A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s strange acamana

 


Whatever enthusiastic disciples and followers may say about A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, no matter how much they praise his activities, one thing is certain — one should evaluate the activities, words and level of knowledge of Prabhupada objectively, not succumbing to the enthusiastic sayings of his followers. In late 1969, ISKCON Press published a practical handbook to „Krishna Consciousness“ (whatever that means):




On page 95, Prabhupada describes the wedding ceremony and its conduct. One of the key rituals is the ritual of purification — ācamana. Ācamana is performed with the right hand. The seventh paragraph of the description of the ceremony reads: “The priest shows how to take water with a spoon from a vessel (pañcapātra). Holding the spoon in his right hand, he pours water into his left palm three times. Then he takes a sip of water. Then he again scoops up water with a spoon into his left palm for purification and <…> Then the priest passes the vessel with water to the newlyweds and they perform the same procedure…”







Prabhupada advises doing ācamana with the left hand, which is a wrong. Ācamana is always done by holding a spoon in the left hand, pouring water into the right palm with it, which is brought to the lips.


Maybe the translators misunderstood Prabhupada’s accent, confusing his right hand with his left, and the publisher released this version of the brochure?


Maybe. In this case, Prabhupada was irresponsible in publishing the book. Didn’t check before printing. But everything is much simpler. He himself did ācamana with his left hand.

Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucflFWyC8Oo


A video from his personal collection was provided by Prabhupada’s disciple Mahamantra Das, now known as Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami (ISKCON spelling).

 

How to do ācamana correctly, explains and shows a GBC and jewelry lover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp5vYIoImbU


 


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