Asking for questions, but censoring them at the same time

Malati dasi, Prabhupada's disciple, has just published a picture of herself and Srila Prabhupada on Vedic Enquirer.* We see him caressing the cheek of his daughter, Saraswati. Curiously, Malati did not explain the purpose of her publication, there was no comment about it. Perhaps it means that it is possible for sannyasis to caress children since Prabhupada did it... I don’t know, and no one seems concerned about it. While I asked a question, she did not answer and ignored me. 

Funny, because the day before, there was a debate on this same forum about the pertinence in ISKCON of asking questions. The hic is that atheists (on Vedic Enquirer) are pretending that freedom of speech is their privilege. Yes, now we have atheists on Vedic Enquirer who criticize religion for being non open to questions...

* Malati on Facebook.com

** https://www.facebook.com/share/p/n2PVee8zigNkg57U/

For a Vaishnava, animals, birds and fishes, all have intelligence. More and more people nowadays accept this. Still, they are some who do not agree; they think animals have instincts, not intelligence. What to speak of a soul?! When I joined Krishna consciousness, it was rare to find anyone admitting that animals have intelligence or a soul. They will speak or play with their favorite animal, but when it comes to send it to be killed, it will become just an object, without a soul and intelligence. In those cultures, no one asks essential questions. For example, what is the common dominator of living species, considering that trees are part of it. Do the rose or apple have a soul? In the 1970s, only the books of Prabhupada generated these questions. The idea of vegetarianism is largely due to the spread of Krishna consciousness. 

Is this dove we see in the stained glass window, part of a spiritual community? Does it understand the human issues unfolding before its eyes? When I was younger, people didn't ask these questions. Greeks, Jews, Christians and Muslims denied them these intellectual capabilities. Do they? Thanks to Srila Prabhupada, his teachings aroused my curiosity and without much hesitation I became a vegetarian. All my education comes from him, for better and for worse.

For a decade, after joining Krishna consciousness, I asked all kinds of questions related to the spiritual progress of myself and the movement. There were no challenges towards the authority. To do so was close to a great fault, an aparadha. You could ask all the questions you want -in the mood of the Bhagavad-gita: with humility and submission. Foolish questions will not be tolerated. 

Prabhupada Lecture: “Try to understand, question. It is not a thing that we are forcibly pushing. You have got intelligence. Krishna has given you intelligence. Try to understand with your intelligence but do not try to avoid it. Make your question to understand it, not making question to avoid it. There are two kinds of questions. That question will not help you. If you try to avoid, then Krishna will help you to avoid, and if you want to capture Krishna, then Krishna will help you how you can capture.”

Here is another example regarding my subject on questions and answers. Mayesvara, a disciple of Prabhupada, published this: “Brajarani and I attended the Santa Barbara celebration honoring the Dali Lama's 89th birthday and were surprised to get acknowledged by the organizers for simply attending!  They acknowledged us as representatives from the Ventura Hindu Temple Ventura whom we are networking nicely to bring the message of Lord Caitanya to all the conditioned souls.”

OK… I am noticing by the way that more and more devotees are becoming atheists or Buddhists, and feeling good in their association. This situation is quite astonishing, knowing to what extent Prabhupada invested himself in preaching against the sunyavadis. “[Our] mission is to broadcast the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and to fight with impersonalists and voidists. This was also the occupational duty of Sanātana Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī and Anupama Gosvāmī.”

 I wrote to Mayesvara a question, so that he clarifies his posture: “The Dalai Lama was a Marxist by faith. Just like communism and socialism, he preached atheism. Buddhists hated the Vaisnavas. So, what is the meaning of your enthusiasm for this political event in which you and your partner were recognized as Hare Krishna devotees?"

Remember my concern: At the end of the SB class, questions are generally open, but only -one- question is allowed for each person. That is the way; I have already talked about it.

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* This statue of Buddha was at the entrance of my garden in Quebec. There was no intention behind this decors except for the plaisure to impress the sense of the eyes.

Admitting that I am wrong, why don't devotees react with empathy and knowledge, explaining where I am wrong? Why do they prefer avoiding debates and discussing contradictions and errors that some devotees perceive while reading or listening to the teachings of Srila Prabhupada? What are they afraid of?

Devotees have lost the capability for explaining and defending social life in any part of the world, what to speak of having political views! They are incapable of seriously discuss and exchange about the world affairs. They act as if they don't care. They think of themselves as potential pure devotees; therefore they are beyond the gunas.

To be beyond the gunas, is our philosophy. See more on the subject: