Srila Prabhupada allowed his disciple to divorce

Srutakirti dasa: Srila Prabhupada repeatedly instructed that in a Krishna conscious marriage there is no divorce. This was based on the authority of Vedic injunctions, and he intended his own disciples to strictly follow the rule. One time, however, Srila Prabhupada received a written request by a disciple for permission to divorce his wife and marry another. In his reply, Srila Prabhupada somewhat reluctantly gave his permission. Srila Prabhupada's servant at that time, Srutakirti, was bewildered by Srila Prabhupada's action in this case, and he waited for an opportunity to inquire. Srila Prabhupada can do anything he wants, thought Srutakirti, but I can't understand why he would do this. Finally, in the evening, while massaging Srila Prabhupada in his bed, Srutakirti asked, "Srila Prabhupada, this devotee who is asking about the divorce?" Srila Prabhupada replied that he had told him he could do it. "Yes, I know," said Srutakirti. "But I was wondering. You always say that divorce is against the Vedic society. There can never be any divorce." Prabhupada replied that in "your society" these things are accepted. "But in Western society," said Srutakirti, "they also accept meat-eating and intoxication, so why aren't any of these things allowed?" Srila Prabhupada then replied that whether he gave permission or not, the disciple in question was going to get a divorce. Prabhupada explained that if he had told his disciple no and the disciple had gone ahead and done it anyway, the offense would have been greater. Prabhupada said that he had given permission since he knew the man was going to do it anyway. In this way, the offense was not so great. Srutakirti immediately appreciated that Srila Prabhupada knew just what to do in each individual case for the benefit of his disciple.