Jan 14, 2014 — BARODA, INDIA (SUN) — A short while ago, I was informed by a godbrother of the attack on myself by Jahnava Nitai das that appears here on the Sampradaya Sun. First of all, I must thank him for bringing to the notice of the larger group of devotees my appeal for donations to cover the cost of a lens for the Canon 6D camera that a generous soul, yes a very rich man, donated to myself (and thus to ISKCON Baroda) last April at Dubai.
Many devotees who have seen the pictures that I've been taking and posting on the Internet have written me that they appreciate the pictures. The latest pictures can be seen in many albums that I have posted on the Internet–- they are "public", i.e. viewable to any member of the public here.
Before Jahnava Nitai's article appeared here on the Sun, he wrote these criticisms on my Facebook page. While he began with "please do not get angry", I understood that he was extremely angry himself – with me! He was also supported there by Jagadananda das, formerly Hiranyagarbha das (ACBSP) [an ex-ISKCON devotee who supports the "caste goswami guru" concept].
Since I wanted to avoid an acrimonious exchange with these devotees, who I understand are disgruntled ex-members of ISKCON, I used the "block" facility on Facebook to block both of them. Then I wrote the following message as a comment on my Facebook page, under the "note" I posted appealing for contributions (for those amongst my "Facebook friends" who read what they wrote):
Jahnava Nitai das wrote condemning the purchase of expensive camera equipment. Well, as the English saying goes, "what is good for the goose, is good for the gander". Meaning that he should set the example before criticizing. If camera equipment is expensive - and it is - well so is using a computer and the Internet! Using the Internet is not for the ordinary man - at least here in "holy Bhaarata" (India)!
Jahnava Nitai das also stated that I have spoken out against poor feeding.
Let this not be taken out of context. Prabhupada was for distributing prasad to "one and all", and at the same time he was compassionate about the thousands of poor refugees -- at the time - who has fled to the Mayapur area to escape the India-Pakistan war of 1971 (at that time today's Bangladesh was East Pakistan, a creation of the [then colonial] British rulers, upon their leaving India in 1947).
What our objection is, is to refer to the poor as "daridra naaraayan", literally, "poor, impoverished, God". This is an oxymoron. God cannot be poor - He is Lakshmipati, the Lord of Lakshmidevi Herself, and, as defined in the English dictionary, "the creator and ruler of the Universe".
Therefore, the concept of "daridra naraayan" – seeing the poor as God -- is a cheating concept.
The reason for blocking both these persons is that I do not wish to enter into disputation with them. If anyone reading this so desires, they can forward my comments to both of them. Personally, I had no hope of changing either of them by logic or reason, hence I took this step (of blocking them both)."
Now, onto the article that was published here on the Sun, wherein Jahnava Nitai das wrote:
"Basu Ghosh speaks very vocally against distributing food or prasadam to poor children. How can someone think it is bad to feed a poor child, but think it is fine to beg for money to buy an expensive electronic toy to play around with? These ISKCON leaders are out of touch with reality."
Jahnava Nitai das, to the best of my knowledge, has never been here to ISKCON Baroda to see what exactly it is that we do here, so what he has written isn't anything more than a wild allegation by someone who seems to have an axe to grind with ISKCON.
As far as my "speaking vocally against distributing food or prasadam to poor children", well, if he wanted to be thorough, he should have quoted something that I spoke or wrote in the past, instead of just writing something generally and without producing a shred of evidence to prove that just because I have an expensive camera I am misusing it.
Besides what I wrote on my Facebook page, and quoted herein above, here is what I personally feel: simply feeding poor people as a social welfare activity is indeed useless nonsense!
Why do I feel this way? This outlook was taught by Srila Prabhupada, who is our acharya, and I learned this from him.
Here is what he wrote to Gurudas back during May of 1972:
"If we open a branch in Madras, actually there are so many poor children
there. Spiritual education and food, that is proper. Simply supplying food
is nonsense. Spiritual education means just to inject in their ears about
our philosophy, externally they chant beads, wear tilak, without any
discrimination of Hindu or Muslim or anything."
(Srila Prabhupada's Letter to Gurudasa -- Honolulu 13 May, 1972)
The point here is simple: I personally am opposed in principle to the many "mid-day meals" programs being run by ISKCON, as also the "akshaya patra" program of Madhu Pandit das of Bangalore. The reason is that it is just that: simply feeding the poor children but without any spiritual education, as Srila Prabhupada desired.
Recently, during the past few years, this issue was discussed by the ISKCON India leadership, and a resolution allowing such programs was approved, but with the condition that the distribution of foodstuffs be accompanied by kirtan and lecture(s).
If that is not being followed within ISKCON, well, then it is a violation of the policy that was approved, as mentioned.
As far as I am concerned, I continue to hold the opinion that foodstuffs that are being distributed to the poor students should at the very least be accompanied by kirtan and lectures. Otherwise it is simply social welfare work, and has no connection to Krishna bhakti/devotion to Lord Krishna.
Jayadvaita Maharaj pointed this out and more in his "food for death" seminar, given at Radhadesh some 12 years ago now. The audio of that seminar is available on his website.
There are a plethora of quotes from Srila Prabhupada where he condemns "social welfare work", and the "service to man is service to God", aka "manava [man] seva [service] is Madhava [Lord Krishna/God] seva" slogan coined by the Ramkrisna Mission.
In fact, I directly discussed this with Srila Prabhupada at Hyderabad during a morning walk on December 5, 1976. Here is a transcript of that discussion that appears in the Vedabase/Folio:
Morning Walk
December 5, 1976, Hyderabad
Prabhupada: This rascal theory has meant an atheist. [break]
Basu Ghosh Das: ...manava-seva say, "I don't have to support your society or your temple because God is everywhere."
Prabhupada: This is also manava-seva. We are giving this knowledge to the human society. Is it not seva? They are remaining in darkness of their position and we are giving them this knowledge. This is not seva?
Basu Ghosh Das: But what about the poor, hungry, and the suffering bodies?
Prabhupada: Yes, poor, hungry, come. We can give you food. We are giving, already. Show the pictures. You have not seen the pictures of Mayapur, how two thousand, three thousand people we are giving. That is included. Bhagavata-seva includes that. You do not require to do it separately. It is already there. Just like if you pour water on the root, the watering the leaf is included. But if you water the leaf, then that tree will dry. And that is not complete. But if you pour water on the root of the tree, it is complete. Why don't you give this reason? This is natural. If you give food to the stomach, the service of the other parts of the body is included. But if you give food to the eyes, it is spoiled only. The food is spoiled, the eyes are spoiled, and nobody is satisfied. Why don't you give this reason?
Basu Ghosh Das: So in that way, because they are not feeding the stomach, they are actually starving.
Prabhupada: Starving. They are supplying food to the eyes. The eyes are becoming blind and the food is wasted and no nutrition.
Basu Ghosh Das: So by this kind of philosophy they are destroying themselves.
Prabhupada: Yes. This is against their interest. These rascals, they do not know what is their interest. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi vishnum [SB 7.5.31]. If you keep the stomach empty and try to supply food to the eyes and legs, it is simply waste of time. But these rascals, they do not know. They will go on committing mistakes after mistakes. This is the position. We are giving the real knowledge that "You serve in this way. Then everyone will be pleased." Yasmin vijnate sarvam idam vijnatum bhavati.
Basu Ghosh Das: They are simply acting out of ignorance.
Prabhupada: That's it. So you are... We are delivering them from ignorance. (kirtana—break)
In the Science of Self Realization, chapter 6, there appears a letter written to Srila Prabhupada from T.L. Kapadia (misspelled therein as "Katidia": his name was Tokarshi Lal Kapadia, hence "T.L." He was a well known businessman at Hyderabad back then) from 1972 is reproduced.
Therein Kapadiaji wrote that "manava seva is madhava seva", and Prabhupada responded that kirtan is more important than helping the drought effected population (just to summarize what he wrote).
Also in his letter to Kapadiaji, Prabhupada wrote:
"Our Krishna consciousness movement is therefore meant to present the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly to the people. As stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Seventh Canto, Sixth Chapter: tushte cha tatra kim alabhyam ananta adye/ kim tair guna-vyatikarad iha ye sva-siddhaha.
The idea stated in this verse is that by pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we please everyone, and there is no question of scarcity."
What Jahnava Nitai das and others like him seem to have become are social welfare workers, and not preachers of Krishna bhakti/Krishna consciousness.
Or, if this is not the case –- and admittedly I don't know exactly what Jahnava Nitai das does with his time, just as he does not know what I do with mine –- then he wouldn't have launched this attack on me for following the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.
The "expensive toy" charge, well, is just blatantly unfair and ill motivated.
We who were in ISKCON at the time of Srila Prabhupada know that Prabhupada encouraged us to engage material things in the service of the preaching mission of Mahaprabhu. Jahnava Nitai das, influenced by the social welfare ethos, seems to have missed that. What to speak of his coming into touch with ISKCON after Prabhupada's disappearance.
There are many examples of Prabhupada encouraging his disciples to use modern technology to preach.
For example, Yadubara Prabhu, who has spent the past 44 years glorifying Srila Prabhupada and his mission, uses far more expensive camera equipment in his service. The same can be said of Nrsimhananda Prabhu of ITV, Los Angeles, as well as Siddhanta Prabhu, also of ITV (a separate branch) of Los Angeles, who recorded the "memories of Srila Prabhupada series".
In fact, during August of 1976, I had brought a "Fairchild briefcase 8mm projector" with me from Dubai to India – an expensive item in those days. While present with Srila Prabhupada at Juhu a few days later, and sitting with three very wealthy guests who were visiting Prabhupada, I spoke up, told Prabhupada about the projector and asked him if he wanted me to show the "Spiritual Frontier" movie that Yadubara Prabhu had produced at the time about New Vrindavan. Prabhupada responded "yes", and the projector was brought and the movie was shown! Prabhupada never took me to task for purchasing that projector: but Jahnava Nitai das seems to know better!
The cars we use all over the world in ISKCON are far more expensive than the camera I was donated or the upgraded lens I seek.
The airfares that devotees have to spend to come to India on pilgrimage -- again and again -- are similarly costly. We know that Srila Prabhupada urged Western devotees to visit Mayapur annually. So is this also condemnable?
Srila Prabhupada rode in expensive Rolls Royce cars (even to rent they are expensive), and there are statements of his in this regard that are pertinent here.
Interviewer: That is why I was asking about the Rolls Royce and the penthouse suites because that was a very simple way for a learner to be able to say, "Well, this man is in a Rolls Royce, so therefore—
Prabhupada: That is not the test. Suppose a genuine guru is riding in a Rolls Royce. Do you think that just because he is in that car he is not genuine?
Interviewer: No, but—
Prabhupada: Then why are you making this the test? First of all you have to accept that your position is that you do not know the test. Because you do not know, you conclude, "Oh, this man is going in a Rolls Royce. Therefore he is not genuine." But that is the wrong conclusion. You should know what is genuine. The genuine guru may go in a Rolls Royce or on foot, but that doesn't matter. What you have to test is whether or not he is genuine, and that will require your qualification. My point is that people are not given any spiritual education. Therefore they cannot understand what is genuine and what is not.
(Interview at London as reported in BTG magazine no. 55, 1973)
and,
Hari Shauri: The thing is that the materialists will always find that. They see the devotees and we say that we renounce everything, but they don't understand that renunciation means to take everything and give it to Krishna. So when... Just like that time there was such a great commotion when we hired that Rolls Royce to take Your Divine Grace from the airport to the temple. So in the papers they didn't put anything that you said. They simply put "His Divine Grace is arriving in a Rolls Royce." So this is the general attitude of the common mass of people.
Prabhupada: That is envious. So if they sell books, so that is making Krishna unpopular?
And, this letter to Karandhara:
Letter to: Karandhara
Bhaktivedanta Manor
1 September, 1973
Los Angeles
My Dear Karandhara,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and enclosed bank slip for 250.00 dollars but I have not as yet received the bank slip of another 1,400.00 dollars, I hope you have already deposited the same. I am expecting the receipt voucher at any moment.
Regarding initiation of the new devotees, I am sending herewith the names against each of them, the beads may be chanted upon by you and delivered by regular ritualistic ceremony. For second initiation find herewith the sacred threads duly chanted by me and you do the rest work.
My schedule of program is as follows; Sweden on the 5th September after returning I shall go to Japan by the 15th via Tehran and India. Then from Japan I shall return to Los Angeles via Hawaii, estimated by the 10th October. Certainly at that time I shall drive on my Rolls Royce car with great pleasure at least for three months. Pray to Krishna that I may execute my touring program without any disturbance.
I hope this letter will meet you in good health.
Your ever well wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS:had
The point is that instead of seeing that the camera lens that I issued my appeal for contributions will being used to glorify Lord Krishna and His archa vigraha forms in His temple here at ISKCON Baroda, and also related activities – in the Lord's service, Jahnava Nitai das decided to embark on a mission of vilification, with the aim -- it seems – to satisfy his own ego and of course to denigrate ISKCON.
His doing so seems to prove, from the evidence provided above, that he is not a follower of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur himself rode in an expensive (and extremely rare for the time) motor car (remember, that was pre 1937 India), and spent lavishly to receive the then British colonial authorities at his Math, etc.
In his article where he took obvious pleasure in condemning me, did Jahnava Nitai das present any kind of ideological or philosophical point to support his condemnatory outlook? I for one didn't see it.
All I read was ridicule, disdain, loathing, and hatred. It seems to me that he wrote in this way most likely because I serve within ISKCON.
This is one of the conclusions I draw form what he wrote, since he does not know me personally (even if he saw me and I him at Mayapur years ago: we are not at all in direct touch) that he decided to take the opportunity to shower me with his "choicest blessings"!
If Jahnava Nitai das is so sincere about living a simple life, bereft of the costly items that in fact can be used in the service of the "mission of Mahaprabhu", well he should get off his computer, get off the Internet, and just live simply over there in Orissa. He should set the example of what can be achieved by adopting a simple agrarian lifestyle.
Instead, he is using modern technology -– expensive toys in his own words -– to indulge in vilification, character assassination, innuendo, and ad hominem attacks – that are based on what appears to be his contempt for anything ISKCON, and to satisfy his own mind that leaving ISKCON was for his own greater good.
Therefore he is obviously a hypocrite for using this costly medium (computers and the Internet) to attack me thus.
Generous devotees who me know very well that I am using the camera in Lord Krishna's service, and so it appears that Jahnava Nitai das is just spiteful and envious: nothing more, and nothing less.
In conclusion, it's obvious to me that there are a number of ex-ISKCON devotees who have become lifelong "discontents" and just love to shower abuse on ISKCON devotees, simply for the sake of massaging their own egos and to rationalize their exit from ISKCON, and gloat as to how superior they are for having left. In the circumstances, Jahnava Nitai das, a much junior person in age and station, owes me an apology that I do not expect to receive.
Post conclusion. For the benefit of those reading this, today itself ISKCON Baroda will be distributing thirty thousand prasad packets throughout Baroda on the occasion of makara sankranti, mostly to the poor. Every day, after the sandhya arati, prasad is profusely distributed in front of the temple here. Twenty day there is kichadi, four days halava (cooked in pure ghee, not vegetable ghee), four days of cooke, spiced, chick peas and "sama rice (a seed) kheer" (the seeds are cooked in milk) on ekadashis.
From time to time there is even greater distribution of prasad here at ISKCON Baroda, as per the desires of generous donors, for example during the "shraddh paksh" (the fortnight where Hindus make offerings to their ancestors) we serve halava in pure ghee daily!
And on festivals here there is mass distribution of huge amounts of prasad. For the Jagannath Rathayatra festival (pictures have appeared here on the Sun of the Baroda Rathayatra in the past) and Krishna Janmastami, thirty thousand members of the public are served full plates – bhojan (full meal)– prasad.
Also, ISKCON Baroda can claim the unique distinction of preparing fifteen thousand kilograms of halava in pure ghee that is distributed to "one and all", but mostly goes to the poor sections of the society, throughout the route of the annual Rathayatra, by volunteers in trucks that follow behind the Rath.
If Jahanva Nitai das had followed any of this from my previous articles about the Rathayatra that appeared along with pictures here on the Sun, maybe he wouldn't have written his condemnatory article. In the circumstances, I am happy that he did, because it's given me the opportunity to recall my personal interaction with Srila Prabhupada, as well as recall Prabhupada's specific instructions regarding prasad distribution (it's well known amongst his disciples that Prabhupada did not like the word "food") as well as Prabhupada's approval for using modern technology in the service of his preaching mission!
Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Jaya Jagannath!
