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EDITORIAL July 19, 1999 VNN4327 Comment on this story All The Light That Can Be Shed BY YADUNANDANA PADA DASA EDITORIAL, Jul 19 (VNN) — Dear Hridayananda das Maharaja, (see also VNN story# 4156) Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All Glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga. Thank you for your response and comments. They are greatly appreciated. These matters need all the light that can be shed upon them from all angles of vision and realization. You are correct, discussion about simply staying away from other vaishnavas is not gramya katha "in every case". The seriousness of this matter, however, is not as simple as that. My letter did not go into details of what is being said and the kind of offenses that are being committed by impetuous, immature, and imppressionable disciples. My intention, therefore, was not to point fingers or stir up that dirt for others to hear. If you are aware of those details you would probably agree that "Gramya katha" is actually a kind and diplomatic way of addressing the issue. You mentioned in your response that, "Srila Prabhupada also intensely desired to unite the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, and made many efforts in that regard, efforts that I often personally witnessed and even participated in as Srila Prabhupada's secretary." Could you even fathom the notion that if Srila Prabhupada was still embodied on this planet today, that He would not still be trying to unify the Gaudiya Vaishnavas? It is my recommendation that as His disciples, it is our duty to at least be supportive if not instrumental in fulfilling this intense desire of His. Although I do remember Srila Prabhupada's instructions for us to stay away from His god brother's at that time, because "you would become confused" , He also taught about "time and circumstance". There was a time when we were not to read Srila Bhaktisidhanta's Brahma Samhita, or the Chaitanya Caritamrta that He himself was translating, "because you are not ready". But above and beyond that he also taught us, "Use your common sense, and if you have none, consult with someone who does". As you know, this Krsna Consciousness is neither based on blind faith nor on unreasonable thought. The very evidence of the Vedas is extremely logical (that is what attracted most of us). Similarly, the evidence of our realizations, in Krsna consciousness, are also of this logical nature. And so Srila Prabhupada and other Masters teach, "Accept all that is beneficial for your Krsna Consciousness, and reject all which is detrimental...", and "Simple for the simple and difficult for the difficult." There are many diverse teachings, many lectures, many "Prabhupada uvacas", many misinterpretations, many things taken out of context, and even strong evidences of manipulated rhetoric. Over the years, however, we have learned that simplicity of common sense and good intentions with Shastric evidence are our best allies on this path. There is a very large number of disciples from all the Maths, especially ISKCON, who feel strongly that this separation between the Maths is not conducive for their Krsna Consciousness. There are many inter-Math marriages, families, friendships, Sankirtans, and even businesses. These situations are growing and expanding. The unification is already going on by the Grace of Lord Chaitanya. We can either choose to be part of this service or we can wait for it to become the underlying theme and then follow behind. My plea to all of you is on behalf of the newcomer, the younger disciples, and especially to those who haven't yet come. Please forgive all my offenses. Hoping this meets you in good health Respectfully, your servant Yadunandana Pada Dasa Hridayananda das Goswami wrote: Dear Yadunandana Pada Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Since you sent me a copy of your letter to His Holiness Govinda Maharaj, and requested our comments, and since Satyaraja has forwarded this to Vast, I am taking the liberty to respond to everyone here. I appreciate and share your desire to see unity and peace among the Vaishnavas. I further understand that your dear wife is a disciple of Govinda Maharaja and therefore it is your religious duty both to honor your relationship with Srila Prabhupada and also your wife's relationship with her spiritual master. At the same time, I must respectly, yet honestly, say that I disagree somewhat with the following statement in your letter. "We do not avoid the association of devotees because they are different or perceive the details of the philosophy differently. We do not avoid the association of devotees simply because someone tells us to.You seem to say here that Srila Prabhupada taught us to avoid the association of non-devotees as far as possible, and also impersonalists, but that we should freely seek the association of advanced Vaishnavas. I must admit that Srila Prabhupada personally trained me to also avoid intimate contact with persons whom we respect as Gaudiya Vaishnavas, but who may cause harm to our relationship with Srila Prabhupada. There is a long and well documented history of these things, and one may find numerous statements from Srila Prabhupada on the subject. My personal life experience and my best philosophical understanding consistently tell me that Srila Prabhupada was right. Srila Prabhupada also intensely desired to unite the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, and made many efforts in that regard, efforts that I often personally witnessed and even participated in as Srila Prabhupada's secretary. He also told us not to criticize his Godbrothers. It is not my intention to go into any details here, nor to criticize any Vaishnavas. However I have no doubt that my duty is to keep in mind all of Srila Prabhupada's insructions on this matter. Thus I don't think we can automatically say that followers of Srila Prabhupada who see danger in intimate contact with certain elder Vaishnavas who are not followers of Srila Prabhupada are not automatically and in every case engaged in gramya-katha. With best wishes, Your servant, Hridayananda das Goswami Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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