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Are we “violating the very spirit of Hinduism”? [Reprinted from BACK TO GODHEAD (Jan./Feb. Issue).
Back to Godhead has been publishing (and plans to continue) a series of articles called "The Glories of the Demigods. " Yet not everyone is pleased with it. We publish here an objection, along with our reply. Federation of Hindu Associations (FHA), Inc.
The Federation of Hindu Associations. Inc. (FHA) takes strong exception to the article and subsequent rejoinders in the Back to Godhead magazine, May/June 1995, which in effect state that Shiva, Ganesha, Brahma, Rama and other deities can at best be considered as "demi-gods" and "a little higher" than human beings. Statements of this type are extremely offensive and confusing to the devout Hindus and are destructive to the Hindu interests. Branding the worshipers of such deities as "offenders" is not fair to the compassionate and diversified philosophy of Hinduism. With interpretations suiting to themselves, from obscure Puranas, since thousands of years, schools of Vaishnavism (Krishna), Shaivism and Shaktism (Durga) are unfortunately conflicting on this question. The attitudes reek of fundamentalism, violate the very spirit of Hinduism, and create the possibility of another offshoot from the mother religion. By following such interpretations, they are creating exclusive territories of influence and business around one deity, by eliminating or reducing the significance of others. FHA considers that in Hinduism all deities represent the different forms, attributes, qualities, powers or shaktis of the same Almighty. A partial attachment to any of them, and not surrendering to all of the others remaining, does not complete surrender to all the qualities and components of the definition of God. Surrender to any deity is surrender to one of His attributes. Hence, all of them are worshipped, at one time or another, to complete the "Puja" [worship of the Supreme. So, nobody should knock down, degrade or insult any of the Gods or Goddesses by creating classes or grades around these multi-faces of the same God. FHA proposes that, for the benefit of Hinduism, we should stop this discussion and treatment of superiority and inferiority. FHA appeals to ISKCON to continue the good work initiated by Swami
Prabhupada. FHA notes that even after the identification of this controversy
by Radha Raman temple, Placentia [California], the statements of ISKCON
are still confusing and hurting to the cause of Hinduism.
FHA appeals to all temples, associations and activists to join
and work together in the best interests of Hinduism, to benefit this commonwealth
of beliefs and protect it from any damage.
Sincerely,
BACK TO GODHEAD
Dear Mr. Singh, Thank you for sending us a copy of your resolution. I am grateful to you for expressing to us your concern. You have appealed to us to continue the good work initiated by Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for that request. We consider it your blessing. You have also appealed to us to make a clear statement, and so we shall. Here it is: We reaffirm that Krsna alone is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. He appears in unlimited Vishnu forms such as Narayana and Rama. All other gods and living beings are His servants. Now, let me respond in some detail to the points you have raised in your resolution. Yes, we have referred to Lord Siva, Sri Ganesha, and Lord Brahma as demigods--but not Lord Sri Rama. We consistently distinguish between the forms of Vishnu (the Supreme Lord) and the devas (the exalted servants of the Supreme Lord). According to authoritative scriptures, Lord Rama is another form of Vishnu--He is identical with Krsna, the Supreme Lord Himself--and deities such as Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, and Sri Ganesha are His servants. Yes, we refer to these exalted servants as "demigods." This is
an English rendering of the Sanskrit word deva, and it means that they
are partial manifestations of God. Yes, we say they are subordinate to
God and are His servants. Far from being insults, these are terms of high
praise. According to the Rg Veda (1.22.20), to be subordinate to the Supreme
Lord is the glorious qualification of the gods (om tad visnoh paramam padam
sada pasyanti surayah). As conditioned souls, we are insubordinate-rebellious
against the Lord--whereas the devas always humbly consider themselves subordinate
and always look toward His lotus feet.
In a sheet attached to your resolution. you have enclosed a page from Back to Godhead in which you circle some passages to which you object. There we find the context in which we used the word bogus. We said that any one who claims to be God but whose claim has no basis in scripture is "simply bogus." Do we still stand by that? Absolutely. An impostor who claims to be God is not God but a dog. Such an impostor is just the opposite of the devas (gods); he is an asura (demon). Are the devas "a little higher" than human beings? No, we never said that. They are vastly higher. But they are still subordinate to Vishnu, the Supreme Lord. You are unhappy that we published a statement describing the worshipers
of the devas as "offenders." But that word wasn't ours. It appeared in
a direct quotation from the Padma Purana (one of the eighteen principal
Puranas and hardly obscure). The specific Sanskrit word used is pasandi.
We have given the translation "offender." According to the Monier-Williams
Sanskrit-English dictionary, alternatives are "heretic,' "hypocrite, "impostor,"
or "anyone who falsely assumes the characteristics of an orthodox Hindu."
Anyway, for the moment let us leave the Puranas aside. In the
Hare Krsna movement, our main source of teaching is Bhagavad-gita. That
is our primary source of authority, the main scripture we follow. How about
you? Do the members of your Association accept the words of Bhagavad-gita?
I assume they must.
ye 'py anya-devata-bhakta yajante sraddhayanvitah
Here Lord Sri Krsna clearly says that those who are devotees of other
gods (anya-devata) and who worship them with faith (sraddhayanvitah) are
actually worshipping only Him (mam eva)--but they are doing it in the wrong
way (avidhi-purvakum).
Therefore, by worshipping Krsna one automatically worships all other deities, just as by watering the root of a tree one waters all the leaves and branches or by putting food in the stomach one feeds the entire body. We can't water every leaf of a tree or offer food to every cell in the body. But when we pour water on the root or put food in the stomach, the entire tree or the entire body is satisfied. As you say in your resolution, "Surrender to any deity is surrender to one of His [God's] attributes." True. But surrender to the Supreme Lord Himself is surrender to the source of all deities and all attributes. You speak of the need to surrender to all the gods. But the Vedic scriptures tell us there are 330 million gods. So how will it be possible? We can't even think of all those gods, what to speak of surrender to them. [A friend has pointed out to me that to separately worship each of the 330 million gods within the course of a year, we'd need to worship more than 900 thousand of them every day.] Therefore, we have to follow the method given in the Bhagavad-gita by Lord Sri Krsna. God Himself: surrender to Krsna. In that way our surrender will be complete. God is the complete reservoir of all qualities, powers, and attributes, and yes these are represented by various gods. Therefore some people are attracted to one god, some to another. But as you say, "A partial attachment to any of them, and not surrendering to all of the others remaining, does not complete surrender to all the qualities and components." But because Krsna is the origin and refuge of all these gods, one attains the perfection of surrender to all--in one stroke--simply by surrendering to Him alone. Whatever one might get by worshipping any other god is in fact bestowed by Krsna Himself (mayaiva vihitan hi tan, Gita 7.22). Why then should one refuse to surrender exclusively to Lord Sri Krsna? The benefits one gets from other gods are temporary (anta-vat), and therefore Lord Krsna says in the Gita (7.23) that those who worship such gods are alpa-medhasa, "meager in intelligence." The devotees of such gods attain the abodes of those gods, which are all temporary and subject to distress (duhkhalayam asasvatam, Gita 8.15). The devotees of Krsna, on the other hand, attain the abode of Krsna Himself (yanti mam api), where they enjoy immortal bliss and knowledge. Again, these are not our statements. They are the statements of Bhagavad-gita. We simply accept them. What else are we supposed to do? You castigate us for violating "the spirit of Hinduism." But without the Bhagavad-gita, what is the meaning of Hinduism? The ideas to which you are objecting come directly from the Gita. So why are you objecting? You accuse us of deviating from "the mother religion." But the mother religion is not "Hinduism." The mother religion--for all living beings--is Sanatana dharma, or bhagavat dharma, devotion to Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gita (14.4) Lord Sri Krsna says that He is the father of all living beings (aham bija-pradah pita). He is even the father of the devas (aham adir hi devanam, Gita 10.2). The mother religion. therefore, is the worship of the Supreme Father (Bhagavan), the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna. The Vedic scriptures, in fact, may be compared to our mother, and the Supreme Lord to our father. If we are in doubt about who our father is, we should best consult our mother. And according to the conclusion of all the Vedic literature, the father of all living beings is Bhagavan Sri Krsna (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). Srila Prabhupada, therefore, in books such as Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam, has presented the Vedic literature with scrupulous integrity. And he has distributed its message intact through the Krsna consciousness movement. Anyone born in India, the land of Vedic knowledge, is extremely fortunate. And we appeal to all such fortunate people to make their lives perfect by joining the Krsna consciousness movement and spreading it everywhere for the eternal benefit of all living beings. On your letterhead I see the slogan garv se kaho ham hinda hai”
Proudly declare, ‘I am Hindu.' " But in Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna never
tells Arjuna to declare himself Hindu. Rather, He directs Arjuna to give
up all other forms of religion and simply surrender exclusively unto Him
(mam ekar~ Saranarit vraja). The Lord then says, kaunteya pratijanihi na
me bhakta pranasyati: "0 Arjuna, declare to the world that My devotee will
never be vanquished." Therefore, if we are going to follow Bhagavad-gita,
a better slogan would be garv se kaho ham bhagavan-Sri-krsna-ke das hai"
Proudly declare to everyone, ‘I am a servant of Lord Sri Krsna.’
"
Sincerely,
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