Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth and Shirdi Sai Baba

Date: July 14, 2014

New Delhi: In the light of the controversy between the Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth and the followers of Shirdi Sai Baba, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) calls for respect and co-operation in keeping with the Hindu tradition of tolerance.

ISKCON follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and accepts the Bhagavad-gita and the Bhagavata Purana as our main sources of authority. According to these sources, God incarnates again and again to further His mission of elevating human consciousness to the divine level. That same mission has been carried forward by many saints and sadhus throughout the history of humanity, not only in India but all over the world.

Recognizing the universality of the Lord’s mission we respect the spiritual teachers, gurus and saints of all the world's great religious traditions - seers who throughout history have dedicated their lives to raise human consciousness. It is natural that people serve, revere, and sometimes worship such personalities. By doing so, according to the Vedas, spiritual merit is attained.

We respect the right of all people to worship and practice their faith as guided by their conscience and inspired by the various teachers and specific scriptures they choose to follow.

Inside and outside various sampradayas or traditions, there are often disagreements about the status of particular saints, teachers, or representatives of God. For instance, some Christian denominations worship Jesus as God, whereas others do not accept him directly as God, instead as the exalted Son of God. Within the Islamic tradition, there are disagreements regarding the status of some of the Prophet Mohamed's followers. Similarly, within the Vedic or Hindu traditions there are disagreements about the status of specific teachers and saints.

 Within our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, we refer strictly to the Bhagavad-gita and the Bhagavata Purana and other Vedic texts, and worship God as He is revealed and predicted to appear in those texts.  Thus, we accept that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (16th Century) is the most recent incarnation of the Godhead, based on predictions of the sastra and other evidence.

Yet, we don't expect all Hindus or all god-conscious people to believe in Him as we do. Similarly, no member of any sampradaya should be expected to fully adhere to the tenets of another's system of belief. There are vast differences of opinion within the Hindu communities. Philosophically we may not agree with their choices, but we respect their right to worship and interpret scripture as they choose.

 At the same time, we also recognize the right of any member of a sampradaya to disagree and to debate robustly, but respectfully, in favor of the philosophical points to which they subscribe, and into which they place their faith. It is the great strength of our dharma to allow such debates and to live peacefully amidst our differences.

Thus, as members of the Vedic tradition and devotees of Lord Krishna, we urge our brothers and sisters to respect each other despite our differences. As sincere advocates of sanatana dharma, let us resolve our issues in the mood of humble seekers and servants of God, and not allow our differences to overwhelm the natural respect due to one another.

 

Contact: Yudhistir Govinda Das                                            

Phone: +91 9654-789-832                                          

Email: yudhistir@iskcon.org                                              

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Comments

  • i am not agree with you  it is not true, Bhaktivindo thakur fight with so called god in bengal  You people worried that big donor of iskcon believe in saibaba, so you dont want to make  unhappy them. I not believe that this the authorized stand of iskcon, this is your personal thinking   

  • Hare Krishna All,
    As per BG it is true that one should worship only Krishna and respect others. However God doesn't punish even who destroy his temples and still he gives them the choice to change themselves. So I feel we should respect every living entity and realize themselves in understanding absolute truth.

    Hare Krishna,
    Ravindra
  • Shraddha aur Saburi. As said by Krishna Faith and patience is required in devotional service and we Vaisnavas follow it. Similarly Saibaba has told the same thing to his followers. There is no much difference. Krishna is God and Saibaba is saint. Krishna send his representatives in the form of Saints and prophets to maintain religion on earth.

  • Hare Krishna to all!

    Everyone worships Krishna directly or indirectly. So, we should respect whatever the way they want to follow. Krishna is the most merciful and the seed giving father of all living beings. He is the One Who decides who will be liberated at the end of the day. The most important point is to become united and to dedicate ourselves to help others to liberate from the vicious cycle of life and death. Krishna likes those who love and respect others. 

  • hare krsna

  • Hare Krishna 

  • Hare Krishna all,

    Shankaryacharya is speaking the same things which even Vaishnava acharyas speak in lectures.ISKCON should support him.He is fighting for the safeguard of dharma. Why we want to choose middle path this time?  

    Regards

    Amit Kapoor

  • Hare Krishna Prabhu,

    Dandava Pranam.

    You rightly said that people worship according to their understanding and conscience. We should respect their belief. People can have different opinions but it should not create hatredness among them. This is not correct. All living beings are part and parcel of Krishna.

    Hare Krishna,

    YSOS,

    Mahavadanyaya Chaitanya Das 

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