My startling dream

[shvu]

 

I had a dream that I felt should be shared with all people. Mayavadis or Advaitins please don't take this personally as it is only a dream. The rest of you sit back and enjoy this.

 

Location: Goloka

Time: 1971

 

Scene: I am Lord Shiva in conversation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The SPG has a peacock feather in his crown, a flute in his hand and is surrounded by a flock of teenage girls. He is 5' 10" tall, weighs 160 lbs, is finely muscled and appears charming with North-Indian features. His sidelocks are rather long, then I realize that it is the hippie season of the 70s. There are also several Takurs, Maharajs and Goswamis around chanting the sweet, nectar-like names of the SPG. There are lots of cattle to be seen too. And yes, I checked to see if there was grass for the cattle, but as it turns out in Goloka cattle are also trascendental and hence don't need grass and water.

 

S - Shiva

SPG - The Supreme Personality of Godhead [Previously known as Lord Narayana, Lord Vishnu]

 

 

---begins---

 

SPG: Hey Buddy, Get ready to go down to Bhuloka [earth] once again and mislead people with some false Mayavada.

 

 

S: I already did it once at your insistence 1300 years back. Why do it again and what is the advantage?

 

SPG: Since the arrival of the Great scholar Prabhupada, I have become a Person and I have a body, like he has written. Although my body is trascendental which means beyond space and time, I still have "pastimes". Now don't ask how, because I myself am confused about that. Also since I am a person, I get bored at times and get into a prankster mood. At such occasions, I like to play games with humans. It was great fun to see them being misled and falling down when you did it last time. Poor Vyasa never knew about this sadistic streak of mine. He wrote in the Gita that I am always looking out for the welfare of people and all paths lead to me. If he had only known the truth like Prabhupada does!

 

 

S: But isn't this contrary to your role of a merciful, all-loving God?

 

SPG: Don't act smart. Remember that you are only a demi-god, while I am the SPG as the scholar Prabhupada has said. Of course, there was a time when we both were one, as the oldest Purana [Vishnu Purana] says, but since the arrival of Prabhupada, things have changed around here. So don't tell me what I should be doing. I am in the mood to see people being taught false philosophies and being doomed and that is what you are going to do. Hey! I just noticed that doom is mood spelt backwards [smiles charmingly as all the girls clap]. Of course I always knew this, but I like to bewilder people with my pastimes. After all although transcendental, I am a person too. Again I repeat, don't ask how.

 

 

S: But this time my job will be tougher, because the scholar Prabhupada has already written an article on Mayavada and said that "Intelligent people should avoid lectures on Mayavada". How do I go about with my task?

 

SPG: Yes, that is true. But there is a guideline to follow. Most of the intelligent people have read Prabhupada's literature, and have become his followers. Some of them are so intelligent that by just reading a couple of ISKCON books and comics, have learnt all about Vedas, Vedanta and how false Mayavada is. Certainly your preaching will not work with such razor sharp minds. You have to target the lesser mortals who have not the intelligence to appreciate Prabhupada's works.

 

 

S: I got it. Just like Prabhupada targetted a western audience which was not versed with Indian Scriptures, I shall target people who are not his followers. That way they cannot compare my distortions with anything else to know that they are false. Following his example, I will ensure that the packaging is very good with colorful illustrations which will compensate for the content. People seem to favor that. Like him, I will also come up with something like christ=christos=krishta=krishna to lure the christians. How about Jehovah=ihvava=ihvara=ishvara?

 

SPG: Good, you have understood the secret marketing technique very well.

 

 

S: One last thing, Is there any hope for these people whom I am going to mislead with my false philosophy?

 

SPG: Needless to say, ISKCON is the only way out for them.

 

 

S: Ok then, cheers.

 

SPG: Cheers.

 

 

---ends---

 

 

This is when I woke up and found that it was all a dream.

 

Cheers

 

[Dasha]

Why such a relentlessness against Prabhupada?

 

I understand that you (shvu, Jayasriradhe...) who are following other philosophical current may not always agree with the way that Prabhupada spread the vedic philosophy, but if you find fault on the manner, is there fault on the goal?

 

Isn't it true that we have to developp love for God?

 

Did you ever red Prabhupada biography? He was preaching Bhagavad-Gita long before to come in New-York. He almost left his is body on the boat that bring Him to New-York. And at the beginning of the mouverment it was not so easy: he had no money, nobody to help him, He was just depending on Krsna's mercy.

 

May be he had to adapt the philosophy so that we (westeners) could accept it.

 

But did he do it to mislead people and exploit them ?

 

The way you see ISKCON now is not necessarly the way that Prabhupada had like it to be. He never ask people to be fanatical. If somebody is, that is in his nature, he never learned it in the mouvement at least at the time where Prabhupada was there). Infortunetly fanatics are attracted by spiritual mouvement, but Prabhupada was not a fanatic and he never ask anybody to be fanatic. Just when you NEED to have strict rules to guide you on the right path, it is easy to fall into fanatisism because when you are neophite you do not understand so much the aim of what you do and fanatisism is what you need to help you keep the way. (I personnaly know what I speak about).

 

But when you grow up in your spiritual life fanatisism leave the room to a higher vision.

 

-------

SPG: Good, you have understood the secret marketing technique very well.

-------

 

If it was "marketing" that Prabhupada did, then marketing was used to serve God and it is sublimated by the way.

 

Your "dream" could be funny but it is a little bitter.

 

Haribol

[animesh]

Hi Shvu,

Even though I am not associated with ISKCON, I agree with Dasha that the dream will be found bitter by the followers of Sri Prabhupada. If I have understood your post correctly, then you are trying to make the following points: -

 

1)It is not a good idea to think that God wants to delude people by wrong teachings.

 

2)Just by reading some books by ISKCON, one should not assume that he has learnt everything about scriptures.

 

3)It is not a good idea to criticize Mayavada without knowing what it is.

 

Well, I agree with all of these points. But, in my heart, I feel that it is quite natural for the followers of Sri Prabhupada to consider your post as sattire and not as enjoyable.

 

[viji_53]

Dear shvu,

You need not have any Vedic knowledge or know about Upanishads, smritis or srutis ect to attain God. All you need is simple devotion with out hurting anybody. Most of the ISKCON followers are from other religions so they accept what their Guru said. One of the nine devotions to God is surrendering to your Guru. That is what they are doing. Fanatics are every where. Because of the few fanatic followers of ISKCON ,the whole organisation is getting bad reputaion. See only what good things they are doing. They are making people to chant Krishna's Name which is very good for this Kaliyuga to overcome this samsara Sagara. They are building beautiful temples for worship etc. Learn to appreciate good things.

HariBhol!

[shvu]

 

Hi Viji,

 

That was a dream. As far as I know, everyone appreciates good things, although thanks for the advice.

 

Anyway I don't think ISKCON is silly nor that SP's mission was wrong. All I am criticising is SP's criticism of Mayavada and some of his fanatic followers who are continuing his trend of Mayavada bashing and their know-all attitude.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>See only what good things they are doing.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

And why is that?

 

Cheers

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>"See only what good things they are doing."

 

And why is that?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Because that is the teaching Dattatreya learned by observing the honey bee and the fly. One should follow the example of the honey bee, who looks for the flowers to take their nectar; not like the fly who constantly searches for decaying flesh and dirt.

 

Also the great scholar Chanakya advises that valuable things may be taken even from a dirty place.

 

To see good and find the good in something requires a higher vision.

 

[shvu]

 

My question was 'why only see the good?' Your answer is more apt for a question like 'Why see good in others?'

 

If we are to only see the good, then by the same logic, Shankara, Madhva and Chaitanya had no need to disagree with existing systems and find new ones. If we are only to see good, then considering the fact that Veerappan helps villagers, we should turn away from his other activities and let him go on with his poaching, smuggling and murdering. Also by this logic Prabhupada should not do any Mayavada bashing.

 

In my opinion, seeing only the goodside of things is not practical although is an easy way out. One has to look at the whole picture. It is better that I criticize his points on Mayavada rather than to sit back knowing that people will read his article and be mis-informed.

 

Cheers