httpv://youtu.be/h3TXfVp_nBg
video: dinadayaldas
Suvarna_manjari: I do respect all persons who chant Hare Krsna and who try despite their faults to spread the Holy Names, but I’d like to share how I felt when Indradyumna came to a temple that I was serving in with his Le Carnaval Spirituel.
First up all “his” girls dress very inappropriately. They prance around the temple with Russian like gopi skirts and small transparent scarves that barely cover them up with loads of make up. Very provocative. While the temple girls are covered head to toe and never allowed any flesh to show.
Harinama samkirtana, which for me are usually fun and exciting — became stressful. The Russian girls get all painted up and as dolled up as possible while us temple devotees looked very plain. Then trying to fit in with all there dance moves ….how stressful. Of course because you are not Russian or a disciple of “gurumaharaj” you are an unsightly outcaste and shouldn’t really be there. The harinam became more of an advertisement for Indradyumna’s Carnaval.
No doubt it is pretty, but it really misses the point. People just stare at the pretty girls and it doesn’t feel like nama sankirtan. Eventually many temple devotees just didn’t go on Harinamas anymore while they were there, we just did not fit in. Only some of the really young girls stuck it out and finally some of the Russian girls painted their faces for them….guess you’ve really got to show how sincere you are before you can go on harinama with them.
If you are not young, slim or pretty you really don’t fit in. If you are old or have kids, sorry, you can’t come on these harinamas. Since when has harinamas become an ad for the circus show? As for the carnival show, it was ok, more entertainment than anything else and Indradyumna gives a short talk from the edited Bhagavad Gita, at that point many people find the exit because all the entertainment is over.
Back at the temple for Bhagavatam class Indradyumna for one or two classes didn’t even read from the Bhagavatam, but read from his journal – nice advertisement. If any baby even squeaks, the Russian girls turn around all at once and give the mothers the stare of death and say “MATAJI!!!!SSSSHHHHHH! GURUMAHARAJ IS TALKING.”
“Maharaj” has “his” beautiful girls coming in and out of his room serving His deities. They all get treated like royalty while some of the single men of the group flirt with the temple devotees. When Indradyumna left, all “his girls” cry in uncontrollable separation and go into their rooms to eat their chocolate bars and paint their toe nails.
I put it down to me just being an envious and bitter demon because I was not confident enough to stick it out on the harinams. But to me harinams are meant to be full of energy, spontaneous energy..of course with some structure and with a heart to give the Holy Names to others, with a mood of serving Srila Prabhupada, Gaura Nitai and Radha Krsna. It is a joyful experience. It doesn’t matter if you are young, old, fat, thin, man, woman, ugly, beautiful, qualified or unqualified.
Harinama is for everyone for all time, all races, ages etc. I guess at the end of the day that’s the harinama for Indradyumna and “his girls”. It is not on the highest platform, but at least they are going out on harinama – that is something to give respect for.
Many things do not correspond to what Srila Prabhupada wanted, and it is very sad. It is disturbing that mis-leaders allow themselves to have followers and allow them to believe that they are pure devotees and these people should be corrected. It is a shame that the GBC have let things get so out of hand.
This “article” was never meant to be one, it was a comment I posted on a different website and someone sent it to this website. Non the less I wish to apologize for writing this obviously offensive and critical comment.
Through my struggle to find what initiation system is right, I got sucked into criticizing devotees of the Lord. What a dangerous situation I have put myself in. Making offenses and thereby ruining my spiritual life.
I will write personally to Maharaj for criticizing him for no good reason and I apologize to any of his disciples and well wishers that I may have offended.
After all my searching, I’ve seen a lot of fighting and fussing amongst devotees and it has been so disheartening to witness. The age of Kali is so strong.
I am still non the wiser as to what Srila Prabhupada wanted for initiations.
The thing that I have learned is that the Holy name of Sri Hari is surely all that be. I wish with all my heart for all of us devotees to put aside all our differences and come together under the shelter of the Holy name and chant in every town and village. This will please Srila Prabhupada and the entire parampara and all devotees for all time and most of all, it was be pleasing to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda and Sri Radha and Lord Sri Krsna.
If we keep nit picking and looking at the faults of others, we will never be able to unite. Even if we can’t work together, at least we can stop criticizing and respect each other from a distance. Devotees are so rare.
Maharaj, your festivals are amazing and you inspire many to give their all to Krsna and Srila Prabhupada.
Please forgive my offense.
your servant
Suvarna
What you mean by “I wish to apologize” – did ISKCON’s GBC ever apologize for establishing 43 false gurus? Where? Instead we find all over Europe that all those victims of fallen gurus were treated as such that 90% joined GM camps. 10% left the path of bhakti for good. E.g. what exactly happened with Prabhavishnu’s 1500 ex-disciples?
Now they say it is us who have to apologize because half a dozen of their 70 appointed “Prabhupada successors” are still in office?
Those 43 failures created chaotic publicity what was never fixed by GBC. Rather they concluded that their performance caused irreparable damage and thus ISKCON relocated to Russia, South East Asia, 3rd world countries.
You can run, but you can’t hide. Westerners are still not joining ISKCON anymore like they did during Prabhupada’s physical presence. Western ISKCON temples turned into Hindu mandirs (http://www.chakra.org/discussions/IntApr15_06.html). Where are efficient spiritual projects developing in the West?
We shouldnt lose touch with reality, Prabhupdanugas are still excommunicated, ISKCON Bangalore is still threatened by action of eviction. And, ISKCON’s SAC still did not present any document where Prabhupada told his GBC men to install acaryas, full-fledged diksa-gurus via voting procedure.
ISKCON rank&file devotees say that meanwhile nobody believes that Prabhupada appointed those legendary 11 to be successor acaryas. In sum, GBC has to apologize, not us. It is of course Vaishnava behavior to be always meek, humble and forgiving but falsely posing as God’s direct representative isn’t just an one-off. There is sin, agham — grievous sin and there is aparadha.
“Just as by clapping the hands one can cause many birds to fly away, similarly the birds of all sinful activities which are sitting on the body can be made to fly away simply by dancing and clapping before the Deity of Krishna.” (NOD 9)
When it comes to falsely officiating as diksha-guru as reported at Sampradaya Sun from 1983 to 2008:
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/11-09/editorials5364.htm there has to be more tactfulness and discretion than HH Indradyumna Swami’s pretense as if nothing has happened, pretending that nothing had occurred. There is need for clarification of this situation and not to brush such tragic occurrence under the carpet.
Thanks for your comment Prabhu, I’m just apologizing for my offenses. It’s not my place to be upset with others if they did not apologize for their offenses to devotees I don’t even know.
There is so much fighting going on and to be a part of this insane war makes me lose enthusiasm for spiritual life.
Please forgive any offenses from this fallen jiva.
ys Suvarna