ISKCON bans preacher for One month over Inappropriate Comments on Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa

New Delhi, 12th July 2023: ISKCON has banned one of its monks, Amogh Lila Prabhu, on Tuesday for making provocative remarks about Hindu monk and scholar Swami Vivekananda and his mentor Ramakrishna Paramhamsa.

Swami Vivekananda’s diet of fish was questioned in one of his pravachans (discourses) by the monk, who is a renowned motivational speaker on social media.

He stated, “Will a virtuous man ever eat fish? A fish also feels pain, right? Will a virtuous man eat fish then?”

The monk also made fun of Swami Vivekananda’s tutor, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. He also questioned Paramhamsa’s teaching of ‘Jato Mat Tato Path’ (many opinions, many paths), claiming that “not every paths lead to the same destination.”

These comments sparked a social media firestorm, prompting ISCKON to take action against the monks.

On Twitter, a user shared the video with the caption, “ISKCON ‘monk’ Amogh Lila outrageously insults two of Bengal’s biggest Hindu spiritual monks Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramhamsa and feels everything about them is wrong.”

ISKCON expressed regret on Amogh Lila Das’, “inappropriate and unacceptable comments and his lack of understanding about the great teachings of these two personalities.”

The preacher has been barred from ISKCON for one month.

According to the statement, Amogh Lila Das has asked for pardon for his statements and has pledged to spend one month in atonement in the highlands of Govardhan. According to the ISKCON statement, the preacher would withdraw from public life with immediate effect.

Amogh Lila Das was born in Lucknow as Ashish Arora to a pious household. He believes he began his spiritual journey at an early age and read the Bhagavad Gita verses while still in school. Das claims that in the year 2000, while he was in Class 12, he left his home in quest of God.