A letter to all Gaudiya devotees written by Srila Baba Maharaj regarding our humble protest note published in our website ‘Echoes of Eternity’

To all Gauḍīya devotees.

Dear/blessed devotees, dandavat pranam to you all. I seek all your blessings to continue my absolute Gaura-vāṇī-sevā till the last moment of my life. From Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta we can see the following śloka—

ete na hy adbhutā vyādha

tavāhiṁsādayo guṇāḥ

hari-bhaktau pravṛttā ye

na te syuḥ para-tāpinaḥ

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya Lila 8/143)

Oh! Hunter, this is not at all strange that you have developed all good qualities like nonviolence etc inside your heart. Because those who are engaged in Hari-bhakti (Hari-bhajan), they never become the cause of anybody’s suffering.

Gauḍīya-goṣṭhī-patiḥ Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Paramahaṁsa Jagad-guru said that— “Let me not desire anything but the highest good (paramaṅgala) for my worst enemies.” Actually a Vaiṣṇava never think anyone as his enemy, no smell of jealousy can be there inside the heart of Guru-Vaiṣṇava. This is a matter of great regret that still most of the people accept those pure Guru-Vaiṣṇavas as their enemy, because of their absolute representation of facts and figures. How much sacrifice and dedication they have—this is really beyond our imagination. Lābha-pūjā-pratiṣṭhā can never touch their heart. Śrīla Prabhupāda very often used to say that— “Until and unless there is hundred percent śaraṇāgati (submission) unto the Lotus Feet of Bhagavān, one cannot speak about the absolute truth fearlessly.” Pure Guru-Vaiṣṇavas are always ‘adoṣdarshi’—they never like to find any fault with others, but sometimes for the protection and preservation of sāmpradāyika vāṇī-vaibhava (vīśuddha siddhānta-vicāra) or to establish the divine dignity of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh and śuddha Guru-Vaiṣṇava as an Ācārya they are bound to speak heavy out of their causeless mercy. This is not at all criticism. Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say like that. So simple, so clear, so absolute their representation of facts and figures that even those common innocent public can understand (of course if there is no offence in their life), then why you cannot understand? Where is the complicacy? From Caitanya-caritāmṛta we know the following quotation—

tomā sama ‘nirapekṣa’ nāhi mora gaṇe

‘nirapekṣa’ nahile ‘dharma nā yāya rakṣaṇe                                                       

(Cc Antya 3.23)

“You are the most neutral among My associates. This is very good, for without being neutral one cannot protect religious principles.”

To carry out the order of Śrīmān Mahāprabhu—as per the śloka we must reach the neutral platform of Bhāgavata-dharma vicāra, otherwise we can never start bhajan as per Bhāgavata-dharma. The above śloka can prove our weakness. Until and unless one reach the neutral platform of absolute truth—he cannot justify all those absolute facts and figures only represented by us intact way from the original sources already reserved by the Society in internet and books or papers long ago. In spite of our (the whole Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sanga) repeated request or application for the past 40 years the Society never took any decision (never took any step) to delete all those dirty comments and wrong informations, whereas already you have confirmed that their Founder Ācārya already wanted to beg for apology long ago before leaving his body. Then why you all could not come up with open heart still today to stop all those nonsense, and why you like to blame us unnecessarily? If someone like to abuse your mother-father or wife, can you keep silence? Then?

Already one book of protest note named “Shatruta Noie Shamadan” (No Enmity—Only Solution) was published on behalf of the whole Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sanga and Viśva-vaiṣṇava Rāj-sabhā long ago (almost 14 years back, in the year of 2010 on Gaura Pūrṇimā tithi) to draw the kind attention of those honorable GBC members of the Society to show them the painful feelings of the whole Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sanga, but still today they like to ignore us and our request. On the strength of money power they like to buy Gauḍīya Maṭh and our Gauḍīya Guru-varga. Due to their mispreaching, even today people are in confusion about who is the original Prabhupāda and where is the original birthplace of Śrīmān Mahāprabhu (Yoga-Pita). Then how we can keep silence? 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. We on behalf of the whole Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sanga like to seek all your neutral comments or opinions regarding this most sensitive issue persisting for the past 40 years or more than that. Nothing can be more painful than your misconception about me (all your servant) and my defensive mood adopted by the order of The Prabhupāda, because we have our fundamental right to protect and preserve the divine dignity of Gauḍīya Maṭh and our Gauḍīya Guru-varga, surely you cannot deny this point. We can say solemnly that we have no enmity (fighting mood) with anybody. Only we want to see absolute solution on the part of the Society to quench our burning heart. Please try to take the proper lesson from Satī-devī when Śaṅkara Bhagavān was insulted by her father Dakṣa Prajāpati.

The following lines written by Swami B.G. Narasingha we should remember more often than ever:

“In the everyday hustle and bustle of preaching in the west and performing our many duties and services to Kṛṣṇa and our Guru-varga, we often forget, or have never heard of the previous generations of devotees who sacrificed and endured against all odds to spread the glory of the mission of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, and who achieved the ultimate grace of the Supreme Lord to become one of His eternal associates. Had they not done their duty and performed their service in the mission of Mahāprabhu, we ourselves would not be where we are today, basking in the rays of the effulgent sun of Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana movement. Let their memory and their achievements never be forgotten. All glories to Lord Caitanya’s devotees past, present and future!”

Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Paramahaṁsa Jagad-guru used to say that— “Guru-Vaiṣṇava can tolerate any amount of torture and insult on them, but they cannot tolerate any torture and insult on Guru-Vaiṣṇavas.” He further said that— “To give fitting answer 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.”

Gaura Hari Hari Bol