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EDITORIAL August 7, 1999 VNN4453 Related VNN Stories Reply To My Spiritual Neice Asta Sakhi Prabhu BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI EDITORIAL, Aug 7 (VNN) — Dear Asta Sakhi prabhu, Hare Krsna to you, and to the assembled Vaisnavas. All glories to His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. PAMFO I hope you are well. I would have liked to discuss your letter with you personally, but I live so many miles away from you, and I do not have your telephone number or email address. If you had read over my articles carefully, you would have understand that "Open Letter to Malati Dasi" was a copy of my personal letter to Malati prabhu which I gave to her in Columbus. She did not reply to it; thus I submitted it to VNN and ASKED her to reply to it. (She did not) The other letter, which was scanned in, was HER letter to me with my comments, (which I also gave to her in Columbus but made some gramatical changes for posting). You would also have seen that I agreed with you as to Malati prabhu's wonderful leadership qualities DURING the time when you were residing in Columbus. At that point in time many women came and stayed; things were being handled very nicely when you were living there. It was AFTER you left, when Malati prabhu became more involved in things outside of the Columbus realm, and WHILE I was living there, that I saw the situation had changed. It is this point in time that I was referring to in my letter. You were not there in the ashram, and thus, you do not know what was going on. You did NOT live in Malati prabhu's ashram from July 1997 till May 1999 which is the point in time I was referring to in my letters. (Please read "Open Letter to Malati Dasi" again, and then things should become more clear to you. ) I put up my letter on VNN hoping that Malati prabhu herself would reply, because when I gave her the letter in Columbus, she would NOT reply, either in writing or verbally, other than chastizing me with false accusations about my issues with BTS. I wanted her to reflect on the points that were being made, because I felt that she needed to do that, and that it would help her. Because you were NEVER living there at this particular point in time, from July 97 to May 99, therefore you 1) do NOT know of the general situation of things, nor do you 2) know of ANY of the things of which I was speaking about in my letter. Thus, you are making comment about things of which you are COMPLETELY unaware, and therefore, unqualified to speak about. According to your posted letter, "senior Prabhupada disciples who have 'investigated' the situation for the GBC" requested you to submit something to VNN to refute my letters, but you DIDN'T live in Columbus at this point in time to know of ANYTHING about which I was speaking. THAT is pretty ludicrous that these devotees should have asked you. How can you make comment on what was going on when you were NOT living there during this time? It is like asking someone to be a "witness" to something where they were not present to see what was going on, and of which they know NOTHING about. Again, look at my letter, (and tell the GBC to look at it); I said that Malati prabhu's leadership was very good at the time in which you were living there. It was at a LATER time that there was some problem. Why didn't they ask ANY/or ALL of the women who are, (and were), living there from the time frame I was referring to to write something? (Is it because the ladies there KNOW that I am telling the truth, and are concerned that if they write something different, they will be guilty of writing something false?) Did the "investigators" go to ANY of the ladies who have left the ashram and ask WHY it is that they left? (Just on the side: At this point in time, after seeing how the GBC decides to "investigate" things, I wonder EXACTLY how efficiently the "investigation" was conducted. ) Asta Sakhi prabhu, Malati prabhu is my Godsister, and our relationship on that level is QUITE DIFFERENT from the relationship that she would have with you. You do not understand - as you say, my - "anger" with Malati prabhu. And there may even be the possibility that what I was writing and submitting is not simply being written or submitted only due to - from your vision - "anger". Thus, if you had used some intelligence, you would have made the effort to contact me and find out why is was that I wrote the letter. I submitted a letter later to VNN explaining what my reasons were. VNN chose not to post it; if that was their choice, then that is their preroggative. (It was submitted along with a copy of a letter that Locanananda prabhu wrote to Madhusudani Radha prabhu in regard to her emails that she was sending to many devotees when she, also like you, had NO understanding of what was going on between Malati and me, NOR of MY reasons in sending in the posts to VNN. ) Don't try to think that you can understand my motives, because you CAN'T. Again, I will remind you that I also acknowledged my Godsister's good qualities, and I STILL do. Go and read the letter. (I WAS upset about Malati prabhu's letter of LIES - See "Malati's Last Letter" and I gave the reply that I did; again, I gave that to her in Columbus. ) I will also let you know that I met Malati prabhu in 1987, long before you. I knew her name so many years before that, her being one of the six devotees to open the temple in London and pleasing Srila Prabhupada as she did. Thus, in 1987 I was praying and crying to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna for her welfare and return to Krsna consciousness, when I saw her in Thomkins Square Park then. (I was going at night for a nagar kirtan and prasadam distribution program until I was ordered to abandon this program and continue on with my subway collections till 9:00pm. ) I was only able to meet with Malati prabhu a few times for that park program, and shortly after I left for my second stay in Africa, but EVEN WHILE I WAS IN AFRICA, I prayed, (and CRIED), for my Godsister's welfare. I CARED about her then, and I STILL care about her now, even if you nor anyone else understands the REAL reasons why I posted those letters. It is BECAUSE I am STILL concerned about her welfare that I posted those letters. I had already expressed my concerns to Malati prabhu, but it did not seem to go anywhere. I WANTED Malati prabhu to see the letters posted, and to think about it, (and I was told by Jahnava and Mani Manjari, who said that they were present with her when the postings came out, that they DID have a positive effect on her, DESPITE her anger with me that I put them up). As an older devotee - with relation to time spent in Krsna consciousness, (at least within this lifetime), older in age, (I'm practically old enough to be your mother), and with the experiences I have had, I have a very different view of the situation than you. Thus, I took the risk of "messing up" my name in submitting these posts in relation to one of the most popular and well known leaders of ISKCON - the first woman GBC, who is the one that naturally, our ladies, (and many men), look up to. Malati prabhu is also very "famous" for her service to Srila Prabhupada and she was one of the first devotees to join. Thus, I KNEW the risk I was taking, but took it BECAUSE I was that concerned about her, and CARED THAT MUCH about her. I put the letter up, not only out of my personal concern for my Godsister, but in concern for ALL of the devotees in general. (Many reasons, but I won't belabor anyone with all of them. ) There are A LOT of problems within ISKCON; there is a BIG, TREMENDOUS SPIRITUAL DISEASE in the ISKCON GBC-Guru leadership. ANYONE who reads Srila Prabhupada's books will be able to understand. If you can't, then either you are not able to see, due to being totally blind, or due to being placed into an area where you are just totally unaware of what is going on all over the movement or you just do NOT WANT to see, and to admit to the TRUTH. See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil; this can be understood from various angles of vision as to the application and meaning. Believe it or not Asta Sakhi prabhu, I AM VERY CONCERNED about my Guru Maharaja's movement and the direction in which it is NOT heading. As Srila Prabhupada's disciple, I have EVERY RIGHT, (and reason), to FEEL THAT CONCERN. ANY disciple of Srila Prabhupada with ANY concern for HIS desires WOULD be VERY concerned. (I can write a lot on that, but I also will not take that time here. If anyone wants to correspond with me, you can write me at mvvd@yahoo.com) When I can get to a computer, I will answer whatever correspondence is received. I am not COMPLETELY contaminated by impersonalism. ) Asta Sakhi prabhu, HOW if you did NOT live in the ashram while I was there, can you "KNOW" and SAY that my letters - ALL of my submissions signed by me - are "extreme exaggerations" or "absurd accusations"? What do you know of what was going on in the ashram? You were NOT there AT ALL during this time. Again my question, why didn't the "investigators" ask ANY of the ladies living in the ashram during the time period which I was writing about, (some of who are still there), to write something? Why did they ask you, who was NOT living there for the time period upon which I made my criticism to write something? You were living there at the time for which I was praising Malati prabhu for her leadership and management. You are trying to place blame on me for letters that other devotees have submitted. I submitted my postings with my name signed to the postings. Again, prabhu, I was speaking about a time when, 1) you were NOT living in OR near the ashram; thus, you have NO knowledge of what was going on, and 2) you were living in the ashram at a time when Malati prabhu only had to be concerned for the ashram, and the ladies within. Since you have left the ashram, she has taken on the extra duties of GBC, which I personally feel, (and which I expressed to her in my letter, and to her verbally), is creating too much pressure for her, and is causing her to not be able to attend to the ladies' needs in her ashram as much as may be needed. Whether these ladies who remain, (or even those that have left), choose to be honest or not, what can be done. So many of these ladies - practically all of them gone now, a few of them still there - would come to me, asking me to speak to Malati prabhu to speak to her to get her to change in certain respects. I did my duty, knowing the practical consequences. (According to Jahnava and Mani Manjari prabhus, the situation HAS gotten better since I submitted those letters, and hopefully, it will stay that way. ) If, in the future, the ladies are still unhappy, then they will have to do something to address the issue. If you read the submissions carefully, you would have seen that I wrote to Malati prabhu concerning her lack of ability in controling her anger. This has developed since you lived there. I referred to certain matters of which you would have NO knowledge. I also referred to some of our personal interchanges of which you have NO awareness. You were not there AT ALL during this time, and even if you were, you would not know of our personal goings on. (Even with regard to certain issues -ie. Malati prabhu's lying to Sesa prabhu - NONE of the ladies in the ashram had ANY knowledge of this. If Sesa prabhu is honest, he can substantiate that Malati prabhu was not being honest. ) Go back and read how I commended Malati prabhu about her leadership and management concerning the time when you WERE living in the ashram. Thus I agree with you; at THAT point in time, Malati prabhu WAS handling things VERY differently. (Just on the side, I never mentioned anything about Malati prabhu's notes. I, like you, also thought that they were VERY humorous and at times, VERY necessary and MOST appropriate, especially the ones about cleanliness and the lights. ) I don't want to go into a list of names, but if you want them you can ask various women why they left the ashram in Columbus. Even a few of the ladies who went to Louisville, asked to go there because they felt a lot of anxiety being in Columbus. (These ladies told me their reasons since they would also, at times, come to me for guidance with regard to their situation with Malati prabhu, often enough, asking me to intervene and speak to her. ) If you want a list of at least some of the ladies who left Columbus while I was there, here it is. If someone wants to "investigate" the situation to find out why it is that these ladies chose to leave, I would suggest that they go to these ladies. (Hopefully they should not feel fearful in speaking the truth. ) There are also other names, but because these other ladies still have some connection with the Columbus temple or with Malati prabhu directly, or are in other ISKCON temples in a situation where there might be some possible repercussions for their speaking openly, I feel it is not for me to give out those ladies names without their permission. Melissa, who resides in Columbus but no longer comes to the temple; Syama, (Krsna Ksetra prabhu's disciple in Detroit), Jeanette, (who was aspiring for Bhakti bhusana Maharaj); Citralekha, Padmavati (in Towaco, both Niranjana Maharaja's disciples), Tina, (aspiring for Giriraj Maharaj), Sayadina, (in CA), Jaya Sri, (in Denver); Rebecca, (in Gita Nagari), Aditya, (Giriraja Maharaja's disciple from Brazil). There are also other ladies who left, but some of them did not give their reasons for leaving, and as mentioned above, I can not give out other names, for the reasons given. These are the names of some of the ladies who came to me on different occasions who expressed their distress over the situation they experienced while in the ashram, and who have since left. (Granted, not all of these ladies were completely surrendered "saints". (How many of us are?) But I feel that if things could have been handled with a more gentle approach, there might have been a different result. ) Even after I left, I was contacted by a few ladies, either still in the ashram, or who had left. If the ladies who are there, (and who make some complaint), do not want to be upfront about it, then what can be done? I submitted my posting because I felt that it was necessary to call attention to the matter. I would think that before you presuppose my consciousness and motives in doing so, you would first ask me why it was that I chose to do so. (Just as when so many people speculated as to why the auther of "Sajahan" named his book as such, it was ONLY found out when someone ASKED the author himself. ) Two last notes: First, Malati prabhu on her notes in the pujari room, has misspelled "altar" and second, I suggest you go and read Mahananda prabhu's submission, "Meeting Malati for the First Time". Prabhu, that is HIS submission, and gives a little reflection of some of the ways in which Malati prabhu can, at times, deal with devotees. All of us, whether we are "little" or "big" devotees, have SO much work, (cleaning) to be done, but ESPECIALLY a leader, because s/he HAS CHOSEN to accept that position and must teach others by their example. (Practice is better than precept. ) yad yad acarati sresthas... ; thus it is the DUTY of a leader to REGULARLY scrutinize him/herself and make the appropriate changes and adjustments when necessary. A leader also has to be HUMBLE enough to be OPEN to hearing what those under his/her leadership have to say. For one who is Krsna conscious, (even just intelligent in general), s/he will be able to hear and take the good instruction when offered from ANYONE. With all due respects I remain your servant, Mahavegavati Dasi Hare Krsna Related VNN Stories  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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