THIS WAS A LOVING EXCHANGE! (?)
All glories to Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga
This was a loving exchange! (?)
Date 10.06.2025
For a loving exchange to happen, two components are necessary: love and exchange.
We don’t perceive love and affection in the criticism (or critical behaviour) of Srila Swami Maharaj. Any person who possesses common sense also will not. At some point an official order was issued by Swami Maharaj:
“So I have now issued orders that all my disciples should avoid all of my godbrothers. They should not have any dealings with them nor even correspondence, nor should they give them any of my books or should they purchase any of their books, neither should you visit any of their temples. Please avoid them.”
751109 - Letter to Visvakarma written from Bombay
And still today they are following the same dirty policy. Many devotees have experienced the divisive attitude of that society and their allergy towards Gauḍīya Maṭh, their very own root and vital sustenance.
Please consult “Gaudiya Math Resolutions” of ISKCON’s GBC (https://gbc.iskcon.org/resolutions-regarding-gaudiya-math/ ). If you still are not familiar with this topic, please dedicate some time to it. There, you will find various prohibitions, penalties etc. related to dealings with Gaudiya Math. Among many astonishing statements, we can read the following:
“His Divine Grace cautioned us about taking intimate association and instructions from outside Gaudiya Vaisnavas. At the same time His Divine Grace said to maintain cordial, respectful, and friendly relations with a hope for future cooperation. To balance these two instructions we must deeply study Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and be firmly grounded in his vision.”
[…]
“In obedience to the instruction of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the GBC directs that the members of ISKCON should respect all senior Gaudiya Vaishnavas outside ISKCON, but should not intimately associate with them, personally or through printed or recorded media, for guidance, teaching, instruction, or initiation as their presentation of Krishna consciousness often differs from that of Srila Prabhupada in emphasis, balance and other aspects of both teaching and practice.”
Thus, we believe that this sectarian attitude cannot be caused by the love and affection apparently shown by Swami Maharaj toward his Godbrothers and sva-sampradaya. On the contrary, we can see that a new sampradaya was created by him with it’s own rules and regulations or siddhanta vichars (preached by Swami Maharaj). To understand the topic of Sampradaya nistha please consult “HE WAS A MAHABHAGAVAT, THEREFORE HE CANNOT MAKE ANY MISTAKE (?)” section, part 2 —> https://www.echoes-of-eternity.com/beyond-the-veil/ac-bhaktivedanta-swami-maharaj/analyzing-every-justification-for-those-offenses/he-was-a-mahabhagavat-therefore-he-cannot-make-any-mistake/part-2 .
Then how can we accept that this was an exchange? Almost all blaspheme was done behind the scenes (the Vaishnavas which were the target of his offenses were not even present).
None of our Guru-varga never told anything bad against Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja or ISKCON, not even a single such document you can show to us. There are big archives of video/audio recordings, books, articles of our Gaudiya Guru-varga. We have never come across any offensive comments by them.
Or, if you like to show the example of fighting mood usually taking place in High Court or Supreme Court or in any court in the world between two pleaders to defeat each other to prove or ensure personal victory, whereas you may discover that both of them are bosom friend of each other. But still this example is really unbecoming, because in Gauḍīya Bhajan field this is not at all applicable or never we can give the example of mutual fighting mood between Śrīmāti Rādhārāṇī’s group and Chandravali’s group because that is the most exclusive question of serving Śrī Nandanandan Śrī Kṛṣṇa absolutely. The Prabhupāda said that— “If love and rupture going to happen for the same absolute purpose of serving Nandanandan Śrī Kṛṣṇa absolute way, then in that case this should be given absolute honour and respect.” But here in this case the reason is just opposite of what The Prabhupāda told. So, anyway, we can never honour this kind of sabotage against our Sarasvat Gauḍīya Guru-varga and Gauḍīya Maṭh.
In conclusion, we will quote one western devotee, Richard Shaw Brown, who personally lived with Bhakti Hṛdaya Vāna Gosvāmī Mahārāja (Bon Mahārāja) full-time for six and a half years in Vṛndāvana (1968-1973).
From Q&A: Tridandi Swami B.H. Bon Maharaj (Part 1):
“I lived with him in Vraja. In fact, he never ever criticized any of his Godbrothers.”
“It was clear to me that Vana Maharaj had great love and respect for Tirtha Maharaj whom he often said was the dearest disciple of Prabhupada. He would only mention the names of his Godbrothers when he would be praising them for their great service and high qualities.
I traveled on several trips with Vana Maharaj to meet his intimate Godbrothers like Tirtha Maharaj and Sridhar Maharaj in Bengal. I saw their love and respect for him and visa versa. I also saw his leading Godbrothers come to visit him at his bhajan kutir in Vrndavana. Whenever we would visit them or they would visit us I was happy to see how the different disciples of Vana Maharaj and his Godbrothers were like a very happy family. The concept of "my Guru Maharaj is better than yours" just didn't exist at all. The different devotees mixed happily and loved and respected each other as well as their different Gurudeva's.”
“I saw with my own eyes the love between Vana Maharaj, Tirtha Maharaj, and his other leading Godbrothers; love that was deep and strong. Especially strong was the relationship between Vana Maharaj and Tirtha Maharaj. Vana Maharaj had so many stories of praise for Tirtha Maharaj that I also became in awe of him and I still am.”
"The reason I left Vana Maharaj was because I became polluted by the mundane association of ISKCON devotees, who convinced me that Vana Maharaj (and all Gaudiya Matha devotees) were no good. It was my bad karma, but also the greatest spiritual mistake of my life leaving the sweet shelter of my Shiksha & Diksha Guru Srila Bhakti Hrdaya Vana Maharaj; and since returning to ISKCON I found everything different from the bona fide Gaudiya Math system of Srila Param-Gurudev. The whole taste is completely different."
Ever since returning to ISKCON in late 1973 I was stunned to see the ill-consciousness and bad behavior of ISKCON devotees. Going from Gaudiya Math to ISKCON was worse than falling down. The devotees were NOT trained in Gaudiya thinking, Vaisnavatva (etiquette), puja, nor achar. They even sang the Maha-mantra wrong and made many mistakes such as bowing during the prema-dhavani prayers. The only goal was $$$. Even though ACBSP knew that I was a fugitive with no passport, still he wanted me to go and collect money in Amritsar. That (laxmi-points) was the be all and end all of Iskcon life. It was such a shock. It went against everything I had learned for six years from Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, etc., in the association of REAL devotees.
I watched in horror as an ISKCON sannyasi used his feet to kick other devotees during kirtana in front of the Deities (to make them dance); to see the puja standard performed incorrectly; to see men and women living in Ashram life together like cats and dogs; to witness the complete lack of knowledge and Vaisnavatva; and to see the mundane attitude of all these total kanistha beginners who were more like fanatic Jesus-freaks than a group of humble devotees. It was such BAD association. Everyone was running in circles like headless-chickens chasing after material goals in the worst way. It was personality-cult communism with ACBSP (in his 'old man' vāpu) as the center, not Kṛṣṇa.
Since then I lost respect for Iskcon people; it was obvious that they didn't understand Gaudiya-dharma prayojan, and they were dead-set against taking any help from or showing respect to Gauḍīya Maṭha devotees nor Prabhupāda's still-living great Godbrothers. They were so sure that they were already liberated and all-perfect. But I knew, clearly, that just the opposite was the truth. A perfect example is the zonal acarya guru worship I had to endure in L.A. before the "something-pad" fell down completely, leaving hundreds or even thousands of individual jivatma's with their faith completely shattered and their lives up-side-down. It was and still is disgusting to me. I take "svarupa-siddhi" to mean self-realization. These untrained fools were bad-mouthing all of Prabhupāda's great Godbrothers and Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh, while kissing the ass of rich karmis just to get those all-important "laxmi points."
From "Vande Gurun" Means More Than One:
“When I first joined Srila Bhakti Hrdaya Vana Maharaj in Jan. '68, I was taught that all the Gaudiya Math acaryas (his Godbrothers) were equally great and I loved them and all of their disciples. It didn't matter what Matha. I went with Vana Maharaj and visited many of his Godbrothers including B.V. Tirtha Maharaj, Sridhar Maharaj, Madhava Maharaj, etc. I saw the love and respect they shared with Vana Maharaj. I saw with my own eyes Vana Maharaj and Sridhar Maharaj weeping as they embraced each other. And I saw all the disciples of Vana Maharaj mixing with those of Tirtha Maharaj, Madhava Maharaj, Ashram Maharaj, Sridhar Maharaj, etc., all respecting and loving each other like the best of family. All was pakka seva, bhajan, vairagya, vidya and humility. All was pure and polite Krsna consciousness.
B U T...Then I met some ISKCON devotees who burst my blissful bubble.
They informed me about material duality, that I was a traitor. Us/them.
ISKCON v/s the evil Gaudiya Math. This offensive association finally led to me offending my own great well-wisher and honorable Diksa-Siksa Gurudeva, Srila Vana Maharaj and caused me to leave him to join forces with the so-called "good guys," viz., ISKCON. That was my spiritual downfall. I now look back and realize that my years in Sri Gaudiya Matha were real, bona fide Krsna Consciousness and that's what is missing in ISKCON.
I believe that the downfall of ISKCON may be caused by this most offensive thinking and acting against BSSP's great disciples and our mother-faith, Sri Gaudiya Math.”
Please compare the genuine loving exchanges inside Sri Gaudiya Math described by Richard Shaw Brown and the positive results they produced, with the words and actions of Swami Maharaj — which you refer to as 'loving exchange' — and consider where those 'loving exchanges' (which were in fact unilateral offenses) have led us all.
Hari Hari Bol