No 6 –– The excellent trick (program) of Mayadevi to try to prove a critical fall down case as a vanchana-moye lila

If you are always in illusion then delusion is a must, so what solution can be there for the pollution inside your heart

Exposing an incompetent leader

(By Srila Bhakti Vijñana Bharati Gosvami Maharaj)

After the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura, the time came to select a new President-ācārya of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. Guru Mahārāja believed Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja to be the worthiest candidate. However, in due time, Śrī Ananta-vāsudeva Prabhu was unanimously appointed to the position, with Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī serving as Secretary. When Śrī Ananta-vāsudeva Prabhu’s ill repute came to light, Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī called for Guru Mahārāja and said, “Hayagrīva Prabhu! We have stuck our hands in wet stool. Had it been dry, it would not have been so revoltingly foul-smelling. But unfortunately, the reality is that its stench and repulsiveness are excessive. We must feel remorse and atone for having supported Ananta-vāsudeva and for having taken so long to understand what was actually going on. An incompetent person should be helped, but an incompetent person who makes fools of the general public by playing the part of a competent leader must be shunned. Let us help the people of the world by exposing this person, so that everyone may see his true nature. “Because of your refined, gentle Vaiṣṇava temperament, everyone considers you a friend and gives importance to what you say. Therefore, please bring everyone together and arrange a meeting, so that we may together determine how to oppose him.” As per Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s request, Guru Mahārāja gathered their godbrothers together and held a meeting, whereupon it was decided to file a court case against Śrī Ananta-vāsudeva Prabhu. It was this court case that made it possible for the Gauḍīya Maṭha to legally split into two factions.

His intolerance of even the slightest deviation

Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s preaching inspired his elder brother to take shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda and join the maṭha. When Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered his brother to accept sannyāsa, he was unwilling. Although Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī was younger, he chastised his older brother, saying, “Why are you not fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s desire to give you sannyāsa?” After considering these words of encouragement, his brother agreed to accept sannyāsa, and he became known as Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kevala Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Some time after the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja observed Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers deviating from the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda in three ways: (1) they taught that the hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not to be chanted loudly, but rather silently in such a way that no one can hear the sound vibration; (2) although Śrīla Prabhupāda had personally initiated some of his disciples, including Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja, into the sannyāsa order, they gave up their saffron sannyāsa-veśa (dress) and instead wore white bābājīveśa, preaching that sannyāsa-dharma is strictly prohibited in Kali-yuga; and (3) although Śrīla Prabhupāda personally established Śrī Navadvīpa parikramā, they rejected its performance. Unable to tolerate even the slightest deviation from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja completely severed his relationship with Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and those who followed him. He would never allow his disciples to go to Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha or to any other place where Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers resided. If Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja were to discover that one of his disciples went to Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja’s maṭha, he would order that devotee to fast for three days, taking only pañca-gavya (the five products of the cow— milk, yogurt, ghee, dung and urine) as his atonement. He would say, “Why have you gone there? You are now impure; you must purify yourself by performing this atonement.” Finally, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja decided to file a case against Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers, boldly announcing that because they did not accept many of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, they could not be considered his true disciples, and consequently should not be allowed to reside in his maṭhas. My Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, gave me the service of transcribing Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s dictations regarding the court case. I would then take those dictations to Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who would adjust the language and edit for clarity. When everything was complete, I would go to the court and submit the finalized documents. The day the judge was to present the verdict, Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers appeared in court wearing saffron sannyāsa-veśa and were followed by a large procession loudly chanting the mahā-mantra. Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja had given eight people sannyāsa just that day. In front of the judge, they said, “We are doing Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, wearing saffron dress, and carrying our sannyāsa-daṇḍas. Also, we have established a maṭha in the name of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and have established his mūrti (deity form) in the maṭha we are constructing in Godrumadvīpa.” Although previously they had no plans of having a maṭha in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s name or keeping his mūrti there, feeling threatened by the bold endeavors of Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, they named their maṭha Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Maṭha. They denied all the allegations put forth by Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and audaciously said, “Just see! We are chanting loudly, wearing sannyāsa dress, and we have named our maṭha after Śrīla Prabhupāda. How can he claim we are not disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda?” Seeing this to be true, the judge awarded the decision in favor of Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers. It appeared as though Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja had been defeated. I pleaded, “Many of your godbrothers were involved in building this case for a long time. I too labored so much in transcribing your dictations, going to Śrīla Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja for editing and providing information to the court. Now that we have lost the case, will you not appeal the judge’s verdict?” Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja replied, “We will proceed further only if they again go against Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings.” He then asked, “How many punches can you tolerate?” I replied, “Not even a single punch. I would strongly object to being punched.” Śrīla Mahārāja asked, “And how many could you tolerate if your hands and legs were tied with ropes?” I replied, “I would be forced to tolerate however many were given.” “In the same way, whenever someone makes mistakes and goes against the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda, we will bind their hands and beat them to our fullest capacity until they accept those teachings.” He then explained, “My only desire was for them to again follow the line of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and we see that they are now doing this. They are now wearing sannyāsa dress, awarding sannyāsa to others and loudly chanting the hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This was my objective. In this way, we were victorious. Our fight was not for anything other than establishing the proper siddhānta (conclusive truths) and reconnecting them with Śrīla Prabhupāda.” Even now, all of Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s followers and devotees of Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha accept sannyāsa, perform Navadvīpadhāma parikramā, loudly chant mahā-mantra, and perform harināmasaṅkīrtana. This is all due to the mercy of Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja.