In the first three segments of this article series we've discussed a number of elements involved in the 'Kirtaniya' Infestation phenomenon. This series continues to generate a surprising volume of response from Sun readers. Clearly, this problem is of great concern to many devotees.
Next we'd like to explore a dynamic not yet introduced: a hostile parasitic element from outside ISKCON that is specifically working to change the philosophy Srila Prabhupada established for the society. In this case, we'll look at an individual who is not a devotee, but is nonetheless a regular participant in kirtan events involving ISKCON devotees and sannyasis.
As we have already shown, there is a great deal of cross-pollination on the 'Kirtaniya' circuit between individuals of various spiritual persuasions. The 'Stay Strong' video offers a good glimpse of the Bhakti Fest mood, a 'spirituality-lite and bright' vibe very familiar at yoga community gatherings. But there is another mood very central to the Kirtaniya community, and this one is focused more on music production values than on live performance entertainment.
'Kirtaniyas' and bhajaneers get together in a studio/lounge atmosphere and 'do music' together. The venue is something like a mix of hippie-groove/yoga-love/We-Are-the-World scenes, where everyone sings a few lines in the communally created performance, much like the 'Stay Strong' video. In the studio environment we can see that many of the singers and musicians are very expert, as evident in the production entitled, 'You Can Count On Me/Shyam Bolo':
A number of personalities mentioned in previous articles were involved in the production of this music video. It's easy to see why 'professional kirtaniyas' would be very drawn to this kind of environment, which allows them to enjoy making music with very talented peers, get their support and approval (validation), have fun, and enjoy the benefits of visibility within the Kirtaniya Movement, which generates new opportunities to earn a living. The music video being produced is a fund-raiser for 'global green' school buildings for children, and this feeds the hunger for altruist projects that is a hallmark of the yoga-love community. The community gets involved in many philanthropic efforts to solve material problems, but has no core philosophy that empowers them to solve spiritual problems, although they are very expert at making one thing look like the other.
In the video above you can see the mood prevalent in the studio, in the interactions between the personalities. The threshold of spiritual identity in this environment is very low, meaning there is a pervasive mood of communal acceptance of whatever spiritual traditions one happens to bring to the party. The players are somewhat identifiable by their dress, but mostly it's homogenous… an Interfaith promoter's dream.
As you watch the performers, imagine what the experience would be like for a devotee not yet firmly fixed in our philosophy. How difficult it would be for a talented devotee musician in this atmosphere to decided that they should not participate in such a fun, groovy, musically enlivening event… that it should be avoided because it involves associating with mayavadis and sahajiyas…. We can easily understand the seductive attraction, and the difficulty of resisting. Philosophical principles may feel like an unnecessarily heavy burden to a devotee musician, who is making the decision to stay and play or walk out the door. Many stay, and in doing so they pay a heavy price. Gaura Vani's situation is a perfect example.
The communal mood in the video is very attractive… even the lyrics promise, 'if you have trouble, you can count on me… I'll be there to help you'. While it's a nice ideal, our philosophy clearly exposes the ideal to be a great illusion. Likewise, we see the illusion that this is a great 'spiritual event' taking place in the studio. For example, at about the 7-minute mark, there is an orchestrated change in the music, from very quiet to a suddenly rousing rendition of 'Shyam Bolo'. Watching the participants, it's completely obvious that everyone's dancing in the mode of passion. Not a single countenance gives any indication that the participant's mind is fixed on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shyam Himself. This is nothing but good clean fun, in the mode of passion.
In the early days of ISKCON, talented musicians got a very warm reception in the temples. If someone came along who could lead a good kirtan… sing beautifully, play drums or keyboard, they might even find themselves quickly being made the Temple President. This happened on more than one occasion. Although the situation was somewhat controlled in the temple atmosphere, the false egos were still there. The 'big musicians' often guarded their space, making sure no one less talented got to lead the kirtan instead them. Woe be to the spiritually inspired but musically unskilled devotee who got up from offering pranams more quickly, grabbed the mrdanga and jumped in to lead the kirtan. While such a thing was supposedly allowed in the temple, doing so meant that the 'big musicians' would give the interloper the evil eye, and would sometimes refuse to participate at all in the kirtan. Fortunately, Srila Prabhupada was there to help keep this mentality in check.
A great deal has been written in the Sun over the years about the standards Srila Prabhupada established for kirtan, bhajan and street sankirtan. There are numerous examples of Srila Prabhupada stopping the devotees from engaging in unbonafide practices -- sometimes right in the middle of a kirtan. For the sake of brevity we won't repeat all that material here, but refer our readers to a few past articles:
During Srila Prabhupada's lila, musicians in the temple had to surrender. Of course, they were reluctant to do so… everyone struggled to surrender. The musicians didn't want to surrender their musical tastes and talents or their freedom to compose and improvise. Many bristled at being made to keep the modest mood of kirtan and bhajan, but to a large degree, they were forced to. Today, however, they are not made to surrender, even in the temples. 'Kirtaniyas' are now free to just take their musical talents outside, and they have their own whole Kirtaniya community to turn to. In the temple, it's the GBC's job to make sure the devotees are surrendering and keeping the standards, but they don't fulfill this duty. Instead, we increasingly see that they are also out in the Kirtaniya community, up on stage doing whatever it is they feel moved to do in the name of 'kirtan', and de facto in the name of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, and Lord Chaitanya.
The music video above not only illustrates the mood kirtaniyas are exposed to in venues like this, but underscores the professional nature of the Kirtaniya Movement. Many are obviously full-time professional musicians, making their living with music, or trying to. In other words, the Kirtaniya Movement naturally attracts professional musicians, and that poses a further dilemma for devotee kirtaniyas who get involved: it means that almost certainly, they will be associating with personalities on the Kirtaniya circuit who pose as spiritualists or devotees, but are primarily just professionals enjoying a particular groove… professionals who are just as happy to work in this community as any other, as long as their talents are recognized and properly appreciated. When it comes to determining the spiritual bona fides of these musicians, or the level of their dedication and surrender to spiritual life, there is a real likelihood of being deceived.
When ISKCON devotees -- our sincere, bona fide kirtaniyas -- are invited to be part of this community, they will be faced with the challenging task of applying philosophical discrimination in order to avoid bad association. If they don't, they will almost surely contaminate the ISKCON body by serving as a passive carrier, bringing the bad association back into ISKCON.
The dynamics we have just described also make the Kirtaniya Movement a desirable target for those who happen to be professional musicians, befriended into the Kirtaniya community, but who have their own social or philosophical agenda to push. If such a person becomes closely associated with ISKCON devotees, gurus or sannyasis at 'bhakti gigs', and exploits those relationships in order to impress their own agenda upon the ISKCON community, then we have the recipe for a very bad situation.
And this leads to our introduction of a personality by the name of Ray Ippolito.
Ray is not only a professional musician, but an extremely talented one. According to his bio, he has played with many of the top names in the business. By whatever set of circumstances, he came into relationship with Gaura Vani and Radhanath Swami, and is now a close associate of theirs. This puts him directly in the path of many ISKCON devotees, including gurus and sannyasis, and he is systematically polluting them with his own brand of philosophy, which goes against the philosophy established by Srila Prabhupada.
"In the picture above, he is seen at an installation ceremony at the Bhakti Center (NYC), which formerly was under the aegis of Kirtanananda Swami but eventually taken over by Yajna Purusa, with (alleged) tacit support from Radhanatha Swami—who in the past had managed to get a foothold at Chowpatty and New Vrindavana, which were Kirtanananada Swami's "zones" prior to his expulsion from ISKCON. Based on the article "A Plea from the New York Sanctuary" (Sampradaya Sun) [21] and the YouTube video Radhanatha and Yajya Purusha, The Sanctuary Hijackers, the possibility of a premeditated takeover cannot be denied. In the video, Maharaja claims to have no authority or influence over Yajna Purusa's involvement at the Bhakti Center. [22] It is surprising that the address of The Office of Radhanath Swami in the US as listed on Radhanath Maharaja's official website is same as the address of the Bhakti Center, and at the same time Maharaja denies any influence or involvement in the takeover of the Bhakti Center. [23] [v]"
In the Ustream video linked here, we see a 12-hour Kirtan event being held at the Bhakti Center, featuring Radhanath Swami, Gaura Vani and Ray Ippolito.
(left to right) Radhanath, Gaura Vani, Ray Ippolito on guitar)
[Screenshot from Ustream video
Offering an introduction to his Guru Maharaja, Gaura Vani tells the audience:
"He is the author of a book called The Journey Home, which is beginning its book tour here in the U.S., it's been very acclaimed, it's a memoir about his traveling across India. He's also the inspiration behind the Bhakti Center and, so if it wasn't for Radhanath Swami, we wouldn't be here today, sitting here in this beautiful temple [along with] my very dear friend, Ray Ippolito…"
We are reminded of yesterday's story of this mutual admiration society, with Radhanath Swami introducing the Chowpatty congregation to the glories of Gaura Vani. But when we read Gaura Vani's own bio, there appears to be something of a disconnect… the story of his life doesn't quite jive with the Swami's version. Nor does Gaura Vani mention in his bio that his step-father is ISKCON Minister of Communications, Anuttama das.
Before we get into the details of Ray Ippolito's personal mission and message, here a few more examples of how Radhanath and Gaura Vani serve as active carriers, delivering hostile parasites like Ray into the ISKCON body, to infect it philosophically.
After the Mumbai terrorist bombings, Radhanath Swami and Gaura Vani attended a 'Light on Mumbai' fundraiser for the victims, held in New York City. In the website pictures you will see the Swami, Gaura Vani, Ray Ippolito and numerous ISKCON devotees in the crowd. The evening is described on Gaura Vani's website:
"Of course, the kirtans at East West have always been thumpin' and intense; dancing and spinning. The line-up for As Kindred Spirits that night was me – Gaura Vani, Acyuta Gopi, Ananta Govinda on mrdanga, Janaki singing, Ray Ippolito on electric guitar, John Kruth on flutes. Last time we were there, Kamaniya and As Kindred Spirits teamed up for an evening of divine wildness. This was no exception. Kamaniya came to dance and sing and all our friends uplifted the evening even more than where it was already at. Fantastic."
The singer Kamaniya is an animal rights activist, as Ray Ippolito is. More on that subject in the next segment. First, we'd like to illustrate once more the 'complete loop' -- the life cycle of infestation that travels the circuit from ISKCON -to- 'kirtaniya' music scene -to- Guru and Disciple -to- other local devotees - and back to the ISKCON temple congregation and Deities.
In June 2009, Gaura Vani hosted a launch party to celebrate the release of his new CD, 'Ten Million Moons' by Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits. The party was held at a venue called Asthanga Yoga New York and Sri Ganesha Temple. Performing with the band that night were, among others, Vish from the Mayapuris, Ray Ippolito, MC Yogi, Shyamdas and Wah!
MC Yogi rapped about Ganesh and Krishna along with the recently departed Shyamdas. Srikanta prabhu, a devotee (also now deceased) from the Radha Govinda temple, ISKCON Brooklyn, performed (not in devotee attire), and numerous devotees attended. The ISKCON Radha Govinda temple provided the vegan snacks (vegetarian Krsna prasad would not have pleased the radical Vegans there).
Radhanath Swami, Gaura Vani and friends are regular visitors at ISKCON Brooklyn.
Ananta Govinda das, a Radhanath disciple and member of As Kindred Spirits, has written about his attraction to hip-hop music. Likewise, MC Yogi, often performing with Gaura Vani, Radhanath and company, is a well known hip hop and beatbox box performer. Here's a little musical side-trip Gaura Vani and MC Yogi took with a Mideastern flavour, at the Zanzibar Trance Dance. About the evening, Gaura Vani writes:
"To celebrate the final night of a teacher training course being run by Shiva Rea in Los Angeles, we were invited to come and play alongside MC Yogi and DJ Drez at a hip downtown club called Zanzibar. It was a beautiful venue, decorated in an ornate Middle Eastern style. In the green room we were surprised to find framed paintings of Radha and Krishna and took it as a good sign!
The night was a real success. Shiva got the crowd warmed up and ready to dance with some kriya yoga, and then MC Yogi launched into a set of all his well known songs like ‘Rock On Hanuman', ‘Bhakti Boombox', and Ganesh is Fresh.' The crowd went wild as he began the famous lines of ‘Krishna Love' (Sri Krishna, you're pure charisma, your flute playing – so intoxicating)."
Featured on Gaura Vani's Ten Million Moons CD is a track called Stop and Talk (Hey Natha), described as a 'hip hop ballad with Sanskrit lyrics'. We can see that validation comes down from the top -- from GBC/Guru Radhanath Swami to his disciple, to musical friends and associates who are mashing together devotional music and hip hop/beatbox, genre famous for gutter lyrics and raw imagery. And here's how the two have evolved in the ISKCON born-and-bred world of 'kirtaniyas' -- a lusty version of Jaya Radha Ramana that seems to come close, if not across the line, into the demoniac. Among the sexed-up 'devotee' performers, one is replete with his own concocted version of tilak. One can only wonder, who's preaching to these people? Unfortunately, the answer seems obvious. Whether direct or indirect, the 'preaching' comes in the form of contaminated association.
In the next segment, we'll continue our introduction to the hostile parasitic element from outside ISKCON that's working to change our philosophy… and apparently succeeding.
