Government Recognition and forcing to eat Eggs in Schools: Srila Prabhupada is Always Right

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      by, Rama Giridhari Das

I read the article by Tribhanga Das “No Government Syllabus for ISKCON Gurukulas,” at http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/05-19/editorials16922.htm

It was an eye opener. I did not know about the conversation of Srila Prabhupada quoted there where he specifically says not to get government affiliated. He describes many reasons out of which one is really astonishing. He says that government will force eating eggs etc. for nutrition value.

Gopala Krsna: I was thinking, Srila Prabhupada, we should get this gurukula accepted by the government also so...

Prabhupada: No, no, no. Never do that.

Gopala Krsna: No, when our gurukula children apply for entry visas, they should give them visas right away, because these kids from abroad will come to India for gurukula...

Prabhupada: Our program is open. Brahmacari gurukule vasan dantah [SB 7.12.1]. We are training like this, according to the Bhagavata. That's all. Never mind government.

Prabhupada: No, no, the parents are prepared to pick up the expense. That's all. Government curriculum is useless. They'll enforce kids to take eggs, three eggs...

Tamala Krsna: That's right.

Prabhupada: ...in daytime, and four pounds flesh, otherwise there will be vitamin, less vitamin. Or "Give them vitamins pills, this..." These... "Don't go to Yamuna. It is polluted."

It has exactly turned out to be correct. Please see an excerpt from a recent news about Government policies about Mid-day meal:

Odisha finds a way to serve children eggs at mid-day meals catered by ISKCON-linked NGO

Akshaya Patra follows principles of vegetarianism and will not procure or serve eggs. But it will bear the cost for school administrations to do so.

Dec 16, 2018 · 02:30 pm

                    Children in an Odisha school eat their midday meal. | mdmodisha.nic.in

After 12 years of the NGO Akshaya Patra Foundation serving mid-day meals to schools in Odisha, the state government had found a way to serve eggs – a vital source of nutrition – to the children eating those lunches.

Akshaya Patra, which provides mid-day meals in more than 1,76,000 rural schools across the country, is an initiative of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON. It follows ISKCON’s principles of vegetarianism in its cooking and strictly avoids meat, fish and eggs. This has often been a point of conflict between the NGO and state governments with the NGO sometimes refusing to follow state government directives to provide eggs in the meal.

Akshaya Patra recently refused to follow a Karnataka government directive to include onion and garlic meals to make them more palatable, arguing that it went against ISKCON’s spiritual practices.

But in an order dated November 11, 2018, Odisha’s school and mass education department said that Akshaya Patra has agreed to include two eggs per week per student in their mid-day meal in all schools under its service area. The order specifies that the NGO will not supply boiled eggs to schools directly. Instead, school managements will ensure that eggs are procured and boiled and Akshaya Patra will bear the cost.

District Education Officers have been directed to deduct the costs of the eggs from the cooking allotment paid to Akshaya Patra.

Akshaya Patra serves more than 1.5 lakh children in Odisha in 1,980 schools. It has three centralised kitchens in Puri, Rourkela and Cuttack and one decentralised kitchen in Nayagarh.

 For more detail and full news article goto:

https://scroll.in/pulse/905850/odisha-finds-a-way-to-serve-children-eggs-at-mid-day-meals-catered-by-iskcon-linked-ngo

Thus, deviating even an inch from Srila Prabhupada’s instructions is going to spoil our movement. We may accept it or not, but that’s the truth. Please note: there are many more predictions about Govt. affiliation in that conversation of Srila Prabhupada: eating flesh, not going to Yamuna etc. All these will come true one by one and ISKCON leaders may go on explaining that Srila Prabhupada did want these predictions for ISKCON schools to come true. But the faithful followers should open their eyes and beware.

Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this article, besides mere facts, are of the author and not of this blog.