Saturday, December 28, 2013

Srila Prabhupada writes about Sridhara Maharaja

Sridhara Maharaja Helps GBC Gurus: http://youtu.be/oFjove-LKKE

http://www.iskcontimes.com/analysis-of-srila-prabhupada%E2%80%99s-letter-to-rupanuga%20

Srila Prabhupada: You are right about Sridhara Maharaja's genuineness. But in my opinion he is the best of the lot. He is my old friend, at least he executes the regulative principles of devotional service. I do not wish to discuss about activities of my Godbrothers but it is a fact they have no life for preaching work. ALL ARE SATISFIED WITH A PLACE FOR RESIDENCE IN THE NAME OF A TEMPLE, THEY ENGAGE DISCIPLES TO GET FOODSTUFF BY TRANSCENDENTAL DEVICES AND EAT AND SLEEP.

They have no idea or brain how to broacast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. My Guru Maharaja used to lament many times for this reason and he thought if one man at least had understood the principle of preaching then his mission would achieve success. In the latter days of my Guru Maharaja he was very disgusted. Actually, he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. 

Still he requested his disciples to form a strong Governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya Math. 

BUT SRIDHARA MAHARAJA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DISOBEYING THIS ORDER OF GURU MAHARAJA, AND HE AND OTHERS WHO ARE ALREADY DEAD UNNECESSARILY THOUGHT THAT THERE MUST BE ONE ACARYA.

IF GURU MAHARAJA COULD HAVE SEEN SOMEONE WHO WAS QUALIFIED AT THAT TIME TO BE ACARYA HE WOULD HAVE MENTIONED. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. HIS IDEA WAS ACARYA WAS NOT TO BE NOMINATED AMONGST THE GOVERNING BODY.

He said openly you make a GBC and conduct the mission. So his idea was amongst the members of GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected. So Sridhara Maharaja and his two associate gentlemen unauthorizedly selected one acarya and later it proved a failure. The result is now everyone is claiming to be acarya even though they may be kanistha adhikari with no ability to preach. In some of the camps the acarya is being changed three times a year.

THEREFORE WE MAY NOT COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKE IN OUR ISKCON CAMP. ACTUALLY AMONGST MY GODBROTHERS NO ONE IS QUALIFIED TO BECOME ACARYA. SO IT IS BETTER NOT TO MIX WITH MY GODBROTHERS VERY INTIMATELY BECAUSE INSTEAD OF INSPIRING OUR STUDENTS AND DISCIPLES, THEY MAY SOMETIMES POLLUTE THEM. 

This attempt was made previously by them, especially Madhava Maharaja and Tirtha Maharaja and Bon Maharaja but somehow or other I saved the situation. This is going on. We shall be very careful about them and not mix with them. This is my instruction to you all. They cannot help us in our movement, but they are very competent to harm our natural progress. So we must be very careful about them.

[PADA: OK "THEY" would include Sridhara Maharaja.]
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Dear Puranjana. Pamho agt Srila Prabhupada.

Another interesting point regarding the letter you quoted from Srila Prabhupada to Rupanuga from 28th April 1974 in relationship to Sridhara Maharaja.

Srila Prabhupada: "You are right about Sridhar Maharaj's genuineness. But in my opinion he is the best of the lot. He is my old friend, at least he executes the regulative principles of devotional service". I must say this statement of Srila Prabhupada really confused me for many years. He seemed to be making the point that Sridhar Maharaj was genuine and that he's the best of the lot and yet in the next breath he seems to be speaking sarcastically by saying "at least he executes the regulative principles of devotional service".

This seeming contradiction lodged within my mind, and did not surface until many years later at a time when I was visiting Alachua with Jitarati and my wife Lokadrsti. Jitarati wanted to meet with Rupanuga so I took the opportunity to accompany him. During our discussions with him "this seeming contradiction" that had been stored up for many years in my mind resurfaced. So I took the opportunity and asked Rupanuga to kindly clear up my confusion.

Rupanuga said that In early 1974 he visited the Asrama of Sridhar Maharaj. He spent some time there and his realizations were very clear and strong about what was going on there. He stated that Sridhar Maharaja was trying to attract devotees away from Srila Prabhupada and Iskcon and over to himself. After crossing the Ganges and returning to the Iskcon Mayapura centre this fact was transmitted to Srila Prabhupada by mail.

Now for me the mystery was unraveled. Without insight into what Rupanuga had personally observed at Sridhar Maharaj's asrama and without knowing what he had conveyed to Srila Prabhupada by mail one would be excused thinking that when Srila Prabhupada said in his response to RUPANUGA "You are right about Sridhara Maharaj's genuineness" that he meant that Sridhara Maharaja was genuine.

This of course is not the case. Rupanuga had made it clear to Srila Prabhupada that Sridhara Mahararaj was going against vaisnava etiquete and he was not acting as a genuine well wisher of Srila Prabhupada or Iskcon. Thus one can understand that when Prabhupada said "you are right about Sridhar Maharaja's genuineness" he was referring to the lack of it. "Srila Prabhupada said "He's genuine and the best of the lot" (many ex Iskcon Sridhar followers would say) This very unfortunate misunderstanding is one of the main reasons so many Iskcon devotees went over to Sridhara Maharaj's camp.

Your servant
Kamsahanta dasa

5 comments:

  1. What happened to Wyatt? He is not commenting on this?

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    1-4 of 4 Newer comments1Older comments

    Thing is that all these GM gurus headed by Sridhara Maharaja simply collected all those ISKCON devotees who at one point didn't want to follow Prabhupada's strict guidelines for spiritual health anymore. In other words, there was a group of slack devotees who considered Prabhupada as "too heavy". Prabhupada wanted his disciples to work hard and open temples, restaurants and farms. Distribute books, organize preaching programs, rise early, chant 16 rounds. All these GM groups are rather folks who take it nice and easy. Sleep late, warm shower, watching tv, and what is common practice in GM camps, very lose dealing with the opposite sex, see pic below. So there will be always a class of people who prefer this type of watered down spirituality. What can be done, this is kali-yuga where pseudo spirituality is infiltrating anywhere. Only problem, it is rather questionable if these type of devotees are able to spread the Holy name and actually become situated on brahma-bhuta. Disciple of o

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  3. [PADA: OK "THEY" would include Sridhara Maharaja.]

    Thanks for publishing the letter, Puranjana Dasa. Like I said in my previous comment, Srila Prabhupada did not specifically say that Sridara Maharaj "was very competent to harm our natural progress and so -- he should be avoided."

    [PADA: Srila Prabhupada also says Sridhara Maharaja created a homosexual guru deviation in 1936, there are many other statements where Srila Prabhupada says Sridhara deviated, hence, the idea is -- avoid him. We were also ordered not to go to his ashram after Himavati came back from there crying. We did not go there, Sridhara was not involved with ISKCON.]

    *** As you have said. He made a general statement. In his letter, Srila Prabhupada says that in his opinion, Sridara Maharaj is genuine, the best of the lot, an old friend who executes the regulative principles of devotional service. The only reason Srila Prabhupada faulted Sridara Maharaj was for disobeying the order of his guru for thinking that there must an acarya immediately after the departure of the his acarya/ spiritual master. Difference in opinion.

    [PADA: Yes Sridhara maharaja "violated the order of guru," that is not an opinion, that is a deviation. Deviating from guru is the same as deviating from Krishna.]

    Your opinion of 'they' to mean includes Sridhara Maharaja could be wrong because Srila Prabhupada said 'they' after naming three of his Godbrothers (Madhava Maharaja and Tirtha Maharaja and Bon Maharaja). He didn't say 'they all are' to blame.

    [PADA: Sridhara Maharaja and Madhava maharaja were good friends, they both worked to support the idea that they and others were gurus. In 1977 Srila Prabhupada says Sridhara Maharaja is the founder of the severe offenders Bagh Bazaar party. So, he was saying, indirectly or directly, this man creates deviations, so that means essentially -- avoid him. Did you view my video on this topic? http://youtu.be/oFjove-LKKE ys pd]

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  4. Wyatt: No, I skipped the video. Sridara Maharaj have left the planet. He is a simple person who led a simple spiritual life.

    [PADA: And he caused havoc by supporting false gurus and he will have to answer for that karma, including that his false gurus ban, beat and assassinate devotees, never mind Sridhara's false gurus caused mass child molesting, since he supported that agenda, he shares the karma.]

    *** The remark " very competent to harm our natural progress and so -- he should be avoided." is a non issue now and is totally uncalled for.

    [PADA: Its the main issue, Sridhara's bogus gurus ruined the Gaudiya Matha after 1936, Sridhara's bogus gurus ruined ISKCON after 1977, he supported these false gurus and as Srila Prabhupada says "Sridhara Maharaja is responsible for disobeying the order." He is responsible and will have to answer for his being an agent of these false gurus.]

    *** You can't say for certain that Srila Prabhupada's general statement about his godbrothers and his personal feeling for Sridara Maharaj are the same.

    [PADA: He said Sridhara Maharaja is responsible for violating the order, and so are the other brothers, so yes, they are all persons who violated the order. Maybe some of them were worse than others, and that is the same in ISKCON, some of my brothers were bogus gurus, some just supported the bogus gurus, but there is karma for being either, which is why Krishna kills the demons -- and their supporters, they are all implicated.]

    *** And I know for certain that they are not. Since Srila Prabhupada says that "Sridara Maharaj is genuine, the best of the lot and an old friend who executes the regulative principles of devotional service" I would just stick to that statement.

    [PADA: OK, and he said Ramesvara is the only intelligent devotee I have, lets stick to that, out of context? That makes no sense?]

    *** Srila Prabhupada should know since Sridara Maharaj is his close friend and godbrother and have known each other since Srila Prabhupada was still a grihastha. They met many times and have spend a lot of time together discussing about Krsna consciousness. Hare Krsna.

    [PADA: Well yes, I am also friends with all kinds of devotees, even the devotees who are in ISKCON, but everyone knows that my factual position is that I oppose the false gurus program. Being friendly, the Goswamis wer known to be the friend of eveyone, ruffians and devotees, fine, that does not mean they endorse everyone's siddhanta. You are confusing being friendly with endorsing siddhanta, Narada muni is also friendly with Ravana, Kamsa and others, that does not mean he is endorsing them as gurus and authorities. He is not preaching that these people are the acharyas. You are in sum sentimental, you think friendship is endorsing, Jesus was friends with everyone, but he did not endorse everyone. Srila Prabhupada says he is my friend, but, he has misunderstood the siddhanta, thats clear. ys pd]

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  5. WYATT: Dear Puranjana dasa, you did not reply nor published my last comment. Can I assume that by you being silent, you agree to what has been observed about you to be correct. And your last comment above, sorry to say this but you simply blabbering, somewhat incoherently. Hare Krsna

    [PADA: I replied to all your comments above. Sridhara Maharaja's bogus guru program caused the breakdown of the Gaudiya Matha after 1936, and he supported the same exact deviation of bogus gurus which broke down the ISKCON program after 1977. You have failed to defend that position because, Srila Prabhupada himself says its bogus to support false gurus.

    You have failed to even address the issue at hand.

    All we know now is -- that you sympathize with people who rubber stamp false gurus, which is what we suspected. Or if there is a better explanation, you failed to give it. You also failed to tell us when the 11 ritviks, or anyone else, was ordered to be gurus, and so on. Your silence is what is conspicuous here. ys pd]

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