Resignation Accepted!
BY: THE COMMUNITY OF DEVOTEES
Prabhavisnu (fourth from right, first row) stands with the other GBC members.
His behavior raises questions about the other members in his club -- why they allowed him
to continue in Bangkok and whether any others among them have such liasons?
Jan 08, 2012 — WORLDWIDE (SUN) —
Dear Prabhavisnu das (Adhikary?), please accept our humble obeisances, Prabhu. We have all read your letter and feel that it smacks of Harikesa-ism, pure and simple. You might remember that fraud. Or maybe not, because those who forget history are destined to repeat it. From the tone of your letter, you are passing the buck like some Teflon Acharya, and now it appears as though everyone else in the universe caused your little tryst (make that trysts) with Maya.
But first let us address that most august assembly, ISKCON's GBC, of which until mere precious hours ago you were a part. We the assembled devotees cannot fathom how a group of buffoons by any stretch could make you into the GBC for Bangkok when they were aware of your history there for over a decade. They were aware of your habits and foul proclivities and yet they chose to cover it up. They threw you to the dogs and by so doing, they threw your "disciples" to the dogs also.
Since you were a part of this looney bin of dim-witted decision-makers, you can all share the blame equally. You can share the blame for running a Good ‘ol Boys Club that has little connection with the devotees or the very movement they are supposed to be leading. So don't pat yourself on the back too hard.
In any concept of Vedic society, a sadhu never travels alone for his own protection. It is so arranged that he must have a reputable male companion so that his activities can never be considered beyond a shadow of a doubt. Though a sadhu should be an open book, ISKCON's holier-than-thou, rules-do-not-apply-to-me Swamis move about like single jet-setter playboys. Even upper class Hindus will never allow a grown-up son to venture out without his wife. Why do ISKCON's GBC's and sannyasis allow their men to wander in such tenuous situations? What kind of Vaishnavas are these GBC's and sanyassis? From your example the answer seems rather transparent.
There is a famous story about a devotee who visited a prostitute in Thailand. The lady of the night commented that there were so many others like him coming to her wearing "funny underwear." This may draw a chuckle, but it is also the tragic degradation of the only spiritual movement that can save the world in its present sinful condition. It is tragic because there are likely other devotees who are following your example, Prabhavisnu, as you must be aware. And some of those could be on the very GBC body, which is why they had little care or concern about your activities as long as you got your sacred footwash wherever you went. Apparently, their modus operandi is that you should not rock their boat, and they will not rock yours.
From your letter it appears as though you have become challenged, to put it politely. Though you were wily enough and apparently persisted for many years, the only difference between the others who are still visiting Bang-kok whores is that they have not been caught yet. Maybe they are smarter than you. Persistent rumors regarding other GBC swami playboys abound.
However, your letter is the greatest giveaway. Srila Prabhupada taught us to look for depths of meaning, to look through the words for the purport. By reading between the lines of what you have written we see that it isn't pretty. You speak glibly about how you are going to settle in Thailand or South India. On whose rupee are you going to live like a Maharaja of the other sort? Where is the money going to come from?
In the "Vyasa Puja" video above there is an elderly Mataji in white presenting you with money at your feet. There are hundreds of honest brahmacharis and householders. They are true to their vows, so why can't you be true to yours? Is this the money you intend to use, donations from poor Russian widows who eke out a living on three dollars a day? Do you have a conscience, or don't you?
In the film, we witnessed devotees giving you money based upon your not needing it. That was their sincere offering to Krishna through someone posing as the Lord's transparent representative. They offered money to you because you purported yourself to be one who had transcended the demands of the physical body. You pretended to be a renunciate who is above attachment to women. So how do those chaste Matajis feel when they see that not only are you not detached from women, but you are attached to one who is not worth even the sidelong glance of a decent lady devotee from ISKCON -- a common street person. You say you have "developed affection." It appears as though you have developed detection and infection rather than affection.
Think over this again and again, Prabhavisnu. If the spiritual lives of those wonderful devotees are ruined by your egregious sin, then YOU will be held responsible. You are no better than a Hansadutta, a Harikesa, a Ramesvara, a Jayatirtha, a Satsvarupa, or any other bhogi yogi phony who ruins thousands of lives by pretending to be something they are not. Such desecrators of Krishna consciousness are the destruction of the Hare Krishna movement, but the common thread is that you will all move away and live like kings with a free income. The Good ole' Boys Club mentality remains, even if you submit your letter of "resignation". The problem with people on the GBC is that once they taste the worship, the awe and the reverence, they think that they are privy to it lifelong, rules and regulations be damned.
It is said that the most repugnant of human beings is the prostitute. But lower than the prostitute is the prostitute chaser. It appears as though you require a refresher course on karma, so here goes, and you need to listen up. Each prostitute engages in illicit activities with several men every day. Each of those men is a meat eater who has engaged in this foul act of illicit sexual contact on countless occasions. Each of those men deposit the karma of not only their own many misdeeds, but also the misdeeds of each of their liaisons, as well as each of the other men who have "enjoyed" each of those liaisons. One prostitute is a repository for an entire Kali Yuga of sins. That is because karma, like an infectious disease, is contagious. In other words, five minutes with a prostitute is sufficient time to absorb enough bad karma from who-knows-where to keep a living entity chained to this material world forever and ever. And you treat it so lightly, Prabhu. Is this the fare-thee-well that your disciples deserve? What do you know about affection, let alone compassion?
Maybe you have been too taken in by your own presumed spiritual advancement to realize that you have now forgotten the basics. This is a common disease among the throne boys. It is the problem with ISKCON since 1978 that the devotees who clean the toilets in the ashram are more advanced and sincerely humble than those who make a living out of posing like peacocks on their grand temple thrones. With your feet in the scented water, you have forgotten that part of the philosophy that the guests hear the first day they visit a temple. Do you remember "You are not your body"? How about "Your body is a bag of stool and urine"? Does the word Yamaduta and the Naraka (asipatravana), where those who engage in illicit sex go, mean anything to you? What about simple common sense like sexually transmitted diseases? Do you know how many blooped leaders and swamis have died of AIDS? Are you in touch?
Sure, the sannyasi who falls back into sex life is a vomit-eater, but it appears as though there are various grades of vomit and for this you appear to have little discrimination. In short, you are another Mahajan who has fallen down, a GBC who has become a mere shudra with no refined ability of discrimination. And now you talk of retiring from your retired life. How does one retire from being retired? Since you have become a shudra now, you must earn an honest wage like everybody else. You must open your books and reveal your bank account to the scrutiny of some disinterested third party instead of blithely going your own way like nothing happened. Otherwise you will become the target of a thousand well-justified curses, just as your mentor Harikesa is today for posting his phony baloney good life and his little mansion on his website.
You write that the person you have developed affection for is "decent, kind-hearted, diligent and humble." As Srila Prabhupada often said, "A non-devotee has no good qualities." You say that you "have become physically and mentally exhausted due to constant travel and managerial pressures." It sounds as though you are trying to place the blame for your predicament on the shoulders of innocent devotees because (you write) "it has been especially draining for me to try to solve disputes amongst devotees, as I am by nature a non-conflictive type of person." When it comes to disputes, there are sure to be many of them now that "non-conflictive" Prabhavisnu has thrown a Molotov cocktail into the kirtan party so that you can disappear without a trace to the good life.
So let us, the assembled devotees, ask you if you think that you were doing some kind of a favor to all those innocent souls who washed your feet and made offerings? What about the sincere and good people whom you have now betrayed and let down? In fact, since you have well over a thousand disciples, it is our suggestion that you go right ahead and wash the feet of each and every one of them. Instead of ruining the spiritual lives of these devotees, each of whom has been brought to Prabhupada's movement not by you, but by Shrila Prabhupada, you should personally beg forgiveness of each one of them instead of throwing an impersonal e-letter out the window of your MR. GBC Ivory Tower while you are on your way to retire in the sun.
By your outrageous behavior you have practically become the poster boy for the Rtvik sites. You have given them a great goal, a home-run hit. Now they are ready to forgive you and offer you a seat on their imitation sampradaya. It is due to such irresponsibility on your part and on the part of the other so-called leaders that such false lineages can raise their heads for the destruction of Srila Prabhupada's branch of the sampradaya. Such behavior as yours is why Rtvik-ism and of all the other anti-Krishna consciousness demi-movements have originated and have gained steam. You may not be an acharya in ISKCON, but you are the acharya for anti-ISKCON.
OK, so you have fallen down. But so far there is no sincere regret. Instead, you can glibly talk about your new lover in such glowing terms. Moreover, when all is said and done, your little good-bye note has the tone of relief, one of beginning a new phase of life that you in your ignorance believe will bring you fulfillment and happiness. Sorry, Prabhavisnu, but you are in for some real surprises.
Please continue to chant Hare Krishna 16 rounds a day, follow the four regulative principles and insist that your new significant other does the same.
Hoping that this meets you in the best of health,
Yours in Srila Prabhupada's eternal service,
The Community of Devotees
