Lies Approved by Srila Svami Maharaja in Order to Get Donations

Lies Approved by Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja in Order to Get Donations

In some cases, A. C. Bhakti Vedānta Svāmī Mahārāja encouraged his disciples to lie while collecting money “for Kṛṣṇa”:

“Of course we may take money for Krsna using any method of beg, borrow and steal, but more advanced understanding of Krsna consciousness process is that by telling the truth in a very palatable way, that is the most successful system. Your mentioning Bangladesh feeding of refugees, of course we are feeding sometimes the local inhabitants, up to 1,000 persons on some occasions, but there is no organized program of feeding the refugees at Mayapur. In fact, so far I have seen, all the refugees from Nadia District have gone back to Bangladesh, there are no more refugee camps. So it will not be the truth to say to people like that, but I have no objection if they give more hearing such thing. Let them say, who will check us? We may tell any damn thing to induce people to give us money on Krsna's behalf, that is not the point. The point is that by saying lies, the less advanced neophyte devotees may become entangled or disturbed in their minds by it. Of course by their collecting more money and giving to Krsna, He will relieve them of all anxiety of telling lies. But not everyone is able to catch the big fish without themselves becoming wet. I am convinced that if you simply glorify Krsna and our books in the best descriptive manner, that anyone and everyone, no matter even atheist or otherwise, they can be convinced to purchase. Of course that is a great art and not everyone can do it, but gradually by practice of preaching in this way, striving to so much present a wonderful picture of our books to the people, gradually you will master the trick how to do it. Being the senior devotee there, you may give the younger students all good instruction and advice how to do this, but not for any reason shall we decrease the book sales and collection monthly over some small lying about Bangladesh or other things.”

(721231 - Letter to Bali-mardana written from Bombay)

Addressing the Ethical Concerns in Fundraising Practices

Giving such an instruction to ordinary devotees is very dangerous, because unless one has actually become a genuine Vaiṣṇava, free from all kinds of material desire, acting “beyond morality” is not allowed. Bhajana (or sevā) with anarthas is impossible, then what can we really do for Kṛṣṇa?

Before becoming Vaiṣṇavas, we first need to become brāhmaṇas, and truthfulness is one of the essential qualities of a brāhmaṇa. It is impossible to become paramahaṁsas Vaiṣṇavas while skipping the stage of brahmanism. Needless to say, a paramahaṁsa is extremely rare in this material world.

Someone asked Henry Doktorski on his Facebook page: "Was it the Krishna movement which was a bad influence in Keith's life?" (Keith refers to Kīrtanānanda Svāmī, who was at one time a prominent ISKCON leader.)

Below is the reply given by Henry Doktorski: 

“Excellent question, my friend. Before meeting his spiritual master, Keith was not a bad person. Yes, he enjoyed activities which at that time in history were illegal in the United States, such as homosexual activities with consenting partners, and recreational drug use such as imbibing marijuana and LSD. But he was not a bad person.

However, after joining ISKCON, he learned from his spiritual master that it is perfectly acceptable (and advantageous for preaching and for one's own spiritual advancement) to cheat for Krishna, to lie for Krishna, to steal for Krishna, to denigrate women as they are less intelligent than men and should not be given independence, always considered the "slave" of men (as Prabhupada suggested on a number of occasions), and Keith also learned that six types of aggressors can be killed without any guilt or punishment given to the executioner. Keith saw the absolute and worshipable position of his spiritual master, and he wanted to be worshiped and obeyed in the same way, as a divine representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Keith's older brother, Gerald (quoted above) told me in conversation, "If Keith hadn't met The Swami he probably would have become a big history professor at a respected university."

As an aside, joining ISKCON was certainly a bad influence on me. I learned to lie and cheat for Krishna. It took me quite a few years to reverse that terrible brainwashing, which originally came from Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I'm glad I left when I did.”

It is important to note that such practices were never approved by Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja’s spiritual master, Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. On the contrary, he maintained a meticulous and transparent accounting to ensure that every donation was used exactly for its intended purpose.

Practitioners seek to give up material enjoyment (to develop detachment from viṣaya), but they do not aspire to embrace dry renunciation (śuṣka-vairāgya). Rather, they accept only what is genuinely favourable for their spiritual progress. There is a subtle distinction between proper renunciation (yukta-vairāgya) and enjoyment disguised as proper renunciation (enjoyment in the name of yukta-vairāgya). Only a genuine Vaiṣṇava can perfectly adopt yukta-vairāgya. If one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa is not yet established, then accepting something non-essential while thinking, “This is for Kṛṣṇa,” is merely imitation. And it is exactly of this kind of sahajiyā-ism Śrīla Prabhupāda is speaking in his lecture “Tridandi”:

“For the sake of pure hari-sevā and in order that pure hari-kathā will be preached in a straightforward manner throughout the world, I am ready to give our preachers thousands and thousands of motor cars. There is no objection to this. But why should somebody with a sensual mentality ride in a motorcar? He has no qualification to ride in a motorcar. He will simply become a viṣayī. One who does not want to serve Hari, Guru and Vaiṣṇava strongly desires to ride in a motorcar in order to be seen as a great person. Such a gross piece of flesh should not be allowed to drive in a motorcar because such a materialistic sense-enjoyer will simply ride that vehicle down the road leading to hell. He will simply turn it into a machine to make a living. What is the necessity for somebody to drive a car when they are not sincerely engaging their mind body and words in the worship of Hari, and when they are not giving everything to Hari, Guru and Vaiṣṇava? Moreover, the Sahajiyā sampradāya will increase because we will have created another type, then we will certainly be destroyed.”

(The Gaudiya, Volume 11, No. 22, January 1933)

And here is an instructive example from the life of Śrīla Bhakti Vedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja:

“Once a devotee came to Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja to give him a new car for his preaching purpose but he simply took the key of the car from him to give him back. The devotee could not realise his mood. Śrīla Mahārāja started speaking that— ‘I cannot accept that car, if I start using car, then they also can try to get habituated, which is really very dangerous for bonded souls, also too much headache can be there with the car, like where is driver! Where is petrol! Where to keep the car etc. I have my No.11 car (two legs), so I can go to station easily to catch train, which is more practical for me.’”

(“In the way of Sārasvata Gauḍīya Guru-paramparā the jewel Ācārya– Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Vedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja” by Śrīla Shyām Dās Bābā Mahārāja)