By Praghosa dasa
As ISKCON celebrates it’s 40th birthday we have much to reflect on. From it’s humble beginnings when Srila Prabhupada was more or less alone in a foreign land, to it’s early days when devotees began to join, to it’s explosion in the 70’s and 80’s. Later in the 80’s and on up to the present day ISKCON’s record is more mixed, actually many would say that ISKCON’s record has always been mixed. If that is true then we can probably agree that the difference now is that ISKCON’s mixed fortunes are more highlighted, as opposed to the halcyon days when Srila Prabhupada was physically present with us. During Srila Prabhupada’s vapuh presence we didn’t tend to focus on any reverses, at least not in a negative way.
No need to list those reverses here as we are all more than familiar with them, indeed if anything it is the positive developments that need highlighting, as they often don’t get the same oxygen of publicity as the less glorious events.
The question “Why do good things happen to bad people and why do bad things happen to good people” is often raised and if you replace the word people with ISKCON you could also ask the same question.
As we know the answer is fairly straightforward and it more or less comes down to the individuals free will. ISKCON has always be pretty liberal as far as who it allows through it’s doors and if the free will of some of those that enter is misused, then problems and often serious problems can follow. That of course does not mean that either ISKCON or it’s mission is invalidated but it does generally test our faith.
In the Bhagavad-gita there is a very nice verse:
etam vibhutim yogam ca mama yo vetti tattvatah
so ‘vikalpena yogena yujyate natra samsayah
“One who is factually convinced of this opulence and mystic power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt”
So if we are convinced of Krishna’s glory then the result is that we will never flinch in our faith and will be engaged 24/7 in unalloyed devotional service. On the other hand if we are not engaged in unalloyed devotional service 24/7 then the logical conclusion is that we do not fully accept the opulence, mystic power and glory of Krishna. In short there is some doubt that we accept/believe that Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead.
Even though we harbour these doubts we don’t have to go far to experience Krishna’s wonder. On a clear moonless night away from city lights, if we focus on the night sky for a few minutes we are privileged to see the most fantastic show – billions of stars – before our very eyes and Krishna tells us this is but a spark of His splendour!
Now consider for a moment the god like status that people often give musicians or football players. If someone has a hit record or someone can ‘bend it like Beckham’, before you know it every other teenager in the world has a poster of them on their wall, they earn millions from endorsements and the doors of royalty are open to them.
On the other hand the person who created the universe is all but forgotten. Therefore it is pretty clear that we take all these wonderous universal arrangements for granted and instead focus on the phantasmagoria of kali’s allure. Interestingly enough though when something goes wrong in this world like a hurricane or an earthquake or a famine etc., many people are quick to ask the question how could God allow such a thing to happen? In short God often gets the blame for the ‘bad’ things and no credit for ‘good’ things that we experience, at least from the faithless.
Perhaps there is an analogy to be drawn with our current experience in ISKCON? There is loften ittle focus or credit on the good things that are happening but bountiful focus on the earthquakes and tornado’s that pay us a visit (albeit too regularly) from time to time.
Your servant,
Praghosa dasa.
Very nice anology, I will also like if you could write somthing about people just criticizing others and they dont see any good in any thing.
I think the success and only success is sufficiently advertised in sites like yours and faults are widened in anti-ISKCON camps.
I would add a third category. Those who are capable of giving solutions while exercising the healthy habit of scrutinizing the truth even though at times it is not at all palatable, i.e. independent brahminical orientated devotees.
I think it’s important to focus on the truth and to identify when we have failed in the past, why it happened, what the underlying cause was, and what the consciousness was that created the misunderstanding and misapplication of our philosophy.
If this isn’t done by ourselves, and resolved from within, it will surely be done by outsiders such as the media, courts of law, or other enemies and rivals, at potentially far greater expense and damage to our society. There is also the chance of history repeating itself, if important issues are not resolved properly.
I am grateful that Dandavats.com features a “Comments” section, where one may immediately give opinions on a variety of subjects from many angles of vision. At the same time it is important to also catch devotees doing things right and to glorify our successes.
It would be nice if whoever wrote that previous comment aka “shiva das” could add something to his name to clarify that it is not me. I have been known as “shiva das ” or “shiva dasa” for many years on numerous vaishnava websites and I don’t want to be confused with someone else who uses the same name.
I was around in those days when His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami was present with us ,
most of us were incredibly naive,
we had to learn many lessons the hard way,the painfull way .
yes ,there is much to appreciate in the positive aspect of Krishna concioussness but the nature of the material world is a tendency to deteriorate to the lowest common denominator.
HDG also taught us to be familiar with the science of nescience ,otherwise how will you recognise it?
Read Srila Prabhupada’s books,Krishna concioussness is a science not merly sentiment.
If one is not willing to see the pitfalls on the spiritual path then be prepared to fall into them.
Hare Krsna!
Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
What a wonderful photo with this posting. Look, women in saffron! I once was giving a little impromptu class at the San Jose, CA, Temple and was talking about what it was like when I lived in the LA Temple around 1971. When I was telling them that I always wore saffron saris, a brahmacari actually fell over with laughter. He thought it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. When I explained to him that I joined ISKCON as a monk and was very serious about my sadhana, he became very sober and apologized.
Thank you so much for this picture and the wonderful memories of so long ago. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Your servant,
Satya devi dasi
(ACBSP)