The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) on Tuesday issued a statement banning one of their monks, Amogh Lila Das, for making an inappropriate comment on Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramhans.
Amogh Lila Das is a spiritual motivational speaker whose videos are very popular on social media. During one of his ‘pravachans’, Amogh Lila Das questioned the consumption of fish by Swami Vivekananda, stating that a virtuous man would never consume anything that harms an animal.
“Will a virtuous man ever eat fish? A fish also feels pain, right? Will a virtuous man eat fish then?” Amogh Lila Das said, addressing a crowd of people. He also took a dig at Swami Vivekananda's guru, Ramakrishna Paramhans.
The comments triggered a controversy on social media, compelling Iskcon to take action against its monk.
In its statement, Iskcon said it was pained by Amogh Lila Das's “inappropriate and unacceptable comments and his lack of understanding about the great teachings of these two personalities”, adding that he would be banned from Iskcon for a month’s period.
The statement further mentioned that Amogh Lila Das had “begged for forgiveness for his comments” and has “taken a vow to go on ‘prayaschit’ (atonement) for one month in the hills of Govardhan”. It said he shall completely seclude himself from public life with immediate effect.
Source: India Today