Udayananda's Tripurari Swami article from Chakra

[Kripamoya]

 

Srila Sridhara Maharaja was also criticized for how he got some of the money to support his matha, you may recall.

Yes, I know.

Narayan Maharaja called Sridhar Maharaja a fish-seller and a coal merchant, because the government forced him to allow fishing from his pond and because Govinda Maharaja made a little bit of money by selling coal to the locals.

 

That is a long way from the kinds of scams and schemes that I am talking about in the name of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in America.

[Guest guest]

 

Yes, I know.

Narayan Maharaja called Sridhar Maharaja a fish-seller and a coal merchant, because the government forced him to allow fishing from his pond and because Govinda Maharaja made a little bit of money by selling coal to the locals.

 

That is a long way from the kinds of scams and schemes that I am talking about in the name of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in America.

 

A long way? Not if you consider the principle. Remember now, Srila Sridhara always spoke from the position of principle. The principle of selling something to maintain the math is there in both situations. Judge a man by his ideal.

[Guest guest]

 

Yes, I know.

Narayan Maharaja called Sridhar Maharaja a fish-seller and a coal merchant, because the government forced him to allow fishing from his pond and because Govinda Maharaja made a little bit of money by selling coal to the locals.

 

That is a long way from the kinds of scams and schemes that I am talking about in the name of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in America.

 

If some of Govinda Maharaja's followers want to help expand his mission by selling records and paintings, I don't understand why you want to criticize them. Living like a beggar is nice, but they have managed to open temples all over the world. It is hard to do that just hitchhiking and begging.

[Guest guest]

 

Srila Prabhupada did NOT approve of any scams or schemes.

You are the one calling them scams. My point is that there was plenty of "fundraising" when Srila Prabhupada was here that wasn't from selling books. What about the sticker business? I don't think that Srila Prabhupada was against all forms of fundraising other than selling books.

 

Anyway, you are preaching to the choir, because I agree with you that it is better to support a temple by preaching and that a lot of damage has been done by some of the money-making schemes. Still I don't think you should judge so harshly. Srila Sridhara Maharaja himself said, "Generally stealing and cheating is justified if it is really meant for Krsna and a Krsna bhakta"!!!

[Guest guest]

Maharaj recently sent me a copy of his Sikshastakam, his most recent publication. As a result of this thread, I went and had a look at it. I was, on the whole, pretty pleased with the level of discourse.

 

In fact, I have to say that the result of many devotees going to Sridhar Maharaj and to Narayan Maharaj is that the level of discourse in Krishna consciousness has improved tremendously. Even in the last couple of years, there seem to be signs that more and more people are become educated in Krishna consciousness in ways that would have been impossible if everyone were uniquely dependent on Prabhupada's books.

 

There are advantages to working together, but there are also advantages to free debate. Iskcon itself is tremendously benefited, or will eventually be benefited, by this elevation of discourse. It is like the old "all the boats are raised by the tide" saying.

 

So I offer congratulations to all seekers of the Truth and lovers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The ocean is wide and deep, but it is constantly growing wider and deeper. Keep on swimming.

[Guest guest]

 

Maharaj recently sent me a copy of his Sikshastakam, his most recent publication. As a result of this thread, I went and had a look at it. I was, on the whole, pretty pleased with the level of discourse.

 

In fact, I have to say that the result of many devotees going to Sridhar Maharaj and to Narayan Maharaj is that the level of discourse in Krishna consciousness has improved tremendously. Even in the last couple of years, there seem to be signs that more and more people are become educated in Krishna consciousness in ways that would have been impossible if everyone were uniquely dependent on Prabhupada's books.

 

There are advantages to working together, but there are also advantages to free debate. Iskcon itself is tremendously benefited, or will eventually be benefited, by this elevation of discourse. It is like the old "all the boats are raised by the tide" saying.

 

So I offer congratulations to all seekers of the Truth and lovers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The ocean is wide and deep, but it is constantly growing wider and deeper. Keep on swimming.

 

I agree. Iskcon is reluctant to open its doors wide to the debate, but still benefits on the sidelines. However, I would say free debate is precisely the shape elevated team work has taken. We are all in this together, only some see like this more than others.

[Guest guest]

 

Yes, I know.

Narayan Maharaja called Sridhar Maharaja a fish-seller and a coal merchant, because the government forced him to allow fishing from his pond and because Govinda Maharaja made a little bit of money by selling coal to the locals.

 

That is a long way from the kinds of scams and schemes that I am talking about in the name of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in America.

 

53 years 1946 28 years

 

 

 

QUOTATION 5: "Narayana Maharaja, in a last effort to avoid surrender, turned to attacks on the character of Srila Sridhar Maharaja and also to criticizing Srila Sridhar Maharaja's competency to preach. In his last article Narayana Maharaja called Srila Sridhar Maharaja 'a fish seller and a coal merchant.' Narayana Maharaja wrote: "You know the utility of selling fish and the utility of selling coal, but you do not know the utility of preaching."

 

COMMENT 5: Here we find a direct statement, supposedly from Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, fortified with the authority of quotation marks. We would like to ask Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja from where he has procured this statement.

 

He claims that it is from the last article of the exchange written by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja. However, no such statement was ever written by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja in the last article or in any other article. It is evident that although Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja has never read this article, he is bold enough to quote from it in public and thus inadvertently mislead innocent devotees who have no access to the historical facts. The original text in Bengali and English is being presented below.

 

Sri Gaudiya Patrika 22nd year issue 10 — dated December 16th 1970

 

"'Anukulyena krsnanusilanam' ki prakara Sri ratha-yatra yadi anukula anusilana na haya, taha haile gamabhanga karya, kayala, matsya prabhrtira vyavasayaguli ki anukula krsnanusilana haibe Ucchadhikarura erupa cintasrota kanistha adhikarira durbodhya."

 

Translation:

 

"Uttama bhakti is defined as the continuous cultivation of endeavours and moods which are favourable to Krsna — anukulyena krsnanusilanam. How will it be accomplished? If Sri Ratha-Yatra is not anukula anusilana, then how will an enterprise of milling wheat, or a business involving coal and fish, be considered anukula anusilana? Highly elevated personalities may think like this, but it is very difficult for a neophyte to understand."

 

From the above authentic evidence it is clear that:

 

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja has made no accusation whatsoever against Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja.

This statement speaks about the definition of uttama-bhakti. It was written in reply to an article by Sripad Bhaktiprapana Damodara Maharaja, in which he said that Ratha-yatra in Sri Navadvipa Dhama was not "anukula" (not favourable to Krsna).

The actual statement made by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja in this article is a far cry from the alleged statement presented by Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja: "Narayana Maharaja called Srila Sridhara Maharaja 'a fish seller and a coal merchant.'"

 

excerpted from:

Refutation of "Krsna talk - Ratha-yatra in Navadvipa"

By Tridandisvami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja

20 October 2000

[Guest guest]

Well, the tone is sarcastic and oblique criticism, is it not?

[Guest guest]

 

I agree. Iskcon is reluctant to open its doors wide to the debate, but still benefits on the sidelines. However, I would say free debate is precisely the shape elevated team work has taken. We are all in this together, only some see like this more than others.

 

Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. I suppose that my intention was to object to those who think they are. I have held for the longest time that the Guru institution itself promotes dispersion.

 

Hinduism has always been a religious free market. The difficulty with Christianity and Islam in the Indian context was always their insistence that religion should be a monopoly. The Guru system promotes a free market approach in religious ideas. Of course, this can have certain less than positive effects, as is always the case with uncontrolled markets. In other words, there is something called the quality pyramid. Low prices low quality forming the bottom, high quality, high prices at the top.

 

Market controls means that one can impose some regulation in both price and quality, so there is something to be said for them. But generally, faith in the free market system means that one believes that higher value will ultimately become most desirable. As Vaishnavas, it is our task to assure that our "product" is of the highest quality possible, that we market it as effectively as possible, and that we make it as available as possible. My personal concern is with the quality of the product. This is what Prabhupad called "boiling the milk."

[Guest guest]

While still on the free market analogy, marketing means sometimes tailoring a product to the specific market. Prabhupada did this in many ways, which we are quite familiar with. Often times, debates ensue about marketing techniques--can such and such a compromise be made. This is something that the competitive market judges by rewarding effective strategies and punishing ineffective ones. The Guru system allows not only a variety of products but also a variety of marketing strategies.

 

On the whole, the principle of successful marketing comes from knowing one's product well, from believing in its beneficial nature, i.e., its potential value for a specific target market, and then making the requisite effort to bring the product to that market.