21st Century Mleccha-Sahajiya Cults
BY: BHAKTA ERIC JOHANSON
Jun 09, NEW YORK, USA (SUN) — Third of a Three-Part Series.
The Maha-bhagavat
The appearance of the Lord’s pure devotee is an exhibition of the Lord’s great mercy on the fallen conditioned souls (tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam). It is not an ordinary event. We have seen that the pure founders of all the major religions had great effects on those who were fortunate enough to have their personal association. As time passed, however, all sorts of abuses manifested; these generally increase proportionate to duration after the departure of the great soul.
Because the pure devotee is always residing in the spiritual world, his presence is capable of affecting great changes on the material plane. It is a great mistake to conclude that the apparent ease with which he extended the Lord’s mercy is somehow the new norm in connection with how it will be made available in the future, after his departure. Like the cloud that extinguishes the forest fire (samsara-davanala-lidha-loka), there is a causeless element to his making that mercy available while he is manifest. Even those who might otherwise be completely undeserving were then able to take advantage of his instructions. When the cloud moves on, however, the fire will sometimes start up again, but this time there is no causeless mercy manifest on Earth to put it out.
Currently, the misunderstanding of the availability of the Lord’s mercy takes the form of the so-called initiation processes. One of the main rationalizations offered on behalf of the Zonal Acaryas was: “Who will initiate the new people?” That “open door” has remained a hallmark of the fabricated so-called “ISKCON” ever since. The sheer number of new “initiates” is just one of the ways that corporate ISKCON legitimizes itself. Because of the lack of empowerment derived from the real goods, i.e., of being a bona fide spiritual master, all of this is very easily seen for just what it really is - a big bluff.
Srila Prabhupada initiated many disciples so that the mission of Lord Caitanya could be expanded. What occurred after his departure, however, indicated that many of them were not very serious or sincere. Being the Sampradaya Acarya, an empowered maha-bhagavat, His Divine Grace could take great risks for Krishna. He enjoined his disciples, however, to act as “. . . regular guru. That’s all.” He thus indicated that they should be under the rules and regulations set out for spiritual masters on the preliminary level. One of these injunctions is to not make many disciples (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya Lila 28.118).
Srila Prabhupada’s standard was liberal. The Zonal Acaryas pushed a perverted reflection of this standard--with disastrous results. Being neophyte sahajiya pretenders, they were overwhelmed by the sinful reactions of their disciples. Despite what should have been one of the real lessons from all of this, the GBC has not made any real effort to check any of it.
Rittvik makes the unauthorized assumption that Srila Prabhupada is willing to accept more and more disciples even into the distant, unforeseeable future. Where did he ever say this? Does he want to accept the sinful reactions of all these people? The leaders of both cults make the same self-serving, unauthorized, “easy” assumptions regarding Lord Krishna’s desire to make His mercy available to anyone and everyone.
Satsvarupa: Then we have a question concern . . .
Prabhupada: When I order, "You become guru," he becomes regular guru. That's all. He becomes disciple of my disciple.”
(Vrindavan Room Conversation with leading secretaries on May 28, 1977)
"’Don't make many disciples.’ But we do it because we are preaching. Never mind -- let us suffer -- still we shall accept them. Therefore your question was, when I suffer is it due to my past misdeeds? Was it not? That is my misdeed, that I accepted some disciples who are nonsense. That is my misdeed.”
(Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers 6: The Perfect Devotee)
“Therefore one is generally forbidden to accept many disciples.”
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 22.118, Purport)
Because corporate ISKCON has lowered the bar to the standard of hyperinflation of cheap gurus and cheap disciples, the competing factions were and are compelled to keep pace. Now that the Rittvik and Neo-Gaudiya factions have grown, we hear from them the same “numbers” argument that was previously only heard from corporate ISKCON. Indeed, without offering easily available “initiation,” a group cannot truly be seen as a competitor of the fabricated so-called “ISKCON.” These transparent political ploys, overriding sastric authorization, should serve as clear proof that sahajiyism is now in full bloom.
“If a so-called spiritual master accepts a disciple for his personal benefit or for material gain, the relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple turns into a material affair, and the spiritual master becomes like a smarta-guru. There are many caste gosvamis who professionally create some disciples who do not care for them or their instructions. Such spiritual masters are satisfied simply to get some material benefits from their disciples. Such a relationship is condemned by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who calls such spiritual masters and disciples a society of cheaters and cheated. They are also called baulas or prakrta-sahajiyas. Their aim is to make the connection between the spiritual master and the disciple into a very cheap thing. They are not serious in wanting to understand spiritual life.”
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.330, Purport)
Nevertheless, Srila Prabhupada, who remains only a figurehead to all of these cults, left behind the most extensive record of written and recorded teachings since the compilation of the Vedas. Anyone can take advantage of these. However, what is required to make these teachings effective is to free oneself from the association of those who are misusing them to push their own deviant conclusions:
“Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed.”
(Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.8, Purport)
Fallen Births
Just as the mixed birth of Romaharsan Suta was recalled when he failed to recognize and honor Lord Balaram as He entered the assembly at Naimasaranya, it is not at all difficult to understand who is populating and pushing the current varieties of sahajiyism. It is not difficult to conclude that those who were previously mlecchas would take over via inflated opinions of their own purity and supposed authorization. The false pretense, deception, arrogance, and offense that have been characteristic of the Zonal Acaryas and the GBC is, therefore, to be expected in the attitudes of the new offshoots; they all have devastated the spiritual lives of thousands. Practically speaking, it is only the most intense of the serious who are still absorbed in the “square one” unsophisticated understanding of Krishna consciousness that Srila Prabhupada imparted.
The faithless deviations and offenses of the Zonal Acaryas threw all who followed them onto the material plane-and into the lower modes, at that. Very few were capable of seeing their misfortune, and even fewer were able to see it as Lord Krishna’s arrangement--it was a manifestation of a very different type of mercy. Those who became fried and bitter, who saw themselves primarily as victims, failed to recognize this.
“Yes, Of course, to search out a guru is very nice. But if you want a cheap guru, or if you want to be cheated, then you will find many cheating gurus. But if you are sincere, you will find a sincere guru. Because people want everything very cheaply, they are cheated.
(Science of Self Realization, Chapter Two "Choosing a Spiritual Master-Saints & Swindlers")
Being cheated or misled in this way should serve as indication that one is not educated in spiritual life, that one is not sincere or serious enough to pick up the promptings from the Supersoul regarding who should be followed and who should not be followed:
“The first requirement is that one become educated in spiritual life. Spiritual life is not something one can understand by a few minutes' talk. . . And if, by chance, someone becomes a little interested in spiritual life, he wants something immediate and cheap. Therefore, he is cheated.”
(Science of Self Realization, Chapter Two "Choosing a Spiritual Master-Saints & Swindlers")
Avoiding this sastric conclusion (regarding the cause for being misled), all of those who have been cheated by corporate ISKCON “gurus” still want to hold on to the symbols of their advancement. They use their so-called initiated names; they expect to be allowed to go on the altar and so on. As described previously, the Rittviks roll out the red carpet for these deluded people. For all practical purposes, they have built their whole movement on disregarding the principles immediately described above.
The tendency has been for disciples of disgraced “gurus” to look at rank-and-file disciples of Srila Prabhupada according to mundane vision (vaisnave jati-buddhi) and think, “I am a better manager than him,” or “I am a book distributor and he isn’t” or “I have a better sadhana than that guy.” Such Rittviks then conclude that they must be initiated-because they are, in their own estimation, so much better than all of the disciples actually initiated by His Divine Grace (1967-1977). There are many such rationalizations--another is: “I joined the movement so close to the departure of Srila Prabhupada that his having left is not relevant to my initiation.”
“I Am Also Initiated”
There are others who have witnessed the fates of those who foolishly accepted the guidance of GBC “ISKCON” and who don’t trust either the Rittvik leaders or the Neo-Gaudiya matha. Therefore, they have rightly decided to forego the various “initiation” processes. Unfortunately, some of them have also fallen victim to the temptation of “easy” (sahaj) initiation. At least one group claims the equivalent of initiation from Srila Prabhupada. They say that they are, by virtue of accepting him as their “Prominent Link,” initiated into the disciplic succession of the guru-parampara.
The group (known by this name, i.e., Prominent Link) does not emphasize any of the formalities of the initiation process. Their idea is that, at a certain point in performing Krishna conscious activities, one comes to some vague level of “divya-jnana” and, therefore, becomes “initiated.” The logical next step in this disregard of the sampradaya system-a kind of devolution from corporate ISKCON to Rittvik to Prominent Link--is that devotees will just declare themselves initiated by their own selves; watch for this one to manifest in due course of time. The Prominent Link advocates, and others who believe something similar, have searched high and low for quotes from Srila Prabhupada-and they’ve found some!--like the following:
“So anyway, from 1922 to 1933 practically I was not initiated, but I got the impression of preaching Caitanya Mahaprabhu's cult. That I was thinking. And that was the initiation by my Guru Maharaja."
(Lecture, Hyderabad, December 10, 1976)
"The chanting Hare Krishna is our main business; that is real initiation. And as you are all following my instruction in that matter, the initiator is already there."
(Letter to Tamal Krishna, August 19, 1968)
"Well, initiation or no initiation, first thing is knowledge. . . Initiation is formality. Just like you go to a school for knowledge, and admission is formality. That is not very important thing."
(Interview, October 16, 1976, Chandigarh)
"Initiation is a formality. If you are serious, that is real initiation. My touch is simply a formality. It is your determination--that is initiation."
(Back To Godhead, Search for the Divine)
These quotes can easily be interpreted to suit the wishes of those who want to minimize the standard process of approaching a physically manifest guru. Srila Prabhupada is in no way encouraging this sort of thinking in any of these excerpts, however. All manner of self-proclaimed “initiation” have always been held suspect by serious devotees. Such cheap initiations are pushed by those who want to avoid discipline. Certainly, as the excerpts substantiated, if one is truly serious, one is already initiated by the manifest guru one is serving. Unless there is falldown, there can be no doubt about one’s seriousness if he or she has accepted formal initiation from a pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada. However, if one has not yet come into contact with a bona fide spiritual master, one’s alleged seriousness has no manifest indication of existence:
“So if you are actually serious about Krishna, then Krishna will send you some of His representative, and he will take charge of you. That is the process. If you do not find a guru, that means Krishna is not yet pleased . . . you are not serious.”
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation with Bajaj and Bhusan (at their home) on September 11, 1972 in Arlington, Texas)
(emphasis added)
Anyone who thinks that they are already initiated by virtue of quotes like those just previous to this one, and not this important statement made by Prabhupada in Arlington, Texas, is a great fool. Similarly, those who advocate, even indirectly, that new people can so consider themselves initiated by a spiritual master who is no longer externally manifest are doing a very great disservice; they are hurting those people. We are responsible for our influence. When someone falsely believes himself or herself to already be initiated in this unauthorized way, he or she will give up seeking out a genuine spiritual master.
When Srila Prabhupada enjoins that one should accept a spiritual master, he is not talking about Rittvik or what Prominent Link advocates. He is speaking about what he himself accepted and offered, what both Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya accepted and demonstrated, and what is described repeatedly in the Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. Initiation entails submitting oneself to a qualified person who is physically manifest; it means accepting strict discipline from an advanced devotee who is directly manifest on this plane, who tells you what to do and what not to do.
“Krishna is the first spiritual master, and when we become more interested, then we have to go to a physical spiritual master. That is enjoined in the next verse: tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadekshyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah.”
(Bhagavad-Gita Lecture on 4.34 in New York on August 14, 1966)
It is monkey-like to suddenly jump up and claim that one is initiated, because he or she has been chanting for so many number of years or has attained some unspecified level of “divya-jnana.”
Madhudvisa: His question was that can you take initiation by accepting the spiritual master in your heart without actually taking. . .
Srila Prabhupada: These are bogus proposition. It has no meaning. It has no meaning. If you think within yourself, "I am eating," will you be satisfied? You starve and simply think, "I have eaten everything." Is that very practical proposal? You must eat. We don't say all these bogus proposition.”
(Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.1.1 in Melbourne on May 21, 1975)
“It is imperative that a serious person accept a bona fide spiritual master in terms of the sastric injunctions.”
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.35)
Just as the previously described flight of many devotees to the Gaudiya matha could not have occurred were it not for the chaotic environment created by the Zonal Acaryas, these self-imagined kinds of “initiation” are taking place within a warped paradigm composed of three sahajiya cults; this article is meant to help expose all of them. Since many have achieved fame, adoration, and distinction by joining these cults, others will be influenced to think that they also deserve some recognition, without realizing the necessity of doing the hard work that must come first:
“The crux of the matter lies not in the external nature of the ceremony of initiation as it appears to us, because that is bound to be unintelligible to us (being an affair of the other world) but in the conviction of the necessity and the successful choice of a really good Preceptor. We can attain to the conviction of the necessity and the successful choice of a really good Preceptor by the exercise of our unbiased reason in the light of our ordinary experience. When once this conviction has been truly formed, Sri Krishna Himself helps us in finding the really good Preceptor through the revealed Shastras. In the second, He Himself sends to us the good Preceptor himself at the moment when we are at all likely to benefit by his instructions. The good Preceptor also comes to us when we reject him. In such cases, also, it is certainly Krishna Who sends him to us for no reason whatsoever.”
(Initiation Into Spiritual Life by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada)
“To cut something, a sharp instrument is required; to cut the mind from its attachments, sharp words are often required. The sadhu or teacher shows no mercy in using sharp words to sever the student's mind from material attractions. By speaking the truth uncompromisingly, he is able to sever the bondage. For example, at the very beginning of Bhagavad-gita, Krsna speaks sharply to Arjuna by telling him that, although he speaks like a learned man, he is actually fool number one. If we actually want detachment from this material world, we should be prepared to accept such cutting words from the spiritual master. Compromise and flattery have no effect where strong words are required.”
(Perfection of Yoga Ch. Four: Yoga as Body and Mind Control)
Smorgasbord
There are many devotees who have separated themselves, to some extent, from the three organized post-modern sahajiya cults. Many of these devotees have websites, blogs, or publications of some sort where they make compromised-but less compromised--presentations of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. However, virtually all of their versions of siddhanta contain any number of “easy” malinterpretations allegedly from Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. Most of these inexperienced people also accept the three cults as, more or less, still representing Srila Prabhupada.
As this article should make clear, it is very easy to find the philosophical contradictions and deviations of the big groups. Therefore, it is quite easy to make one’s self-serving adaptation appear superior to them, at least on paper or on the computer screen. One problem, however, is that virtually all of these independents have, at some point in the past, been a victim of one of the cults, and, more often than not, that one was GBC “ISKCON.”
As described earlier, very few devotees are sincere enough to admit that their knowledge and seriousness were insufficient, and that is why they were misled by the Zonal Acaryas; this also extends to quite a few disciples of Srila Prabhupada, i.e., those genuinely initiated. There were only a handful of devotees who rejected the Zonals as an act of Conscience in combination with their complete dedication to Srila Prabhupada. Very few of the others (the smorgasbord) have made any truly honest assessment of the bad effects that have attended the following of zonal deviants.
Primarily these effects have manifested in the form of acting on the mental plane and fault-finding. When someone is jilted in a mundane love affair, it is virtually impossible to get one’s mind off the “ex”; these people are just like that. In terms of their previous relationships with GBC “ISKCON,” they have become self-appointed experts in saying how what remains of the movement should or should not be run. This has increased exponentially since the initial difficulties and falldowns of the Zonal Acaryas. There is an endless back and forth, along with party spirit rhetoric, from anyone and everyone; pretender “gurus” set the bad example, giving rise to others thinking that they are also now “acarya.”
Most of those who followed the Zonal Acaryas did so out of some sentiment of duty and loyalty to Srila Prabhupada’s movement. They thought that they should continue to follow the authority that had previously represented Srila Prabhupada. They were either unable to realize that this was no longer the case, or they were afraid of leaving--and again living amongst the vikarmis. Neither group was spared the bad effects of serving the zonal pretenders, however. Because they were cheated by that so-called authority, they are now inherently suspicious of accepting anyone else as superior; “Once burnt, twice shy.” The Zonals were faithless, not actually accepting Srila Prabhupada’s instructions regarding succession, and they passed that same disease of faithlessness and contempt to all those who served them.
What the Zonals actually did was subvert and destroy the original Krishna consciousness movement; they turned it into a show-bottle facsimile. Those who assisted them in this were certainly not serving Krishna or Srila Prabhupada, although, in delusion (and up to a point), they thought that they were. The malignant effects of this insanity continue to play out amongst those who still falsely believe that serving the Zonal Acaryas back in the day was, somehow or other, service to Krishna. Trying to keep the corpse of this myth alive only perpetuates the greatly harmful effects.
Another factor in the continuing inability to cobble together a viable alternative is that most of the smorgasbord were previously mis-trained in the science of Krishna consciousness; they were indoctrinated by the zonal pets. Very few of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples understand that what is most important--and, therefore, the only real platform of unity--is the philosophy, the siddhanta. Virtually all of them think that they know what was emphasized most during Prabhupada’s manifest presence - and there is a great deal of disagreement as an inexorable result. Some will say book distribution, some Harinam, some advocate varnashrama, and others will say cooperation with “the godbrothers.” Therefore, when someone stands up, goes against the grain of these lower modes, and says that what is needed is acceptance of the siddhanta, most will disagree. They think that those devotees are too much under the influence of jnana and/or that they are just ambitious and want to be the new leader. This confusion has resulted in a unique type of “American-Hindu” hodge-podge.
“Therefore, because we are presenting Krsna as He is, therefore our preaching is perfect. I may be imperfect, but our preaching is not imperfect. It is very simple. We are preaching all over the world, ‘Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ And these foreign boys and girls who are after me, they also accepted. They do not say that ‘Here is another God, sir. Why you are asking?’ That is the difficulty in India. As soon as we shall say, ‘Krsna is the Supreme Lord, Krsna is the . . . there is no more superior person than Krsna,’ others will say, ‘No, why this gentleman is not superior than Krsna?’ That is the difficulty. They'll not accept. Their brain has been full with hodge-podge things. Therefore they cannot take Krsna consciousness . . . Of course, at heart, in India, everyone feels for Krsna, but they have been educated in such a wrong way, they cannot accept Krsna as the Supreme, as Krsna says, mattah parataram nanyat [Bg. 7.7]. This is the difficulty.”
(Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 7.7 in Bombay on February 22, 1974)
Return to Square One
“Sacrifice means nothing to be sacrificed. But sacrifice the sense of ‘I am the Lord,’ that's all. What you have got you can sacrifice? This is simply a bluff, sacrifice. We cannot sacrifice. What we have got we can sacrifice? There is no question of sacrifice, but sacrifice means this doggish mentality that ‘I am Lord, I am God, I am enjoyer.’"
Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2.3.20-21 in Los Angeles on June 17, 1972
The bona fide spiritual master is the personification of the sastras; he is the person bhagavat:
“The word guru means ‘heavy,’ heavy with knowledge. And what is that knowledge? Tad-vijnana. That heaviness is brahma-nistha -- attachment to brahman and to Parabrahman, Bhagavan. That is the guru's qualification. brahmany upasamasrayam.”
(Teachings of Lord Kapila, Verse Four)
Due to this heaviness, devotees were afraid to speak nonsense in the presence of Srila Prabhupada. The pure devotee was able to push aside all inferior conceptions when he spoke. He created instant unity and harmony with the Absolute Truth for all who accepted him--simply by his presence. Although the current situation of chaos and pandemonium is clearly the result of his physical departure, this can be remedied if we are able to return to the standard that he embodied. That standard is our Krishna conscious philosophy, our siddhanta:
“So there is nothing to be said new. Whatever I have to speak, I have spoken in my books. Now you try to understand it and continue your endeavor. Whether I am present or not present, it doesn't matter.”
Arrival Speech on May 17, 1977 in Vrndavana, India
“So there is a necessity for a class of men who will act as the brain of society. That is called brahmana. That is real human society, where there are four classes of men: One acting as brain . . . In the Kali-yuga, there is a scarcity of brahmanas. Brahmana is vairagya. A brahmana is not interested with pounds, shilling, pence, ‘Get money and enjoy.’ That is not the brahmana's business.”
(Purport to Parama Karuna)
The reason that we have had chaos since the departure of Srila Prabhupada is that the movement has been without a brain. The Zonal Acarya “pet disciples” were not at all interested in acting under the direction of the society’s brahmanas; mostly, they were contemptuous of them. They took direction from their own ambition and used their power in the GBC to make that the “reality.”
Although Srila Prabhupada made every effort to see that his disciples became learned in the philosophy, his lieutenants turned out not to be similarly inclined. They inevitably succumbed to the pleasures of their big posts (“doggish mentality”) and diverted devotee attention towards their own priorities; these were generally the amassing of results in terms of men and money. Rather than praise and consult the self-controlled scholars, they denigrated them in a manner all too Western. This, of course, further served their ultimate purpose of having no one seen as being above them. During his last years, the movement having become so large, it became very easy to relegate Srila Prabhupada to a mere figurehead who they could exploit to empower their personal fiefdoms. Did he leave so that they could have their desire to imitate him fulfilled? Did he leave in order to force them to get the negative reactions they deserved?
The books, lectures, walks, and recorded conversations have all been compiled; serious devotees are free to study and discuss the contents:
“We are also lawyer, not in the material sense. But we know what is the law of God.”
(Room Conversation with Monsieur Mesman, Chief of the Law House, on June 11, 1974 in Paris, France)
It is not too late-although it is certainly getting very, very late--to resurrect the importance of what Srila Prabhupada taught. We can use our unbiased reason to determine in a threadbare manner what his directions were on practically any topic. Indeed, any real brahmana has been doing that all along. Such brahmanas can collectively discuss these issues and determine the correct way to implement Srila Prabhupada’s desires.
Services that were enjoined by Srila Prabhupada during his manifest presence--such as book distribution, Harinam, and creating a varnashrama society--were just that: Services. It is the indoctrination by the pet disciples that has caused devotees to think that their new doctrines should replace the siddhanta, but, in actuality, the siddhanta must maintain its prominence.
Just as Srila Prabhupada created instant unity due to his being the personification of the Bhagavatam, the siddhanta (sastra) is the framework within which all authorized services should be conducted; it is the air which all the other activities need to stay relevant. It is the only hope for true cooperation and at least some kind of unity to oppose the madness. This is the real reason the movement has pretty much died since Srila Prabhupada’s departure. We are advocating a return to the original standard and siddhanta; this is what we call a return to square one.
The death of the movement has meant that real spiritual advancement, both individually and collectively, has pretty much stopped for most devotees. Without a genuine manifest shelter, even the most serious of them have had to confront their material senses without good association. Those who followed the deviant teachings of the GBC or imbibed the offences inherent in the Neo-Gaudiya matha have not made any progress; they have degraded. Their original realization has been covered:
yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya
vartate kama-karatah
na sa siddhim avapnoti
na sukham na param gatim
”But he who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.”
(Bhagavad-gita, 16.23)
The fanatical wing of the Rittvik movement is also guilty of this disregard but has the added feature that no one in it is enjoined to advance to the stage of guru. According to its standard, trying to become a pure devotee, one who is capable of giving diksa, is a rejection of everything it teaches; Prabhupada is the only diksa guru. Some older Prabhupada initiates, who could be acting in an exemplary manner for others’ benefit, instead engage in a lifetime of offences and lies by pushing this kind of rittvik, viciously defaming anyone who disagrees with their apa-siddhanta. Although there are many humble and even learned (to some degree) Rittviks, there are too many of them for whom party spirit fanaticism is considered the only “Vaishnava” behavior.
sruti-smrti-puranadi-
pancaratra-vidhim vina
aikantiki harer bhaktir
utpatayaiva kalpate
"Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Upanisads, Puranas and Narada-pancaratra is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society."
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.2.101)
There are four types of neophyte devotees. They are, in order of degradation or advancement, the sahajiya, the mishra bhakta (ordinary devotee), the sadhana bhakta, and the special devotee who has achieved anartha-nivritti. The sahajiya inevitably believes that he or she is on a far higher level than is actually the case and almost always fault-finds those who are better situated. As the following exchange makes clear, it is not necessary that one have a conscious desire to come under the influence of sahajiyism; one simply has to regularly hear from them.
Prabhupada: These sahajiyas will come out of so many devotees. What can be done? From my Guru Maharaja's disciples, so many sahajiyas came. These are called sahajiyas. Very easily they capture thing. So my Guru Maharaja used to say, "When my disciples will be sahajiya, it will be more dangerous.” He used to say like that. Take things very easily. You know that Purusottama, supposed to be my Godbrother?
Prthu-putra: No.
Prabhupada: You don't know?
Prthu-putra: In Mayapura?
Prabhupada: In Vrndavana.
Prthu-putra: In Vrndavana. Ah, yes. Purusottama, yes.
Prabhupada: He has poisoned this Nitai.
Prthu-putra: Oh. Is it because we have the desire to come in contact with such persons that we contact them, like Nitai contacting that Purusottama?
Prabhupada: You may not desire, but if you are not strong, you'll be misled by these rascals. But if we follow this instruction, Narottama dasa Thakura, ara na koriho mane asa, oh, then you become strong. Then you remain strong. Our bhakti line is anyabhilasita-sunyam. We should be completely zero of our material desires. Anyabhilasita-sunyam. Sunyam means zero.
(Room Conversation on January 28, 1977 in Bhuvanesvara)
(emphases added)
The mishra-bhakta takes to the process but maintains a separate interest from that of the spiritual master. The sadhana bhakta eventually accepts initiation and performs activities ordered by the spiritual master, in the spirit described here by Srila Prabhupada (ara na koriho mane asa, i.e., no independent desire or interest from the guru). As his or her faith and knowledge increases, he or she may be able to come to the stage of anartha-nivritti.
Cognitive dissonance has reaped a heavy toll amongst the followers of Srila Prabhupada and, in the chaos that has ensued, new varieties of sahajiyism have taken root. Although there are marked differences from the original thirteen cults (described over a century ago by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur), there are also quite obvious similarities; when a stream overflows its banks, it will follow the same channels created by previous floods. When bona fide Krishna consciousness becomes contaminated, we can expect to find similarities with previous deviations.
We should renew our efforts to understand and follow Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, re-dedicating ourselves to the personal application of the principles of bhakti-yoga. We should give up any previous idea that simply floating along in the society, friendship and love stream in any one of these groups will be sufficient to bring us to perfection. Nothing is automatic. Such an unconscious idea will never lead us to the perfection of knowledge.
In essence, his teachings are not all that hard to assimilate. If one is an initiate of His Divine Grace, he should make every effort to become a pure devotee, to be the next link in the disciplic succession. If one is not initiated by Srila Prabhupada, he or she should endeavor to become sincere, so that Lord Krishna will put him or her in touch with a bona fide spiritual master.
These efforts can only be successful if we separate ourselves from those who are covering Krishna consciousness in the name of spreading it. Those who are absorbed in acting under the order of Srila Prabhupada on the level of their own qualification (adhikara) will not be disturbed by cognitive dissonance if they still experience a bit of it. They will abandon the non-Krishna idea, and thus make advancement in spiritual life.
Om Tat Sat
Hare Krishna
All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his real eternal movement.
“Anyone following the order of Lord Caitanya under the guidance of His bona fide representative, can become a spiritual master, and I wish that in my absence all my disciples become the bona fide spiritual master to spread Krishna Consciousness throughout the whole world.”
(Letter to Madhusudana from Navadvipa on November 2, 1967)
Srila Prabhupada: So therefore the conclusion is guru is necessary and guru is he who is representative of Krishna. Otherwise he's bogus.
Pushta-Krishna: What about the so-called gurus that take a little bit here and a little bit there?
Srila Prabhupada: So-called gurus, they are so-called gurus. They are not gurus. That is already explained. If one does not speak what Krishna speaks, he is not guru. If you accept so-called guru, that is your misfortune. What can be done?
Pushta-Krishna: Some of them will say some things that Krishna says, but they'll take from other places also. What is the position of such persons?
Srila Prabhupada: He's most dangerous. He's most dangerous. He is opportunist. He's finding out customer, something here . . . According to the customer he is giving something, as the customers will be pleased. So he is not guru.
(Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal on June 28, 1976 in Vrindavana)
(emphasis added)
“Unfortunately, in present day society, in the name of suddha-bhakti, various types of mixed devotion--such as karma-misra, jnana-misra, and yoga-misra, as well as various polluted and imaginary conceptions--are spreading like germs of plague. People in general consider these polluted and mixed conceptions to be bhakti. They respect them as such and thus are deprived of suddha-bhakti. These polluted and mixed conceptions are our greatest enemies. Some people say that there is no value in bhakti, that God is only imaginary sentiment, that man has merely created the image of God through imagination, and that bhakti is a diseased state, unable to benefit us in any way. These types of opponents cannot harm us much, because we easily recognize them and avoid them. However . . .
. . . those who propagate bhagavad-bhakti as the highest dharma--yet behave against the principles of suddha-bhakti--can be especially harmful to us. In the name of bhakti, they instruct us against the actual principles of bhakti. This ultimately leads us to a path that is diametrically opposed to bhagavad-bhakti. Therefore, with great endeavor, our previous acaryas have defined the svarupa or intrinsic nature of bhakti, repeatedly cautioning us to keep away from polluted and mixed concepts.”
(Bhakti Viveka Tattva by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Prabhupada)
(emphases added)
Srila Prabhupada: My Guru Maharaja used to say, "When our men will be sahajiya, he will be more dangerous."
Devotee: Our own men.
Srila Prabhupada: Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he said that, "When our men will be sahajiya, oh, they'll be more dangerous." So our men are becoming, some of them, sahajiyas. This very word he said, that, "When our men will be sahajiyas, he'll be more dangerous."
(Room Conversation on January 24, 1977 in Bhuvanesvara)
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