Letter from Indradyumna on His Disciple's Suicide

[PADA: No need for a sraddha ceremony. OK, but why are so many devotees dying of cancer, and sometimes strokes and heart attacks (which is probably related to stress and depression)? Which means, it is de facto suicide through the back door. They died -- because it seems -- they lost their will to live. And more than a few devotees told me -- they also came to that state. 

We posted a letter from a former soviet state devotee who said "a number of people here feel suicidal from being exploited." Why is that? 

And did we forget to mention that a number of gurukulis also committed suicide. And some of them report to PADA "a number of us survived, but we felt suicidal. Many of us suffer from depression. We wanted to die." 

A devotee drowned himself in a lake, an associate of Tamal blew his brains out in a pond, a devotee tried to kill himself by beating his head with a hammer (fortunately he survived). Our friend here died of alcohol poison. An ex-Hansadutta devotee -- who was my friend here -- committed suicide after telling me "I did a lot of very dark deeds for Hansadutta, and I don't know how I can live with myself." 

Then there was the lady who set herself on fire in France, and died, because she was banned from seeing the deity in the temple. Then there was the mother who told me she "lost her will to live," and 10 months later I was at her hospital bedside where she was dying of cancer in the hospital. 

OK and then we had the poor woman who recently was evidently ripped off of her funds committing suicide in Vrndavana. What kind of spiritual society is producing these reactions? 

And why is it, as soon as PADA reports these things, the thundering herd of PADA critics comes out of the wood work to say "PADA is fake news, forget PADA etc." Ummm, there is evidently an effort to cover up these issues -- to save the good mother ship Church? Sorry, this is a problem, and by all accounts, it is not getting better. Something needs to be done, but first of all, we cannot fix a problem unless we admit there is one. 

Such a beautiful soul. Such a tragic loss. We at PADA wish her God speed on her new destination, and that she finds shelter in Krishna's hands as soon as possible. Because it seems self evident, she was not in good hands here.

ys pd]

Letter from Indradyumna Swami about his disciple Rasa Kishori dasi

Таня Королёва

My dear disciples,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

A few days ago my beloved disciple, Rasa Kishori dasi, passed away in Omsk, Russia. We are all feeling deep separation from her.

It has come to my attention that her friends and well-wishers are planning a Sraddha ceremony in her honor. Although the Sraddha ceremony is part of our Vedic culture, it is not part of the process that Srila Prabhupada has given us in the present day and age. Therefore, I request her friends and well-wishers not to proceed with that ceremony.

Srila Sanatana Goswami says in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa 9. 308:

“O exalted sage, glorious are those persons who, in the age of Kali, worship the Lord for the benefit of loved ones who have passed away. They need not perform the Sraddha ceremony by going to Gaya to offer oblations to the forefathers. Rather simply by worshipping the Lord their loved ones will be delivered from hellish life and attain the supreme destination.”

And what is meant by “worshipping the Lord in Kali Yuga? The answer is found in Kali-santara Upanishad [ 5.6 ]

“The sixteen words of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra are especially meant for counteracting the sins of the Age of Kali. To save oneself from the contamination of this age there is no alternative but to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion for this age so sublime as the chanting of Hare Krsna.”

On certain occasions Srila Prabhupada conceded that devotees may perform a sraddha ceremony. For example, he writes in a Srimad Bhagavatam purport [ 9.10. 30 ]

“To save a deceased person from ghostly life, the funeral ceremony, or sraddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized sastra, may be performed.“

But in general, he was not in favor of the Sraddha ceremony. In “TKG’s Diary” [ A book by Tamal Krsna Goswami, who was Prabhupada’s secretary for some time ] we hear:

“Svarupa Damodara Goswami received a telegram informing him of the passing away of his grandfather and requesting his presence for the sraddha ceremony, especially as there were no other senior members of the family. He approached Srila Prabhupada and said, "I do not know if it is proper. My grandfather has expired. May I take leave?"

Prabhupada answered by citing the verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, "Devarsi bhutapta...” That those who are engaged in Krsna’s service have no necessity for such things.

The full verse is Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.41) states:

“O King, one who has given up all material duties and has taken full shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who offers shelter to all, is not indebted to the demigods, great sages, ordinary living beings, relatives, friends, mankind or even one’s forefathers who have passed away. Since all such classes of living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, one who has surrendered to the Lord’s service has no need to serve such persons separately.”

It is not necessary to appease or satisfy the demigods or anyone else in the departure of a loved one. Even if the demigods are posing obstacles to the safe passage of the loved one’s soul, those obstacles can be removed just by kirtan. 

The holy names are all- powerful.

yad bibheti svayam bhayam

“The holy name of Krsna is feared by fear personified.”

Srila Prabhupada gave us very simple and clear instructions what to do when a devotee departs. In a letter of November 14th, 1973 he wrote:

“Regarding the auto accident, just hold a condolence meeting for Raghava dasa brahmacari and pray for his soul to Krsna for giving him a good chance for advancement in Krsna consciousness. Certainly Krsna will give him a good place to take birth where he can again begin in Krsna consciousness activities. That is sure. Know that prasadam must be distributed. Three days after the demise of a Vaisnava a function should be held for offering the departed soul and all others prasadam. This is the system.”

You could say that is an “abbreviated version” of the Sraddha ceremony. And we must follow those instructions of Srila Prabhupada and not invent anything new.
When Srila Prabhupada’s father, Gour Mohan De was passing away Prabhupada asked him, “Father, what is your wish? Tell me.”

Gour Mohan told him to give their cow to the Allahabad Gaudiya Math. So Prabhupada took the cow, along with her calf, and donated them to the local maṭha.

Afterwards, Gour Mohan said, “When I depart, invite all the Gaudiya Vaisnavas of Allahabad, and other Vaisnavas also. Let them chant hari-nama and you supply them with good food. That is my wish.”

So this is our Gaudiya Vaisnava system. Even though Lord Caitanya performed the Sraddha ceremony for his father, our previous acarayas and our own Srila Prabhupada felt that chanting the holy names and distributing prasadam to the devotees was sufficient for the modern day era of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in observing the departure of a devotee.

So my request is that my disciples always follow this dictate.

Regarding my beloved spiritual daughter, Rasa Kishori dasi, hold a program in her honor consisting of beautiful kirtan, delicious prasadam and discuss her wonderful service and contributions to our Krsna Consciousness movement. I will be with you in my blessings and in my prayers for her safe progress back home to the spiritual world

Your ever well wisher,

Indradyumna Swami