Iskcon and the Guru Issue Part 4 – The Sad History of the “Zonal-Acharyas”

The Sad History of the “Zonal-Acharyas”

By Kailasa Candra Das
March 31, 2009

On Understanding the First Transformation

The First Transformation, or change, started to take place even before Srila Prabhupada left us. When any kind of organization is running powerfully, it is able to do so because one man embodies and exemplifies it. When there is no such man, the organization muddles on in a divided and often semi-disorganized manner. As such, a really powerful corporation is but the shadow of one man. When transformation devolves, it usually does so under one man’s influence. 

Two men were vying for this power in the late Seventies: They were Kirtanananda Swami and Tamal Krishna Gosvami (TKG). The latter emerged finally victorious, because he was the best corporate manipulator. He did so in no small measure because he was able to secure the post of “taking care of” Srila Prabhupada in his last days. Something very nefarious took place during those final months (“Someone has poisoned me”). Srila Prabhupada’s wishes were not honored. We shall not go into the poison issue, but suffice it to say that there is plenty of evidence-and that evidence is not weak. Exactly how it all transpired is almost impossible to know without a smoking gun, i.e., without someone who was implicated spilling his guts.

But we do know that Prabhupada ordered that he be taken on parikrama during the last month, and that order was disobeyed. We do know that Prabhupada ordered that all of his disciples be told to come to Vrindavan to see him one last time during the last days, but that order was never relayed. Instead, it was amended to mean that one senior devotee from each temple or zone should go to Vrindavan (the Thanksgiving and Christmas pick could not be jeopardized!).

The actual Krishna consciousness movement had nothing whatsoever to do with change. It was a movement of spiritual rejuvenation, which is a completely different process from change or transformation. Srila Prabhupada was relegated to the position of a figurehead in the last months (or even years), and then eleven powerful men-under the ultimate influence of TKG-created the First Transformation. TKG was very instrumental in the coup of the spring of 1978, and an “Acarya Board” was created as an independent subset of the “GBC.” Yes, Swami B.R. Sridhar was also instrumental; he served as the soil for those eleven seeds of personal glory (“The poison is personal ambition”). There would have been no Zonal Acaryas, however, without the directed influence of TKG. The eleven Zonals constituted just short of half of the votes of the “GBC” during the spring of 1978, but they wielded far, far more than half of the influence on that governing body. The other Commissioners failed us, and they did not stop the eleven pretender maha-bhagavats from their takeover of the movement. This was the First Transformation.

But Kirtanananda Swami set the tone in the run-up to that apocalyptic spring meeting in Mayapur, 1978. The actual big change started just days after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, and it began at New Vrindavan. Kirtanananda Swami, without any consultation and on his own authority, began accepting uttama-adhikari worship from everyone there, especially his godbrothers and godsisters. The “GBC,” already in the process of becoming corrupt, did nothing to check him. So, when that governing body convened in Mayapur in the spring of 1978, it had to confront the fact that one of the eleven men named as rittviks in the last days (during July of 1977) was accepting worship as a guru on the highest level of purity and realization. But Prabhupada had said, in late May of 1977, “Regular guru, that’s all.” Kirtanananda Swami was accepting far, far more than the accolades accorded a regular guru according to parampara and other Vaishnava traditions.

TKG backed the conclusion that the eleven men named as rittviks during the last five months while Prabhupada was with us were to automatically become gurus after his disappearance. He never got this clarified by Srila Prabhupada, of course. That the other ten newly-appointed “gurus” would back this line of thought was not improbable; it was in their obvious self interest to do so. However, if one of these eleven men was already accepting exalted worship, then what about the other ten?

“I am in due receipt of your letter, dated September 3 1975, with the enclosed statement about Bon Maharaja. So I have now issued orders that all my disciples should avoid all of my godbrothers. They should not have any dealings with them nor even correspondence, nor should they give them any of my books nor should they purchase any of their books, neither should you visit any of their temples. Please avoid them.” ( Letter to Visvakarma das on Nov. 9, 1975 from Bombay)

According to some devotee schuttlebutt-and there is no direct or tangible proof of it–Srila Prabhupada was supposed to have said that Swami B.R. Sridhar, a prominent Gaudiya Math leader, could be consulted for his philosophical views in connection with spiritual master. He was consulted, and his advice proved disastrous. He repeated the Bengali cliche mat guru si jagat guru, indicating that anyone who performs the formalities of the initiation ceremony should be accepted by his initiated disciple as a jagat guru (a far cry from what Prabhupada called “regular guru,” i.e., a guru under the regulation of vaidhi sadhana bhakti).

Similarly, Swami B. R. Sridhar in effect said: “Just put on the uniform, and you will become the soldier.” The implication of this bad directive was that just putting on the external pretense of guru would automatically grow you into actually being a guru. This may be New Age philosophy, but it is not the Vedic or Vaishnava process. Swami B. R. Sridhar asked what was the basis of these eleven men being guru. Were they recognized or appointed as such by Prabhupada? Swami B. R. Sridhar was informed that the basis of their claim was that these eleven men had been appointed as rittvik acaryas during the last months of Prabhupada’s manifestation.

Swami B. R. Sridhar then opined: “Rittvik-acarya, then it becomes as good as acarya.” It was his worst advice. This is exactly what TKG was thinking, so “after consultation with higher authorities” (penned by the chief scribe of the Zonals at the beginning of his position paper summing up this new dispensation), it was accepted that the new diksa gurus would only come from the eleven rittviks most recently appointed. This was cent-per-cent bogus, but it was accepted by all but one of the Commissioners. The others, who did not receive an appointment to become guru and a zone in which to initiate, went along to get along.

Swami B. R. Sridhar was also instrumental in setting up and approving the plan to have the eleven pretender maha-bhagavats possess their own zones, and thus we had the First Transformation, which can be called the Era of the Zonal Acaryas. It was a complete disaster!

Now, the question may be raised: “Why do you personally criticize Swami B. R. Sridhar? He was Srila Prabhupada’s older godbrother. You should not criticize the godbrother of your Guru Maharaj.” Our answer to this doubt is as follows: It has been thirty years since the bad advice from Swami B. R. Sridhar was received and applied by the “GBC.” Srila Prabhupada waited for thirty years after the disappearance of his Guru Maharaj before he began to initiate disciples in the West. He was deputed by Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Goswami Maharaj to do just that, but he did not immediately even begin to take up that assignment for three decades. It has been two decades since Swami B. R. Sridhar left his body. We have refrained all of these decades from specifically mentioning him by name in any of our articles. So, we have observed the etiquette with particular restraint for a considerable time.

However, no individual did more damage to Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna Consciousness movement from the Gaudiya Math side than did Swami B. R. Sridhar. His negative influence on Srila Prabhupada’s movement is practically incalculable. All the senior men in the “ISKCON” movement know this to a lesser or greater extent. Most of the older devotees “outside the walls” know it as well. It is not often written about in any official documents, but it has been discussed amongst virtually every one of Prabhupada’s elder initiated disciples to a very substantial degree. It is now agreed by almost everyone that the misconception of the Zonal Acarya scheme was a devastation, and that arrangement has been officially rejected for decades.

Similarly, many of the rittviks-who rarely are inclined toward the Gaudiya Math–know of the damage done by Swami B. R. Sridhar. Some have written about it without any constraint and with considerable vitriol. We remain restrained concerning that style of writing, but we can no longer remain silent about his terrible advice and influence during the late Seventies and early Eighties.

You are reading this article because you have a profound desire to understand. This article has not been submitted to, or posted on, any popular or large devotee websites-at least not directly by us. You have earned the right to receive this information. Swami B. R. Sridhar did terrible damage in the form of his malefic advice and directions. The eleven pretender maha-bhagavats ate up that bad advice, applied it, and transformed Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna Consciousness movement in the process. The eleven seeds needed the soil, and Swami B. R. Sridhar supplied the fertilizer.

The movement meant for the rejuvenation of pure spiritual life and realization amongst all of those who joined it-all of whom received genuine initiation from the real bona fide spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada-was transformed into something else in the spring of 1978. It was disconnected from the sampradaya (parampara) at that time, and Swami B. R. Sridhar along with the eleven pretender maha-bhagavats–and especially the Party Men who helped to implement the scheme at the pragmatic level–were key players in this initial transformation or change.

This imposition of eleven powerful men as “maha-bhagavats”–all of whom were loaded with personal and institutional anarthas–was a scheme that appeared unbeatable at first. They all had their own zones of influence. Had they stayed in their turfs and not criticized one another-if they had also not attempted so many outrages-then the concoction might have lasted longer than the eight or nine years it dominated everything and everyone. However, when conditioned souls, loaded with anarthas, imitate guru–and particularly when they imitate the actual self-realized soul–their destruction is arranged for by the demigods. This is, in part, because they are imitating the demigods. The immeasurable pride and audacity of the eleven pretender maha-bhagavats was not merely the megalomania of some powerful leader of a nation-state. No. All eleven of these men were absorbed in the delusion of self-apotheosis.

They were all absorbed in the material mind. They were absorbed in their lusts and desires (kama-sankalpa), thinking these desires to be absolute. They were all absorbed in anger and hatred against anyone who criticized or thwarted them in any way. They were all very insane, but, due to having performed some buddhi-yoga in years past, they were still (generally) shrewd in their insanity. They were completely intoxicated by their great power over others, by the women who danced for them in front of their so-called vyasasans, and by the buzz they received on a daily and hourly basis as objects of worship by hundreds of dedicated fools and fanatics. They were regularly subjected to the fear of their scheme being exposed, especially by knowledgeable godbrothers who could see the faultlines in this unauthorized arrangement. They were very greedy for more and more disciples, more and more power, more and more money (“laxmi”), more and more fame and influence, and more and more “knowledge” of ways to better pull the whole thing off.

In short, all eleven of these men were full-blown sahajiyas.

The very best thing is the Sampradaya Acarya, the maha-bhagavat absorbed in love of Godhead. When the very best thing is perverted and imitated, it quickly degenerates into the very worst thing; this is a universal principle. Each of the eleven pretender maha-bhagavats warped into a terrible caricature of siddha-purusa. They were all pseudo gurus, and, in this monstrosity, their anarthas were supposed to be absolute and praiseworthy. So, instead of eleven somewhat advanced and learned devotees keeping their original initiated names, almost all of them adopted other names, usually ending in “pada.” This was a blatant and ultimately laughable imitation of Prabhu-pada.

Rather than go over their “pada” names-and how ludicrous each of those titles were-it is more efficacious to understand what each of these men became as a caricature, as they attempted to carve out an absolute identity as de facto popes within their zones. So, the fragmenting movement now had to contend with The Vanity Fair Despot, the Scholar, the Teflon Pundit, the Sun King, the Libertine, the Pusher, the Machiavellian Manipulator, the Fanatic Flag-Waiver, the Psychotropic Sahajiya, Das Fuhrer Comet, and the Post-Modern Magician.

They were the great cheaters, and everyone who followed them and actually believed that they were God-realized lovers of Truth constituted the cheated. The “ISKCON” movement devolved into the newest Society of the Cheaters and the Cheated, and, appropriately, they were all called “new gurus.” The Party Men cooperated; at this time, it was not in the personal interest of the Party Men to do anything to expose the arrangement if they did not believe in it. The more powerful became henchmen and enforcers, some became temple officers, some became intimate associates and sycophants, and some of them remained fanatics and true believers.

It was a Fool’s Paradise, and eleven men situated in such an unreliable state of being would not be able to maintain the artificial arrangement for long. They went into each other’s zones to collect, and this led to various reversals and confrontations. They criticized one another, and this led fanatics in various zones to question whether or not such “lila” was really indicative of persons supposedly situated in nikunjayuno ratikeli siddhaye. Remember, however, that Tamal was the man. When he went too far, then the whole edifice of this scheme started to crater.

ISKCON Gurus, Initiations, and Party Men

By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

“. . . do not try to initiate. You are not in a proper position now to initiate anyone. . . Don’t be allured by such maya. . . Don’t be allured by cheap disciples. Go on steadfastly to render service first. If you immediately become guru, then the service activities will be stopped; and as there are many cheap gurus and cheap disciples, without any substantial knowledge, and manufacturing new sampradayas, and with service activities stopped, and all spiritual progress choked up. ”
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Acyutananda/Jaya Govinda on Aug. 21, 1968 from Montreal (emphasis added)

Secretary: What about the so-called gurus that take a little bit here, a little bit there?
Prabhupada: So-called gurus, they are so-called gurus. They are not gurus. That is already explained. If one does not speak what Krishna speaks, he is not guru. If you accept so-called guru, that is your misfortune. What can be done?
Secretary: Some of them will say some things that Krishna says, but they’ll take from other places also. What is the position of such persons?
Prabhupada: He’s most dangerous. He’s most dangerous. He is opportunist. He’s finding out customer, something here… According to the customer he is giving something, as the customers will be pleased.
Answers to Questionnaire Room Conversation on June 28, 1976 (emphasis added)

vidyam cavidyam ca yas / tad vedobhayam saha
avidyaya mrtyum tirtva / vidyayamrtam asnute

“Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality.”
Sri Isopanisad Mantra 11 (emphasis added)

During the final years of the preaching activities of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaj Prabhupada Thakura, who was both shaktyavesh-avatar and Sampradaya-Acarya, one of his favorite initiated disciples was Professor Sanyal, a learned intellectual and an accomplished writer. Even during his manifest lila, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Gosvami Prabhupada–who was and remains a direct associate of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (along with his illustrious father, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)–approved of Professor Sanyal’s book. This book, entitled Krishna Chaitanya, was entirely bona fide according to the Sampradaya Acarya. I once possessed it, but the mahant of the Radha-Raman temple, Visvambhara Gosvami, asked me in Vrindavan to give it to him in 1984. I acquiesced to the request. His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the most recent Sampradaya-Acarya and our initiating spiritual master, allowed that this book be consulted and read by his disciples, along with Bon Maharaj’s Bhaktirasamritasindhu.

I had the actual quote (referenced below) by Prabhupada about Professor Sanyal, and it was used in my preaching in 1980, specifically at the beginning of a manuscript I co-authored back then entitled In The Measure of Our Conviction. The quote is not to be found in any later edition of the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase; perhaps, it has never been included in any ISKCON databases. If so, that is a shame. The quote is very important and should not be lost in the oblivion of time.

Now, I am going to share with you this quote from Srila Prabhupada as per my personal memory; what is written in bold italics is exact. The gist of the entire quote, as per its follow-up paragraph, is accurate and in context. Srila Prabhupada did not at all approve of this Professor Sanyal after the final day of 1936 (the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta), neither did Srila Prabhupada approve of any of Professor Sanyal’s writings after that time.

“Professor Sanyal, he was a very nice man. But he was a Party Man . . .”

That statement has been attributed to Srila Prabhupada. I do not exactly remember the wording of the rest of the quote, but I do remember what it meant and indicated. It indicated that, due to his having become a Party Man, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati arranged to have Professor Sanyal leave the scene very quickly. A recent posting on the Internet, by someone who apparently has researched Professor Sanyal, states that he died a natural death. If you have access to the exact quote, send it our way; we shall recognize it immediately and post it.

Apparently, Professor Sanyal joined the Party of Ananta Vasudeva (later called Puri Maharaj), as opposed to the Bagh Bazaar Party of Tirtha Maharaj. As such, his writings, after the disappearance of his Guru Maharaj, backed that (Vasudeva’s) party line. In the “ISKCON” movement a different course was followed, although there were parallels. Instead of declaring one maha-bhagavat, it was declared by the “GBC” (just as falsely) that there were eleven of them. Of course, Ananta Vasudeva was a very learned scholar in the Vaishnava siddhanta, unlike the eleven Zonal Acaryas of the post-modern era. Still, despite his erudition and previous approval from the Acarya, Srila Prabhupada did not condone the writings of this Professor Sanyal after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

The most important thing to consider is that Srila Prabhupada did not approve of Party Men. He in effect condemned this kind of functionary. Currently, the original ISKCON movement is covered by the “ISKCON” sheath, just as our original mind, intelligence, and ego is covered by the material ego (ahankara), material intelligence, and material mind. The “ISKCON” movement is dominated by Party Men, and this has been the case since the late Seventies. The Party Men cooperated with the Zonals (of course, the Zonals themselves were all Party Men) and helped to empower them. The Party Man faction is a multi-faceted dynamic, composed of fanatics, sycophants, henchmen, and temple officers. It always has been.

There is Krishna Consciousness and then there is a perverted reflection of Krishna Consciousness. The Party Men of “ISKCON” represent, at best, only a reflection of Krishna Consciousness. The dynamic of the Party Man is found in what he thinks constitutes the recognition, approval, and blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Party Men measure these ideals in terms of their position in the corporate structure of their institution. As long as they remain a somebody like a Temple President or a “GBC”-and as long as there is adequate revenue flow to continue in their status and with their project-then whatever they are doing or saying is considered spiritual by them. Krishna Consciousness means to see as Lord Krishna sees, to see as the Chaitya-guru or Paramatma sees. To become Krishna Conscious means to see the Party Men for what they really are.

The Party Men shift with the ever-changing winds of corporate doctrine. They are “GBC” loyalists. The “ISKCON” movement is completely under the control of the “GBC.” Unlike ISKCON, however, the real GBC no longer exists-and, as far as that goes, it never did function in a bona fide way for a great deal of time even while Srila Prabhupada was still with us. The devolution of this governing body has been long in duration, the offenses have been very great, and the GBC has been ruined, permanently warped and perverted into the “GBC. ”

The Party Man is a particularly nasty piece of work. He sometimes comes in the form of a sannyasi. He is often completely without genuine conscience. His intelligence always works to ponder the Party Line and the current momentum; he always wants to make sure that he will be on the side that is winning. His shibboleth is: “‘ISKCON’–with all thy faults–I still love thee!” He backs the current transformation, and we are now in the Second Transformation….To Be continued…..