Praghosh Responds
BY: PRAGHOSH DASA
Jun 22, NEW YORK (SUN) — Rocana Prabhu - since you have openly stated "Another of the big differences between my writings and his is that I am completely open to my readers challenging me about what I say. I'm only too willing and ready to publish their challenges, and to engage in debate over whatever the issues may be" - I thought your comments on my perspective warranted a simple response and I am happy to know that you will be delighted to publish them.
If you carefully read my last comments - you will not find my making any assessment of the value of HH Indradyumna Swami's "Dairy". I never even claimed to read it or not - what to speak of assigning any value to it whatsoever. So your placing me in the category of the "foolish class" due to my advocating it - shows you to have invented a position that I never expressed.
I was not defending his "Dairy". I was merely defending his right to compose it and publish for his specific audience. I also mentioned that his publishing it in the public domain would leave him open to the criticism of others such as yourself. Evidently - he does not concern himself with that criticism to the extant that he would cease to publish it as he does and his reasoning for that is his own. I defended your right to publish your ideas as well. And most importantly - I indirectly defended the public's right to review both of your writings and judge for themselves whether or not they will personally assign any value to the writings of either of you.
My being a personal friend of Maharaja for more than 30 years is not an issue. I took issue with what I found odd; the irony of your being a writer who has very particular ideas on things and publishes them for all to see - taking aim at another writer, for doing likewise and criticising him for doing so and then later criticising him for not having interest in "debating" your challenge to his writing or traveling and preaching in the specific manner that he does.
Rather odd really. You are essentially "calling him out" so to speak. But he is not your servant. He is Srila Prabhupada's servant. He is not obliged to answer your challenge for the specific reason that he takes nothing from you in his endeavors to engage in samkirtan. Nothing. Zero. Natha. Poland is nearly 7000 miles from Vancouver. HH Indraduymna Swami puts on roughly 40 to 50 festivals every summer there. It is an enormous endeavor and the costs are hefty as well. He has done this for the last 8 years at least. Each festival results in thousands and thousands of people hearing and chanting the Holy Names - at least during the festival. Many take the chanting more seriously as a direct consequence of this samkirtan effort. I could be wrong - but I would be willing to bet my life on the fact that you have never personally sent him a donation of even one single Canadian 10 Dollar bill - to defray the cost of even one plate of prasadam in that entire 8 years! He is presently now - as we speak - in the midst of this festival program. Why would you honestly expect him to enter into a debate with you - over the supposed merits or demerits of his "Diary" and your personal essays? Is that even reasonable to imagine this?
Now don't get me wrong. I am not criticising your not having supported his efforts. You are free to do as you like. You may say "I wouldn't support his efforts if he were last man on the face of the earth!" - and I would be the first to applaud your exercising your free will in that way.
This is the principle that I was emphasizing in my first comments to you and it is the principle I stress now as well.
You are free to write what you like, think what you like, express it and live with the consequences, desirable or otherwise. He is as well. This was and is my point.
In so far as my commenting on his activities and the Direction of Management, the DOM is merely the template by which we are to understand the simple basic principles upon which the management of Srila Prabhupada's mission is to be run. It has always been that and it remains so. It clearly defines the duties and limitations established by Srila Prabhupada for the specific responsible members of Srila Prabhupada's mission. I asserted that the DOM stresses that the sannyasis should travel and preach the Holy Name far and wide - in a spirit of cooperation with the Local Temple Presidents. I offered that Maharaja indeed does this and I likewise stated that if anyone - yourself included - observed some defect in his application of this principle - or in his adherence to the correct standards - then he would most heartily welcome your simply writing to him personally - man to man - and in the interest of improving his effort to please HDG Srila Prabhupada - he would welcome your sincere expression of that. I stand by that assertion 100%.
Now since we are on the subject of assigning value to the writings of either of you, I will take this opportunity to offer this simple comment on your own estimation of the respective value of both.
You state with conviction: "However, there's obviously a huge difference between my style of writing and Indradyumna Swami's, and an even bigger difference in the content we produce. I'm trying to focus on Srila Prabhupada as the Sampradaya Acarya, and he's trying to focus on himself and what 'special' pastimes he has as a 'traveling mendicant'. Certainly devotees can come to their own conclusions as to whose writings are ultimately more pleasing to Srila Prabhupada."
Your basic writings are all in support of your paper "The Sampradaya Acharya". This "thesis" found here consists of 104 paragraphs. It states without reservation - that Srila Prabhupada is the Current Link in the Spotless Parampara back to Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabu. This is its conclusion. While I wholeheartedly agree with this conclusion - like most devotees who I have spoken with - everyone is in agreement that this paper by you offers nothing that we did not fully know - from the day we became Srila Prabhupada's disciples. This "conclusion" lies at the very heart of his thousands of disciples' lifelong commitment to each and every instruction given us by Srila Prabhupada since day one till today. The essential problem with this "thesis" is that while it only serves to underscore the magnitude of Srila Prabhupada and his place in the Parampara - it offers no conclusive support for the means given by Srila Prabhupada as to how the whole world - encouraged by Srila Prabhupada in every page of his books - are to take full and unreserved shelter of The Bonafide Spiritual Master - today and from this day forward. The best one can find in this "thesis" is this conclusion, given near the very end of the paper:
"According to Vaisnava philosophy, one can aspire and diligently apply oneself to the spiritual process in expectation that in the next life, you can directly associate with Srila Prabhupada. Under this scenario, a traditional diksa relationship can eventually transpire. In the meantime, there are plenty of qualified living siksa gurus who are completely dedicated to serving Srila Prabhupada and to assisting the aspiring disciple in obtaining his or her goal."
Armed with this conclusion - a Temple President will be sent to Upper Somewhere-ia - to do what exactly? It is decidedly unclear. 104 paragraphs to say what everyone already knows - Srila Prabhupada is the Current Link - the "Sampradaya Acarya" - but leaves out the most important aspect to our collectively and individually realizing this: how to take full advantage of this knowledge now - today - instead of with the "expectation that in the next life we can directly associate with Srila Prabhupada when a traditional diksa relationship can transire"!
27 days prior to his departure, Srila Prabhupada wrote to Vasudeva Prabhu in Fiji - stressing on his initiating some of the local devotees. He stressed the "urgency" to do this in his efforts to spread the mission successfully there in Fiji. He offered the simple system to accomplish this. This was the principle upon which all qualified Temple Presidents worked under Srila Prabhupada's tutelage and should be the goal today as well.
Your thesis Sampradaya Acarya - while offering a qualified glorification of Srila Prabhupada as the Current Link in our Parampara - does not lead to practical action. It has value - but that is limited in scope. Its conclusion leads basically to a form of practical paralysis and cannot serve Srila Prabhupada's interest where it matters the most; taking a man from inaction to perfect and complete action in meeting his own personal interest and the interest of Lord Chaitanya. Once one discovers the Absolute Truth - it is meant to provide him with a perfect course of action to be pursued with the balance of his life's energy and capacity. Your Thesis is inconclusive at best and at worst - an incomplete presentation of the teachings of Lord Chaitanya as given by HDG Srila Prabhupada.
I will fully agree that your writings are different from the "Diary" of HH Indraduymna Swami. It being a "diary" of events and his "realizations" big or small, how could they not be? However - as I said previously - the purpose in publishing the diary is to reach out to his network of supporters and keep them involved and inspired to help him in his efforts. In other words - he is actually trying to engage thousands and thousands of people TODAY & TOMMORROW in the direct service of the Holy Name and our Srila Prabhupada - the Current Link to the Parampara or as you like to stress, the "Sampradaya Acharya".
The way I see it - you have performed a laudable service in extolling the glories of Srila Prabhupada as the Current Link to the Parampara. However - I see Maharaja's efforts as being driven - indeed obsessed - with his deep appreciation for the teachings and association of that "Sampradaya Acarya" and his worshipable Lord - Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself and it is this effort he seeks to support and increase by publishing his "diary" and his "traveling and preaching". I think you could both be of benefit to the other. You have deep appreciation for Srila Prabhupada but are not yet certain how the whole world is to access him. Maharaja is eager to introduce Srila Prabhupada to the whole world - but might do well to listen to how his diary is being "heard" in order to perhaps improve on it and make it an even more effective tool.
Now - if my saying or seeing things this way - places in me squarely in the "camp of the foolish" as you have established - then all I ask is that you kindly consider me a servant of the servant - of any and all FOOLS in that camp. I will be proud to be known as - Fool Number One!
Respectfully
Praghosa Das - NYC
pdhedemark@yahoo.com
