Page 34 - SBV (English)

xxxii Apologia

another practically all his disciples remained in Kåñëa consciousness throughout
their lives, and some clearly attained high levels of realization. *
It is also questionable whether our own guru, His Divine Grace A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, would approve of explicit documentation
of his godbrothers’ purported wrongdoings. For while he often ascribed the
coarsest motivations to some of his godbrothers, nevertheless he also sometimes
praised them. And even though undeniably some unhappy incidents were
occasioned by various Gauòéya Maöha members, uncensored broadcasting of
such disagreeable information would naturally miff their present followers
and likely exacerbate the still vitiated atmosphere within the Vaiñëava world,
which is not at all my intention. Besides, it could implicate me in offenses
to devotees who likely are now in Kåñëa’s transcendental abode. Even if the
record of Gauòéya Maöha infighting could be accurately circumstantiated,
publicizing it would hardly serve the cause of Vaiñëavism. And while to this
day the Gauòéya Maöha remains irreparably dismembered, the animosity has
significantly dissipated. So why inflame the rancor of the past? Perhaps it was
with this consideration that in most biographies of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta
Sarasvaté even allusions to the hostility that precipitated the later splintering
of his institution have been expunged.
In that vein, I was requested by Çrémad Bhakti Çobhana Çänta Mahäräja
to expurgate all historical information that might lead readers to directly or
indirectly develop a critical, and therefore offensive, mentality toward devotees
worshipable by subsequent generations of followers. Mahäräja stated that the
†
risk of seeking historical correctness is unjustified if in so doing our gurus are
even slightly roiled. He opined:

In remembering devotees, protection of the pure siddhänta
and divinity of our paramparä is more important than
preservation of mere chronicled facts; it is a disservice to
spread any information that even remotely suggests that
previous devotees of our line were in any way questionable
regarding their devotion or spiritual stature. Even though

* His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda wrote: “Even if there is
misunderstanding among the godbrothers (sic) of my guru-mahäräja, none of them
deviated from the transcendental loving service of Kåñëa.” (Letter, 18 November 1967)
† Çrépäda Çänta Mahäräja came to Kåñëa consciousness in the early days of ISKCON in
Russia and later took initiation and sannyäsa in the contemporary Gauòéya Maöha. He
has since been bestowed the dress of a bäbäjé within the Särasvata paramparä.