Amogh Lila Das: Engineer-turned Monk banned by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) for remarks on Swami Vivekananda

Produced by: Bhoomika
Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh

Amogh Lila Das, popularly known as Amogh Lila Prabhu is known for his religious and motivational preaching. He has been banned by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) for a month following his controversial remarks about Swami Vivekananda. He has been exiled to Giri Govardhana for atonement

Amogh Lila Das banned
by Iskcon

Amogh Lila Das said, “Will a virtuous man ever eat fish? A fish also feels pain, right? Will a virtuous man eat fish then?”, in reference to Swami Vivekananda. Amogh Lila Das posed these questions to his followers

Amogh Lila Das'
controversial remarks

Amogh Lila Das further talked about Swami Vivekananda’s teacher Ramakrishna's teaching of "Jato Mat Tato Path" (as many opinions, as many paths), saying that ‘’not every path leads to the same destination”

Amogh Lila Das on
Swami Vivekananda

Later, Iskcon also known as Hare Krishna movement issued a press release stating that Amogh Lila Prabhu has confessed to having committed a mistake by making problematic remarks about Swami Vivekananda and his guru. He would therefore cut himself off from all social life for one month as part of atonement

Iskcon sends Amogh Lila
Das to a month-long exile

Amogh Lila Das is popular among netizens via his social media handles/channels on Instagram and YouTube. He calls himself as an Indian lifestyle coach, a spiritual activist and a leader. Amogh Das’ spiritual videos often get viral

Engineer-turned-monk –
Amogh Lila Das

Amogh Lila Das was born as Ashish Arora in a religious family in Lucknow. He was always inclined towards spirituality. He left his Class 12 studies mid-way and decided to embark on a journey of spiritual awakening. Leaving the comfort of his home, he travelled to different places but soon after, he returned home and decided to continue his studies

Amogh Lila Das'
spiritual awakening

Amogh Das pursued software engineering and in 2004, he started working for a US-based multinational corporation. Amogh Lila Das said that he held the position of project manager. But his heart lay in the world of spirituality and at the age of 29, he left the corporate world and joined Iskcon as Hare Krishna Brahmachari (celibate)

Amogh Lila Das - An engineer

Amogh Das returned to India and worked in several Iskcon temples across the country. He is currently the vice president of the Iskcon temple in Delhi’s Dwarka. Though, he has been relieved of his duties following a month-long ban

Amogh Lila Das joins
Iskcon Temple

Amogh Das’ comments received flak on social media too. 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."

Amogh Lila Das'
controversial statement:
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