fault-finding

[Guest guest]

On 16 Mar 1999, Bhakti Vikasa Swami wrote:

 

> A devotee may see defects in others, but he must not judge a Vaisnava by

> them. After all, devotees have taken up devotional service just to become

> free from such faults. That is their sincerity. Should someone judge

> Vaisnavas by their defects, he will become known as a fault-finder. By such

> malpractice, he may later become an aparadhi and incapable of taking

> instruction from anyone. (The Siksa-guru, by Sivaram Swami, pps. 151-2)

 

Well what if the defects are breaking the principels?Or has a bad attitude

towards materialists?We should correct this person in a way to help

him.Finding faults to help a person is different from faultfinding.

Some wants it that only templeauthorities find faults,but sometimes they

are wrong to and commit serious offences.Devotees also have discrimination,

not only Swamis and TP's and GBC's.The problem is more the isvara bhava of

such people in our society than faultfinding.If leaders are not free from

subtle sex of name fame adoration and distinction,the rest of ISKCON will also

maintain all kind of material desires for gross and subtle sex.Krsna taught

Arjuna to become a leader setting the proper example for others.Some want so

badly to be everyones

guru,but don't deserve such honor as it is due to subtle sex life.

This name,and adoration business is not approved by our Acaryas.And a real

devotee gives all credit to Srila Prabhupada, and when one stops to give the

credit to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna one thinks one is the doer,and falls

down.Like Harikesa ,he left ISKCON finding faults with Srila Prabhupada.Punar

musiko bhava,again becoming a mouse.While preaching even we have to see the

faults of material life and point them

out,there is no question off not seeing faults in Kali yuga,it is an ocean of

faults.However to get hung up on the faults,or see faults where there is none

like finding faults with Srila Prabhupada,can never be accepted.Sometimes a

person that was called a faultfinder later was considered a saint as he was

the only one that dared speak the truth.Like Pradyumna Prabhu Srila

Prabhupadas sanskrit editor,was considered a demon for explaining that this

"gurusystem" that propounded

that 11 gurus where all pure devotees,was not the proper way to go about it.He

was called a demon and eventually left ISKCON.But he was right,so was he a

faultfinder???The story of the boy and the emperor repeats itself all the time

in ISKCON,and it is absurd we just can't face reality.

That reality is that noone is equal to or superior than Srila Prabhupada.We

don't want ritvik ideas but obedience to Srila Prabhupada and some genuine

humility,that will for example make a TP stop stealing money from the

giftshop,or a Swami to have millions of dollars from disciples in a

bankaccount only he can use.These things sometimes happens.

As long as the standard is not improved in the temples there will be

faultfinding, and Krsna will inspire devotees to speak the truth.

Srila Prabhupada found faults with dirty toilets in Mayapure and preached

heavily against such tamaguna.So should we tolerate dirty temples and lack of

KC???Certainly not.

Faultfinding can be good or bad, it depends how it is used.And as Srila

Prabhupada told one devotee "You better be right when you criticise".

YS

Payonidhi das