VNN Editorial - The Blanket Policy Of Exclusion

EDITORIAL February 2, 2004 VNN8535 About the Author

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The Blanket Policy Of Exclusion

BY BRAHMA DAS

EDITORIAL, Feb 2 (VNN) — The first letter appearing here was sent to Rama Kesava dasa from a devotee who read his article on VNN. That letter was forwarded to me for comments. The second letter posted here is my response to that reader.

Dear Rama Kesava dasa,

Regarding your article on VNN - Aren't We Non-Sectarian?:

It continues to amaze me how devotees, previously initiated within ISKCON, freely choose to leave the institution Srila Prabhupada created but at the same time feel they have the right to enjoy the benefits of the ISKCON institution!

Please look at the hypocrisy you are proclaiming! Don't blame Srila Prabhupada's followers for your situation: You made your bed, so sleep in it!

And if you use the argument that ISKCON welcomes followers of other faiths, the difference is that we can PREACH (remember that form of devotional service?) to these guests about Krsna consciousness, but what can we say to ex-ISKCON members such as yourself?

Obviously you rejected advise from ISKCON members long ago or you wouldn't have left. Now you are on the outside crying so piteously that ISKCON has wronged you, etc. In other words, we can't possibly "preach" to you. You just wouldn't understand--especially the principles of chastity and loyalty to guru.

BTW, why portray your guru as disciple of Srila Prabhupada when he himself declares allegiance to one of Srila Prabhupada's god-brothers as well? It's really not possible to have two fathers, is it?

I really doubt you'll understand the above points, but I'm writing since I feel strongly about maintaining Srila Prabhupada's institution as if Srila Prabhupada himself was still personally present because HE NEVER LEFT--he's still here, guiding us. OK, he left his body, but did you miss that first lesson: we're not this body!

Dear Devotee,

Dandavat Pranams! All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

A copy of your letter to Rama Kesava dasa was sent to me for comments. In your letter you seemed to express unqualified support for a GBC policy that calls for the excommunication from Iskcon and/or exclusion from Iskcon programs of anyone who takes initiation or siksa outside of the society. While some members of Iskcon may herald this policy, most temple presidents understand the injustice of this policy and thus refuse to implement it other than on a case by case basis. I believe this type of implementation is much more reasonable than the blanket policy of exclusion called for in GBC regulations. Especially sense this policy applies to many devotees who did not "freely choose" to leave Iskcon but rather were forced out of that society against their will.

In 1981 I was among the first to be affected by this policy. At that time I had been a member in good standing of Iskcon for about ten years. Following one of Srila Prabhupada's last instructions I went with other leaders in Iskcon to Srila Sridhara Maharaja to hear from him about guru issues. Upon hearing from Sridhara Maharaja I was inspired by his sweet Hari katha in the same way that I was inspired upon hearing from Srila Prabhupada. Later a few devotees who had accepted Sridhara Maharaja as siksa guru proposed to our GBC at the time (Atreya Rsi dasa) that we would start and finance on our own a temple in his zone where one could hear from both Sridhara Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada. He accepted this proposal and we established a temple in San Jose, California, with Atreya Rsi Prabhu as our GBC. However, the GBC body in Mayapura rejected that temple and subsequently excommunicated from Iskcon anyone who accepted Sridhara Maharaja as siksa guru.

After the disappearance of ones guru it is not at all unprecedented or unusual for a disciple to find his heart being drawn to another senior Vaisnava for guidance. In our sampradaya the story of Ragannath dasa serves as an example. Raghunath dasa had been initiated by Yadunandana acharya, a disciple of Sri Adwaita acharya. Krsnadasa wrote in Caitanya Caritamrta (3.3.170) that as a young child Raghunatha dasa received the blessings of Haridas Thakura, which allowed him to obtain the association of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Raghunatha came into his association, Mahaprabhu placed him under the care of Svarupa Damodar. Raghunath remained under his guidance for sixteen years until the Lord and Svarupa Damodar disappeared from the world. Distraught from their separation Raghunath dasa decided to go to Vrndavana to commit suicide. However when he arrived in Vrndavana he met Sri Rupa and Sanatana and was unable to do so realizing that he had found Svarupa Damodar and Mahaprabhu again in them.

The story of Raghunatha dasa illustrates how a devotee might have many siksa gurus, indeed Srila Prabhupada says the same in Caitanya Caritamrta (1.1.35) stating later that siksa and diksa guru should be seen as equal manifestations of Krsna (1.1.47). This story also illustrates how one might find his diksa guru in the words of his siksa guru. In other words a devotee has only one spiritual father by birth (diksa) but might have numerous other qualified teachers and well wishing advisors (siksa gurus). After the disappearance of the father it is not wrong or unusual for a person to come under the guidance of an uncle, aunt, elder brother or sister or even a good friend of the family. One might even come to regard and love his guardian like a father depending on the relationship one develops with him or her. Who one accepts or realizes as his or her siksa guru is of course a subjective matter but the principal of siksa guru applies universally in Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Love is an affair of the heart and cannot be legislated or limited by social constraints.

Srila Prabhupada had some five thousand initiated disciples and many might wonder what happened to them all. We know that over time some lost their faith in Gaudiya Vaisnavism altogether. Of the remainder, I suspect that after all that has happened in Iskcon over the years, less than half would wholeheartedly and without reservation identify themselves as members of that society. I also suspect that fewer still would express unqualified support for the GBC rule that calls for anyone and everyone who might be affiliated with some other branch of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to be banned from Iskcon devotional programs.

Indeed, many Iskcon temples are now quite philosophically diverse and do not strictly enforce this exclusionary policy. Because Iskcon centers in the SF Bay area don't strictly enforce this rule Swami Tripurari and members of his group are able to have a good relationship with those centers. In the Bay area his disciples and followers regularly render service at Iskcon temples and attend devotional functions there. If Vipramukya Swami, then GBC of Scotland, had sincerely investigated rather than simply implemented the GBC blanket policy of exclusion, then I believe he would have found the author of the article (Rama Kesava dasa) to be an asset to his temple rather than a liability. I also believe that Srila Prabhupada would not approve of such a broad exclusionary policy based on banning his disciples and grand disciples from his temples. As some devotees actions are less than ideal I can understand how a temple manager might be forced to ban a person from the temple. But any banning that need be done should be on a case by case basis rather than the result of any broad based exclusionary policy. Most temple managers understand this and act accordingly. Scotland appears to be among the exceptions.

In conclusion, I have been outside Iskcon now for twenty-three years and it is fairly well known that I have some disagreements with Iskcon management, and that (as you wrote) " I declare allegiance to one of Srila Prabhupada's god-brothers as well." Still in spite of this I have not in over fifteen of those years been prohibited from visiting any Iskcon temple or taking part in any Iskcon devotional program. I have at times even spoken to Iskcon congregations in the Bay area and am good friends with devotees both inside and outside Iskcon. Surely you don't think that I should be banned from attending Iskcon programs in the SF Bay Area as Rama Kesava dasa was in Scotland. Surely you don't think that Srila Prabhupada would approve of banning from his temples all his disciples who might now be affiliated in some way or another with a different Gaudiya mission.

All considered, in accordance with GBC rules on the matter, perhaps you do feel that hundreds of Prabhupada's disciples and grand disciples should be banned from attending Iskcon functions because they now have some affiliation with another Gaudiya Mission. If in fact you do feel this way than I am writing this letter to inform you that I strongly feel otherwise. I also believe that most of the initiated disciples of Srila Prabhupada who still practice Gaudiya Vaisnavism feel otherwise as well.

In service,

Brahma Das (ACBSP)

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