[Note: Padmanabha Maharaja was originally initiated by Srila Prabhupada and is now a follower of Narayana Maharaja.]

Dear Padmanabha Maharaja,

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you for your great hospitality yesterday. As to be expected, though, I have had some afterthoughts. I am glad to hear that Narayana Maharaja is really not the big bad wolf, but there are still some points.

You are preaching to new people that the ISKCON gurus are third class and that the new people should all go to Narayana Maharaja because he is a mahabhagavata. This does not come from Srila Prabhupada, and if Narayana Maharaja is as you say he is, it could not come from him either.

But you cannot tell me you are not preaching this. The results show otherwise, with all these easy initiations.

We are all servants of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja. But there is still a difference, and I prefer to maintain that difference. My mission is to distribute the books of Srila Prabhupada and to teach according to them. The followers of Narayana Maharaja have a different program.

Srila Prabhupada said to study his Srimad Bhagavatam and his Bhagavad-gita As It Is every day. That is an instruction, but the Narayana Maharaja people do not follow it. That is their business, but they should not act to bring ISKCON disciples to their math and thus encourage them to disobey this instruction.

You say that Narayana Maharaja does not aspire to be the acharya successor to Srila Prabhupada, but that is what you are trying to accomplish by saying that everyone should take shelter of him. If that happens, the distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books will stop, and they will become dusty old volumes on someone's shelf.

The Narayana Maharaja people read Narayana Maharaja's books, and that is what they distribute. Fine with me, but that is not what Srila Prabhupada told his disciples to do.

Srila Prabhupada did not leave any instruction that I know of saying that his disciples should take shelter of Narayana Maharaja or anyone else. In fact, he repeatedly told his disciples to be respectful to the acharyas of the Gaudiya Math but not to go outside the institution of ISKCON for instruction.

I intend to obey this order and to instruct my disciples to do the same. You, on the other hand, are encouraging my disciples to disobey their guru and in so doing to disobey Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada said that there may be many political parties all working for the same government, but that everyone should stick to his own party.

Regarding re-initiation, you say that there is scriptural justification for it. I cannot deny that, but Srila Prabhupada said that it is forbidden, and Srila Prabhupada is my authority on all matters. I do not jump over him.

And you yourself said that the raganuga instruction is already there in Krsna Book. I do not know of any instruction by Srila Prabhupada saying that we must find another mahabhagavata to explain it to us.

You have made your decision, and that is your business, but it is wrong of you to interfere in the service of those who have chosen to stay within the walls of ISKCON, as Srila Prabhupada requested.

After Sridhar Maharaja left his body, his Western followers all opened up their own maths. This is exactly what Srila Prabhupada did not want. He wanted a united ISKCON, working under the GBC, in spite of the mistakes. He did not say to find a siksa guru and work under him.

I have firm faith that no one can offer me any higher perfection than what I will attain by following these instructions of Srila Prabhupada, and I will fight any effort to interfere and tell me or my disciples to go outside of ISKCON for instruction or initiation.

You say you are still Srila Prabhupada's disciple. Then what are you doing to distribute his books?

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,

Umapati Swami

© Umapati Swami, December 24, 2006

Photo: Srila Prabhupada's books at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, New Mayapur, France