02/01/98 - 1556

Call For Violence?

USA (VNN) - The recent CHAKRA posting of a letter from Radha Caran das, the ISKCON temple president of Tel Aviv and disciple of Tamal Krishna Swami, has caused concern with some members of the Vaishnava community. Specifically the wording used by this temple president, which could easily interpreted as a call for violence. He states:

"Our ISKCON society should stand up and not just challenge back with unending confrontations on a piece of paper or on a web site. Devotees should consider the value of protecting Prabhupada's institution with all its components." and "We cannot take these matters to a judicial court, but the assembly of devotees and I shall say, "Those who can stand up and disclaim those nonsense allegations should take strong actions." It would be interesting to find out just what this temple president means by "taking strong actions"?

This statement could possibly be in violation of United States law that prohibits the making of "Terrorist Threats" against any United States citizen. It should also be noted that this statement was made by an ISKCON official and published by an ISKCON publication (CHAKRA). It is clearly pointed towards any person involved in the ongoing Poison Investigations, which are in part conducted by ISKCON's Governing Body Commission (GBC).

The following letter by Radha Caran das was posted on CHAKRA:

How Much Longer before They Fall?

A letter from Radha Caran dasa

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

It is hard to stand by and watch people engage in constant blasphemy. It is even harder when the one who is being blasphemed is one's own spiritual master.

The hallucination and total madness that both Puranjana and Nara Narayana are exhibiting reminds me very much of Sisupala. No one could reason with Sisupala, not even Lord Krsna. Only Lord Krsna's all-powerful Sudarsana Cakra could put a stop to Sisupala's ongoing insanity. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Although Srila Prabhupada said that ISKCON cannot be harmed or be destroyed by any external means, he warned us that it could be endangered from inside, by its own "members." And this is what is going on at the moment. Prabhupada gave us enough to keep us all busy, juniors and seniors, to become purified and return to Krsna's abode. He gave the chanting, the prasadam, and the distribution of transcendental knowledge.

Any devotee who follows that system is sure to make progress and be happy. Others will encounter unlimited frustrations, material desires and ultimately fall back into the material pool, if they ever left it. Those who strive in going from one controversy to another –rtvik, poison, guru, jiva, GBC issues– live in a world of frustration and unfulfilled material desires.

What they are doing by agitating and creating havoc is basically expressing their envy, personal shortcomings, illusion, and madness. They speak like snakes and breath Vaisnava aparadha, although they claim to fight for righteousness. They are in fact beating their own spiritual master and blocking the expansion of the sankirtana movement. This is demoniac and the only expected reaction for that is falling.

Our ISKCON society should stand up and not just challenge back with unending confrontations on a piece of paper or on a web site. Devotees should consider the value of protecting Prabhupada's institution with all its components. The problem is that we have so little culture and such poor education. Otherwise, these things would not happen. To make allegations against a very senior Vaisnava and accuse him of having said and done certain things to our Founder Acarya is the work of the devil.

We cannot take these matters to a judicial court, but the assembly of devotees and I shall say, "Those who can stand up and disclaim those nonsense allegations should take strong actions."

How can we let those insane Sisupalas (Nara-Narayana and Puranjana) carry on to the face of the public with their madness? They do not just exercise their madness within Vaisnava circles, but they also spread their poison to non-devotees as well. In other words they are working against Prabhupada and are therefore preparing for their ultimate self-destruction.

Please do not take seriously anything of what these two men are claiming. They are pure liars and evil minded. Everything is judged by result and time. As a disciple of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami, I may want to play the advocate and the protector, and that is natural and proper etiquette, but to everyone else who knows him, it also seems obvious that he is proving with every minute of his life to be a faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada.

How much can you try to destroy a person's image? How much can you enjoy hearing lies and unfounded accusations? How enjoyable is it to find oneself doubtful, lose faith, and ultimately criticize? These are the results of paying attention to the words of snakes and fallen disciples like Puranjana and Nara Narayana. The letters of those two madmen are not just going to some web site or just ending up on the desks of senior devotees, who might be able to handle the accusations being made.

These letters also fall into the ears and hearts of much younger devotees, disciples, and followers, and cause them to commit offenses by doubting and becoming independent from Prabhupada's ISKCON, what to speak of public opinion. This is really what we should be in anxiety about: the innocent and the masses.

Before class last week, we were reading from the Lilamrta where in Mayapur Srila Prabhupada said, "When devotees and the Supreme Lord are being criticized or insulted, then Vaisnavas burn like fire."

My dear Maharajas and Prabhus, we only have so many years left before we exit the stage of our existence, and still there is so much to do to accomplish what Srila Prabhupada wanted us to accomplish. There is no time to try and evaluate whether Prabhupada was poisoned or not, whether there should be ritvik or not, whether there should be initiating gurus or not, whether the jiva falls or not, whether the GBC should manage or not.

Prabhupada already answered all these questions long ago. Those who know what he said have already come forward to bear witness time and again. Still we love paying attention to a handful of delirious and unbalanced people, and we are ready to consider that there might be some truth in what they say. That means we have no faith that ISKCON is Prabhupada and that it has been blessed to go on, regardless of the time and place.

Every year, without a miss, there has to be a controversy. Who needs it? Now my spiritual master, Tamal Krishna Maharaja, is being accused of 1) having poisoned Srila Prabhupada, 2) causing Visnujana Swami's death 3) having blasphemed his spiritual master and minimized his position.

No devotee properly engaged in devotional service will spend time debating whether this is true or not. Enough statements are now proving that it is blunt lies.

To conclude, we shall try for just a moment to put ourselves in Tamal Krishna Maharaja's position and see how we would feel if we were accused of such things. That could give us some incentive to stand up and react.

Your servant, Radha Caran dasa Tel Aviv Temple president ISKCON Israel
(end letter)

This letter has prompted several responses from Vaishnavas:

Letter from Satyahit das:

This temple presidents letter from Israel, says everything except ,"kill them!" referring to Naranarayan & Puranjnana. He uses the sudarshan disk and its killing Sisupala as example how their attitude is, and how they may be dealt with for everyone's higher spiritual acheivement. There is a fair amount of killing going on in or around Israel, including suicide bombers, so he is in a meleiu where the killing stuff is more predominent. Generally speaking it is the spiritual leaders duty to see that his staff or people who work with him, are reducing their lust and anger.

Is it not evident that Radha Caran's letter just may incite someone to commit murder, which is not recomended in Lord Caitanya's movement. In Satsvarupa's book entitled ISKCON in the 70ties he makes referance to "poison pen" and later Sulocana is shot to death in his trailer. We do not know who incited Sulocana's murder, but Sulocana was not speaking against injustices anywhere else but within ISKCON, and he was murdered. Personally, I think you should rethink your editorial policies concernning letters which may cause murder. This Radha Caran das, a temple president, appears to justify killing of at least two devotee's of Srila Prabhupada because they have grevances, one of which is that Puranjana's friend Sulocana was murdered. If your friend was murdered do you not think this would cause you some concern to say the least. The goal is still to become purified of lust and anger and not to commit murder.

This may seem extraneous, but ultimately I think not since we learn from our guru. So,unless its secret, is his guru not being examined for ex-comunication for adherance to Narayan Maharaj ? If a guru in iskcon is off, why are they allowed to continue in such exalted positions affecting devotees like Radha Caran prabhu who sounds like he needs a break, and soon before its too late!!

Sincerely Satyahit das

PS We had a good hari nam party to day in down town Victoria. I was a little sick but its worth it.

Letter from Pracetana dasi:

Humbly asking for the Truth

Dear Radha Caran,

The concern and intensity to support the Truth, came through in your letter. You obviously felt your spiritual authority to be threatened, and you as a faithful disciple were seeking to protect his image. I also feel the same intensity and concern to support the Truth, of which there is only one. I also feel my spiritual master's mission to be threatened and am seeking to find a way to protect it's purity. So in that sense, we are in the same boat. If you like, you can help me find and support the truth.

As a disciple of TKG you can help me understand the truth of how Srila Prabhupada wanted his mission to continue after his departure. For my sake, you have the opportunity to personally ask your spiritual guide the meaning behind why he said on Dec. 30th l980 the following:

Quote" ACTUALLY PRABHUPADA NEVER APPOINTED ANY GURUS. HE DIDN'T APPOINT ELEVEN GURUS. MYSELF AND THE OTHER GBC HAVE DONE THE GREATEST DISSERVICE TO THE MOVEMENT THE LAST THREE YEARS, BECAUSE WE INTERPRETED THE APPOINTMENT OF RITVICS AS THE APPOINTMENT OF GURUS."

Please, if you can, ask why he changed his very heart felt statement, which was spoken in truth, by acting in a completely opposite way and reendorsing the self appointed acharya system. Please try to understand my concern, as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. I would like to know why Bhavananda accepted the position of an acharya (one who teaches by example) when he knew deep down inside he was still attached to gross perverted sexual enjoyment? How could an honest person accept such a responsible position, of a pure mahabhagavat, to guide others, and cheat them by such horrible behaviour? Can you understand my pain?

My spiritual master a pure devotee of Lord Krsna, his reputation spotless, is now represented by one who was caught sexually molesting young boys? This is very painful prabhu! I personally had to remove my son, from the Vrndavan Gurukula due to these sinful activities being prominate in the school of my beloved Spiritual Master. Can you understand my pain prabhu?

Please help me. Please ask TKG for the truth. Please ask him about his statement of Dec. l980. I believe that if Prabhupada's order was truly followed from the very begining and not altered, I would have been spared the pain of removing my son , from the school of my spiritual master.

To this date, I have not heard anything directly from the authorities, in Iskcon, or GBC or individual persons such as TKG or Harikesh etc. Their direct statements are so necessary to clear up the internal struggles. Their direct statements are so necessary to help both you and me rest assured that the Truth is being represented in purity. You have asked the question "How much longer before they fall"? But haven't they already fallen?

Yr. servant Pracetana dasi.