punishment of devotees

[Guest guest]

> Are there cases of disciples being punished? Something like having to cut

> potatoes for a week would be an opportunity for service, not a punishment

> per se. Denying him a chance to engage in relishable devotional activities

> such as pilgrimage would impede his devotional advancement. Not getting

> maha-prasada for a week...

>

> A possible punishment is taking a devotee's service away from him,

> especially if it is a service he has developed over many years. The worst

> punishment imagineable would be to bar a devotee from associating with

> devotees, as Rupa Goswami did to Jiva Goswami.

 

Early in my devotional career, I was one of the two biggest book

distributors in our small temple. The two of us were buddies of a sort and

always competing with each other. We were also intolerably arrogant,

terrorising the other devotees. So the TP kicked us out. At first, we

thought it was like being awarded sannyasa.

 

But over the next few weeks, I became more and more morose outside the

association of devotees and realised I'd made a big mistake. Finally, I

crawled back to the temple, much more humble, and begged the TP to accept me

again. He did, but on the condition that I wouldn't be allowed to go on

sankirtan for a while, and that, instead, I had to do all the other

brahmacaris' cleaning duties every day, as well as do their laundry for

them.

 

I didn't object to the menial service, but being denied the nectar of going

on sankirtan was the greatest punishment I could imagine. My appreciation

for the association of devotees increased tremendously, and eventually I was

allowed to go on sankirtan again.

 

> How did Srila Prabhupada punish devotees? Presumably a devotees meting out

> punishment, like his cursing, is beneficial for the recipient. I can think

> of Srila Prabhupada's taking away the leadership of the RDTSKP from TKG

> and sending him to China.

 

I had never thought of that as a punishment, rather as a practical move to

preserve the Society.