Violence in the Age of Kali part II
Tolerance
As Srila Prabhupada pointed out, the holy name is the best medicine for the age of Kali.
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| His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada chanting Hare Krishna |
The mundane world is full of dichotomies: happiness and sorrow, love and hate, war and peace, life and death. Violence is at the heart of the struggle for existence in the material world: the survival of the fittest. We cannot ban violence. Even the plants struggle against each other for sunlight. When I walked through the jungles of Cambodia I saw how thick strangler vines crushed the ancient stone temples of Angkor. Violence is the way of life in nature’s kingdom.
Just as it is impossible to eradicate sorrow, we will never eliminate violence.
My own guru, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada himself was not a pacifist. He felt that pacifism as a function of truth-seeking or satyagraha may be integral in realizing spiritual peace, but nonviolence is not a practical goal, since violence and nonviolence are both components of this temporary world.
And yet, while Prabhupada ultimately leaves Gandhian pacifism behind, his early life exhibits great sympathy for Gandhi’s views.
I recently went through Prabhupada’s letters to refresh my understand of this point. In a letter to Mr. Nakano dated 18th April, 1961, Prabhupada where summarizes his curriculum vitae, he mentions his participation in the Gandhi Movement:
“I was educated in the Scottish Churches College (B.A. 1920. I left education influenced by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 and joined for some time in the national liberation and other social service movements.”
In a famous letter Prabhupada wrote to Gandhi himself in 1947, when Gandhi was living in a colony of untouchables, fighting for their civil rights. He exhorts him to use his influence to promote “the preaching work of Bhagwat Geeta,” warning him that unless he takes up “the real work of the Mahatmas,” he shall meet with an inglorious death, predicting his murder at the hands of his political enemies. Unscrupulous devotees often quote this letter as an example of Prabhupada’s repudiation of Gandhi.
But Prabhupada’s disappointment with Gandhi was that he did not go far enough to embrace the principles of Bhagavad-gita.
Devotees remember the first part of the letter and marvel that Prabhupada correctly predicted Gandhi’s demise, but most people don’t finish reading the letter.
He praises Gandhi, saying, “...your sincere efforts to attain some Godly qualities by austerities ect. surely have raised you to some higher position which you can better utilise for the purpose of the Absolute truth...But if you really want to approach the Absolute Truth and want to do some real good to the people in general all over the world, which shall include your ideas of unit, peace and non-violence, then you must give up the rotten politics immediately and rise up for the preaching work of the philosophy and religion of ‘Bhagwat Geeta’ without offering unnecessary and dogmatic interpretations on them. I would only request you to retire from politics at least for a month only and let us have discussion on the Bhagwat Geeta. I am sure, thereby, that you shall get a new light from the result of such discussions not only for your benefit but for the benefit of the world at large--as I know that you are sincere, honest and moralist.”
Prabhupada criticises Gandhi for misinterpreting the message of Bhagwat Geeta, for involving himself in “rotten politics.” But he seems to believe that Gandhi might come around and learn a deeper interpretation since he is a “sincere and honest moralist,” who has through his austerities raised him to some higher position which he can better utilize for the purpose of the Absolute truth. Prabhupada seems to say that Gandhi can do “some real good to the people in general all over the world, which shall include your ideas of unit, peace and non-violence” by embracing the deeper spiritual truths of “Bhagwat Geeta.”
In a letter to India’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Vallavbhaiji Patel, dated 28th February, 1949, Prabhupada praises Gandhi and offers to commemorate his memory with Bhagavad-Gita readings and kirtan:
“Funds are being collected to commemorate Mahatma GAndhiji in a fitting manner and I beg to suggest that the same way be done in the Gandhian way and not otherwise. Gandhiji’s whole life was dedicated to the service of humanity at large with special interest for raising the moral standard. His later activities showed that he was equal to every one and all the people of the world knew him more as the spiritual leader than a mere politician. Devotion to Godhead was his ultimate aim and ...his sacred memory should be perpetuated not in the ordinary way but in the Gandhian way...if done in an organized scientific way, supported by all the authentic scriptures of all religiosities will bring in that tranquility of peace respite of all harshness and bitterness of the present world, which we have longed for till now.”
On 5 July 1949, Prabhupada again writes to the the Secretary of the Board of Trustees o Mahatma Gandhi Memorial National Fund in New Delhi.
“Gandhiji, minus his spiritual activities, is an ordinary politician. But actually he was a saint amongst the statesmen and his basic principle was to overhaul the very foundation of present civilization by the novel philosophy of Satyagraha and Nonviolence. The Congress institution is already in the waning for neglecting Gandhiji’s spiritual movement which was the main pillar of his universal popularity. By claiming the Indian state as secular we should not sacrifice Gandhiji’s spiritual movement which is different from communal religiosity.
...Mahatma Gandhi, although he was always busy with his political activities, never missed to attend to his daily prayer meetings in the evening. This rule he observed punctually even a few seconds before his assassination. To five a fitting memorial to Mahatma Gandhi we must follow and propagate this particular line of spiritual activities and must daily read a chapter from Bhagwat Geet in a congregation. Bhagwat Geeta is the world recognized philosophy of Indian culture and the favourite scripture of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a great follower of this great philosophy like other great saints and was therefore a great Devotee of Rama and Krishna and for this only he was raised to such exalted position of a saint amongst the statesmen during his very life time.”
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| Gandhi Memorial, New Delhi. "Hey Ram" |
Perhaps this is all hyperbole. It may be that Prabhupada is merely exaggerating the position of Gandhi as a “saint among statemen” or as a “great Devotee of Rama and Krishna,” in order to gain some advantage from the Gandhi Memorial Committee. The whole point of the letter is that the committee should support kirtan and Bhagavad-gita preaching activities and that Prabhupada is the qualified person to lead these activities. But to say this is all hyperbole is to question Prabhupada’s motives and call him cynical. I think the truth is somewhere between the two extremes. Perhaps in this letter he is massaging the egos of the memorial committee even as he is promoting kirtan and the cause of Bhagavad-Gita, but I think he must have had some genuine regard for Gandhi. He seems to sincerely believe that Gandhi’s supporters would be sympathetic to the message of the Bhagavad-gita.
He seems confident enough that this work will be supported. The letter continues: “By all the above process Mahatma Gandhi wanted to establish a greater human society. His idea of a casteless society could only be given a shape under the guidance of the principles of Bhagwat Geeta. ...The Bhagwat Geeta gives a clear idea of doing this work and the Gandhi memorial Fund should be utilised mainly for this purpose. Myself with a batch of sincere works are ready to take up this work and I shall be glad to have your reaction to my above suggestions.”
Two years later, in 1951, Prabhupada writes to Sri R. Prakash, Officer in Charge for Social Upliftment and Prohibition, Department N.P. Excise, Allahabad, in which he reiterates the idea. After a long explanation of the principles of Krishna Consciousness, he explains, “I am confident that many self-sacrificing young men will join us as soon as we begin the work. We have to work this scheme from village to village and town to town which we will have to develop by a gradual process...To begin with we can utilise the Gandhi Memorial Centers all over the country for organising this Sankirtan movement and if we do the work properly Government may recommend the Gandhi memorial fund for helping this movement.”
Prabhupada’s letters demonstrate that, at least from the 1920s to the 1950s, he shows a great respect for Gandhi and his teachings, although he differs with him in important respects: the Gandhi message of Satyagraha nonviolence, Prabhupada felt, is superficial compared to the message of the Bhagavad-Gita and the spiritual path recommended by Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
As a boy I lived not far from Sunset Beach in Los Angeles. Our house in the Pacific Palisades was about an hour's walk from the beach. But we knew a short cut. We would steal through the bushes and trees at the top of a property and run across a park near the beach. There were crab-apples that we could steal for a snack on the way. The property, we later learned was the Self-Realization Fellowship, the mission of Paramahamsa Yogananda. At one point in the park there's a statue of Gandhi. In a letter to "Kris" from Los Angeles in 1968 Prabhupada makes clear his rejection of Gandhi's superficial views
"...just recently I visited his [Yogananda's] ashram retreat, and it was simply a hodgepodge of all nonsense. There was a Buddha statue, a Christ statue, a Gandhi's memories labeled as a "World Peace Memorium."--and what world peace he has brought? None. And what does Gandhi have to do with spiritual realisation anyway? Gandhi was simply interested to get the Britishers out of India--what has this to do with self-realisation, the prime goal of life?"
After all, violence is part of life, just as birth, disease, old age and death. The material world is full of suffering and only spiritual liberation in positive and progressive immortality will free us from its suffering. The point is to get off the wheel of birth and death. Man is mortal, Gandhi is mortal, all men are mortal. The real problem of this world is mortality. Real nonviolence means becoming free from the violence of birth and death through spiritual realisation. Krishna says give up all other religious concepts and surrender.
And that spiritual realization can be discovered through the divine mantra, the holy name.
In his capacity as editor of Back to Godhead Magazine, Prabhupada writes on 7 May 1957 to Sri Padampat Singhania, Kamla Tower Kanpur. Here he signs his name “Goswami Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta,” I assume this is after he has taken sannyasa and he is speaking more purely as a representative of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarawati Thakura. He takes a suprisingly ecumencal stand on the holy name.
“I have already mentioned about this mantra in my previous letter and I beg to confirm it further that the Name ‘Krishna’ even up to the foreign words like God and Allaha, if they at all aim at the Supreme Personality--then the Name is as much holy and potential as perfect is the Supreme Lord--because in the Absolute Realm or Spiritual Nature everything is identical with everything as all of them are qualitatively spiritual and therefore pure, eternal, liberated and perfect. For all practical purposes if we systematically preach to chant the holy name of Godhead, I think nobody even the religious fanatic will take objection to it. Every human being has a conception of the supreme truth. That conception is presented in some concrete shape. If therefore the Mussulman or the Christian denies to chant the name of Rama or Krishna we may ask him to chant the name of Allah or God respectively and I think therefore there will be no objection even by the Buddhists if we simply ask them to chant the name of Lord of Buddha in the systematic way. The systematic way means to avoid the ten different offences in the process of chanting, which are all philosophical truths. If by such propaganda of chanting the holy name, the filthy atmosphere of jealousy, bickerings, selfishness, falsehood and so many other affairs of the modern age--can be avoided, and if by such chanting the complete process of self-realisation can be achieved--is not our duty to do this service by combined force. In this age of quarrel and fight everything has to be done by combined force to achieve ready sucess.”
The creed of those who consider the holy name as the way, the truth, and the light includes an important caveat from the founder of this mystic tradition, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who lived and taught in the 15th Century in Bengal.
He only left behind 8 verses written in Sanskrit as the essence of his instruction. He advocates the holy name as the panacea for all the troubles of the age of Kali. He wrote:
trinad api sunichena
taror api sahishnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniya sada hari
“One cannot take the holy name unless he is humble and tolerant. One must be more humble than a blade of grass; lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree. Without demanding respect one should respect all. Only those who have left ego can take the holy name of Hari.”
It has been suggested by some so-called followers of Prabhupada that the above verse implies that we are to be “bold for Krishna.” When one of our Hare Krishna temples were attacked by armed motorcyle madmen, Prabhupada is said to have told them that they had a right to self-defense. This so-called “right to self-defense” later became interpreted to mean that devotees should organize themselves as “kshatriyas” and carry weapons. These devotees seem to have discovered the principle that muslims are animated by the ethic of “the koran and the sword,” and only understand violence. The idea of “bold-for-krishna” devotees armed with AK-47s in self-defense teams is an obvious corruption of Prabhupada’s principles, enunciated in letter after letter and in millions of words in the hundreds of books he published.
The so-called followers of Jesus Christ corrupted the principles of the “Prince of Peace,” into a theology of conquest, bloodlust, rape and pillage in the Americas and around the world. The followers of Mohammed did the same, corrupting his message of morality into a justification for terrorism. It amazes me that the followers of a man who dedicated his life to peace seem to believe that his message justifies violence.
Prabhupada was not a pacifist. But he was a man of peace. While he differed from Gandhi, he eulogized him.
Here’s letter to “Harbansla Ji” Bombay: 2nd August, 1958.
“...According to Indian way of thought, everyone is advised to do good to others namely not only to the human society but also to living beings other than human beings. ...We should learn to look upon every living being as our own brother and treat him in that love. Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy began from this philosophy of universal brotherhood which is not restricted to the human kind but to all the species of life. That is the sign of real intelligence. In the Bhagwat Geeta it is stated that a lreanred man looks upon a well educated Brahmin who is well behaved by education and so also upon a chandala who is accustomed to eat the dogs. And what is the purport of this equal vision? The purport is that we should look upon every one as the spark of the Supreme Brahman and we should not look upon the outer dress which every one has to give up one birth after another. I hope you will preach this Indian way of thinking every where in the foreign countries wherever you will have the opportunity. I think that people need this Indian message in this hour of necessity when the atomic bomb is hovering over the head of the human society.”
I am not a pacifist in the sense that I am against the idea of self-defense. But I am a peace-loving man. I have never carried a weapon. I was born in 1953 and in 61 years have walked down dark alleys in the dead of night in New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, Calcutta, Bombay, Mexico City and many other cities without any fear of danger. I have eaten with Chicanos in Los Angeles and black people in Chicago, with Bengalis in Calcutta, and with Mexicans in Tepito.
As long as I have no hate in my heart for others I don’t see why others would want to attack me. I suppose it’s old-fashioned or impractical, but I have faith that God will protect me.
Since I have no interest in harming others I feel that no harm can come to me.
Perhaps this is naive.
But I have lived on this earth for 61 years among white people, black people, brown people, yellow people, pink people and beige people.
I was sitting with some truck-drivers and Hells Angels in Fresno, California a few years ago. One of them, a huge man with a long beard, a beer-belly and rider’s patches on his denim jacket was going on about the right to bear arms.
I told him,
“I’ve have never carried a gun and don’t feel the need to carry one. I think it’s a sign of weakness to carry a gun.”
He glared at me over his iced tea.
When I was in South Africa in 1982 I was lost waiting for a bus.
After a while and old man joined me, waiting. He looked me over.
“You’re new here. What brings you here?”
“I’m looking for the Hare Krishna temple in Johannesburg,” I said.
He smiled.
“A foreigner. You’re one of them that has new ideas. You think we should be equal. But you’ll change.”
The bus came up the road.
“One day some black guy will rob you. They’ll put a damn knife to your throat. You’ll see.”
The bus arrived. I stepped in, leaving the old man.
Days later I was distributing books in downtown Jo-burg. I had collected about 200 dollars in Rand and was doing all right. It was time for a break.
I counted out the bills and put my bankroll inside the vest pocket of my jacket. I counted out enough change to buy a passion-fruit juice smoothie over at the Jucy Lucy stand a block away. I put the change in my pants pocket. I started walking across the main square to the Jucy Lucy. Out of nowhere I saw a flash of steel and felt something cold at my throat. A skinny black dude in jeans. The knife flashed. He rifled my pockets as fast as he could and made off with a dollar and seventy cents in change, disappearing on the run as fast as he appeared. I didn’t have enough time to process.
I had been robbed at knifepoint, just as the man said.
I checked my vest pocket. I looked around the square. People on bicycles, girls in their summer dresses. A guy selling newspapers on the corner.
This incident didn’t change my views. It could just as easily have been a white man or a woman. Racism is stupid. So is religious intolerance. Education is supposed to eradicate this stupidity. But now we are exposed to nonstop propaganda that wipes out whatever education we manage to imbibe. Propaganda enforces stereotypes. It holds up stereotypes as enemies. We have to make war on these enemies and war means sacrifice. Racism is for fools.
Recently a friend told me, “I’m a racist, Mike. You don’t live in the real world. One day you’ll walk down a dark alley and see some black guys and it will change your point of view.” I laughed and told him, “I’m sorry, but every day on my way home from work I walk down three different dark alleys. I’m surrounded by dark-skinned people. I’m a white man living in Mexico. They’re not exactly black, but different shades of brown. It’s too bad you live in such fear.”
I’m tired of racism. My step-father was french; he brought me up to believe that we should treat people as humans. I try not to see people in terms of skin color, but as Eddie or Mac or Eduardo or Lupita. As a teacher I do my best to give every student the attention needed. To do less would betray my profession. My business is to empower people with communication skills so that they can dialogue with others. It’s not my business to treat people differently because they can’t speak english; it’s my business to help them speak better english.
In the hands of a corrupt power structure, racism and xenophobia are propaganda tools to enforce the status quo; they are useful to divide and conquer, to prevent people from understanding their own self-interest. Racism and xenophobia are also roadblocks on the path to self-realization; they are driven by fear and in turn drive the cycle of violence characteristic of the age of Kali. Religious intolerances takes racism and xenophobia to the extreme: we brand people who are “different” as heretics, pagans, subhumans, demons and infidels. Nothing could be farther from the ecumenical spirit of Krishna consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada accepted disciples from all countries and all walks of life. We were black, white, and read the Bhagavad-Gita. We were Chicano, Chinese, and Czechoslovakian. We were the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
That Prabhupada ultimately rejected Gandhi's views as superficial moral philosophy does not mean that he rejects all moral philosophy. The idea that supreme swan-like souls transcend moral philosophy and dwell in the higher realms of divine consciousness does not pre-empt morality for the people in general. While Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati also found moral philosophy to be external to the deep truths of divine love, he insisted that his followers adhere to strict moral principles.
Prabhupada himself also insisted on strict morality. The idea is that moral philosophy should serve divine realisation. This is a theme that runs through the Vedic literatures from the Vedas themselves to the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Yudhisthira is a paramount example of morality and dharma. Dharma should and must be followed; and yet in the end, swanlike souls discover a higher iteration of dharma that resolves in divine love. And yet the pursuit of divine love implies a deep appreciation for dharma.
When discussing the schools he planned on founding for children of his followers, Prabhupada wrote to Mohananda in Bombay, 11th December 1972, "Let the small children from all good families in your country come to our Gurukula school and take education from us. They may be certain their children will get the real knowledge which will create the best citizens of brahminical type, clean, honest, law-abiding, healthy, industrious, all good qualities they will have." Notice the values Prabhupada promotes: Clean, honest, law-abiding, healthy, industrious. He doesn't say that his followers can be crafty and avoid the law for the sake of some higher religious principle.
In a letter to Rupanuga Das, dated 9 January 1975, from Bombay, Prabhupada writes:
"Regarding the controversy about book distribution techniques, you are right. Our occupation must be honest. Everyone should adore our members as honest. If we do something which is deteriorating to the popular sentiments of the public in favour of our moment, that is not good. Somehow or other we should not become unpopular in the pubic eye. These dishonest methods must be stopped it is hampering our reputation all over the world."
The moral principles upon which Prabhupada founded his society are not elusive secrets: he expressed these principles again and again through thousands of pages of his writings and books. Here's a letter from August 7, 1973 to Butatma: "The qualifications of a brahmana are listed in the 18th Chapter verse 42 of the Bhagavad Gita. 'Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness--these are the qualities by which the brahmanas work. So you should be very much careful to see that our devotees are following the regulative principles and standard practices."
Orwell once wrote of a world where "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Knowledge." In the fragmented society of the Age of Kali where lies are truth, so-called followers of Prabhupada twist his words to prove that he was a sectarian hater who promoted religious intolerance and violence. I find this offensive. In Spanish we say, "Quien no habla, otorga," or "one who remains silent acquiesces." By standing by silently and allowing people to repeat the same lies again and again I run the risk of supporting their intolerance, racism, and xenophobia. I refuse to remain silent.
Prabhupada's legacy has been soiled by food and rascals who exploit the innocence of naive devotees. Krishna consciousness is not meant to be a vehicle for a few interested people to become rich. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura recognised this when he wrote a song in Bengali criticising the things that destroy bhakti: kanaka, kamini, pratistha bhagini: "greed, lust, and pride are like a witch that destroys bhakti," he wrote. Sridhar Maharaja called this, "Dollars, Diplomacy and Despotism."
But Prabhupada's legacy lives on in the hearts, minds, and souls of his true followers. You know who you are.
Prabhupada himself also insisted on strict morality. The idea is that moral philosophy should serve divine realisation. This is a theme that runs through the Vedic literatures from the Vedas themselves to the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Yudhisthira is a paramount example of morality and dharma. Dharma should and must be followed; and yet in the end, swanlike souls discover a higher iteration of dharma that resolves in divine love. And yet the pursuit of divine love implies a deep appreciation for dharma.
When discussing the schools he planned on founding for children of his followers, Prabhupada wrote to Mohananda in Bombay, 11th December 1972, "Let the small children from all good families in your country come to our Gurukula school and take education from us. They may be certain their children will get the real knowledge which will create the best citizens of brahminical type, clean, honest, law-abiding, healthy, industrious, all good qualities they will have." Notice the values Prabhupada promotes: Clean, honest, law-abiding, healthy, industrious. He doesn't say that his followers can be crafty and avoid the law for the sake of some higher religious principle.
In a letter to Rupanuga Das, dated 9 January 1975, from Bombay, Prabhupada writes:
"Regarding the controversy about book distribution techniques, you are right. Our occupation must be honest. Everyone should adore our members as honest. If we do something which is deteriorating to the popular sentiments of the public in favour of our moment, that is not good. Somehow or other we should not become unpopular in the pubic eye. These dishonest methods must be stopped it is hampering our reputation all over the world."
The moral principles upon which Prabhupada founded his society are not elusive secrets: he expressed these principles again and again through thousands of pages of his writings and books. Here's a letter from August 7, 1973 to Butatma: "The qualifications of a brahmana are listed in the 18th Chapter verse 42 of the Bhagavad Gita. 'Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness--these are the qualities by which the brahmanas work. So you should be very much careful to see that our devotees are following the regulative principles and standard practices."
Orwell once wrote of a world where "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Knowledge." In the fragmented society of the Age of Kali where lies are truth, so-called followers of Prabhupada twist his words to prove that he was a sectarian hater who promoted religious intolerance and violence. I find this offensive. In Spanish we say, "Quien no habla, otorga," or "one who remains silent acquiesces." By standing by silently and allowing people to repeat the same lies again and again I run the risk of supporting their intolerance, racism, and xenophobia. I refuse to remain silent.
Prabhupada's legacy has been soiled by food and rascals who exploit the innocence of naive devotees. Krishna consciousness is not meant to be a vehicle for a few interested people to become rich. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura recognised this when he wrote a song in Bengali criticising the things that destroy bhakti: kanaka, kamini, pratistha bhagini: "greed, lust, and pride are like a witch that destroys bhakti," he wrote. Sridhar Maharaja called this, "Dollars, Diplomacy and Despotism."
But Prabhupada's legacy lives on in the hearts, minds, and souls of his true followers. You know who you are.
trinad api sunichena
taror api sahishnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniya sada hari
“One cannot take the holy name unless he is humble and tolerant. One must be more humble than a blade of grass; lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree. Without demanding respect one should respect all. Only those who have left ego can take the holy name of Hari.”
When the Chand Kazi whipped nam acharya Haridas Thakura to martyrdom, the followers of Mahaprabhu responded with kirtan. The followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from Rupa and Sanatana Goswami to Bhaktivinod Thakura never preached religious intolerance against the muslims. Neither did Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura who lived in Bengal, an Indian state dominated by muslims. Sridhara Maharaja lived side by side with many muslim villages near his math in Koler Danga, Nabadwip. Srila Prabhupada did not preach religious intolerance. Prabhupada witnessed the shocking violence of the Hindu-Muslim riots in Calcutta after the partition of India. He was a man of peace who dedicated a life to spiritual peace and realisation.
The Calcutta Riots of 1946, also known as the “Great Calcutta Killing,” were four days of massive Hindu-Muslim riots in the capital of Bengal, India, resulting in 5,000 to 10,000 dead, and some 15,000 wounded, between August 16 and 19, 1946.
These riots are probably the most notorious single massacre of the 1946-47 period, during which large-scale violence occurred in many parts of India. However, the “Great Calcutta Killing” stands out somewhat in the history of Calcutta, given that it was by far the most deadly episode in the recent history of the city.
These violent events did not escape Prabhupada's consciousness, even years later when he presided over an international spiritual movement. He was well aware of the damage caused by religious intolerance.
And yet after Prabhupada's departure, many of his so-called followers find reasons to justify religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia and sectarianism. This hatred is not exclusive to other ethnic groups, the hatred is directed even at other devotees. It is no wonder that of the 5 or 6,000 devotees originally initiated by Prabhupada himself, so few of them confess to being his followers. It's amazing to me that a group which is so obviously a tiny religious minority is determined to support religious intolerance.
The boomerang effect of karma may come back to haunt them.
In the 1980s a handful of Krishna devotees in San Jose were brave enough to cry foul against an institution which was determined to inherit all of Prabhupada's properties and none of his great spiritual legacy. We went so far as to publish books explaining the divine principles of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as interpreted by Sridhar Maharaja.
We were banned as heretics from the tax-deductible religious charity organization whose coffers we once worked so hard to fill. We were accused in position papers circulated internationally. Our books were banned. Soon we were visited by hired goons with baseball bats. I won't name names. Some of these people later saw the error of their ways and became friends. Some of them are no longer with us.
But one night an event took place which sealed my views on religious intolerance.
It was at our temple and headquarters of Guardian of Devotion Press in San Jose, California, in 1989. We had a habit of rising early to attend religious services called aroti. I've always been a light sleeper; the price to pay for having an overactive brain. Something awakened me, I can't remember why. There was the acrid, pungent smell of burning wood. We were proud of living in the Maybeck home, built entirely out of redwood. Today it would be impossible to find so much redwood. Something was burning. I slept on a little bed the size of a desk that doubled as a table. I jumped up and raced out the door, half-dressed. The walls were panelled redwood. At the end of the corridor a spiral staircase was the only access to the ground floor. Smoke boiled up the stairs. I choked. I could see that the front door was on fire. I raced downstairs. Out the back door. Around the front of the building. The door was a massive 3 inch thick oak door. It was on fire and the flames licked up the door to the front of the residence which was just beginning to catch fire.
In front of the door in a planter meant for a tree that was never planted was a fiery cross, big thick beams tied together and burning. Someone had set up the fiery cross. Someone had poured gasoline on the door and lit it on fire. The flames were getting up to the roof.
Inside our house, on the top floor Goswami Maharaja slept in his office and a number of brahmacharis and guests were also there, maybe about ten people. If we didn't alert them immediately and evacuate the house they would be trapped. I started screaming fire as I ran around and looked for the garden hose. As a side project, I had been planting gardenias and petunias around the side of the house and as luck would have it the hose was at hand. A couple of brahmacharis appeared, sleepy-eyed. Together we somehow got the fire under control. Another minute or so and we would have lost the temple. Someone called the fire department. They arrived about 20 minutes after we extinguished the fire. The captain started hacking on the redwood paneling inside the house to see if the fire was still burning. We were out of danger by now, and Goswami Maharaja told the fireman to put down his axe. "I'm not impressed with your technology," he quipped. We laughed it off later on. Probably some madman.
If we had been a Jewish temple in New York City or a black church in Mississippi this would have been a hate crime. But since we were the Hare Krishnas, there was no publicity. We'll never know who the authors of the hate crime were; It probably takes more than one guy to set up a fiery cross and torch a door in the dead of night with a quick getaway car. Were the people who tried to burn us to death Christians? Fanatics? Local madmen whose asylum was shut down during the government cutbacks? Or self-righteous members of a certain tax-deductible religious organization who felt that Sridhar Maharaja didn't represent a continuation of Prabhupada's line. It was definitely an act of planned hatred. Others who had dared to criticise the despotism of the new gurus had lost their life. There was the strange case of a man from an ashram on the East Coast who had written articles criticising the new gurus. A contract had been put out. Money was paid. He had been murdered. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that you aren't being followed. We'll never know. Uncomfortable with facing reality we forgot the incident and moved on.
But I had a first-hand experience of the lengths to which religious intolerance can lead people. My reaction was not to confront violence with violence. I eventually went into self-exile in Mexico, having reached the conclusion that the United States, while supposedly based on the principles of religious freedom, is not an atmosphere conducive to the practice of alternative religions. Americans can be particularly intolerant, in fact, as seen in the recent doings of politicians like Donald Trump. "Violence is as American as Cherry Pie," said H. Rap Brown. I found this to be true; I find that the Manichean tendencies of Christianity promoting the basic doctrine of conflict between light and dark, good and evil, are often reflected in American attitudes of fundamentalism which resolve in an "us" and "them" mentality. I find that the "cult" mentality practiced by extremists has very little in common with what was preached and practiced by my guru A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada through his life and words.
He accepted Brazilians, Japanese, Africans, Chinese, Mexicans, and Americans as his disciples just as easily as he accepted south Indian brahmanas: without discrimination.
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| Mahaprabhu's followers chanting in kirtan over the fallen body of Hari Das Thakura who had been whipped to death on the order of the Chand Kazi, the cruel muslim ruler. |
The Calcutta Riots of 1946, also known as the “Great Calcutta Killing,” were four days of massive Hindu-Muslim riots in the capital of Bengal, India, resulting in 5,000 to 10,000 dead, and some 15,000 wounded, between August 16 and 19, 1946.
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| Vultures decide which bodies are Hindus and which are Muslims |
These riots are probably the most notorious single massacre of the 1946-47 period, during which large-scale violence occurred in many parts of India. However, the “Great Calcutta Killing” stands out somewhat in the history of Calcutta, given that it was by far the most deadly episode in the recent history of the city.
These violent events did not escape Prabhupada's consciousness, even years later when he presided over an international spiritual movement. He was well aware of the damage caused by religious intolerance.
And yet after Prabhupada's departure, many of his so-called followers find reasons to justify religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia and sectarianism. This hatred is not exclusive to other ethnic groups, the hatred is directed even at other devotees. It is no wonder that of the 5 or 6,000 devotees originally initiated by Prabhupada himself, so few of them confess to being his followers. It's amazing to me that a group which is so obviously a tiny religious minority is determined to support religious intolerance.
The boomerang effect of karma may come back to haunt them.
In the 1980s a handful of Krishna devotees in San Jose were brave enough to cry foul against an institution which was determined to inherit all of Prabhupada's properties and none of his great spiritual legacy. We went so far as to publish books explaining the divine principles of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as interpreted by Sridhar Maharaja.
We were banned as heretics from the tax-deductible religious charity organization whose coffers we once worked so hard to fill. We were accused in position papers circulated internationally. Our books were banned. Soon we were visited by hired goons with baseball bats. I won't name names. Some of these people later saw the error of their ways and became friends. Some of them are no longer with us.
But one night an event took place which sealed my views on religious intolerance.
It was at our temple and headquarters of Guardian of Devotion Press in San Jose, California, in 1989. We had a habit of rising early to attend religious services called aroti. I've always been a light sleeper; the price to pay for having an overactive brain. Something awakened me, I can't remember why. There was the acrid, pungent smell of burning wood. We were proud of living in the Maybeck home, built entirely out of redwood. Today it would be impossible to find so much redwood. Something was burning. I slept on a little bed the size of a desk that doubled as a table. I jumped up and raced out the door, half-dressed. The walls were panelled redwood. At the end of the corridor a spiral staircase was the only access to the ground floor. Smoke boiled up the stairs. I choked. I could see that the front door was on fire. I raced downstairs. Out the back door. Around the front of the building. The door was a massive 3 inch thick oak door. It was on fire and the flames licked up the door to the front of the residence which was just beginning to catch fire.
In front of the door in a planter meant for a tree that was never planted was a fiery cross, big thick beams tied together and burning. Someone had set up the fiery cross. Someone had poured gasoline on the door and lit it on fire. The flames were getting up to the roof.
Inside our house, on the top floor Goswami Maharaja slept in his office and a number of brahmacharis and guests were also there, maybe about ten people. If we didn't alert them immediately and evacuate the house they would be trapped. I started screaming fire as I ran around and looked for the garden hose. As a side project, I had been planting gardenias and petunias around the side of the house and as luck would have it the hose was at hand. A couple of brahmacharis appeared, sleepy-eyed. Together we somehow got the fire under control. Another minute or so and we would have lost the temple. Someone called the fire department. They arrived about 20 minutes after we extinguished the fire. The captain started hacking on the redwood paneling inside the house to see if the fire was still burning. We were out of danger by now, and Goswami Maharaja told the fireman to put down his axe. "I'm not impressed with your technology," he quipped. We laughed it off later on. Probably some madman.
If we had been a Jewish temple in New York City or a black church in Mississippi this would have been a hate crime. But since we were the Hare Krishnas, there was no publicity. We'll never know who the authors of the hate crime were; It probably takes more than one guy to set up a fiery cross and torch a door in the dead of night with a quick getaway car. Were the people who tried to burn us to death Christians? Fanatics? Local madmen whose asylum was shut down during the government cutbacks? Or self-righteous members of a certain tax-deductible religious organization who felt that Sridhar Maharaja didn't represent a continuation of Prabhupada's line. It was definitely an act of planned hatred. Others who had dared to criticise the despotism of the new gurus had lost their life. There was the strange case of a man from an ashram on the East Coast who had written articles criticising the new gurus. A contract had been put out. Money was paid. He had been murdered. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that you aren't being followed. We'll never know. Uncomfortable with facing reality we forgot the incident and moved on.
But I had a first-hand experience of the lengths to which religious intolerance can lead people. My reaction was not to confront violence with violence. I eventually went into self-exile in Mexico, having reached the conclusion that the United States, while supposedly based on the principles of religious freedom, is not an atmosphere conducive to the practice of alternative religions. Americans can be particularly intolerant, in fact, as seen in the recent doings of politicians like Donald Trump. "Violence is as American as Cherry Pie," said H. Rap Brown. I found this to be true; I find that the Manichean tendencies of Christianity promoting the basic doctrine of conflict between light and dark, good and evil, are often reflected in American attitudes of fundamentalism which resolve in an "us" and "them" mentality. I find that the "cult" mentality practiced by extremists has very little in common with what was preached and practiced by my guru A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada through his life and words.
He accepted Brazilians, Japanese, Africans, Chinese, Mexicans, and Americans as his disciples just as easily as he accepted south Indian brahmanas: without discrimination.
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