Jul 26, 2019 —LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (SUN) —
What's most disturbing about the current devotee promotion of Democrat Tulsi Gabbard's 2020 Presidential Campaign is that many of her most ardent supporters, such as Purujit dasa, Govinda dasi, Palaka dasa, and others, who have been outspoken opponents of ISKCON's printing and distribution of Jayadvaita Swami's BBT post-1978 editions of Srila Prabhupada's books, and his bogus interpretation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings, now openly oppose Prabhupada's teachings on abortion themselves. They are interpreting and discarding Srila Prabhupada's teachings just as Jayadvaita Swami has done, in order to promote Tulsi Gabbard's campaign.
According to one Facebook group, "Devotees Support Tulsi Gabbard", administered by Purujit dasa, of Inbliss.org, "to those who have a big issue with Tulsi´s pro-choice attitudes (and voting record on abortion), here is an instruction from Srila Prabhupada":
"Certainly, we are opposed to abortion, and we can advise that it is not good, but do not take an active part in this political agitation against abortion. We are not much concerned in that way, so do not waste time approaching politicians or affiliating with others on the basis of the anti-abortion issue. We are Krsna Conscious, and we are for Krsna Consciousness; that is our issue. Abortion is only a side issue. Whatever you have done that is all right but concentrate now on our main business to make everyone Krsna Conscious. Our method is simple as taught by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: chant Hare Krishna and distribute prasadam. And if we find someone who is a little educated, try to distribute a book to him, and with the profit we can maintain."
(Srila Prabhupada´s Letter to Tusta Krsna Swami, February 4, 1977)
This letter from Srila Prabhupada, written in a more simple time, when his disciples lived inside the ISKCON mission, is being actively promoted by devotee supporters of Tulsi Gabbard and leaders of ISKCON to falsely claim Srila Prabhupada excuses Tulsi's pro-choice murdering of children. They do so to promote a political campaign on behalf of the Democrat Party, to oust President Trump from the White House. As a U.S. House Representative from Hawaii, during her years in Congress Tulsi has helped to pass many laws to murder children, and blocked other laws designed to protect them.
This letter from Srila Prabhupada is being promoted to block all opposition by ISKCON members to Tulsi Gabbard's political campaign. However, no one is taking any political action against abortion itself by not supporting Tulsi's campaign, so Srila Prabhupada's instruction doesn't apply to this circumstance. No one is joining anti-abortion protest marches or supporting politicians who oppose it. Srila Prabhupada is specifically advising devotees to not associate with politicians who are against abortion, but never instructs you to associate with politicians who ARE FOR IT, and that have passed laws to support abortion, as Tulsi has done. In fact, Srila Prabhupada elsewhere instructed his disciples to only associate with politicians who live by our principals. This is the danger of taking a single letter and using it as a blanket approval to endorse all behavior.
Next, Srila Prabhupada goes on to say, "whatever you have done is all right". We don't know from this letter if Srila Prabhupada is speaking of Tusta Krsna Swami's involvement in a protest against abortion, or speaking of Srila Prabhupada disciples' past participation in sinful activities before we became devotees? However, whatever you have done in the past out of ignorance is a lesser crime than knowingly murdering children, as Tulsi Gabbard has done, along with the devotees who excuse it.
You don't get a free pass from your sins simply by chanting Hare Krsna, so you can go on sinning, but this is exactly what many are advocating, because they can't follow their own religious principals that they prescribe others to follow. Then it becomes a cheating process that Lord Caitanya will not accept. These are not Srila Prabhupada's teachings. They claim no amount of sinning can extinguish the power of chanting Holy Names. Srila Prabhupada's letter is not advocating sinning on the strength of chanting Hare Krsna, which is an offense against the Holy Names.
Those who support Tulsi Gabbard, the unashamed supporter of murdering children, are turnng a blind eye to her sins. They are twisting Srila Prabhupada's teachings to excuse it. They are themselves not only a disturbance to society, and divorced from Srila Prabhupada's true mission, which includes protecting children in the womb, but will also, according to the teachings of Sri Isopanishad, descend into the darkest regions of ignorance.
Honest people should take a stand then against this nonsense and misrepresentation of Srila Prabhupada's mission to promote a political campaign, by speaking Bhagavat philosophy.
