Interviewer, NEW YORK, USA: Prabhu, besides confirming their decision to allow women to give diksa, was there anything else in this year’s GBC resolutions you would like to comment on?
Locanananda dasa: The GBC wisely rescinded its decision to add endnotes to Srila Prabhupada’s books which were intended to explain away some of his statements they felt were too extreme. Their earlier decision was blocked by His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami who single-handedly held off the GBC’s accommodationist approach to dealing with criticism from ISKCON outsiders. Srila Prabhupada said we should not accommodate others but, rather, they should accommodate us. In general, our leaders should be taking a stronger stance in defense of Srila Prabhupada, the principles of Krishna consciousness, and the culture we represent.
If you keep adding water to milk, pretty soon it will no longer taste like milk. And if you become too accommodating, soon your message will become so watered down that it no longer has the taste of Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada said our process is to boil the milk, not water it down. Personally, I would rather be astounded by what Srila Prabhupada said, and by what he called a “revolution in consciousness,” than to have the message become diluted to an “I’m okay, you’re okay” type of New Age thinking. So kudos to Jayadvaita Swami for holding his ground and making a counter-proposal that was ultimately accepted by the GBC in this year’s resolutions.
Interviewer: Do you also congratulate Jayadvaita Swami for revising Srila Prabhupada’s books? I thought you were entirely against that.
Locanananda dasa: Jayadvaita Swami’s service was to edit Srila Prabhupada’s books while he was present. In undertaking the project to revise the published works of His Divine Grace, he never said Srila Prabhupada had made mistakes in his writings. He said only that the previous editors’ knowledge of Sanskrit was lacking and that their understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s use of language and his accent was faulty. My own opinion is that no changes should have been made without the proper annotation, and then only if the correct meaning of what was being presented could not otherwise be ascertained by the reader. When he was getting his books ready for publication, Srila Prabhupada did not like extensive rounds of editing. He was happy with the original style of writing and always resisted changes that he felt were unnecessary, every step of the way.
From a managerial perspective, it was ultimately the duty of the GBC and BBT trustees to monitor the work of the BBT editors and production staff. From what we have been told, the GBC, in giving its approval, thought that a finite number of corrections would be made, not that Srila Prabhupada’s books would be completely overhauled. If that was their impression, and if that is what they voted on, it was then their responsibility to see that the editors did not go beyond those limits. The book change controversy can therefore be traced back to a lack of diligence on the part of the GBC and BBT trustees.
When Srila Prabhupada formed the BBT in 1970, the devotees he chose as trustees were also on the GBC. While he was present, that was always the policy. That was the guarantee that the BBT would be accountable to the GBC. After his lifetime, at some point, non-GBC members became prominent as BBT trustees. The work of the North American BBT was no longer under GBC control and decisions affecting the BBT were taken out of their hands.
When Srila Prabhupada was in Vrndavana in April, 1975, I believe, it was brought to his attention that his books were being changed without his consent. How did he propose to rectify the situation? By contacting his GBC man in Los Angeles, the site of the BBT headquarters, and instructing him to oversee the work of the editors. So the GBC was to represent Srila Prabhupada even in dealing with the BBT. Today’s GBC has no such power. I think they are just waiting for market forces to make decisions for them.
I wanted to mention that Jayadvaita Swami has been a friend of mine since 1972 and I have never known him to do anything ill-motivated. Still, I don’t agree with the extensive changes made to Srila Prabhupada’s books without his direct order. I base this opinion on the principle of arsa prayoga, that even if a disciple sees how he might enhance the acarya’s literary achievement by correcting apparent mistakes, we honor the acarya by leaving his writings intact. Srila Prabhupada gave the example of Shakespeare, that sometimes his style of composition includes odd usages of language. Still, he is accepted as authority. Srila Prabhupada wrote about this to Mandali Bhadra, saying “If one is too big, there is no mistake. There may be discrepancies, but it is all right.” In another conversation, he said, “The system is: whatever has been done, even there is mistake, it should be accepted.” These statements may be taken as a prohibition against book changes. On the other hand, if some serious error were brought to light, I would agree that an annotated revision could be made, annotated to indicate it was made after the author’s lifetime. If all of the changes made to the Bhagavad-gita were reviewed, I’m sure that not more than ten or twenty corrections would really be required, which is what the GBC probably thought they were authorizing with their vote.
Interviewer: Any further comments concerning Srila Prabhupada’s books or other resolutions?
Locanananda dasa: One thing I noted was that the published resolutions for 2009 hardly mention anything related to the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books, except that members of the GBC should review the monthly World Sankirtana Newsletter. In what way does their private reading of the newsletter inspire anyone to perform Sankirtana?
I would like to have seen a resolution encouraging devotees to engage in outdoor Sankirtana activity for at least a few hours every week no matter what other service they may have to perform. Personally, I think that having some Sankirtana experience should be a requirement for initiation. Srila Prabhupada said everyone should learn the art of presenting his books on Sankirtana. He said Sankirtana and book distribution should be pushed side by side. There is also no resolution or statement from the GBC encouraging devotees to engage in public chanting of the Holy Name, either. Why is this?
The GBC resolutions this year deal mainly with how they are going to kick out anyone who opposes them. They list all of the ways they will reprimand you and rectify you and punish you if you have difficulties in your spiritual life. It doesn’t sound like they have real concern for the welfare of the devotees. Instead of emphasizing how much pain they are able to inflict, the leaders should be trying to inspire the Vaisnava society to get involved in preaching by broadcasting the message of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Posting their resolutions is a potent form of communication through which the GBC can express its main concerns and its vision for the future of our movement. Instead, they are using it as an opportunity to spread their impersonal law book rules and rob us of the spontaneity of devotional service. That was kind of surprising to me, considering all of the PR men they have working for them.
There were a couple of other items that I noted, but only one I will mention right now. It seems that the leaders of ISKCON have a problem defining Srila Prabhupada’s position. Until they are able to do that, how will anyone else know what their own position is in this movement? Let me offer this simple explanation: As Srila Prabhupada said, “spiritual master is eternal.” The eternal spiritual master is an ever-liberated soul, a resident of the spiritual world. He is the external manifestation of the Lord in the heart. Srila Prabhupada is thus empowered by Krishna to spread love of God throughout the world. That is his position. We, on the other hand, are his eternal servants, and by “we” I mean anyone who surrenders to his authority and takes shelter of his lotus feet by joining this movement.
We, the multi-generations of Srila Prabhupada’s followers, all abide by the instructions of the eternal spiritual master and surrender to him with body, mind and intelligence. It goes without saying that his mercy is all we are made of. Being in the line of disciplic succession, a fully surrendered follower of His Divine Grace may become empowered to represent him with transparency, but that does not make any of us the eternal spiritual master. According to the Caitanya-caritamrita, any Vaisnava can be seen as guru, but that is different from the eternal spiritual master who will come back for you birth after birth, if necessary, to deliver you. It is the eternal spiritual master who will be there to make the introductions when you return to Krishna’s abode.
Srila Prabhupada can act inconceivably. He can enter the heart of his follower and guide our every step, be it his disciple or his grand-disciple. By his blessings, by our own sincerity of purpose and by the association of good devotees, we may advance in Krishna consciousness. Otherwise, not. Our awakening of love of God begins from the point of placing our faith in the eternal spiritual master. As long as we humbly chant the Holy Name of Krishna and serve Krishna under his direction, the eternal spiritual master will be with us as much as we desire to have him enter our lives no matter how many generations we are removed from his physical presence on this planet.
The reason why ISKCON’s Srila Prabhupada Position committee is having such a hard time reaching this conclusion is on account of the claims made by others that they too are the eternal spiritual master of the disciples they initiate in ISKCON. Again, understand Srila Prabhupada’s position and you will understand your own. The committee should help clear up this misconception instead of trying to substantiate such false claims. Eternal spiritual masters do not come and go like so many ISKCON initiators we have already seen succumb to maya. Although the pure devotee spiritual master appears to walk among us, it is like the moon that seems to be caught in the branches of a tree. Actually, we can never hope to comprehend the depth of the transcendental qualities of the eternal spiritual master, and we should never compete with him by claiming his eternal servants as our own. Neither should second generation ISKCON devotees artificially limit their relationship with Srila Prabhupada by saying he is simply a siksa guru of theirs, pre-eminent or otherwise. The conventional meaning of this term “siksa guru” is applied when a bosom friend helps form you as a Vaisnava, but as a saktyavesa avatara and as Krishna’s confidential servant, Srila Prabhupada is capable of doing so much more than that.
We should all refer to Srila Prabhupada as “my spiritual master.” This is how he referred to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, as “my spiritual master, the eternal father.” I never heard Srila Prabhupada say, “He is my diksa guru, and someone else is my siksa guru.” Never. I believe His Divine Grace had us install his murti in all ISKCON temples so we would never forget or challenge his unique position as the eternal spiritual master. Why would you worship him every day of your life, chant his name in kirtana and study and sell his books if he were anything less than that?
Interviewer: Prabhu, I wanted to get some information about how you joined the movement and what your service has been over the years to give the reader an idea of your background.
Locanananda dasa: Okay, but I would also like to talk more about leadership of a spiritual movement, guru/disciple relationships and the actual protocol Srila Prabhupada wanted us to carry forward with regard to initiations. We will have to hold that for our next few installments. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
pamho agtACBSP, navami ki jai
Thank you for posting this article comments on gbc resolution. They are not iskcon anymore since the disappearance day of HDG ACBSP, may be they will be able to kick out whoever opposes them but they never will be able to kick out SRILA PRABHUPADA which is opposes to them too for stealing HIS transcendental position without any parampara order.
There must be a order there, they are just silly puppets in the hands of the three gunas maiya by keeping making plans without any bona fide spiritual order, and although they see all their so called spiritual plans to bloop they still don’t want given up the wrong way to achieve perfection disconnected by the supreme order of SRI SRI GURU GAURANGA.
SRILA PRABHUPADA will keep going in bhumi loka for another 9.500 years therefore even after their useless disappearance day on this dukhalayam asasvatam world our guru maharaj will still preaching and delivery many sincere and surrender souls through HIS eternal sublime vani seva, because SRILA PRABHUPADA is timeless, I mean is here with us until the end of this short golden age, but the spiritual journey of the real guru and real disciple keeps going eternally, may be with different vasamsi body dress, but SRILA PRABHUPADA never leaves us alone especially in the moment when we need HIS help and that’s constantly.
We are helpless here with all these blinds betrayers who are just planning so many evil plans without any order out there therefore everything will get forgotten including their troublesome fake reflections only the svarupa muti will remain but they are very far away from that svarupa tattva because they are not following the parampara order left by SRILA PRABHUPADA in iskcon.
Therefore vidya kule ki koribe tar all their so called knowledge is stolen by illusion like the mayayapahrta jnana they think they knows things but they just got the fake reflection through false designations sarvopadhi, if we really want the real reflection designation etc. in everything then we need to follow the order of SRILA PRABHUPADA without jumping as all these usurpers kangooru are still doing by training others wretches in that wrong direction therefore all of them will reach that last darkest region of the hellish planets without any doubt.
agtSP
ys haribol
abhaya carana seva das: Thank you for posting this article comments on gbc resolution. They are not iskcon anymore since the disappearance day of HDG ACBSP, may be they will be able to kick out whoever opposes them but they never will be able to kick out SRILA PRABHUPADA which is opposes to them too for stealing HIS transcendental position without any parampara order.
Mahesh: They are keeping Srila Prabhupada as gatekeeper. This is their whole propaganda project: somehow USE Srila Prabhupada as MONEY screwing device. It is Bait and switch plan. They bait the innocent by USING Srila Prabhupada and then EXPLOIT them by turning them to the atheistic demoniac monsters who use them as SLAVES (their bogus opportunists “diksa” gurus).
760628bj.nv Conversations
Pusta Krsna: Some of them will say some things that Krsna 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…
Well said Abhaya Charan Seva and Mahesh Raja Prabhus.
GBC are IRELEVANT as they do not properly represent ISKCON or Srila Prabhupada making their ‘resolutions’ simply toilet paper to be ‘digested’ by the ‘septic tank’ mentality of their minions and flunkey’s. They improperly use Srila Prabhupada’s image just as the Klan uses the cross and Jesus Christ or terrorist fanatics use Mohamed to justify their twisting of reality and ‘jackboot enforced’ ignorance.
They have further escalated their Machiavellian, totalitarian stance to further intimidate anyone who challenges their corrupt and incompetent, bogus regime of rascals and pretenders, wishing only to surround themselves with sycophants and grovelers.
Daso Smi
Sudarsana
Yes and don’t forget Hitler also used the Vedic Swastika incorrectly and inappropriately, but it ultimately destroyed him lol. So many lessons to be learned, but not for those affected with PAD disease!
Balaram das :Yes and don’t forget Hitler also used the Vedic Swastika incorrectly and inappropriately, but it ultimately destroyed him lol. So many lessons to be learned, but not for those affected with PAD disease!
Mahesh: There is Krsna’s PLAN in action. We just have to see WHAT Krsna has in PLAN. The DEMONS are ALL BROUGHT TOGETHER. Actually NOBODY gets away. According to ones Karma he has to be FORCED in to another body at death and these demons who have given poison to Srila Prabhupada, changed his books, usurped his temples, properties, driven away devotees will be FORCED into the bodies of insects in stool, serpents etc in due course . Enjoy now: PAY LATER. It is just a question of time that’s all –say few years here or there— then enjoy the lifestyle in animal kingdom for MANY KALPAS – the greater the sin the fitting the punishment. MANY,MANY,MANY CREATIONS will come and go they will be changing bodies of serpents, insects etc 8,400,000 species to go thru BUT because they have decided to screw-up PURE DEVOTEE Srila Prabhupada’s movement Krsna WILL sort them out—-FOR SURE.
Take an example: Tamal Krsna who said “put poison in milk” he went thru the front windscreen of a car in a major accident impact with a tree. Krsna CROWNED HIS HEAD IN BROKEN GLASS – very painful way to go. This is why they covered his head in photos with flowers —– so nobody can see the ACTUAL injuries.
730617SB.MAY Lectures
So here it is stated that vamsam kuror vamsa-davagni-nirhrtam. When everything was finished… Krsna knows how to kill the demons, setting fire. Just like you… Some way or other, if there is fire in the forest, automatically, so many trees, so many animals, so many other things, they become devastated, burned into ashes. SO KRSNA, BY THE POLICY OF KRSNA, ALL THE DEMONS WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN THE BATTLEFIELD OF KURUKSETRA, and set them… The fire was set, fighting, and they died. When Arjuna was hesitating to fight, Arjuna was at last informed that “Why you are hesitating? It is all My plan. You fight or don’t fight, it doesn’t matter. These people are not going back home. They will die here.” Nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin: “You just become only a nimitta, an immediate cause. Everything is arranged. But if you fight, you get the credit. I want to see My devotee gets the credit. Everything I am doing.”
750323AR.MAY Lectures
Prabhupada: Many countries. It is unnatural to deny God. It is unnatural. This is also Krsna’s another magic. All such people who had any doubt about Krsna, they have been kept over there in Russia. JUST LIKE THE OTHER DAY THERE WAS A TRAIN CRASH ACCIDENT. SO ALL THESE RASCALS THEY ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN THAT WAY IN A TRAIN OR TWO TRAIN, AND THEY SMASHED. THAT IS… JUST LIKE KRSNA DID IN BATTLE OF KURUKSETRA. ALL THE RASCALS WERE BROUGHT INTO THE BATTLEFIELD AND FINISHED. (end)
KB 64 The Story of King Nrga
Lord Krsna continued: “If some foolish king who is puffed up by his wealth, prestige and power wants to usurp a brahmana’s property, it should be understood that such a king is clearing his path to hell; he does not know how much he has to suffer for such unwise action. If someone takes away the property of a very liberal brahmana who is encumbered by a large dependent family, then such a usurper is put into the hell known as Kumbhipaka; not only is he put into this hell, but his family members also have to accept such a miserable condition of life. A PERSON WHO TAKES AWAY PROPERTY WHICH HAS EITHER BEEN AWARDED TO A BRAHMANA OR GIVEN AWAY BY HIM IS CONDEMNED TO LIVE FOR AT LEAST 60,000 YEARS AS MISERABLY AS AN INSECT IN STOOL. Therefore I instruct you, all My boys and relatives present here, do not, even by mistake, take the possession of a brahmana and thereby pollute your whole family. If someone even wishes to possess such property, let alone attempts to take it away by force, the duration of his life will be reduced. He will be defeated by his enemies, and after being bereft of his royal position, when he gives up his body he will become a serpent. A serpant gives trouble to all other living entities. My dear boys and relatives, I therefore advise you that even if a brahmana becomes angry with you and calls you by ill names or cuts you, still you should not retaliate. On the contrary, you should smile, tolerate him and offer your respects to the brahmana. You know very well that even I Myself offer My obeisances to the brahmanas with great respect three times daily. You should therefore follow My instruction and example. I shall not forgive anyone who does not follow them, and I shall punish him. You should learn from the example of King Nrga that even if someone unknowingly usurps the property of a brahmana, he is put into a miserable condition of life.”
Bg 16.19 T The Divine And Demoniac Natures
tan aham dvisatah kruran
samsaresu naradhaman
ksipamy ajasram asubhan
asurisv eva yonisu
TRANSLATION
THOSE WHO ARE ENVIOUS AND MISCHIEVOUS, WHO ARE THE LOWEST AMONG MEN, ARE CAST BY ME INTO THE OCEAN OF MATERIAL EXISTENCE, INTO VARIOUS DEMONIAC SPECIES OF LIFE.
PURPORT
In this verse it is clearly indicated that the placing of a particular individual soul in a particular body is the prerogative of the supreme will. The demoniac person may not agree to accept the supremacy of the Lord, and it is a fact that he may act according to his own whims, but his next birth will depend upon the decision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not on himself. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Third Canto, it is stated that an individual soul, after his death, is put into the womb of a mother where he gets a particular type of body under the supervision of superior power. Therefore in the material existence we find so many species of life–animals, insects, men, and so on. ALL ARE ARRANGED BY THE SUPERIOR POWER. THEY ARE NOT ACCIDENTAL. AS FOR THE DEMONIAC, IT IS CLEARLY SAID HERE THAT THEY ARE PERPETUALLY PUT INTO THE WOMBS OF DEMONS, AND THUS THEY CONTINUE TO BE ENVIOUS, THE LOWEST OF MANKIND. SUCH DEMONIAC SPECIES OF LIFE ARE HELD TO BE ALWAYS FULL OF LUST, ALWAYS VIOLENT AND HATEFUL AND ALWAYS UNCLEAN. THEY ARE JUST LIKE SO MANY BEASTS IN A JUNGLE.
Isopanisad 12
THE PSEUDO RELIGIONISTS HAVE NEITHER KNOWLEDGE NOR DETACHMENT FROM MATERIAL AFFAIRS, FOR MOST OF THEM WANT TO LIVE IN THE GOLDEN SHACKLES OF MATERIAL BONDAGE UNDER THE SHADOW OF PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES DISGUISED AS RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES. BY A FALSE DISPLAY OF RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS, THEY PRESENT A SHOW OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE WHILE INDULGING IN ALL SORTS OF IMMORAL ACTIVITIES. IN THIS WAY THEY PASS AS SPIRITUAL MASTERS AND DEVOTEES OF GOD. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acaryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession. They ignore the Vedic injunction acaryopasana–“One must worship the acarya”–and Krsna’s statement in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2) evam parampara-praptam, “This supreme science of God is received through the disciplic succession.” INSTEAD, TO MISLEAD THE PEOPLE IN GENERAL THEY THEMSELVES BECOME SO-CALLED ACARYAS, BUT THEY DO NOT EVEN FOLLOW THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ACARYAS.
THESE ROGUES ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS ELEMENTS IN HUMAN SOCIETY. Because there is no religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the state. THEY CANNOT, HOWEVER, ESCAPE THE LAW OF THE SUPREME, WHO HAS CLEARLY DECLARED IN THE BHAGAVAD-GITA THAT ENVIOUS DEMONS IN THE GARB OF RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDISTS SHALL BE THROWN INTO THE DARKEST REGIONS OF HELL (BG. 16.19-20). SRI ISOPANISAD CONFIRMS THAT THESE PSEUDO RELIGIONISTS ARE HEADING TOWARD THE MOST OBNOXIOUS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THEIR SPIRITUAL MASTER BUSINESS, WHICH THEY CONDUCT SIMPLY FOR SENSE GRATIFICATION.
According to the GBC Resolutions ‘Preamble’ to #318, they have now invented a system for multiple diksa & siksa gurus, which is totally unique in the history of Vaisnavism (see copy below). Sounds a bit UN-SASTRIC to my puny mind. So now they have the self invested right to INVENT a system of rubber stamping unqualified and unauthorised (by the Founder-Acarya) gurus, as long as they remain subservient to the GBC’s oversight.
Then they have the audacity to claim that Srila Prabhupada’s system to continue initiations through the ritvik representative process that he put IN WRITING, is un-sastric and not bona fide. In effect they are saying that they have the right to invent a new system for initiations, in their own words NEVER DONE BEFORE, but deny Srila Prabhupada’s right as the founder acarya to decide how his mission should proceed. I sure know who I’m following!
By this ‘Preamble’, Krsna has allowed these fools to “shoot themselves in the foot with their own gun”
Yhs, Balaram das.
318: Regulations for Commencing the Service of Diksa-guru in ISKCON
[ISKCON Law]
PREAMBLE
ISKCON’s ethos of multiple diksa- and siksa-gurus serving under the auspices of a global managerial board is unique in the history of Vaisnavism, and so is the challenge it poses: the institutional management has the obligation of safeguarding devotees in their quest for spiritual guidance while simultaneously not intruding upon the necessary freedom of inspiration that is the very heart of this journey.
There has been an ongoing discussion about how ISKCON Law should be structured to meet this challenge, with proposals ranging from rigid standardization of guruship to full dependence on a policy of caveat emptor (“consumer beware”) provisions. However, the model that seems optimal is one in which aspiring disciples are empowered through education, the vetting process for guru candidates is delegated as much as possible to local leaders, and the GBC, per Srila Prabhupada’s mandate, retains a level of oversight over all individual ISKCON leaders.
Hear hear Balaram prabhu. Good point and well spoken.
As regards paragraph two in the above preamble, it only proves the “voted in” disobedience lives on.