09/09/1998 - 2181

Petition for Ram Parasar Prabhu

LA, USA (VNN) - The following petition has been submitted to VNN regarding the legal action by the L.A. ISKCON temple to evict Ram Parasar Prabhu. (see VNN story #2108).

To sign or view this petition online click here.

PETITION

REGARDING

 HIS GRACE, SRIMAN RAM PARASAR PRABHU

September 7, 1998

To whom it may concern:

This is a letter of support for an exemplary and most respectable memberof the Iskcon movement, Ram Parasara and his devoted, chaste and piousfamily.

The lifestyle and personal character of Ram Parasara is beyond reproach.

At a time when Iskcon is rocked by scandal after scandal of gurus beingcaught with illicit behaviors that would prevent them from even beingallowed to live in any of our Iskcon temples, it is deeply shocking thatRam Parasara is being banished.

A student of Srila Prabhupada's books (or His personal association) willknow that Srila Prabhupada emphasized the following.

1. Accept Krishna as The Supreme Personality of Godhead

2. Accept Krishna's Holy name as the Yuga Dharma while avoiding theTenOffenses against the Holy Name.

3. Accept the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and ChaitanyaCharitamrita as Eternal Revealed Scripture, and to attempt to becomefascinated by what is to be found there.

4. Follow the four regulative principles, and chant a minimum of 16rounds per day.

5. To not read or study books by other religious movements or fromotheracharyas in the Vaishnava Sampradayas. (Study only Srila Prabhupada'sbooks)

6. Actively preach the Mission of Lord Chaitanya into every townandvillage. (See Sistastakam)

SUCH A PERSON DESCRIBED ABOVE WAS ALWAYS WELCOMED AT ALL COSTS INTO OURTEMPLES BY SRILA PRABHUPADA.

At no point was such a person asked to leave the temple premises.

WHY IS RAM PARASAR BEING ASKED TO LEAVE?

That is a good question!

In a letter from the apartment manager, Ram Parasara is cited with:

1. Preaching through an organization that he himself organized.

2. Holding views not acceptable to the temple apartment manager'sliking.

THESE "UNLIKABLE" VIEWS ARE NOT SPECIFIED IN THE FORMAL LETTER OFEVICTION.THIS RAISES A CORE ISSUE:

IS THE BODY OF DISCIPLES DESCENDING FROM SRILA PRABHUPADA CAPABLE OFSUSTAINING DIVERGENT VIEWS FROM ONE ANOTHER? (ASSUMING THAT THEY DO NOTCHALLENGE OR ENDANGER SRILA PRABHUPADA'S PRIORITIES AS LISTED ABOVE), ORDOES DISCIPLE MEAN FOLLOWING BLINDLY WITHOUT THOUGHT OR CONSIDERATION.

(IS IT NOT A GIVEN THAT ALL DIVERGENT THOUGHTS WILL RESOLVE THEMSELVESIN THE ãSIDDHANTAä OF SRILA PRABHUPADA'S PURPORTS?)

The following quote from the Bhagavad Gita, sheds some light of WhatSrila Prabhupada Himself instructed on this subject:

"Nothing should be accepted blindly; everything should be accepted withcare and with caution." (Bhagavad-gita As It Is: Chapter Ten Text 4-5)

With broad open discussion of Guru, Shastra, and Sadhu available throughIstagosthi so many divergent understandings of Srila Prabhupada'steaching through His Purports could be resolved.

Unfortunately, Istagosthi has not been held for over twenty years.

As a result, there is no avenue for the discussions of the conclusionsof Shastra (Siddhanta) available to the mass of devotees at large.Neither do the leaders enquire into the sometimes hard-to-understandissues of Shastra through the means of Istagosthi amongst themselves.

We should not resort to the methods of the great demons like Kamsa andHiranyakasipu to drive out the pious and retain the "yes" men andpolitical cronies.

We, the undersigned, support the right of Ram Parasara to live andfunction freely in the temple community of devotees.

We are of one mind that Srila Prabhupada would hold him and his style offamily life as exemplary to all of us who aspire to dovetail "sannyaslevel" preaching with functional Grihastha life.

Unlike those who would evict him, he does not draw his finances fromtemple funds collected by unmarried celibate renunciates who beg anddistribute books as holy monks.

Attack against a Vaishnava is Aparadh.

Such aparadh cannot be allowed by those who aspire to the progressivepath of Spiritual Awakening. We cannot protect our own devotionalcreeper while allowing the trampling of the creeper of our Vaishnavaassociate.

Just as one who passively hears aparadh without takingnecessary action becomes as much an aparadhi by so doing,similarly, so does one who knowingly follows false leadershipbecome as culpable as the perpetrators:
 (Hari-Bhakti-Vilas 1.101)

We urge those who would evict Ram Parasara to let him live in the Templeapartments in peace without further threats of violence or eviction. Heand his wife have small children. They must not be exposed to suchmenace.

If the apartment management have charges to bring against Ram Parasara,we further request that they do so in a public meeting called Istagosthiand that such charges be discussed on the basis of Shastra among all thetemple community members.

We pray that guidance be given to all of us by Sri Sri RukminiDwarkadish.

We pray for the strength to do as Srila Prabhupada would do.

Your eternal servants,

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