Feb 18, CANADA (SUN) — I'd like to offer a few comments on the recently discussed issue of Srila Prabhupada's audio content which remains unreleased by the BBT and Bhaktivedanta Archives. Over the last two weeks we have been presented with articles by Bhakta Philip and most recently, Madhudvisa dasa, who have shared with us the experiences they've had, recently and in the past, with the Bhaktivedanta Archives, headed up by Ekanatha dasa. Ekanatha dasa himself, to his credit, has responded to his critics and given everyone an opportunity to hear his side of the story. This is the exception to the rule in ISKCON these days, and we should appreciate Ekanatha's willingness to communicate.
Many of those who are following this story are undoubtedly concerned over what has been addressed on the subject. I have personally voiced my anxiety and concern over the years, especially in regards to the audio content of Srila Prabhupada's lectures, morning walks, conversations, etc., that have not been released, or have been released only in part, sometimes not matching the written transcripts. Personally, I obtain a great deal of enlivenment and enlightenment from hearing Srila Prabhupada's audio vani, and I've heard all the available recordings many times. One cannot hear the pure devotee's sound vibration too often; that is impossible.
I don't want to repeat what has already been stated by other authors, including my own previous comments. I just want to emphasize what I believe is one important aspect of this discussion, and that is the consciousness of those who are in charge of the Bhaktivedanta Archives. I'm speaking here not of the local staff members, but of those on the BBT/GBC level who actually control the Archives. Despite all their waxing poetic on the subject, they do not accept Srila Prabhupada as the Sampradaya Acarya, and in my mind, this audio issue is a perfect example of that – they do not consider these audio files important to merit their proper action.
We can only imagine what it would be like if through some mystical arrangement, we were given access to audio recordings of the past Sampradaya Acaryas rather than Srila Prabhupada, the current representative of the Sampradaya. If audio tapes were discovered of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, or Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, there would be intense interest in hearing and distributing this material. But in fact, we can see that in the minds and hearts of many devotees on the planet today -- not just in the Gaudiya Matha circle, but even in ISKCON – there is more awe and reverence for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati as being a Sampradaya Acarya than there is for Srila Prabhupada.
I won't digress here into why, exactly, I think that is. Madhudvisa dasa has shared his understanding that it's due to the fact that ISKCON's "living guru" philosophy has eclipsed Srila Prabhupada's position. All these living gurus have their own tape ministries now and are catering to their own disciples, and they're basically presenting their own conception of the Sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now this varies greatly from guru to guru and circumstance to circumstance. I don't necessarily agree with some of Madhudvisa dasa's statements wherein he demonizes the entire group and concludes that because of their neglect and lack of attention to protecting and distributing Srila Prabhupada's archive, that it constitutes demoniac activity, but I can also understand where he's coming from. He's had first hand experience, whereas I haven't ever visited the Archives, so his emotional reaction is understandable. We are reminded of the pastimes of the demigods, like Lord Indra, who took advantage of their powerful positions and did certain things out of enviousness of Krsna. The same can be said in the case of the BBT/GBC men in charge of the Archives. They have essentially used their power and position to make certain decisions and institute certain programs, one of which is their lack of focus, resources and activity deployed in order to distribute the sound vibration of the pure devotee. So in that regard, we can understand Madhudvisa dasa's point.
Now if we study what Ekanatha dasa has to say, we can only conclude that his ultimate excuse or reason for something not happening, going on 30 years now, is that they just don't have enough money. If they had the funds to do it, they could find the people and equipment and it could be done in short order. Of course, he doesn't say where his budget comes from, who's in charge of the Bhaktivedanta Archives above him and on the GBC level, or why it is that these personalities or departments are not allocating adequate money for this particular service.
We are also well aware, as are most of the readers, that ISKCON is expending an inconceivable amount of money on other projects. We know that a number of ISKCON leaders are millionaires, or if not millionaires themselves, they have access to millionaires and could easily raise the needed funds to get this job done. Instead, for years and years, they have chosen to develop their own programs, build their temples, organize their maha-festivals, travel round and round the world, writing and distributing their own personal books. If they appreciated the importance of Srila Prabhupada's sound vibration, there is no question that they would have found the money required to get this job done.
As Srila Prabhupada has taught us and sastra tells us, behind every action there's a particular perspective and philosophy. And if something isn't done, that is also due to a particular philosophy and mood. So it's not that we're trying to fault find or criticize -- we're just being scientific here. We're seeing a situation, and it's clear that the reason it is the way it is, is because of an inherent mood.
I was recently listening to one of Srila Prabhupada's lecture in Mayapur, given during a Mayapur Festival that I attended. Srila Prabhupada would get up very early in the morning, while everyone was sleeping, and he would walk around the facility, inspecting things. On this occasion, he went into the washrooms and found they were a terrible, filthy mess. During his lecture the next day, he stated that he was disgusted by this, and he attributed it to the fact that no one had been motivated to clean up the mess, as he had instructed all of us to do in the temples. In those days the whole temple would spend whatever time it took to keep every aspect as spotlessly clean as possible. Srila Prabhupada attributed the dirtiness in the Mayapur washrooms to a prevailing mode of ignorance. The devotees had to be in the mode of ignorance in order for this to happen. We ignored the mess. If we had been in the mode of goodness, we would have been spontaneously motivated to clean it.
So what is the mood, and what is the mode that overwhelms those who are in charge of the Bhaktivedanta Archives, and who have authority, or the money and manpower to fix this problem? It's not that this problem is a big mystery, or the solution is unknown. Here at the Sampradaya Sun, which has a wide readership, we've been making everyone aware of this problem for at least the last five years. So if you're in a leadership position in ISKCON, you should be well aware of the fact that the Archives is being neglected, and the audio content is not being shared out.
Of course, this problem also indicates that those in power aren't listening to Srila Prabhupada's audio content themselves. They're not searching for knowledge, and they're not motivated to go to the Founder-Acarya for solutions. ISKCON has innumerable problems, and the leaders should be looking for solutions to these problems in the legacy of instructions left by the Founder-Acarya. As we all know, his mood and the circumstances around what was happening back then are vastly different than they are today. So in order to rejuvenate or re-enliven the movement, and to reinstate the mood and enthusiasm that was experienced back then, and enjoy the results of it, one would naturally want to go to this audio content Srila Prabhupada left for us, and pick-up on Srila Prabhupada's mood, instructions and solutions.
It's also been my experience that the ISKCON leadership has not embraced the concept that as a Founder-Acarya and Sampradaya Acarya, Srila Prabhupada was making every attempt on behalf of Krsna to make his followers and his society aware of what the mood of the Sampradaya Acaryas is, for example, how they preached. The type of preaching, the mood, the emphasis on certain aspects of our philosophy that the Acaryas want to have broadcasted is not at all what we find in ISKCON today. In fact, the leaders I've heard don't make any attempt whatsoever to embrace, capture, emulate or broadcast the same mood as Srila Prabhupada did.
Prior to Srila Prabhupada's departure, those giving lectures would preach in a manner very similar to Srila Prabhupada, giving the same analogies and verses, and speaking on the same general subjects. Nowadays we don't see that at all. We see a whole new mood and emphasis, such as storytelling and entertainment, and a rather casual mood towards the preaching. And this, of course, is the result of not appreciating Srila Prabhupada as the Sampradaya Acarya, and not embracing the idea that as Srila Prabhupada said, just repeat what I've said. And this repeating isn't just a broad-brush concept. It means hear very carefully, and then repeat. Not always word-for-word verbatim, but always with the same emphasis, the same mood, and the same philosophical message as Srila Prabhupada.
In this whole situation involving the audio content, we should consider the great deal of emphasis that has recently been placed, by Yadubar dasa and ITV's Nrsimhananda das, for example, on presenting the video content. Many devotees undoubtedly feel that there is more entertainment value to be had from the video than from the audio. It seems apparent that devotees are more interested and more likely to consume and purchase video content then they are the audio content. One of the reasons we hear for this is that Srila Prabhupada's accent is very hard for newcomers to understand. But I don't accept that at all. Yes, in the beginning it takes some getting used to, but it doesn't take long before you get used to Srila Prabhupada's accent, if you are enthusiastically and attentively listening. So I think this is simply an excuse, and we should not accept it as an excuse for why the audio content is not being produced and distributed. The only reasonable excuse for this situation is that money is required, and there is absolutely no reason that adequate funds cannot be raised. We are working on ways in which we can assist in that regard, and hopefully some news will be forthcoming soon on that front. In the meantime, these are just some of my reflections on what has been discussed recently on the matter. I encourage all our readers to take a very active role in pressing this subject forward to the needed conclusion – an immediate and unwavering focus on getting Srila Prabhupada entire audio legacy released.
