IN DEFENCE OF RAMAKRISHNA MISSION'S STUDIED SILENCE

IN DEFENCE OF RAMAKRISHNA MISSION'S STUDIED SILENCE

Ramakrishna Mission has 19 centres and 7 sub-centres in Bangladesh which they feel they have to protect from vandalism by Muslim extremist mobs. As such owing to organisational interest they are maintaining a studied silence overboard to avoid provoking mob violence in these turbulent times. But that must not be misconstrued as letting the Hindus of Bangladesh down. The very presence of the Ramakrishna Mission in Bangladesh is power enough for the Hindus there to a certain extent. Beyond that, I feel, the Ramakrishna Mission can hardly do much to mitigate Muslim violence against the Hindus. May be behind the scenes dialogue is going on between the Mission and the administrative authorities in Bangladesh to lower the temperature which now is in the boil. Even ISKCON has sadly but perhaps inevitably, impelled by the same organisational interest, distanced itself from Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his other comrades-in-peaceful resistance who have been arrested. You see, these are tricky issues where prudence as adopted strategy often wins the long-term war and aggressive tactics, although heartwarming and momentarily enthusing, often misfire to one's precipitous downfall. Both the Ramakrishna Mission and ISKCON propose to stay in Bangladesh and carry on with their spiritual activities which is why they have predictably adopted the strategy classically enunciated as 'Discretion is the better part of valour.' 🕉 Hindu!

Written by Sugata Bose