September 21, 1985
Dear Disciples,

"" .... I personally do not feel it was wrong to perform the guru-puja in these past eight years. IF THE DIFFERENT WORSHIP SYSTEMS WE INSTITUTED ARE EXCESSIVE, MY ANSWER IS THAT WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PRECEDENT OR SCRIPTURAL RULE THAT SPECIFICALLY TOLD US WHAT TO DO. Specifically regarding the guru puja, we took the precedent of Srila Prabhupada himself who accepted a daily guru puja and considered it an important function. However, as years have gone by, some God brothers have been disturbed by the guru-puja of their guru-Godbrothers, and even more importantly as some of the designate gurus have fallen down from religious life, it has become apparent the daily guru puja is questionable.... I wish my disciples to see it as follows; For eight years we performed this function and there is nothing wrong in doing so, but seeing the evolution of ISKCON with many gurus, and with the need to establish Prabhupada's pre-eminent position we should now cease in this function.... The ceasing of the guru puja does not mean that your spiritual master is not to be worshipped as good as God or that he has become an ordinary man, or that he has misbehaved in some way........”

Signed Satsvarupa das Goswami

In my analysis, the Lilamrta allows the reader to conclude that it is possible for nearly any sincere, strict devotee to achieve the same results as Srila Prabhupada did. Those who were present during the first years after Srila Prabhupada’s departure know that we were expected to believe that this especially holds true for the eleven benedicted and rare souls, who were so advanced from a previous birth as to be the first to assist Srila Prabhupada upon His arrival. Many of these so-called acaryas recounted their childhood pastimes for the devotees in the same way that Srila Prabhupada’s early years were presented in the Lilamrta. I believe that the Lilamrta, while perhaps sentimentally enlivening, is one of the most subtle, longlasting and extremely dangerous products of the zonal acarya era.

We now have to purify our consciousness of the major misconceptions presented by the Lilamrta, and we must begin by seeing all of Srila Prabhupada’s activities, beginning with His appearance, as absolutely prefect. This not only requires an extremely high level of Krsna consciousness, but demands that the disciple be fully absorbed in the preaching mood exhibited by Srila Prabhupada. Suffice to say that at present, no one amongst us is on this level. Still, we must work from this point of truth, and re-examine the way the society is being managed. At the least, we can agree that whatever Srila Prabhupada clearly stated about how His society should be managed must be carried out without question, alteration or attempted improvement.

We must realize that Srila Prabhupada always had a clear plan for how He would spread His Krsna consciousness movement. He informed us that long before He ever arrived in America, He had envisioned the temples, the community projects, the books and book distribution. Srila Prabhupada’s fixed and uncompromising determination to strictly keep to His original transcendental plan helped bring about such phenomenal success.

I propose to all my Godbrothers that instead of continuing the endless debates on what the minimum qualifications are for a diksa guru in the Brahma Madhava Gaudiya Sampra- daya, perhaps we should be discussing how to re-adjust our perception of Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON, in the light of understanding Srila Prabhupada to be a Nittya-Siddha, Shaktavesa Avatara. I am not an advanced Vaisnava, therefore I am simply expressing a few philosophical ideas to begin the discussion.

To enter into the ISKCON lila requires the same spiritual qualifications required of one who seeks to understand the essence of the rasa lila. The same holds true when we look at Lord Caitanya’s lila, especially His Antya lila, when He exhibited so many ecstatic symptoms. It requires a very advanced degree of Krsna consciousness to understand the essential nature of such transcendental ecstasy. This gradual revealing of the essence of the ISKCON lila is the highest taste possible for the true disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Those who are surrendered to purely implement Srila Prabhupada’s complete plan, without deviation, do not have to go to any other authority to experience the bliss we all hunger for. There is no higher ecstasy. All other realizations, such as the realization of the rasa lila and the ecstatic symptoms of Lord Caitanya, depends upon the disciple fully realizing Srila Prabhupada’s eternal lila. In other words, we have to enter into the ISKCON lila before we are eligible to enter into the rasa lila, just as we must go through Srila Prabhupada to understand any of the previous Acaryas, Caitanya Mahaprahbu, or Lord Sri Krsna.

To view ISKCON with material vision, simply seeing it as a religious institution consisting of so many temples, devotees, etc., is offensive. I believe we must begin to view our spiritual advancement in terms of having our relationship with Srila Prabhupada being gradually revealed, in the context of our service within the eternal ISKCON lila, rather than striving to have our eternal relationship with Krsna revealed by someone other than Srila Prabhupada. This includes the present so-called diksas within the institution, as well as the Gaudiya Matha rasa lila initiators.

Srila Prabhupada’s pre-ISKCON pastimes should also be looked upon as absolutely perfect and extraordinary. For example, Srila Prabhupada stayed with his family until his responsibilities there were complete. Is this pastime not inspirational to the vast majority of people living in family units in today’s societies? Srila Prabhupada also engaged in business to support his family, while simultaneously translating the Bhagavad-Gita into English, giving lectures, and strictly following the orders of His Spiritual Master, always preparing to fulfill the wish of Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati to preach in the Western countries. Those of us who have attempted to maintain Krsna consciousness, aloof from the temples, should now have a deeper understanding of just how difficult that is.

Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON lila is the culmination of all the predictions of all the Sampradaya’s previous Acaryas. Bhaktivinoda Thakura predicted a city at Sri Dhama Mayapura, where Vaisnava’s from around the world would congregation-ally chant the Holy Names. Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati envisioned millions of books in thousands of languages being distributed throughout the world. And Caitanya Mahaprahbu predicted that in every town and village, the chanting of the Holy Names will resound.

Through ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada perfectly personified all the essential philosophical principles expounded by the Six Goswamis of Vrindabana. One such principle is that the mercy of the Nittya-siddha Acarya, Srila Prabhupada, is even greater than that of Lord Caitanya, because Srila Prabhupada ventured out to where no other Acarya had previously gone so as to pick up the most fallen, empowering them to spread the message of the sankirtana movement of Caitanya Mahaprahbu throughout the entire planet.

The ISKCON lila, as part of the complete pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, is the part we were privileged to participate in. Participation in the ISKCON lila by sincere devotees will certainly result in limitless ecstasy and profound realizations that cannot be found in any other lila. Those special few, who receive the benediction to actually comprehend the true nature of Srila Prabhupada, are the most fortunate. I am sure His pastimes are continuing on other planets, and our only desire should be to join Srila Prabhupada as His most humble servant. I believe that this is how we have to look at ISKCON. And, I believe that this thread, when honestly followed, leads us to the real root of the problems we currently face.

We, the disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Prabhupada, should endeavor to come to consensus on Who Srila Prabhupada is, and What ISKCON is. Having done so, we could easily convince others that it is far more spiritually beneficial to enter into the ISKCON lila than to try and take shelter of those who appear to be saintly, scholarly, and advanced, but cannot give us the taste of this particular lila. Many of us were given a tiny drop during Srila Prabhupada’s presence, and we will never be satisfied until we drink deeply from that nectar again.

PART VII

THE CHALLENGING TASK AHEAD

Srila Prabhupada’s plan was never completely followed, even while He was here, because the GBC failed to understand the importance of doing exactly what the Spiritual Master desired, without concoction or interpretation. Not only has there been a lack of under- standing as to the pure and transcendental nature of Srila Prabhupada, but it seems that most of the leaders in the GBC were too attached to the gratification of controlling men and money to simply travel and preach, as Srila Prabhupada personally demonstrated during His time with us. With every passing day, we can see more clearly that the results of this deviation have been disastrous.

We have failed. We have been like small children, taking an intricate watch apart and tinkering with it. And we have now come to the point where, if we tinker any further, we stand to destroy it. It would take the advent of another great acarya to put it back together again.

When I get together with my older Godbrothers, the conversation inevitably comes around to the days when Srila Prabhupada was protecting His formula for the management of ISKCON. Without exception, everyone agrees that in every aspect of temple life, it was far better then, than now. The kirtanas in those days were sweeter and more ecstatic, the lectures more potent, the Deities better cared for, and the feasts just inconceivable. Unfortunately, many believe that this mood has been lost, never to be regained, and that without Srila Prabhupada’s personal supervision, we can never hope to experience the same rasa. I’m convinced, however, that we can not only revive the mood, but come to experience an even higher taste, by understanding and then implementing Srila Prabhupada’s plan exactly as he envisioned it. Our Spiritual Master’s plan is so simple, yet impossible for the unsurrendered.

I have shared my thoughts on how the GBC concept was never really understood, and therefore never implemented. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s final instructions to His disciples were for the formation of the GBC, and as a result of His disciples not surrendering to that wish, the preaching spirit of the Gaudiya Matha was destroyed. In the same way, Srila Prabhupada tried to establish the GBC concept before He departed, but His disciples were too neophyte to understand the formula. The challenge facing us today is to first of all admit that we still don’t fully understand the profound simplicity or philosophical significance of this formula. We must, therefore, do whatever is necessary to cooperatively arrive at a strategy that will take us from where we are now, to a point where the original formula is again in place and functioning as Srila Prabhupada intended. Easier said than done.

The controversies we now face are certainly major obstacles to be overcome. Will Srila Prabhupada’s formula work under the present diksa guru program, or will it only function by reinstating the siksa\rtvik system? This debate can only be resolved when both camps first agree that Srila Prabhupada’s formula must be clearly understood, accepted, and surrendered to. We must have faith that Srila Prabhupada will give us spiritual intelligence, philosophical insight and common sense, if we all maintain a sincerity of purpose, regardless of our position on the guru issue.

The two previous attempts, first the “imitating the nittya-siddha acarya” era, followed by the big bureaucracy period’s “many-and-any regular diksa guru policy”, have both undermined Srila Prabhupada’s management formula. Those GBC members who agree must go through the painfully humbling task of changing ISKCON back to Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental formula. In doing so, they will be empowered by Srila Prabhupada and the entire Sampradaya to find solutions to the innumerable problems. Books are the basis, Purity is the force, Preaching is the essence. And, just as Tamal Krishna Goswami was ready to sacrifice his Godbrothers in order to install the zonal acarya system, surely we can risk losing a few die-hard zonal acarya-ites and their attendant bureaucrats.

Personally, I vow that I will continue to fight for the reinstatement of Srila Prabhupada’s plan. One way is by describing in elaborate detail the many offenses committed during the past GBC attempts to establish materially contaminated concoctions. The speculative experiments of these neophytes has resulted in the victimization of many innocent Vaisnavas. Their heartrending stories will illustrate the devastating results of not following Srila Prabhupada’s plan.

We owe it to the sincere souls, who are searching for shelter from the Age of Kali, to protect the only shelter available - the genuine ISKCON established by Srila Prabhupada - not the Paundraka version we see today. Let history record the events as they actually took place, so that at least in the future these testimonials can serve as warnings for those who are trying to discern the genuine from the pretenders. Nothing can be gained by denial, censorship, and lying propaganda. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Srila Prabhupada tells us:

"Regarding the position of a person who does not speak even when he knows the truth: jani saksi nahi deya tara papa haya. A person who knows things as they are and still does not bear witness becomes involved in sinful activities.’"

Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, May 17, 1975, Perth, Australia

And in “A Second Chance”, a reference to Srimad Bhagavatam, 6.2.1-6, which includes a transcript of Srila Prabhupada’s lectures on the above verses:

“Alas, how painful it is that irreligion is being introduced into an assembly where religion should be maintained! Indeed, those in charge of maintaining religious principles are needlessly punishing a sinless, unpunishable person.

“A king or government official should be so well qualified that he acts as a father, maintainer, and protector of the citizens because of affection and love. He should give the citizens good advice and instructions according to the standard scriptures and should be equal to everyone. Yamaraja does this, for he is the supreme master of justice, and so do those who follow in his footsteps. However, if such persons become polluted and exhibit partiality by punishing an innocent person, where will the citizens go to take shelter for their maintenance and security?

“The mass of people follow the example of a leader and imitate his behavior. They accept as evidence whatever the leader accepts. People in general are not very advanced in knowledge by which to discriminate between religion and irreligion. The innocent, unenlightened citizen is like an ignorant animal sleeping in peace with its head on the lap of its master, faithfully believing in the master’s protection. If a leader is actually kindhearted and deserves to be the object of a living entity’s faith, how can he punish or kill a foolish person who has fully surrendered in good faith and friendship?”

The GBC was established to protect the devotees from the influence of maya. The zonal acarya system was Maya’s first test after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, and She hit the bull’s eye! That was twenty years ago, and few of us can say absolutely that back then, we would have resisted the temptation to be declared instant pure devotees, especially if most of our Godbrothers would give us the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully we have learned from direct experience, and can forgive those Godbrothers who fell for Maya’s Illusion. They have certainly paid a heavy price, or will have to soon. Those of us who were not actively drawn into the illusion are very fortunate, because we have a second chance. I doubt if the maha offenders can, in this lifetime, purge themselves of all the elephant offenses they have committed. The beautiful garden of ISKCON is in bad shape. The greatest trans- cendental gardener since Lord Caitanya, His Divine Grace Srila Prabupada, is calling His followers to help. First, let’s get the elephants out of the garden, build a strong fence, and then go back to work.

Jagadisa Swami recently confessed to me that he could recount many incidences that still remain secret to the community of devotees, and that if only a few of these scandals were discovered, it would put serious doubt in the minds of those poor devotees who believe they have taken initiation from a pure devotee, and are connected to the eternal sampradaya. He is remaining silent, perhaps so that his disciples won’t have doubts about his qualifi- cations as a diksa guru. I have had enough experience, and have heard so many heart breaking stories, that I have absolutely no doubt that these souls have been cheated out of their rightful heritage by the irresponsible actions of the GBC. Most of us are fortunate not to be facing such a dilemma, and we are free to speak up without attachment or fear.

We have nothing to loose and everything to gain by expressing our thoughts, experiences, ideas and opinions. This is istagosti, which is an integral component in Srila Prabhupada’s Plan for managing His society, seldom used and little understood. As the leaders became more invested in their own managerial expertise, seeing themselves as the doer rather than the servant of the devotees, it became less important to them to hear the devotees’ opinions, ideas and criticisms. It was a waste of time to hear from those they thought to be less empowered and less intelligent, who weren’t aware of all the inside secret politics going on at their level.

Srila Prabhupada understood that all devotees were capable of receiving His mercy directly, especially in their area of service. To not be given an opportunity to share these realizations with the leaders, as well as the other Prabhus, is extremely frustrating. Many devotees are afraid that if their experiences were broadcast, it might leave others with a negative opinion of Srila Prabhupada. Besides, they think, ISKCON is at least doing some preaching, distributing some books...and I’m doing nothing. We’re left with the fears that our opinions may be “off”: bogus concoctions, speculative, maya, nonsense, contaminated, influenced by the modes, and not in line with the previous Acaryas....does this ring a bell? I notice that my Godbrothers and sisters are so insecure that even when they submit an expression of their feelings to the Prabhupada Anti Defamation Association (PADA), they don’t give their full name or details about their lives or families. Where did this attitude originate? Is it right to have these fears? Was it what Srila Prabhupada wanted, and is it part of His Plan? NO WAY.

ISKCON is about to pay modern psychologists and therapists to assist the hundreds of abused children, products of the zonal acarya’s gurukulas. These professionals would all agree that speaking out, describe your experiences, and naming your abusers is very good for your recovery. It’s time for us all to tell our side of the story. Let people know that you’re not such a bad devotee after all, that you do love Srila Prabhupada, and you want to participate in Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement. You undoubtedly have great ideas and opinions on all sorts of subjects, circumstances and preaching programs. Maybe you have some questions to ask the GBC, or the pandits in the Prabhupadanuga camp. Check our Hare Krsna Internet site for Jayadvaita Swami’s questions to the GBC in 1986, if you need inspiration or ideas. Take careful note of the web site address and the snail mail information, phone and fax at the end of this, my first Istagosti outburst.

DISTANT THUNDER: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

On many occasions over the last year, I have tried to discuss with my Godbrothers and sisters my concerns over what I’ve personally observed happening within ISKCON. The temples here in North America are obviously in a deteriorated condition, and the lack of enthusiasm amongst the devotees has resulted in a drastic decline in the number of quality persons surrendering to help Srila Prabhupada in His Sankirtana movement. When I talk about these concerns, the standard reply I hear is that the movement is doing better than it ever has in the past - more books are being distributed, more devotees are joining. I ask, “Where is all this growth taking place?” The answer is, “somewhere in the East - Russia, Eastern Europe...don’t you read ISKCON World Review?” Either the propaganda machine established by the bureaucrats is working overtime, or the policy in the GBC is similar to Alexander the Great’s - conquer then move on, putting no effort into maintaining what you already have. Srila Prabhupada warned us against this mentality, which is certainly a symptom of the mode of passion. At least the new recruits in these newly developed areas don’t have the memories of how dynamic the movement was when Srila Prabhupada was personally present, or the horrors of the zonal acarya era. No one can deny that Srila Prabhupada would certainly not be pleased with the situation in North America. His parting plea to us was “Just maintain what I have already given you”.

The mentality of denial prevalent in ISKCON is truly frightening. ISKCON perfectly meets today’s classic definition of the dysfunctional family system. I am currently working on a paper which examines the institutional symptoms being manifested, which fully substantiates this claim. The greater community of devotees is very concerned about ISKCON’s avoidance of the obvious symptoms of impending danger. Many are hoping that the administrators who are asleep at the wheel will wake up, in time to avert a fatal blow to what was once the greatest hope for humanity in this day and age. If Krsna is not sufficiently pleased, and does not help to defuse the reactions to the innumerable offenses that have been committed, to His devotees and especially to the devotees of His dearest servant, Srila Prabhupada, then disaster is eminent.

Severe reactions will undoubtedly come in the form of class action legal suits, brought by the children who were terribly abused and are now coming of age. These young adults are beginning to realize that past experiences have seriously hampered their ability to function satisfactorily in their families, communities, and occupational fields. They will certainly look for an outlet for their frustrations, which have been fueled by the GBC’s unwillingness to admit their mistakes, and demand accountability from those who have blatantly disobeyed their Spiritual Master’s orders. Because the GBC have not done so, blame is not only being laid on ISKCON and it’s complacent leaders, but also on Srila Prabhupada and the previous sampradaya acaryas. The minds of many of the abused children, and certainly the judicial system of society, will place the blame on everyone who did not respond decisively when they were made aware of the offenses.

There is too much documented evidence to resort to denial. At a recent meeting of ISKCON leaders at their corporate headquarters in Florida, some of the abused children were flown in to give their personal testimonials. Their heartrending stories woke up those attending, to the point where they personally pledged $150,000 US in support for the victims. If the rest of the leaders in ISKCON don’t follow suit in a hurry, I’m sure the American justice system will identify many more assets that can be dedicated to a victim’s fund. There are rumors that some ISKCON leaders are now trying to hide assets in off shore corporations, I’m sure Yamaraja knows of all the secret bank accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. All this is going on because the GBC were not performing their duty, as instructed by Srila Prabhupada.

Everyone who was born into or initiated into Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental family is included in His ISKCON, just like my daughter, regardless of how she may feel towards me, will nevertheless always remain my child, Neither of us can change the relationship. It was Srila Prabhupada’s hope that those senior disciples he appointed as GBC would take care of His weaker children. This personalist approach of developing a loving relationship with each and every member of the family was Srila Prabhupada’s success formula. His instruction to His GBC was, “Do as I do, constantly travel and preach to the devotees.”

Jayapataka Swami, a big bureaucrat high flyer, has been the GBC in Mayapura for close to thirty years. It is a well know fact that child abuse has been rampant there for years. The poor abused Bengali boys don’t have the same access to justice as the Americans, but that doesn’t make the GBC less responsible. There is one particularly reliable source, now my son-in-law, who is very familiar with the stories of these abuses. He was a student at the Vrindabana gurukula, and is also the son of the man who was the Minister of Education throughout the time many of the abuses were going on there. He claims that most of the abusers at the Vrindabana Gurukula were brought into the school by Jayapataka Swami’s old buddy and co-GBC in Mayapura, Bhavananda Goswami. He states that the abusers were older Bengali boys who were themselves abused for years, not only by Bhavananda Swami but by many other authorities Jayapataka Swami put in place. Look for an up-and-coming Internet website called COGNITIVE - “Children of Gurukula’s Networked Initiative Towards Integrating Violating Experiences”, for all the details. It will be an interactive site, so if you know any ex-students, parents, or friends who have a story to tell, please ask them to feel free to participate. As their mandate says, “Grab a handkerchief - this is extremely sad stuff.”

The consequences will only increase in severity when - not if - the media gets wind of the BIG story. The Catholic church in Canada is now receiving a tremendous beating as a result of incidences that occurred many years ago in native residential schools and orphanages. Just like ISKCON, the church was aware of the abuses taking place, but used their power and influence to cover up, falsely thinking that God would protect them, not the abused.

And there are other landmines waiting to explode, like those the government will step on when the authorities become aware of the many illegal activities carried on by previous leaders, who were under the illusion that Krsna would look upon their dangerous maneuvers as pure devotional service, and thus protect them. What is the GBC’s strategy to deal with these situations? They simply create another ministry, pass another resolution, write another report.... all useless wastes of time and energy. Only the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya can avert disaster, and this desperately needed mercy will only be forthcoming if Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental formula is quickly reinstated.

CARING FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA’S DEVOTEES

The shocking attitude displayed by the members of the GBC towards their Godbrothers and sisters has been, by far, one of the most disturbing of all the activities we’ve witnessed. Devotees have not only been removed from their service, but have actually been thrown out of the movement when there has been a disagreement. Srila Prabhupada stated many times that to be Krsna conscious outside of ISKCON was impossible. The story of Pradumna dasa, Srila Prabhupada’s personal sanskrit editor, will illustrate this attitude. That story will be told in future. To be denied this opportunity is tantamount to the spiritual death penalty for a Vaisnava. To add insult to injury, when an ousted devotee experiences difficulty, the “holier than thou” leader points to the transgression as proof that he was justified in throwing him out in the first place. No mercy is displayed. It can be compared to throwing someone out of a lifeboat in the middle of a shark infested ocean, then criticizing him for being wet and afraid.

All the resolutions passed by the GBC concerning the pre-requisites for serving in a position of responsibility presuppose that the candidate must have been serving within the institution “favorably” for a number of years. Any disciple who has been forced out, and understandably experienced some difficulty due to lack of association, can now look forward to years of scrutiny and criticism by those who have, in fact, committed far more serious offenses. This and many other considerations must be faced by those experienced, qualified disciples, before they would even consider recommitting themselves to participate in the existing institution.

The bewildered bureaucrats, in their attempt to manage a transcendental society by material methods, have increasingly created obstacles, rather than creating an atmosphere conducive to spontaneous devotional service. For all practical purposes, the GBC have essentially re-written the sastra, with all their ultimate, absolute, endless resolutions. Srila Prabhupada’s style of management, free of bureaucracy and politics, does not interfere with the eternal process of devotional service, but rather inspires it. Nor does Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental plan put restrictions on Krsna’s mercy. One can become a pure devotee instantaneously if Krsna wishes - or it could take lifetimes of strict sadhana. A quick read of the story of Ajamila will verify this. The fate of sincere devotees cannot be left in the hands of the GBC politicians and bureaucrats.

I notice that the GBC passed a resolution that for the Centennial, with it’s underlying theme of Uniting Prabhupada’s Family, the temples should make every attempt to recover devotees that have left the movement, for whatever reason. I can’t help but question the sincerity of such a mandate. I’ve hardly been in hiding for the eight years since my departure from ISKCON, and I have not yet had one Godbrother contact me, preach to me, or make any attempt to invite me back into the society. I believed I had many so-called friends and associates over the years, and many are still involved in ISKCON, but with all the expert preachers around....not even a phone call. In fact, I know of many other Godbrothers who were never contacted.

I also tried to gain access to ISKCON’s censored Internet COM site, and got no response after filling in all the required information. I can only conclude that the gurus and leaders are only interested in their own disciples, or those who might possibly become their disciples. A person that I have been introducing to Krsna consciousness went cruising on the Internet, and stumbled across the ISKCON COM site. She was allowed access to this restricted web site, but a 26 year disciple of Srila Prabhupada is ignored? The webmaster, a disciple of Harikesa, now phones her all the way from Sweden. Without getting into the details, I can report that the e-mail she receives from Sweden does not present a mood of Srila Prabhupada consciousness, but instead establishes a Harikesa consciousness. Very revealing. This bhakta also made some recent inquiries of the local guru, who was immediately prepared to pay her a visit....yet I have not received even a letter or phone call. In his initial communication, this guru emphasized that if you don’t pay your obeisances to a sannyassi, you are sure to go to hell. This is preaching! Very embarrassing, to say the least.

I was not surprised to be denied access to ISKCON’s Internet COM site. The older Godbrothers may ask too many questions that the representatives of ISKCON have no answers for, and they cannot speak from their hearts for fear of transgressing the party line. The GBC has now established a standing Philosophical Committee, to ensure that everyone promotes the opinions held by the party chiefs. There are many resolutions on the books to deal with those who step out of line.

Until writing this paper, I have kept my views to myself, so excuses that I am too radical or critical are all unfounded. No one even tried to find out what my views were. If I am in maya, then good solid preaching should be able to cure that. I would be interested to find out if any one of the thousands of sincere devotees who left ISKCON for good reasons have been approached, and if so, how many have rejoined. Just because the GBC pass resolutions at their meetings doesn’t mean sincere actions follow. All this pretense, but no heart, no potency, and no intention of following through on the commitments.

Some GBC claim that the mood in ISKCON has changed, and that the previous mentality exhibited by the zonal acaryas has been corrected. But the following excerpts, taken from a lecture by one of the perpetrators of the zonal acarya system, who still resigns Supreme in His zone, might convince them otherwise.

Excerpts from Tamal Krishna Gosvami’s Lecture, 1996, Houston Texas:

“And Prabhupada would repeatedly say, “Just learn to get along.” You’ll take one person out, you’ll put another person out, and you’ll find just as many discrepancies. So many examples I have of this.

“What is Krsna trying to teach us? He is trying to teach us that each of us should just learn to get along. So many times I saw examples. Prabhupada would have to settle disputes between devotees. Many times.

“Then Prabhupada said, “The best thing is that everyone will get along if you can all figure out common activities to take up. Figure out a common activity.” And then Prabhupada said, “Harinama sankirtana. You all go out and do sankirtana together, and by doing a common activity you will learn to appreciate each other.” Therefore, I think that the common activity is to build this project. Here’s a project that everybody can do something for. We can all cooperate. Sunday Feast program, we can all cooperate. Somehow we have to cooperate. That’s the key to spiritual life. It’s the most difficult thing to do. In this age, this is called Kali Yuga. What does Kali Yuga mean? Age of quarrel. The nature of this age is that people are always disagreeing. But somehow we have to learn to see the good in each other.

“Prabhupada said, “We have to develop the mentality of the bee, the bumblebee. Instead of the other thing the flies, the fly. Flies are moving in the air, bees are moving in the air. But what is the fly looking for? Some salt to land on. The body has salt. And what is the bee looking for? Some fragrant flower, to get some pollen, and make honey. The fly makes disease, the bee makes honey. Both are creatures of the air, flying about. So Prabhupada said develop the mentality of the bee, not the fly.

“Jesus said the same thing, first cast, whoever can, you know, first, what is that cast out the, huh? Huh? What is it? I can’t. What is the word. Blank in the eye, OK that’s what I heard you say. I couldn’t. Anyway, he said, you know, cast out the mote or something, some, some thing from the eye, cast out from your own eye, that thing.

“But this, this is the appeal that Prabhupada made in his final days, he made this appeal: please learn to live with each other, empower each other.

“You should ask, to your guru, what is it that you want. Please tell me, what is the standard, and I will accept it. Whatever you say, I accept. Blindly. This is what Prabhupada was expecting of us. I saw a case where Prabhupada’s, very senior disciple of Prabhupada, he had become convinced that our movement should have only one incorporation in all of the United States. One registered incorporated society for all the temples. Prabhupada continuously told him no, but he was with some lawyers, and they were advising him this would be the best way to organize, but Prabhupada kept saying, “no, no, no, no”. And this person kept insisting this was a better way. But finally Prabhupada said, “you are simply under the control of lawyers.” And they want to tie you up, and tie all of us up. But I want to see each temple separately incorporated.” And actually, it was so much more intelligent on Prabhupada’s part, as we have seen history prove. Finally this senior person, he went in and he offered his resignation. What was he resigning from? Actually he was offering the statement, “I have no faith”. And Prabhupada had surrounded himself with all of us, just to be there. And another person who was also agreeing with that other devotee, when Prabhupada finally put down, and says, no, finally I say no, that one person offered his resignation, and the other person said, “I don’t understand this, but whatever Prabhupada says I will accept.” And one person left and fell away, and the other one stayed.

“So who is your authority? That you insist it must be this way, or I will go and, who is the authority? If you don’t accept guru as authority, then what is the question of bhakti? What is the question of bhakti if there is no guru. And if you say, “Prabhupada is my guru”, I also don’t say that only Prabhupada is my guru, I still have other authorities. And I’m a disciple of Prabhupada’s. I cannot understand how people can go on proposing, and suggesting and advising and even fighting on what they think are things which are wrong and how it should be righted. Why don’t they ask the guru, and just accept? That’s what we were asked to do, in Prabhupada’s time, but why ___? And if you say because you’re not qualified, then find someone who is, and find a society where you can live peacefully.

“If I go into your home, and I start telling you, “I don’t think you live properly in your home. You should change the way you live in your home”, you’ll look at me and say, “why are you telling me how I will live in my home? This is my home.” So we have our home. Prabhupada has made this home, he has appointed certain representatives to be in charge of his home. So if you don’t like the way his home is, there are so many homes you can live in. If I come into your home, and I start telling you, “I don’t like the way you live in your home. You should not live like this.” You’ll say, “who gives you the right to come in my home and tell me this?”

“So, this home belongs to the deity, and the deity has representatives, clearly stated in scripture, and clearly described by Prabhupada in the articles of incorporation of this society. You don’t have the right to continuously come in, and give so many arguments about how this home should be run. If you don’t like it, then go to another home. But please leave us alone. Stop harassing us. We’re happy the way we are. You want to take a vote, you’ll find that out. We’re not going to leave this home, and we’re not going to change. It’s going to be the way Prabhupada established it. It’s not going to change for your speculative ideas. You have the right to live your life the way you want, and we have the right to lead our life the way Prabhupada said it. And that won’t change. be a head.

“If you blaspheme, the only way away from that is described. Because you used your tongue to blaspheme, you have to use your tongue to beg forgiveness. Otherwise, if they don’t do that, according to scripture, the tongue is supposed to be cut out, and then the person is supposed to be killed. Now we don’t say that. Scripture says it, we don’t say it, because it’s against the law. So those things cannot be done at the present in the United States of America or practically anywhere in the world, because Manu-Samhita is not followed. But Manu-Samhita says that. A blasphemer must apologize, with the same tongue that he blasphemed he must beg forgiveness from the person he offended. If he doesn’t, his tongue should be cut out, and the person should be put to death. And then you should kill yourself, for having heard the blasphemy. Now who is going to do any of that? Nobody can do any of these things. It’s not enough that the tongue is cut out and then they killed the person, then you have to kill yourself for hearing the blasphemy. That means blasphemy is so injurious that it destroys your spiritual life. And there’s no way around it. You hear blasphemy, you become affected. Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, before even hearing the words of a Mayavadi, only seeing an impersonalist by form, he would jump into the Ganges with all of his clothing on. Just when he saw the face of an impersonalist. He became so horrified that to purify himself, that image that had come on the mind, he would jump in the Mother Ganges, and pray, please purify me’.

“I gave a lecture in Los Angeles once about blasphemy of gurus, and I was very strong. I thought I never would tolerate anyone blaspheming Prabhupada. I never would tolerate it. Never would tolerate such a thing. So then one person in the audience said, you know, and then I said many strong things, so one person in the audience, ha ha, I won’t tell who. Anyway, it was quite a, you might know this person (indiscernible). Anyway, I’ll tell the story. One person was sitting in the audience, and he said, “So you mean to say if someone blasphemes your guru, you must stop him in any case?” I said, “Yes”. So that person got up and he started to come at me and attack me. And immediately the ksatriyas in the temple grabbed him, hauled him out of the temple, and beat him mercilessly. But six or seven months later that person came to Dallas, he surrendered, and became my disciple. Now I can only think that because of the mercy of that beating, he changed his consciousness.

[Click here for] Request a copy of the entire transcript of this lecture, which begs a lot of questions that cannot be dealt with in this paper. Readers are invited to consider, and form their own conclusions. Keep in mind this is the presentation of someone who has been giving classes almost every day for thirty years, and is presenting himself as a Vaisnava sannyasi diksa link to the sampradaya. The entire lecture contained no quotes from bona-fide Vaisnava sastra, just “The Bible” (hilarious) and the Manu Samhita (no chapter and verse). Tamala Krishna Goswami quotes a story from Srila Prabhupada in which He illustrated the quality of tolerance toward Godbrothers, then with the next breath, Tamal Krsna Goswami suggests we should cut out their tongues and kill them. He says, “Scripture says it, we don’t say it” - dangerous politics. My guess is that his tongue has been cut off from the sampradaya.

PART VIII

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

In conclusion, I would like to offer a number of suggestions on how change might be brought about. These suggested changes will appear radical and impractical to those who will have to make concessions in their lifestyle and positions of power. Without this level of surrender, I do not see how we can avert an all-out war - certainly not what we want to offer Srila Prabhupada on His Centennial.

Sri Krsna is the Controller, being All Knowing and in everyone’s heart. For Krsna to act miraculously would certainly require a change of heart in a lot of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, both in and outside of the institution. Krsna does not interfere with our minute independence, but surely He would be very pleased to reciprocate if the sincere will to re-establish the sankirtana movement is demonstrated by the disciples of Srila Prabhupada.

As Vaisnavas, we are dealing with Absolute principles, and there can be no compromising, as the materialists do in their political management dealings. We have the advantage that the Absolute Truth is easily revealed to the sincere devotees. My contention is, that if every member of the greater ISKCON family fully agreed on what Srila Prabhupada expected of the GBC, purging the movement of the anarthas of Maha-Bhagavata imitators and big bureaucrats, and replacing them with a fresh new group of devotees who were convinced and ready to surrender to participate fully in a management system based on Srila Prabhupada’s original formula, then His Divine Grace would empower these individuals to come up with solutions to the many problems facing His ISKCON.

This doesn’t require meeting for endless hours and days, arguing and passing resolutions. These GBCs should enthusiastically take on the responsibility to constantly travel within their assigned areas, meeting with all the Vaisnavas, hearing from them, and preaching to everyone to become enlivened and renew the spirit of preaching Srila Prabhupada demonstrated to all of us during his entire Lila.

Srila Prabhupada Consciousness must be emphasized exclusively. All new recruits and non-initiated devotees would have to wait for diksa until such time as the new GBC members have had the opportunity to become completely absorbed in the sankirtana spirit. This could take years, but there’s no rush. We all have Srila Prabhupada as the common guru, regardless of whether some initially see Him as diksa, and some as siksa. The existing regular diksa gurus would be compelled to preach to their disciples about the discovery of the lost meaning of Srila Prabhupada’s original formula, and enliven them enthusiastically. The disciples would have to understand that at sometime in the foreseeable future, the GBC may, in their new found wisdom, decide that Srila Prabhupada should be worshipped as the diksa. They would then assume a similar guru disciple mood, and consider them as siksa gurus. This is not an unusual situation within our sampradaya, and is certainly not an impediment to the disciples spiritual advancement. This should be easily accomplished. Many gurus have already had plenty of practice informing disciples of the falldowns of their Godbrothers, telling them that they’d have to spin the wheel again, hoping the next one won’t break their hearts. This plan is far less risky.

The GBC for each zone must be acceptable to the majority of disciples in that zone. A procedure must be put in place which gives power to the local devotees to evaluate the GBC’s performance of duty, in accordance with Srila Prabhupada’s guidelines, which should result in the satisfaction of the resident Vaisnavas. Local devotees must take responsibility for recruiting the potential candidates for the GBC position in their area. These GBC should try to convince some of the well-trained leaders to return, and again assume the responsibilities they were previously empowered to perform, especially as temple leaders.

This program of action demands a completely open-minded Vaisnava attitude by everyone within each zone. Everyone must feel free to express their opinion, but at the same time, they should have faith that if Srila Prabhupada’s formula is followed the resulting conclusions will be tantamount to Srila Prabhupada’s direct order. Patience should be taken in the matter of resolving controversial philosophical issues. These issues can only be resolved in the context of a fully functioning sankirtana movement, when everyone is absorbed in the preaching mood. This atmosphere can only be created when Srila Prabhupada’s formula is followed, both institutionally and individually. The association of enlivened devotees, chanting, dancing, feasting, preaching, japa, puja, Deity worship, and Srila Prabhupada’s books: these are the ingredients for success. As long as they are performed exactly as the Nittya-Siddha, Maha-Bhagavata Acarya Srila Prabhupada instructed, success is guaranteed.

Anyone interested in trying? The only difficulty is that everyone has to surrender to fulfilling the desires of Srila Prabhupada. “Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” (Bhagavad-Gita 3.21)

Most exiled disciples concluded long ago that trying to bring about the necessary changes in the existing establishment is simply a frustrating exercise in futility, not to mention being a danger to life and limb. But we must not fall into Maya’s trap, for we are dealing with the All-Powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead. The story of the sparrow, demanding the ocean to return her eggs, should be inspirational to every faithful devotee. The Spirit of fighting for a just cause has been an integral element in our sampradaya since the time of Arjuna.

The pen {or computer} is mightier than the sword, so I encourage all my Godbrothers and sisters to write, dictate, somehow or other express your feelings, thoughts and experiences without fear of reprisal or intimidation. I promise that I will do everything within my power and ability to have your contribution edited and published on the Internet, for the world to see. We would like to appeal to anyone who has the time, ability, skill, equipment, finances, and desire, to help with this project. Many devotees have felt they lack the wherewithal to express themselves. Therefore, in order to ensure that their stories are told, we must pool together our talents and abilities to help our friends. United we stand, divided we fall. Divide and conquer has been the strategy of Maya up until now, so association is the key. The Internet is a powerful tool to be used in Krsna’s service: Nirbhanda Krsna sambanda yukta viraga uccatai...

“We have worked very hard and established a great institution, but if we think for our personal benefit, then it will become ruined.”

Srila Prabhupada Letter to Cyavana Swami, November 1, 1974

In these parting words from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 8.1.10 Purport, Srila Prabhupada declares what He thinks of those that think they own or possess money, men, zones, etc.:

“Therefore, if by chance we get an abundance of money, we should always consider that it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Krsna consciousness we are getting sufficient money, but we should never think that the money belongs to us; it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be equally distributed to the workers, the devotees. No devotee should claim that any money or property belongs to him. If one thinks that any portion of property of this huge universe belongs to anyone, he is to be considered a thief and is punishable by the laws of nature. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya: no one can surpass the vigilance of material nature or hide his intentions from material nature. If human society unlawfully claims that the property of the universe, either partially or wholly, belongs to mankind, all of human society will be cursed as a society of thieves and will be punished by the laws of nature.”