Madhavananda das, USA:I have received an email in response to the recent article, “Double Standard – Is Srila Prabhupada Present or Not?” which states the following:
“Madhavananda you write:
“Now if this were so (that ‘Everyone is qualified to right now give initiation.’ as stated by Tamal Krishna -December 3, 1980 at Topanga Canyon Pyramid House), then why do we have a May 28th recording where Srila Prabhupada , when asked specifically about initiations after his departure, speaks of appointing eleven persons? Why does Srila Prabhupada not say right then something to the effect that any of my disciples can go ahead and initiate if they are qualified?”
In the whole section of your paper where the above quote appears, you point out the absence of a clear instruction from Srila Prabhupada on the matter, and you conclude that this means the July 9th Letter is “it”. However, you do not address the assertion that Srila Prabhupada was purposefully vague, as was his own Spiritual Master under somewhat similar circumstances. Would you kindly address or rebut that as part of your own assertions?”
One might say that Srila Prabhupada was vague on the matter; if however one thoroughly examines the matter putting all of his statements into perspective, then the instruction is clear. One has to analyze the whole situation and put it all together. The July 9th Letter is an official response to the May 28th Conversation as indicated in the first line: “Recently when all of the GBC members were with His Divine Grace in Vrndavana…” It was at that time that the following critical point was specifically addressed by the GBC through Satsvarupa:
Satsvarupa: “Then our next question concerns initiations in the future, particularly at that time when you’re no longer with us.”
And the follow-up response that came on July 9th states: “Srila Prabhupada indicated that soon He would appoint some of His senior disciples to act as “ritvik – representative of the acarya, for the purpose of performing initiations, both first initiation and second initiation.” Does it really make sense to assert that Srila Prabhupada, after being specifically addressed on this critical point of what would happen when he’s “no longer with us”, would then issue an official letter to all ISKCON leaders which has nothing to do with the time when he‘s “no longer with us”? Would Srila Prabhupada issue a letter which only addresses what would happen for the next few months, but give no indication whatsoever what would happen after his departure? This is what is being proposed, and it does not seem likely nor is it congruent with what Srila Prabhupada had already indicated about a zonal system to carry on after his departure.
It is a valid question, yes, one may say that the May 28th Conversation and July 9th Letter appear to be ambiguous. Why doesn’t the July 9th Letter clearly state, “This will be the system after my departure”? It seems this alone would have eradicated so much confusion. My response to this is that we cannot always know exactly what is the Lord’s plan or purpose. For one thing the Lord can be very tricky when he wants to test us; and neither can we always understand the mind of a pure devotee. This is one of several ways of understanding this. And in this regard the following citation (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 12.8) is quite relevant:
TRANSLATION:
“At first all the followers of Advaita Acarya shared a single opinion. But later they followed two different opinions, as ordained by providence.
PURPORT:
The words daivera karana indicate that by dint of providence, or by God’s will, the followers of Advaita Acarya divided into two parties. Such disagreement among the disciples of one acarya is also found among the members of the Gaudiya Matha. In the beginning, during the presence of Om Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Astottara-sata Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, all the disciples worked in agreement; but just after his disappearance, they disagreed. One party strictly followed the instructions of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, but another group created their own concoction about executing his desires. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, at the time of his departure, requested all his disciples to form a governing body and conduct missionary activities cooperatively. He did not instruct a particular man to become the next acarya. But just after his passing away, his leading secretaries made plans, without authority, to occupy the post of acarya, and they split into two factions over who the next acarya would be. Consequently, both factions were asara, or useless, because they had no authority, having disobeyed the order of the spiritual master. Despite the spiritual master’s order to form a governing body and execute the missionary activities of the Gaudiya Matha, the two unauthorized factions began litigation that is still going on after forty years with no decision.
[..] The members of the self-appointed acarya’s party who occupied the property of the Gaudiya Matha are satisfied, but they could make no progress in preaching. Therefore by the result of their actions one should know that they are asura, or useless…”
It is interesting to note here how Srila Prabhupada says that this confusion and division happened amongst followers of Advaita Acarya as well as in the Gaudiya Matha over precisely this same guru issue; and that it happened by “God’s will”. So this is an interesting point; – one may say that “Srila Prabhupada was purposefully vague, as was his own Spiritual Master under somewhat similar circumstances”; for as such we can see that by “God’s will” the same confusion took place amongst the disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. It just so happened in the same way both in the case of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta that their leading secretaries insisted on the idea that there must be a “living guru” and that those who followed suit split up into unauthorized factions.
“In the latter days of my Guru Maharaja he was very disgusted. Actually, he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. Still he requested his disciples to form a strong Governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya Math. But Sridhara Maharaja is responsible for disobeying this order of Guru Maharaja, and he and others who are already dead unnecessarily thought that there must be one acarya. If Guru Maharaja could have seen someone who was qualified at that time to be acarya he would have mentioned. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. His idea was acarya was not to be nominated amongst the governing body. He said openly you make a GBC and conduct the mission. So his idea was amongst the members of GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected. So Sridhara Maharaja and his two associate gentlemen unauthorizedly selected one acarya and later it proved a failure. The result is now everyone is claiming to be acarya even though they may be kanistha adhikari with no ability to preach. In some of the camps the acarya is being changed three times a year. Therefore we may not commit the same mistake in our ISKCON camp. Actually amongst my Godbrothers no one is qualified to become acarya. So it is better not to mix with my Godbrothers very intimately because instead of inspiring our students and disciples they may sometimes pollute them.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter to Rupanuga, April 28, 1974)
There are many similarities in the circumstances of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s passing, however Bhaktisiddhanta according to Srila Prabhupada above, had intended that one of his disciples would become “self effulgent” and automatically be accepted by the others as the successor. We know that the one to be that self effulgent successor is Srila Prabhupada. In the case of Srila Prabhupada however he did not make the same indication for a successor. Srila Prabhupada’s circumstances were different in the regard that he had established a worldwide institution with the availability of his books in many languages thus making his vani actually far more accessible throughout the globe. And there is the fact that Srila Prabhupada already had in place an initiation system which was specifically designed to operate without necessitating his physical presence. We know that there are many disciples of Srila Prabhupada who were initiated without ever having met him physically, perhaps without ever even having correspondence in writing. And this spiritual master to disciple relationship is consistent with Srila Prabhupada’s example as he physically met with his spiritual master only a few times. As quoted above, when asked about a successor Srila Prabhupada said “there is no need of one person”. So we find that under the circumstances, Srila Prabhupada, unlike Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, did not indicate a successor but rather a zonal system.
This point of physical necessity of the initiator is one of a major dichotomy in the Vaishnava line. However in Srila Prabhupada’s personal example and teachings we find many, many statements such as the following supporting the view that physical presence is not essential.
“[…]one has to associate with liberated persons not directly, physically, but by understanding, through philosophy and logic, the problems of life.”
(3.31.48)
“Never think that I am absent from you. Physical presence is not essential; presence by message (or hearing) is real touch.
(Letter to students Aug 2 1967)
It is unfortunate that there are not enough leaders in ISKCON who can embrace this point such to uphold the zonal system for ISKCON. Rather there is seemingly absolute persistence in replicating the same mistake which Srila Prabhupada clearly warned of as made by the Gaudiya Matha and which he emphatically stated as quoted above “Therefore we may not commit the same mistake in our ISKCON camp.” Despite this the ISKCON leaders, most if not all, insist on the multiple initiator system.
“If everyone just initiates then there will only be a contradictory result. As long as it goes on there will be only failure. 29. O shame! My dear brothers, aren’t you embarrassed? In the manner of businessmen you increase your disciples. 40. The one who renounces the guru’s order (guru tyagi) and the one who tries to enjoy the assets of his spiritual master (guru-bhogi) are two kinds of useless persons. First become a servant of your spiritual master (guru-sevi) and then you will understand things clearly.”
(Srila Prabhupada Phalguna Krishna Pancami)
Other angles to consider when it appears to us that Srila Prabhupada was “vague” on the matter:
1. There are many tape recordings missing from the last few months of Prabhupada’s presence. It is reported that Tamal Krishna had procession of them and claimed they were burned in a fire. You can see by looking at the amount of tapes available from Srila Prabhupada’s last few months of physical presence. There are relatively very few, although it is reported that he was being recorded constantly. Who knows what Srila Prabhupada could have said at that time?
2. Under the circumstances Srila Prabhupada would have had good reason to not state it point blank that “I will remain the initiator for ISKCON after my departure”. Perhaps this could have caused even more havoc and upheaval. There were obviously many ambitious persons who were very eager to occupy his post. There is allegedly even some who wanted Srila Prabhupada out of the picture altogether, and such an outright statement denying their hopes to achieve his post may have caused even more enmity. It’s possible there may have been even greater repercussions on Srila Prabhupada’s most important concern – the publication and distribution of his books. Much of the driving force in that department may have been these material ambitions and Srila Prabhupada wouldn’t have wanted to pull the plug. A lot was being accomplished to get out Srila Prabhupada’s books, and whether or not driven by material ambition, the job was getting done and Srila Prabhupada may have seen it as a hindrance to assert this instruction in that way.
3. There is also the aspect of testing the disciples as to who is really going to try to understand the instructions of the spiritual master sincerely, and who will make their own interpretation for their sense gratification.
“The difficulty is sometimes things are interpreted in a manner dovetailing one’s own sense gratification. I have got this personal experience in my Guru Maharaja’s institution. Different Godbrothers took the words of Guru Maharaja in different interpretations for sense gratification and the whole mission disrupted. This is still going on for the last 40 years without any proper settlement. I am always afraid of this crack….”
(Letter to Tamal Krsna Oct. 18, 1969).
On this point it is interesting to note what Srila Prabhupada said on May 28th 1977 just before the GBC meeting was concluded.
Prabhupada: “And Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajiaya guru haia. One can understand the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he can become guru. Or one who understands his guru’s order, the same parampara, he can become guru. And therefore I shall select some of you.”
(May 28th meeting with GBC)
Most of us agree (including Tamal Krishna at Topanga Canyon) that the eleven persons who were selected were selected only for the post of ritvik. By properly executing their assigned duties they surely would have been genuine gurus in the manner of siksas.
This perspective on the matter gives us understanding of how sometimes the instructions of the spiritual master are given in such a way that one is required to be very inquisitive and investigate the matter for oneself rather than follow blindly what others say. The instructions are given in such a way also to test us all, especially those with driving ambitions. Such a situation acts as a screen made by the Lord to “separate the wheat from the chaff” so to speak; and perhaps also to teach us many lessons that will go down in history.
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/06-09/editorials4691.htm
I think an important point is that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja had Bhaktivedanta Swami, (Srila Prabhupada) as a disciple and he knew who he was and what he was capable of achieving after his, (Bhatisiddhanta Maharaja’s) dissappearance.
Srila Prabhupada had no such disciple(s), no Maha Bhagavat sent from the spiritual world by Krishna Himself to continue the work. (Such a devotee may appear in the future but I think if he/she were here now we would know it, yeah?)
So the Ritvik process HDG put in place seems practical according to the transcendental ‘tools’ he had, (and didn’t have) at his disposal. Srila Prabhupada was very practical. For instance it’s highly unlikely he would have ordered an airport built if Iskcon had no planes. In the same way why would he set up a process of disciples becoming initiating guru’s if he didn’t have disciples qualified to fulfill that role?
What the Iskcon leaders have successfully done is cheapen the role of guru when actually it is the most important thing in this entire universe – being the only way out of this place of death and back to Krishna – and can only be held by the most qualified Vaisnavas. So when disciples discover their guru is unqualified and fallen and their years of service never went anywhere, (only the pure, transparent via medium can take our service and hand it on) it’s not just ‘bad luck prabhu’. That Iskcon leaders continue to play games with others lives, gambling that the guru’s they make ‘might’ be qualified, (cause let’s be honest, they seem as bewildered as the disciples when another guru is exposed as a charlatan) it’s a clear indicator that this is not the system Srila Prabhupada put in place.
if Bhaktisiddhanta knew who Prahbupada was, why didn’t he appoint him the next acharya? Prabhupada himself says that Bhaktisidhannta did not see anyone fit to be acharya, he didn’t appoint anyone. We can conclude that Bhaktisiddhanta did not see Prabhupada as being fit to be acharya, according to Prabhupada himself. Bhaktisiddhanta left a governing body which Prabhupada was never part of or surrendered to. So how did Prabhupada’s name become the next one on the Parampara?
Thank you Ananny Mouse for your questions: The history of what happened to the Gaudiya Math after Srila Bhaktissidhanta Maharaja’s disappearance is a possible answer as to why Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja did not place his pure disciple in the position of acarya. History has also shown us that without being officially appointed the next acarya then, Srila Prabhupada later went on to set the world alight with Krishna Consciousness, (for this reason also he can rightly claim to being the ‘next one on the Parampara’). That Srila Prabhupada’s true spiritual nature remained hidden through those turbulent days after Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja’s disappearance in no way proves anything. Our Vaisnava history is filled with examples of persons who appeared to be unqualified but later manifest their full spiritual prowess when the time was right.
That Srila Bhaktissidhanta did not appoint Srila Prabhupada as acarya is not automatic proof that Srila Prabhupada’s was not qualified but could rather be seen as quite the opposite, knowing what we now know.
History has shown the havoc the Gauidiya Math GBC created, and understanding that Srila Prabhupada avoided such association does not throw any doubt in my mind on Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual qualifications, (in fact I feel it was a very clever move that allowed him to fully serve his guru).
An important question for Ananny Mouse is, was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta appointed acarya by ‘his’ guru? And has this ‘appointing’ process always been followed in our line of acarya’s and is that the only way one becomes acarya and ‘the next one on the Parampara’? It would be good if Ananny Mouse could provide some evidence in this regard.
When the Acharya is no longer present in His physical form there is always the danger that the organization (be it Gaudiya Math or ISKCON) becomes ‘fragmented’ this is why Srila Prabhupada appointed eleven to act as His Ritvik Representatives as opposed to saying that ‘everyone can act as Ritvik Representative’. ‘Ritvik Representative’ is not an affirmation of ones ‘qualification’ but is an affirmation that one is if anything, ‘unqualified’ to ‘accept disciples of his own’. Srila Prabhupada’s order to appoint 11 persons as Ritvik Representatives does not automatically mean that everyone else is ‘not qualified’ to perform such a function but is an attempt to prevent the fragmentation of ISKCON after His physical departure.
These 11 men were ambitious men, and ambitious men are dangerous , so Srila Prabhupada also ordered that these men always travel and never stay in one place, but always fully engaged (and try to do as He did). This way it would minimise any attachment or mischief and in-fighting. Survival is as much about co-operation as it is confrontation and the conversations that Srila Prabhupada had with Sripad BV Puri Maharaja showed that He was very concerned about the possible fragmentation of ISKCON after His physical departure.
The fact that the said 11 appointed Ritvik Representatives have failed to follow the instructions of his Divine Grace ‘leaves the door open’ for future Ritvik Representatives (besides the 11 appointed by Srila Prabhupada) to perform this function and they may also act in a Siksa capacity in the same way as others in the Vaisnava community who inspire great faith in the Vani of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Ritvik ‘initiation ceremony’ (on behalf of Srila Prabhupada) as Srila Prabhupada has stated ”is a formality only” and the most important thing is to try, to the best of ones ability to strictly follow the Vani instructions of His Divine Grace. Any future Ritvik ceremonies should Ideally serve in a ‘binding and cohesive’ function so that sadhu sanga and vaisnava association is always there to assist in the application and realisation of the transcendental message of Srila Prabhupada.
I don’t think that Srila Prabhupada is beying ‘vague’ about anything. In the same way Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was trying to prevent the breakup of Gaudiya Math by forming GBC to keep it ‘together’. If Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada had named AC Bhaktivedanta Swami while He was physically present, this would have put him in a very dangerous position because as we know already from the past records of Gaudiya Math when Sridara Maharaja ‘usurped’ the position of leader (against the wishes of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur) devotees who opposed were beaten up, thrown out and killed also.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada’s ‘appointment’ of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is not revealed in audio tape, letter, document, film clip or even word of mouth but is transcendental and manifest within the pure heart of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada this is the transcendental, achintya (inconceivable) nature of the Supreme Desire of Lord Krishna Himself. The appearance of the successive Acharyas is not subject to mundane interpretation, vox populi, mundane resolutions of “senior” officials, sannyasis, board members etc but is self effulgent and transcendental and self manifest.
We simply follow in the footsteps and adhere to the Divine Vani coming through Srila Prabhupada and the previous Acharyas and our lives will become perfect where is the ‘question’ of “vague” This is just my own understanding of the situation and I am sure that others have there own realisations about this topic.
All glories to His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his sincere followers.
Daso Smi
Sudarsana
Ananny Mouse: if Bhaktisiddhanta knew who Prabhupada was, why didn’t he appoint him the next acharya?
Mahesh: These Godbrothers were VERY ENVIOUS of Srila Prabhupada – so they were NOT going to obey Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura directly. So this BRILLIANT move of SELECTING THE SELF-EFFULGENT AUTOMATICALLY WAS THE PLAN. The Godbrothers were CONDITIONED souls and ONLY Sridhara Maharaja was ATLEAST following REGULATIVE principles as per Srila Prabhupada (See Srila Prabhupada’s Godbrothers below). The selection PROCESS is SELF-EFFULGENT(PROMINENT ACARYA): WHO WOULD COME OUT SUCCESSFUL AND SELF EFFULGENT ACARYA WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY SELECTED:
A VAISNAVA ACARYA IS SELF-EFFULGENT, AND THERE IS NO NEED FOR ANY COURT JUDGMENT.
Madhya 1.220 The Later Pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
This behavior is indicative of real Vaisnavas. When they saw that Rupa and Sanatana were fortunate enough to receive the mercy of the Lord, they were so pleased that they all congratulated the two brothers. A jealous person in the dress of a Vaisnava is not at all happy to see the success of another Vaisnava in receiving the Lord’s mercy. Unfortunately in this Age of Kali there are many mundane persons in the dress of Vaisnavas, and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has described them as disciples of Kali. He says, kali-cela. He indicates that there is another Vaisnava, a pseudoVaisnava with tilaka on his nose and kanthi beads around his neck. Such a pseudoVaisnava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaisnavas. Although passing for a Vaisnava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaisnava. Bhaktivinoda Thakura therefore says that such a pseudoVaisnava is not a Vaisnava at all but a disciple of Kali-yuga. A disciple of Kali cannot become an acarya by the decision of some high court. Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a Vaisnava acarya. A VAISNAVA ACARYA IS SELF-EFFULGENT, AND THERE IS NO NEED FOR ANY COURT JUDGMENT. A false acarya may try to override a Vaisnava by a high-court decision, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga.
HE SAID OPENLY YOU MAKE A GBC AND CONDUCT THE MISSION. SO HIS IDEA WAS AMONGST THE MEMBERS OF GBC WHO WOULD COME OUT SUCCESSFUL AND SELF EFFULGENT ACARYA WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY SELECTED
74-04-28. Letter: Rupanuga
You are right about Sridhara Maharaja’s genuineness. But in my opinion he is the best of the lot. He is my old friend, at least he executes the regulative principles of devotional service. I do not wish to discuss about activities of my Godbrothers but it is a fact they have no life for preaching work. All are satisfied with a place for residence in the name of a temple, they engage disciples to get foodstuff by transcendental devices and eat and sleep. They have no idea or brain how to broacast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. My Guru Maharaja used to lament many times for this reason and he thought if one man at least had understood the principle of preaching then his mission would achieve success. In the latter days of my Guru Maharaja he was very disgusted. Actually, he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. Still he requested his disciples to form a strong Governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya Math. But Sridhara Maharaja is responsible for disobeying this order of Guru Maharaja, and he and others who are already dead unnecessarily thought that there must be one acarya. If Guru Maharaja could have seen someone who was qualified at that time to be acarya he would have mentioned. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. HIS IDEA WAS ACARYA WAS NOT TO BE NOMINATED AMONGST THE GOVERNING BODY. HE SAID OPENLY YOU MAKE A GBC AND CONDUCT THE MISSION. SO HIS IDEA WAS AMONGST THE MEMBERS OF GBC WHO WOULD COME OUT SUCCESSFUL AND SELF EFFULGENT ACARYA WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY SELECTED. So Sridhara Maharaja and his two associate gentlemen unauthorizedly selected one acarya and later it proved a failure. The result is now everyone is claiming to be acarya even though they may be kanistha adhikari with no ability to preach. In some of the camps the acarya is being changed three times a year. Therefore we may not commit the same mistake in our ISKCON camp. Actually amongst my Godbrothers no one is qualified to become acarya. So it is better not to mix with my Godbrothers very intimately because instead of inspiring our students and disciples they may sometimes pollute them. This attempt was made previously by them, especially Madhava Maharaja and Tirtha Maharaja and Bon Maharaja but somehow or other I saved the situation. This is going on. We shall be very careful about them and not mix with them. This is my instruction to you all. They cannot help us in our movement, but they are very competent to harm our natural progress. So we must be very careful about them.
751028BG.NAI Lectures
Indian man: When did you become the spiritual leader of Krsna consciousness?
Prabhupada: What is that?
Brahmananda: He’s asking when did you become the spiritual leader of Krsna consciousness?
Prabhupada: WHEN MY GURU MAHARAJA ORDERED ME. THIS IS THE GURU-PARAMPARA.
Indian: Did it…
Prabhupada: Try to understand. Don’t go very speedily. A GURU CAN BECOME GURU WHEN HE’S ORDERED BY HIS GURU. THAT’S ALL. OTHERWISE NOBODY CAN BECOME GURU.
68-04-12. Letter: Dayananda
Regarding parampara system: THERE IS NOTHING TO WONDER FOR BIG GAPS. Just like we belong to the Brahma Sampradaya, so we accept it from Krishna to Brahma, Brahma to Narada, Narada to Vyasadeva, Vyasadeva to Madhva, and between Vyasadeva and Madhva there is a big gap. But it is sometimes said that Vyasadeva is still living, and Madhva was fortunate enough to meet him directly. In a similar way, we find in the Bhagavad-gita that the Gita was taught to the sungod, some millions of years ago, but Krishna has mentioned only three names in this parampara system–namely, Vivasvan, Manu, and Iksvaku; and so these gaps do not hamper from understanding the parampara system. WE HAVE TO PICK UP THE PROMINENT ACARYA, AND FOLLOW FROM HIM. There are many branches also from the parampara system, and it is not possible to record all the branches and sub-branches in the disciplic succession. We have to pick up from the authority of the acharya in whatever sampradaya we belong to.
Srila Prabhupada’s Godbrothers
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/12-07/editorials2260.htm
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Analysis of Srila Prabhupada’s Letter to Rupanuga
http://harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/12-07/editorials2250.htm
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Was Sridhara Maharaja a bonafide guru?
http://www.iskcontimes.com/was-sridhara-maharaja-bona-fide-guru
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Sridhara Maharaja – EXPOSED
http://iskcontimes.com/sridhara-maharaja-exposed
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Conditioned soul Sridhara Maharaja Vs Srila Prabhupada the Mahabhagavata
http://iskcontimes.com/conditioned-soul-sridhara-maharaja-vs-srila-prabhupada-mahabhagavata
Note: Srila Prabhupada is STILL that SAME EFFULGENT (PROMINENT) ACARYA .”WE HAVE TO PICK UP THE PROMINENT ACARYA, AND FOLLOW FROM HIM.”
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura and Srila Prabhupada had SIMILAR patterns: Neither was going to allow the CONDITIONED souls to play at being Acarya(Diksa Guru). It was OBVIOUS that Srila Prabhupada was the one SELECTED as Acarya. The others had ZERO potency. Tamal Krsna and company ALSO wanted to play at being ACARYA but Srila Prabhupada did NOT order. Aside from that, Srila Prabhupada makes it VERY clear in Madhya 24.330 that ONLY Mahabhagavata is ACCEPTED as Guru. This is the ENVIOUS nature of these CROOKS that they do NOT care for the SELF-EFFULGENT(PROMINENT) Acarya. They want to play at MONEY SCREWING AND SLAVERY MAKING:
WHEN I order
http://harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/03-08/editorials2603.htm
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Become Guru by Order, That’s All
http://harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/04-10/editorials5990.htm
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What We Have Heard from the Spiritual Master, That is Living
http://harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/08-10/editorials6409.htm
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Srila Prabhupada’s Disciple
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/12-07/editorials2265.htm
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Brief History of Guru Hoax in ISKCON
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/12-07/editorials2302.htm
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Prabhupada: RTVIK, YES.
http://www.prabhupadanugas.eu/news/?p=39834#comment-28208
Sudarsana Das Vanacari: Ritvik ‘initiation ceremony’ (on behalf of Srila Prabhupada) as Srila Prabhupada has stated ”is a formality only” and the most important thing is to try, to the best of ones ability to strictly follow the Vani instructions of His Divine Grace
Mahesh: That’s correct. The 1st and 2nd initiations are just FORMALITY but what is NOT a formality is Madhyama Adhikari’s initiation. What the CON ARTISTS (Anti Ritvik CROOKS: BOGUS ISKCON/gaudiya math “gurus” and MONEY SCREWING supporters) do is they HIGHLIGHT the FORMALITY of fire sacrifice CEREMONY- BAS! Bananas, sesame seeds thrown in fire BIG smoke Bas! Initiated. This is HOW they DUPE the innocent devotees. BUT it is ONLY the Maha Bhagavata that CAN TRANSFER Krsna into anothers heart(DIKSA)— AND when Krsna is in your heart YOU can AT THAT point understand your SVARUPA (constitutional position) just like when you come before the sun you see yourself ALSO:
SB 10.2.18 P Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb
As indicated here by the word manastah, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the core of Vasudeva’s mind or heart to the core of the heart of Devaki. We should note carefully that the Lord was transferred to Devaki not by the ordinary way for a human being, but by diksa, initiation. THUS THE IMPORTANCE OF INITIATION IS MENTIONED HERE. UNLESS ONE IS INITIATED BY THE RIGHT PERSON, WHO ALWAYS CARRIES WITHIN HIS HEART THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD, ONE CANNOT ACQUIRE THE POWER TO CARRY THE SUPREME GODHEAD WITHIN THE CORE OF ONE’S OWN HEART.
Formalities
http://harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-08/editorials3324.htm
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Diksa Given to Madhyama-adhikari is Not a Formality
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/11-07/editorials2223.htm
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Note: these Anti Ritvik CROOKS are sooooooo ENVIOUS of Srila Prabhupada that although they can NOT SEE Krsna in their hearts; Krsna does NOT communicate with them still they want to pose as “Sum Total of ALL demigods” Just See!!! HOW are these goons TRANSPARENT VIA MEDIA? Are these CROOKS “as good as God”?
SB 6.7.15 P Indra Offends His Spiritual Master, Brhaspati.
yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto ‘pi
“By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement.” A disciple should never be a hypocrite or be unfaithful to his spiritual master. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.17.27), THE SPIRITUAL MASTER IS ALSO CALLED ACARYA. Acaryam mam vijaniyan: the Supreme Personality of Godhead says that ONE SHOULD RESPECT THE SPIRITUAL MASTER, ACCEPTING HIM AS THE LORD HIMSELF. Navamanyeta karhicit: one should not disrespect the acarya at any time. Na martya-buddhyasuyeta: one should never think the acarya an ordinary person. Familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, but one should be very careful in one’s dealings with the acarya. Agadha-dhisanam dvijam: THE ACARYA IS A PERFECT BRAHMANA AND HAS UNLIMITED INTELLIGENCE IN GUIDING THE ACTIVITIES OF HIS DISCIPLE.
Adi 1.46 T The Spiritual Masters
acaryam mam vijaniyan
navamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyasuyeta
sarva-deva-mayo guruh
SYNONYMS
acaryam–the spiritual master; mam–Myself; vijaniyat–one should know; na avamanyeta–one should never disrespect; karhicit–at any time; na–never; martya-buddhya–with the idea of his being an ordinary man; asuyeta–one should be envious; sarva-deva–of all demigods; mayah–representative; guruh–the spiritual master.
TRANSLATION
“One should know the acarya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. ONE SHOULD NOT ENVY HIM, THINKING HIM AN ORDINARY MAN, FOR HE IS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL THE DEMIGODS.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.17.27) spoken by Lord Krsna when He was questioned by Uddhava regarding the four social and spiritual orders of society. He was specifically instructing how a brahmacari should behave under the care of a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his parents, a child cannot grow to manhood; similarly, without the care of the spiritual master one cannot rise to the plane of transcendental service.
THE SPIRITUAL MASTER IS ALSO CALLED ACARYA, OR A TRANSCENDENTAL PROFESSOR OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE. The Manu-samhita (2.140) explains the duties of an acarya, describing that a bona fide spiritual master accepts charge of disciples, teaches them the Vedic knowledge with all its intricacies, and gives them their second birth. The ceremony performed to initiate a disciple into the study of spiritual science is called upaniti, or the function that brings one nearer to the spiritual master. One who cannot be brought nearer to a spiritual master cannot have a sacred thread, and thus he is indicated to be a sudra. The sacred thread on the body of a brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya is a symbol of initiation by the spiritual master; it is worth nothing if worn merely to boast of high parentage. The duty of the spiritual master is to initiate a disciple with the sacred thread ceremony, and after this samskara, or purificatory process, the spiritual master actually begins to teach the disciple about the Vedas. A person born a sudra is not barred from such spiritual initiation, provided he is approved by the spiritual master, who is duly authorized to award a disciple the right to be a brahmana if he finds him perfectly qualified. In the Vayu Purana an acarya is defined as one who knows the import of all Vedic literature, explains the purpose of the Vedas, abides by their rules and regulations, and teaches his disciples to act in the same way.
Only out of His immense compassion does the Personality of Godhead reveal Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore in the dealings of an acarya there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. He is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. It is worthwhile to take shelter of such a steady devotee, who is called asraya-vigraha, or the manifestation or form of the Lord of whom one must take shelter.
If one poses himself as an acarya but does not have an attitude of servitorship to the Lord, he must be considered an offender, and this offensive attitude disqualifies him from being an acarya. The bona fide spiritual master always engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine representative of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Such a spiritual master is known as acaryadeva. Influenced by an envious temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of sense gratification, mundaners criticize a real acarya. In fact, however, a bona fide acarya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an acarya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself. This will produce an effect subversive of transcendental realization.
As mentioned previously, a disciple should always respect the spiritual master as a manifestation of Sri Krsna, but at the same time one should always remember that a spiritual master is never authorized to imitate the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. False spiritual masters pose themselves as identical with Sri Krsna in every respect to exploit the sentiments of their disciples, but such impersonalists can only mislead their disciples, for their ultimate aim is to become one with the Lord. This is against the principles of the devotional cult.
The real Vedic philosophy is acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, which establishes everything to be simultaneously one with and different from the Personality of Godhead. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami confirms that this is the real position of a bona fide spiritual master and says that one should always think of the spiritual master in terms of his intimate relationship with Mukunda (Sri Krsna). Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Bhakti-sandarbha (213), has clearly defined that a pure devotee’s observation of the spiritual master and Lord Siva as one with the Personality of Godhead exists in terms of their being very dear to the Lord, not identical with Him in all respects. Following in the footsteps of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and Srila Jiva Gosvami, later acaryas like Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura have confirmed the same truths. In his prayers to the spiritual master, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura confirms that all the revealed scriptures accept the spiritual master to be identical with the Personality of Godhead because he is a very dear and confidential servant of the Lord. Gaudiya Vaisnavas therefore worship Srila Gurudeva (the spiritual master) in the light of his being the servitor of the Personality of Godhead. In all the ancient scriptures of devotional service and in the more recent songs of Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and other unalloyed Vaisnavas, THE SPIRITUAL MASTER IS ALWAYS CONSIDERED EITHER ONE OF THE CONFIDENTIAL ASSOCIATES OF SRIMATI RADHARANI OR A MANIFESTED REPRESENTATION OF SRILA NITYANANDA PRABHU.
Those people who say that Srila Prabhupada’s instructions on Initiations are vague are MONEY SCREWING SLAVERY MAKING bunch of Anti Ritvik CROOKS. Just FOLLOW the MONEY TRAIL:
Bhaktivedanta Manor Accounts SALARIES
http://www.prabhupadanugas.eu/news/?p=38907#comment-24810
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends49/0000259649_ac_20111231_e_c.pdf
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These ANTI RITVIK goons do NOT WANT Srila Prabhupada. They DENY Srila Prabhupada’s Original UNCHANGED books in the Temples. They DISOBEY his instructions to take HUGE Salaries. They drive away devotees who accept the Ritvik System which he ORDERED. They are ONLY USING Srila Prabhupada’s good name to PROMOTE themselves for the MATERIAL BENEFITS. They hide that Srila Prabhupada was given POISON to get rid of him:
Srila Prabhupada poisoned:
The following sites has whispers of the poison givers:
To hear the whole CD of the Nov 10 1977 Conversations from beginning to end, please click here or
http://www.mediafire.com/?ppvh77orok1r7vh
And for Individual highlighted louder version of the whole CD , please go to
http://www.culturedbooks.com/audio/audio-address.html
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http://www.prabhupadanugas.eu/news/?p=42549#comment-29598
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The ANTI RITVIK CROOKS WANT TO make it SOUND that Srila Prabhupada OUR Diksa Guru is vague BUT the FACTS are CLEAR as daylight—- UNLESS one is an OWL:
75-08-04. Letter: Madhudvisa:
The GBC should all be the instructor gurus. I AM IN THE INITIATOR GURU, and you should be the instructor guru by teaching what I am teaching and doing what I am doing. This is not a title, but you must actually come to this platform. This I want.
“I AM THE SPIRITUAL MASTER OF THIS INSTITUTION, AND ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY, THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY DISCIPLES. They follow the rules and regulations which I ask them to follow, AND THEY ARE INITIATED BY ME SPIRITUALLY.”(Srila Prabhupada Radio Interview, 12/3/1968)
“Guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete koriya aikya, ara na koriho mane asa. Don’t think of any nonsense. Simply execute what your guru has said. That is success.”
(28th January, 1977, Room Conversation)