My Impression and Depression of Chowpatty Temple
BY: RAGURAM DASA
Apr 5, USA (SUN) — The Radha Gopinath temple in Chowpatty has been showcased as a model temple in ISKCON. It has become a pilgrimage site for many devotees. The system of management has been much lauded there and many devotees from all over the world are sent there to study and implement their system in the local temples.
Anyone visiting Chowpatty temple will be impressed by the devotees. Many of them are very well educated and well trained in Vaishnava etiquette. You feel the warmth and hospitality upon stepping into the temple. Srila Prabhupada will be so pleased to see such a temple with devotees who are so loving and caring. The one danger in this temple is that it is a Zonal Acarya system.
The man behind this wonderful temple is HH Radhanath Swami. May all the credit go to him. However, we have seen in many temples elsewhere where the Zonal Acarya system is practised that there is a big danger. Dear readers, you know what the danger is!
In the past many temples in the CIS, Europe and Australia have also practised this system. The temples in these countries and continents were doing so well because everything was hinged on the well-being of the "acarya" there -- be it Bhavananda, Harikesha or Bhagavan. The moment something went wrong with them, everything just exploded. Many of these yatras are still picking up the pieces of the fallout. Some have recovered and some have not.
Maybe the brahmacaris at the Chowpatty temple should conduct seminars to local and visiting devotees on how this can be avoided. HH Radhanath Maharaj invites devotees of notorious backgrounds like Bhavananda to give classes (sure he also invites devotees of very good backgrounds to give classes). Yes, it is Vaishnava compassion to think that devotees change! (many don't). The mood created by Maharaj there is that there is absolutely nothing going wrong in ISKCON and you will be shocked to see how devotees there, even though they are so intelligent, accept this so naively. This is definitely a prelude to danger!
The solution to all this, if any disciple is reading this article, please don't be fanatical of your guru. Yes, do respect him but do not think that he is infallible (the mistake the devotees made elsewhere in the world). Be fanatical of Srila Prabhupada and his mood and mission. If one constantly meditates on this point, then even if something goes wrong in the Chowpatty Yatra, devotees will still go on pushing the mission of our beloved Spiritual Master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with the same enthusiasm, if not more!
