Punishment and Attonement - which category?

[Guest guest]

Krishna kirti Prabhu wrote:

 

>Since devotional service is considered itself to be attonment, why not just

>have the child molestors circumambulate Tulasi devi? That's sufficient to

>relieve one of the sin of killing a brahmana, so why not just let them do

>devotional service and forget about whatever happened?

 

Bhakti is voluntary and cannot be forced externally. Where as punishment is

enforced externally. Prayaschitta is voluntary (I think). Bhakti or

Krishna Consciousness is Step 1. to admit one's mistakes, step 2. try not to

repeat one's mistakes, and step 3. chant Hare Krishna. Even a child

molestor, or a rapist or a thief, a brahmana killer or cow killer or killers

of God follow these three steps then all their sins are washed off. Do you

doubt this??? However some one has to *voluntarily* submit to this process.

 

Bhakti is neither punishment nor prayaschitta as you are suggesting above.

 

Now CPO or any office of ISKCON is doing devotional service. This office is

to catch those who are not voluntarily submitting to this process, but who

are pretending to be doing the above processes but are duplitious. CPO are

there to identify these imposters and throw them out, so that they do not

cause disturbance to the sincere devotees, and punish them acording to the

state laws which are currently still there. (Fortunately the Kaliyuga has

not taken complete effect, and even according to state laws, rape, theft,

child molestation are punishable according to all most all countries laws).

This service of CPO, catching the imposters is devotional service!!! That is

bhakti!!! Similarly Guarding the deities and deities paraphernalia is

Bhakti. We are not suggesting that we keep our temples and homes unlocked

and chant Hare Krishna. That is not Bhagavata Marga. That is fool's marga.

 

Your humble servant,

Bhadra Govinda Das.