No he did not (was Did Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura eat meat?)

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achintya, "krishna_susarla" <krishna_susarla@h...> wrote:

 

>> This was some years ago. I seem to recall that the NC Math people

addressed this very quote, and said that it was obviously a statement

of humility on the part of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura -- in the same

sense that one who advances in devotion becomes conscious of his

insignificance, so also was the Thakura accusing himself of all sorts

of sinful activities. It was not meant to be taken as a biographical

fact. <<

 

I do not wish to commit offence to any Vaishnavas regardless of their

position on spiritual affairs, etc., but I'm afraid that I am not

inclined to have faith in this opinion. My reason for that is as

follows: If it was a statement of humility on Srila Bhaktivinoda's

part, then it is most likely that he would have written such in

poetic style as in many of his song-scriptures. OK, so we may accept

the fact that thiis is prose as it was written in the form of a

letter to his son, but this seems to have no devotional sentiments.

 

Let's take a look at a sample verse from 'Gopinath':

 

"O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, please hear my request. I am a

wicked materialist, always addicted to worldly desires, and no good

qualities do I possess." [Gopinath 1.1]

 

It's a beautiful song and one of my favourites. There are

similar "repentances" in the rest of the song at http://www.esoteric-

teaching.org/music/gopinath_lyrics.htm . It is obvious that such a

statement is a indication of intense humility as Srila Bhaktivinoda

is praying to Krishna for His mercy. Later on in the song, he

describes such "worldly desires" as being wealth, wife, sons and

lust. No extensive description. Yet in the Sva-likhita Jivani, Srila

Bhaktivinoda speaks about meat-eating in a detailed manner: "I had

known that killing animals was bad for a long time, but I had a

strong desire to enjoy fish and meat...I ate a lot of fish in Chapra,

but it was not very good. Therefore, I ate more goat meat. After the

prolonged eating of food of this kind combined with red chillies and

mustard seed pickle, I developed a bleeding ulcer...I automatically

suffered from vomiting and diarrhea for 10 to 17 hours."

What is humble about this? Srila Bhaktivinoda is describing supposed

meat-eating and his medical condition in a letter to his son. On the

external surface, this has nothing to do with humility or devotion.

 

I would not like to commit offences to Vaishnavas, especially to such

a great mahajana like Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura who pioneered the

program to preach Krishna Consciousness in English, neither do I

approve of or tend to think of Acharyas in a mundane way. I was most

disturbed to see this "evidence" and I was even more mortified to see

that this was seemingly from the very pen of Srila Bhaktivinoda.

That's why I started this topic in the hope that anyone could clarify

this situation for me. The reasoning of "this was a humble statement

and not a biographical fact" does not seem to apply here since the

whole text is veritably an autobiography of Srila Bhaktivinoda and

written by him. It does not seem to be adequate proof that he did

*not* eat meat. The rest of the text describes the events of his

life.

 

I wish that somebody who knew the truth could explain this in a

satisfactory manner.

 

>> This particular school, with whose members I have clashed the

proverbial swords with in the past, has some very particular views

regarding varnaashrama, paramparaa, and shaastra which are not really

mainstream Gaudiiya Vaishnavism...Rather I think, that if members

feel willing, we can certainly take apart many of their viewpoints

and analyze them according to guru, saadhu, and shaastra. <<

 

Good idea.

 

I had a look at the introduction of that site, and I have also been

informed by a "casual observer" that the site is the work of a

certain 'raga' who is a follower of Pandit Ananta das Babaji, who is

supposedly coming in the line of Srila Raghunatha das Goswami. The

description of the exact line seems to be rather complicated with

mentions of Srimati Jahnava Thakurani (am I right in thinking this

was the wife of Nityananda Prabhu?).

 

I have also read hints on discussion boards that this Ananta das

Babaji somehow confirmed to a prospective disciple that the Gaudiya

Math lineage was not bona fide. By using the words 'Gaudiya Math' I

assume he means ISKCON also, since these people seem to unnecessarily

contest the authority of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura too.

 

So perhaps we can discuss that, as well as the other issues?

 

>> The website of at least one member of this opposing party is

www.bhajankutir.net. Be forewarned that its author isn't shy about

criticizing Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON, or other Gaudiiya Vaishnavas in

our line. <<

 

I have stumbled upon his site before while looking for online

directions to an online tol, and I found his "essays" in a different

part of his website. I've briefly read some of his stuff and I also

came across more of it after visiting the link that you posted to the

IndiaDivine forum. I always tried to understand some of his

objections as being part of the "empowered reforms" that were

characteristic of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. After viewing a little of

the IndiaDivine discussion (not read all of it yet) it seems that

even his points can be criticised. Shall we discuss some of these

essays here too?

 

But after all, I fail to see how this is relevant to the question of

Srila Bhaktivinoda's supposed meat-eating.

 

Jay.

 

P.S. I am feeling very bad writing in this way. I think I desperately

need a satisfactory answer regarding this issue. Therefore I am

asking the community of devotees.