Analysis of Srila Prabhupada’s Letter to Rupanuga
BY: MAHESH RAJA
Dec 3, UK (SUN) — Please read the following letter from Srila Prabhupada to Rupanuga, April 28, 1974. My analysis follows below:
"You are right about Sridhara Maharaja's genuineness. But in my opinion he is the best of the lot. He is my old friend, AT LEAST HE EXECUTES THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE. I do not wish to discuss about activities of my Godbrothers but it is a fact they have no life for preaching work. All are satisfied with a place for residence in the name of a temple, they engage disciples to get foodstuff by transcendental devices and eat and sleep. They have no idea or brain how to broadcast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
My Guru Maharaja used to lament many times for this reason and he thought if one man at least had understood the principle of preaching then his mission would achieve success. In the latter days of my Guru Maharaja he was very disgusted. Actually, he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. Still he requested his disciples to form a strong Governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. HE NEVER RECOMMENDED ANYONE TO BE ACARYA OF THE GAUDIYA MATH. BUT SRIDHARA MAHARAJA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DISOBEYING THIS ORDER OF GURU MAHARAJA, AND HE AND OTHERS WHO ARE ALREADY DEAD UNNECESSARILY THOUGHT THAT THERE MUST BE ONE ACARYA. If Guru Maharaja could have seen someone who was qualified at that time to be acarya he would have mentioned. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. His idea was acarya was not to be nominated amongst the governing body. He said openly you make a GBC and conduct the mission. So his idea was amongst the members of GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected. So Sridhara Maharaja and his two associate gentlemen unauthorizedly selected one acarya and later it proved a failure. THE RESULT IS NOW EVERYONE IS CLAIMING TO BE ACARYA EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY BE KANISTHA ADHIKARI WITH NO ABILITY TO PREACH. IN SOME OF THE CAMPS THE ACARYA IS BEING CHANGED THREE TIMES A YEAR. THEREFORE WE MAY NOT COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKE IN OUR ISKCON CAMP. ACTUALLY AMONGST MY GODBROTHERS NO ONE IS QUALIFIED TO BECOME ACARYA. SO IT IS BETTER NOT TO MIX WITH MY GODBROTHERS VERY INTIMATELY BECAUSE INSTEAD OF INSPIRING OUR STUDENTS AND DISCIPLES THEY MAY SOMETIMES POLLUTE THEM. This attempt was made previously by them, especially Madhava Maharaja and Tirtha Maharaja and Bon Maharaja but somehow or other I saved the situation. This is going on. We shall be very careful about them and not mix with them. This is my instruction to you all. They cannot help us in our movement, but they are very competent to harm our natural progress. So we must be very careful about them."
In this letter Srila Prabhupada gives a HUGE amount of information.
1) Notice how he gives Sridhara Maharaja credit - for ONLY- AT LEAST HE EXECUTES THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES-so we can understand Sridhara Maharaja was NOT on prema bhakti level he was on REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES platform (Sadhana bhakti). The word AT LEAST means other Godbrothers did NOT even execute Regulative Principles.
2) Srila Prabhupada says, AMONGST MY GODBROTHERS NO ONE IS QUALIFIED TO BECOME ACARYA. If Srila Prabhupada’s Godbrothers were NOT qualified - ANY of THEIR disciples most certainly could NOT be fit to give Diksa either. Please see Diksa understanding in my article: "Diksa Given to Madhyama-adhikari is Not a Formality".
3) How can a person disobey the Guru and become Guru? Srila Prabhupada's Godbrothers disobeyed THEIR Guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.
4) Srila Prabhupada further states THEY MAY BE KANISTHA ADHIKARI - this “MAYBE” means it is doubtful they were even on a Kanistha Adhikari platform, which requires one to be a FULLY QUALIFIED BRAHMANA. This PROVED they lacked the Brahminical quality of truthfulness. They were dishonest, they PRETENDED to give DIKSA under the false guise of being Guru.
Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, February 14, 1977 in Mayapur:
Prabhupada: Kanistha-adhikari means he must be a brahmana. That is kanistha-adhikari. The spiritual life, kanistha-adhikari, means he must be a QUALIFIED brahmana. That is kanistha. What is esteemed as very high position in the material world, brahmana, that is kanistha-adhikari.
arcayam eva haraye
pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu canyesu
sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah
The brahmana means from the material stage gradually he is elevated to the spiritual stage. AND BELOW THE BRAHMANA THERE IS NO QUESTION OF VAISNAVA.
Srila Prabhupada KNEW the mentality of some of his “disciples” FULLY well-this is why he says THEREFORE WE MAY NOT COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKE IN OUR ISKCON CAMP-they all had the same ACARYA disease. As a Representative of the Supersoul, he could FULLY understand their desire was to be worshipped as ACARYA (Vyasa puja is prerogative of the Acarya ONLY). To SAVE the devotees from such offensive actions Srila Prabhupada signed -- ordered and set-up -- the Ritvik System on 9th July 1977, which incidentally was NEVER REVOKED by him.
