Remarkably, few of the objections raised by devotees or congregation members against ISKCON's management in its "I'm OK, You're OK" style of politburo governance are ever answered in the endless pages of the Sampradaya Sun. No reply has come from the opposing side to educate us as to the GBC position on the matter. Where is the rejoinder by some Beverly Hills swami that might be titled "My Huge Bank Account Is Krishna Conscious" or "Why the Maharaja Needs His Twenty-Seven Million Dollars" or "What Would My Vyasa Puja Be without Fawning Admirers?" We look forward to such enlightened responses.
In the absence of a retort, the picture that emerges for a lay member of the congregation like me is that ISKCON is a great ship like the Titanic. Like the Titanic, the Society now has every sort of facility for enjoyment and, for those at the top, those unlimited facilities boil down to a sense of intoxicated pleasure. But having entered into iceberg-laden waters, ISKCON has morphed into a pleasure ship of fools. And the reveling passengers will soon enough be treated to a dip, not in the heated pool, but within icy waters.
The old adage phalena parichiayate, "a tree is known by its fruits" richly applies to ISKCON. Therefore it was quite appropriate that respected Trishuladhara Goswami in his article "The World Has Enough Caste Brahmanas" brought up the issue of ISKCON's rising generation. His response to his critics, whose lips he has apparently sewn tight as judged by their lack or response, gave a link by which these fruits (the rising generation of ISKCON or the so-called "gurukulis") might be scrutinized. And so we watched that 2009 Gurukuli Mela video with mixed fascination and dread, fearful for the future of a once-great movement:
In the video, over and again we see these middle-aged "youth" proudly reveling in their roles as future leaders. But like the great ocean liner plowing onward through murky waters to its doom, they have neither a plan nor a clue as to how those dreamlike expectations will be earned. No gurukuli spoke of their parent's role in bringing them into this movement, and none quoted the extensive writings of their param-guru. In fact, Srila Prabhupada emerged at the Mela merely as a convenient figurehead or semi-mythological figure rather than a genuine spiritual leader whose orders are meant to be followed, obeyed like a disciple's life and soul.
Yet victims galore emerged. History has shown that those who are prone to play victim will never lead anything. It may sound harsh to say, but the victim has little understanding of the laws of karma. The impression one is given by the 2009 Gurukuli video is that the gurukulis are a body answerable to themselves only, governed by their own rules and morality, one that complies only with an authority of convenience. They have simply incarnated out of nowhere for the sake of enjoying their positions as well-heeled singers, dancers and rap entertainers. Like children who refuse to grow up, they are looking for a free handout because they don't want to be karmis. And neither do they wish to help in spreading genuine Krishna consciousness, despite their self-proclamation of independence and enlightenment.
The irony is, therefore, that their parents were the very ones who helped Srila Prabhupada kick-start ISKCON in the 60's and 70's by dropping out of college in their teens to sacrifice even basic necessities to perform Mahaprabhu's yuga dharma of street sankirtan.
A few minutes of online research brought me to another telling video, the 2007 Gurukuli Mela held in Russia. The film begins with a grandiose bird's eye view of Moscow:
For me, a rootless Hindu born in America, and an aspiring apostle of Bhagavad Gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada, the video was an eye-opener. What I found most telling about the 2007 Gurukuli Mela was the presence of two Indian Hindu swamis at the quasi-holiday camp in the person of Their Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami and Bhakti Caru Swami. It was in observing these two captains of the ISKCON Titanic against the backdrop of the "youth" that I realized clearly the current dreadful situation.
Everyone laughed when the gurukuli youth took the microphone and thanked
the swamis for coming "because that is when we get to eat big feasts."
Both the above Hindu swamis are well known and respected wherever they travel in India or to places outside India where there are large Hindu communities. They are respected because respect towards the ashram is the climate of the longstanding Hindu culture. The very power of the cloth they wear demands obsequiousness. Yet here amongst the West's rising generation of "spiritual warriors," the gurukulis indulging in fashion shows, rap and disco, respect gave way to subtle mockery of the fourth stage. But it was mutual. HH Gopal Krishna was introduced merely as an "advanced devotee," not as a spiritual master. In return, he reveled in flattering the assembly by speaking about "their power of youth," little caring that the basic understanding of swamihood is that the intangible thing called "youth" is as fleeting as yesterday's sunset.
Watching the Hindu swami in the assembly revealed that he lacked the spiritual resolve to prevent millions of years of Vedic culture from being cast to the wind in the name of a Gurukuli Mela. The difference between a flattering Hindu swami at the ship's wheel of the Titanic contrasted the position of the world Acarya, Srila Prabhupada. Their Holiness Gopal Krishna and Bhakti Caru Swamis had apparently arrived in Moscow with the intention of blessing fashion shows and co-ed yoga; to consecrate idle sports and girls blowing kisses to the camera; to party down with gurukulis performing Bollywood Bhangra karaoke. Despite the occasional kirtan to authenticate their appearance, they had come to bless everything today's rudderless ISKCON had once preached against.
Introducing the next speaker as "one whom the brahmacharis dream of" the woman handed off the mike and casually leaned on the Vyasa Asan while the Hindu swami grinned approvingly.
The video shows that leaders with an eye to acquire a following and to enjoy large bank accounts are factually helpless before the overwhelming power of a rising generation that is bent upon unlicensed sense gratification. While trying to present a good face, the Moscow Mela instead demonstrated a tragic microcosm of the macrocosm that is today's bloated and top-heavy ISKCON. For me, the real eye opener was when a Hindu Swami was sitting on his cozy Vyasa Asan while a laid-back gurukuli woman, elbow casually extended, comfortably leaned against the holy seat while the swami grinned. She had just introduced the next brahmacharini speaker as "one whom a lot of brahmacharis dream of" which merited an excited wave of giggles from the "spiritual warriors." And in the flash of that visage, what became clear was the difference between a helpless Hindu swami and a powerful world acarya who has taken pains to rise above religious dogma, casteism and the general Hinduization of the sannyasa ashram. The Hindu swami flatters youth while the true Acarya remains above all dualities of youth and old age, wealth and poverty, enjoyment and distress.
At their gathering, the gurukulis thanked the Hindu gurus for attending, because whenever one of heir holy order would show up, somebody had to prepare a big feast. These gurukuli fruits of the tree of ISKCON love the support and the identity that was handed to them because they are like the man with each foot in two different boats. They have little else to cling to and have emerged as a new age mish mash caught in between a pseudo-Vedic culture and the trashy trends of modern times. As one of the gurukuli grown-ups declared, "I can't wait to see the fashion show." Well, they better hurry up, because showing off a lady's curves must done before time takes those curves away.
It remains for the rising members of the lay congregation of ISKCON to understand the course of this great, leaking Titanic and seize the wheel from the hands of rich swamis, steering it away from the icebergs that are just a few miles ahead. The original players in the ISKCON drama have been sent away into an early forced retirement. The original devotees have been replaced by gurukuli types on one side and complacent Hindus on the other, the latter of which are today the financial support and backbone of the movement.
Apparently the Hindus themselves do not realize their collective power in this movement. It is therefore incumbent for the Indian members of the community to understand the teaching of Srila Prabhupada as the world Acarya, to read his books, to understand the situation in proper context and to come forward to expose the situation for the revival of Krishna Consciousness. The future of ISKCON now lies in the hands of Indians.
Donors should withhold their generosity until certain alterations are made and genuine grievances are addressed. They should be careful to find out what they are donating towards. Since ISKCON claims to be the revival of an ancient civilization, improprieties committed against that worshipful culture these swamis claim to represent must be addressed. Ostrich-like Hindu swamis with their heads in the sand in true mayavadi fashion must be shown either the truth or the door. After all, the ISKCON devotees advertise themselves as the true representatives of this Vedic civilization and if they misrepresent that legacy by seeking wealth and followers while ignoring its spiritual essence, then they are no better than the mayavadis they claim to oppose.
Now that the peacocks have come home to roost, it remains for the Hindu members of ISKCON to find their collective voice and boldly take a stand against corruption. Are we content to remain like a flock of sheep, a mere silent majority? We are patronized only so long as we have full pockets. Therefore change can begin with the checkbook and with the printed word. Whether now residing in the east or the west, when the Hindu congregation becomes Krishna conscious, only then can the Titanic be saved from an impending Davy Jones' locker.
