Apr 16, 2022

Hare Krishna Giri Maharaja,

I feel it is not befitting to take sides on the Russia-Ukraine war. I have read some of your articles and find them quite disturbing.

—In its simplest terms Russia is an aggressor to Ukraine. Such aggressors should be killed.

“Enemies, aggressor, they should be killed. There is no ātatāyī. Ātatāyī means one who is aggressor. One who kidnaps one’s wife, one who take away by force one’s wealth, one who sets fire in one’s house, these are called aggressor. So aggressor should be killed.”— [Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhagavad-gītā 2.2–6, Lecture, Dec. 11, 1972]

—Srila Giri Maharaja “A Word to the Wise”

It is interesting how devotees take out quotes to support their visions. Have you even made any research what is going on in Ukraine. Ukraine has been bombing and killing civilians in Donbas since 2014. 14 thousand people have been killed. Russia has tried to sign a peace agreement with Ukraine to stop the bombing of Donbass but to no success for several years. Ukraine with the support of United States has been waging war and killing people in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Who is the aggressor here ? It is USA and Nato. The US support Nazi groups in Ukraine and arms them. The Azov (Nazi groups) took down the government of Ukraine in 2014.

On your other articles you write you are against muslim immigrants to Europe. When the US invaded Iraq and killed 1 million civilians. Millions of people fled to Europe and other regions, the same happened in the US war in Afghanistan. Also recently in Syria. Millions of refugees came to Europe because of American adventures in the middle east. America is the aggressor. They should be destroyed and killed. You write muslim immigrants come and change the Christian culture. But are you not doing the same thing. You are spreading Indian culture, dress and norms.

I have read tape readings of Srila Sridhar Maharaja when talks about ww2. He never took sides. He only explained what he knew. But you are taking sides and you explain it like the United States is not the aggressor but it is. America is the aggressor. America is the evil. I do not want to write a whole book here on the atrocities America does and has done to other people.

Regards

Daniel Wolfgang (Datatreya dasa)

Reply

April 17, 2022

Dear Sriman Datatreya dasa,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

Thank you for your comments and questions.

Arguments are settled by authorities. In a court of law a judge must decide cases brought before him on the basis of the law that controls his court. Disagreements over spiritual matters are decided in the same manner, by spiritual authority.

Before I respond to you fully I would like to know who you accept as spiritual authority. If we do not accept the same sources of spiritual authority it will be very difficult to find agreement. For example; if you cite Satya Sai Baba as a spiritual authority and I do not accept him in that way, by what authority will you prove your points, or I mine?

Following that line, please tell me the following: 1) the name of your guru and his guru, 2) whether or not you accept the following as spiritual authorities: Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Sridhara Maharaja, Srila Bhakti Sundara Govinda Maharaja and their guru parampara.

If you do not accept the forgoing (in item 2 above) as spiritual authorities, as I do, by what means do you propose we reach a satisfactory conclusion to our differences?

I thank you again for your comments and questions and look forward to your reply.

I hope this finds you well in health and spirits.

Sincerely,

Swami B.K. Giri