Reply to a Senior Leader

By Hridayananda das Goswami

October 24, 2015
Recently a senior ISKCON leader tried to refute some basic claims of Krishna West. I
feel it is my duty to respond to these points. After all, the Caitanya Caritmta says, A sincere
student should not neglect the discussion of [Ka conscious] conclusions, considering them
controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus ones mind becomes attached to r
Ka. [CC di 2.117]
I indicate this leader with the letters SL, for Senior Leader. Most of us are tired of endless
debates on these subjects, and we all, hopefully, want to preach in a positive spirit. I am sure SL
feels this way as I do. Still, I thought it necessary, for the good of Prabhupadas mission, that we
try to come to a reasonable conclusion about how we can best spread Lord Caitanyas wonderful
mission.
Basically I will argue that in SLs presentation, we find the following problems:
1. Major historical errors
2. Invention of new spiritual principles.
3. Partial and erroneous depiction of Prabhupada.
4. Confusion about Prabhupadas ultimate mission.
1. Major Historical Errors
I believe that Western people will be more comfortable with us if we present ourselves
with Western dress etc. SL insists that this is not true, because, since the Middle Ages everyone
in Europe has been enamored with Indian culture in all its different aspects [emphasis mine].
Has SL accurately described the history of Western attitudes toward Indian culture since
the Middle Ages? Not really. Here are some facts:
The midpoint of the middle ages is about 1000 years ago. Thus SL claims that roughly

for 1000 years, everyone in Europe has been enamored with all aspects of Indian culture.
In fact, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europe had little knowledge of India till
about 500 years ago when Vasco da Gama landed on its Southwest coast. Until then, Europe
believed India was a Christian nation, converted by an apostle of Jesus. When da Gama landed in
India he worshiped at a Durga Mandira, believing it to be a shrine to the Virgin Mary. He later
discovered his mistake.
Thus we must study European attitudes toward India in the last five hundred years. For
most of these years, most Europeans considered India to be a pagan land populated by an inferior
race engaged in strange customs. The British promoted a negative view of India to justify their
colonial rule. Western scholars did their part to deprecate Indian culture.
Even European and American intellectuals like Voltaire, Schopenhauer, Thoreau, and
Emerson, who prized some intellectual and spiritual achievements of India, such as the Gita and
Upanishads, looked down on much of Indian culture. Some aspects of Indian culture disgusted
learned Westerners, such as public defecation, satee rites, caste oppression, idol worship etc.
Here is a sample from American geographer W.C. Woodbridge in 1821:
The half-civilized state is like that of the...nations in the South of Asia, who understand
agriculture and many of the arts very wellwith some books and learning, with
established laws and religion. Still they treat their women as slaves, and have many other
customs like those of barbarous nations.1
Similarly, in his forthcoming book on Prabhupada, Yogevara Prabhu states:
Antipathy toward Hindus [in America] would grow more pronounced with the
publication in 1927 of Katherine Mayos notorious bestseller Mother India, which
sensationalized wife burnings and other anomalies of Indian culture. In 1929, when poet
Rabindranath Tagore arrived in Los Angeles, immigration officials treated him with such
disdain that he canceled his tour.
These are but a few of unlimited examples, many of them far more harsh in their criticism. Of
1

https://i.imgur.com/FFgbb.jpg
2

course there were those Westerners who were enamoredthe followers of Vivekananda or
Yogananda, the Theosophists etc. But to say that all, or most or even many Westerners were
enamored with all aspects of Indian culture is a fantastic retelling of history.
Recent History
Certainly in the sixties and seventies, Western interest in mystic India grew, especially
among young people. However that historical window has largely closed. Consider the
following:
In the late sixties and early seventies, many Indian gurus and India-based spiritual
movements gained prominence in the West. Not one of those gurus or groups is prominent today,
with the marginal exception of TM whose success is based on Western neurological studies of
meditation benefits, rather than any overt connection with spiritual India.
The most prominent manifestation of mystic India in the West is clearly yoga. But even
here, the latest studies show how interest in mystic India has dramatically waned in America. A
leading yoga journal conducted a study that showed that, More than three-quarters, or 78.3
percent [of those practicing yoga], said they were motivated to [take yoga classes] to improve
flexibility. Overall conditioning, stress relief, improved general health and fitness level were
other popular motivational factors.
Note that in this study, spiritual wisdom or spiritual practice did not even make the list of
motives! This same study showed that in America, 82.2% of those who take yoga classes are
women. Thus yoga in America does not indicate an interest in Indian culture, but rather in bodily
benefits, mostly for women.2
Recent academic research paints the same picture of yoga in America:
2

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/american-yoga_n_2251360.html
3

A new study traces the evolution of yoga in the US marketplace over the last thirty
yearsResearchers from Chapman University discovered the meaning of yoga is
decreasingly associated with spirituality and increasingly associated with medicine and
fitnessOver the three decade analysis of the yoga market we found that it was
decreasingly associated with the logic of spirituality and increasing associated with the
medical and fitness logics, said Dr. Coskuner-Balli.3
A recent article emphasized that yoga in America is mostly about womens bodies:
Yoga may have its roots as a practice largely for men in India, but in this country,
$20-$25 buys women an entre into a world where hips, sacrums, and elongated necks
are prized, and a womans body is worshippedOnly in yoga will people chant in a
foreign language, oblivious to the meaning of the words and then closely examine their
curves in pants now worn by porn stars.4
Thus a dramatic separation of American yoga from spiritual India is consistent with the fact that
Indian-based spiritual movements wildly popular forty-five years ago are now insignificant in the
US.
Contemporary History
SL makes another point: Also, there is an increase in number of tourists going to India.
Unfortunately this argument too is problematic. Here are some facts:
1. Seven times more international tourists go to China than to India, and ten times more
go to the US.
2. Indeed of ten Asian countries surveyed, India is last in foreign tourist visits, with less
than Vietnam or Taiwan, even though Indias population is over 13 times larger than
Vietnam, and over 50 times larger than Taiwan.5
3. Remember that most foreign visits to India are from Indians abroad. One need only
board a flight to India from anywhere in America or Europe, or the Middle East, to verify
this fact.
4. The number of Indians living abroad is growing, and this accounts for slight growth in
Indian tourism.

http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/01/transformation-of-yoga-in-the-unitedstates/84132.html
4
http://qz.com/300251/americans-ruined-yoga-for-the-rest-of-the-world/
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings
4

We have further evidence of declining interest in India. In America, enrollment in

Chinese and Arabic language courses are increasing, but Indian language enrollment is
decreasing. Over fifteen times more students study Chinese languages than Indian languages, and
over twenty times more study Japanese.
Conclusion: there is no objective indication that Western interest in Indian ethnic
traditions is strong or growing. Thus the notion that all Western people have always been, or are
now enamored with Indian culture in all its different aspects is untrue.
Well over two thousand years ago, Alexanders troops rebelled when he began to adopt
Eastern customs. In his Ballad of East and West, Kipling wrote: East is East, and West is West,
and never the twain shall meet. Even though this poem advocates mutual respect between
cultures, Kipling was addressing a world that lacked such mutual respect. In short, the east-west
tension has existed for thousands of years, as clearly shown in real history.6
Recent and massive publicity on rape, and other forms of abuse in India have not
improved Indias image in the world.

2. Invention of New Spiritual Principles

SL states: "The [external] cultural aspects of Krishna Consciousness are integral to
practicing Krishna Consciousness, especially for beginners because it helps them identity with
the content, music, dress, architecture, of the spiritual world.
The word integral means essential or fundamental. Do great cryas agree with SL that
the external culture of India is essential and fundamental, integral, to the practice of Ka

Here is a useful summary covering recent history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AntiIndian_sentiment.

consciousness? It appears they do not.

In chapter six of Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu (Nectar of Devotion), Rpa Gosvm gives ten
primary principles of bhakti-yoga, then a secondary list of ten, and finally forty-four still lesser
principles. None of these sixty-four basic principles confirms SLs claim that traditional Indian
dress, food, architecture etc. is integral to practicing Krishna consciousness. Indeed no
important Vaiava stra or crya explicitly, unequivocally requires the adoption of Indian
external culture as an integral component of bhakti-yoga.
Why doesnt Ka say in the Gt, man-man bhava mad-vs, Think of Me and
dress like Me? Or eat like Me, or design buildings like the ones in My abode?
When Lord Ka does ask us to follow His personal example [Bg 3.21-25], He speaks
not of Indian dress, food, architecture etc, but rather of following His example and performing
karma-yoga, rather than trying to be inactive.
Let us examine more closely Prabhupadas statements about food, architecture, and dress,
three cultural items that SL insists must be Indian.

3. Partial and Erroneous Depiction of Prabhupada.

i. Food
From the beginning of his American mission, Prabhupada insisted that one need not eat
Indian food to be Ka conscious:
Now, just see. To satisfy Ka is not very difficult thingIt doesn't matter that because
Ka appeared in India, therefore He wanted Indian food. No. Patra pupa phala
toyam. Leaf, and flower, and fruit, and water. Oh, that is available in America, that is
available in Czechoslovakia and Greenland, everywhere. [Bg 4.19-22 Lecture NYC,
August 8, 1966]

Prabhupada strongly made the same point to Allen Ginsberg. One need not eat Indian food to be
Ka conscious:
Allen Ginsberg: Yes, but what [IKSCON] requires isan adaptation to Indian food.
Prabhupda: No, no... It is not Indian food. Are you not eating fruits?
Allen Ginsberg: Yes, yes.
Prabhupda: Then that is Indian food? Do you mean to say it is Indian food? It doesn't
matter that you have to take our taste. No. That is not the program, that to become Ka
conscious you have to change your taste. No. We say from the Bhagavad-gt... Ka
says, patra pupa phala toya yo me bhakty prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. "Anyone who
is offering Me with devotion these vegetables, fruits, flowers, milk, I accept that." But we
are going to satisfy Ka. Therefore we are selecting foodstuff from this [vegetarian]
group. That you are all already accepting. Don't you take vegetables? Don't you take
fruits? Don't you take grains? So where is the new item? Now, so far cooking, you can
cook in your own taste. Butnot meatThat is our program. [Room conversation with
Allen Ginsberg Columbus, Ohio, May 12, 1969]
Loving parents do not insist that their child have exactly the same taste in food. Loving mothers
and fathers simply want to see their child eat nutritious food and grow strong and healthy.
Exactly in that mood, my own loving spiritual father, Prabhupada, once said to me, Eat what
you like and it will be good for you.
ii. Architecture
Temple architecture is permanent and prominent, the home of the Deities. Yet even here,
Prabhupada favored Western influence to attract Western people, rather than traditional IndianVaiava architecture, which SL believes, is integral to our spiritual practice.
The first important temple that Prabhupada purchased for ISKCON was the Los Angeles
property on Watseka Avenue. Interestingly, Prabhupada rejected the devotees confident
assumption that the Deities would be placed in the large, majestic, church sanctuary. Prabhupada
placed the Deities in a smaller, plainer space, the church social hall. The reason: Prabhupada
wanted to leave the pews in the sanctuary, so that Western guests could sit in a familiar Western

style space and hear about Ka. Prabhupada himself gave Sunday lectures in the sanctuary, not
in front of the Deities in the temple, to make the Western guests comfortable.
Gargamuni Prabhu, Los Angeles temple president at the time, tells the story:
"The current temple room in L.A was not what Prabhupada intended to be the temple
room [...] Prabhupada had another idea that wasn't our vision. His vision was to have
mainstream America come in with their shoes on and sit in the pews and hear Bhagavad
Gita and kirtan on the stage. We put Prabhupada's Vyasasana on stage and he had
Visnujana play the organ [...] Prabhupada didn't want the stain glass windows removed.
"Don't touch anything," he said. Even where the minister spoke, the pulpit, he kept that. It
was so surreal to sit in the pews and hear Bhagavad Gita and Visnujana singing jaya
madhava on the organ. Even Prabhupada would play the organ. Prabhupada said, They
are inclined to come to Church. So let them come back to this Church, but hear Bhagavad
Gita and kirtan. Prabhupada was thinking mainstream America, not hippies.
Prabhupada's vision wasn't that we all become monks. He wanted judges, politicians,
doctors to come to the temple. They weren't going to become monks and shave up. But
we had another visioncome to the temple and shave up. [Gargamuni Prabhu, Disc 3 in
Following Srila Prabhupada DVD series]
The devotees also wanted to Indianize the external architecture, but again Prabhupada insisted
they preserve the Western style. Thus we have a curious situation where Prabhupada is trying to
Westernize, and his Western disciples are trying to Indianize. Of course we know the sad ending
to this story. Against Prabhupadas order, the local GBC ripped out the pews and moved the
Deities into the main sanctuary where They remain today.
Surabha Prabhu, who recently passed away, was famous as Prabhupadas architect in
India. It was Surabha whom Prabhupada chose to design key projects in India, such as the
Raman Reti temple and guesthouse, and the fabulous Juhu project.
In a filmed remembrance of Prabhupada, Surabha reveals that Prabhupada insisted that
the Ka-Balarma temple in Vrindavana not have standard Indian temple architecture.
Prabhupada wanted a fusion of Indian and Western architecture so that Western people would be
attracted.
Clearly, Prabhupadas concern to facilitate Western prasadam and architecture

contradicts the popular image of Prabhupada as making no concession to the West. In fact,
Prabhupada was eager to make his mission user-friendly in the West. There is more of this story
to tell.
iii. Dress
SL claims that his Indian sartorial vision follows Prabhupada: Prabhupada never said
that devotional clothes are temporary, or that you should change your dress. In fact he was very
disturbed when devotees tried to change the dress-code or hair-code.
Here SL clearly misrepresents Prabhupada, as we shall see. Although SL objects to
Western dress for devotees, Prabhupada does not. For example:
From the instructions given to King Pratparudra by Srvabhauma Bhacrya, we can
understand that we may change our dress in any way to facilitate our serviceThe real
principle is to spread the Krsna consciousness movement, and if one has to change into
regular Western dress for this purpose, there should be no objection. [CC 2.14.5
Purport]
Similarly, we have this:
Allen Ginsberg: Yes, but what [ISKCON] requires is an adaptation of Indian dress
Prabhupda: That is not very important.
Indeed, Prabhupada often rejected the notion that Indian dress is an integral part of bhakti-yoga.
Our only concern is to attract people to Krsna consciousness. We may do this in the
dress of sannyasis or in the regular dress of gentlemen. Our only concern is to spread
interest in Krsna consciousness. [Bh 7.13.10 Purport]
Similarly:
So if you dont accept this dress, that does not mean you cannot be in Krishna
consciousness. Krishna consciousness can be achieved in any condition of life. It doesnt
matter whether you are dressed in this way or in your American way or any way. That
doesnt matter. It has nothing to do... Krishna consciousness is different from this dress or
that dress. [Lecture Boston, May 3, 1969]
Similarly:

"Dress has to be accepted according to the taste of others and foodstuffs accepted
according to the eater's taste. So if you think this kind of dress will attract more people,
you can dress yourself in that manner." [Prabhupada Letters: 1969]
Similarly:
Sadhu does not mean a kind of dress, or kind of beard. No. Sadhu means a devotee,
perfect devotee of Krishna. That is a sadhu. [Sydney, February 16, 1973]
Guru-gauranga Dasa: Speaking about clothes, Monsieur le President says that he has
been to India, and he understands that one dresses like this in India. But why would the
disciples dress in America or in Europe in this way? Is it necessary?
Prabhupada: No. It is not necessary. Dress you can have as you like. It doesn't matter,
because dress is a dead thing. Real thing is that we want a living being who can
understand. That is the real position. [Srila Prabhupada Welcomed by Governor at Hotel
De Ville Geneva, May 30, 1974]
And:
If karmi dress is favorable, then go on with karmi dress. We have to execute missionary
activities; dress is not fundamental. [Letter to Satadhanya February 16, 1976]
Dr. Wolfe: Srila Prabhupada, the dhoti is not important then.
Prabhupada: Not important. He can have dhoti, you can have pant, you can have... It
doesn't matter. [Garden Conversation with Professors Los Angeles, June 24, 1975]
Prabhupada once saw a picture of Balavanta preaching into a microphone during a
political campaign. Behind him sat the mayor and another candidate. Balavanta wore a
suit and tie, tilaka, and tulasi beadsHis hair was grown out. Around his neck he wore a
beadbagWhen Prabhupada saw the picture, he said that this is what we want, to preach
in American dress. He said we should be known as American Krishnas.
You should use your own discretion; the garb can be Vedic or American.' There is no
harm. Dress has nothing to do with the soul. [Prabhupada to the artist Yadurani about
painting devotees May 19, 1971; Satsvarpa dsa Gosvm Prabhupada Nectar]
Prabhupada: Oh, yes, oh, yes, you can become spiritual in your this dress. Simply you
have to learn what it is from the books. The dress is not very important thing [March
5, 1975]
This freedom to dress appropriately and effectively for preaching applies to ghasthas, sannyss,
and according to Prabhupada, to Prabhupada himself:

10

Ghasthas
And: Householders may wear dhoties in the Temple, or as they likeIt is not required
to wear dhoties [Letter to Balai September 12, 1968]
Better go and speak philosophy in your grihastha dress, not this dress, but you have nice
coat, pants, gentleman. Who says no? I never saidWhy this false dress? What is the
wrong to become grihastha? [Room Conversation Bombay, January 7, 1977]
Sannyss and Prabhupada
Sannyasa does not mean a particular type of dress or particular type of beard. Sannyasa
means you can become a sannyasi even with your, this coat-pant. It doesn't matter,
provided you have dedicated your life for the service of God. That is called sannyasa.
[Bh 7.6.1 Montreal, December 6, 1968]
Our only concern is to attract people to Ka consciousness. We may do this in the
dress of sannyss or in the regular dress of gentlemen. Our only concern is to spread
Ka consciousness. [Bh 7.13.10]
You can become a swami even with your this hats and coats. That doesn't matter.
[Bh 5.5.3 Lecture Boston, May 4, 1968]
Regarding dress, I have already written to you that you can dress as smartly as possible
to deal with the public, and dress is immaterial in Krishna Consciousness. Consciousness
is within. I am a sannyasi, but if some important work requires I dress myself just like a
smart gentleman, I would immediately accept it. So it is not a problem." [Letter to Gopala
Krsna March 9, 1969]
In summary, let us compare SLs statements to those of Prabhupada.
SL: Dressis integral to practicing Krishna consciousness.
Prabhupada: dress is not fundamental.
SL: Dressis integral to practicing Krishna consciousness.
Prabhupada: Dress? Dress is not important.
SL: Dressis integral to practicing Krishna consciousness.
Prabhupada: The dress is not very important thing
SL: Dressis integral to practicing Krishna consciousness.
Prabhupada: Dress is immaterial in Krishna Consciousness. Consciousness is within.
SL: Dressis integral to practicing Krishna consciousness.
Prabhupada: Dress you can have as you like. It doesn't matter, because dress is a dead
thing.

11

SL: Dressis integral to practicing Krishna consciousness.

Prabhupada: Dress has nothing to do with the soul.
Prabhupada denies requiring Indian dress
Twice, Prabhupada states that he never insisted that we use Indian clothes:
Jyotirmayi: No, no. He's saying why are we dressing like that, like Indians?
Prabhupada: I have not said that you dress like that. You like, you do it. Did I say that
you do it? [...] we are not concerned with the dress, we are concerned with the
advancement
of
spiritual
understanding,
that's
all.
[Room conversation Paris, June 1974]
Ramevara: I'm just saying that it is a little difficult if they wear their dhoti.
Prabhupada: No, dhoti, I don't say. You have nice coat-pant. I don't say that you have to...
I never said that. You have adopted it. (laughs) I never said that You put on dhoti.
[January 1977]
Since neither stra nor cryas explicitly state that Indian dress is integral to practicing Ka
consciousness, SL appears to put forward a new integral religious principle. This new principle
could easily lead to rather silly conclusions. For example:
1. If dressing like Ka and His friends bestows spiritual power, it follows logically that
we should also use ankle bells, like Ka and His friends.
2. Is there more spiritual benefit if we tie our dhoties exactly as Krishna and His devotees
tie theirs? Is there less power in wearing, say, a Maipura dhoti, or a South Indian dhoti,
rather than a North Indian dhoti?
3. As shown in all ISKCON art, and in the song to the six Gosvms, neither Mahprabhu
nor the six Gosvms used the standard ISKCON dhoti. Is it more purifying for a
sannys to dress like Lord Caitanya, or like the nitya-siddha six Gosvms in kaupina
and rags (kaupna-kanthritau), or in the modern sannysa dhoti?
4. Or should renunciants follow the injunctions of Bhgavatam and dress in deerskin or
tree bark, or go naked?
5. Since many Indian brhmaas (as seen in Back to Godhead), as well as Krishna and
His friends (as seen in ISKCON art), go bare-chested, can we make more advancement
by going bare-chested, weather permitting?
A few more points: Acknowledging that stra does not mandate Indian dress, SL argues

12

that we should follow the essence of these statementssimplicity and austerity.

First, its not clear what these statements are. Second, our goal is not austerity, but rather
effective preaching. Prabhupada, unlike the six Gosvms, wore jewels and gold and dressed in
silk. He did this for the sake of preaching.
Still, SL gives unusual arguments to defend his thesis. SL: "I would rather wear a kurta
than a tie and shirt: it is much more attractive, much more comfortable, and much more sattvik.
Here we have an example of the straw man argument in which one defeats an argument
not actually presented by the other side, avoiding the actual argument. Clearly a kurta is more
comfortable than a shirt and tie. But it is equally obvious that a kurta is not more comfortable
than a soft, cotton T-shirt or collar shirt. Let us examine SLs three claims above:
1. A kurta is much more attractive. Note that a kurta is not merely more attractive. It is
much more attractive. Somehow lengthening the bottom of a shirt, and removing its
collar flap transforms matter into spirit, and radically beautifies the shirt. This claim is
rather inscrutable.
2. A kurta is much more comfortable. This claim is just as subjective and silly.
3. A kurta is much more sattvik. Krishna consciousness is a spiritual science. Where is the
science here? One may say that the long kurta covers the private part of the body. But
many Western people wear their profane, all-about-sex shirts outside and over their
pants.
Indeed SL claims that Western clothes are a product of the mode of ignorance, and at best a
product of the mode of passionThey are all about sex.
Certainly some people in the West wear over-sexed clothes, as some people have always
done in India, long before the Europeans arrived. However large numbers of people wear decent
clothes.
Certainly sattva clothes should be chaste. But in highly conservative South India,
chaste, respectable women often went topless. We find this also in Indian temple carvings. I

13

myself saw in rdhma Mypura village women with but a thin strip of sari over their exposed
chest. We know that cholis are sometimes worn in highly erotic ways. One need only consult
Google images for sari and click on modern saris to see a carnival of sexuality. We may also,
briefly, consider the high erotic Bollywood version of dhoties and saris. By fair standards, we
find clothes in all three modes in the West, just as we do in India.
Conclusion: Prabhupada sometimes expressed appreciation for Indian culture, but
whenever he saw that it might interfere with effective preaching, he at once declared it was not
important. Therefore, items such as dress, cuisine, and architecture are clearly variable details,
since Prabhupada himself varied in his statements about them.
In contrast, Prabhupada never varied when he spoke of truly integral principles. For
example, he always preached that we should chant the names of God. He never preached that we
should not chant them, or that Hari-nma was not important, a dead thing, etc, the way he
spoke about clothes, food etc.
If we wish to practice, and preach, a true spiritual science, we must make a crucial
distinction between unvarying, truly fundamental principles, and variable details.
iv. Misuse of the Word Anartha
SLs claim that some details are basic principles leads him to another mistake: an
erroneous definition of the key term anartha, which in this context means a useless [habit or
behavior].
Apparently SL believes that using non-Indian clothes, music, architecture, or recipes, is
an anartha, a bad habit. SL: If you want to make a religion out of your anartha, thats not
helpful for Krishna Consciousness.

14

How does Prabhupada use the term anartha? He does not use it to refer to non-Indian
dress, food etc, Prabhupada uses the term far more seriously to refer to fundamental obstacles to
spiritual progress. Thus he has defined anartha as sex desire; the material body; birth, old age,
disease, and death; ignorance; the miserable conditions of material life; envy, anger, lust, and
greed; sinful habits; material contamination.
But SL uses his concept of anartha to denigrate Western culture: Western clothes are a
product of the mode of ignorance and at best a product of the mode of passion. Generally
speaking, they are all about sex.
In fact, many millions of Western people use simple, decent clothes. Bhaktivinoda
hkura warns us that the tendency to denigrate other cultures leads us away from Ka:
As a communitydevelops more respect for its own standards, it develops hatred
towards other communities and considers their standards inferior. These sectarian
symptoms are seen in all countries since time immemorial. This is prominent amongst
neophytesDifferences that arise from places, times, languages, behaviors, foods, dress,
are incorporated within peoples spiritual practices and gradually make one
community so completely different from another community that even the consideration
that everyone is a human being may cease to existDue to these differences there is
disagreementand fighting [Bhaktivinoda hkura, Sri Krishna Samhita]
rla Bhaktivinoda hkura and his glorious son rla Bhaktisiddhnta hkura together
condemn the tendency to worship external features, rather than essential principles, of Ka
consciousness:
The word Vaishnavism indicates theeternal and natural conditionof all individual
souls in relation to Vishnu, the Supreme, the All-pervading Soul. But an unnatural,
unpleasant and regrettable sense has been attributed to the word, making one understand
by the word Vaishnava (literally a pure and selfless worshipper of Vishnu) a human form
with twelve peculiar signs (Tilak) and dress onand [then] hating any other human form
who marks himself with different signs, puts on a different dress and worshipsin a
different way This is the most unnatural, unpleasant and regrettable sense of the word
Vaishnava. [Bhaktivinoda hakura and Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hakura from
their book Vaishnavism and Nam-Bhajan]

15

Neither the Bhgavatam, nor Rpa Gosvm, nor the Caitanya-caritmta teach us that
we will make more spiritual advancement if we dress like Ka, or cook with Indian recipes, or
design buildings like the buildings in the spiritual world [for which we have very little stric
description.] Prabhupada himself strongly, repeatedly, rejects the idea that Indian food,
architecture, dress etc are integral components of bhakti-yoga.
We should not teach the devotees and the world that Prabhupada was so conservative in
areas where in fact he espoused a very liberal flexibility.
v. All Knowledge Comes from India?
SL commits further historical and philosophical errors in his claim that, The
Bhagavatam says that all knowledge comes from India and spread all over the world.
Really? Where does the Bhagavatam say that all knowledge spreads from India? We can
all agree that advanced knowledge of Ka comes from the land of His appearance, and even
that advanced knowledge of the details of material creation, the laws of karma etc come from
Bharata-vara. But other forms of knowledge appear throughout the world.
The Gita says that general wisdom comes from sattva-gua [14.6, 14.11, 14.14, 14.17],
not from India. It would be absurd to say that no one outside India was ever in the mode of
goodness. In fact, Prabhupada denies such an absurdity.
It is not the question of East and West. It is the question of understanding. In the East
also there are many rascals, and in the West there are many intelligent. [Morning Walk
Germany, June 20, 1974]
Similarly:
Education may be wrong or right, but science is always the fact. Two plus two equal to
four,that is equally good in the East and West, not that in the western countries, two
plus two will be fiveSimilarly, to understand the science of God, it does not depend on
the Western culture or Eastern culture. [Room Conversation with Malcolm London,
July 18, 1973]

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So far we are concerned, we have no such distinction, "East and West." [Bhagavad-gt
13.8.12 Lecture Bombay, October 2, 1973]
There is no question of Eastern or Western. This is our manufacture, that Eastern is
better than the Western. We don't make such things as Eastern and Western. We test
whether he's Krsna conscious. That's all. [Bhagavad-gita 7.4 Lecture Nairbi,
October 31, 1975]
On this topic also, SL radically misconstrues the real world. In every country of the world, we
find good, kind, loving people and their goodness, as stated in the Gt, gives them wisdom, as
shown in their culture, literature, and behavior. Our job is to add Ka, not denigrate and
ridicule all that is non-Indian, as pointed out by rla Bhaktivinoda and rla Bhaktisiddhnta.
Of course, it would be yet another absurdity to say, in a literal sense, that all knowledge
comes from India. One would thus claim, for example, that knowledge to build an Apple
computer, the cure for smallpox, or even the legendary map-making skills of Captain Cook, all
come from India.
One may say that all knowledge comes from stra in the sense that it explains all
tattvas. The Sanskrit word tattva indicates a categorical truth, such as Viu-tattva or jva-tattva.
Thus in the famous Gt verse 4.34, Ka says that we should learn the truth by approaching
those who have seen tattva, the truth of of God, soul, and nature. In this sense, stra gives all
knowledge, not in the silly sense of acting as an infinitely unabridged encyclopedia that includes,
say, the topography of Guatemala, or rigid rules on how to sew and tie dhoties.
SL claims that all knowledge comes from India, yet he acknowledges that stra does not
describe in detail proper dress, food, or architecture. Therefore SL claims that India itself, not
stra gives all knowledge. This is a new and, to be honest, strange concept.
Perhaps SL means that cryas who lived in India gave all knowledge of external
cultural details. But as we have seen, Rpa Gosvm omits such details from his list of integral

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devotional practices, and Prabhupada repeatedly and forcefully rejects the notion of an absolute
standard for such details as food, dress, architecture etc.
Thus it is India itself, apart from stras and cryas, that teaches us. This leads to
bizarre conclusions. For instance, SL suggests that since a kurta is Vedic, and since kurta is a
Persian word, Muslims must have stolen the kurta from Indian Hindus. Obviously, no one but
Hindus ever knew anything of value, not even how to dress properly. But Prabhupada gives a
very different picture.
Hdaynanda: Prabhupda, you said that originally the Europeans had ryan-type
culture
Prabhupda: Oh, yes. They are still ryan. Europeans are ryan, Indo-ryan. That is
admitted in history. [Morning walk Mypura, February 6, 1976]
The Vedic culture was all over the world. These Europeans and Americans, they are
coming of the same stock, Indo-Aryan stock. [Class July 25, 1971]
The ryan family is distributed all over the world and is known as Indo-ryan. [Bh
4.20.26 Purport]
Therefore, the Western remnants of Vedic culture, enriched by the wisdom of virtuous Western
people, has in fact sustained many valuable cultural items, even in an age of widespread
materialism.
Of course, it has long been a cherished pastime among us to compare the best of India with
the worst of the West. However, if we compare the worst of India with the best of the West, we
get a very different picture. Ultimately, as Prabhupada clearly states, we are concerned with
Ka consciousness, not external labels such as East and West.
vi. Indian Culture
Now let us directly consider what Prabhupada himself says about Indian culture, and
whether it matches what SL says about it. SL cites Prabhupada as saying, We will conquer the

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world with Indian culture. In fact, we find no such quote in Vedabase. So what does
Prabhupada say about Indian culture?
In an unpublished pre-1967 essay, Prabhupada lists four main principles of Mohandas
Gandhi, and then says that if the Indian government implements these principles 1) daily
prayer, sankirtana and Gita study; 2) temple worship reform; 3) uplifting of Harijans; and 4)
caste system reform that India's original culture will not only be revived and re-established
but also will foster India's indigenous culture in other parts of the world. That will be a sort of
cultural conquest of all world by India.
Prabhupada specifies here that the spread of Indian culture involves basic spiritual
principles, not external details of dress, music or architecture. Let us see exactly how Prabhupada
uses the term Indian culture, and in what context he uses the term?
After he started ISKCON, Prabhupada once wrote to Jagada Dsa, If we simply repeat
this philosophy exactly as it is, without any misrepresentation or adulteration, then this
movement will never be checked, and we will conquer the world. World conquest takes place
not through Indian dress or recipes, but by teaching pure philosophy. [Letter to Jagadish
March 3, 1972]
For Prabhupada, the essence of Indian culture was not an ethnic style of dress, music,
food, or architecture, but rather Ka consciousness: So our point is: present Krsna as it is.
That is real Indian culture. [Conversation September 11, 1972, Arlington. Also listed in
Vedabase as Mayapura, April 2, 1975]
Indeed, a study of Prabhupadas use of the term Indian culture shows that he used it to
indicate the following: Ka consciousness, austerity, detachment, spiritual philosophy, selfrealization, varrama, cow-protection, bhgavata-kath, compassion through preaching, and

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belief in reincarnation. Prabhupada does not promote Indian culture in the sense of the external
cultural features that SL claims are integral to the practice of Krishna consciousness.
Bhaktivinoda hkura, in Jaiva Dharma Chapter 2, states that instructions may be tatklika, meant for a specific time, or sarva-klika, meant for all times. Thus, for example, the
Bhgavatams rule that a brahmacr dress in deerskin is clearly tat-klika, meant for a specific
time, not all times. On the other hand, the injunction to surrender to Ka is valid eternally.
Bhaktivinodas terms, tat-klika and sarva-klika, match Rpa Gosvms analysis of unvarying,
basic principles, and varying details.
Prabhupada preached at a time when his Western mission flourished. Thousands of
Western youth joined ISKCON. All that has drastically changed. Therefore with what authority
can we say today, that upon seeing this dramatic downturn in ISKCONs Western fortunes,
Prabhupada would do everything exactly the same? Is there a time in Prabhupadas preaching
life when he responded to adversity by continuing to apply the exact same external strategy year
after year? Indeed there is not.
vii. Dea-kla-vibhga-vit
SLs highly conservative portrait of Prabhupada feeds the widespread myth that
Prabhupada opposed any concession to Western taste, and that Prabhupada insisted on
preserving in the West all Indian external features. But Prabhupadas own words give us a very
different picture.
In the Bhgavatam 1.9.9, Bhma is called dea-kla-vibhga-vit, a knower of the
differences in place and time. In the Bhgavatam 4.8.54, using the same term, dea-klavibhga-vit, Nrada Muni encourages Prince Dhruva to be a knower of the differences in place
and time in his service to Ka. In his purports to both verses, Prabhupada urges us to be dea-

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kla-vibhga-vit, and to thus preach appropriately in different times and places. In his purport to
Bh 1.9.9, Prabhupada writes:
Expert religionists know perfectly well how to adjust religious principles in terms of
time and place. All the great cryas or religious preachers or reformers of the world
executed their mission by adjustment of religious principles in terms of time and place.
There are different climates and situations in different parts of the world, and if one has
to discharge his duties to preach the message of the Lord, he must be expert in adjusting
things in terms of the time and place. [Bh 1.9.9 Purport]
And in his purport to Bh 4.8.54, Prabhupada writes:
What is convenient in India may not be convenient in the Western countries If
someone does go and preach, taking all risks and allowing all considerations for time
and place, it might be that there are changes in the manner of worship, but that is not at
all faulty according to stra. [Bh 4.8.54 Purport]
Similarly, in the Caitanya-caritmta 2.23.105, Lord Caitanya taught Santana Gosvm
practical renunciation, yukta-vairgya, and forbade him to adopt dry renunciation. In his
purport, Prabhupada explains yukta-vairgya as adopting pragmatic means to spread Krishna
consciousness, whereas dry renunciation means sticking to impractical methods in the name of
following rules. Prabhupada writes:
The teacher has to consider time, candidate and country. He must avoid the principle of
niyamgraha -- that is, he should not try to perform the impossible. What is possible in
one country may not be possible in anotherThe essence of devotional service must be
taken into consideration, and not the outward paraphernalia [CC 2.23.105 Purport]
And yet SL seems to favor the outward paraphernalia even if it means, as we shall see at the
end of this essay, that we must abandon the hope of fulfilling Prabhupadas prama mantra and
saving the Western countries.
Prabhupada further states in his purport to CC 2.23.105: It is not necessary that the rules
and regulations followed in India be exactly the same as those in Europe, America and other
Western countries.

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Here we clearly see the dramatic difference between SLs insistence on the necessity of
Indian customs, and Prabhupadas insistence that such external things are not important. Indeed,
Ka Himself adjusts according to the time, place, and person: Krishna is veryexpert He
knows how to deal according to time, person and country [CC 2.23.72 Purport]
This picture of Prabhupada and Ka as oceans of mercy, ready to do whatever it takes
to save souls, stands in stark contrast to the popular image of a Prabhupada, who defiantly rejects
any concession to Western people.
In fact, my purpose here is conservative: I want to conserve all of what Prabhupada said
so that devotees, young and old, know the full range of Prabhupadas teachings. In my recent
travels, I saw that many devotees are not taught all that Prabhupada taught about preaching
strategy. Rather they learn a highly conservative version of Prabhupada that ignores many of
Prabhupadas most relevant and essential words on preaching strategy. But it is only the real and
complete Prabhupada who can lead the Western mission to success.
Obviously one may wear Indian clothes in the practice of bhakti-yoga. However to claim
that Indian clothes are integral or essential is an invention.
4. Risk of reinterpreting Prabhupadas ultimate mission
SL states: I do not agree that people become alienated [by our Indian presentation]. We
are still here, and people are coming forward.
People are indeed coming forward, but not enough people to make ISKCON relevant in the
Western world. I just completed a tour of ten Western countries and I saw this clearly. Further,
we have massive evidence in the West that people are in fact alienated from the Hare Ka
movement. Here is a typical example, from an ISKCON News article, in which a very sincere
devotee recounts her experience on Hari-nma-sakrtana in a major, and very liberal, Western

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city:
At the beginning, it was toughSometimes, it was just me by myself, and people were
laughing. At first, I looked in their eyes, and I would take all their negativity in. But then I
learned to close my eyes and just focus on the Holy Name.
There are hundreds of thousands of stories like this. Everywhere I go, I find that many devotees
are embarrassed to invite people to our temples. I even met temple presidents who feel this way!
This is the reality of the West.
Even SL seems to grasp this fact, for he states:
Prabhupada often said better to remain small, better to remain pure, better to remain small
but stay pure and dont worry about being accepted by a lot of people. Thats certainly the
ISKCON I want to belong to, and not an ISKCON that compromises our values [A
prominent] Swami gave the example of the Amish, who have extremely conservative
values, who look very strange and continue to look very strange. At the beginning of the
20th century they numbered 5000 in America and everyone thought they would die out, but
today they number 250,000
Despite SLs previous claim that no one ever thought us strange, he now cites the words of
another prominent ISKCON leader, analogizing devotees to the Amish who look strange, remain
small, and who do not preach to outsiders.
Let us compare the Amish to another American religion, the Mormons, who vigorously
preach, and who gave up strange external customs, for the sake of preaching. We find that there
are nearly sixty times more Mormons than Amish. Sixty times more!
Yet SL and perhaps other leaders, feel that it is the Amish, not the adaptive, preaching
Mormons that we should emulate.
If we consider SLs words more closely, we find a logical error that leads him to risk
reinterpreting and compromising Prabhupadas ultimate mission. I will first show the logical
error, and then the risk of compromise.
Logical error

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SL stated: Prabhupada often said better to remain small, better to remain pure, better to
remain small but stay pure and dont worry about being accepted by a lot of people. Thats
certainly the ISKCON I want to belong to, and not an ISKCON that compromises our values
Here SL commits the logical error called a false dilemma or false dichotomy, in that he
claims there are only two alternatives, when in fact there is a third option. I will make this
clearer.
SL suggests that we have only two options [in the West]:
1. We remain pure and small.
2. We become impure and big.
Based on this belief, SL essentially gives the following argument:
Premise 1: Our only two options are to be pure and small, or impure and big.
Premise 2: Impurity is not an option.
Conclusion: We must resign ourselves to being small and pure, like the Amish.
This argument is based on a false dichotomy because in fact there are not only two options.
There is an obvious third possibility:
3. We remain pure and become big.
Of course this third option, which as I will show is Prabhupadas real desire, is not an option for
SL, who mistakenly believes that the adjustments needed in the West would contaminate the
devotees, even though Prabhupada himself, as I showed, strongly advocated these adjustments.
Thus our only option is to be small and pure. This constitutes a fundamental reinterpretation of
Prabhupadas ultimate mission.
Risk of compromising Prabhupadas mission
SL holds up for our approval the non-preaching Amish, who grow only because they
average around seven children per family, and admirably retain most of their young. Yet to even

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suggest that we focus on having lots of babies, rather than dynamically, and appropriately,
preaching Prabhupadas message, is to fundamentally reinterpret his Western mission. I will
provide evidence for my claim.
1. The words preacher, preach, and preaching occur about 23,000 times in Vedabase
(Preacher: 1,600 Preach: 7,254; Preaching: 14,004;) Thats a lot. Prabhupada constantly urged
us to preach, boldly and appropriately. In contrast, Originally, the Amish evangelized, as do
most Christian denominations, but over the years seeking converts and spreading the gospel
became less and less of a priority, to the point that it is not done at all today.
Does no preaching remind you of Prabhupada? I dont think so.
2. We must not forget how Prabhupada ends his glorious Introduction to Bhagavad-gt
As It Is? Here are his closing words:
let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world -Bhagavad-gt. Eko devo devak-putra eva: let there be one God for the whole world
r Ka. Eko mantras tasya nmni: and one hymn, one mantra, one prayerthe
chanting of His name: Hare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare/ Hare Rma,
Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare. Karmpy eka tasya devasya sev: and let there be
one work onlythe service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This is not a call to form non-preaching, but fertile communities.
3. Recall what Prabhupada said in the Preface to his Bhgavatam? rmad-Bhgavatam
should be introduced also in the schools and colleges, for it is recommended by the great studentdevotee Prahlda Mahrja in order to change the demoniac face of society. In the same
Preface: rmad-Bhgavatam is the transcendental science not only for knowing our relation
with Him and our duty toward perfection of the human society on the basis of this perfect
knowledge.

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Perhaps rather than perfect human society, we should just have lots of babies and
continue to look very strange. (Swami gave the example of the Amish, who have extremely
conservative values, who look very strange and continue to look very strange.)
4. One may feel that given the reality of todays world, we should focus on preaching to
those ethnic groups that join ISKCON in large numbers, and not worry about the West. In fact
some leaders criticized and even mocked the fact that I use the word West in the Ka West
program. They think I am mixing a mundane designation with a spiritual cause.
Those who scorn the word West in a spiritual project must have forgotten Prabhupadas
prama-mantra, which he wrote himself. There Prabhupada claims to be pctya-dea-trie,
the savior of the Western countries.
Prabhupada also made very clear that his entire global strategy depended on ISKCONs
success in the Western countries, among Western people. Are we now to abandon that vision? Is
it not instead our sacred duty to defend Prabhupadas honor by making his words come true? As
amply shown in this essay, Prabhupada gave us all the freedom and flexibility we need to
accomplish this great task.
We all know that Prabhupada sometimes said he would be satisfied if he made one pure
devotee. But that one pure devotee would surely dedicate his or her life to fulfilling
Prabhupadas ultimate dream and ambition: to save this suffering planet.
Fortunately, not just one, but many great souls have joined Prabhupadas mission, and
now is the time to do all we can to fulfill Prabhupadas greatest hope and dream. Our duty is not
to reinterpret, scale down, compromise, or renounce Prabhupadas grand vision for his Western
mission. In his words, let us do the needful.

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I respect the sincere attempt of many devotees like SL to spread Krishna consciousness in
what they believe to be the best way. It is my earnest hope that I have not offended any
Vaiava, including SL, in the course of executing my duty. I pray that we can all work together
to fulfill Prabhupadas ultimate vision of a Ka conscious world.

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