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EDITORIAL May 8, 1999 VNN3821 See Related VNN Stories Jivan Mukta's Article BY BHARATA SRESTHA DAS EDITORIAL, May 8 (VNN) — Dear Editors of VNN: You have done a great disservice to Srila PrabhupŠda's Movement by publishing a recent letter (3 May) by Jivan Mukta dasa. In Jivan Mukta's letter he quotes many texts taken out of context and without the consent of those quoted. VAST is not a secret society, nor are its members by and large leaders of ISKCON. They are simply devotees whose varna entails academic work, thus all of them try to maintain their Krishna Consciousness in the context of the University setting. Many generations of college students have Krishna Consciousness explained to them by these academic devotees, so it is very important that these devotees have the opportunity to discuss the proper understanding of ‚rŽla PrabhupŠda's teachings in an environment of love and trust. The publishing of transcripts of private conversations without permission and out of context is rude, unethical, and perhaps illegal. VNN's publication of these transcripts certainly violates the trust necessary for VAST to continue to provide its service as a forum for frank discussions of the proper understanding of Srila PrabhupŠda's Movement within Academia. For your edification, following are the published Guidelines for VAST discussions. Guideline #2 is the COM Conference Presentation. Please pay particular attention to VAST Guideline #3. Bharatare–šha dŠsa VAST Organizer 1. Sadacara. As with all lists, Vaisnava etiquette is expected from all participants. Intellectual disagreement and the ensuing debates are the life blood of academics. However, rudeness will not be tolerated. Please read Bhagavad-Gita 17:15 before posting anything that might be construed as offensive. 2. Scholarship. VAST is for devotees whose devotional service interacts with academic scholarship and the realities of the university environment. Most participants have advanced degrees (MA. Ph.D.) in Sanskrit, Indology, or Religious Studies. In other words, they are professional scholars whose devotional service is teaching and research within the context of Academia. Opinions posted should be supported by citations from primary or secondary sources. There are many excellent forums for discussing personal opinions, but VAST is not one of them. 3. Academic devotional service is a razor's edge. We constantly encounter sound thinking which challenges our faith. VAST is a place for airing these concerns, affirming our faith in Srila Prabhupada even as we encounter intellectual challenges to his teachings. We are here to help each other come to the proper understanding, not to label hypotheses as heresies or the advocates of possible interpretations as heretics. Therefore, members of the list must agree NOT TO POST VAST LITERATURE ON OTHER CONFERENCES. Such "process" dialogue, reposted out of context, has and will lead to misunderstandings and offensive behavior. 4. VAST is a community of scholars united by a shared understanding that Srila Prabhupada is an authorized representative of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that he gave the world the Absolute Truth. Therefore we choose to exercise academic freedom within that epistemological framework. 5. To post to VAST off WinCOM, address mail to: vast@com.bbt.se The Conference Organizers are Bharataresša dŠsa & BrahmatŽrtha dŠsa: bharata.srestha.hdg@com.bbt.se brahmatirtha.acbsp@com.bbt.se VNN had replied as follows: Vaishnava News Network - VNN (http://www.vnn.org/) Dear Vaishnava/Vaishnavi, dandavats pranams. All glories to Shri Guru and Gauranga. We appreciate your concern for your forum. However, VNN was obligated to publish the article in question, since it was in direct response to an article that was published on VNN from another conference, involving the same participants. VNN had therefore an editorial obligation to publish the article. VNN has not violated any journalistic ethics or principals by publishing texts from such a conference, as long as there is sound editorial reason for it, which was the case here. Legally and ethically, if a participant of a private conference decides to publish text from that conference and submits the text to VNN, VNN is not involved in that decision. Unfortunately a medium like VNN, which promotes free speech, has sometimes an undesired chilling effect on free speech, but only if the authors of texts are reluctant to stand by their writing. VNN has no intention to disturb the peaceful discussions held at your forum and apologizes for any disturbance created unintentionally. Hare Krishna VNN Staff Vaishnava News Network - VNN http://www.vnn.org/ staff@vnn.org See Related VNN Stories | Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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