The Hindu-ization of ISKCON
BY: ROCANA DASA
Oct 01, CANADA (SUN) — When we refer to ISKCON, naturally we're referring to Srila Prabhupada's mission, and not to what is today the modern manifestation of ISKCON. Basically, we're looking for Srila Prabhupada's opinion or his view on "Hindu". As Srila Prabhupada clarifies in Science of Self-Realization, "Hindu" is just a name that was coined by the Muslims, early on in their reign of India, which lasted over 800 years. They could not pronounce Sindhu properly, so they called it the river 'Hindu', and the inhabitants there became known as the 'Hindus'.
Srila Prabhupada has explained that the true definition of a Hindu is one who is a member or descendant from the original Bharatvarsha, and who follows the Vedic scriptures. India today is composed of Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, and various other minority groups, but those who follow the Vedas in some way or another form the majority of Hindus.
What we're witnessing today in Pakistan, which is seldom mentioned, is the fact that the ex-Hindus who are now Muslims for the most part, and who are of Indian origin, are not the real radicals. The radicals are the Muslims from what they call the "tribal areas" close to the border of Afghanistan.
Srila Prabhupada ventured to the West not only per the mandate of his Spiritual Master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, but also because it was his destiny as a nitya-siddha to spread Krsna consciousness outside of India, and primarily in the West. Srila Prabhupada referred to the Indians who left India on account of wanting to improve their economic conditions, as "crows". Many came to study in western universities, and due to their superior culture and intelligence, they are very successful in this venture. Consequently here in the West, there are millions of Indians/Hindus who are very wealthy. I have read that they're the wealthiest sector of immigrants in America. So naturally, in the early days of ISKCON, we did enjoy the assistance of many Indians. Not only did they contribute financially, they also considerably endeavored to help Srila Prabhupada's movement. They were very amazed and proud of Srila Prabhupada's efforts and results.
Srila Prabhupada reminded us many times, and it's the sastric truth, that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered all Indians to adopt this Krsna consciousness philosophy and spread it throughout the world. Srila Prabhupada said that the reason the world was in such a hellish condition was in part due to the fact that the Indians did not take up this mission, because ultimately, everyone is suffering from lack of knowledge. And of course it's not simply knowledge, but the process of chanting and participating in the Sankirtana movement. At the same time, as Srila Prabhupada clearly explained on his morning walk on September 15, 1975 in Vrindavan, everyone needs to take to this Krsna consciousness, Indians and westerners alike:
Prabhupada: Everyone is in insanity. They are trying to different way. They do not know the only solution is, as Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sarana... [Bg. 18.66]. That they do not, neither they'll accept.
Vasughosa: Especially Indian people, you know, they say, "Well, if I surrender to Krsna, who will feed me?"
Prabhupada: No, no, Indian, American, everyone. Why you are, American, you are so proud of your...?
Vasughosa: No. (laughter) No, but because in India people know that they should surrender to Krsna, no?
Prabhupada: But you also know.
Vasughosa: But the general mass, I mean, of Americans, they don't understand.
Prabhupada: These are faulty, fault-finding. It is no good. Everyone. Krsna did not say for Indian or American. For everyone. But at the present moment Indians are misled that they have been, I mean to say, induced to think that if they become like American or Western people they will be happy. That is misleading.
Srila Prabhupada's initial success in preaching to the westerners has now transitioned into a phenomenon of Indians, both in India and in the West, being the primary converts and participants of the institution going by the name of ISKCON. In the early days when I first got involved, I found it quite amazing how the Indians who came to the temple so easily understood and enthusiastically participated, but at the same time, they did not wish to encourage their offspring to fully participate in the way that Srila Prabhupada wanted the westerners to do. That primarily meant they wanted them to get a western education and be successful in western culture. In other words, to make money. I think for the most part, we can safely say that's still the case. There are exceptions, of course.
On the other hand, of the westerners who first joined, many have abandoned the original spirit and have either gone back to university or regretted that they'd given up their education as they tried to survive and make a living in the western culture. ISKCON itself, in part due to the influence of the Indians, has structured the temple communities in the west in a similar format or model as Indian temples, where you have a few pujaris and so-called brahmans in the temple, and everyone else is a congregational member.
When I first moved back to Vancouver, I approached Hari Vilasa dasa, then the GBC here, indicating that I'd like to get fully involved. I even came up with a whole plan on how I could do that. He responded by saying, "don't you know that everyone is part-time now? That included Hari Vilasa himself, who was part-time GBC while running a business on the side. The current temple leader, who I believe still holds the Temple Vice President title, also runs a successful business, and for the most part, the only full-time members are either paid a salary or stipend, or are allowed to occupy little cubbyholes in the temple outbuildings. The leaders set it up this way, but a look around at the state of disrepair on the temple property makes it clear that the system is not working. The management structure at Vancouver appears to be due to the influence of those from India. Granted, they are the ones contributing most of the money for the upkeep of the temple. On account of their business endeavours they are able to make these contributions.
Unfortunately, they seem to not understand Srila Prabhupada's idea, which was that if you want to simply execute Krsna consciousness and live a simple life, then you can live at the temple. That was his invitation, and everyone was welcome who was willing to do that. Of course, today that's not the case. The temple is there for the benefit and support of the congregational members who by and large, come once or twice a week. There's little of the old spirit of going out on daily sankirtana, harinam or book distribution, and the preaching has dwindled greatly. Consequently, the recruiting of westerners has diminished.
Now I'm not trying to blame the Indians, because they have a culture, just as in the west we have our culture. Their culture effects how they see the world and live their life. And there are downsides, to say the least, in the western culture, even as it impacts the individuals who join and participate from the west. Their cultural impact has some serious downsides, as well. But it appears that Srila Prabhupada was taking advantage of and enjoying the results in terms of his efforts to spread Krsna consciousness to what he referred to as the materially exhausted youth of the west. They were willing, at least during his lila period, to forgo all their future to assist with his transcendental mission. Most of us didn't really understand what we were doing, but from Srila Prabhupada's point of view, and I suppose from the point of view of most Indians, that's exactly what we were doing… giving up our mundane futures.
It's very difficult later in life, when youthful energy is dispersed, to get a start materially, to pursue family and business, and so on. The heartbreak experienced by westerners such as myself is due to the fact that we weren't pure, but we were idealistic, so we assumed that Srila Prabhupada's vision or dream would continue to expand and develop in the way that it appeared to us, and in the way that Srila Prabhupada was actually describing. In other words, big devotee communities where we could continue on in the same lifestyle we enjoyed while Srila Prabhupada was here. Of course, we also had the expectation that it would improve in many respects. After all, there is a Vedic model that Srila Prabhupada was presenting based on varnasrama, and the early communities appeared to be very successful, especially places like New Vrindaban and urban centers like Los Angeles and New York
In fact, most temples were not simply temples at all, but were truly devotee communities. Today, we know that Srila Prabhupada's dream has evaporated without anyone having any grounds to protest. I know that the leaders think this is a good thing. They've led us to believe that this is what Srila Prabhupada wanted, and that it was inevitable, or other such excuses. You never really hear them admit the truth in this regard, and it is a dilemma that's not easily resolved when you no longer have a maha-bhagavat Acarya in his manifested lila to sort the problems out for you.
How things will continue to evolve in ISKCON is hard to imagine. The leaders are clearly not following Srila Prabhupada's model, nor do they aspire to have ISKCON go in that direction at all. And because most of the leaders are gurus themselves, they look up to the big successful gurus, who are essentially Zonal Acaryas, and secretly if not outwardly aspire to find themselves in just such a scenario.
The evolution of ISKCON here in Canada, and elsewhere in the U.S. is that many of the smaller temples are turning into family temples, along the lines of the Indian model. This is true even at some of the big, original temples like Los Angeles. Vancouver seems to be headed that way, and Calgary, Edmonton and Regina, are all essentially family temples now. This phenomenon is but one aspect of the Hindu-ization of ISKCON, and it clearly is not in keeping with Srila Prabhupada's plan.
