Guru Websites - Foremost Gone
BY: NRSIMHANANDA DAS
Mar 30, 2012 — LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA (SUN) —
Regarding the genesis of GBC Resolution #309 -- 'Founder-Acarya on ISKCON Guru Websites', my proposal that was submitted is copied below. "Foremost" got dumped from the Resolution's name; I'm not sure why. In regards to monitoring adherence to the guidelines, that provision was omitted from the final Resolution. I had originally proposed a "stick" that websites not conforming to the guidelines couldn't use ISKCON's name, trademarks, copyrighted materials, art, etc., but the legalities were too murky. I was advised to remove that provision because it could be used as an excuse to bury the entire proposal. So I substituted it with a yearly public (website) assessment. However, the idea of being held accountable didn't fly. There was passionate opposition to this proposal on the GBC. I'll let the reader speculate why.
Nonetheless, it passed through the Deputy committee which vetted it, and, to the credit of those GBC's who voted for it, it is now ISKCON law. I am grateful to the sponsors and to those who voted "yea". I'll be curious to see which sites actually contain links to "outsources" such as Krishna.com, Vanipedia, Bhaktivedanta Archives, ISKCON Cinema, and, especially, ISKCON Television, front and center along with Srila Prabhupada's picture and title. I took some heat for this proposal, but it was worth it.
In a new wrinkle, I am noticing that many temple websites do not have a picture of Srila Prabhupada on their front page. On the Manor's official website, you have to use reading glasses just to see Prabhupada's name in the small print at the bottom. I think that for many Srila Prabhupada disciples who were taught by him to be very fastidious about prominently crediting His Divine Grace on all ISKCON/BBT publications, the absence of his obvious presence is always a source of great anxiety. After all, is he not a cut above all of us, including the present crop of "authorized" gurus? Or is he soon to be a "prominent link" that will pale in due course of time because he only made thousands of disciples while others have initiated tens of thousands? Will Srila Prabhupada's pastimes become overshadowed by the accomplishments of successor gurus? Is that an inevitable evolution of the parampara, or a deviation?
Do the pastimes of HH Jayapataka Swami, HH Gaura Govinda Swami, HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, etc. become the paramount "definition" for how to practice Krishna consciousness for their disciples, and, in effect, replace the example of Srila Prabhupada? Does Ujjain, Chowpatty, New Vraja Dhama (Hungarian farm), New Goloka (Hillsborough, North Carolina) or other temples where, effectively, only one guru reigns, become the reservoir of an alternative emphasis which shifts from the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON to the "math's" guru? I'm not saying that Srila Prabhupada will be ever ignored, but is it inevitable - and even desirable - that he be marginalized? Looks like it's been going that way since he departed (with obvious exceptions).
On a personal note, I have to wonder what the GBC Strategic Planning Committee dedicated to preserving Srila Prabhupada's special position has been looking at during the past four years since it was established. ISKCON News reported the following from this year's GBC meetings:
"Some of the most important presentations during the International Leadership Sanga were delivered by the Srila Prabhupada's Position Committee in regards to the meaning of Srila Prabhupada as the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON and our personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada as disciples and grand-disciples. Although all of us come from a wide variety of cultures, countries, and backgrounds, the one thing that we have in common is our love for Srila Prabhupada and our desire to follow his instructions. In this regard, the Srila Prabhupada's Position Committee aims to elevate everyone's understanding of the significance of Srila Prabhupada's role as the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON and as the primary siksa guru for all ISKCON devotees for all time to come. Currently, the committee is developing the first official website dedicated to Srila Prabhupada which will function as a central resource for everything pertaining to Srila Prabhupada. Educational resources are also being provided by the committee, including a course and foundational document on the position of Srila Prabhupada."
(Read more here)
I think such presentations and courses are useful, but why hadn't any of those committee members noticed the absence of Srila Prabhupada from the guru websites? Where's the vigilance? I just happened into it; I wish the committee members were more pro-active in that regard. There are a lot of corners in the ISKCON diaspora where Srila Prabhupada has gone missing. In one temple, his murti is placed in an ante-chamber for fear that it would disturb the guests. In others, his books are given equal status with those of his disciples. To be fair, other temples do a fine job of keeping Srila Prabhupada at the center. I was recently in Juhu for nearly four months, and I always felt the emphasis on His Divine Grace, from the weekly classes in his quarters to the opulence of guru-puja. The point that I am making is that a yearly speakathon in Mayapur to the (mainly) choir does not produce very effective results in the face of disciples fascinations with their own gurus.
Perhaps we, as an ISKCON society, are "confused about our duty." After all, we still don't have a "white paper" on the present guru-by-non-objection (word jugglery at its most sublime - it's an approval by committee system anyway you cut it), so we have continued to invent to maintain some kind of order. I was pleased to see that by December 2012, a philosophical justification for the present GBC authority over guru is promised. After 35 years, it is long overdue. Maybe the paper will help to clarify some of the fog (for some) around Srila Prabhupada's "special position."
The recent clear instructions to Prabhavishnu prabhu's disciples to take shelter of an advanced Vaisnava or Srila Prabhupada is far better than where we were twenty or so years ago, when we pronounced "re-initiation" as the panacea to guru fall-down. I met a devotee this year who had initiation from five ISKCON gurus. That must be a record. Fortunately, he had kept a sense of humor about it, but the reality is that he admits to having suffered excruciating mental and emotional anguish.
When I speak to different GBC's about the imperative to "get it right" on the guru issue, I receive a lot of sympathy for the idea. Then the inevitable gentle smile spreads, "You know how the GBC body is, prabhu; there is no consensus of priority about definitively answering that question. Though, I agree with you, it is an essential foundation stone of being a devotee in ISKCON." I think to myself, "This is a Howard Beale moment." In the famous movie, "Network," he cracks under the pressure of being a well-behaved news commentator: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." The rant becomes a mantra for the disenfranchised; at last, there is some hint of power in the act of saying, "No".
Some of my godbrothers/sister have taken that road. There is a certain dignity in being true to yourself (however you define "self"), and I respect the marching to a different drummer (otherwise how did we all become aspiring devotees?). The GBC does too; they've invited numerous "turncoats" back to the ISKCON fold, allowing them to keep their zones, disciples, ashram, etc. I wish one - and it only takes one - of the GBC would get mad as hell for the benefit of the ISKCON society. I would like to see him/her stand up in that meeting and not sit down until he/she was either thrown out or the guru-tattva/succession questions were definitively answered. That person would be representing the frustrations over many decades of countless non-guru disciples of both Srila Prabhupada and the disciples of either fallen gurus or ones that disappointed the expectations of their disciples.
Srila Prabhupada's position necessitates understanding guru -- siksa, diksa, kanishta, madhyama, uttama, etc., and all of the relationships. The first crop in ISKCON didn't have to comprehend any of it; Srila Prabhupada was our all-in-all. But the disappearance of such an empowered Vaisnava necessitates profound mediation, prayer, and patience on behalf of those who have inherited the kingdom.
I empathize with the great burden put on the shoulders of my godbrothers/godsisters. At the same time, enough is enough. We've been struggling with this issue while many great Vaisnavas have left their bodies with the questions unresolved. It's not responsible. You are the leaders of ISKCON. Please lead with greater vigor and conviction. Protect Prabhupada's legacy and take the credit. Otherwise, others have and will.
P.S. If you see something that doesn't "look right" in the way Srila Prabhupada is being presented or not presented, drop me a line: nrsimhananda@gmail.com. I'm happy to be a clearing house and see that the issue gets attention (though results are not guaranteed!).
This was the orginal proposal:
PROPOSAL NAME: D06 - Founder-Acarya Foremost on ISKCON Guru Websites
PROPOSED BY: Nrsimhananda Das
SPONSORED BY (GBC member): Niranjana Swami, Praghosa Das, Harivilas Das
CONTACTS: nrs@itvproductions.net, praghosa.sdg@pamho.net
c/o ITV, PO Box 556, Topanga, CA 90290, USA
DATE OF SUBMISSION: December 3, 2011
PRESENTATION OF PROPOSAL:
Whereas, the proliferation of "official" and unofficial websites of ISKCON gurus currently do NOT, in large part, prominently feature the personality and teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness on the introduction page as well as many others...
Resolved that...
ISKCON gurus shall be responsible for ensuring that any and all websites made and maintained by themselves, their disciples, and/or their well-wishers, adhere to the following protocol:
• They prominently feature a picture of Srila Prabhupada, larger than their own, on the introductory page;
• They credit him as the "Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness";
• They contain a brief summary of his accomplishments and provide authorized website links to his teachings (BBTI, Krishna.com, Vanipedia, Bhaktivedanta Archives, ISKCON Television, ISKCON Cinema)
• Each page of the site has a picture of Srila Prabhupada accompanied by the title, "His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness."
The GBC hereby establishes a standing committee called the "Guru Website Oversight Committee (GWOC)" with a mandate to:
1. Choose and enlist ten devotees to review the websites pertaining to all ISKCON gurus yearly and offer their findings to the GWOC.
2. Submit to the GBC a written and oral report of the results as to how the websites are adhering to the above-mentioned protocol.
The initial members of the GWOC shall be Harivilas Das, Niranjana Swami, Praghosa Das and Nrsimhananda Das.
[Note: All standing committee members serve for one year terms and are confirmed each year at the AGM.]
(1) What prompts you to submit this proposal?
We saw many ISKCON guru websites that glorify the current guru while reducing or eliminating Srila Prabhupada presence and position. Some websites don't even mention ISKCON. One "official" website went so far as to say the following:
"A spiritual stimulator" maintains that those who become aware of their spiritual identity share an imperative to reduce suffering in the world - employing all means at hand and stopping at nothing to do so. This truth was slowly revealed to him by teachers he had met including the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa."
There was no mention of Srila Prabhupada or ISKCON in the entire history of this guru on the page. The introductory page also carried no mention of Srila Prabhupada or ISKCON. In fact, there was no mention of Srila Prabhupada's name on the entire site. Brought to the attention of the guru, changes were insisted by him and the necessary changes were made on those two pages. This is given as a striking example of the imperative necessity for guru's to monitor the websites purporting to represent them. The concern of the guru was immediate and appropriate as would be expected. This example also shows that the ISKCON guru exerts near absolute influence over what is communicated on sites created and maintained by his disciples and well-wishers.
Srila Prabhupada's pre-eminent position as the Founder/Acarya of ISKCON has been seen to have been severely de-emphasized on the vast majority of ISKCON guru websites. Some do not even mention ISKCON or Prabhupada in the introductory pages. Nobody got the mercy of serving in ISKCON without him, and the GBC can insure that these and future generations never dilute Srila Prabhupada's position relative to their own guru.
(2) Why this proposal is important for the success of ISKCON?
We as direct disciples, grand disciples, etc. will come and go. Our own books may or may not be "pure" and/or sustain the test of time. Srila Prabhupada's words will forever be etched in history as the unadulterated transmission and foundation of the teachings of ISKCON. The meaning and application may be debated by so many, but they are the original underpinnings of ISKCON'S existence and purpose. You could say that you can take ISKCON out of Srila Prabhupada, but you can never take Srila Prabhupada out of ISKCON. He is, and will be, the main man. Anyone who disputes that Srila Prabhupada's pre-eminence is the pillar upon which ISKCON stands does not understand that his mercy is what sustains us moment-to-moment, present, and forever.
This required website protocol should ensure that readers are aware that whatever inspiration the disciples, grand-disciples, ad infinitum, are receiving is given the best possible chance of being understood as due to the great mercy of Srila Prabhupada upon whose shoulders all of the Iskcon members are standing.
(3) What would be the implications of implementing this proposal?
ISKCON gurus would have to spend time monitoring the websites glorifying themselves. There would be no financial cost.
There are no similar GBC resolutions.
