ISKCON: Monk Amogh Lila Das Banned For 'Derogatory' Comments On Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna

It has been reported that the monk has now taken a vow to go for atonement to the hills and seclude himself.

What did the monk say?

The video that emerged on social media showed that the monk, Amogh Lila Das, criticised Swami Vivekananda for eating fish, stating that a virtuous person can

Besides, he also came up with 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.

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."

ISKCON's statement

In its offcial statement, ISKCON stated?that the views expressed by Das re 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.