Out-of-Context Quotes Don't Help

PAMHO. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, who had to address the sensibilities of persons from all positions in life, in order to preach to them. He has called them all learned gentlemen, then asks them to forget all that they have learned and instead to try to understand Krsna. We know that they are fools number one, but we speak nicely just to give them a chance to hear.

You have answered Bhakta Abdula, but you have not mentioned the two articles which I submitted on Dandavats and also Sampradaya Sun, so you will please excuse me if I comment nonetheless. Kindly read Caitanaya Bhagavata. In it, you will find that Lord Viswambhara vowed to destroy the entire Yavana race if they continued to interfere with the chanting of the name of Hari. Once, the Khazi and his men attacked the devotees of a sankirtana party, breaking the drums and beating severely the devotees. In response, performing a massive sankirtana, He and the devotees broke and burned the Khazi’s possessions and domicile, while all the men of the Khazi ran away in fear.

Nowadays, the Wahhabi Sunni Muslims are prepared to execute or expel all preachers of Krsna consciousness from all Muslim lands, calling them Satan’s dupes. They have banned all Hindu practices on punishment of death in Saudi Arabia, the heart of Islam. You might wish to actually come in contact with the people living in these countries before thinking you have got it all down based upon an understanding from a distance. So, despite your words intended to paint a nice face on a camels’ backside, it still stinks.

So far as the Bible and Koran being “on par with the Vedas”, this is obviously false. These are meat-eater religions, mostly business and not real religion at all. Otherwise, why should Prabhupada bother to bring Gita to the west, where we already have Bibles galore? So although these literatures may be in pursuit of the truth, they are lower, and we do not follow them. They are not even up to the standard of the karma-kanda sections of the Vedas, demigod worship, which we ourselves reject. We take the milk from the water mix, like a swan.

It would be possible to comment more particularly if you were to give the location and context of your quotes of Srila Prabhupada. As I understand, Prabhupada also said that Hitler was empowered. Being empowered doesn’t necessarily mean being Krsna conscious, or even good.

Thank you for presenting your best understanding, as it is meant for the benefit of all. There is no fault on your part, but perhaps a lack of experience? We do not wish to disturb anyone’s beliefs unreasonably, and we do wish them to be non-envious enough to listen to Krsna’s words. It is very dangerous to criticize Muhammad or the Koran. Srila Prabhupada said that he takes the dust of anyone who preaches in the Muslim countries. Certainly we are not anti-Muslim, we are anti-hypocrisy and against Kali-yuga false teachers in the name of religion. Islam in a pure form may exist somewhere, but nowhere that I have seen yet…

On a somewhat more proactive note, I found that the best way to preach to a Muslim is to emphasize the importance of chanting God’s Names. This they also do, with good benefits, as do we. Even the name ‘Rama” is there in Arabic, meaning the Merciful. Koran also says that the Lord appears in all communities of men, but the current Muslims say, not among the Hindus. So, they themselves in general do not listen carefully to their own Koran. By practicing some austerities and chanting, they make some advancement relative to the total spiritual wash-out of western modernity, but it is all tainted with envy of others. The Koran makes more sense if you are a Bedu accustomed to the lowest modes of nature. It is righteous and powerful; qualities much appreciated by the Arab people. However, Bhakta Abdula’s quotes from Koran should be enough to open your eyes as to the vision of a cruel and unforgiving God which many keep in their hearts.

If there are more devotees from Muslim countries out there, or those who have lived in these countries, please, what are your comments?

Tamoharadasa (ACBSP)

The Mohammedan Issue