I Still Have Affection for Him (10/06/11)

I Still Have Affection for Him (10/06/11)

Dear ______,

Nice to get your fiery email.

I seldom, if ever, mention who I might be preaching against in my articles etc. “If the shoe fits wear it” is mainly my approach. As Prabhupāda once said, “Don’t call a cow a cow – just say an animal that has horns and gives milk etc.” Then if people are intelligent they will understand and make the right decisions.

But just for the record, there are numerous philosophical/siddhānta points that I do make in my preaching and writing that are aimed exactly against how and what our _____ Swami preaches. I especially do this with my disciples so they can understand who is who and what is what. The last issue being ____ Swami’s take on anādi-karma. I have dealt with this in my Anuvṛtti of Bhagava-gītā which is at the press this weekend, but i have not mentioned him by name.

I have not seen _____Swami or spoken to him in 5 years and we have been distant for over 13 years. I like to remember ____Swami from the old days because the path that he has taken now greatly disappoints me. But I cannot deny that I still have some affection for our ____ Swami as a godbrother. I keep a great distance, do not read his material, or recommend such to my disciples and dependents.

It sounds like you and ____Swami might do well to square off and go at it face to face so you can get it off your chest and let him know personally what is on your mind. But be advised – I have done this face to face with _____Swami on at least three occassions. The issues were things like rasa-tattva, vaiṣṇava-aparādha and siddhānta of the jīva. The moments were very, very intense and Swami didn’t budge an inch! _____Swami is no easy tackle! Bullheaded and over confident as one can get – even arrogant at times.

Otherwise I am happy to hear from you and I hope that you are doing well and serving Śrīla Prabhupāda nicely.

Gaura Haribol,
Swami Narasingha