Question: I have come to know from ISKCON that Vaiṣṇavas observe the four regulative principles:
- No meat-eating
- No illicit sex
- No intoxication
- No gambling
But while searching on the Internet, I found that Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava saints like Vamsidāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Kishori-kishorananda Gosvāmī (Tinkari Bābā), and Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja used to smoke tobacco, hashish, Ganja, and also drink alcohol. Ramadas kathia Bābā of the Nimbārka sampradāya used to smoke. Bābājīs of the Rāmānanda sampradāya also smoke.
Why do all these Vaiṣṇavas sadhus do this?
Answer: First of all, before you make any definite conclusions about these great Vaiṣṇavas, you should do more research and confirm if your understanding of them is really true. Otherwise, it can lead to offenses. Internet is not always reliable. Anyone can write anything on the Internet. Only the words of authentic people should be taken as authoritative. Therefore, you should find out about the authenticity of the author.
It may be the case that some of these smoked tobacco but it is hard to believe that they smoked hashish, Ganja and drank alcohol. Just remember the simple principle that a devotee does not consume anything without first offering it to His worshipable deity. A devotee offers not only food but even the dress and other items of daily use.
But if they really consume such things, they did not stick to the above-mentioned principle, and they must have some reason for it. I cannot say what exactly their reason was.
Question: Do sadhus of the Vallabha sampradāya, Rāmānuja sampradāya, and Madhva sampradāya also do this?
Answer: No.
Question: The famous Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava bābājīs like Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī and Vamsidāsa Bābājī used to smoke.
These bābājīs must know about the Catuh Sampradāya Virakta Vaiṣṇava Parisad (“Association of the Renounced Vaishnavas of the Four Sampradayas,” CSVVP) of Vṛndāvana. Many Kathia bābās of the Nimbārka sampradāya have been heads of that association.
Ramdas Kathia Bābājī was also the head Mahānta of Vraj Videhi Chatuh Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. Currently, Manohar das Kathia Bābājī Mahārāja is the head of that association. How can he be a fake ācārya if he is elected by all the four sampradāyas? Is Kathia Bābājī’s lineage fake and impure?
Answer: Please do not ask such questions about this bābā or that bābā. You can make your own decisions. It is none of my business. But it seems to be yours. So please keep me out of your research.
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Question: I was reading one of your articles, you wrote: “We have to understand that karma per se is not beginningless. It is perpetual because every individual karma has a beginning and an end.”
If karma has a beginning, that means it was zero at some point. What, then, would cause the jīva to acquire karma?
And if karma didn’t have a beginning, then doesn’t that mean we have had infinite previous lives? How is that possible?
Answer: You have not understood my statement. Every karma has a beginning and an end. Karma is an action, and every action that we do has a beginning and an end. There are three types of karma or action we do, by our body, speech, and mind. All of them have a beginning and an end. This is everyone’s experience. Our actions lead to some results. The result may come in this life or future lives, or both. That is also called karma although it is an outcome of past karma. This further makes us act and thus engage in new karma. This is called karma cycle. This karmic cycle or series has no beginning. Therefore, the word anādi-karma is used for it. In the word anādi-karma the word karma does not refer to any specific karma but to the cycle of karma. This is also called the cycle of birth and death. Or sometimes it is called samsara.
