Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

I never heard anything remotely like this story. I had a great deal of personal association with Srila Prabhupada, accompanied him on hundreds of morning walks, attended his classes hundreds of times, read all his books and have the Vedabase on my computer --- and this story nor anytihng like it was evern, to my knowledge, spoken by him. I also know many people who were very close with Srila Sridhara Maharaja and never heard anything like this from them either. I think it was concocted -- or at least Im 99% it was.

I guess as with any story, there is some truth in it... where as the person who claims it happened is true, that is another thing. Did it actually happen? We will never know, but unlikely.

All glories to Yuga Dharma Acarya His Divine Grace Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Prabhupada.

i also have never heard this story. It may or may not be true but lets consider the ramifications of broadcasting it for a moment and who is broadcasting it. As it is told, the implication is that someone initiated by Sri Guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur can commit any forbidden activity and Sri Yamarajdeva could send him back to earth to spend the rest of his life in Gaudiya Math.

Result of a person believing this story could be to place those initiated by Sri Guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur (Gaudiya Matha) on a platform of awe and reverence--while it is Srila Prabhupada who got Srila Bhaktisiddhantas full mercy and is supremely worthy of our awe and worship and He is also Sri Guru, completely sinless and went back to Krishnaloka. Or, to instill hope that despite all our criminal activities after initiation, we too can expect to be spared the sufferings we are due; which could undermine our determination to follow properly, minimize humility at our fallen condition and give us a falsely inflated idea of ourselves.

Even the road to reach Lord Yamaraji is terribly distressful.

SB 3.30.18: Thus the man, who engaged with uncontrolled senses in maintaining a family, dies in great grief, seeing his relatives crying. He dies most pathetically, in great pain and without consciousness.
SB 3.30.19: At death, he sees the messengers of the lord of death come before him, their eyes full of wrath, and in great fear he passes stool and urine.
SB 3.30.20: As a criminal is arrested for punishment by the constables of the state, a person engaged in criminal sense gratification is similarly arrested by the Yamadutas, who bind him by the neck with strong rope and cover his subtle body so that he may undergo severe punishment.
SB 3.30.21: While carried by the constables of Yamaraja, he is overwhelmed and trembles in their hands. While passing on the road he is bitten by dogs, and he can remember the sinful activities of his life. He is thus terribly distressed.
PURPORT
It appears from this verse that while passing from this planet to the planet of Yamaraja, the culprit arrested by Yamarajas constables meets many dogs, which bark and bite just to remind him of his criminal activities of sense gratification. It is said in Bhagavad-gita that one becomes almost blind and is bereft of all sense when he is infuriated by the desire for sense gratification. He forgets everything. Kamais tais tair hrita jnanah [Bg. 7.20]. One is bereft of all intelligence when he is too attracted by sense gratification, and he forgets that he has to suffer the consequences also. Here the chance for recounting his activities of sense gratification is given by the dogs engaged by Yamaraja. While we live in the gross body, such activities of sense gratification are encouraged even by modern government regulations. In every state all over the world, such activities are encouraged by the government in the form of birth control. Women are supplied pills, and they are allowed to go to a clinical laboratory to get assistance for abortions. This is going on as a result of sense gratification. Actually sex life is meant for begetting a good child, but because people have no control over the senses and there is no institution to train them to control the senses, the poor fellows fall victim to the criminal offenses of sense gratification, and they are punished after death as described in these pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
SB 3.30.22: Under the scorching sun, the criminal has to pass through roads of hot sand with forest fires on both sides. He is whipped on the back by the constables because of his inability to walk, and he is afflicted by hunger and thirst, but unfortunately there is no drinking water, no shelter and no place for rest on the road.
SB 3.30.23: While passing on that road to the abode of Yamaraja, he falls down in fatigue, and sometimes he becomes unconscious, but he is forced to rise again. In this way he is very quickly brought to the presence of Yamaraja.

Actually i have heard a similar story followed by a sastric reference.....That when Yamaraja byaccident gets to meet a initiated devotee .....wrongfully delivered to his court....They hold kiratan......I will try and research it ....

Of course theres the story of Ajamila who, at the time of his death, cried out for his son Narayana. Although he was living a sinful life and the Yamadutas arrived to get him -- because he uttered the Holy Name Narayana (even though it was his son named Narayana who he was calling out for) -- the Visnudutas also showed up and the conversation that ensues between the agents of Yamaraja and the Visnudutas when they meet is fascinating. Its there in Srimad-Bhagavatam -- just not sure exactly where at the moment.

If anyone left the Math to return to material life, Sarasvati Thakura would become very upset, even to the point that he would sometimes send others to try and bring them back. On one such occasion, a brahmacari left, after having an argument with a sannyasi. Sarasvati Thakura came to know of this and told the devotees, '93Bring him back, bring him back!'94 Even if that person was at fault he didn'92t like it when they left. If someone was doing very badly and was very offensive, they had a policy whereby they would send them to Mamgachi temple, within Navadvipa Mandala, which was the birth-place of Vrndavana dasa Thakura. One explanation for sending them to Mamgachi might have been because it was a remote place in a village, and therefore they couldn'92t disturb anyone there, and could gradually become rectified.

(that is the real story about GM)