Are we bereft of Sri Laxmidevis blesssings in Kali yuga ?

[Paramananda das]

Are we bereft of Sri Laxmidevis blesssings in Kali yuga ?
I was distributing Srila Prabhupadas books in Seattle in 1994 and stayed at ISKCON Seattle .Navayogendra Swami a disciple of Srila Prabhupada gave a lecture on Laxmi puja day that Brahmins in Kali yuga are cursed by Laxmidevi and thus have no money , thus he urged the congregation to give him lots of money .He told the pastime from Srimad Bhagavatam 10 canto chapter 89 also found in Krsna book how Bhrgu Muni stepped in the chest of Lord Visnu and was cursed by Sri Laxmidevi ,that hence forward brahmins would remain poor .That is a true pastime of course .But Navayogendra Swami used this to pressure the congregation to give him more and more money .They already gave him few thousands but he kept pressuring for more.Harivilasa das the GBC did not say anything but allowed it.I confronted Navayogendra Maharaja that Srila Prabhupada would not be pleased with how agressive he was for money .He got furious and called me names and stated western devotees can never become real devotees and many nasty insults.Actually I was very polite and kind when I humbly suggested he not be so agressive .But he lacked all Sattva Guna, I was asked to leave the temple by Harivilasa das the GBC .I complained to the GBC about this incident however they did not remove Harivilasa but put him under restrictiones and placed a co GBC for Nothern California .
Srimad Bhagavatam warns that many sannyasis in Kali yuga are greedy for money
Srila Prabhupada has warned :
“I made the GBC to give me relief, but if you do like this, then where is the relief. It is anxiety for me. This is the difficulty, that as soon as one gets power, he becomes whimsical and spoils everything.” (Srila Prabhupada Letter, September 12th, 1974)
Sannyasis should not be given any money. They should manage themselves and maintain themselves by taking small alms from different persons-not a lump sum from one person.
Letter to Atreya Rsi — London 13 August, 1971:
We are not bereft on Sri Laxmidevis blessings in Kali yuga She is our Divine mother but we must make sure not to misuse money ,Srila Prabhupada said if one farthing (less than a penny) is misused in ISKCON one will go to hell
Navayogendra Swami was sanctioned for some years but because he started preaching Ritvik philosophy and against the GBC they made him a Guru and reinstated him ,so he blackmailed his way back into ISKCON and still goes by the name Never again Swami.We pray he has learned from his bad behavior and has reformed !
May be an image of text that says 'That is a defect.* "Now has the GBC become more than Guru Maharaja? As if simply GBC is meant for looking after pounds, shilling, pence. The GBC does not look after spiritual life. That is a defect." -(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 10th, 1975)'
Text 1: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Once, O King, as a group of sages were performing a Vedic sacrifice on the banks of the Sarasvatī River, a controversy arose among them as to which of the three chief deities is supreme.
Text 2: Eager to resolve this question, O King, the sages sent Lord Brahmā’s son Bhṛgu to find the answer. First he went to his father’s court.
Text 3: To test how well Lord Brahmā was situated in the mode of goodness, Bhṛgu failed to bow down to him or glorify him with prayers. The lord became angry at him, inflamed into fury by his own passion.
Text 4: Though anger toward his son was now rising within his heart, Lord Brahmā was able to subdue it by applying his intelligence, in the same way that fire is extinguished by its own product, water.
Text 5: Bhṛgu then went to Mount Kailāsa. There Lord Śiva stood up and happily came forward to embrace his brother.
Texts 6-7: But Bhṛgu refused his embrace, telling him, “You are a deviant heretic.” At this Lord Śiva became angry, and his eyes burned ferociously. He raised his trident and was about to kill Bhṛgu when Goddess Devī fell at his feet and spoke some words to pacify him. Bhṛgu then left that place and went to Vaikuṇṭha, where Lord Janārdana resides.
Texts 8-9: There he went up to the Supreme Lord, who was lying with His head on the lap of His consort, Śrī, and kicked Him on the chest. The Lord then rose, along with Goddess Lakṣmī, as a sign of respect. Coming down from His bedstead, that supreme goal of all pure devotees bowed His head to the floor before the sage and told him, ‘Welcome, brāhmaṇa. Please sit in this chair and rest awhile. Kindly forgive us, dear master, for not noticing your arrival.’
Texts 10-11: “Please purify Me, My realm and the realms of the universal rulers devoted to Me by giving us the water that has washed your feet. This holy water is indeed what makes all places of pilgrimage sacred. Today, my lord, I have become the exclusive shelter of the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī; she will consent to reside on My chest because your foot has rid it of sins.”
Text 12: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Bhṛgu felt satisfied and delighted to hear the solemn words spoken by Lord Vaikuṇṭha. Overwhelmed with devotional ecstasy, he remained silent, his eyes brimming with tears.
Text 13: O King, Bhṛgu then returned to the sacrificial arena of the wise Vedic authorities and described his entire experience to them.
Texts 14-17: Amazed upon hearing Bhṛgu’s account, the sages were freed from all doubts and became convinced that Viṣṇu is the greatest Lord. From Him come peace; fearlessness; the essential principles of religion; detachment with knowledge; the eightfold powers of mystic yoga; and His glorification, which cleanses the mind of all impurities. He is known as the supreme destination for those who are peaceful and equipoised — the selfless, wise saints who have given up all violence. His most dear form is that of pure goodness, and the brāhmaṇas are His worshipable deities. Persons of keen intellect who have attained spiritual peace worship Him without selfish motives.
Text 18: The Lord expands into three kinds of manifest beings — the Rākṣasas, the demons and the demigods — all of whom are created by the Lord’s material energy and conditioned by her modes. But among these three modes, it is the mode of goodness which is the means of attaining life’s final success.
Text 19: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The learned brāhmaṇas living along the river Sarasvatī came to this conclusion in order to dispel the doubts of all people. Thereafter they rendered devotional service to the Supreme Lord’s lotus feet and attained His abode.