Recently
His Holiness, Srila Janardana Maharaja, sent me an email telling me I
was offensive and he did not want to receive further emails from me.
For some background understanding, I encourage reading the following quotes from Sri Guru and His Grace and The Golden Volcano of Divine Love,
then my email response to Srila Janardana Maharaja. Copies of my email
were sent to all the Acharyas and to Sripada Goswami Maharaja.
From Sri Guru and His Grace:
In
trying to understand the relationships between guru and godbrother and
guru and disciple, we will find very subtle points of sentiment. Just
as when Krsna entered into the arena of Kamsa, he appeared differently
to different persons, the disciples will have one view of their guru
and his godbrothers will have another view and disposition. The
disciples of a genuine guru will see their guru as being with Krsna,
but that may not be seen to his godbrothers...
…You may see the guru in your own way, but still, you'll have to
behave in such a way that the newcomer's faith will not be disturbed.
The newcomers should always be encouraged, because it is very difficult
for a fallen soul to collect his faith and regard and offer it to the
guru. It should be our concern that they collect their maximum regard
and offer it to the guru. On the other hand, I may have my own
conception about my godbrother. I may foster that within my heart. As
much as possible I should try not to disturb his disciples...
…Otherwise, as long as possible, the rank should be respected.
Both the relative and absolute consideration go side by side. The
disciples should be encouraged by the relative consideration mostly.
And godbrothers will have more feel for the absolute consideration. But
still, they shouldn't disturb the newcomers in their premier position.
Even if you think that the person performing the function of acarya is
lower in qualification (adhikara) than you, still you should formally
give some special honor to him because he is in that position. The son
may be the judge, and the father may be the lawyer, but the father must
give respect to the son. He must give respect to the chair. So that
kind of adjustment should be kept in the mission. When you are alone,
the acarya brother and his nonacarya brother can mix freely. You can
give a slap to his face.
But when publicly amongst his disciples, you must show that sort of
behavior. Respectful conduct should be publicly maintained to keep up
the peace of the mission. |
From The Golden Volcano of Divine Love:
Should a devotee think, “The Deity and the temple is about to be
molested, but I shall stand by and do nothing. I should be humble and
tolerant. A dog is entering the temple; I should show him respect?” No.
This is not real humility.
We must have a normal conception of reality. We must not allow these
anomalies to continue in the name of offering respects to others. We
must not think that we may allow anyone to harm the devotees or molest
the temple, that we shall allow the dog to enter the temple, and by
doing this we are humble and tolerant, we are showing all respects to
others. We are not interested only in the physical meaning of the
scriptures, but the real meaning.
That I am humble means that I am the slave of the slave of a Vaishnava.
With that consciousness we must proceed. If anyone comes to molest my
master, I should first sacrifice myself, thinking, “Because I am of the
least importance, my sacrifice is no loss; I must sacrifice myself to
maintain the dignity of my guru, the devotees, and my Lord and His
family.”
We must always understand what is to be honored. We offer our respects
to the highest truth, the Lord of Lords; our dealings should be in
consonance with that. If we always keep the highest conception of
relativity within us, we will see that we are the lowest. If there is
danger to our guardians, we shall sacrifice ourselves. All of this
should be taken into account when trying to understand the meaning of
humility, not physical imitation—but genuine humility; it is a question
of practical realization. Fame and honor must be given to the Lord and
His devotees, not to anyone else.
In the higher stages of devotion, of course, humility may have to be
adjusted in another way for the paramahamsa babajis, the topmost
swanlike saints who have given up all connection with this material
world. But in the preaching stage, the second class devotee must accept
things differently. As our guru maharaja said, “Had I been in the role
of a babaji, a nonassertive, reclusive saint, I would have walked away
from the place without offering any opposition. But when we are
preaching and have taken the responsibility of leading so many souls to
the domain of the Lord, our adjustment must be made accordingly.”
Generally, we may be indifferent to those who are personally inimical
to us, but when we preach on behalf of the Lord in an organized way,
our duty changes: we cannot be indifferent to antagonists.
|
Dear Sripada Janardana Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
Please excuse my offense.
I do not want to offend anyone, least of all your Holiness.
Please calmly try to understand my situation.
I feel bound by my allegiance to Srila Govinda Maharaja to oppose the
actions of the "Acharya Board". You are a member of that Board and an
Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. If you were not a member, or an
Acharya, then I would, unhappily, honor your request to not contact you
further. However, when presenting my case to the Acharyas and the
"Acharya Board," I must include you. Please excuse me for this.
Below from a video on our website titled: Srila Sridhar Maharaja "Accepting the Inevitable from the Absolute Plane"
@ 16:50 (After question pertaining to how initiations would be carried
out after the disappearance of BSST, but before a "self effulgent
Acharya" appeared.)
"You see, we have come to understand, generally we feel, that Acharya
will appoint Acharya, his successor. But we saw that he did not, he
avoided. And, necessarily, we came to think that whatever spiritual
education he had already imparted to his disciples, this, and perhaps
it is natural, and he relied on his general preaching and instructions,
that it will come naturally from, from his own, imparted grace. It will
come automatically.
And, as it happened afterwards, in relative, from relative plane, we
may not appreciate that, but from the absolute standpoint we find, that
everything happens by the will of Krishna, Mahaprabhu, and necessarily
of Gurudeva. And that is all good.
In different ways, in different stages, and that reacted. What he told,
the reaction, the reverberation, has come in different ways. [sanskrt
verse] If we can accommodate the dissolution of yadu vamsa, the war of
Kurukshetra, if we find that that is not lacking in spiritual, from the
Absolute standpoint, then this dismemberment also, is to be
appreciated, appreciated.
While complaining, but we are to, still we are to accept the
inevitable, inevitable. And through this process the inevitable will
appear.
"Now we are sitting to find dissatisfaction in the existing
administration[of ISKCON]. It is a process. And through this process,
perhaps something will come out. We can't avoid this, this is a
necessary process. So, after Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura, that
was also so. Through our complaint, our dissatisfaction, so many
things came, and it was propagated and preached, in particular way. And
that is the final reading of things.
That in the ultimate, ultimate decision is in His hand. And what is
happening, that is all right, that is all alright. Still, according to
our own realization we shall strain, don't do this, but when done, that
may be accepted, by the will of Krishna.
It is a peculiar, thesis, antithesis, synthesis. "It is undesirable,
don't do it." But, when it is done, it should be accepted, His will. We
must, I am to adjust with that. In this way we are to take things. |
Maharaja, by your grace I am remembering something Srila Gurudeva once
told me. Srila Govinda Maharaja always invited Badrinarayana Prabhu to
take lunch prasadam with him. There were several days, however, when
Badri was very angry with him for some reason and would not go to take
prasadam with Srila Govinda Maharaja. Govinda Maharaja knew he would
not come to take prasadam with him but he always set the table with a
plate waiting for Badrinarayana.
Maharaja, I will always keep a plate waiting for you. That is because
my understanding is we are eternally bound by our mutual devotion to
the service of our Gurus. Now I am on one side, and you are on another.
Yesterday it was the reverse, we were on the same side, and tomorrow,
or sometime in the future, it may reverse again by the Divine Will.
This analogy may not be perfect but I hope you will understand my purpose for using it:
Just like sometimes we fight, friend to friend, to enjoy life, because
fighting is enjoyment. You become enemy of Krsna purposefully, and to
fight with Him, that is giving pleasure to Krsna. Krsna is enjoying,
and He also becomes so staunch enemy. So this is also transcendental
pleasure. Just like Bhisma. He is piercing the body of Krsna, and He is
coming with cakra. That is a pleasure. Krsna is enjoying being pierced
by His devotee. And devotee is enjoying, "Now Krsna is coming to kill
me."
Srila Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada
Room Conversations — September 11, 1974, Vrndavana |
Your humble servant,
Giri Maharaja |
