A Word and a Staple, Part Six
BY: ROCANA DASA
Jul 28, 2011 — CANADA (SUN) —
In our last segment, we addressed Madhudvisa das's dual position, that Srila Prabhupada both instituted a post-samadhi Rtvik initiation system for all time, and that he wanted his disciples to become initiating diksa gurus. Madhudvisa attempted to reconcile the obvious contradiction by suggesting that such diksa gurus would have to leave the ISKCON institution, and only Rtvik initiated disciples could stay within it, along with the Prabhupada disciples who choose not to become diksas. He didn't specify what the fate would be of the current grand-disciples in such an arrangement, but presumably he thinks they would have to renounce their status as diksa disciples or leave with their gurus. While we find both tracks of Madhudvisa's parallel solution untenable, one track -- post-samadhi diksa by ritvik – is arguably more asiddhantic than the other.
Madhudvisa has, for the most part, renounced his association with Rtvik-ism, as we'll discuss later in this article. Meanwhile, we have yet to address the pseudo-Rtvik camps who have now also stepped back from the July 9th Letter, finding it too hard to defend. Instead, some of them are settling in on the 'no living diksa necessary' fence. We'll address the asiddhantic elements of that position another day.
For now, we would like to underscore what is a commonly shared notion amongst nearly all Rtviks and Prabhupadanugas: that without post-samadhi diksa, ISKCON simply cannot go on. Whether we're talking about…
Bangalore, who has manufactured a contrived system wherein the ISKCON GBC has been rejected and replaced by their own GBC, who then chooses their Rtvik priests;
or whether it's the West Coast Rtviks who are turning back to mad Hansadutta, one of the "chosen 11" who can allegedly bestow Rtvik diksa, albeit outside of the ISKCON institution;
or others like Praghosa dasa (NY) who herald the "chosen 11", suggesting that any one of the 11 is still qualified to be Rtvik within the institution;
or whether it's the IRM/UK Rtviks who preach The Final Order conclusion…
none of them can accept that there is an alternative way for ISKCON to go forward.
We, of course, disagree. The real solution is the one set down in sastra and preached by all the Sampradaya Acaryas. They have given the formula, and we must become Krsna conscious and simply apply it.
The main thing, as Srila Prabhupada stated so many times in his lectures and purports, is accepting in your heart that the person who is your guru (diksa or siksa) is bona fide – that he is in touch with Krsna and is a via media for the Sampradaya Acaryas; that his understanding and acceptance of the siddhanta is pure and unadulterated.
By recognizing Srila Prabhupada's exalted spiritual status, the formalities of diksa can be properly understood. By Sri Krsna's arrangement, Srila Prabhupada's books and audio provide a lifetime of completely sanctified, bona fide, unadulterated material for the seeker of truth to study, to the point that they feel qualified to ascertain who is actually representing Srila Prabhupada.
When the aspirant is ready, Chaitya Guru will make the necessary arrangements. There is no need for religious or bureaucratic machinations to be layered on top of this eternal system for finding one's guru. Both Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and Srila Prabhupada avoided manufacturing such systems, and actually preached against them. It is only the anxious neophyte followers who have become convinced that something more is needed, and they are contriving all sorts of asiddhantic approaches to get what they want. They are forgetting that the Lord of the Heart already knows what they want, and will ensure that they get it. This applies to diksa initiation, and every other miniscule aspect of the living entity's circumstances.
I have a great deal of sympathy for devotees who are struggling with this issue of initiation, whether they be aspirants considering a Rtvik fire yajna, or ISKCON devotees trying to choose between Radhanath and Hridayananda. But no matter how we empathize with their situation, we cannot concoct siddhanta so as to accommodate them. In the future, there's going to be millions of such persons who will be reading Srila Prabhupada's books and listening to his sound vibration, and wishing that they had been present when Srila Prabhupada was in his manifest form and initiating. We can only imagine how many devotees came along after Lord Caitanya's disappearance, wishing that they could have participated in His lila.
Over the years, we have talked with many Rtviks about the evidence for their so-called siddhanta, only to find that they can't defend the July 9th Letter's "henceforward", and most aren't concerned about trying. At the end of the day, they tend to be motivated by one of two things: a kind-hearted desire to give everyone the chance to be Srila Prabhupada's disciple (especially in comparison to having to refer them to the current ISKCON gurus), or anger at ISKCON leaders and the institution that has marginalized them. Most of these Rtviks agree that diksa is a formality, but also acknowledge that sastra establishes the diksa principle. Yet contrary to all attempts at introducing logic to the discussion or encouraging them to make the right connections between sastra, evidence, and assumption, even as they admit they don't have real evidence to prove it, they can't move beyond an insistence that the July 9th Letter established post-samadhi rtvik diksa and/or that The Final Order "proves" it's what Srila Prabhupada wanted and is the only way for ISKCON to go forward. Their mind is made up. Don't confuse them with facts. And don't expect them to make the effort to actually argue or defend their position. That's a task they've gladly handed off to Rtvik pandits like Krishnakant and Yasodanandana, into whose hands they place their spiritual lives with reckless abandon. It is simply a demonstration of laziness borne of ignorance – something Srila Prabhupada was intent on eradicating from the consciousness of his followers.
Our warning to anyone preaching Rtvik-ism is that you'd better consider very carefully the fact that it is asiddhantic. No amount of word jugglery about 'change according to time, place and circumstance' changes that fact. Ritvik diksa was not instituted by Srila Prabhupada as a post-samadhi mechanism for initiations to go on per the July 7th Conversation or the July 9th Letter. That notion has been soundly defeated. Only semantic acrobats like Krishnakant can appear to keep that ball spinning in the air.
We can only point out the facts and reiterate for their benefit that there is an alternative solution for ISKCON, as we have been saying all along. We can continuously try to get them to see how dangerous it is to accept and promote asiddhantic versions of the philosophy. The approach we're offering is a sound solution, it represents no risk whatsoever from a siddhantic viewpoint, and it's not a radical change to Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. It's fully in line with all of Srila Prabhupada instructions, and does not need to stretch or bend his words in order to hold up.
Even if the Ritviks will only concede that post-samadhi ritvik diksa could be asiddhantic, they should recognize that if it actually proves to be so, and they've made the mistake of preaching this asiddhantic philosophy due to having some ulterior motive, they are at risk of getting a very serious reaction. ISKCON history is full of gruesome examples of what happens to those who begin preaching asiddhantic philosophy.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Rtvik-vada, the adherents at the center are hardcore fanatical believers, and we don't expect they'll ever renounce their "henceforward" attachment. Instead, they've busied themselves with finding cagey ways to hedge their position, like sliding closer to the "chosen 11", or mixing a little "no living guru", "big picture" rhetoric into their pitch.
Of course, they're also having to deal with the fact that the wild fire acceptance of Rtvik-ism they'd hoped for has not manifested. And as much as they love to hang their hat on Madhu Pandit's head and point to Bangalore as proof positive that Rtvik Is Right, the truth is that Bangalore ran successfully for 10 years on a program much more in line with our Sampradaya Acarya position, without including Rtvik diksa initiations at all. Nor can we be certain that Bangalore's success outside of the ISKCON-GBC's jurisdiction will last much longer. The position they've gotten themselves into legally seems quite precarious, and could take the whole thing down. Where would the success be in that? If one ties Bangalore's success to their promotion of Rtvik-vada, one will also have to accept, in the event of their failure, that the fall will also have a connection to their siddhanta.
The Rtviks today are very frustrated, because they have so much faith that what they believe to be true is what Srila Prabhupada actually wanted. They desperately want to believe that if everyone just accepted this, there'd be a magical transformation back to the good old days when Srila Prabhupada was here… but that's just wishful thinking. We don't see that being true, even in the case of Bangalore, let alone in the UK, at Sandy Ridge or the Sedro Wooley ashrama. And the reason it hasn't taken off is because it's a concocted philosophy; it's asiddhantic and deep down, the soul knows truth and non-truth when it hears it. Consequently, relatively few devotees adopt it.
Yasodanandana dasa, the father of Rtvik-ism, wrote a big scholarly paper on the "Tradition of Debate", but welched on his own agreement to debate Rtvik-vada with us. Krishnakant, who apparently still hasn't taken Rtvik diksa himself (like so many other Rtviks), has been reduced to Modifications A&B and a retraction of the May 28th Conversation as evidence. His website is filled with so-called 'defeats' of his challengers, but these papers don't begin to stand as logical refutations of post-samadhi Rtvik diksa, and would be thrown out by most high school debate clubs.
Madhu Pandit dasa waited ten years to conduct Rtvik initiations, on a lame excuse about needing time to form his own GBC – something he could have done in a year, if not an afternoon. The timing of his recent mass-Rtvik initiation ceremony clearly appears to have been motivated by political expediency, nothing else.
Numerous other Rtviks and semi-Rtviks are also on the horizon, albeit at much lower levels in the community pecking order. They keep churning away, keeping up appearances that Rtvik-vada is alive and well. It's astounding that the writings of personalities like Puranjana dasa are still accepted and promoted by the Prabhupadanugas as "preaching". If there's any sign of just how decimated their potency as a community has become, it's their continued promotion of Puranjana's rantings as 'editorial commentary'. It's very sad and embarrassing to watch.
Most recently we have addressed Madhudvisa dasa, who put his head up to speak on behalf of the main plank of Rtvik-vada, although he has now rejected that affiliation altogether. While he's been wise enough to not closely associate himself in public with individual Rtvik personalities or camps, he has over the years spread a great deal of disinformation about the July 9th Letter being evidence for post-samadhi Rtvik diksa. He is now duty bound to rectify that situation.
So as we bring this "Word and a Staple" series to a close, we would like to comment on some of the statements made by Madhudvisa prabhu in his last installment, "Ritvik Lies and ISKCON Lies". He wrote:
"I admit that the July 7th conversation which does appear to be the source of the July 9th letter does not resemble the July 9th letter very much and does not contain the word "henceforward," etc. Obviously the July 9th letter was written by Tamil and signed by Prabhupada. But the fact that Prabhupada signed it and had it sent to all centers does indicate that he agreed with it and that it is important Prabhu."
We appreciate Madhudvisa's acknowledgement of some of the key points we've made. While he doesn't say it as clearly as he should, he is essentially admitting that by virtue of the July 7th Conversation and the July 9th Letter, Srila Prabhupada did not establish a post-samadhi rtvik diksa program, and the only conceivable way to suggest that he did is to rely on the single word, "henceforward", which Tamal Krishna introduced into the conversation and added to the letter by his own initiative. Yes, Srila Prabhupada signed the letter, and it was distributed. How much weight he put on the July 9th Letter is quite evident in the July 7th Conversation, as we pointed out in our opening article:
"Srila Prabhupada's only comment on July 7th that could be remotely construed as pertaining to the 'drafting of a formal letter' was: "You can note down these names." And his only comment pertaining to the distribution of this supposedly formal letter of authorization was, "That's nice. Now you distribute." This is how the Rtviks suggest Srila Prabhupada handled the instructions for what is a sea change in the mechanism for diksa initiation -- a method found nowhere in sastra – which is supposedly meant to be the sole and only final word on how diksa is to be carried out forever in ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada's branch of the disciplic succession."
In the mood of brahminical straightforwardness, we now ask Madhudvisa prabhu to clearly affirm that he accepts our conclusion in this regard.
Madhudvisa wrote:
"I think that sometimes people have misunderstood that I am a 'ritvik'. That has never been true. I have always protested these lies of the ritviks that Srila Prabhupada never intended his disciples to go on to become qualified diksa gurus, that Srila Prabhupada did not want any more gurus for the next 10,000 years, that all the quotes in Srila Prabhupada's teachings regarding his disciples going on to become qualified gurus only refer to siksha guru, never diksa guru. These things are complete lies and I have always protested them."
We can understand why Madhudvisa has, up to now, been mistaken for a Rtvik. Obviously, it is primarily due to his promotion of the July 9th Letter as being the authorization for post-samadhi Ritvik diksa. Even though he has argued with other aspects of the Rtvik platform, that fact alone results in his being labeled a Rtvik, and rightly so. Now that he has accepted that the July 9th Letter is not what he thought it was, if he would simply state this clearly for the record – more clearly than in his comment above – that would serve as adequate notice that Madhudvisa das is not a Rtvik. Without such a definitive statement, however, the Rtvik label will stick.
Aside from the July 9th Letter, Madhudvisa has differentiated himself from the Rtviks in writing the following (excerpted):
"Because ISKCON has presented so many unqualified gurus who have caused so much grief and suffering for the unfortunate disciples so many have become disgusted at the very idea of guru. Just thinking of "guru" brings pain to the hearts of the victims of these bogus gurus. So it is understandable that the ritviks preach "Prabhupada says there should be no more gurus..." But actually Srila Prabhupada does not say this... It is a lie, but I guess an understandable lie."
"I know the ritviks will hate me for this but they can not do anything because they have no leader and will not accept anyone as their leader [except Prabhupada but they disagree about what Prabhupada says...]. If they are not arguing with ISKCON they are arguing among themselves. There is no respect, there is no trust, there is no cooperation. Nothing can be done. There is no future in this..."
"So the "ritviks" have really done a great disservice to Srila Prabhupada by propagating these lies. Still, inspite of the ritviks and inspite of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada continues to live on in his transcendental books and audio and video recordings and any sincere soul can take advantage of Srila Prabhupada's personal association in this way and surrender to Srila Prabhupada and surrender to Krishna and Srila Prabhupada will initiate him. This will go on and no one can stop it!!!"
Of course, we agree with all these points, and with many of the other points made in "Ritvik Lies and ISKCON Lies". His analysis of the guru situation in ISKCON and how the Rtviks have shaped themselves into a movement as a result of ISKCON's mistakes, is well said. While he provides good arguments about the need for leaders and gurus, the most potent arguments and the authorization for diksa initiation come directly from sastra, and Srila Prabhupada never deviated from sastra by even a millimeter.
We thank Madhudvisa for giving us this opportunity to make our points once again on the topic of Ritvik-vada. We find a great deal of common ground with Madhudvisa prabhu, and pray that no offense has been taken by him over the course of this series, as we've pursued making our position clear on Ritvik-ism in the context of his own position.
We believe that our rebuttals of Rtvik-vada, combined with our Sampradaya Acarya position, form a solid foundation of siddhanta and solutions, not only in the guru-tattva debate, but in regards to many of the problems ISKCON struggles with today. This solution is philosophically sound, it carries no spiritual risk, it solves the initiation dilemma for ISKCON, and it keeps the focus where it needs to be – on the Sampradaya Acarya's pure teachings. We hope Madhudvisa and all devotees will eventually join us in promoting this solution.
For our part, we will continue to work at making our Sampradaya Position clear and convincing. We have for years now been working on a new, expanded version of the Sampradaya Acarya paper, now more like a book. Our research convinces us more than ever that the objections to our position -- whether founded on disagreements with the terminology, the List of 32 aspect, or the comparative status of acaryas -- all these objections can and will be overturned as we continue our effort.
As we carry on with a comprehensive presentation of the arguments that defeat Rtvik-vada, we will also begin publishing in the weeks and months ahead new material in support of the Sampradaya Acarya position, and we look forward to the discussions that will no doubt follow here in the Sun.
Hare Krsna
Rocana dasa
INDEX OF PREVIOUS ARTICLES
A Word and a Staple, Part One
A Word and a Staple, Part Two
A Word and a Staple, Part Three
A Word and a Staple, Part Four
A Word and a Staple, Part Five
The Truth is Very Powerful
Evidence and Clarification
Ritvik Lies and ISKCON Lies
