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EDITORIAL August 17, 1999 VNN4523 Comment on this story Counterfeit Krsna, Counterfeit Flute BY TARUN KRSNA DAS EDITORIAL, Aug 17 (VNN) — Sri Sri Guru Gaurangau Jayatah Upon hearing a sincere statement or inquiry, certain devotees are fond of responding with the word 'nonsense' or 'useless.' They've heard or read where Srila Prabhupad has used the terms 'nonsense' or 'useless', so they figure they can use it as well. Not quite. Not quite as well. By the order of and with the blessings of Srila Bhaktipramoda Puri Gosai, now 102 and unable to travel himself, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Mhrj, Srila Bhaktivallabha Tirtha Mhrj and many other cream of the crop bonafide gaudiya vaisnav gurus are taking the time and trouble to traverse the globe at such an advanced age to remote areas where even Srila Prabhupad did not go!! Do you really think for one second that instead of approaching them for diksa initiation and/or gayatri explanation, I'm gonna buy a book compiled sans the authorization of any past, present or future senior vaisnav containing only COUNTERFEIT gayatri mantras???? You must be kidding. I would be kidding myself if I did. Such neglect, my dear didis and prabhus would be the proper timing for the utilization of, and precise definition for, the words NONSENSE and USELESS. Sripad Bhaktivallabha Tirtha Gosai did not want to leave India for touring, but by the order of Srila Puri Gosai, he and his entourage flew directly from Calcutta to New York arriving at JFK 28Jul99. We were there at the airport to greet him. He was driven to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to the house of his disciples. After resting from the long journey, he felt eager to hold a class that very same day. Beginning with a transcendental barrage of supersweet Sanskrt and Bengali prayers glorifying all his diksa and siksa gurus as well as Pancha-tattva, Revati-kanta, Giridhari and Gandharvika, he switched to English: "We've come here today by the will of the Supreme Lord... Sometimes we cannot reconcile ourselves with the events of the present... Bindu Madhava has come from Paris to protect me... Srila Puri Gosai has ordered me to go outside India... I asked him, "But who will protect me?" I have no power. I also need to be saved." Srila Puri Gosai assured him: "Your gurudev will save you." After the class I approached him with a few questions concerning the topics he had just spoken. He clarified everything very nicely. Then I asked him about a recently well-printed publication in which the entire gaudiya gayatri mantra has been typed out for one and all to see, regardless of adhikar. As God and 6th Canto are my witness, he immediately replied: "It is counterfeit." I said: "What?" He repeated, this time louder: "It is counterfeit. It has no value. You know the counterfeit notes? They look real, but they have no value. Each note must be signed by the treasury secretary, otherwise, no value." Several weeks before, just after his Sunday morning darshan speech at Agrahya's home in June, I had mentioned the contents of this very same book to Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Mhrj, after which his mood changed into that of a lion. As we paced back and forth on the front sidewalk, I began to rattle off the compilers' arguments they had e-mailed to me, why they thought this book was okay to print and distribute to the public regardless of who is initiated by whom. Srila Narayan Mhrj easily swatted each and every argument down, just as a young boy might swat away annoying flies, eager to continue enjoying his summer day at camp, unobstructed by the insignificant. "They think they have become more than Gopal Guru Gosvami. They think they have become more than Srila Sarasvati Thakur. Who has given them permission to reveal these things?" The sound of Srila Narayan Mhrj's furious voice is still echoing loud and clear in my ear today as I type. Yipes!! Back to the word COUNTERFEIT. As sisya disciples of such great personalities, we are to listen attentively, inquire submissively and render service just as Sri Krsna Bhagavan recommends we do in His Gita (4.34). Why did Srila Tirtha Mhrj, directly sent by Srila Puri Gosai choose such a strong term as COUNTERFEIT? This scenario reminded me very much of when our Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur was a little indisposed, he sent Baladev Vidyabhusan to defend our entire sampradaya. Heroism is indeed alive and well and on the rise. Srila Tirtha Mhrj compared it to counterfeit money. What is the effect of counterfeit money? Is it just that it has no value? No. If that was the only problem, then why counterfeiters are sometimes given longer jail sentences than murderers?? No. Its because false or COUNTERFEIT money devalues the real money and if left unchecked can destroy the entire economy of a nation. Runaway inflation. What is the effect of runaway inflation? You think you're earning more, but in real dollars you're earning less. The gayatri mantra proper can never be diminished in value, but for those who indulge in cheap imitation gayatri, the real vastuttama or supreme substance remains far away. Know for certain that the appearance of cheap, easier access to the so-called gayatri mantra before meeting your diksa-guru and receiving the sacred mantras from His Divine Grace is the illusory trap of Daivi Maya into which so many who WANT to be cheated are enthusiastically falling, like flies into the fire. Durga-devi ki jaya!! Do you think the sound of Krsna's Flute can be heard so easily or purchased so CHEAPLY off a book table or by Mail Order without following the process outlined in Gitopanisad and adhered to since time immemorial??? Do you really think you can go ahead and print and distribute the genuine gayatri mantra, having failed to seek out permission beforehand, totally ignoring the omnipresence and advices of so many gurus senior to yourselves?? Was that Krsnadas Kaviraj's mood before writing Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta?? Where is your expressed consent from the possessors of that right to hear, our predecessor acharyas? Have they done like this, given away what Srila Puri Gosai has called our 'Gupta Ratna Prakash' so cheaply? "Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah." Whose footsteps are you following in on this particular escapade?? Please let us know so we can avoid that path at all cost. Ask our mutual sannyasi friend who tried to come to your defense whether he finds THIS letter flippant. What started out as a sincere inquiry through private e-mail to you from me alone was met with words like NONSENSE, ENVIOUS and other words of your choice which herein merit zero attention. Know yourselves to be counterfeiters, that's all. Distributing the Gupta Ratna Prakash, the family jewels to anyone who can flash the cash, without any requirement of saranagati or surrender, thus lowering the overall value and prestige of our parampara's most precious possession, declaring by example that NOT EVEN MOTHER GAYATRI IS SACRED. Srila Tirtha Mhrj has appropriately seen and said that what you are doing can be compared to adding COUNTERFEIT cash to an economy. Don't you see how you're minimizing the process of diksa? If YOU don't take personal responsibility for each and every person who reads this book, your cutting in too early, prematurely, like some hotshot ballroom dancer gallivanting from person to person, partner to partner, trying to reach everyone first, once, just once, FIFTEEN bucks worth, before they all get coupled off with proper permanent dance partners, diksa-gurus other than yourself. You're spoilsporting, you're timing is off, like a comedian who reveals the punchline too soon, causing the thrill to be gone, interfering with that persons eventual fresh virgin-like meeting with his or her freely chosen diksa-guru. "Here's the mantra, give me the dough, now beat it, scram kid, ya bother me." If you are going to become their guru, fine. Do it. You can also distribute appropriate amounts of these thousands of gayatri books you've already printed to other bonafide gurus. Maybe they would want to pass them onto their present or future diksa-sisyas. Otherwise, don't cut in prematurely. Back off; you're out of line. I could easily call this transgression by a host of other Sanskrt terms, but instead I shall refrain. That is for you to ascertain. You are vaisnavas, no doubt. Please resolve this problem. Thank you. Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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