Letter taken from VNN

10/03/1998 - 2310

Open Letter to His Holiness Tamal Krsna Goswami

China (VNN) - signed by a group of Chinese devotees

Cc: His Holiness Giridhari Maharaja, His Holiness Umapati Maharaja, His Holiness Narasimha Maharaja etc.

Guangzhou Yatra, PR China, September 16,1998

Our respectful Tamal Krsna Goswami: Please accept our obeisance! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We are very grateful and respectful to you for your service and contribution for Srila Prabhupada in his mission, especially for your utmost care for him in his final days. Also our same gratefulness and respect for great contribution for the Preaching work in Mainland China.

However, we also understand that basically we are just the insignificant servants and instrumental in the hands of Srila Prabhupada, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, up to Krsna, and our duty is just to serve them. All our achievements are not due to ourselves, the doers, but to their causeless mercy. It would sure be the cause of our entangling into the material world with no hope to be liberated if we try to owe all of our achievements to ourselves, even having such thoughts within our mind. By doing so, the object of our so-called service would not be our loving respectful Srila Prabhupada or the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, but our own only. You are much more clear about this fact than us perhaps.

We had the same impression that those who were the supporters of the "ritvik theory" indeed had committed the greatest offence in spiritual life, when His Holiness Giridhari Maharaja came here to preach such "Poison like heresy" philosophy. We thought that how could those people such as Mother Sri Svarupa devi dasi consider persons who are worshipped as good as God as their godbrothers. They were really mad. We believed that as the "most intimate servant" of Srila Prabhupada, you certainly know what actually had happened. And being disciples, it is extremely necessary to have absolute faith on our own Guruóyou, Tamal Krsna Goswami . At that time we did not cast any doubt on Giridhari Maharajas Instruction like "golden counsel" that it was forbidden even to read articles written by the GBC from the Internet Web Site, and at the same time, no tape recording was allowed to made.

However, with the time passing, by Krsna's arrangement, we referred to the relevant instructions of Srila Prabhupada either on the Guru issue and parampara or the paper "Prabhupada's Order" combined by you yourself, His Holiness Hridayanada Maharaja, Giridhari Maharaja, Umapati Maharaja, Badrinaraya Prabhu and Harisauri Prabhu etc. After reading your reply to "The Final Order", our faith on you was completely lost. You people who were so little spiritual understanding on Guru Tattva, than we had actually expected!

It was not the "snake" like Ritvikvadis who made us loose faith in you, but your attitude to them and all of your replies to them! Therefore this has made us more and more convinced that the ritvik system is the actual initiation system to be followed after Srila Prabhupada's departure. And as even admitted by your representatives, in the very beginning, we had never made our comments to your special envoys for whatever improper teachings they bad spoken of, nor had we accused the GBC or advocated ritvik theory publicly with the intention of showing our respect for you and your envoys sent by you. We hoped that the GBC would rectify themselves soon and that you, who should have known what was going on behind the scenes in this matter and have understood the principles of right and wrong, would stand up to say something in fairness to the society. But our hope for you totally failed that you have never stated anything fair-minded, yet on the contrary, applied the same disgusting habitual practice to the "heretics" as the history has shown us. You sent your special envoys to assemble the local devotees, announcing all over sudden that "so and so were the supporters of ritvik, who were poisonous snakes and offenders to the Guru"

We would venture that whether any personal attack to the GBC from our side was seen or heard by you, by your special envoys and by your followers before we, the supporters of ritvik were openly announced as "poisons snakes", "motivated conspirators" and "ill-intentioned fellows" by you and your special envoys. What "impure motives" do we harbor? Have we shown any disrespect to you any time in your physical presence? Is it really the reason for us to become "poisons snakes" just by raising a few philosophical questions which had made you, who were very clear of the instructions of Srila Prabhupada and well-versed in sastras and your special envoys fail to reply them philosophically?

You and your special envoys accused us of splitting the devotees and breaking their faith. But who on earth was actually doing so? Do you know how many devotees were crying just by listening to the announcement?Some people had sudden realization from the speeches of your envoys and come to their senses and joined us, and some completely lost for the Movement. Are you feeling delight over this? Of course, for you, this might not at all be regarded as strange or uncommon, and we are sure that you have never taken this to heart. "Who cares? Anyway I can still accept disciples vastly," or you could say that "oh that's too bad. Did things really happen like this? Well, I don't know. I'm busy studying now." Then all the responsibilities occurred from this incident would thus fall on your several imprudent envoys. "You are a pure devotee of Srila Prabhupada and Krsna and you are never fallen." As one of your special envoys who is also your "staunch follower" claimed. "Although the GBC is faulty and has many problems, Tamal Krsna Goswami is right. Tamal Krsna Goswami is not fallen, even though so many Gurus had already fallen down."

Is it not a great offence to our parampara acaryas by ordering us to put your picture on the altar exactly at the same level of them? Could this be said to be in line with the GBC provisions? Should you not take any responsibility for what your special envoys had done in justification of the evil conduct of the fallen gurus just for their conducts of protection by repeated depreciating Srila Prabhupada's position as a maha-bhagavat, thus making the most serious offence which is beyond forgiveness to Srila Prabhupada, and causing tremendous confusion in the mind of your innocent followers here? Of course, just let some "fools" among the GBC come up to the front and act like this, after all, You are always "not material contaminated", and this again proves you to be the "only link of Srila Prabhupada."

By imitating the lion to leap over the ravine, the rabit get the opposite result of falling down into the steep cliff, and having its body smashed to pieces, when the lion does not have any doubt that one is sure to fall down by imitating the behavior of Srila Prabhupada's without the authorization of Srila Prabhupada and without the qualification and the pure strength of a first class devotee. Could Krsna's repeated warning, namely the falling down of so many gurus still not sever enough to wake you up? Do you want Krsna to reveal more and more sad incidents before your eyes?

All of us should learn a great lesson from the destruction of the Gaudiya Math. Just as Srila Prabhupada had said that "better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Maharaja than trying to become an acarya." The general masses would naturally have faith in you for your high position and plenty of service done to Srila Prabhupada. For the spiritual benefit of your good self and all the devotees, we humbly beg you that please carry out the order of Srila Prabhupada on the initiation system in ISKCON, and stop any sort of depression, oppression, suppression and retaliation to the ritvik adherents and finally come back to the right path. Then we will still Love you and support you as before.

Our respectful Maharaja, we certainly respect you that you have been strictly following the regulative principles for so many years, but the fault caused from philosophical deviation is much more dangerous than the one from the deviation from one's acts. Further more, the deviation from spiritual theories could have poisoned millions of people generation after generation. Should you not take any responsibility for this? Are there any places in Srila Prabhupada's books teaching us that:

"The disciplic succession will come to an end without the physical presence of Diksa Guru."

"There is a sort of philosophy on the manufacturing on the big "A" and small "a" acaryas."

"The sum total of the GBC in identical to Srila Prabhupada; therefore the management system and spiritual principles instructed or taught by Srila Prabhupada could be altered or modified."

"a conditioned soul can be the Diksa Guru of anther conditioned soul and in this way bringing him back to Godhead."

"a fallen Guru can become Guru again after his rectification." etc. etc. ÖÖ

While accusing us of losing faith in the Guru, you are boldly claiming that "the Guru is the intimate servant of God, but he might be at the same time tinged with the demonic character. He is a pure devotee, be he might also be a fallen soul." Here, we give you our view that whether such theory establishes the authority of the Guru or just destroys it.

GBC, the "Highest Governing Body equaling to Srila Prabhupada in power" of the "senior devotees" in ISKCON has already lost its faith on the present guru selected by vote, so what to speak of us insignificant "junior devotees". Why do you have to waste Krsna's money and manpower coming here and wield both the carrot and the stick just for the sake of "saving" us?You preached to us that one must be tolerant to the fallen Guru, but why do you not be tolerant to the "heretic devotees" who have not yet fallen down? You asked the devotees to maintain their faith in the fallen Gurus and follow them, but why do you not allow the other devotees to show their proper respect to the devotees who have not yet fallen down? You are preaching that "cooperation" must be there, but at the same time you forbid the devotees to deal with the ones who are holding different viewpoints on the Guru issue. Are you going to isolate the devotees from the world in order to maintain their "purity" and so-called "loyalty" to you, such as by locking them into the concentration camp?

We can accept different understanding by some other people for the sastras, since the realization of every one differentiates. What we can not accept and tolerate is that why you people are lying, knitting so many lies over and over again to cheat the innocent devotees? You have been making interpretations one after another with regards to the succession of the parampara since Srila Prabhupada's disappearance. We would like to ask you that if you are really clear of what Srila Prabhupada had thought. If not, then you should just frankly say NO, and not keep claiming that "we know the best"; and yet on the other hand explaining that "it is still on the probing stage". So which answer is the true one?

We are not going to have any argument on philosophy here, since so many people are engaging themselves in arguing. We are making a specific declaration here based on the above reasons and out of consideration for abiding by the local Law that we have no intention to take part in any present debate in any other form within ISKCON, nor do we follow any parties on such issue. We just want to accept Srila Prabhupada's books as our main guidance and regard Srila Prabhupada as our transparent medium to link with Krsna. We just want to abide by the Law for religions promulgated by the local government (i.e. religious bodies and religious affairs are not subjected to any foreign diminution and the three principles of self-government, self-support and self-propagation must be observed etc.), and perform Sankirtan as well as making our endeavor to strictly practice Krsna consciousness as per the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and his sincere and bona fide followers.

We hope that our respectful Tamal Krsna Goswami and your comrades no more coming back and try to "save" us, since it is already troublesome enough in this mundane world.

Again thank you for you great care and concern for all of us, and we humbly beg for your forgiveness if any part of our presentation has offended you or anybody else.

P.S.: No reply will be given for any debate caused by this letter. Please pardon us.

Yours in the protection of Srila Prabhupada's movement:
Guruseva das & Lalita Prana devi dasi
Gaura lila das & Nitya lila devi dasi
Jatayu das & Sumuki devi dasi
Hamsika devi dasi,Ilavati devi dasi
Jaya Gaura das, Vasudeva das
Karunika devi dasi, Malati devi dasi
Nitai caran das & Krsnagi devi dasi
Sumrtra devi dasi, Yasodhara devi dasi
Bhakta Quan, Bhakta Rong, Bhakta Hang & Bhakti Zhou

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Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!