karthik_v Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 When Christopher Hutchins made the film Hell's angel Teresa, nobody could refute what he stated there. But the media pounced on the one unsavoury remark he made about Teresa's virginity. And they succeeded highlighting that and thereby relegated the main issue to the back burner. So, never underestimate the power of organised media and the in built inertia of the masses to change their perceived notions, especially when it comes to "saints". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonehearted Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 Originally posted by karthik_v: First of all, ISKCON doesn't have the millions that Vatican or MOC have. Most ISKCON temples are in eternal penury. Yes, I agree with you that even ISKCON bosses may resist accountability, but don't forget one thing. ISKCON's accounts are publicly audited every year in every nation in the world. If you say so, but my experience (and I've seen this first-hand at several centers, and recently) is that ISKCON's centers are in eternal penury due to mismanaging the resources they have. If they managed them better, they'd go farther; more to the point, if they managed them better and more transparently, more would come. I know many devotees who are reluctant to give too much simply because their confidence in the management is rather limited, and for good cause. That is not the case with Teresa, who keeps rotating her funds between Panama, US, Luxembourg more astutely than a mafia don. Well, that's a pretty good trick, considering that she has been dead for a few years. Would that imply that she has some mystic power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karthik_v Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 Originally posted by stonehearted: Well, that's a pretty good trick, considering that she has been dead for a few years. Would that imply that she has some mystic power? I was referring to the period when she was alive. And today's MOC under Nivedita is run exactly the same way Teresa ran it. Talking of her mystic power, Vatican is trying to invent stories regarding her "miracles". In the next 2 decades, you can see that circulating all around. After all, many criminals end up as mystics decades after death, if there is enough propaganda! I cannot disagree with you on the need for ISKCON to manage its limited funds more transparently. I was only contending your unintended comparison of ISKCON in eternal penury, with a rich criminal organisation like that of Teresa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonehearted Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 Originally posted by karthik_v: After all, many criminals end up as mystics decades after death, if there is enough propaganda! I cannot disagree with you on the need for ISKCON to manage its limited funds more transparently. I was only contending your unintended comparison of ISKCON in eternal penury, with a rich criminal organisation like that of Teresa. You know, there are plenty of poor churches and poor, honest priests, monks, and nuns in the Church, too. While many ISKCON centers may be struggling, many of those in leadership positions live quite comfortably, even now. I'm not going to mention any names because I'm more interested in the principle than the personalities. We need transparency for more than just incompetence. Not long ago, a number of ISKCON's leaders patterned their behavior exactly after that of the Roman Catholic Church, others after the mafia, especially as portrayed in Coppola's movies, and others after both. Anyone who thinks those influences have completely evaporated is naive. That's the long version of "Who says the comparison was unintended?" What's good for the goose is good for the "swan." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yashoda_dd Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 I am really surprised how quick some person can be when they want to mark someone as criminal. Srila Prabhupada never said anything wrong about Mother Theresa, only that she was a relief worker. I think that says enough. In 1973 someone mentioned Mother Theresa to Srila Prabhupada. At that time he heard about her for the first time. In January 1977 Srila Prabhupada mentioned Mother Theresa in conversation, when someone mentioned a relief worker. It would be very interested to know if Srila Prabhupada met personally with Mother Theresa. Not only vaisnava devotees are bhaktas. There are millions of bhakta around us, in all the religions in the world. Anyone who chants the name of God is a devotee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pita das Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 Mother Teresa was well know in the catholic chruch a little old nun in Calcutta. While I was in India Moriji Desai led a campanion to remove Christian missionaries who were converting the poor hindus to christian by feeding them,changing their ways of dress and cuture. When he suggested that Mother Teresa should also be included she was soon given the Noble Peace Prise and then become internationally know . This is how I remenber it then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yashoda_dd Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 Yet, Pita prabhu, well said. We all agree it is not important what dress we wear, or what religion we believe in. It is all only from outside. After meeting Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Kazi understood a lot about a vaisnava culture and soul, but he did not stop being a Muslim. If "Hindus" do not care very much for their own people and educate them more into their own Vedas, teach them about the eternity of soul and their relationship with God, then I agree it is better at least to take their babies from the streets, together with hungry widows and aids seek people and give them at least human meal, which "hindus" forgot to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 That would all be fine and good if she actually did any of that. But she didn't. I think this is an opinion few will be willing to accept. Some will want to hold on to the TV image of a person, ignoring the documented facts. We can keep on saying how she did this and did that, but she never did any of those things, at least not anywhere near to the extent they claim. The best place to get an opinion of Mother Theresa is from the poor in Calcutta. The TV version just doesn't hold up then. Imagine there is a Mr. X who was receiving over 100 million dollars to his charity, but there was only visible social service amounting to a few hundred thousand dollars being carried out. What if, when being asked for an audit, Mr. X replied "I am only accountable to God, not to the government." What do you think would be the result? What does it suggest about Mr. X? Now go do some research and you will see that this insn't a hypothetical situation. It is a recorded fact, though it isn't Mr. X, but Mother T. We may try to pass the blame by saying "devotees of God are not accountable to materialists". If that's the best answer, then what can be said. The money meant for charitable purposes is being used for training nuns and for funding the conversion of non-christians. From a Catholic perspective its a great service she is doing. I am sure they see their duty as being to God (i.e. to convert others), instead of to governments, donors, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atma Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 I have to agree with JNDas and Karthik prabhus about what was going on with MOC during mother Teresa's time and now under Nivedita. I lived in Calcutta for many years and I met her in her house in Lower Circular Rd. Yes, I do have a picture with her that my mother displays very proud in the living room of her house. They do have a problem with accounts in MOC and they are not supporting many people (the poor I'm talking here). The last time that I went to the place in Kalighat was exactly a year ago when I took some journalists from my country that wanted to see how MOC worked. They were not impressed at all. I took them inside and they were very upset with the living conditions for the sick people.They had very bare beds, the simplest thing that you can imagine and very thin blankets (remember that it is cold for the bengalis in January). They were really disgusted because the journalists knew that mother teresa and her mission have plenty of money. When I did service for the devotee's confectionery I met many foreigners that came to work with mother Teresa and many of them were upset too. You see, they take homeless people from the street (plenty of them in Cal) but they don't cure them. The mantra is: we help them to die with dignity. That means not alone. But with all the money they have they should be able to have a very nice hospital with all the modern facilities and they have none. They don't give medicines to the people, crocin is like nothing, you have to take almost the whole bottle to bring the fever down for 4 hours. Many of the foreigners were dissapointed with the whole thing and even christians told me that they were upset that the nuns tried to convert the hindus before they died. Adri interviewed M. Teresa in one ocassion and it was really pathetic how she was defending her meat eating habit. I think that she got that it's not way that you win an argument with Adri When she passed away, a week later than Diana, of course the church tried very hard to make it like a big thing but it wasn't. I know because I was there. The church were they put her body for the people to pay respects it was only 3 blocks from my house and the crowds were all the school children from the catholics schools of Calcutta. They forced them to be there. When they took her body in procession through Middleton Rd, Park St, the streets were half empty. The foreigner journalists were trying very hard to make it look interesting but what can you do when it is not genuine local interest? The devotees had (maybe they still have it) a very nice program with prasada distribution and when we used to go to Kalighat the people from MOC used to get very annoyed with us. What was our fault? Feeding the people with very nice kitchari and papadams. Bengalis are very proud people and they don't like that foreigners use Calcutta as mean to get money. They got very annoyed with Dominique Lapierre and his book 'The City of Joy' and when they come to Cal to make the movie, Jyoti Babu and his government gave a very hard time to everybody involved in the picture. Adri got to meet Patrick Swayze at his hotel and he gave a book to him and they talked about the movie "Ghost" with all the thing about the Yamadutas, etc, etc. BTW, now I remember that Adri also met Yasser Arafat and gave him a Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Adri was very proud of that and had that picture in the temple board for almost a year, we used to make fun of him, like what was so great to have your picture taken with a terrorist . I think I got off track. Maybe in the beginning mother Teresa had good intentions and she did help poor, sick, homeless people but with all her fame and money that was collected in the name of Calcutta poor they don't have much to show and that is what people resent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raguraman Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 Hare Krishna, I found an interesting site on Teresa. If this is all true then truth has no value in this world and Teresa should be in hell for spreading and being a part of lie. What a shame http://website.lineone.net/~bajuu/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avinash Posted January 30, 2002 Report Share Posted January 30, 2002 We may try to pass the blame by saying "devotees of God are not accountable to materialists". If that's the best answer, then what can be said. I agree with you. This is not at all a proper answer. I just hate such kind of answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yasodanandana Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Yashoda–dd: "I have been watching it for few minutes. Unfortunately, I have not seen any vaisnavas there" at the 1st edition of this gathering, in the eighties, i had as ashram companion for two or three nights the srila prabhupada indian disciple who acted as one of the hinduism representatives sitting directly beside the pope in two of the last editions (maybe 2001.. 2002) in majors television in italy, in reportages about this event there was an interview to some my godbrothers (titled : "hare krishna italy")..... (i was also invited... i am beating my head in the wall one day yes one day no... my false ego is very frustrated) i know also that Srila Svarupa Damodhara Maharaja (the famous Dr.Singh of Manipur.. interviewing Srila Prabhupada in some famous books ) is attending every year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 21, 2003 Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 Thank-you to all the people from India who have written about Mother Teresa and unveiled the lies and the propaganda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted August 21, 2003 Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 Matthew 7:1 - Judge not, that ye be not judged. Matthew 7:2 - For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:37 - Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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