Back To Prabhupada, Issue 41, Autumn 2013
In the BTP 30 article, "ISKCON's New Mission", we featured the above photograph, with the caption: "Santa's sleigh, reindeer and polar bears on ISKCON altar". We highlighted Srila Prabhupada's following directive in regard to Deity worship in ISKCON:
"The Deity worship should be done just in the way it was carried out in my presence."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 13/11/1970)
This appeared to have prompted the following comment posted on the website of an ISKCON guru, HH Romapada Swami:
"Recently during the Christmas holidays, it was noted that certain temples under ISKCON management were dressing the Deities with the outfits of father Christmas and so the question is if it is bona fide to do this. This kind of dressing didn't happen when His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada started the movement [...] There are many imaginary characters (which in some ways may be similar to father Christmas) but I don't see a need to dress Sri Sri Radha Krishna in the dress of such characters."
ISKCON's Deity Worship Ministry subsequently responded with the following statement:
"The ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry does not condone ISKCON temple deities being dressed in a non-traditional fashion. While we are aware of and have addressed incidents in the past where ISKCON temples have performed non-traditional dressing, we are not aware of any incidents this last holiday season that were brought to the Ministry's attention. If any devotees have knowledge of recent or future occurrences, we encourage them to bring this to our attention."
(Both quotes from "Digest 395: Deity Dressing | HH Romapada Swami")
The above statement:
a) Agrees with BTP that such Deity dressing and decoration is indeed a deviation;
b) States the Ministry has taken action to correct this deviation;
c) Encourages BTP in exposing this deviation.
Thus, this is more evidence of how BTP continues to be instrumental in helping to bring ISKCON's deviations to account!
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