Heal the Sore - Don't Ignore It

[Guest guest]

Dear prabhus,

 

Although I don't quite agree with Mother Anantarupa's assessment of Christians

being almost on a par with followers of the Vedas, I concur with her

well-written reflections on India and her conclusion that the two sides of the

argument are debating whether the glass is half-empty or half-full.

 

Here are some darker reflections. You may perceive a little anger on my part

as I relate them.

 

My wife went once to the Yamuna to bathe with some other women. As they

bathed, some young men approached, from upstream, and began, shall we say,

having sex with themselves, in full view of the women, in the waters of the

Yamuna. They harassed the women, who had to flee that holiest of rivers.

 

Where in the West does that kind of behavior go on?

 

At the Ganges, my wife was with some ladies when they were approached by some

locals, who had a cobra in a basket. They threatened the ladies with the

cobra, thrusting the open basket in their faces, and demanded rupees.

 

Where in the West does that kind of behavior go on?

 

In Bangladesha, it has become all too common for a woman who rejects a suitor

to have sulfuric acid thrown on her, causing gruesome agony and horrible

disfiguration, if not death. The sulfuric acid is available for next to

nothing in any marketplace. These attacks have become so numerous that the

disfigured women are organizing, and the international media and philanthropic

organizations have taken up their cause.

 

Where in the West does that kind of behavior go on?

 

These are just a few examples. As for the 'fly going for the sore' argument,

let me ask: When the personality of Kali was attacking Dharma, who was in the

form of a bull, was Maharaja Pariksit a 'fly going for the sore' when he saw

Kali's fault and prepared to kill him on the spot? Should he have just rode

away on his fine horse, thinking that he should not be such a fault-finder?

 

As an aside, I think democracy has failed in India. They need a strong ruler

who will make some heads roll, clean up the environment, and above all,

enforce the standard religious and moral codes.

 

 

Your servant,

 

Pancha Tattva dasa

 

 

On 30 Nov 1999, Anantarupa das wrote:

 

>

> The debate between KK das and Madhusudani Radha seems to be simply a matter

> of seeing the glass half full or half empty. He sees it as half full, she

> sees it as half empty. But is it really necessary to call her offensive and

> a shameless madwoman?

>

> ys Anantarupa

>

>

>

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> And