WHY DO YOU SAY OR DO WHAT NO VAISHNAVA HAS EVER SAID OR DONE PREVIOUSLY?
Why do you say or do what no Vaishnava has ever said or done previously?
As previously emphasized, the activities of Vaiṣṇavas are based on the particular sevā they have received from above. Our Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja received Sampradāya-sevā; therefore, all his activities aim to the fulfillment of that divine mission.
It is also essential to recognize that the information which was available to our previous Guruvarga is not the same as what is available now.
We know that Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja was aware of some offensive remarks present in the books of Swāmī Mahārāja, and, of course, he requested ISKCON to remove them. But nothing was done. Some of our senior Guruvarga, who also came to know about these offensive statements, instructed Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja to do his best to clean up the devotional field from this contamination, just as Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura instructed us regarding the purity of Nāma-haṭṭa—so that future generations could receive proper information about The Prabhupāda and the sadhus of the Gauḍīya Maṭha.
Perhaps you are already aware: a letter from Śrīla B.B. Bodhāyan Mahārāja addressed to the GBC of ISKCON was written in 2004. That letter was later published in the Bengali book named “Shatruta noy — samādhan” (“No Enmity—Only Solution”) written by Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja, with the blessings of the entire Sarasvat Gauḍīya Samāja, in 2011 at the time of Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā tithi. Please consult the letter here: https://www.echoes-of-eternity.com/post/no-enmity-only-solution-part-14
Now we are in the year 2025. Nothing was done as yet.
This is yet another reason why apparently it seems that the activities of Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja differ from those of our previous Guruvarga. Also, the situation in the field of bhajan has changed drastically in the last decades. While before it was just alarming, now it is a complete disaster. Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja use to say that,— “āmi pāntā bhāte fu diye khāi” or “I am alive simply because I am eating cold water rice by blowing on it.” He wanted to mean that “I am always ready to bear any amount of insult or oppression upon me, to allow the society run smoothly without any disturbance.”
As for the issue of severe personal criticism, insults, and defamation—in private letters, public and private conversations, speeches, and books—these were not widely known in earlier times. The online archive containing all of Svāmī Mahārāja’s letters and lectures was publicly launched only in 2008, and since then, new material has been added throughout the years. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.
We have firm faith that had our Guru-varga been aware of these heavy offenses, they would have strongly protested. We have read “The Heart of Kṛṣṇa” by Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Promode Purī Goswāmī Mahārāja, “Harikathā and Vaiṣṇava-aparādha” by Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Goswāmī Mahārāja, and many other works by our previous ācāryas. We know their opinion, which is supported by the śāstras. If, after knowing all this, they had still not protested, they would have to be considered dry lecturers—those who teach something they do not apply in their own lives.
We also encourage you to examine the dates of departure of various Vaiṣṇavas, to get some idea of who had access to what information, and when—
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja 1876/1877 – 1954
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Mahārāja 03.02.1988 – 20.05.1964
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Prakāśa Āraṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja 1887 – 06.01.1967
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Sarvasva Giri Gosvāmī Mahārāja 1890 – 03.11.1967
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja 09.02.1898 – 06.10.1968
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vilāsa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja 04.02.1894 – 10.09.1976
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja 18.11.1904 – 27.02.1979
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Saudha Āśrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja 28.04.1914 – 01.04.1982
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Gosvāmī Mahārāja 23.03.1901 – 07.07.1982
Śrī Śrīla Bhaktyāloka Paramahaṁsa Gosvāmī Mahārāja 04.05.1893 – 08.11.1983
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhānti Gosvāmī Mahārāja 12.10.1906 – 04.10.1985
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Māyūkha Bhāgavat Gosvāmī Mahārāja 1904 – 28.12.1986
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja 10.10.1895 – 12.08.1988
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Jīvana Janārdana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – 05.12.1994
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Saurabha Bhaktisāra Gosvāmī Mahārāja 1902 – 14.07.1995
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja 18.10.1898 – 21.10.1999
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Sarvasva Satya Govinda Gosvāmī Mahārāja 1914 – 1999
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja 23.12.1921 – 15.11.2004
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja 26.01.1913 – 03.03.2009
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Kumuda Sānta Gosvāmī Mahārāja 15.04.1907 – 07.05.2012
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja 24.04.1924 – 21.04.2017
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja 21.07.1926 – 05.09.2017
We know that it is the absolute nature of Paramahaṁsa Guru-Vaiṣṇavas to always give honour to others without expecting any honour in return from anybody—this is quite natural for them because they have ‘amānī mānada’ bhāva’. They never like to find any fault with others, even though countless faults may be found in them. This is the nature of Paramahaṁsa Guru-Vaiṣṇavas. But this is surely impossible for them when they discover their Guru-vargas are being insulted or have already been insulted heavily by somebody or some group. In this whole creation, no such madman can be found who can glorify a person who has already heavily insulted his Gurudeva or Guru-varga, and Gauḍīya Maṭh, because such siddhānta is absurd or unbelievable.
Śrīla Bhāratī Mahārāja himself approved the protest notes written by Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja (see list below) and gave his blessings. On different occasions—such as in open assemblies during āvirbhāva and tirobhāva mahā-mahotsavas of Śrīla Prabhupāda at Puruṣottama Dhāma—he publicly encouraged devotees to read those books and papers written by Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja for protecting and preserving the divine dignity of our Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Guru-varga and the Gauḍīya Maṭh. Then how is it possible that he could glorify an Ācārya who had previously criticized or offended his own Gurudeva and Guru-varga? We wonder! There must be some manipulation behind this.
It is usually not the duty of those Guru-varga to personally give fitting answers to the criticisms; rather, it is the responsibility of those sincere disciples to do so. There are many examples from śāstras in support of this. When Dakṣa Prajāpati offended Vaiṣṇava-rāja Śambhu, Lord Śambhu himself did not reply—but the reaction of his great associate Nandī and that of Devī Mātā should be remembered eternally. But we forget this siddhānta-vicāra, that is the main reason for why we develop blindness. This is the only solution shown by the different authentic śāstras.
Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Paramahaṁsa Jagad-guru also said that— “Guru-Vaiṣṇavas can tolerate any amount of torture and insult on them, but they cannot tolerate any torture and insult on those Guru-Vaiṣṇavas.” The Prabhupāda further said that,— “To give fitting answers to those blasphemers is called bhakti, and to keep silence when Guru-Vaiṣṇavas are being insulted or ignored by somebody can make us fall down because this is a great offence.”
Footnote:
The protest notes written by Śrīla Bābā Mahārāja:
— ‘Śatrutā noy—samādhān‘ (‘No Enmity—Only Solution’)
— ‘Cetanāra Jāgaraṇ’ (‘Elevation of consciousness’ – on the topic of cow slaughter)
— ‘Cetanāra Jagaraṇ nā ki samālocanār jabāb’ (‘Is This the Fitting Response to Your Criticism or a Help to Elevate Your Consciousness?’)
— ‘Agni Vināra Vāṇī Jhankār’ (‘The glowing fire emanating from the vina of Vāṇī—the protest note’)
— ‘Bhai Sahajiyā, Tumi Ki Gauḍīya?’ (‘Brother Sahajiyā, are you Gauḍīya?’)
— ‘Mādhava Gauḍīya Sampradāye Saṁśaya Kiśe?’ (‘What is your doubt in Mādhava Gauḍīya Sampradāya?’)
— etc., etc.,