Philosophical Counterfeiters
BY: RENTA SUNDAR
Mar 05, 2011 — NEW YORK, USA (SUN) — Philosophical counterfeiters who sermonize false philosophies that allege Srila Prabhupada based his principles upon world peace and interfaith harmony have got to be among the world's greatest hypocrites. Who appointed these sanctimonious swamis, anyway? Interfaith in ISKCON is actually a study of inter-Society inter-faith-lessness, because the way it is presented is repugnant to everything Srila Prabhupada stood for. Every time I read about one of those soppy speeches that some vapid visionary in ISKCON gives at one of those self-indulgent religious conferences, I'm sickened.
What will become of a spiritual movement that was founded on the blunt truths of Bhagavad Gita As It Is when diabolical directors present a saccharine-coated, perverted reflection of the sampradaya acarya's original message? It seems that today's so-called spokespersons for the Hare Krishna movement are doing everything in their power to insure that both the public as well as the incoming members are screened from the basic principles of Krishna consciousness. No wonder there is such a trend amongst newer members to outright contradict the Founder-Acarya and openly consider his message as passé.
So what do these self-appointed and pathetic pontificators have up their sleeves? Just follow the money, my friend. Nothing attracts sympathetic and gullible donors like claims of somehow fixing the world with the all-embracing arms of interfaith. Easy money that you don't have to go out onto the streets and distribute Back to Godheads to collect.
RadhanathSwami.com
ISKCON's official websites revel in these useless interfaith conferences. For example, as reported on ISKCON News, Radhanath Swami as a GBC representative of ISKCON was invited to give a song and dance at one such morality conference in Mumbai, where responsive humming of the glee club to the choir and back was the order of the day. And sure enough, Radhanath's pastel lullaby didn't let any of the staid and self-righteous religionists down. Speaking those famous half-truths for which ISKCON's cracker-jacks of confusion are famous, his tepid compromises would have made an American politician proud.
According to the ISKCON News article, Radhanath Swami "spoke about the necessity of harmony among different religious faiths. He said that any relationship in this world is sustainable only if we are willing to resolve differences and unite for a higher cause." Typically, when it comes to actually defining "uniting" for "higher causes", ISKCON's spin doctors maintain a Buddha-like silence. And half-truths obscure the genuine message of Krishna consciousness, which becomes the first casualty of public relations.
ISKCON News continues:
"[Radhanath] also spoke about cultivating mutual respect amongst people of various faiths and substantiated it with the example of a dog's loyalty to its master. He said that the master may be dressed in different clothes each day, but the loyal dog can still identify him or her and express its love. Similarly one who truly loves God can appreciate Him in His various manifestations."
A proper preacher would have carried the example of a dog one step further and compared all those carnivorous clergy waiting for their free lunches after his sermon to a pack of mongrels. These so-called religionists are all beef-eaters with blood on their hands and flowing through their intestines. The cow slaughter they bless is the biggest single cause of cyclic wars amongst every generation on this planet. Saffron robes do not a swami make, not does flattering a cloud of flatulence change its effluvium.
The Genuine Message of Religion
When did Srila Prabhupada ever hide behind half-truths? Such poltroonery is the behaviour of someone more intimidated by the thought of social condemnation than of being straight-forward. For Srila Prabhupada, flattering religionists who fill their bellies with the corpses of innocent creatures was not an option. Here is how the World Acarya addressed the issue of interfaith, by comparing ignorant priests to two-legged dogs.
"They have failed, these Christian priests, to explain everything philosophically. So advanced Westerners, they are now educated in science philosophy, they are not attracted with these dogmatic views. So to remain in ignorance is animal life. To be enlightened is human life. And the topmost enlightenment is to understand God and to love Him. That is the topmost enlightenment. Unfortunately, there is no education to know what is God, and what to speak of loving Him. This is modern civilization. Ignorance. A civilization of ignorance. They do not know what is what. Simply speculating, wasting time, talking all nonsense. This is going on in the name of education, but actually they are in ignorance. They do not know what is what. They are reading so many philosophical speculations…horrible condition of the so-called philosopher…" (Conversation, Detroit, June 13, 1976)
When His Divine Grace was asked his opinion on interfaith for the Hindu publication, Bhavan's Journal, he again characteristically did not mince words:
"It might have been misused, religious system. That does not mean that religion should be avoided. Real religion should be taken. Because religion has not been properly executed by the so-called priest, it does not mean that religion should be rejected. My eye is giving some trouble on account of cataract, but that doesn't mean eye should be plucked out. The cataract should be removed. So that is Krishna consciousness movement. They have no conception of God, and they are preaching religion. What is that religion? That will be misused. Religion means dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]. Religion means God's order. If there is no God, where is religion? This is going on. They have no conception of God. What is God they do not know, and professing some religion! How long it will go on artificially? It will deteriorate. That has become the present condition. They have no idea of God, and how they will know what is the order of God? And religion means order of God…
"We have got clear conception of God. Here is God, Krishna. And He's giving orders. We accept it. And it is clear religion. And if there is no God, no conception of God, no order of God, then where is religion? If there if no government, then where is law? Outlaw. Everyone is outlaw...
"Ask any religious system what is the conception of God. Can anyone tell clearly? Nobody can say. We shall immediately say, venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam [Brahma Samhita. 5.30]. angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti... immediately description, ‘Here is God.' Then there is religion. And if there is no God, where is religion? Bogus. Therefore declining. They have no conception of God, and therefore there is no understanding of religion. Therefore it is declining.
So this is the cause of declining. And because it is declining, human beings are becoming more like animals. Animal means there will be no memory. A dog comes... Here are some eatables. He comes. I say, ‘Hut!' He goes away. Again he comes. No memory. So when this memory is reducing that means human quality is reduced. So in the Kali-yuga these eight things will reduce. That means they are becoming like cats and dogs. This is the answer to the first question". (June 28, 1976)
Cheerleaders for the United Nations
ISKCON News has even become the self-appointed flag-waver for the United Nations, with servile stories like this one, about World Interfaith Harmony, reporting that the UN Sec'y-General Mr. Ban ki-Moon said in a message, "Respect for diversity and peaceful dialogue are essential if the human family is to cooperate globally to face shared threats and seize common opportunities." Even Radhanath could not have said it better.
What did Srila Prabhupada say about the United Nations? The apologists at ISKCON News should read the words of the pure devotee…and weep:
"We talk all this nonsense of universal brotherhood and United Nations—all nonsense. Either you acknowledge the Father, or else you have no idea of how to realize brotherhood or humanity. Therefore, they are talking for years and years. They are the same fools. Can't you see the U.N.? They have headquarters in New York. They are simply talking nonsense, that's all. That is their business. So unless there is full Krishna consciousness, there cannot be any improvement of the world condition." (The Goal of Yoga, Chapter 4).
And this:
"At present there are hundreds and thousands of flags flapping in the United Nations, but during t he time of Vidura there was, by the grace of Ajita, Lord Krsna, only one flag. The nations of the world are very eager to again have one state under one flag, but for this they must seek the favor of Lord Krishna, who alone can help us become one worldwide nation." (Bhaktivedanta Purport, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.1.20)
But even the encyclopedic truths Prabhupada spoke have not dammed up the never-ending niagra of effluences over at ISKCON News, because that is the nature of Kali chela. Check out the article entitled "ISKCON Joins Generations of Faith Dialogue with Catholic Bishops ".
At that event, Anuttama das, the spokesguy for the GBC, sermonized:
"I hope that ISKCON communities around the world can prioritize the need to educate our young people and children about the rich diversity of religious experience that exists in the world," he concludes, "And about the need to have a mature and open-minded Vaishnava view of other traditions and other people of faith."
Now isn't that special!
