IRM: Revival in the South of France

One day a devotee give me the book Raja Vidya – The King of Knowledge. It was exactly what I was looking for. Seeing Srila Prabhupada’s picture on the back cover I thought to myself: “He is my guide.”

This first contact with Srila Prabhupada was to prove decisive for me, as I was greatly overawed by what I read in his book. I read other books and was attracted by the perfect and complete philosophy that I could read in Srila Prabhupada’s books.

The personality of Srila Prabhupada, his true message as the representative of the disciplic succession, fascinated me greatly. I knew that someday I would join ISKCON – I had no choice! However, due to my need for independence, this surrender would still take me 3 years, since at the time I was not ready to surrender immediately, and continued to read other books on impersonalist philosophy.

So over the course of the next 3 years I visited the temple in London, which at the time was in Bury Place, every Sunday many times.
In 1975, I learned that the devotees had bought a farm in France (later to be called “New Mayapura”), and I immediately wanted to join to be able to listen to French classes, and also develop the rural project because I knew that this project was very dear to Srila Prabhupada’s heart in order to teach the conditioned souls how to live simply by cultivating not only the earth, but also high thinking.

So I went and joined full time by moving into New Mayapura in 1975. One thing which helped me to join was the feeling of brotherhood with the devotees. It was like I had finally found my real family, and I felt great relief.

Also Srila Prabhupada used to point out the importance of farming in order to show a positive alternative to society at large, and this concept of “simple living” also appealed to me.

At the beginning of 1976, just before my first initiation, I went to Brittany with other young devotees, including my brother, to distribute the first French Bhagavad-gita. I then met Srila Prabhupada when he came to New Mayapura in July/August 1976. When I saw him and heard him for the first time, I had the clear feeling that he was not among us, but with Krishna in the spiritual realm.

His physical body seemed like a loudspeaker, with himself actually residing with Krishna in Krishna-loka. Up until the time Srila Prabhupada physically departed, I was fully engaged in either doing book distribution or agricultural work in New Mayapura.

However, after Srila Prabhupada’s physical disappearance I became disillusioned. Starting from the summer of 1978, the “zonal acharya” for New Mayapura, Bhagavan Das, asked to be worshipped as the direct representative of Sri Hari (Krishna) and everything changed. Srila Prabhupada was cast aside, and all the newcomers had to worship and surrender to the representative of Srila Prabhupada.

Deep down it was hard for me to accept that someone could remove Srila Prabhupada and take his place. I knew intuitively it was not a succession, but a replacement. However there was a climate of fear, and not many were willing to speak out, and therefore it was not possible to share one’s doubts with anyone. Rather, the only option for me seemed to be to leave.

Later on after I got married, I began to live outside New Mayapur, and then went with my wife and children to live in the South of France. I later returned to New Mayapur, and in this way, I left and returned to New Mayapur 3 or 4 times over the years. During this time I continued with agricultural work and book distribution, and also became assistant bhakta leader at New Mayapura.

I also helped run a preaching center in Toulouse, and then also went preaching to the partly French speaking countries in Mauritius and the Reunion Islands.

In 1985, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were planning a meeting in “New Vrindavana”, the Krishna commune in the US state of West Virginia, to try and resolve the guru issue, which later became known as the famous “New Vrindavana meetings”. I was willing to go there in order to know more about what was going on in ISKCON. When Bhagavan heard this, he called me and told me that if I went to this meeting then I would be kicked out.

Being at this time fully dependent on the temple, I was forced to succumb to the threat and stayed. However, I did not wish to continue participating in Bhagavan Dasa’s guru puja (worship), which at the time was a regular practice for even the Prabhupada disciples, and this eventually led to me getting kicked out from New Mayapura.

It also became clear to me that the practices and people in the temple would not change easily, and so I ended up finally cutting my relationship with what I called the “shadow of ISKCON”.

For a few months, I really felt increasingly alone. I was remorseful because being married and the father of 3 children, New Mayapura was a kind of shelter, and giving up the association of the devotees was painful at the beginning. I found some relief when I joined some dissenting devotees living in the South of France.

Finding myself exiled in the South of France with many dissenting devotees, I did not know how to express my ideas on the guru issue and the position of Srila Prabhupada. Though all of the devotees including myself agreed that there was a problem within ISKCON, most of them did not want to go too far in attacking the system for fear of making “offenses”, or were trying to find a solution with the Gaudiya Matha institution.

I myself was not interested in going to the Gaudiya Matha, since I wished to remain obedient to Srila Prabhupada. When I was talking to the other devotees, most of them used to say they accept Srila Prabhupada, but they accept as well the other ISKCON gurus or those of the Gaudiya Matha. I, however, was looking for a solution which would keep Srila Prabhupada alone in the centre.

The situation began to become clear and hopeful for me when some years later a devotee gave me a paper on the guru issue. In this paper one devotee was challenging HH Gaura Govinda Swami (“GGS”) who was questioning the spiritual and transcendental value of Srila Prabhupada and his teachings.

GGS was saying that we needed someone “living” to explain the teachings, and that Srila Prabhupada’s books and tapes were not enough. I was very shocked and upset because I had not heard anything like that from Srila Prabhupada’s mouth, and Srila Prabhupada for me is the absolute authority in regard to the message of the Vedas.

The person who wrote this article was Krishnakant, the founder of the ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM), and its objective and penetrating analysis of the subject gave me heart, and made me think there was a solution to the whole problem, and immediately I felt relief. I read more of his papers and I saw that this devotee was understanding and expressing in detail all the flaws in the many speculative philosophies on the guru issue.

Then a few months later by the mercy of Krishna I was able to read The Final Order and Back To Prabhupada magazine. The sentiments which I had regarding Srila Prabhupada’s position being usurped in ISKCON had now been given a detailed philosophical explanation, with a clear solution, all clearly documented and based on Srila Prabhupada’s instructions.

I did not know how Srila Prabhupada wanted his movement to be organised after his departure, and that is why I’m so grateful towards Krishnakant prabhu for the important service he continues to perform to educate and gather sincere people at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada alone.

I was also thinking it would be nice to meet this person, because he is so keen in defending Srila Prabhupada’s position. I could also see now that the ISKCON which was established by Srila Prabhupada was being revived, and this brought me great joy, after having seen the movement degenerating for so many years. I thus became keen to want to take part in the IRM, since now there was finally an organisation dedicated to fighting for Srila Prabhupada that I could join and support.

To this end, in 2005, myself and some other French devotees invited some IRM devotees to the South of France, and this visit was very beneficial for all.

I have been living in the South of France for 11 years now. My interest in “simple living” which had attracted me to the movement still remains, and I maintain several gardens to support myself.

The area in which I live is close to the Pyrenees mountains, and the area is full of truth seekers and people into “alternative” living, and there are also several families of devotees. Many of them had left ISKCON, disgusted by the obvious hypocrisy of the ISKCON leaders, with most of them then going to the Gaudiya Matha to get re-initiated.

I try my best to bring everyone to Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet, distributing BTPs, as well as organising programs. Unfortunately, many devotees have had so many bad experiences and been cheated so many times, that they are very jaded and not interested in the true path when it finally comes along. This is a very sad situation.

However, I feel so fortunate to be connected to Srila Prabhupada, and feel sorry for others’ misfortune at not being able to accept Srila Prabhupada as the one who will bring them back to the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna. Hence I try to dedicate my life to sharing my good fortune with others.