ISKCON Reviaval Movement | IRM: Sometimes devotees ask why we need to constantly criticise ISKCON’s renegade gurus:
“Why not just glorify Srila Prabhupada, that will attract more people”, “Just concentrate on positive preaching, distribute books, and stop criticising others,”
are comments we sometimes hear. In response to this:
Firstly, we always quote extensively from Srila Prabhupada – our last issue included more than forty excerpts from his books, conversations and letters. We also publish many positive letters and stories from devotees around the world who have practically experienced the benefits of rejecting ISKCON’s ersatz gurus and directly worshipping Srila Prabhupada.
Secondly, the heaviest criticisms in our magazine usually emanate from the so-called gurus themselves as they fight and squabble over the spoils of their unauthorised takeover. BTP certainly presents the truth in an uncompromising and direct style, but that is authorised:
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Thirdly, and perhaps most ironically, ISKCON itself already expends a great deal of effort glorifying Srila Prabhupada via various publications, videos, diaries and memorial festivals.
- One might ask how people who wish to usurp Srila Prabhupada can also find it within themselves to glorify him on a regular basis?
Srila Prabhupada is undoubtedly ISKCON’s biggest asset. His vast cannon of teachings and outstanding personal example are what usually attract people to the Movement in the first place. Srila Prabhupada wrote all the books that shall form the basis of everything ISKCON will ever teach for up to ten thousand years hence. It is these books that explain the entire science of Krishna Consciousness, and inspire people to surrender their lives to Krishna. In effect the guru hoaxers have made a career out of basking in Srila Prabhupada’s reflected glory, using him to bolster their own competing mini-missions. For these personalities, Srila Prabhupada is the goose who always lays the golden eggs. That is why they must keep telling people how great he is and promoting his books.
The guru hoaxers use this glorification rather like an unscrupulous shop keeper who puts an attractive item in his window to attract the punters, only to sell them a vastly inferior product once they set foot inside the store. This is called bait and switch. You draw people in with something wonderful, and then switch it for something cheap and nasty once you have them ‘hooked’. Newcomers to ISKCON are thus encouraged- ‘Look how wonderful Srila Prabhupada is, what a perfect spiritual master!’, and then when they join the product is switched- ‘but you can only have him as your direct guide for the first six months, then you must choose someone else from the GBC approved guru list.’
It sounds strange but the fact is that if BTP only expanded on this ‘glorification’ it would actually be doing the greatest disservice. We would simply be assisting in the process of drawing people into the guru hoaxer’s trap. It is for this reason that BTP balances glorification of Srila Prabhupada with detailed information on how some individuals are trying to exploit Srila Prabhupada for their own self-aggrandisement.
Just as a doctor who prescribes medicine without warning of possible side effects would be acting unprofessionally, as devotees it is completely irresponsible to attract people to Srila Prabhupada’ Movement without telling them anything about what’s gone wrong.
ISKCON may appear to be teaching Krishna Consciousness, but the formula has been changed. Srila Prabhupada’s final order on how initiations were to run has been disobeyed, and this one act of defiance is causing untold harm to everyone involved.
Thus the aim of BTP is to:
- prevent new devotees from accepting unauthorised replacements for Srila Prabhupada.
- expose those who are ‘glorifying’ Srila Prabhupada simply as a means of expanding their own little empires.
- encourage devotees to work together to return to the correct, winning formula, as originally ordered by Srila Prabhupada in his institutional directive of July 9th 1977
In this way we hope to one day put an end to the bait and switch scam that has been going on since November 14th 1977.
So BTP concentrates only on the subject of showing why those who stand between us and Srila Prabhupada as his substitutes are unnecessary and unauthorized; that it is more important to do this rather than convince everyone of Srila Prabhupada’s greatness, since the GBC themselves rely on this very greatness of Srila Prabhupada as part of their “bait-and-switch” tactic. In support of this point, Srila Prabhupada states the following:
| Hamsaduta: | It would make a good article, what you’ve just spoken. |
| Srila Prabhupada: | So write. |
| Harikesa: | You so completely destroy the opposition, it’s very hard to say anything more. |
| Srila Prabhupada: | Yes. That you have to prove. You can eulogize your Guru Maharaja, but you have to learn it and face the public and be strong to defend yourself. That is success. Not by praising your Guru Maharaja. You’ll praise your Guru Maharaja. That is not very difficult. But be victorious to the opposing elements. Then you will praise your Guru Maharaja nicely. At home, you can praise your Guru Maharaja, and Guru Maharaja be satisfied, “Oh, my disciples are praising me.” That is not very…. That is good. Respectful. That is the qualification. But you have to fight. Then your Guru Maharaja will be glorified. |
(Room Conversation, December 26th, 1975)
Srila Prabhupada makes it very clear that what is required is to “defend”, “fight” and be “victorious”, and not to simply “praise” him. Thus taking the cue from Srila Prabhupada, BTP’s success should be measured, according to Srila Prabhupada, in terms of how much it is fighting and emerging victorious against those elements who oppose Srila Prabhupada’s position as the real and only bona fide Guru for ISKCON, and not just by how much “praise” it contains. Only then will Srila Prabhupada be truly glorified.
pamho agtACBSP, thank you for posting this clear statement on our real eternal well-wisher and diksa guru. We don’t need any polluted well-wisher still conditioned by the three gunas, modes of material nature.
All these usurpers of SRILA PRABHUPADA positioning as diksa-gurus already caused lots of damages to Iskcon.
The worse has still to come when they will meet Dharmaraj because they still won’t surrender Iskcon to the owner.
The vani seva of SRILA PRABHUPADA is so nice, just a fool leaves the service to SRILA PRABHUPADA.
agtys ys
haribol
Its been like almost 20 years now since this issue of ritvik came about and the ritviks are still at it, among themselves sorting out their differences in how ritvik process should be and how one should practice it. And they are telling the rest of the world that we should follow them.
Meantime, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu about five hundred years ago says that simply by chanting the holy name of Sri Krsna……………. well the quote is as below,
In the Sri Caitanya Caritamrta/Madhya Lila Vol.6, Ch.15, Text 107 – 111, Pg.52 – 60,
First print 1975,
SRI CAITANYA MAHAPRABHU SAYS,
“Simply by chanting the holy name of Krsna, one is relieved from all the reactions of a sinful life. One can complete the nine processes of devotional service simply by chanting the holy name. One does not have to undergo initiation or execute the activities required before initiation. One simply has to vibrate the holy name with his lips. Thus even a man in the lowest class [ Candala ] can be delivered. By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one dissolves his entanglement in material activities. After this, one becomes very attracted to Krsna, and thus dormant love for Krsna is awakened.
The holy name of Lord Krsna is an attractive feature for many saintly, liberal people. It is the annihilator of all sinful reactions and is so powerful that save for the dumb who cannot chant it, it is readily available to everyone, including the lowest type of man, the candala. The holy name of Krsna is the controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with Krsna. Simply by touching the holy namewith one’s tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the purascarya regulative principles generally observed before initiation.The holy name does not wait for all these activities. It is self-sufficient. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then finally advised, “One who is chanting the Hare Krsna mantra is understood to be a Vaisnava; therefore you should offer all respects to him.”
………………………………… V ……………………………….
AND SRILA PRABHUPADA GIVES HIS COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE STATEMENT BY SRI CAITANYA MAHAPRABHU.
“The nine types of devotional service are mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23):
sravanam kirtanam Visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
iti pumsarpita visnau
bhaktis cen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha
tan manye ‘dhitam uttamam
These are the activities of hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshiping, praying, obeying, maintaining friendship and surrendering everything. As far as chanting the holy name of Krsna is concerned, one can be freed from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name without committing offenses. If one chants offenselessly, he may be saved from all sinful reactions. It is very important in devotional service to chant the holy name of the Lord without committing offenses. The nine devotional processes such as sravana and kirtana can all be attained at once if one simply chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly.
In this regard, Srila Jiva Gosvami states in his book Bhakti-sandarbha (173): yadyapi anya bhaktih kalau kartavya, tada kirtanakhya-bhakti-samyogenaiva. Out of the nine processes of devotional service, kirtana is very important. Srila Jiva Gosvami therefore instructs that the other processes, such as arcana, vandana, dasya and sakhya, should be executed, but they must be preceded and followed by kirtana, the chanting of the holy name. We have therefore introduced this system in all of our centers. Arcana, arati, bhoga offering, Deity dressing and decoration are all preceded and followed by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord –
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Srila ]iva Gosvami explains diksa in his Bhakti-sandarbha (283):
divyam jnanam yato dadyat
kuryat papasya sanksayam
tasmat dikseti sa prokta
desikais tattva-kovidaih
“Diksa is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures knows this process as diksa.” The regulative principles of diksa are explained in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa ( Vilasa 2.3,4) and in Bhakti-sandarbha
(283). As stated:
dvijanam anupetanam svakarmadhyayanadisu
yathadhikaro nastiha syac copanayanad anu
tathatradiksitanam tu mantra-devarcanadisu
nadhikaro ‘sty atah kuryad atmanam siva-samstutam
“Even though born in a brahmana family, one cannot engage in Vedic rituals without being initiated and having a sacred thread. Although born in a brahmana family, one becomes a brahmana after initiation and the sacred thread ceremony. Unless one is initiated as a brahmana, he cannot worship the holy name properly.”
According to the Vaisnava regulative principles, one must be initiated as a brahmana.
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Visnu-yamala:
adiksitasya vamoru
krtam sarvam nirarthakam
pasu-yonim avapnoti
diksa-virahito janah
“Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.”
Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.10) further quotes:
ato gurum pranamyaivam
sarva-svam vinivedya ca
grhniyad vaisnavam mantram
diksa-purvam vidhanatah
“It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything-body, mind and intelligence-one must take a Vaisnava initiation from him.”
The Bhakti-sandarbha (298) gives the following quotation from the Tattvasagara:
yatha kancanatam yati
kasyam rasa-vidhanatah
tatha diksa-vidhanena
dvijatvam jayate nrnam
“By chemical manipulation, bell metal is turned into gold when touched by mercury; similarly, when a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a brahmana.”
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa (17.11 ,12) in discussing the purascarya process, quotes the following verses from Agastya-samhita:
puja traikaliki nityam
japas tarpanam eva ca
homo brahmana-bhuktis ca
purascaranam ucyate
guror labdhasya mantrasya
prasadena yatha-vidhi
pancangopasana-siddhyai
puras caitad vidhiyate
“In the morning, afternoon and evening, one should worship the Deity, chant the Hare Krsna mantra, offer oblations, perform a fire sacrifice, and feed the brahmanas. These five activities constitute purascarya. To attain full success when taking initiation from the spiritual master, one should first perform these purascarya processes.”
The word purah means “before” and carya means “activities.” Due to the necessity of these activities, we do not immediately initiate disciples in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. For six months, a candidate for initiation must first attend arati and classes in the sastras, practice the regulative principles and associate with other devotees. When one is actually advanced in the purascarya-vidhi, he is recommended by the local temple president for initiation. It is not that anyone can be suddenly initiated without meeting the requirements.
When one is further advanced by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra sixteen rounds daily, following the regulative principles and attending classes, he receives the sacred thread (brahminical recognition) after the second six months.
In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (17.4,5,7) it is stated:
vina yena na siddhah syan
mantro varsa-satair api
krtena yena labhate
sadhako vanchitam phalam
purascarana-sampanno
mantro hi phala-dhayakah
atah puraskriyam kuryat
mantravit siddhi-kanksaya
puraskriya hi mantranam
pradhanam viryam ucyate
virya-hino yatha dehi
sarva-karmasu na ksamah
purascarana-hino hi
tatha mantrah prakirtitah
“Without performing the purascarya activities, one cannot become perfect even by chanting this mantra for hundreds of years. However, one who has undergone the purascarya-vidhi process can attain success very easily. If one wishes to perfect his initiation, he must first undergo the purascarya activities. The purascarya process is the life-force by which one is successful in chanting the mantra. Without the life-force, one cannot do anything; similarly, without the life force of purascarya-vidhi, no mantra can be perfected.”
In his Bhakti-sandarbha (283), Srila ]iva Gosvami states:
yadyapi sri-bhagavata-mate pancaratradi-vat arcana-margasya
avasyakatvam nasti, tad vinapi
saranapattyadinam ekatarenapi purusartha-siddher
abhihitatvat, tathapi sri-naradadi-vartmanusaradbhih
sri-bhagavata saha sambandha-visesam diksa-vidhanena
sri-guru-carana-sampaditam cikirsadbhih krtayam
diksayam arcanam avasyam kriyetaiva.
Of similar importance is diksa, which is explained as follows in Bhakti-sandarbha (284):
yadyapi svarupato nasti, tathapi prayah svabhavato
dehadi-sambandhena kardaya-silanam viksipta-cittanam
jananam tat-tat-sankoci-karanaya srimad-rsi-prabhrtibhir
atrarcana-marge kvacit kvacit kacit kacin maryada sthapitasti.
Similarly in the Ramarcana-candrika it is stated:
vinaiva diksam viprendra
purascaryam vinaiva hi
vinaiva nyasa-vidhina
japa-matrena siddhida
In other words, the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is so powerful that it does not depend on official initiation, but if one is initiated and engages in pancaratra-vidhi (Deity worship), his Krsna consciousness will awaken very soon, and his identification with the material world will be vanquished. The more one is freed from material identification, the more one can realize that the spirit soul is qualitatively as good as the Supreme Soul. At such a time, when one is situated on the absolute platform, he can understand that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical. At that stage of realization, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krsna mantra, cannot be identified with any material sound. If one accepts the Hare Krsna maha-mantra as a material vibration, he falls down. One should worship and chant the holy name of the Lord by accepting it as the Lord Himself. One should therefore be initiated properly according to revealed scriptures under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. Although chanting the holy name is good for both the conditioned and liberated soul, it is especially beneficial to the conditioned soul because by chanting it one is liberated. When a person who chants the holy name is liberated, he attains the ultimate perfection by returning home, back to Godhead.
In the words of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 7.73):
krsna-mantra haite habe samsara-mocana
krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera caraa
“Simply by chanting the holy name of Krsna one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.”
The offenseless chanting of the holy name does not depend on the initiation process. Although initiation may depend on purascarya or purascarana, the actual chanting of the holy name does not depend on purascarya-vidhi, or the regulative principles. If one chants the holy name once without committing an offense, he attains all success. During the chanting of the holy name, the tongue must work. Simply by chanting the holy name, one is immediately delivered. The tongue is sevonmukha-jihva-it is controlled by service. One whose tongue is engaged in tasting material things and also talking about them cannot use the tongue for absolute realization.
atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
According to Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 17.134):
ataeva krsnera ‘nama’, ‘deha’, ‘vilasa’
prakrtendriya-grahya nahe, haya sva-prakasa
“With these material senses, one cannot understand the transcendental holy
name of the Lord or His form, activities and pastimes. However, when one actually
engages in devotional service, utilizing the tongue, the Lord is revealed.”
In his Upadesamrta, Srila Ropa Gosvami states: krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta diksasti cet. An advanced devotee should respect a person who has been initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and who is situated on the transcendental platform, chanting the holy name with faith and obeisances and following the instructions of the spiritual master. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura comments that serving Vaisnavas is most important for householders. Whether a Vaisnava is properly initiated or not is not a subject for consideration. One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Mayavada philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaisnava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect. Although he may apparently be a neophyte, he still has to be considered a pure unalloyed Vaisnava. It is the duty of the householder to offer respects to such an unalloyed Vaisnava. This is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction.
HARE KRSNA
OK except SG forgot to tell us what program, or whom, or what, or anyone, he follows? What is his actual idea? What program is he advocating, can he give us the name and address of that program? Or what? ys pd
SG says: Its been like almost 20 years now since this issue of ritvik came about and the ritviks are still at it, among themselves sorting out their differences in how ritvik process should be and how one should practice it.
So what if the Ritviks debate with and/or criticize each other? None of us are trying to be big, big leaders in his/her own right like the ISKCON so-called gurus are trying to be. Criticism may hurt them, but it doesn’t hurt us in the least. The internal controversy that the Ritviks are stirring up is simply another one of Lord Sri Krishna’s tricks! It’s a tricky way of calling attention to a just and righteous cause: The truth!
Think of these public disagreements/debates as clever publicity stunts. It’s like they say in Hollywood, “I don’t care what they say about me as long as they spell my name right!”
Thanks SG in Alor Setar, Malaysia, nice quotes about the power of the holy name!
Asia and Russia might have stayed untroubled by ISKCON’s epidemic neophyte guru experiment.
Vast areas of Europe, North America, Australia, are still not recovering from multiple trails of destruction across Western nations. And as things look right now it won’t happen soon. ISKCON’s policy is to run away and hide in Russia, Asia. Not such a good idea how to deal with massive damage caused by their own mismanagement.
Of course thousands joined GM because of so many fallen ISKCON gurus. This is never mentioned by SG. Instead, the ritviks are now blamed for everything. Remote diagnostics from Asia about the situation in Western hemisphere might be not working in this case. On-site inspection what happened in countries with 10 and more fallen gurus might be more appropriate and target-oriented.
SG says, “And they are telling the rest of the world that we should follow them.”
(Bg. 17.15p)
If you follow this instruction, you will write less nonsense.
Prove that “they are telling the rest of the world that we should follow them.”
Give some quote!
Follow Srila Prabhupada is the message I perceive, that we distribute.
pamho agtACBSP,
SRI MADVACARYA TIROBHAVA MAHOTSAVA KI JAI,
nice slokas I used to comment like that too but HG.SG forgot the most important thing regarding the Hare Krishna maha mantra and that’s:
“I do not know how much nectar the two syllables Krs-na have produced when the holy name of Krsna is chanted it appear to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many million of ear. And when the holy name dance in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind and therefore all the senses become inert.” (Vidagdha Madhava 1.12)
All this blessing is possible only through a glimpse of suddha nama mercy, this is our main business I answer to people when they ask me what is your business? To chant Hare Krsna that’s all,
agtys ys
haribol
To generalize those who follow Srila Prabhupada as “ritviks” is in fact not correct. I cannot be a Ritvik priest because I do not have second initiation. So we are not all “ritviks” The followers of that process first and foremost we are understood to be Prabhupadanugas, those who as sincerely as possible follow Srila Prabhupadas original instructions. Those who do not follow what we understand to be the truth about Srila Prabhupadas post ISKCON instructions could then be referred to as “separatists” in that they have seceded from Srila Prabhupada’s orders on how the movement was to carry on after he left. They have withdraw formally from membership in Srila Prabhupadas original ISKCON, left his association and are no longer allied with him. Let bygones be bygones, live and let live, that is my personal motto. There are a great many who are following other paths but consider themselves still disciples of Srila Prabhupada. Some are writing books. Srila Prabhupada is relating to them in the way he sees fit. So we should not try to degrade that relationship. Srila Prabhupada is dealing with that. However, when it comes to defending our spiritual master we should stand up immediately to defend him. Some of us are expert and some of us not so expert but that defense should come from all of us as that defense of him is also the act of defending ourselves, our families and our future. Let those who cannot stand the stink of conflict in that regard stand to the side. No one should think any less of them. Srila Prabhupada is not the leader of the separatists ( ISKCON ), to them he is simply a previous acharya. “SRILA PRABHUPADA IS OUR LEADER THE HOLY NAME IS OUR MAIN WEAPON AND THE ORIGINAL BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS, IS OUR WAR PLAN. FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA AND WITH FIRM RELIANCE ON THE PROTECTION OF KRSNA WE OFFER EACH OTHER OUR LIVES OUR FORTUNES AND OUR SACRED HONOUR. Ys Hasti Gopala Dasa
SG says the Prabhupadanuga process is bogus, however he never tells us what process is bona fide, or even what process he follows personally? That means he is one of the — bait and switch — folks himself, except he “switches” us back to — a program he does not even identify? What program is he telling us to follow instead? First of all, he has to show us an example of his program in action, otherwise, it appears that — SG has none at all. He is baiting us away from the Prabhupadanuga idea, and switching us up with — no identified process whatsoever? At least the GBC switches us up with something we can see, SG says, “see the rabbit up my sleeve,” but he has no sleeve, no rabbit, no nothing. ys pd
Charles Dowson So we are not all “ritviks” The followers of that process first and foremost we are understood to be Prabhupadanugas, those who as sincerely as possible follow Srila Prabhupadas original instructions.
“Ritvik” is a name given to us by the ISKCON ritvik bashers. They give that title to anyone who accepts “ritvik henceforward” as Srila Prabhuada’s prescription for future initiations within ISKCON. Therefore, by that definition, I am a Ritvik, Puranjana Prabhu is a Ritvik, Bhaka Mark Prabhu is a Ritvik, Bhakta Hugh Prabhu is a Ritvik, Bhakta Charles Dowson Prabhu is a Ritvik, etc., etc.
“Ritvik” is Srila Prabhupada’s own terminology, so why should we be put on the defensive by being called one? We wear the label as a badge of honor! In other words, we called their bluff, and their bluff is backfiring on them!
Don’t let these ISKCON ritvik bashers put you on the defensive! Tell them, “Yes. I am a Ritvik, and proud of it!”