Jan 29, 2014 — CANADA (SUN) — I would like to address the subject of how and why the Yadu Dynasty disappeared due to fratricidal suicide after Lord Sri Krsna's departure. There are a number of lectures given by Srila Prabhupada on this subject.
In one particular lecture, His Divine Grace opened by saying that this particular pastime is undoubtedly bewildering to the neophyte devotees. In other words, you have to be able to hear from a great Acarya who is giving an explanation of why Krsna orchestrated what is seemingly a huge disastrous circumstance. Srila Prabhupada does calculate it, but it was well over a million persons involved. The whole pastime is provided in detail in Srimad Bhagavatam for those who want to familiarize themselves with it. And of course, Srila Prabhupada's lectures are also available, so I won't repeat the details of the pastime here.
For those readers not aware of my position on who is Srila Prabhupada, I use the term Sampradaya Acarya to describe him as being one of the topmost members of the guru-parampara, which number 32 going back to Lord Brahma. My position is presented in the papers, Sampradaya Acarya and Guru-parampara: The List of 32. I am working towards completion of this presentation, with a new paper addressing the usage of this terminology. But the essence as it applies to today's article is, that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that the Hare Krsna mahamantra would be spread throughout the world. And in order for this prediction to come true, the Lord and His entourage -- Nityananda Prabhu and all the members of the Panchatattva -- empowered and sent 3 nitya-siddha associates successively in order to achieve the goal, namely Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, and Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur. Of course, that history should be well known to the reader. But I am also saying that the participation of these three Sampradaya Acaryas is a direct part of Lord Caitanya's lila pastime.
Now, if what I'm saying is true, then in the circumstances surrounding the Sampradaya Acarya's appearance, pastimes and disappearance, successively, we can see a certain degree of similarity with Sri Krsna's disappearance and the end of the Yadu Dynasty.
As Srila Prabhupada explains, the associates of Sri Krsna included those who had pious credits that culminated in their taking birth and appearing in Krsna's personal family. We know that in the case of the Yadus, Krsna expanded Himself into every family group, and personally interacted with the family members, who consisted of demigods and very pious personalities. This arrangement was also the fulfillment of their spiritual desires. But not being fully realized on the same level as a perfected pure devotee, they hadn't yet purified themselves to the point where they would not become puffed up on account of being part of Krsna's family. Being part of His dynasty, they also enjoyed a measure of invincibility when it came to their powers in the material world, such as their political power and ability to defeat any enemy that cared to challenge them.
Krsna's pastimes are such that He comes to eliminate and destroy the demons and take care of the over-abundance of bellicose, war-like dynasties or individuals. As Srila Prabhupada stated, Krsna spent more time killing the demons than He did on loving affairs. So in other words, an important part of Krsna's pastime was eliminating the risk associated with these puffed people who were proud of being part of His family.
Reflecting on the fact that the Sankirtan Movement was being introduced and spread throughout the whole world, leaving the boundaries of Bharatvarsha, to my mind it is logical that there would be many similarities with Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON lila. We have heard these similarities from Srila Prabhupada, who described the history of Srila Bhaktivinoda's associates and followers and the Gaudiya Matha.
Like the self-perpetuated destruction of the Yadu Dynasty, it is bewildering and difficult to comprehend the phenomenon that occurs when these great Acaryas depart. Their preaching programs seem to evaporate and disappear, sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually. That history is well documented.
Right now we're in the post-samadhi period of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. There are many articles in the Sampradaya Sun which reflect a tiny fraction of the individual followers of Srila Prabhupada and their bewilderment on how ISKCON appears to be deteriorating very quickly, as many leaders and followers abandon the original, pure and potent principles and practices set down by the most recent Sampradaya Acarya. And along with that, there are many, many leaders who have come and gone… persons who in their heyday, their most potent period of participation in Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana Movement and Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON, appeared to those following them to be almost invincible. No one believed they would ever abandon Srila Prabhupada or be taken out of his lila pastime. But that is a fact, an undeniable reality. Without mentioning all the names, Krsna did have to take action to eliminate these individuals because in the same way as the Yadu dynasty, they had become proud.
The ISKCON circumstance that we're all having to deal with today consists of personalities who as leaders, seemed oblivious to the history of all the other historical leaders who became proud. They never seem to consider the fact that by being proud themselves, not only are they committing offenses, but these offenses will eventually cause them to be dealt with, sometimes in very dramatic and untimely ways. Already in ISKCON a number of leaders have died violently or inauspiciously, have gone crazy, or have succumbed to serious illness. They have virtually been eliminated. Now of course, Krsna could have allowed them to continue participating, and they did perform a great deal of valuable service, but because of their pride, they are no longer in a position to serve. This is why Lord Caitanya stated trnad api sunicena. Being humble is the most important quality for a devotee to have, because you're insulating yourself from the pride factor.
When we talk about individuals who are leaders, and who are blatantly ignoring sastric advice and dictates, what to speak of the advice given by the Sampradaya Acaryas, they obviously don't believe they're going to get a reaction. They don't think they will experience the same thing that what has happened to many associates of great personalities or Krsna Himself. But if you listen to these lectures that Srila Prabhupada is giving to his disciples on the Yadus, he is obviously projecting the message, without pointing fingers and individually accusing. Srila Prabhupada simply preached, and those who listened saved themselves. Those who didn't thought Srila Prabhupada was referring to someone else -- to the karmis or people in general, or he was just giving them preaching ideas. Not that he was referring to them, themselves. Few of us were humble enough to realize that 'Srila Prabhupada is talking to me, as an individual'.
In the case of the pastime of the Yadu Dynasty being eliminated, it happened in a very traumatic and difficult to understand way. It wasn't that there was a disease or epidemic, or a great physical disaster… they simply turned on themselves. They succumbed to intoxication, which is pride itself, and they destroyed each other. So we're basically seeing that happen in ISKCON. If you look at it from that bird's eye perspective, it's not a collective occurrence, so to speak, like it's just the GBC body, or whatever -- it's individuals becoming intoxicated with false prestige, power and pride, and they take it out on themselves and each other.
I keep harping back to the Zonal Acarya period, which I don't believe has been eliminated in ISKCON, by any stretch. I've written a series of articles on the Princes of the Zonal Acaryas, demonstrating how the philosophy and mindset of the Zonals has been passed on to those who followed them. These Princes of the Zonal Kings continue on with that same mentality today. These original Zonal Acaryas have been all but eliminated, but their dynasties live on.
Something that a lot of devotees don't realize is that for the most part, the Zonal Acaryas didn't like each other. Yes, they would cooperate under certain circumstances, but behind closed doors or amongst their own little group, they practically despised each other. Jayatirtha and Bhagavan were arch enemies. Even though they were neighbors in Europe, there was no spirit of cooperation. Tamal Krishna was despised by many of his direct associates. There were many dramatic behind-the scenes situations taking place, a number of which we have written about over the years.
Unlike the Zonal Acarya period, I don't have the same inside information today about the goings on amongst the leaders, but just by following the news, I can conclude that it's basically the same scenario. The leaders make a pretense of cooperation, creating an appearance for their constituents that a cooperative and friendly atmosphere prevails when in reality that's not the case. The leaders each have their own mood, followers and programs, and cooperation is opportunity driven more than being the byproduct of a natural affinity for working together. And this is all due to pride.
We have to protect ourselves from pride because like the Yadus, we can all be eliminated if we let down our guard and ignore the teachings left by the Sampradaya Acaryas.
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust