© 1999 VNN
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USA June 28, 1999 VNN4180 Comment on this story Malati's Ashram BY ANONYMOUS USA, Jun 28 (VNN) — I am submitting this anonymously because of my continuing connection with New Vrindavan and Malati in Columbus Ohio. I was sent to Malati's ashram quite a number of years ago by my spiritual master. He explained that this would provide me with a wonderful opportunity to get trained up nicely by a very advanced older disciple of Srila Prabhupada. My spiritual master also told me that Malati was one of the first devotees in the movement. Following the desires of my spiritual master I went to Columbus Ohio where I began my training under Malati. My training was to go out on sankirtan where I mostly distributed stickers and hats for various events. I also spent my time when I was back at the temple cooking and cleaning. Other than that, I was given no training in anything. I have to agree with Jaya dasi's article as I found the Columbus ashram to be most hellish. It was a real test for me to try to follow the order of my spiritual master in staying there. Many times I asked his permission to leave, but wanting to avoid the possible committing of offenses, I never told him the truth of what was going on. I found Malati to be a tyrant and a very irrational one at that. Often she would get one of the woman in her office and just chastise them. She would also give general regular chastisements to the women during the morning program. Often she would chastise us for leaving on lights. The amazing thing was that often it was her who was leaving on the lights and forgetting that she had done it. Notes were everywhere to be found in the ashram. When I first went there, I thought it was funny, but after some time, I realized that they were a product of dysfunction, I believe, obsessive compulsive behavior. I say this in regard to all of Malati's behavior. Malati often would chant in English. She got this from staying in New Vrindavan with Srila Bhaktipada, Kirtanananda Swami. She herself told me that this English chanting was just as good as chanting in Sanskrit. She also told me that Srila Prabhupada had told her that chanting in English was just as good. I myself never believed that as I thought that if that was so, why wouldn't Srila Prabhupada have introduced that himself. I agree with Jaya dasi that I felt that the only women who were able to make it in Malati's ashram were women who had come from families in which they had problems with their mothers. All of the other women who were there when I was there, hated being in Columbus. For whatever reason, it is propagated amongst so many devotees, especially in the Columbus-New Vrindavan area, that Malati is a pure devotee. Maybe she is, but in my estimation from the little I have read in Srila Prabhupada's books, and from my husband's estimation, we think that this is not so. Even devotees in New Vrindavan thought that Srila Bhaktipada was a pure devotee also. I just wanted to submit this because there are devotees who are thinking that older devotees are pure devotees when it seems that according to scripture they are not. Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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