Where are the Sages and Brahmanas?
BY: DHIRASANTA DAS
Sep 3, AUSTRALIA (SUN) — Please accept my humble obeisance's. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. It is my prayer for Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada's Appearance Day that quarrelling devotees will unite around His Divine Grace and reconcile their enmity at His lotus feet.
There is no doubt plenty of reason for devotees to feel angry about and to feel let down by the leadership - the baggage from the zonal guru system, the systemic paedophilia and coterie of homosexual leaders, murder in West Virginia etc. The loss of so many devotees to Guadiya mathas and the Narayan Maharaja camp is another sign of ISKCON's dis-ease. The current debate about the GBC and temple ownership is another example of institutional lack of health.
The call for a brahminical Council is a wonderful idea. We need wise and holy men - and women to be brahminical role models. Brahmanas should not be managers - that is not their varna. Devotees need these brahmanas to be preaching, to be sharing enthusiasm for the Holy Name and Deity worship.
Householders in particular need help to make their situation as Krsna conscious as possible. There needs to be the acknowledgment that many many households do not fit a simple mould. Many devotees have 'karmi' partners, children from previous relationships, inter-faith families.
Householders need the assistance of sagely and practical brahmanas in translating the ethos, lifestyle and commitment to the 4 regulative principles into their everyday reality. That means openly and honestly talking through issues.
There is no doubt that people are hungry for spiritual help - witness the vast array of Buddhist teachers sharing wisdom about mindfulness, compassion and equanimity. There is a lack of vaisnava teachers doing this - and they should be spreading the compassion of Prabhupada, the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and doing so in practical and relevant ways that people connect to. HH Devamrita Maharaja's workshops achieve much of this and they enthuse many devotees. There is a need for much more.
HH Radhanatha Swami and his wonderful temple-community in Mumbai are an inspiration to all devotees everywhere. There we see empowered grhastas providing practical, loving brahminical wisdom - and combining it with practical measures relating to relationships, work, study marriage etc. There we see a very real commitment to the Holy Name, to kirtan and to sankirtan - the very spirit of Srila Prabhupada's mission.
We also need brahmanas whose compassion reaches out to the disenfranchised and the hurt. We need to acknowledge the pain of marginalised devotees, single mothers and damaged gurukulis. We need to acknowledge the serious abuses of power and position that still distresses many devotees.
We need wise and saintly brahmanas to help defeat kali yuga and unite Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON.
