BIF, Sakshi Gopal das Blaspheme Lord Krishna, Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita
BY: A GROUP OF SRILA PRABHUPADA DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS
Nov 28, 2011 — GLOBAL (SUN) — In his recent article, "Grand Theft Atma", dated 7th November, 2011 on the BIF website, Sakshi Gopal das, so-called ISKCON reformer ‘Prabhupadanuga', has severely blasphemed the following spiritually exalted personalities: Lord Krishna, Srila Prabhupada, scriptures like the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Mahabharat, etc, etc. The details are given below in this article. These personalities and scriptures form the very core of the spiritual lives of unlimited devotees both in the material and spiritual worlds, and form the basis of what all these devotees stand for eternally.
Equally outrageous is that Sakshi thinks he is doing ‘devotional service' by ‘enlightening' everyone with his articles. He imagines that his ‘enlightenment' is in bringing everyone to understand that all the spiritual knowledge that Srila Prabhupada wrote in his books and spoke about was just the whimsical ranting and speculations of a cult leader. Sakshi implies in his writings that he had ‘unfortunately' fallen victim to being a follower of Srila Prabhupada and his teachings in the past, but now suddenly has become so intelligent that he has successfully ‘extricated' himself from such entanglement of association with Srila Prabhupada, and further recommends others to also do so.
In his second equally blasphemous article, "Elephant in the Room", also available on BIF's website, written on 21st November 2011, Sakshi Gopal quotes Srila Prabhupada's statements on different issues, such as intelligence of women, marriage, relationship between husband and wife, sex life, rape, servants, violence, etc, and takes them completely out of text by interpreting them according to his own personal mundane, sexually perverted understanding.
Failing to understand the pure devotee Srila Prabhupada's actual detachment from all mundane issues, and unable to fathom Srila Prabhupada's deep spiritual purpose behind the above mentioned statements made only out of spiritual compassion to benefit and teach the fallen conditioned souls, Sakshi Gopal das mischievously pokes his nose into the Acharya's statements. This reminds us of a story that Srila Prabhupada spoke in his conversations regarding the mischievous monkey who, having nothing better to do, one day decided to ‘examine' and ‘study' the sharp mechanical saw that the wood cutter had left in a half cut tree, with the result that the monkey was himself cut in half. Srila Prabhupada's moral on this story is that it was not the monkey's business to dabble with such a dangerous weapon, and as soon as he thought he was intelligent enough to do so, he met his sad result. Therefore not minding his own business, and instead of focusing on his spiritual Sadhana practices, Sakshi trys to dump upon us his own offensive and limited spiritual vision by rubber-stamping his misguided labels on those statements made by Srila Prabhupada.
On the whole, Sakshi Gopal das behaves in a most shameless manner by catering to the Karmis: materialists, imposter spiritualists, bogus gurus, yogis, etc., who have no understanding of the whole philosophy of Krishna Consciousness from actual spiritual authorities and bonafide spiritual scriptures. He does this in a most desperate attempt to prove to everyone that Srila Prabhupada was wrong in even bringing up the above mentioned issues in the first place.
Recently, Sakshi Gopal das's close associate and chief right (wrong) hand man responsible for also handling the correspondences in BIF, and who is aiding and abetting Sakshi, justified Sakshi's most abominable actions and treacherous betrayal statements to Srila Prabhupada. He did this by making the following misleading and diverting statement, writing: "It's just that he's (Sakshi) is not catering to the appetite of ISKCON devotees or ISKCON reformers; they are no longer BIF's target audience." Thus in his desperate attempt to justify Sakshi's blasphemous statements, at least this person confirms the fact that Sakshi now has a new audience. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that the new audience are indeed the above mentioned materialistic personalities. Yet any sane honest devotee/Vaisnava knows that there never has been a precedence in Vaisnava history that in order to NOT cater to the appetite of ISKCON devotees/Reformers, one can make all the direct blasphemous statements to spiritually exalted personalities and scriptures, just to compromise with and satisfy the whims of all kinds of materialistic people.
In both of his articles, and Especially his second one, "Elephant in the room" Sakshi Gopal das further implies that he feels ‘compassion' for those who cannot comprehend and who vehemently oppose all his direct blasphemy to Srila Prabhupada. Sakshi Gopal das labels those devotees who are faithful followers of Srila Prabhupada and all of Srila PrabhupadA's teachings to us about Lord Krishna, as "rank and file ISKCON foot soldiers" for " misunderstanding our (Sakshi's) position in reporting the Truth" and "to whom he (Sakshi) now has to say his goodbyes". Sakshi also claims that those devotees who quote the authority of Srila Prabhupada are "full of mental buggage" which he says "was not easy for us (Sakshi) to get rid of, but we (Sakshi) did, and we (Sakshi) aim to keep it that way."
Crazily imagining himself as some leading General or commander in chief, and all other devotees as insignificant foot soldiers, Sakshi Gopal das forgets that it was Dronacarya and Karna, the leading Generals and Commander in chiefs of the sinful party of Duryodhana that were beheaded by Dhristadyumna (brother of Draupadi), and Arjuna respectively, while the ‘ordinary' foot soldiers were spared from this ignoble act. In Sakshi's case, however, it is not at all difficult for one to understand that he has already been spiritually beheaded by Lord Krishna's external potency, Maya, hence the reason for his brainless rantings against Srila Prabhupada, Lord Krishna, the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, etc.
In his second article, "Elephant in the Room", Sakshi Gopal das proudly brings up his Indian origin: "it should be understood that BIF is Indian and very proud to be so". However if one honestly studies the "Indian' factor from an impartial and unbiased view, one can understand that the only person that has a right to be proud to be a real Indian is Srila Prabhupada, because it was he who strictly followed the "Indian order" of Lord Chaitanya – Bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara - "One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bharata-varsa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people". (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi lila Ch. 9.41)
Srila Prabhupada also further mentions in the purport of the verse that, "This is only one Indian's humble service to the world (referring to himself). If all Indians had taken to this path, as advised by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, India would have given a unique gift to the world, and thus India would have been glorified." … "Although He was born in Bengal and Bengalis therefore have a special duty toward Him, Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu is addressing not only Bengalis but all the inhabitants of India".
Srila Prabhupada further comments in the purport, "Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore requests every Indian to become a preacher of His cult to save the world from disastrous confusion". We are all aware of how Srila Prabhupada followed this order by bravely and wholeheartedly surrendering to Lord Krsna by traveling to an unknown Western country with no friends and any material comfortable facilities awaiting him. He also did this at such an old age, sacrificing all comforts just to give the fallen souls there the mercy of Lord Chaitanya.
One should also note that the word "cult" that Lord Chaitanya is referring to is a genuine spiritual cult authorized by the Lord Himself and the bonafide Acharyas in the disciplic succession, not the sexually perverted understanding of cult that Sakshi mentions in his articles and accuses Srila Prabhupada of being in charge of.
Thus Sakshi Gopal das, although falsely proud of being in an Indian Bengali body, instead of doing his actual special duty as an Indian and Bengali by preaching, as ordered above by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada, is now most unfortunately engaged in compromising and catering to materialistic people by blaspheming both these exalted personalities in his articles. In view of this, Sakshi should at least have the decency to shed off his hypocritical claim of being proud to be a good Indian.
Following are the list of different personalities and scriptures and the different methods of blasphemy used by Sakshi Gopal das to offend them:
(1) Lord Krishna & Srila Prabhupada: In his "Grand Theft Atma" article, Sakshi Gopal das claims that the pastimes of Krsna which Srila Prabhupada has described in the Krsna Book and in the Srimad Bhagavatam that was spoken by Sukadeva Goswami and written by Srila Vyasadeva are full of lies and speculation. He also mentions them as never having occurred in the first place, as they were "albeit imagined by cult members to be world read and acknowledged". Sakshi describes Krishna as an incarnation of Visnu, as opposed to Srila Prabhupada's version in the First Canto Chapter 3, Text 28 of the Srimad Bhagavatam that Krishna is the source of all the incarnations. Sakshi Gopal das quotes as his authority a ‘living' mundane Mayavadi ‘Guru', Baba Ramdev from India, to justify his blasphemy by minimizing the authority of Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada.
Here are a few quotes from Sakshi Gopal das's article in his website about Krishna.
"Outside Gaudiya literature there is no mention of Krishna stating He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? The scriptures clearly identify Sri Krishna as the eight incarnation of Vishnu. Also, neither Krishna nor Balaram went into the forest with the wives of their cowherd friends; Krishna never rubbed his feet on the naked kum kum covered breasts of 7/8-year-old cowherd girls. He never stole their clothes and made them come before Him; He never had thousands of wives and produced thousand of children. These literatures albeit imagined by cult members to be world read and acknowledged, have never really come under scrutiny, because, surprise surprise, the Gaudiya cult never did make an impact on Hindu society. Now it is being studied and identified as an early attempt at fabricating erotica for conversions. Ask Iskcon members who recently approached Baba Ramdev (seen daily on Indian media) and requested he place a picture of ACBS on his campaign banner. The aspiring propagandist were surprised when the Rashtra Guru frowned and asked- "Chaitanya? Prabhupada? Who is Iskcon?"
Completely opposed to Sakshi's statements above, every genuine authorized and sincere devotee on this planet who has accepted Srila Prabhupada as their Spiritual Master knows very well that as mentioned in the Krsna Book and the Srimad Bhagavatam, that Krishna is indeed the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That Krishna is NOT an incarnation of Visnu, but vice-versa. That Krishna and Balaram did indeed go to the forest with the wives of their cowherd friends; that Krishna did rub his feet on the naked kum kum covered breasts of 7/8-year-old cowherd girls. That Krishna did indeed steal their clothes and made them come before Him; that He did marry not only thousands of wives, but 16,108 to be exact, and produced many thousands of children from them, which led to his family having billions of family members. All this in detail is confirmed in the Krsna Book and the Srimad Bhagavatam by Srila Prabhupada repeatedly.
Recently when Sakshi's close associate was asked by a devotee as to why Sakshi had made the above blasphemous statements regarding the pastimes of Krishna, he replied that Sakshi still believed in the birth of Lord Krishna and some other pastimes, but not the many above mentioned ones. This reminds us of Srila Prabhupada mentioning the half hen logic -- excepting only the back portion of the hen for laying eggs, and rejecting the front portion to avoid the trouble of feeding it. Thus whatever pastimes Sakshi thinks are suitable for his mental speculation gymnastics and ill motivations, then those pastimes he will accept, while at the same time rejecting so many others. By doing this, Sakshi exhibits the greatest hypocrisy.
(2) Bhagavad Gita As It Is (by Srila Prabhupada): Sakshi Gopal das mentions in his first article, "Grand Theft Atma" that "The Bhagavad Gita-"As it Is" has 700 verses, but the Bhagavad Gita "As it Was" has only 84 verses".
Sakshi claims that he is ‘enlightening' everyone from their ‘long illusion,' by stating that the Bhagavad-gita had been spoken by Krishna and written by Srila Vyasadeva NOT in 700 verses, but instead in only 84 verses. By this Sakshi implies that Srila Prabhupada by compiling 700 verses in his Macmillan Bhagavad Gita As It Is version had misguided all his disciples, and should have given us instead the ‘original' 84 verses. Thus Sakshi by openly contradicting and defying Srila Prabhupada, commits the greatest offence.
(3) The Mahabharat (of which the Gita is part): Sakshi Gopal das mentions in his first article, "Grand Theft Atma": "The Mahabharat (of which the Gita is part) was not written 5,000 years ago".
Sakshi contradicts Srila Prabhupada, Lord Krishna, and the authorized scriptures such as Srimad Bhagavatam, etc., who all agree that the Mahabharat (which includes the Bhagavad-gita) was compiled 5,000 years ago. As we all know, Srila Prabhupada clearly several times mentioned to us that Lord Krishna and Srila Vyasadeva both appeared 5,000 years ago at the end of Dvarapa Yuga. There has never been any argument and differences of opinion amongst devotees of all groups at any time on this specific point of Time Frame.
In the First canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Ch 4. Text 25, Srila Prabhupada mentions: "Thus he (Srila Vyasadeva) compiled the great historical narration called the Mahabharata for women, laborers and friends of the twice-born. … In the 3rd Paragraph of the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada comments "The purpose of the Mahabharata is to administer the purpose of the Vedas, and therefore within this Mahabharata the summary Veda of Bhagavad-gita is placed. … the philosophy of the Vedas in the form of the Bhagavad-gita is spoken by the Lord Sri Krsna. Vyasadeva and Lord Krsna are both on the transcendental plane, and therefore they collaborated in doing good to the fallen souls of this age".
Thus since both Lord Krishna and Srila Vyasadeva appeared 5,000 years ago, then naturally the Mahabharat was also written 5,000 years ago by their united collaboration as confirmed clearly above by Srila Prabhupada. Thus Sakshi's version that the Mahabharat is more recent than 5,000 years does not hold any ground at all and is not at all valid.
Srila Prabhupada also mentions in the purport of Ch 4 Text 19: "The Puranas and Mahabharata were made from related historical facts which explained the teaching of the four Vedas. There is no point in doubting the authority of the Puranas and Mahabharata as parts and parcels of the Vedas."
Thus since the Mahabharat is a part and parcel of the Vedas as confirmed by Srila Prabhupada above, and as everyone knows that the Vedas are extremely old, this again refutes Sakshi's version regarding the history of the Mahabharat.
(4) The Gaudiya Math: Sakshi Gopal das mentions in his first article, "Grand Theft Atma": "The ISKCON Gaudiya Mutt (IGM), is considered the least respected by researchers of the Truth" … For BIF team contacts in Bengal, Gaudiyaism came as a big surprise. They had no idea the group even existed until running into the Gaudiya Mutt's last stand- ISKCON."
The Gaudiya Math, until the time of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was the most authorized and genuine spiritual movement that contributed to distributing the original Vedic teachings on Lord Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with all the genuine historic dates of His appearance, and the time and dates He spoke the Bhagavad-gita, etc., further reconfirmed by Srila Prabhupada in all of his books.
True, history shows us that after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, the Gaudiya Math degraded very badly, but Sakshi Gopal das does not bother to distinguish and clarify to the readers between the once bonafide Gaudiya Math and the present bogus one. Instead he commits the greatest offence by lumping both together, and implies to the reader that Srila Prabhupada, his Spiritual Master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur were all members of a bogus and unauthorized society.
At the end of his first article, "Grand Theft Atma", Sakshi Gopal das signs as "In service to TRUTH". But those who read this article by now should easily agree that it is better for Sakshi Gopal to at least have an iota of honesty by signing "In service to Blasphemy".
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa cites the following quotation from Skanda Purana concerning the blaspheming of a Vaisnava:
"In this conversation between Markandeya and Bhagiratha, it is said: "My dear King, if one derides an exalted devotee, he loses the results of his pious activities, his opulence, his reputation and his sons. Vaisnavas are all great souls. Whoever blasphemes them falls down to the hell known as Maharaurava. He is also accompanied by his forefathers. Whoever kills or blasphemes a Vaisnava and whoever is envious of a Vaisnava or angry with him, or whoever does not offer him obeisances or feel joy upon seeing a Vaisnava, certainly falls into a hellish condition."
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.314) also gives the following quotation from Dvaraka-mahatmya:
"In a conversation between Prahlada Maharaja and Bali Maharaja, it is said, "Those sinful people who blaspheme Vaisnavas, who are all great souls, are subjected very severely to the punishment offered by Yamaraja."
In the Bhakti-sandarbha (313) there is a statement concerning the blaspheming of Lord Visnu:
"One who criticizes Lord Visnu and His devotees loses all the benefits accrued in a hundred pious births. Such a person rots in the Kumbhipaka hell and is bitten by worms as long as the sun and moon exist. One should therefore not even see the face of a person who blasphemes Lord Visnu and His devotees. Never try to associate with such persons."
Books: Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition : Cc. Madhya-lila : Madhya 15: The Lord Accepts Prasada at the House of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya : Madhya 15.261
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
