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Basu Ghos pr defeating some liberal Godbrother

read here https://www.facebook.com/basughoshdas/posts/10153676381738232



Message to a senior godbrother - response to somethings he wrote. He had much intimate association with Prabhupada. For that, and much more I have much respect and regard for him. Since our correspondence was private, I cannot reveal here who he is. Kindly excuse me for that. Below is a "cut and paste" of what I wrote:

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Some thoughts -- without doing research -- on what you've written herein above.

1. Yes, you are my elder godbrother - duly acknowledged. You performed many valuable services to Srila Prabhupada and his movement, both directly during Prabhupada's lifetime, and afterwards. It is not so much recognized by most ISKCON devotees -- you are "off the radar" for the most part, although there are those who do know of your past services and appreciate them.

2. Prabhupada remarked that he didn't have much association with his "guru maharaj" Srila Saraswati Thakur. Yet we follow him without feeling it was a disqualification. Prabhupada also remarked how some of his other godbrothers were far more philosophical that he was. Here too we do not take this statement and lessen his importance as far as guidance in so many matters go -- by and large. Sure many devotees in ISKCON -- leaders included -- have their own ideas that differ from Prabhupada - even in ideology, and that includes the GBC and some of their questionable decisions, specifically the "Women's resolution" of 2000 -- a blatantly affirmative action statement -- and the two resolutions -- still on the books -- calling for female diksha gurus in ISKCON.

3. Yes, there is tremendous degradation in India. No argument here.

The analogy of the dead elephant that Prabhupada described is fitting here. Despite all you've written, it's clear from what Prabhupada wrote, discussed, and lectured on, that he felt that Indian culture -- and I posted several statements of Prabhuapda's to prove this -- was the best in the world! See SB 5.19.21 for more proof.

4. Is it that things are better elsewhere? You mentioned that there are more visitors to China and Russia than India. Etc. What does that prove? China is a nation of dog eaters. Russia is a nation of drunkards. Cow eaters. Mlecchas, yavanas, and chandaalas.

India has the vedas, vedic literatures that came afterwards, and monuments proving that society led by the pious Rajas mentioned in the Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramanaya, etc., were followers of the vedic system.

5. Prabhupada said we are not utopian. He acknowledged that this present age of kali is a time when the mass of humanity is fallen. It is not a surprise. It is sad. But should we Prabhupada's follows even think for a minute that Western civilization and it's ethos -- Equal rights, liberal, leftist, egalitarianism -- is better than varnashram? I for one should hope not.

6. Where should we go from here? Have you read Badrinarayan Swami's paper asking the GBC to consider this point? And many other points. Do we want to imbibe what Prabhupada clearly taught, or adopt a contradictory trajectory as propounded by Hridayananda, that has of yet not been condemned by the GBC? The GBC is not perfect. They can and have made serious errors of judgment as a group.

7. Just because someone joined ISKCON back in the 1960s does not in and of itself confer perfection nor perfect understanding on that person. Example from the Gaudiya Math is the story of the late Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj, known during his grihasta days as Kunja Babu. Prabhupada remarked when he passed away -- more than a year before Prabhupada -- that he went "back home back to godhead"!

Despite being openly "envious" of Prabhupada and his achievements.

He is the one who persuaded Srila Saraswati Thakur to come to Calcutta from Mayapur and begin his preaching mission.

But he could not achieve the type of success that Prabhupada had - not by any stretch, obviously.

So being practically Saraswati Thakur's first disciple, did not make him his obvious successor. I could go on, but I think I've made my point.

Prabhupada both criticized and respected his godbrothers. He did not declare that they were somehow un-bonafide and that he was the only successor to Saraswati Thakur. Nor did he stand on claims of seniority. His success was his vigorous preaching, scholarly and managerial abilities. Of course we believe he was empowered - shaktyavesh - to preach. He himself encouraged others to do so. "I am just one Indian", "if all Indians would preach then the world may change" (paraphrase in the 2nd line).

Prabhupada told us -- you were not there -- at Nellore: "vedic culture is more intact in South India". It was a general observation. It is still true in many ways. At the same time we see that vedic culture -- also known as Hinduism -- is strong all over India in different ways. And also very weak! It is a sad dichotomy. Yet if we are "guna grahi" - if we can imbibe the good -- like separating the rice and the chaff -- Western mlecchas and yavanas like us can learn much. Considering what our childhood samskaras and training was!

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