By the GBC EC
In response to some devotees’ concerns regarding his book “Sanatorium”, Satsvarupa Maharaja has given the following comment and has also decided to withdraw from circulation any remaining copies of the book.
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I have come to realize that my book “Sanitorium” contains explicit sexual scenes and references. I am sorry I have written it. I apologize and promise not to write a book like this again.Yours in service to Prabhupada, Satvarupa das Goswami
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There should be a recall of these books and devotees offered their money back. After the books are taken out of circulation, they should be destroyed. Once that is done, I would consider accepting the apology.
I have not seen the book, but I cannot imagine it is as x-rated as a lot of what we encounter every day in popular culture.
Satsvarupa Maharaja has apologized. Any of us can make a mistake or two. Most of us make hundreds and thousands. He has written many great books and is very dear to Srila Prabhupada. He deserves our kind thoughts and good wishes. How can we be cold or harsh to him?
Hopefully someone amongst his godbrothers is reaching out to help him. The credibility of ISKCON’s official leadership and its endorsement stamp should be also be considered in how this is dealt with.
As a matter of general principle: if someone is endorsed by a centralized authority structure then they should be accountable to that centralized authority and the corporate structure should be accountable to them and for them, taking care of them and accepting responsibility for their outcomes. Otherwise, if no-one can take care of them, then the endorsement in general loses its value, because the corporate body that supposedly backs it appears to be ineffective.
A wayward soldier must be disciplined and brought back in line with the official policy, or discharged. Either way, his army and his nation bear the responsibility for his actions committed while officially representing them.
Hare Krishna,
An editorial decision has been made not to post any more comments on this subject. The three comments posted are a reflection of the general comments received. In particular there are very strong opinions about some of the content in the book concerned, on the other side many are expressing that compassion and support are the order of the day.
The statement itself was posted due to significant numbers expressing concern about some of the content of the book and the statement makes clear that the content concerned was inappropriate.
We are encouraged that such a response, addressing the concerns of the devotees, was voluntarily forthcoming from the author.
Your servant, Praghosa dasa.