Readers’ questions and challenges
Posted Tue Jun 9, 2009 1:27 am (PDT): “Please have an issue of BTP dedicated to only praising PRABHUPADA and not dedicated to putting people down. If you wish to glorify Prabhupada then actually do so. Forget about other people’s bad qualities and really show that this magazine is called “Back To Prabhupada”. Just talk about chanting Hare Krsna and publish Prabhupada’s writings….”
– Srradha Cartwright, Greenfield, USA
Editor replies:
We quote from our editorial in BTP 8, where Srila Prabhupada explains exactly how to praise him:
“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.”
(Srila Prabhupada 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.
“His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur warned in his work, “Who is Vaisnava?” not to criticize any fellow Vaisnava.”
– Gurubhakti Das, Calcutta, India
Editor replies:
First of all we have to know who is exactly a Vaisnava. The first qualification of a Vaisnava is that he will obey the orders of his spiritual master. If one disobeys the orders of the spiritual master, then he cannot be a Vaisnava; not to speak of trying to usurp the seat of his spiritual master as the GBC have been trying to do for the past 30 years:
“Our mission is to serve (…). Not that you take the place of the guru. That is nonsense, very dangerous. Then everything will be spoiled. As soon as you become ambitious to take the place of guru – gurusu nara-matih. That is the material disease.”
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, April 20, 1977)
“If one is disobeying the spiritual master, he cannot remain in the pure status of life. He cannot be siksa-guru or anything else. He is finished, immediately.”
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, July 4th, 1974)
Secondly, we know that Srila Prabhupada himself stated that there are many non-Vaisnavas in ISKCON who are posing as Vaisnavas:
“There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krsna consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaisnava.”
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 1.218 purport)
Clearly, those who unauthorisedly
“take the place of the guru” are these very same “jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas”.
“I wish to learn more – especially since I’ve learned that direct initiation must be from a living guru – how is this not possible???”
– Saanu Aino, Denver, USA
Editor replies:
1) Srila Prabhupada never used the term “living guru”. Therefore, it can have no relevance to initiation.
2) The vast majority of Srila Prabhupada’s thousands of disciples were initiated via the ritvik system without ever having met Srila Prabhupada.
3) Therefore, the physical presence of the spiritual master cannot at all be relevant to initiation.
4) Initiation is not a ceremony. It is a spiritual process which begins with the disciple’s serious determination to follow the rules and regulations as laid down by the spiritual master:
“The chanting of Hare Krsna is our main business, that is real initiation. And as you are all following my instruction, in that matter, the initiator is already there.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 19/8/68)
The fact that Srila Prabhupada is no longer physically present before us has no bearing on the transcendental process of diksa, or initiation. There is nothing in sastra (scripture) which states that initiation can only occur when the spiritual master is on the planet. Rather it occurs due to the receipt of transcendental knowledge from Srila Prabhupada, which does not depend on his physical presence:
“This is the purpose of diksa, or initiation. Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness.”
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila,9.61 purport)
“Reception of spiritual knowledge is never checked by any material condition.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.7.1 purport)
1) “How can an initiate-to-be be assured that Srila Prabhupada is pleased with his sadhana and wants to accept him as his disciple?”
– Govinda Lila Das, Tarkina, Ghana
Editor replies:
Because Srila Prabhupada set up the system whereby he delegated acceptance of future disciples to the ritviks, who would accept future disciples providing the Temple President has recommended that the disciple was following.
Srila Prabhupada was not involved. This was the system even whilst Srila Prabhupada was on the planet.
2) “Also, if a ritvik initiator falls down, how far is the guidance of the aspirant who gets initiated by such a ritvik into Srila Prabhupada’s care be guaranteed?”
Editor replies:
The ritvik is not some special “guide” to the aspirant. He merely accepts the disciple on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. The Guru is, and initiation is actually given by, Srila Prabhupada. Hence the falldown of the ritvik cannot affect the initiation, anymore than the subsequent falldown of the Temple President who recommended the devotee for initiation.
3) “I can’t just imagine the unlimited karmic reactions Srila Prabhupada has to bear for countless sinful generations.”
Editor replies:
We have to obey what Srila Prabhupada actually ordered, not speculate what we think would be best for Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada established himself as the diksa Guru for ISKCON, and we must obey him in this regard. He never ordered us to stop him initiating, so why should we stop him?
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