The ever blissful, Easter week-end Sacred Sound Festival 2018 at ISKCON New Govardhan, NSW, Australia. March 30th to April 2nd 2018.
His Holiness Indradyumna Swami and Sri Prahlada Prabhu.
His Grace Badha Hari Prabhu and His Grace Janardana of Brisbane.
HG Caturatma Prabhu can also be seen in the second row.
An enthusiastic participant 🙂
To comply with The Sampradaya Sun’s editorial policy, let me first of all try to answer Sriman Ajita Krishna Das’ article of March 21st 2018 called “’Man’ not sexist.” We thank the respected Prabhu for his valuable contribution.
Yes, it is a fact that the word “man” is used 40985 times in the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. There certainly is nothing wrong with the term itself. Who will argue with that?Additionally “Men” is used 21837 times, “woman” is used 6992 times and “women” is used 7546 times.
1) But to unnecessarily change Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Achrya’s, written words represents an insult to Srila Prabhupada. As per Lord Caitanya’s words to Vallabha Acarya, it represents the work of a prostitute. “I know better that Srila Prabhupada” is clearly the trail of thought of a prostitute. “Husband” is another meaning of “Swami”. So once we have made our choice and commitments to Him directly or through His representatives and we are not faithful by pretending to jump over Jagat Guru A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s head, then we become prostitute.
“Gaandhaarii was a powerful ascetic, although she was living the life of a faithful wife and a kind mother. It is said that Gaandhaarii also voluntarily blindfolded her eyes because of the blindness of her husband. A wife’s duty is to follow the husband cent per cent. And Gaandhaarii was so true to her husband that she followed him even in his perpetual blindness. Therefore in her actions she was a great ascetic. Besides that, the shock she suffered because of the wholesale killing of her one hundred sons and her grandsons also was certainly too much for a woman. But she suffered all this just like an ascetic. Gaandhaarii, although a woman, is no less than Bhiishmadeva in character. They are both remarkable personalities in the Mahaabhaarata.” SB 1.9.48 Purport.
2) Because Srila Prabhupada’s message is meant for the whole world, it represents an insult to the whole world as well. Wittingly or unwittingly, clearly the attempt here is to falsify. Please note: The word “falsify” has got a twofold meaning:
A) The most common: to make false especially for the purpose of fraud or deception. This is the meaning I am referring too. This is a criminal activity.
B) To disprove. This is the meaning Sriman Ajita Krishna Prabhu of Denmark is using in his article. This defining information is sourced from The International WEBSTER New Encyclopaedic DICTIONARY of the English Language and LIBRARY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. New York.
3) And in this particular case, where Srila Prabhupada in His divine wisdom clearly chooses to express things in a gender-neutral terminology, to change it whimsically into a male-sided terminology represents an insult to the women group as well. And that is called misogynism or sexism.
Additionally, please find two Srila Prabhupada quotes on interpretation:
“Why they should interpret? Interpretation is required when there is no understanding. If the matter is clearly understood, why interpretation? This is rascaldom.” 740411MW.MUM
“When things are understood directly, there is no question of interpretation. The law of interpretation is like this: when the things are not distinct, then you can interpret in your own way, I can interpret in my own way. But when the things are distinct, there is no question of interpretation.” 760810ED.Teh
Srila Prabhupada sets the standards. Srila Prabhupada IS our standard of life. This, of course, presupposes that Srila Prabhupada is properly presented as He is and properly understood as well. Then our simple business is to follow him and not to change His divine words according to our personal motivations.
The principal items of Srila Prabhupada followership are
1) To chant a minimum of 16 rounds of Japa daily, or in other words, chant the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra at least 1728 times every day. 16 times 108 equals 1728.
2) To strictly follow the four regulative principles.
3) TO DAILY ATTEND MANGAL ARATIK at ISKCON temples or any other convenient location. The idea is to rise from bed by latest 4 AM. “Krsna…. It is all described in our Krsna book, Sriimad-Bhaagavatam. He was lying with His beautiful queens, and as soon as there is cockcrow, immediately He would rise, early in the morning, three o’clock. The queens will be disgusted: “Now it is early in the morning. Krsna will go away.” But Krsna immediately gave up the company of the wife and immediately rise and immediately take bath and do the needful, as it is enjoined in the Vedic performance.” 721027 SB.Vrn
4) And finally to make some significant practical service contribution to Lord Caitanya Sankirtan Preacher’s Movement.
One may finally counter-argue that this is just one example. No, incorrect again, there are just too many of such examples and the aggregate effect is quite extensively distorting.
And please find more of the same:
Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Original Transcript (OT) by Srila Prabhupada, chapter 4, text 10, extract of purport, with some minimal and unavoidable changes reads:
“Some of them are too much materially attached and thus do not give any attention to spiritual life; some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause and some of them, out of hopelessness, disbelieve in everything being angry at all sorts of spiritual speculation. The last class of men take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication and the EFFECTIVE HALLUCINATION is accepted as spiritual existence.”
Bhagavad-gita As It Is version one (V1) and version two (2) are identical and read:
“Some people are too materially attached and therefore do not give attention to spiritual life, some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause, and some of them disbelieve in everything, being angry at all sorts of spiritual speculation out of hopelessness. This last class of men take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their AFFECTIVE HALLUCINATIONS are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision.”
We note that unscrupulous editors have unauthorizedly and nonchalantly changed Srila Prabhupada’s original expression “EFFECTIVE HALLUCINATION” into “AFFECTIVE HALLUCINATIONS“. There is a world of difference between the two expressions.
The particular editor who made this change can definitely not be trusted. And subsequent editors did not pick up and correct this anomaly. They agreed with this unauthorized and speculated change. This action disqualifies them as well to finally edit Srila Prabhupada’s books. We acknowledge herewith and thank them however for whatever positive and valuable contributions they have made to the presentation of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavat Gita As It Is. Their contribution is not insignificant at all!
The extent and implications of this type of changes are very important and with far reaching consequences. By introducing the expression “AFFECTIVE HALLUCINATIONS” instead of the original “EFFECTIVE HALLUCINATION”, the responsible editor opens the whole new world of personal emotions, which belongs to realm of psychology and psychiatry and thereby gives the followers of Bhagavad-gita As It Is an illegitimate pass to these worlds, whereas Srila Prabhupada’s statement is simply a statement of cause and effect and does not at all impinge on the realm of psychology or psychiatry. (Or at least not in the all- encompassing way the unauthorised modified versions 1 & 2 of BGAII do.) Now the readers of Bhagavad-gita As It Is version 1 and version 2 may use the tools of psychology and psychiatry benevolently or malevolently, as they like, because “it is in the Bhagavad-gita”. Departing from the Original Manuscript (OT), the unspoken message of BGAII V1 & V2 is now: If you do not understand what we are talking about or do not agree with us, we would advise you to seriously consider undergoing a comprehensive mental health check. Therefore I am saying this type of change is poisonous and must therefore be corrected.
It may not be exclusively meant to help people on the path of self-realization, but may also be used in a negative and destructive way in an attempt to control and poison people’s minds.
It is dishonest. It represents Guru-aparada, offense to Guru. It is sly and poisonous.
In Srila Prabhupada’s own words: It is a lie. Dictionary gives “an intentional false statement” for “lie”.
From the legal point of view, it is a betrayal of fiduciary duties in the realm of intellectual property, because there is after all an unwritten contract between the author and his editors. We feel a serious and inexcusable crime has been committed. The mundane law being relative, the mundane perspective may change from country to country. Manu Samhita, Bhagavad-gita As It Is and other Vedic scriptures however are ONE and are meant for the whole planet earth. We herewith invite professional persons interested in the matter to comment on this point. We thank you very much in anticipation for your valuable participation.
I personally think that it will be fair to say that Srila Prabhupada will ascribe such unauthorized and poisonous changes to the realm of “rascaldom”, one of His favorite and strong expressions of condemnation.
When members don’t agree with the main party lines of an organization, it is sometimes experienced that there are at least two political tactics to discredit them: Character assassination and mental health assassination. Here the door has been nonchalantly opened for the second option.
This happens in organizations with low ethical standards and I have personal experience of this. It has happened in the distant past. I have seen it happening. And just very recently (March 2017) I have become an attempted victim of it as well. Caution, experience and information are required when dealing with such individuals.
It is just like the psychiatric class who invents and labels a new marketable disease for even the slightest mental disturbance, whereas Kali-yuga is the age of mental disturbance par excellence. Neither is every mental disturbance a disease. Besides that, for the serious practitioner of Bhakti yoga and chanter of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra as in
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
most so-called mental disturbances, can be easily and effectively countered by the steady chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra, without the administration of allopathic drugs.
As an understatement, I may say that Srila Prabhupada did not have a high opinion of such mental health practitioners and countered them with His own short treatise “Who is crazy?”
Finally and for my thoughtful reader’s consideration, I would like to add this passage of Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad Bhagavatam 3.19.33, purport, to my present article. Thank you very much!
“If anyone wants to derive transcendental pleasure by hearing the pastimes of the Lord, he must hear from the authoritative source, as explained here. Maitreya heard the narration from his bona fide spiritual master, and Vidura also heard from Maitreya. One becomes an authority simply by presenting whatever he has heard from his spiritual master, and one who does not accept a bona fide spiritual master cannot be an authority. This is clearly explained here. If one wants to have transcendental pleasure, he must find a person with authority. It is also stated in the Bhaagavatam that simply by hearing from an authoritative source, with the ear and the heart, one can relish the pastimes of the Lord, otherwise it is not possible. Sanaatana Gosvaamii, therefore, has especially warned that one should not hear anything about the personality of the Lord from the lips of a non-devotee. Non-devotees are considered to be like serpents; as milk is poisoned by a serpent’s touch, so, although the narration of the pastimes of the Lord is as pure as milk, when administered by serpent like non-devotees it becomes poisonous. Not only does it have no effect in transcendental pleasure, but it is dangerous also. Lord Caitanya Mahaaprabhu has warned that no description of the pastimes of the Lord should be heard from the Maayaavaada, or impersonalist, school. He has clearly said, maayaavaadi-bhaashya shunile haya sarva naasha: if anyone hears the Maayaavaadiis’ interpretation of the pastimes of the Lord, or their interpretation of Bhagavad-giitaa, Shriimad-Bhaagavatam or any other Vedic literature, then he is doomed. Once one is associated with impersonalists, he can never understand the personal feature of the Lord and His transcendental pastimes.”(c)BBT International.
Yadavendra Das Vanacari
April 1st, 2018, ISKCON New Govardhana, NSW, Australia, at the ever-blissful Sacred Sound Festival 2018 and looking forward to the Sacred Sound Festival 2019.
Let me take this opportunity to proclaim to the world that especially Sri Prahlada’s last kirtan performance of this Sunday April 1st 2018, was truly a masterpiece and convincing performance, in the widest sense of these musical terms. With his wonderful, solid and full voice, he truly deserves the title “Prabhu” or “Master”, as is the etiquette in Krishna consciousness. Sri Prahlada Prabhu, please accept my humble obeisances! He kindly played this tune at my own request. This is a tune from his own repertoire, that struck me when I heard it first some years ago. At first I had a little difficulty to follow. As opposed to the pioneering times, there are indeed nowadays many fancy tunes. What amazes me more is that the general body of devotees don’t seem to have any trouble following fancy tunes. They get it right first time. This begs the conclusion: the general body of devotees are good musicians. All glories to Lord Caitanya’s worldwide Sankirtan Movement!!!
--The Australian Society for Krishna Culture. AUSKCULTURE, operation start 1984 -- ABN 65 231 425 870. 
