The Mother Teresa Controversy Rages On

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Our Godbrother Narasimhanandadas posted his concerns surrounding Yashomatinandanda’s letter regarding Mother Teresa, which we printed in the last edition of Pavan’s Press.

We print Narasimhanananda’s response hereunder, followed by Yashomatinandan’s reply.

Dear Jasomatinandan Prabhu,

PAMHO AGTSP. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You are well known for being facile in scripture and practical in devotional life. Please help me by responding to some questions that arise. Thanks. There are many happy, satisfied single women in our Movement such as Jamuna dd, etc. So how do you explain that?

The midday meals are prasadam distribution which, from my limited understanding, is one of the pillars of the sankirtana movement. Please explain how it is equated with philanthropism. Our Vaisnava saints also expressed sentiments of lack of faith in the Holy Names, etc. What is the difference in MT’s private doubts and theirs? I met Mother Teresa twice and spoke with her privately for half an hour. I have some personal experience.

YS, Nrsimhananda das

Godbrother Shriman Yashomatinandan das of Ahmedabad replies:

Dear Nrsimhananda Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Shrila Prabhupada. Thanks for your letter. I wrote my letter in hurry and couldn’t explain in detail. Maybe I can clear it up more while replying to you. Shrila Prabhupada has written or spoken in not less than hundred places that women should be protected at all stages. In fact, in the following Purport from Bhagavad Gita As It Is (16:7), Shrila Prabhupada implies that not accepting this Vedic version is demonic. You may note that this verse has nothing to do with the “woman’s issue”. Yet Shrila Prabhupada cites that as a symptom of demons not knowing what is to be done and what is not to be done. Shrila Prabhupada writes: pravrttim ca nivrttim cajana na vidur asurahna saucam napi cacaro na satyam tesu vidyate, “Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them.” (BGAI 16:7) PURPORT: “In every civilized human society there is some set of scriptural rules and regulations which is followed from the beginning. Especially among the aryans, those who adopt the Vedic civilization and who are known as the most advanced civilized peoples, those who do not follow the scriptural injunctions are supposed to be demons. Therefore it is stated here that the demons do not know the scriptural rules, nor do they have any inclination to follow them. Most of them do not know them, and even if some of them know, they have not the tendency to follow them. They have no faith, nor are they willing to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions. The demons are not clean, either externally or internally. One should always be careful to keep his body clean by bathing, brushing teeth, shaving, changing clothes, etc. As far as internal cleanliness is concerned, one should always remember the holy names of God and chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The demons neither like nor follow all these rules for external and internal cleanliness. As for behavior, there are many rules and regulations guiding human behavior, such as the Manu Samhita, which is the law of the human race. Even up to today, those who are Hindu follow the Manu Samhita. Laws of inheritance and other legalities are derived from this book. Now, in the Manu Samhita it is clearly stated that a woman should not be given freedom. That does not mean that women are to be kept as slaves, but they are like children. Children are not given freedom, but that does not mean that they are kept as slaves. The demons have now neglected such injunctions, and they think that women should be given as much freedom as men. However, this has not improved the social condition of the world. Actually, a woman should be given protection at every stage of life. She should be given protection by the father in her younger days, by the husband in her youth, and by the grown up sons in her old age. This is proper social behavior according to the Manu Samhita. But modern education has artificially devised a puffed-up concept of womanly life, and therefore marriage is practically now an imagination in human society. Nor is the moral condition of woman very good now. The demons, therefore, do not accept any instruction which is good for society, and because they do not follow the experience of great sages and the rules and
regulations laid down by the sages, the social condition of the demoniac people is very miserable.”-End of Shrila Prabhupada’s commentary on BGAI 16:7

[Yashomatinandan das continues:] As far as some extra ordinary women being able to be single and happy, I agree there is exception to every rule and hope and pray that all such exalted ISKCON women as you have mentioned are such exceptional persons. But unfortunately the tendency is to make exception to be the rule. The rule should be what is stated by Shrila Prabhupada and scriptures. Also I sincerely thought all this time that Mother Teresa was also very extra ordinary person and she was an exception to that rule too. But fortunately for her, she was internally honest and admitted to the inner circle of her confidential friends she was feeling empty and dark and doubtful all the time. She has indirectly served the principle of dharma by admitting that her experiment of being independently capable woman and her spiritual experiment has failed.

Dharmam tu saksat bhagavat pranitam: “Dharma is given by The Supreme Lord Himself.” There are no “ifs and buts”. It is the Absolute Truth. There is no barometer to measure some one’s spiritual advancement or subsequent spiritual happiness and satisfaction derived therefrom. So the rule should be as given in the scriptures, however “INDIAN” it may sound to some of our western experimental minds.

Sometimes we consider our material happinessto be spiritual too. In fact maya is so tricky that everyone finds little happiness and little distress in every situation. So best course is to follow the path of scriptures.

Some foolish devotees in the past have tried to picture Shrila Prabhupada as trying to spread Indian cultural values as if he was conditioned by being in India most of his life. That is out and out blasphemy and offense to a maha-bhagavata. Shrila Prabhupada is an eternally transcendental, liberated person. He preached sanatan dharma. That is all. He never spared words in describing the degraded fallen condition of modern India. But India still has some residual traces of varnasrama society and that is why there is a better model of family life, chastity, etc still existing in India. Of course things are fast changing and Kali Yuga is spreading the net far and wide. Another thing is Shrila Prabhupada, as acharya, taught us always the highest principle, the most ideal model, but He didn’t expect us all to fit in the most ideal mold of that dharma immediately. It may take some of us several life times to come to that point. But at least we should not try to change the spiritual values because of our limitations keeping us unfit to be in that mold. Instead of trying to justify adharma on the basis of difference of nationality or caste or creed, we should simply accept our inability to conform to the ideal dharma as our weakness. Then we are more honest and sincere, and we will receive the mercy of the Lord and His pure devotees. And of course we should not be surprised that such inability to practice dharma will bring chaos in our life collectively and individually. As Shri Krishna says in His Bhagavad Gita: yah shastra vidhim utsrijya vartate
kamakaratah na sa siddhim avapnoti na sukham na param gatim.

Of course there was another problem in Mother Teresa’s case. She was a victim of the overall shift in Christianity from Christ’s original message. The first and foremost command of Christ was: “Love thy God with all they heart.” 29. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Modern Christianity has replaced this commandment because of a lack of proper understanding of sravanam kirtanam visnoh. Instead of leading a direct life of contemplation and service to the Lord they hijacked the whole idea to serving men. “Service to man is service to God.” Since there is no service to God, there is no reciprocation from God. So naturally she felt vacant. She made imaginary conversation with Christ before 1947 and thought this is the order of Christ to materially serve the poor and the destitute. Again, we are not opposed to the materialistic service of poor. But to consider that as service to God is a misunderstanding. If you mix vyavahar (ordinary daily activities for living in the material world) with paramartha (spiritual activity in service of the Supreme Lord), surely the result will be a spiritual vacuum.

I also met Mother Teresa once in the Bombay airport and spoke to her briefly about Krishna consciousness. She just gave a big famous smile and folded her hands in namaste. She said, “I know about you people. You are doing good work.” If I knew she was so desperate in her heart, I would have preached to her, but like she said herself, the smile covered every thing. Since you, a great devotee, are now praying for her, I am sure Lord Shi Krishna will reward her in the future, and as a person in distress (arto jignasuratharthi gyani ca bharatrshabha), she will come to His Lotus Feet.

Shrila Prabhupada never organised buses and vans and hired workers to feed the same people every day outside ISKCON temples. But I am sure you can do it better by spiritualising it with sankirtan, etc. Is it prasadam distribution? I would think so if it was accompanied by chanting and dancing and hearing about Krishna. As far as I know, none of her centers do that. Like you, they also think it is not necessary.

The great devotees do not cast doubt on the existence of Krishna or His Holy Name. They only feel lowly and unfit themselves. That is the qualification. To feel lower than the straw in the street. But then you must chant the Holy Name in such a state of mind. Such a devotee can chant always. Otherwise it will all be blurred. The neophyte having doubts and mahabhagavat’s feeling of humility are different. Shrila Prabhupada said sahajiyas also show artificial humility. Even the journalist who wrote that article for Time magazine, titled it “Mother Teresa-Crisis of Faith.” Also they are consistent for over fifty years.

Your servant, Jashomatinandan das, President, ISKCON Ahmedabad

Final word: Yashomatinandan succinctly displays through his air-tight analyses of the modern Christian concept of manava-seva, that mundane altruism is far lower than the Krishna conscious understanding of Madhava-seva. As he points out, Shrila Prabhupada’s Gita purport to 16.7 deals with the same issues Chanakya thought important enough to cover in verse two of his Niti Shastra (above) in the matter of “what is to be done, and what is not to be done”. Yashomatinandan’s fiery and uncompromising preaching is the sort of stuff that can really impress our Guru Maharaja. Not wimpy gutless assertions pleading the “Maybe Mother Teresa was feeling vipralambha from Krishna” or some such ridiculous nonsense. For example, how many of us have read the excellent piece of research by our Godbrother Shri Bhakti Vikas Swami on the great renunciate Shrila Vamsivatadas Babaji Maharaja? In fact, why do we bother ourselves with this Mother Teresa when we have so much to learn regarding our own Vaishnaava saints?

Not to mention that Mother Teresa forced beef, a horrible sin, upon her new converts from Hinduism! No wonder she was so miserable! All glories to Shriman Yashomatinandandas Prabhuji, for understanding that the only way to spread Krishna Consciousness is the way Shrila Prabhupada did: “Boil the milk, don’t water it down.” And that means preaching without mucking up a completely pure philosophy with the adulterants of our foolish and unnecessary compromises! -Ed.

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