Dear Prabhu,

Hare Krishna. I appreciate your sincere opinion about the restraint that should be exercised in such a provocative situation as the attack on the reputation of the Bhagavad-gita. The Hegelian dialectic of thesis-antithesis-synthesis or as you wrote action-reaction-solution is certainly the normal course of events in this world. However, the action-reaction usually gives no solution but further action-reaction which often becomes an interminable cycle of struggle and animosity.

The purpose of the VCC is not to foment animosity against the Russian government nor to incite an interminable cycle of conflict. The Russian government is not the protagoniss in this court case. The real instigators are proxies of other registered religions in Russia who are using the court system to calumny the Bhagavad-gita and have it branded as an extremist literature. An adverse decision by the court in Tomsk would eventually ban the sale or possession of the Gita in all of Russia. This is an unthinkable eventuality.

The peaceful gathering on Friday at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Seattle is not to express protest against the Russian government. It is to bring attention to the fact that there is a nefarious attempt by religious bigots in Russia to use the court system to denigrate the most sacred and valuable holy scripture of ancient India. This is the scripture that we read and discuss everyday in the VCC. It is the basis of the teaching that has made so many people in Seattle take up the serious following of Sanatan Dharma. It has changed the lives of countless people world wide for the better; ie: better citizens, parents, employees, students, etc.

We are always praying in the temple for the welfare of the entire world. In fact, on January 1^st and 2^ndwill perform the Harinama Maha Yagna during which 5 million names of Krishna will be recited by hundreds of faithful participants who firmly believe that by chanting the names of Hare Krishna, Narayana, and Rama they and the world will be spiritually benefited.

But, we cannot sit impassively when Krishna’s most holy sacred teaching, the Bhagavad-gita, is maligned in a mundane and perhaps biased court of justice by religious bigots and their hired lawyers and mercenary intellectuals and professors. The real Russian intellectuals and university professors are also protesting such a charade in the Tomsk court.

When Sita was being carried away by Ravana, Jatayu, the vulture who was a friend of Rama’s father and a serious devotee, flew into the sky and confronted Ravana even though he was very old and blind. Ravana mortally wounded Jatayu who fell to the ground and waited patiently until Rama arrived and held him in His arms. Jatayu died looking at the beautiful face of the Lord. The Lord praised him and today Jatayu is remembered as a staunch devotee of the Lord and his example is the paradigm of a sincere follower.

A true follower of Lord Rama or Krishna will tolerate all sorts of personal insult and even limited injury by faithfully praying and maintaining his commitment to following the instructions of the Lord given in the Bhagavad-gita. Lord Krishna says:

BG 12.13-14: One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me — such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

BG 12.15: He for whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.

BG 12.16: My devotee who is not dependent on the ordinary course of activities, who is pure, expert, without cares, free from all pains, and not striving for some result, is very dear to Me.

BG 12.17: One who neither rejoices nor grieves, who neither laments nor desires, and who renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things — such a devotee is very dear to Me.

BG 12.18-19: One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn't care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service — such a person is very dear to Me.

BG 12.20: Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me. 

Does this sound like an extremist literature? It is rather the supreme treatise of morality that is nonsectarian and meant for the edification of all peace-loving people regardless of race or religion.

Therefore, a true follower of Lord Krishna will bear unlimited insult for himself, but he will not tolerate insult to the Lord or the Lord’s sincere devotees. For ourselves we will tolerate because we are the servant of God. But, if God is insulted, it is our duty to do something within the bounds of proper Vaisnava behavior to protect the honor of the Lord. The devotee-sevak is obliged to act with reason and logic to deter the detractor(s) from further insult. 

The following is a response to a media query on December 19, 2011 by the Ambassador of India toRussia, HE Mr. Ajai Malhotra: 

 “The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most important and respected scripture in the world. First translated into Russian in 1788, it is not merely a religious text, but one of the defining treatises of

 Indian thought. The Bhagavad Gita has circulated freely across the world for centuries and there is not a single instance of it having encouraged extremism. So, the case before the Honourable Court in Tomsk is indeed absurd, bordering on the bizarre. Knowledgeable Russian and other experts have provided supportive statements about the Bhagvad Gita to the Honourable Court in Tomsk. The Ombudsman handling Human Rights too is due to speak for freedom of religion and

 conscience in Russia at its next hearing on December 28. It is hoped that all this would be fully appreciated by the Honourable Court in Tomsk. The Russian authorities have been approached at high levels to appropriately resolve this matter.”

 Ajai Malhotra

 Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation Moscow

There are many such emphatic statements by Russian and Indian statesmen, intellectuals and Indologists, writers and ordinary citizens who cannot believe that such a shameless attempt is being made to ban the Bhagavad-gita as an extremist literature.

Please understand that it is our duty as servants of Lord Krishna to do something peaceful and dignified with respect for all parties concerned to protect the sanctity of the Holy Gita.

I beg to remain your humble servant in the service of Lord Krishna,

Harivilas das
President, VCC