BUT THE CARAVAN GOES ON

I just heard this beautiful, standing ovation presentation by Sivarama Maharaja on vaisnavi diksha gurus and wanted to present few additional perspectives to the already brilliant on its own speech he gave. I’d not get into this, as Maharaja said “it’s a distraction” and it’s more of a distraction when some uncultured people dare to comment on this incredibly balanced and sincere video of Maharaja as if (and it pains me to quote this) “ISKCON sanyasi would demand that all unmarried, beautiful female vaisnavis should be initiated by himself instead of a female initiating guru”.

This obnoxious comment illustrates why so many devotees want to stay out of all these discussions.

Srimad Bhagavatam states that in Kali Yuga one who has the most audacity would be considered most honest.

And the most painful it is to see how offensively people can express their so-called idea of “protecting unmarried, beautiful female vaisnavis”. They have a better idea than that which was expressed by guru, sadhu, shastras. They have no faith in the sincerity and purity of the present initiating gurus.

As if giving beads and name to a spiritual daughter is inappropriate? And repeating the words of previous acharyas to her sitting in the class or in a smaller assembly is also inappropriate? This kind of thought is as offensive as ritvikism, which states that nobody is qualified to give initiations. So similarly not one son of Srila Prabhupada has any basic culture to act as spiritual father or uncle to a spiritual daughter. Some people’s minds are so perverted they can’t see anything else around them accept their own dirt.

It’s actually funny, how this comment makes an impression of someone who is very “conservative” (because doesn’t want the vaisnavis to have any contact with the “male gurus”) and at the same time totally bogus (claiming that one has to take the shelter of the spiritual master according to her own gender)

Well, regarding the guarding of the young beauties, Srila Prabhupada mentions in the comment in Caitanya Caritamrita that the culture used to be such that even the Sun would not see the ladies beauty. They would travel in palanquin. And we’ve heard that they would accept their husbands as their spiritual masters. But the most laughable is that the ladies who want female gurus also want ladies to be on leadership roles which actually means more exposure and more attention, rather than protection.

It’s heartbreaking how people literally tear devotees apart because devotees are trying to establish what Srila Prabhupada stated in His books, instead of establishing what these people state in their comments.

You know why I say “people” instead of saying “devotees”?

Because devotees, vaisnavas, don’t speak like how those people speak. If you like to hear how Vaishnavas speak, listen to Sivarama Maharaja’s video. This is how vaisnavas speak. With kindness, respect, apologising if there was any offence committed, thinking oneself as an insignificant jiva.

This entire resolution has brought nothing but tension into our society, and I strongly feel that some people gain a lot of profit from such instability.

Who wants to see ISKCON following the instructions of Srila Prabhupada which he explicitly gave in his books?

Who wants to see vaisnavis accepting Sri Guru as their life and soul, just like when Ramanujacharya came to visit his disciple’s house and the wife of the disciple didn’t have proper clothes, but she received and fed the spiritual master sumptuously despite all odds and DARE YOU NOT despite the fact that he was a MALE guru.

Who wants to see strong families where the wives are taking care of their husbands and children with love and devotion, serving Guru and Krishna?

Who wants to see brahmacaris taking on celibate and vigorously engaging in preaching and propagating the message of Lord Caitanya without a single shred of doubt and full faith that everything in Srila Prabhupada’s books is true, and they’re not missing out in life?

Who wants to see guru sanyasis swimming in love and affection, in laxmi they’ve received from diksha of their disciples (as if guruship is all about the love and affection and money, it has nothing to do with being able to properly represent and carry the instructions AS THEY ARE from His Guru, His Param Guru and so on)

Who in the world want to reestablish varnasrama? Ok, Srila Prabhupada wanted, His Divine Grace wanted, ok, but we are NOT THIS BODY anyway, so who wants to introduce more and more discrimination into the world, isn’t it?

I personally have only one question: Who are these people who have the audacity to introduce complete lack of proper intellectual discrimination into society? Complete lack of common sense? Complete lack of adherence to Srila Prabhupada’s books? And with that crazy combination, they want to dictate what this movement should and should not do?

Some even say “Look at the Radha Madhava and Asta Sakhis and you will see how legit is the idea of FDGs!”

What are you talking about!?

What kind of statement is this?

Why can’t we look at the pictures right below Them, where there is guru-parampara, and actually make conclusions whether this resolution is legit or not.

As they say divide and conquer… divide and conquer. I’m sure some demons are thriving at the chaos they can cause. They must be like “Let them bark at each other like dogs! So that we’d hear nothing except barking! Not even the Holy Names!”

Srila Prabhupada said that if a devotee hears blaspheme of other devotees or Supreme Lord he acts like fire at the offenders. This is my humble attempt at fire-blasting.

And to all those who also listened to Sivarama Maharaja with delight – let us just continue our spiritual journey towards our own advancement, inspiring each other and praying to assist His Divine Grace in flooding the world with sankirtana movement by strictly following Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. As they say, dogs bark but the caravan goes on. Srila Prabhupada also quoted this proverb.

Your servant,
Arati devi dasi

P.S. Once and for all let us stop saying that mother is the first guru. This information has been circulating in ISKCON for decades. But! In Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna Book, Sri Krishna Himself states: “My dear friend, everyone should consider his father to be his first teacher because by the mercy of one’s father one gets this body. The father is therefore the natural spiritual master. Our next spiritual master is he who initiates us into transcendental knowledge, and he is to be worshiped as much as I am. The spiritual master may be more than one. The spiritual master who instructs the disciple about spiritual matters is called the śikṣā-guru, and the spiritual master who initiates the disciple is called the dīkṣā-guru. Both of them are My representatives. There may be many spiritual masters who instruct, but the initiator spiritual master is one. A human being who takes advantage of these spiritual masters and, receiving proper knowledge from them, crosses the ocean of material existence is to be understood as having properly utilized his human form of life. He has practical knowledge that the ultimate interest of life, which is to be gained only in this human form, is to achieve spiritual perfection and thus be transferred back home, back to Godhead.”

Happy Spiritual Father’s Day!