Re: My Video Reply to the Puri Incident Regarding Shrila Prabhupada

Orissa Protests �Rath Yatra� by ISKCON in Delhi

We read with some interest car festival that was organised by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New Delhi on November 23.
Would Srila Prabhupada have sanction such a festival knowing that it would invoke such anger.
�Servitors burnt effigy of Srila Prabhupad, the founder acharyya of ISKCON. Shouting slogans against the organisers, these servitors threatened not to allow the ISKCON followers to Puri.�
This is not vaisnava aparadha as it was invoked by people not listening to the people�s reaction to holding a car festival outside Puri, the festival was not even at the proper time of the year when the Jagannath deitys make the journey out of the temple.
We all know in our vaisnava tradition this verse about not disturbing others.

Cc Antya 20.21
trinad api su-nicena taror iva sahishnuna
amanina mana-dena kirtaniyah sada harih

TRANSLATION
��One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.�

By checking out Srila Prabhupada�s books, and multi- media we can understand Srila Prabhupada never held such a festival in India. However grand Ratha Yatra festivals were held in other countries around the world such as Melbourne, London, San Francisco etc.
Srila Prabhupada was very careful no to disturb tradition of India�s ancient culture. Even when opening Sri Krsna Balaram temple in Vrndavan he had the local brahmana�s to do ceremony, and not his own disciples. This was to make sure the Indian culture preserved and accepted by the people of India.
Srila Prabhupada did hold grand pandal programs which thousands of people attended. In these festivals there were lectures, kirttan, prasadam distribution, even marriages

�1975 Correspondence Letter to: Madhava Maharaja�Bhaktivedanta Manor 8 March, 1975
�A similar letter was addressed to Sripada Sridhara Maharaja inviting him, but he has not objected to the temple being open on the Sri Rama Navami day. Sridhara Maharaja on account of his uncertain health condition will not be able to take any active part in celebrating the ceremony, but he has promised to come provided his health permits. I have therefore entrusted the matter to a learned pandita, brahmana, Bhimasena Vedacarya, a great astrologer and learned brahmana. He has agreed to conduct the ceremony. Details may be discussed as soon as I return to India by the 16th of March in Bombay, then we will have a detailed program. Another thing is that I have invited the Governor of U.P., Mr. Channa Reddy and he has also agreed to join the ceremony. Under the circumstances, I don't think it will be possible to change the scheduled date. If we change the date, the Governor may not be available because he has his program fixed up�.

It�s so easy to enrage the Indian people, and spoil the good name of ISKCON
Srila Prabhupada�s Lilamrta Vol 6
Within a few days, a letter came from Gopala Krishna giving the facts of the Mayapur incident. About fifty Muslim men were stealing crops from the ISKCON land. When Nitai-canda tried to stop them, they attacked him, cutting his head in three places. Later, while he was being treated in the temple infirmary, the men came and beat Nitai-canda and stripped one of the ladies naked. Meanwhile, another 250 men attacked, breaking the gates, cutting phone and electric wires, and destroying the water pumps. Wanting to scare the mob, Bhavananda had fired a shot in the air, but when they did not disperse he fired another shot, injuring two men.
In the meantime, the attackers had broken both hands of one of the gurukula teachers and beaten many other devotees. Two hours later the police arrived and recommended the devotees go to Krishnanagar police station-twenty miles away-to file a complaint. When the devotees had reached the station, they had been arrested, and the two seriously injured devotees were denied medical treatment. Bhavananda Goswami was still in jail. Prabhupada said it was a plot to drive away the Hare Krishna men.
If we did not know the reaction of the car festival:
�public relation officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda said Dibyasingh Dev, scion of Puri Royal family, had requested other State government not to allow celebration of Car Festival on any unscheduled date�
Now we know about holding the festival out of season so please do not disturb the people of India and give ISKCON a bad name.
Srila Prabupada gave this one example:
Nectar of Instruction, Upadesamrita text 1 purport
�For instance, a thief may know perfectly well that he may be arrested for his stealing, and he may actually even see a thief arrested by the police, yet he continues to steal. Experience is gathered by hearing and seeing. One who is less intelligent gathers experience by seeing, and one who is more intelligent gathers experience by hearing. When an intelligent person hears from the lawbooks and sastras, or scriptures, that stealing is not good and hears that a thief is punished when arrested, he refrains from theft. A less intelligent person may first have to be arrested and punished for stealing to learn to stop stealing. However, a rascal, a foolish man, may have the experience of both hearing and seeing and may even be punished, but still he continues to steal.�
�Despite the protest last year, ISKCON had celebrated the car festival in New Delhi. It had evoked sharp reactions among servitors and other die-hard followers of Jagannath cult�
Even last year ISKCON had bad publicity about the celebration of the of the car festival last year, but still they are invoking anger of the people who have supported them in the past
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News paper article
Puri: A number of servitors of Jagannath Temple and cultural enthusiasts of Puri on Tuesday took to the street protesting the proposed car festival to be organised by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New Delhi on November 23.

They were enraged over untimely celebration of the festival. Servitors burnt effigy of Srila Prabhupad, the founder acharyya of ISKCON. Shouting slogans against the organisers, these servitors threatened not to allow the ISKCON followers to Puri.

�Ratha Yatra is usually celebrated in the month of June and July. Since Puri is the real abode of Lord Jagannath, the festival timing should be followed by everyone in and outside the State. So celebrating Ratha Yatra on an unscheduled date is anti-Hindu,� said Priyadarshan Patnaik, national convenor of Jagannath Sena, a local outfit.

The State government and the Jagannath Temple Administration (JTA) should take action against ISKCON authorities and prevent organisers at New Delhi from celebrating the Rath Yatra. Reacting to the development JTA�s public relation officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda said
Dibyasingh Dev, scion of Puri Royal family, had requested other State government not to allow celebration of Car Festival on any unscheduled date. Despite the protest last year, ISKCON had celebrated the car festival in New Delhi. It had evoked sharp reactions among servitors and other die-hard followers of Jagannath cult.

However, Bhubaneswar unit of ISKCON had disassociated from the whole controversy. Chief of ISKCON, Bhubaneswar Golak Mohapatra said, �we are not part of the decision taken at New Delhi. We will follow the rituals of Jagannath Temple at Puri. We have even passed a resolution to this effect.�

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