GBC’s Hindu Policies Make ISKCON Temples Terrorist Targets
The GBC may have gone for the ‘soft’and financially rewarding target of appealing mainly to Hindus, and lost that sense of universality Srila Prabhupada really taught.
Prabhupada taught that we are not Hindu, Muslim or Christian, but eternal servants of God.
Hare Krishna, Prabhus,
In a post on the Lakshmi Sampradaya website it was stated: “When an Al Quida sect was unearthed over 5 years ago in San Diego, plans were discovered to blow up the Los Angeles Hare KRSNA ISKCON temple, guard routines, etc.” If this is true, it is indeed very alarming and unfortunate news. I think we need to look a little deeper as to why the terrorists may be targeting ISKCON temples, and I would say that one reason could be the mistaken policy the GBC pursued after Srila Prabhupada’s departure of linking ISKCON more and more with Hinduism in the eyes of the world.
Srila Prabhupada, of course, has many philosophical differences with mainstream Hinduism, some of the major ones being:
- 1. That Lord Krishna is the Supreme Cause of All Causes and Lord Visnu is His expansion for creating and maintaining the material world — Hindus say Sri Krsna is an avatar of Vishnu.
- 2. Most Hindus are impersonalists or worshipers of demigods — some think that Lord Krsna is one of the demigods, which is one of the 10 offenses to the Holy Names according to Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
- 3. Srila Prabhupada preached very forcefully that one is brahmana by qualification, not by birth, and this got him in a lot of hot water with some very powerful, wealthy “brahmana-by-birth” Hindus in India.
If any of you have ever heard the lectures Srila Prabhupada gave to Hindu audiences, particularly in India, you will know that His Divine Grace would often become extremely stern with them, exhorting them to get back on the right track and not squander the legacy of Vedic culture to which they had been born. Srila Prabhupada often warned against the dangers of nationalism, Hindu or otherwise — this was always one of the main themes of his preaching. He always made a point of differentiating his ISKCON movement from that of Hinduism, although of course he had many friends and supporters in the Hindu community and was always very cordial with them. But he did not want ISKCON to be seen as another branch of Hinduism. I feel that after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, the GBC alienated so much of their Western support that they were practically forced to abandon Srila Prabhupada’s policy with regard to Hinduism and cozy up to it more and more in order to keep the money rolling in to support themselves and their programs. I had always found this to be very dishonest, both to Srila Prabhupada’s legacy and to the Hindus themselves. In protest, I quit subscribing to “Back to Godhead” magazine when it became basically a Hindu magazine. So in light of what Laksmi Sampradaya says about Al Qaeda targeting the L.A. temple, it appears obvious that it has been another grave mistake on the part of the GBC to lead Iskcon away from Srila Prabhupada’s path of keeping a healthy distance from Hinduism. I believe His Divine Grace could foresee the future rise of “Hindu nationalism” and “Islamic terrorism,” a very bad rock and hard place for ISKCON to be caught between.
Your servant and godsister,
Dinadayadri dasi
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Hare Krishna
It makes no difference whether one is call Hinduor or Zindu or any other name. The aim of ISLAM is to destroy all others. Just look at their 1400 year history.
The only way is to follow the Bhagavad-Gita, fight them. The purpose of the Gita is to get Arjuna to fight, because he faced with the demonic. We are also faced with the demonic (Islam).
Actually in the Kali-yuga the demons are not very strong. And Lord Caitanya’s movement is not for killing the demons but for killing the demonic mentality.
The Muslims have many good qualities. They are perhaps the only people left on the planet who have still got some religious principles. The Hindus have long ago abandoned all religious principles but the Muslims still have some principles in regard to protecting women and praying to God and chanting the name of God. They still are against intoxication, they are against homosexuality, against illicit sex, against pornography, against the demonic western music, against the degradation and prostitution of women in Western society. So there are so many good qualities in the Muslims.
Hindus, on the other hand, have given up all religious principles, they are just trying to be like Americans. At least the Muslims do object to the American lifestyle. The Hindus aspire for the American lifestyle. That is the difference as I see it.
So you know in the Bhagavad-gita Krishna is instructing Arjuna to fight, but to fight on religious principles. The Hindus have given up all religious principles.
And the current age, as I said, is different. Nowadays we have to push on Lord Caitanya’s movement and get the Muslims to chant Hare Krishna. Their determination to follow the religious principles will be properly utilized when they join up with Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement and then they will realize that with the power of the maha mantra they can kill the demonic mentality of the world. Sankirtan is far more powerful than the sword, and if the Muslims realize this, that will be wonderful for them and wonderful for the world.
It is not our mission to kill the demons physically. It is our mission to kill the demonic mentality and awaken Krishna consciousness, pure love of God, in the hearts of the demons. This is not the time for physically killing their bodies.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
If we follow the devotional principles properly without deviating from Prabhupada teachings, even terrorists will not target us. Even if someone targets us, we will be protected. Protected spiritually. Whatever happens materially then will be for our spiritual benefit bcos we would be under Krsnas protection as we are following Him. The aggressive party would then be an instrument of Krsna decision, and not the medium for karma to be delivered.