Srila Prabhupada's letter to a dear friend

[Guest guest]

On 16 Jun 1999, Payonidhi Dasa wrote:

> Since you call me a brainwashed cultist there seem not any change for a

> gentelmanly discussion with you.

 

Come now, I didn't call you a brainwashed cultist. I only said

that some of the cognitive dissonance and blind faith recently

exhibited by you on this conference resembled the traits of

brainwashed cultists. Read this as you will.

 

Really, though, please don't read my messages as trying to

criticize you for following Srila Narayana Maharaja. I and many other

COM readers would be pleased if you left us to join HH. However,

please try to show some consistency. The jiva issue is

just the first example -- either repudiate your past position on

it or argue as vociferously with HH as you have on this conference.

 

> "In one letter Swamiji gave me some advice and I wrote back strongly .This

was

> a small thing,insignificant.

 

It was significant enough to make Srila Prabhupada "upset"

as though his head were being struck by lightning. The above

"insignificant" comment makes it seem as though the speaker

thinks Srila Prabhupada was emotionally imbalanced for taking

some trifle so seriously.

 

> So Mr Vijay

 

Please, either "Vijay" or "Mr. Pai"; "Mr. Vijay" is strange.

 

> And

> don't make some stupid cheap remark they could have made copies,they trusted

> ISKCON to do a good job,it was not done.

 

Incorrect; if the story was true, they trusted each of the

following:

 

1. The local Indian postal carrier

2. The Indian ground postal service

3. The international postal carrier employed by India

 

4. The shipping agent employed by #3

5. The US ground postal service

6. The local US postal carrier

 

Not until passing through those steps would the documents even

come into ISKCON hands (if they actually existed at any of

the above points). Given so many possible points of failure,

it would seem questionable not to have a backup plan even if

the only item being passed were ordinary mundane documents. (For

example, my research group often uses multiple possible

routes of delivery when submitting technical papers, despite having

reliable resources like Federal Express as a main carrier.)

 

Yours with a hiss and a coconut,

 

Vijay S. Pai