE LORD and we have witnesses and evidence if it is needed. I am writing this letter with my heart broken and my eyes full of falling tears. I still love ISKCON; I deeply love my Guru Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada. And we love many nice devotees with whom we reciprocate in a brotherly relationship. But this ISKCON of nowadays is too much oppposite from what I joined so long ago. I HUMBLY APOLOGIZE IF DURING MY DAYS IN ISKCON I HAD OFFENDED ANYONE÷ I NEVER MEANT TO. I AM A FOOL, BUT ANYTHING I DID WAS DONE BECAUSE I WAS CONVINCED THAT IS WAS ACCORDING TO GURU-SADHU-SASTRA'S INSTRUCTIONS. WE EVEN CHECK WITH OTHER DEVOTEES AND WITH SRILA PRABHUPADA'S WRITTEN WORDS BEFORE DOING SOMETHING. EVEN NOW, FOR DAYS I HAVE BEEN READING AND RE-READING ALL THE RECENT INCIDENTS HERE, AND I FIND THAT ANYTHING THAT WE DID WAS RIGHT! NO SENIOR DEVOTEE OF THIS ZONE SPOKE A WORD, NEITHER TO SUPPORT NOR CONDEMN US. JUST THE LOCAL GBC BLAMED US AND LIED ABOUT THE SITUATION. AND SOME MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION BELIEVE HIS WORDS. I SINCERELY AND HUMBLY REQUEST THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES TO INVESTIGATE--AND TO HELP ALL OF US TO FIND A PEACEFUL AND VAISNAVA SOLUTION TO THIS. I DON'T IMAGINE MYSELF OUT OF ISKCON, BUT I DON'T SEE THE ISKCON I LOVED ANYMORE ANYWHERE!!!! PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME! I AM JUST TRYING TO CLARIFY AND RECTIFY A VERY STRANGE SITUATION. AND I REQUEST THE LOCAL GBC OF THIS ZONE TO LET EVERYBODY FEEL THAT HE IS REALLY OUR UNCONDITIONAL WELL-WISHER. I will never stop chanting my rounds; I will always go on with my insignificant devotional service; I will always keep caring for all my beautiful Tulasi devi if the Lord kindly gives that mercy; and I will always keep trying to be a servant. But how can I keep silent about of all this very poor image of the HARE KRSNAS? Wow! KALI YUGA is really strong! We implore to ISKCON devotees to help us praying to the Lord in order to find a pleasant solution to Srila Prabhupada and Their Lordships. If someone of you all can give us some support or feedback we will sincerously apreciatte it. Your servants, Dhana–jaya Pandit das & Sridhari devi dasi Queridos miembros de ISKCON: Por favor acepten nuestras respetuosas reverencias. Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada Fundador Acarya de la Sociedad Internacional para la Conciencia de Krsna. Todas las glorias al moviemiento de Sankirtana de Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Les escribimos a todos ustedes, T'os y T'as, hermanos y hermanas espirituales, ya que hemos considerado a ISKCON como nuestra familia espiritual desde el '87, cuando felizmente ingresamos a ISKCON. En mi experiencia personal lo que m‡s me atrajo fue el refugio que la filosof'a les ofrec'a a las damas, y la relaci—n de protecci—n que ofrec'an las autoridades. La filosof'a Vaisnava dada a nosotros por el misericordioso Srila Prabhupada es maravillosa, y es exactamente lo que estaba buscando para escapar de este infernal mundo material lleno de Ego: ego material, ego en la amistad, ego en el amor... Por primera vez en mi vida a los 25 a–os me sent'a verdaderamente protegida. A medida que pas— el tiempo conoc' a mi Diksa Guru Jayapataka Swami Maharaja quien misericordiosamente me dio 1¡ y 2¡ iniciacion, tambiŽn estudiŽ los libros de Srila Prabhupada. Por m‡s de una dŽcada ocupŽ mi d'as realizando los insignificantes servicios que pude hacer, ayudante de Pujari, limpiar la cocina, hacer las guirnaldad para Sri Sri Radha Madana Bihari, traducir, organizar y realizar Nama Hattas, y por supuesto distribuci—n de libros entre otros. Luego tambiŽn supe de los problemas en la cœspide de nuestra sociedad. Tantos l'deres & Gurus que cayeron, tantos lindos devotos que dejaron nuestra amorosa instituci—n, por quŽ? Luego escuchŽ sobre Narayan Maharaja, luego escuchŽ sobres los ritviks, luego escuchŽ sobres un grupo de devotas que pretenden cosas contrarias a las ense–anzas de los Vedas tratando de ganar algœn tipo de igualdad de derechos (À?). TambiŽn la triste situaci—n sobre el abuso de ni–os en los Gurukulas, le' sobre el caso Pradyumna das, [en mi zona, un devoto fue censurado por expresar algo similar y ahora ese devoto se ha ido]. Me he casado con un buen devoto, tenemos 3 bellos hijos, pero los problemas en nuestra familia espiritual est‡n creciendo como una bomba at—mica. Recuerdo haber le'do que Srila Prabhupada dijo antes de irse de este mundo que "El amor por ƒl ser‡ demostrado en la cooperaci—n" Ser‡ que hemos olvidado esto? lo hemos mal entendido? Como miembro de esta sociedad me he sentido directamente tocada por todos estos problemas, e incluso en cierto grado me he sentido responsable por lo sucedido, pero al mismo tiempo, es imposible para mi ayudar, WOW! Bien, quiero decir que no soy ninguna devota especial, para nada, carezco de tino y buenas maneras para expresarme, pero soy sincera, siempre soy muy cuidadosa de decir la verdad porque entiendo como funciona la ley del karma, y he venido a ISKCON para mejorar, no para acelerar mi camino al infierno, pero mi familia y yo hemos sido agraviados y abusados ps'quicamente por la autoridad local de mi zona, que groseramente blasfem— a mi esposo a durante a–os y ahora tambiŽn lo hace conmigo. La m‡s bella palabra que ha usado para describirnos ha sido DEMONIOS. Aproximadamente un a–o atr‡s hemos denunciado una impresi—n ilegal de libros en Mendoza-Argentina, que la realiza un disc'pulo de este Guru en cuesti—n, a quiŽn ha glorificado pœblicamente por la publicaci—n. Incluso materialmente hablando el libro es ilegal! A pesar de las diferencias administrativas con este GBC nosotros NUNCA hemos hablado en su contra a nadie aqu' siendo muy conscientes del peligro de quebrar la fe de un devoto, hemos escrito en forma confidencial a algunos devotos mayores de mi zona, practicando 'DADATI PRATIGRINATI'. Hasta el d'a de hoy no tenemos idea que sucedi— con la denuncia pero entendemos que debemos defender la propiedad que Srila Prabhupada nos dej— como sus libros. No sabemos y tal vez sea mejor que NUNCA sepamos c—mo nuestra carta privada lleg— a Virabahu prabhu (GBC y Guru de mi zona), y esta luego se hizo pœblica! La carta incluso lleg— a otros pa'ses sudamŽricanos! Estoy errada o esto est‡ fuera de la etiqueta Vasinava? Desde entonces estamos siendo insultados por TODOS sus disc'pulos y otros, incluyendo al mismo GBC, siempre por la espalda, incluso a pesar de haber esperado una reuni—n para clarificar la situaci—n, este GBC-guru nunca nos llam—, pero se reuni— con los miembros de nuestra zona, la mayor'a de ellos bhaktas que ni siquiera siguen las regulaciones y fuimos ciritcados por la espalda abiertamente. No es la primera vez que este GBC-guru hace este tipo de pol'tica contra devotos. Nosotros tan solo denunciamos una irregularidad, si estabamos equivocados, pod'an haber llamado nuestra atenci—n instruyŽndonos apropiadamente y el problema obten'a soluci—n, si nosotros estamos en lo correcto Bueno para ISKCON, pero cu‡l es la necesidad de blasfemarnos y pretender expulsarnos? tratar de destru'rnos? Nos sentimos abusados, nos sentimos enga–ados, porque un GBC-guru se supone que es un bienqueriente, pero durante todos mis a–os en ISKCON incluso antes de tener problemas con este lider, hemos escuchado como devotos se quejaban de haber sido cruelmente tratados por Žl. C—mo un Guru puede sentirse bien de matar espiritualmente los devotos? Por quŽ el NUNCA trat— de desarrollar una sana comunicaci—n con los devotos con quienes tiene problemas? Por quŽ blasfemarlos en vez de hablarles en forma privada y en forma amorosa? Esto es mucho para nosotros, dos d'as atr‡s un par de sus disc'pulos vinieron hasta nuestra casa golpearon violentamente la puerta, nos amenazaron, trataron de pegarnos, dando una imagen patŽtica de nuestro movimiento en las calles, gritando como locos frente a testigos karmis . . . incluso frente a nuestros peque–os hijos. Es este el comportamiento de un Vaisnava? Por quŽ evitan una reuni—n? Sinceramente ser un "Hare Krsna" en mi zona es a veces vergonzoso, algunos devotos iniciados de nuestra peque–a congregaci—n toman diferentes tipos de drogas abiertamente, se pelean en los Nama Hattas frente a los invitados... o en las calles, Ninguna autoridad quiere estar al frente de esta congregaci—n porque los devotos aqu' argumentan que ellos hacen la suya y est‡n bien as' (À?). Cada vez que un devoto lleg— con la idea de re-abrir el Templo cerrado, Žl fue echado por la mayor'a de los miembros. La peor cosa que hemos escuchado es que no podemo decir nada a los l'deres incluso a pesar de estar desviando, o negligenciando su servicio SOLO Y TAN SOLO porque ellos son devotos Mayores. Nuestro Guru Maharaja nos ense–— con otro ejemplo. ƒl dijo que CUALQUIER duda que cualquiera tenga acerca de sus servicios pueden preguntarle abiertamente y Žl dar‡ las explicaciones pertinentes. Estoy teniendo una mala visi—n, ISKCON est‡ muy enfermo, nadie lo puede negar, m‡s y m‡s devotos est‡n pele‡ndose, m‡s y m‡s Gurus est‡n teniendo problemas. CARECEMOS DE COMUNICACIONES SINCERAS CARECEMOS DE SINCERIDAD CARECEMOS DE VERACIDAD CARECEMOS DE DASA DAS ANUDASA Estamos denunciando ser ENGA„ANDOS por nuestra autoridad local el GBC, Žl nos minti—, y est‡ enga–ando a sus bienquerientes en creer en sus palabras que POR AHORA son m‡s fuertes que las nuestras. Pero yo me pregunto si Žl puede Jurar que todo lo que dice en cierto frente al Sus Se–or'as, NOSOTROS PODEMOS HACERLO y tenemos evidencias y testigos para demostrarlo si fuera necesario. Estoy escribiendo esta carta con el coraz—n roto, y mis ojos llenos de l‡grimas, amo ISKCON, profundamente amo a mi Guru Maharja y a Srila Prabhupada, y queremos a muchos buenos devotos con quienes reciprocamos en una relaci—n fraternal. Pero el ISKCON de hoy d'a est‡ muy lejos de aquel al cual me un' tiempo atr‡s. Humildemente me disculpo si en mis d'as en ISKCON he ofendido a alguien, no fue mi intenci—n, soy una ignorante, he hecho todo lo que hice convencida de que es de acuerdo a las instrucciones de Guru-Sadhu-Sastra. Incluso lo hemos corroborado con las autoridades antes de hacer la denuncia y con los escritos de Srila Prabhupada al respecto. Incluos ahora leo y releo durante d'as sobre este œltimo incidente, y encuentro que lo que hemos hecho est‡ bien! Ningœn devoto mayor de nuestra zona dijo palabra al respecto ni para respaldarnos ni para condenarnos. Solo el GBC local nos blasfem—, minti— acerca de la situaci—n y algunos de los miembros congregacionales creen en sus palabras. Pedimos a la autoridad responsable que investigue, y nos ayude a todos nosotros a encontrar una soluci—n vaisanva y pac'fica a todo esto. No me imagino fuera de ISKCON pero no veo m‡s ese ISKCON que tanto amo en ninguna parte!!!! Por favor comprŽndame! Solo pretendo clarificar y rectificar una muy extra–a situaci—n y pido al GBC local de esta zona que deje que TODOS sintamos que Žl es REALMENTE un bienqueriente INCONDICIONAL. Yo no dejarŽ de cantar mis rondas, seguiremos siempre con nuestro insignificante servicio devocional, seguire cuidando a mis bellas Tulasi devi si el Se–or amablemente me da esa misericordia, y siempre seguirŽ tratando de ser una sirviente, pero como puedo quedarme callada con toda esta imagen patŽtica de los 'HARE KRSNAS'? Wow! KALI YUGA es realmente fuerte!!!!!!! Suplicamos a los devotos nos ayuden orando al Se–or para que este problema tambiŽn pueda encontrar una soluci—n que sea placentera para Srila Prabhupada y Sus Se–or'as. Y si alguno puede darnos respaldo o feedback les quedaremos sinceramente agradecidos. Sus sirvientes, Dhana–jaya Pandit das & Sridhari devi dasi Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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