ISKCON Bans Monk For "Derogatory" Comments On Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on Tuesday said it has "banned" a monk who will go for atonement to the hills and seclude himself, after his comments on Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahansa triggered a controversy.

The monk, Amogh Lila Das, criticised Swami Vivekananda for eating fish, stating that a virtuous person can never harm a living being. He also made sarcastic remarks about Ramakrishna's teaching of "Jato Mat Tato Path" (as many opinion, as many paths), saying that not every path leads to the same destination.

A video clip of Das's comment went viral on social media, triggering a storm.

Sharing the clip, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, tweeted, "We revere ISKCON. But they should stop him now. Insulting Ramakrishna and Vivekananda will not be tolerated. Immediate action should be taken against this so-called monk." In a statement, ISKCON said the views expressed by Das are not representative of its values and teachings.

"We condemn any form of disrespect and intolerance towards other religious beliefs and practices," it said.

It also said the "derogatory remarks" shows a lack of awareness in Das about the diversity of spiritual paths and personal choices.

"Taking view of this serious mistake committed by him, ISKCON has decided to ban him for 1 month. We have communicated our decision to him. Amogh Lila Das has begged for the forgiveness for his comments, and he is realizing that what a great disservice he has done," the statement said.

"He has taken a vow to go on 'prayaschit' (atonement) for 1 month in the hills of Govardhan and will completely seclude himself from the public life with immediate effect," it added.

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