You Don't Actually Want the Answers! (11/14/05)Who is Strictly Following, and Who Has Become Asāra? (01/05/06)Disagreements to Keep the Conversation Alive (12/29/05)
Dear Śrīpāda V____ Mahārāja,
Daṇḍavat praṇāmas. All glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṇga.
Nice to hear from you after quite some time.
We have had a tumultuous time dealing with our dear godbrother B____, who has now renounced his sannyāsa and all connection with our sanga. A____ Mahārāja is struggling with his new āśrama but is trying to stay connected and is still preaching. It may take a while before he makes his full public appearance in India though.
Yes, there is a bit of that ‘tumult’ floating around the internet. I remember in 1994 when Iskcon rudely rejected X___ Mahārāja he proclaimed that he would , “make his own Iskcon”. Indeed, it looks like he has done it. Your saṅga now has all the problems of Iskcon plus a few of its own.
We were happy to see in some recent correspondence, however, that X____Mahārāja is now recognizing that devotees have anarthas and they need to be overcome; He is…”is of the opinion that there are better ways to help devotees who are struggling to overcome their anarthas”.
This came as a pleasant surprise since in the past X___ Mahārāja was adamant that simply by hearing rasa-līlā one would overcome all anarthas. This is certainly a change for the better since without first overcoming anarthas, if one hears rasa-līlā topics only lusty desires will arise. Certainly the womanizing fall downs of T___ and A___ bear testimony to that.
As for A___ , he was reading Kāma-sūtra as a so-called sannyāsī and now as a householder he is practicing Kāma-sūtra. In my opinion he was never qualified to preach and is even less qualified today. He was a ‘guru-wannabe’ and in the end he will probably become like H___ and other sahajiyās who out of envy oppose the pure line of bhakti.
One thing. We have this boy who visits us and even took initiation from Srila X____ Mahārāja. He has visited your place from time to time as he goes to Mysore on occasion. He told me a story of some philosophical exchange that he had with Śrīpāda G___ Mahārāja in which Mahārāja sounded very critical of our saṅga. Now the way in which this was told, I knew that it was fabrication because I know the nature of G__ Mahārāja. He is one of the nicest and most open-hearted devotees I have ever met. The problem is that this boy is an uncontrollable liar and if he fabricated that story about G__ Mahārāja, he may well be telling similar tales about us to you. Just be careful of this boy.
Yes, that boy is a nonsense. What you heard though is probably true. That boy came here trying to talk gopī-līlā and Gīta Govinda and G___ Mahārāja gave him the straight sauce – something any paramparā devotee would do. G__ Mahārāja also asked that boy not to come here again, but the fool returned and so he gave him the sauce again! If the fool comes again we will beat him with shoes!
I and the devotees here have strong affection for you and your group and look forward to years of congenial relationships.
Your affections are much appreciated and I have also great affection for you (my dear godbrother). But I cannot bend from what I know to be true and so these affections are surely going to be put to the test. I truly hope they endure.
Disagreements do keep the conversation alive, so lets begin where we left off.
I wrote to you about the opinion of X___ Mahārāja with regards to Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu having been a sannyāsī. I pointed out that Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and all our paramparā say that Nityānanda was never a sannyāsī. You replied that indeed X____ Mahārāja insists Nityānanda to have been a sannyāsī. You gave me references in your email to “Nityānanda-Caritāmṛta” and also mentioned that “great ācāryas sometimes disagree” inferring that it is acceptable that X____ Mahārāja disagrees with Prabhupāda, Śrīdhara Mahārāja, Purī Mahārāja, etc.
Firstly, I wish to point out that “Nityānanda-Caritāmṛta” cannot be quoted as a bona-fide Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava literature. It has not been mentioned by any ācārya in our line since the time of Mahāprabhu, nor is it mentioned in the “Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Abhidhāna” (the Gauḍīya Encyclopedia of bona-fide Gauḍīya literature). Nor is the “Nityānanda-Caritāmṛta” found anywhere at the Vrindavana Research Institute (which has a very extensive collection of bona fide Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava literature).
Where the “Nityānanda-Caritāmṛta” is found however is at the śrīpaṭa of Īśvara Purī that is under the control of the sahajiyā section known as the ‘Nitāi-Gaura Rādhe-Śyāma Bābās” founded by Radhā-Ramaṇa Caraṇa an opponent of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura (thus an opponent to pure bhakti). Therefore the book in question cannot be accepted as anything more than interpolated sahajiyā literature.
So you are quoting sahajiyā literature to support X___ Mahārāja’s view. How do you suppose that translates?
As regards Nityānanda Prabhu and sannyāsa, the opinion of Sridhara Mahārāja, Purī Mahārāja, our Prabhupāda, etc., also includes the opinion of Keśava Mahārāja and that of all the bona fide disciples of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura who was emphatic that Nityānanda was not a sannyāsī! So in effect you are saying that X____ Mahārāja disagrees with all the ācāryas in our paramparā including his own guru and his param-guru. This we do not find acceptable (this is not the hallmark of a great ācārya).
Similarly, Iskcon has the misconception about the jīva falling from Goloka-Vṛndāvana and this is sometimes supported by saying that it was Prabhupāda’s special realization although such a so-called realization would put him at odds with our entire sampradāya. Now, you are saying that X_____ Mahārāja’s realization or information about the sannyāsa of Nityānanda Prabhu differs from all of our ācāryas and gurus, but that it is acceptable.
This puts your saṅga and Iskcon in the same boat – misconception, apa-siddhānta, apa-sampradāya.
There are other controversial topics that I wish to discuss with you when time permits.
Since we are at it, there is the topic of the “Omniscience” of the guru. According to X____ Mahārāja and your saṅga, Prabhupāda was omniscient, the guru is omniscient, thus X____ Mahārāja is omniscient. We strongly disagree.
If the guru is omniscient then why does X____ Mahārāja keep asking K__ Prabhu to call when he knows he will not? And January 19th is not far away…
If you want to know where I get my information – well, I am a guru, therefore I must be omniscient….
Hoping this meets you well.
Your affectionate godbrother,
Swami B.G. Narasingha
