seeing through the eyes of scriptures
the Guru business
Many devotees have never read the Guru Business and Monkey on a stick ,that is a shame devotees should know what went wrong in ISKCON at a certain point.
http://www.harekrsna.org/pada/guru_biz.htm">http://www.harekrsna.org/pada/guru_biz.htm >
By Sulocana das who was killed for exposing Kirtananda:
A RUDE AWAKENING
As I started to read through Srila Prabhupada's personal letters to his disciples, I was primarily looking for quotes on marriage. At the time I was desperate to try and save my own marriage. Although that was my main motive, I also knew it was my moral duty to try and save my wife and children from possible danger. In this way, I began my research with the blessings of the Lord of morality, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Since I was approaching His topmost representative, Srila Prabhupada, for guidance and inspiration, I knew the outcome would be auspicious, whatever it was. I had no idea where my research would lead me. I only knew that something was going to burst, and I didn't want it to be me. I was not especially concerned with the broader "guru-issue" facing ISKCON's "leaders" today. Mainly, I wanted to save my own family, hoping that was part of the Lord's plan.
Previously, I had been living a rather disheartened married life. My wife had been devoting her heart to another man and so, naturally, this killed any chance of our having a meaningful relationship. Living in this somewhat stagnant state, I had not been inclined to confront the fact that she was unfaithful. In blind acceptance of what I had been told was my spiritual master's mission and his authorized representatives, I had remained simple and naive. This simplicity did not afford me either the desire or opportunity to even imagine what was lurking in the minds of others. They say the husband is always the last to know.
Finally, in June of 1984, with plenty of encouragement from the "guru" she had been devoting herself to, namely one Kirtanananda "Swami," my wife decided to leave me to devote her life to him, even though I have two baby boys by her. At the time, I knew very little about Kirtanananda, so I was a little cautious about openly criticizing him for his interference in my marriage. The fact that his "disciples" have more weapons than brains also discouraged me from openly challenging him. My wife also knew very little about him, except for the hype that's drilled into all the gullible guru-pies at his camp, such as, "He's the oldest and first sannyasa disciple of Prabhupada" or, "He built Prabhupada's Palace, so he must be a pure saint." That kind of stuff. In effect, neither of us really knew anything about him at all, so she agreed that I would go to LA and do some research, and if I found out anything suspicious, I would let her know. She said she would then join me if that was the case.
I agreed to rejoin her at Kirtanananda's camp if his slate was clean. Foolishly, I thought that she was sincere in this arrangement.
Little did I know that before the dust of my tires had settled on the road, she had already been allotted to satisfy the carnal desires of one of Kirtanananda's loyalists, Raghunatha, a man so desperate for sex that he had been grabbing devotee women's breasts and thighs, even though they were married. Kirtanananda requires many women for these loyal and hard working men like Raghunatha, who want more from life than simply work. Since Kirtanananda could see that I was not one of his blind loyalists ("Sulocana, you are just not my man") he naturally had no use for me. But his unmarried and agitated workers would be very pleased with someone like my wife. After all, how long can a young man be satisfied simply with the peephole into the ladies' toilet in the temple building there? So, when my wife expressed to Kirtanananda a desire to stay at New Vrndavana, despite my intention to leave, he didn't hesitate to tell her, "That's all right, let him go. I'll take care of you." It never even dawned on him to counsel us, which is of course the duty of the leader of a real religious community. Having been a lifelong homosexual, and repulsed by women, "Well boys, get out the incense, it's fish night" (Kirtanananda Swami thinks women smell like fish), he could hardly counsel couples in moral obligations, even if he wanted to. But, despite his personal feelings, he needs women for his heterosexual men who eventually leave him if he doesn't supply them a sex partner. So, being a British citizen and somewhat cultured, at least by New Vrndavana standards, my wife was a prize catch for him. Unfortunately, I had found out all these things too late.
So I was forced to make a dreadful choice: "Sink or swim." There was no question of just ignoring the whole thing and starting life over again as my parents were urging me. I couldn't really blame them. It was apparent enough that I was either heading for the gas chamber for just executing Kirtanananda, or a nervous breakdown if I lost my sons. Many of my co-disciples had sought the illusory escape from similar ordeals through drugs, sex, television, violence, and ultimately spiritual suicide. I could have gone any or all those routes. I had the money and I was free from any immediate obligations or debts. Fortunately however the Lord had a different plan for me. By this time I had heard and read enough about Kirtanananda to know that I had to make my best effort to save my sons from his clutches, even though it had become apparent my wife was completely under his control. So, suffering from the stress of having had my sons forcibly taken from me by Kirtanananda's strong-arms, and having lost nearly forty pounds as a result, I decided to take a stand, practically alone, against one of the richest and most corrupt men in ISKCON. This was after nearly five years of lethargic spiritual dormancy.
Knowing that Kirtanananda had attacked Srila Prabhupada in the late sixties in his first attempt to take over the movement, I figured that if I could get all the letters dealing with that incident, then I would have something tangible to show my wife about the real character of her new "protector." Having previously indexed for ISKCON's book publishing house (BBT), I resumed that service with one objective in mind: to get access to Prabhupada's letters. Due to my distress, however, I was unable to conceal my real intentions. Thus they refused to let me have them. This struggle went on for nearly two months, when, by the Lord's grace, I met a devotee who had previously bribed the archives department-at no meager expense-for the complete set. He sympathized with my story, having also been stabbed in the back by an "ISKCON" despot, and he lent me his own set. For the first time in months, I felt hopeful of getting my sons back, although I knew it would still be a long time before I would see my sons safe. Shortly after this breakthrough I made a large sale of jewelry, which enabled me to purchase my computer. It appeared the Lord was definitely with me.
The letters contained all the secrets I had been hoping for-and more. I knew then that it would be my assigned duty to make the truth in these letters known to all. It was the beginning of a re-awakening in my heart for a service which He had so mercifully been arranging for me all along-a service far heavier than I would have been able to bear, or even consider, had I remained in the deep, dark, discouraging well of unfaithful female companionship (not to be confused with a devoted wife). Although the ordeal was painful, it was that purifying experience for which I had been longing. I deeply welcomed it. So, on October 11th, 1984, 1 mailed a letter to all ISKCON centers openly declaring war against Kirtanananda and the entire Society if my family was not returned to me intact. The Society ignored me. Hardly did I get one response. Since silence automatically means acceptance, I knew that my accusations were correct, and that it was just a matter of time before the truth would triumph. From that point onwards I was doomed to live in constant hiding from Kirtanananda's worshipers, who would have killed me in an instant if they knew where I was parked in my motor home, typing away.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
Although many ingredients are the same, this is no ordinary tale of a woman betraying her husband for another man. It certainly has its intrigue and duplicity, but this story goes far beyond an ordinary marital melodrama. The profound dimensions underlying Kirtanananda's aggression against me are obvious. Otherwise, he never would have taken such a risk for this woman, who is not even a money-picker. That would have been the standard "ISKCON" motive, as you will see in the chapter on women's' sexploitation. This conflict, instead, goes deep to the root of ISKCON's problems. Destiny has certainly arranged that, through this incident, the needed polarization between these personality cults and the real mission of Srila Prabhupada will take place. The enemy will have been positively identified. My personal love for my sons, who are still being held captive in Kirtanananda's grip, is thus no longer the sole or even main motivating force behind this book. You will only hear of my personal grief in this picture, since there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of victims like myself. I can now fully sympathize with them all. The specific injustice done to myself will certainly be rectified in due course as I ceaselessly work to expose the fundamental corruption which underlies what only appears to be the ISKCON movement, but which, in reality, represents the betrayal of our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
As I began my search through the letters, I discovered something higher than my personal marital problems that I knew I should share that with everyone. I discovered that Srila Prabhupada is no ordinary man. Of course, I had read all of Prabhupada's books several times over, the same as most of the devotees and I had even indexed a half a dozen of them. I knew without a doubt that Prabhupada had introduced us to a very pure spiritual culture in its entirety, and I appreciated that very much. Yet, during that time, I never fully appreciated Prabhupada the person. After all, I had never been able to exchange more than a few words with him while he was physically present.
So, when I started to read Srila Prabhupada's words in a form which I could relate to practically, I found myself moving closer to his life in a personal way. For the first time, I realized that Srila Prabhupada's vast intelligence was not like that of an ordinary genius. He certainly had a perfect answer for everything put before him, but, at the same time, he manifested a personality so magnanimous and forgiving that I had no choice but to utterly devote myself to him. Who else but a true saint could be so compassionate? His direct association through these letters rekindled in me the hope that I could also become pure one day. This was all very encouraging and allowed me to take up a desire far beyond revenge. I could see in Prabhupada's letters how a real saint deals with people on a personal day-today level. Anyone can write a book about God and attract a following, but to actually realize God and live like a true saint, twenty-four hours a day, in a predominantly irreligious society like ours-now I could understand just how very special Srila Prabhupada was.
It was then that I first took a serious look at the current guru-issue in ISKCON. I could plainly see that these new "gurus" didn't compare to Srila Prabhupada in any way whatsoever-that they were only externally posing as saints. Of course, I had personal experience that many of them were far from saintly. But I wasn't doing anything about it, since I wasn't fully appreciating the personal greatness of Srila Prabhupada. Thus, it became crystal clear to me that their imitating is actually creating a decoy which moves the devotees away from Prabhupada. Ironically, this was being done by the very persons who were assumed to be Prabhupada's most dear disciples. This made it an ultra-diversion. When other "gurus," making no claim to Prabhupada or Krsna, pose as bona fide gurus, sincere disciples have little problem recognizing that for what it is. By imitating Prabhupada, however, ISKCON's new "gurus," these-called official representatives of Prabhupada, are actually bringing Prabhupada down, in many eyes, to their own, often abominable, level of existence. Realizing this, I became determined to bring out the many quotes which revealed how a real pure devotee thinks and acts so that everyone would have the chance to see, as I now could, the difference between a saint like Srila Prabhupada and these impostors.
Reading the letters became like an intriguing mystery to me. I took careful notice of little comments Prabhupada would make about the leaders, specifically the Governing Body Commissioners (GBC). For instance, Prabhupada's whole strategy changed dramatically in July of 1970. He freely started giving sannyasa (celibate renounced order) to his male followers instead of encouraging them to marry. He stopped encouraging devotees to open temples and instead encouraged them to distribute books. And he began writing very heavy letters indicating that the character of many of his leading disciples was way below the mark. I have included these letters in Chapter Two. They clearly show why Prabhupada became disgusted with these "top men" of the Society and ultimately why he decided to leave the planet early.
Some persons may jump to the conclusion that I did this for gossip's sake or out of envy. This is not at all the fact. For one thing, I had to find out the real status of these men in order to go about rescuing my children. I didn't want to falsely accuse anyone. So it was essential that I knew the truth about these "gurus," who are claiming absolute sovereignty over everyone, even to the point of thinking that they can kidnap their Godbrothers' wives and children at whim. I had to know-Were these men actually dear to Srila Prabhupada and spiritually advanced? or were they merely being given a big position to keep them out of trouble, not necessarily having any claim-what to speak of monopoly-on spiritual advancement? Needless to say, I found out.
I soon found myself becoming enlivened again to preach. Many letters were to married men, like myself, encouraging them to be bold and open temples. In the later years when l joined the Society (1974), I had hardly even heard such things. That idea had more or less been replaced by emphasis on book distribution. Prabhupada actually discouraged opening many more temples at that time since he was seeing that the ones he had already opened were being mismanaged and members were leaving almost as fast as they were coming. So even though I became inspired to open a temple, the difficulty was, I wanted Prabhupada to be justly recognized all over the world, and not just where I and a handful of other ISKCON "outcasts" were preaching. So I decided, first, I must make these most vital and revealing letters available to everyone. Then they could also increase their desire to present Prabhupada's teachings, instead of the bogus philosophy of these new "gurus." By this time, I had realized that these men were actually the major source of Prabhupada's displeasure, despite what most of us had been led to believe. In one letter, Prabhupada actually said that they were not "the real workers."
So, in a nutshell, the purpose of this book is fourfold:
1) It must be revealed to the world exactly who Srila Prabhupada is and how he has nothing whatsoever to do with the corruption going on amongst ISKCON's leaders today. That is what the media likes to print and so that is what people generally think is the real Hare Krsna movement. But Prabhupada's motive was pure. This is clearly evident when you see how he dealt with people in their strengths and weaknesses on a practical, day-today basis. In other words, unlike the new "gurus," he practiced what he preached. When this is seen, it will become next to impossible for persons who do not possess true spiritual realization and purity to "fool the innocent public." Of course, many persons will continue to lump Srila Prabhupada in with these bogus gurus, but at least the sincere seekers will be able to understand who is who.
2) There is a crying need to increase and even rekindle love for Prabhupada from his own disciples. To a large extent, they have left Prabhupada's mission out of frustration and discouragement. These unscrupulous new "gurus" try to convince us that the majority of Prabhupada's disciples have left the Society because they are all insincere, lusty, envious, etc. They openly claim that the only real disciples of Srila Prabhupada are the ones who accept the new "gurus" as bona fide saints. This is nonsense. Prabhupada makes it very clear in his letters why 99% of the devotees leave the Society: "Nasty, personally motivated" leaders. That's all. There is no other reason. With proper leadership anyone can be happy and find shelter in Srila Prabhupada's real movement. The real movement is meant for the whole world, not just a small handful of religious zealots. But first there has to be real leaders. Unfortunately, because most of us are unable to "turn the other cheek" indefinitely, we could not, and cannot, constantly tolerate the behavior of these men, which is becoming progressively more and more satanic. They were the foremost cause of disciples leaving ISKCON even while Prabhupada was physically present, what to speak of now. So, in reality, the loyalists who have stayed in ISKCON all these years, supporting these "gurus" in their game of Imitate a Saint, are the real offenders to the pure devotee-not so much those who simply go away in utter disgust. All of Srila Prabhupada's disciples and followers should again feel encouraged to take up the real mission of Srila Prabhupada. We must not let these bogus gurus discourage us any longer.
3) An effort should be made to clean up ISKCON and remove the influence of personally motivated leaders. In other words, we should fully awaken the devotees to the politics and duplicity going on behind the facade. In this connection, some devotees have been criticizing us for taking on the function of ISKCON's poison-finder." Some of these critics no doubt assume that we are just as ill-motivated as the persons we are exposing. So they are saying that we should only concentrate on the "positive" aspect of its function. They see that we should just be making available Srila Prabhupada's teachings by categories and helping other devotees find services, spouses, communities, etc. Since this is such a common complaint, we would like to explain why we are eager to seek out and expose the bad as well as the good.
Many people are familiar with boils. Boils are due to impurities in the blood stream, and if ISKCON is seen as the body of Srila Prabhupada, then right now Srila Prabhupada has a serious case of blood poisoning. It is rapidly coming to a head, which is the danger point. This can be ignored for some time, which is what most of the devotees are doing. Ultimately, however, this boil has to be confronted by anyone who claims to be serious about preaching Krsna consciousness. A boil simply cannot be ignored. So, even though the devotees of Srila Prabhupada may be very busy with their various engagements and responsibilities, both within and without "ISKCON," ultimately, they will have to stop everything to confront this boil. Of course, some devotees are looking at it, and some are even attempting to bring the poison to a head. But the real question remains, "How long can we be patient before the body dies?" Daily, lives are being destroyed. Admittedly, it is extremely painful to open a boil, still, it must be done or the pain simply becomes unbearable and ultimately the body dies of blood poisoning.
There are two methods to remove such blood poisoning. There is a slow, painful method, which is what most of the devotees have been indirectly backing now for the past seven years. They want to tolerate all this pain in hopes that it will go away on its own. They think that eventually the GBC will get its act together, and, somehow or other, clean the thing up. That idea has shown less and less promise as time has passed, since, the men who are supposed to clean the thing up, the GBC, are the main ingredients of the boil itself. They are the ones who need to be removed. So the majority of devotees now agree that these anomalies will not disappear by dint of the GBC; there will have to be a direct action taken.
That action begins with this book. This method of opening the boil and making the poison clearly visible is the closest thing to the surgeon's knife which will get the job done, and, hopefully not kin the entire body in the process. At least this book is exposing enough of the puss to clearly show the urgency. But this will not be the end. The job is far from complete. Now that the puss is exposed and oozing out, we must confront the equally difficult task of draining it, removing it, and then, cleansing and healing the wound. This part will take much more time and will require serious devotees to carry out. So, even though this direct method of cutting a boil open always leaves a mess, when an affliction reaches the danger point, it has always proven to be the only way. It may not seem very relishable to many devotees, still someone had to do it sooner or later. Otherwise, the deadly poison, called personal ambition, will have easily "burned ISKCON to ashes." Knowing this, we see this expose as the only way to save Srila Prabhupada's legacy, which, in the absolute sense, is his very life.
4) There is now a new imperative to inspire married couples to be bold and go out to open temples. This was Srila Prabhupada's desire from the beginning. If one has any aspirations at all in this direction, then the letters in this book will be very encouraging. Prabhupada wrote often on that subject, especially in the early years before the 1970 conspiracy. We have included many of those letters herein. When thousands of devotees are united, yet independently preaching the same message all over the world, it will be plainly evident who is actually becoming advanced through their sincere preaching effort, not by some concocted "appointment." The ISKCON movement was never intended to be a movement of neophyte men posing as renunciates, as is the case today. Real society is dependent on responsible householders. ISKCON's divorce rate must come down from its estimated 75%-90% to a much more civilized figure before any attempt to organize a real Vedic society can take place. Therefore, in this book, we have given equal importance to the issue of marriage and women's exploitation in an attempt to clean up ISKCON's high divorce rate, which is also caused, primarily, by the unauthorized interference of the new "gurus."
With these four objectives in mind, we have extracted hundreds of quotes from the letters which are all meant to help us understand what has happened in ISKCON and what we now must do to correct and carry on the mission of our spiritual master. Reading these letters is a direct connection to the mind of Srila Prabhupada. Reading the mind of an ordinary man is generally not very inspiring, there being so many contaminated thoughts lurking up there. But the mind of Srila Prabhupada, because he is pure, can only help us to become pure ourselves. No doubt that is one of the reasons why Prabhupada wrote so many letters (7,000 recovered thus far) instead of using the telephone. There was no shortage of money, especially in the later years. His "big, big" disciples were using the phone almost exclusively (much to Prabhupada's displeasure), whereas Prabhupada would almost always write. He left us his own autobiography, as it is.
Actually, myself, and all the devotees assisting in this great work, are only adding our fuel, which has become an inexhaustible supply, to that same fire which was started the day eleven sinful men falsely declared themselves to be as good as God. The time has now come for a complete fructification of this most important service to the Absolute Cause of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krsna. (Comments, inquiries, and donations may be sent to Steve Bryant (Sulocana dasa), 2124 Kittredge #32, Berkeley, CA, 90704.) Thank you.
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CHAPTER ONE
THEY WILL JUST BE SHOWBOTTLE
PURITY IS THE REAL FORCE
"Now I want that we shall concentrate on making our devotees Krsna conscious and ourselves becoming Krsna conscious, and not be so much concerned with expanding ourselves widely but without any spiritual content. just like boiling the milk, it becomes thicker and sweeter. Now do like that, boil the milk." (Rupanuga, 5/9/72)
"You mention you like to speak now very often, but the first business should be to preach to the devotees. It is better to maintain a devotee than to try to convince others to become devotees. Don't be too much concerned for the time being with non-devotees, now we must fix up what devotees we have got in the knowledge of Krsna consciousness, then we will succeed. What good are many, many devotees if none of them are knowledgeable?" (Satsvarupa, 6/16/72)
"I have divided these departments to solve problems, but if in the end they are all sent to me and I have to tackle, then just imagine what is my position. The best thing would be to stop all activities and simply chant Hare Krishna." (Brahmananda, 5/15/69)
Note: Here Srila Prabhupada is saying to stop everything and simply chant to become purified. The problems Srila Prabhupada was referring to here are not as significant as the problems which ISKCON is facing today. The leaders, however, still refuse to follow this instruction.
"I am glad to hear that you are now concentrating on improving the regulative life of the temple rather than so much advertising with brochures. This is very nice; this is what I want. A good example is better than precept. The pamphlet is precept, but if we don't follow the precepts ourselves then such advertisement is not good." (Mukunda, 2/7/74)
Note: You may ask: "How can distributing transcendental literature not be good?" Obviously, if someone reads a book, and, coming to the temple, sees hypocrites, who do not understand or follow the philosophy they are distributing, then the book distribution becomes counterproductive. If the newcomer is really intelligent, he may read the book and be able follow the instructions on his own. Generally, however, people will simply be repulsed by the hypocrisy. They will then often neglect the book or sometimes even throw it away. Why should Krsna send any sincere souls to ISKCON when ISKCON is not ready for them? So, as Prabhupada says above, if we cannot properly represent the truth, then better to stop all preaching and first become the proper example.
"We are not concerned with any other movement save and except Krsna consciousness in its pure form. In India it is said that a little bit of a pure thing is much better than huge volumes of impure, adulterated things. So please try to follow this policy..." (Brahmananda, 8/27/69)
Note: This is called simple living and high thinking. In many temples we see so much money coming in and so much opulence-especially the "gurus" quarters-but no real education system. Even the "gurus" themselves are unable to defend their claim of being bona fide gurus. They have yet to honestly defend their claim in any formal document compiled from Srila Prabhupada's teachings.
"It doesn't matter if things are going a little slow, but make everything slow but sure. That is a good
http://www.harekrsna.org/pada/guru_biz.htm">http://www.harekrsna.org/pada/guru_biz.htm >
By Sulocana das who was killed for exposing Kirtananda:
A RUDE AWAKENING
As I started to read through Srila Prabhupada's personal letters to his disciples, I was primarily looking for quotes on marriage. At the time I was desperate to try and save my own marriage. Although that was my main motive, I also knew it was my moral duty to try and save my wife and children from possible danger. In this way, I began my research with the blessings of the Lord of morality, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Since I was approaching His topmost representative, Srila Prabhupada, for guidance and inspiration, I knew the outcome would be auspicious, whatever it was. I had no idea where my research would lead me. I only knew that something was going to burst, and I didn't want it to be me. I was not especially concerned with the broader "guru-issue" facing ISKCON's "leaders" today. Mainly, I wanted to save my own family, hoping that was part of the Lord's plan.
Previously, I had been living a rather disheartened married life. My wife had been devoting her heart to another man and so, naturally, this killed any chance of our having a meaningful relationship. Living in this somewhat stagnant state, I had not been inclined to confront the fact that she was unfaithful. In blind acceptance of what I had been told was my spiritual master's mission and his authorized representatives, I had remained simple and naive. This simplicity did not afford me either the desire or opportunity to even imagine what was lurking in the minds of others. They say the husband is always the last to know.
Finally, in June of 1984, with plenty of encouragement from the "guru" she had been devoting herself to, namely one Kirtanananda "Swami," my wife decided to leave me to devote her life to him, even though I have two baby boys by her. At the time, I knew very little about Kirtanananda, so I was a little cautious about openly criticizing him for his interference in my marriage. The fact that his "disciples" have more weapons than brains also discouraged me from openly challenging him. My wife also knew very little about him, except for the hype that's drilled into all the gullible guru-pies at his camp, such as, "He's the oldest and first sannyasa disciple of Prabhupada" or, "He built Prabhupada's Palace, so he must be a pure saint." That kind of stuff. In effect, neither of us really knew anything about him at all, so she agreed that I would go to LA and do some research, and if I found out anything suspicious, I would let her know. She said she would then join me if that was the case.
I agreed to rejoin her at Kirtanananda's camp if his slate was clean. Foolishly, I thought that she was sincere in this arrangement.
Little did I know that before the dust of my tires had settled on the road, she had already been allotted to satisfy the carnal desires of one of Kirtanananda's loyalists, Raghunatha, a man so desperate for sex that he had been grabbing devotee women's breasts and thighs, even though they were married. Kirtanananda requires many women for these loyal and hard working men like Raghunatha, who want more from life than simply work. Since Kirtanananda could see that I was not one of his blind loyalists ("Sulocana, you are just not my man") he naturally had no use for me. But his unmarried and agitated workers would be very pleased with someone like my wife. After all, how long can a young man be satisfied simply with the peephole into the ladies' toilet in the temple building there? So, when my wife expressed to Kirtanananda a desire to stay at New Vrndavana, despite my intention to leave, he didn't hesitate to tell her, "That's all right, let him go. I'll take care of you." It never even dawned on him to counsel us, which is of course the duty of the leader of a real religious community. Having been a lifelong homosexual, and repulsed by women, "Well boys, get out the incense, it's fish night" (Kirtanananda Swami thinks women smell like fish), he could hardly counsel couples in moral obligations, even if he wanted to. But, despite his personal feelings, he needs women for his heterosexual men who eventually leave him if he doesn't supply them a sex partner. So, being a British citizen and somewhat cultured, at least by New Vrndavana standards, my wife was a prize catch for him. Unfortunately, I had found out all these things too late.
So I was forced to make a dreadful choice: "Sink or swim." There was no question of just ignoring the whole thing and starting life over again as my parents were urging me. I couldn't really blame them. It was apparent enough that I was either heading for the gas chamber for just executing Kirtanananda, or a nervous breakdown if I lost my sons. Many of my co-disciples had sought the illusory escape from similar ordeals through drugs, sex, television, violence, and ultimately spiritual suicide. I could have gone any or all those routes. I had the money and I was free from any immediate obligations or debts. Fortunately however the Lord had a different plan for me. By this time I had heard and read enough about Kirtanananda to know that I had to make my best effort to save my sons from his clutches, even though it had become apparent my wife was completely under his control. So, suffering from the stress of having had my sons forcibly taken from me by Kirtanananda's strong-arms, and having lost nearly forty pounds as a result, I decided to take a stand, practically alone, against one of the richest and most corrupt men in ISKCON. This was after nearly five years of lethargic spiritual dormancy.
Knowing that Kirtanananda had attacked Srila Prabhupada in the late sixties in his first attempt to take over the movement, I figured that if I could get all the letters dealing with that incident, then I would have something tangible to show my wife about the real character of her new "protector." Having previously indexed for ISKCON's book publishing house (BBT), I resumed that service with one objective in mind: to get access to Prabhupada's letters. Due to my distress, however, I was unable to conceal my real intentions. Thus they refused to let me have them. This struggle went on for nearly two months, when, by the Lord's grace, I met a devotee who had previously bribed the archives department-at no meager expense-for the complete set. He sympathized with my story, having also been stabbed in the back by an "ISKCON" despot, and he lent me his own set. For the first time in months, I felt hopeful of getting my sons back, although I knew it would still be a long time before I would see my sons safe. Shortly after this breakthrough I made a large sale of jewelry, which enabled me to purchase my computer. It appeared the Lord was definitely with me.
The letters contained all the secrets I had been hoping for-and more. I knew then that it would be my assigned duty to make the truth in these letters known to all. It was the beginning of a re-awakening in my heart for a service which He had so mercifully been arranging for me all along-a service far heavier than I would have been able to bear, or even consider, had I remained in the deep, dark, discouraging well of unfaithful female companionship (not to be confused with a devoted wife). Although the ordeal was painful, it was that purifying experience for which I had been longing. I deeply welcomed it. So, on October 11th, 1984, 1 mailed a letter to all ISKCON centers openly declaring war against Kirtanananda and the entire Society if my family was not returned to me intact. The Society ignored me. Hardly did I get one response. Since silence automatically means acceptance, I knew that my accusations were correct, and that it was just a matter of time before the truth would triumph. From that point onwards I was doomed to live in constant hiding from Kirtanananda's worshipers, who would have killed me in an instant if they knew where I was parked in my motor home, typing away.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
Although many ingredients are the same, this is no ordinary tale of a woman betraying her husband for another man. It certainly has its intrigue and duplicity, but this story goes far beyond an ordinary marital melodrama. The profound dimensions underlying Kirtanananda's aggression against me are obvious. Otherwise, he never would have taken such a risk for this woman, who is not even a money-picker. That would have been the standard "ISKCON" motive, as you will see in the chapter on women's' sexploitation. This conflict, instead, goes deep to the root of ISKCON's problems. Destiny has certainly arranged that, through this incident, the needed polarization between these personality cults and the real mission of Srila Prabhupada will take place. The enemy will have been positively identified. My personal love for my sons, who are still being held captive in Kirtanananda's grip, is thus no longer the sole or even main motivating force behind this book. You will only hear of my personal grief in this picture, since there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of victims like myself. I can now fully sympathize with them all. The specific injustice done to myself will certainly be rectified in due course as I ceaselessly work to expose the fundamental corruption which underlies what only appears to be the ISKCON movement, but which, in reality, represents the betrayal of our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
As I began my search through the letters, I discovered something higher than my personal marital problems that I knew I should share that with everyone. I discovered that Srila Prabhupada is no ordinary man. Of course, I had read all of Prabhupada's books several times over, the same as most of the devotees and I had even indexed a half a dozen of them. I knew without a doubt that Prabhupada had introduced us to a very pure spiritual culture in its entirety, and I appreciated that very much. Yet, during that time, I never fully appreciated Prabhupada the person. After all, I had never been able to exchange more than a few words with him while he was physically present.
So, when I started to read Srila Prabhupada's words in a form which I could relate to practically, I found myself moving closer to his life in a personal way. For the first time, I realized that Srila Prabhupada's vast intelligence was not like that of an ordinary genius. He certainly had a perfect answer for everything put before him, but, at the same time, he manifested a personality so magnanimous and forgiving that I had no choice but to utterly devote myself to him. Who else but a true saint could be so compassionate? His direct association through these letters rekindled in me the hope that I could also become pure one day. This was all very encouraging and allowed me to take up a desire far beyond revenge. I could see in Prabhupada's letters how a real saint deals with people on a personal day-today level. Anyone can write a book about God and attract a following, but to actually realize God and live like a true saint, twenty-four hours a day, in a predominantly irreligious society like ours-now I could understand just how very special Srila Prabhupada was.
It was then that I first took a serious look at the current guru-issue in ISKCON. I could plainly see that these new "gurus" didn't compare to Srila Prabhupada in any way whatsoever-that they were only externally posing as saints. Of course, I had personal experience that many of them were far from saintly. But I wasn't doing anything about it, since I wasn't fully appreciating the personal greatness of Srila Prabhupada. Thus, it became crystal clear to me that their imitating is actually creating a decoy which moves the devotees away from Prabhupada. Ironically, this was being done by the very persons who were assumed to be Prabhupada's most dear disciples. This made it an ultra-diversion. When other "gurus," making no claim to Prabhupada or Krsna, pose as bona fide gurus, sincere disciples have little problem recognizing that for what it is. By imitating Prabhupada, however, ISKCON's new "gurus," these-called official representatives of Prabhupada, are actually bringing Prabhupada down, in many eyes, to their own, often abominable, level of existence. Realizing this, I became determined to bring out the many quotes which revealed how a real pure devotee thinks and acts so that everyone would have the chance to see, as I now could, the difference between a saint like Srila Prabhupada and these impostors.
Reading the letters became like an intriguing mystery to me. I took careful notice of little comments Prabhupada would make about the leaders, specifically the Governing Body Commissioners (GBC). For instance, Prabhupada's whole strategy changed dramatically in July of 1970. He freely started giving sannyasa (celibate renounced order) to his male followers instead of encouraging them to marry. He stopped encouraging devotees to open temples and instead encouraged them to distribute books. And he began writing very heavy letters indicating that the character of many of his leading disciples was way below the mark. I have included these letters in Chapter Two. They clearly show why Prabhupada became disgusted with these "top men" of the Society and ultimately why he decided to leave the planet early.
Some persons may jump to the conclusion that I did this for gossip's sake or out of envy. This is not at all the fact. For one thing, I had to find out the real status of these men in order to go about rescuing my children. I didn't want to falsely accuse anyone. So it was essential that I knew the truth about these "gurus," who are claiming absolute sovereignty over everyone, even to the point of thinking that they can kidnap their Godbrothers' wives and children at whim. I had to know-Were these men actually dear to Srila Prabhupada and spiritually advanced? or were they merely being given a big position to keep them out of trouble, not necessarily having any claim-what to speak of monopoly-on spiritual advancement? Needless to say, I found out.
I soon found myself becoming enlivened again to preach. Many letters were to married men, like myself, encouraging them to be bold and open temples. In the later years when l joined the Society (1974), I had hardly even heard such things. That idea had more or less been replaced by emphasis on book distribution. Prabhupada actually discouraged opening many more temples at that time since he was seeing that the ones he had already opened were being mismanaged and members were leaving almost as fast as they were coming. So even though I became inspired to open a temple, the difficulty was, I wanted Prabhupada to be justly recognized all over the world, and not just where I and a handful of other ISKCON "outcasts" were preaching. So I decided, first, I must make these most vital and revealing letters available to everyone. Then they could also increase their desire to present Prabhupada's teachings, instead of the bogus philosophy of these new "gurus." By this time, I had realized that these men were actually the major source of Prabhupada's displeasure, despite what most of us had been led to believe. In one letter, Prabhupada actually said that they were not "the real workers."
So, in a nutshell, the purpose of this book is fourfold:
1) It must be revealed to the world exactly who Srila Prabhupada is and how he has nothing whatsoever to do with the corruption going on amongst ISKCON's leaders today. That is what the media likes to print and so that is what people generally think is the real Hare Krsna movement. But Prabhupada's motive was pure. This is clearly evident when you see how he dealt with people in their strengths and weaknesses on a practical, day-today basis. In other words, unlike the new "gurus," he practiced what he preached. When this is seen, it will become next to impossible for persons who do not possess true spiritual realization and purity to "fool the innocent public." Of course, many persons will continue to lump Srila Prabhupada in with these bogus gurus, but at least the sincere seekers will be able to understand who is who.
2) There is a crying need to increase and even rekindle love for Prabhupada from his own disciples. To a large extent, they have left Prabhupada's mission out of frustration and discouragement. These unscrupulous new "gurus" try to convince us that the majority of Prabhupada's disciples have left the Society because they are all insincere, lusty, envious, etc. They openly claim that the only real disciples of Srila Prabhupada are the ones who accept the new "gurus" as bona fide saints. This is nonsense. Prabhupada makes it very clear in his letters why 99% of the devotees leave the Society: "Nasty, personally motivated" leaders. That's all. There is no other reason. With proper leadership anyone can be happy and find shelter in Srila Prabhupada's real movement. The real movement is meant for the whole world, not just a small handful of religious zealots. But first there has to be real leaders. Unfortunately, because most of us are unable to "turn the other cheek" indefinitely, we could not, and cannot, constantly tolerate the behavior of these men, which is becoming progressively more and more satanic. They were the foremost cause of disciples leaving ISKCON even while Prabhupada was physically present, what to speak of now. So, in reality, the loyalists who have stayed in ISKCON all these years, supporting these "gurus" in their game of Imitate a Saint, are the real offenders to the pure devotee-not so much those who simply go away in utter disgust. All of Srila Prabhupada's disciples and followers should again feel encouraged to take up the real mission of Srila Prabhupada. We must not let these bogus gurus discourage us any longer.
3) An effort should be made to clean up ISKCON and remove the influence of personally motivated leaders. In other words, we should fully awaken the devotees to the politics and duplicity going on behind the facade. In this connection, some devotees have been criticizing us for taking on the function of ISKCON's poison-finder." Some of these critics no doubt assume that we are just as ill-motivated as the persons we are exposing. So they are saying that we should only concentrate on the "positive" aspect of its function. They see that we should just be making available Srila Prabhupada's teachings by categories and helping other devotees find services, spouses, communities, etc. Since this is such a common complaint, we would like to explain why we are eager to seek out and expose the bad as well as the good.
Many people are familiar with boils. Boils are due to impurities in the blood stream, and if ISKCON is seen as the body of Srila Prabhupada, then right now Srila Prabhupada has a serious case of blood poisoning. It is rapidly coming to a head, which is the danger point. This can be ignored for some time, which is what most of the devotees are doing. Ultimately, however, this boil has to be confronted by anyone who claims to be serious about preaching Krsna consciousness. A boil simply cannot be ignored. So, even though the devotees of Srila Prabhupada may be very busy with their various engagements and responsibilities, both within and without "ISKCON," ultimately, they will have to stop everything to confront this boil. Of course, some devotees are looking at it, and some are even attempting to bring the poison to a head. But the real question remains, "How long can we be patient before the body dies?" Daily, lives are being destroyed. Admittedly, it is extremely painful to open a boil, still, it must be done or the pain simply becomes unbearable and ultimately the body dies of blood poisoning.
There are two methods to remove such blood poisoning. There is a slow, painful method, which is what most of the devotees have been indirectly backing now for the past seven years. They want to tolerate all this pain in hopes that it will go away on its own. They think that eventually the GBC will get its act together, and, somehow or other, clean the thing up. That idea has shown less and less promise as time has passed, since, the men who are supposed to clean the thing up, the GBC, are the main ingredients of the boil itself. They are the ones who need to be removed. So the majority of devotees now agree that these anomalies will not disappear by dint of the GBC; there will have to be a direct action taken.
That action begins with this book. This method of opening the boil and making the poison clearly visible is the closest thing to the surgeon's knife which will get the job done, and, hopefully not kin the entire body in the process. At least this book is exposing enough of the puss to clearly show the urgency. But this will not be the end. The job is far from complete. Now that the puss is exposed and oozing out, we must confront the equally difficult task of draining it, removing it, and then, cleansing and healing the wound. This part will take much more time and will require serious devotees to carry out. So, even though this direct method of cutting a boil open always leaves a mess, when an affliction reaches the danger point, it has always proven to be the only way. It may not seem very relishable to many devotees, still someone had to do it sooner or later. Otherwise, the deadly poison, called personal ambition, will have easily "burned ISKCON to ashes." Knowing this, we see this expose as the only way to save Srila Prabhupada's legacy, which, in the absolute sense, is his very life.
4) There is now a new imperative to inspire married couples to be bold and go out to open temples. This was Srila Prabhupada's desire from the beginning. If one has any aspirations at all in this direction, then the letters in this book will be very encouraging. Prabhupada wrote often on that subject, especially in the early years before the 1970 conspiracy. We have included many of those letters herein. When thousands of devotees are united, yet independently preaching the same message all over the world, it will be plainly evident who is actually becoming advanced through their sincere preaching effort, not by some concocted "appointment." The ISKCON movement was never intended to be a movement of neophyte men posing as renunciates, as is the case today. Real society is dependent on responsible householders. ISKCON's divorce rate must come down from its estimated 75%-90% to a much more civilized figure before any attempt to organize a real Vedic society can take place. Therefore, in this book, we have given equal importance to the issue of marriage and women's exploitation in an attempt to clean up ISKCON's high divorce rate, which is also caused, primarily, by the unauthorized interference of the new "gurus."
With these four objectives in mind, we have extracted hundreds of quotes from the letters which are all meant to help us understand what has happened in ISKCON and what we now must do to correct and carry on the mission of our spiritual master. Reading these letters is a direct connection to the mind of Srila Prabhupada. Reading the mind of an ordinary man is generally not very inspiring, there being so many contaminated thoughts lurking up there. But the mind of Srila Prabhupada, because he is pure, can only help us to become pure ourselves. No doubt that is one of the reasons why Prabhupada wrote so many letters (7,000 recovered thus far) instead of using the telephone. There was no shortage of money, especially in the later years. His "big, big" disciples were using the phone almost exclusively (much to Prabhupada's displeasure), whereas Prabhupada would almost always write. He left us his own autobiography, as it is.
Actually, myself, and all the devotees assisting in this great work, are only adding our fuel, which has become an inexhaustible supply, to that same fire which was started the day eleven sinful men falsely declared themselves to be as good as God. The time has now come for a complete fructification of this most important service to the Absolute Cause of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krsna. (Comments, inquiries, and donations may be sent to Steve Bryant (Sulocana dasa), 2124 Kittredge #32, Berkeley, CA, 90704.) Thank you.
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CHAPTER ONE
THEY WILL JUST BE SHOWBOTTLE
PURITY IS THE REAL FORCE
"Now I want that we shall concentrate on making our devotees Krsna conscious and ourselves becoming Krsna conscious, and not be so much concerned with expanding ourselves widely but without any spiritual content. just like boiling the milk, it becomes thicker and sweeter. Now do like that, boil the milk." (Rupanuga, 5/9/72)
"You mention you like to speak now very often, but the first business should be to preach to the devotees. It is better to maintain a devotee than to try to convince others to become devotees. Don't be too much concerned for the time being with non-devotees, now we must fix up what devotees we have got in the knowledge of Krsna consciousness, then we will succeed. What good are many, many devotees if none of them are knowledgeable?" (Satsvarupa, 6/16/72)
"I have divided these departments to solve problems, but if in the end they are all sent to me and I have to tackle, then just imagine what is my position. The best thing would be to stop all activities and simply chant Hare Krishna." (Brahmananda, 5/15/69)
Note: Here Srila Prabhupada is saying to stop everything and simply chant to become purified. The problems Srila Prabhupada was referring to here are not as significant as the problems which ISKCON is facing today. The leaders, however, still refuse to follow this instruction.
"I am glad to hear that you are now concentrating on improving the regulative life of the temple rather than so much advertising with brochures. This is very nice; this is what I want. A good example is better than precept. The pamphlet is precept, but if we don't follow the precepts ourselves then such advertisement is not good." (Mukunda, 2/7/74)
Note: You may ask: "How can distributing transcendental literature not be good?" Obviously, if someone reads a book, and, coming to the temple, sees hypocrites, who do not understand or follow the philosophy they are distributing, then the book distribution becomes counterproductive. If the newcomer is really intelligent, he may read the book and be able follow the instructions on his own. Generally, however, people will simply be repulsed by the hypocrisy. They will then often neglect the book or sometimes even throw it away. Why should Krsna send any sincere souls to ISKCON when ISKCON is not ready for them? So, as Prabhupada says above, if we cannot properly represent the truth, then better to stop all preaching and first become the proper example.
"We are not concerned with any other movement save and except Krsna consciousness in its pure form. In India it is said that a little bit of a pure thing is much better than huge volumes of impure, adulterated things. So please try to follow this policy..." (Brahmananda, 8/27/69)
Note: This is called simple living and high thinking. In many temples we see so much money coming in and so much opulence-especially the "gurus" quarters-but no real education system. Even the "gurus" themselves are unable to defend their claim of being bona fide gurus. They have yet to honestly defend their claim in any formal document compiled from Srila Prabhupada's teachings.
"It doesn't matter if things are going a little slow, but make everything slow but sure. That is a good
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Comment by Paramananda das on December 10, 2009 at 5:27pm
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Note: Many of Srila Prabhupada's direct disciples, particularly the ones with big egos and big positions, did not have good behavior and manners. There are so many examples: we give a few specific instances, all verifiable if necessary. InVmdavana,whenHarikeshwasPrabhupada'ssecretary,hewasknowntohavesaid on several occasions such things to Prabhupada as, "It's your mess, clean it up yourself' or "This isn't dirt Prabhupada, it's Vrndavana dust." Srila Prabhupada once dispatched a letter to Guru Krpa Swami via Harikesh. The letter was very provocative to Guru Krpa Swami, especially the P.S. following the signature. So much so, that Guru Krpa Swami immediately flew from Japan to India. He went to his Guru Maharaja and asked whether or not the message in the letter was totally coming from him. It wasn't. Harikesh Swami was immediately removed from his duties of personal secretary and was exiled to Eastern Europe. He was also told to walk to Delhi from Vrindavana. Another incident, concerning Tamala, was just after the 1976 infamous GBC meeting when Srila Prabhupada exiled Tamala to go to China. Tamala became angry and pointed his index finger at Prabhupada."I will not go to China. Why should I go to China? I have my own party in America. You cannot tell me this. I am not going to go." One sannyasi also in the room protested, "You cannot talk to Srila Prabhupada like this." Tamala replied sharply, "Don't tell me what I can and can't do." Srila Prabhupada once said about another "acarya": "Hamsadutta is praying every night that I will die and he win become acarya." The fist of such quotes could fill a volume. We are only touching the top of the iceberg in this book. Almost without exception, the only outstanding feature all the current ISKCON "acaryas" have in common is their disrespect for Srila Prabhupada. At any rate, we see in this letter, that an ordinary Japanese citizen has better manners than some of Prabhupada's "direct representatives."
"In that trust you must be very careful to make sure that my name is registered there as the founder acarya and that I am to be the ultimate authority. In other words, in any case of necessity of vetoing or canceling any decision made by the other trustees, I should be able to do like that. My decision should overrule all the other trustees combined." (Kurusrestha, 12/28/74)
Note: Does this letter sound Eke Prabhupada had much faith in the combined purity of the GBC? The following incident clearly shows just how corrupt the GBC was/is. And those who weren't corrupt, how foolish they were/are. But today the GBC is still saying that their combined opinion is as good as Prabhupada's. Indeed, they go so far as to say, that even Srila Prabhupada was obliged to follow the GBC.
"YOUR MATERIAL LEGAL FORMULA WILL NOT HELP US ONLY OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE CAN HELP US I HAVE NO APPROVAL FOR ANY THESE PLANS STOP HANSADUTTA MUST RETURN GERMANY IMMEDIATELY DON'T LEAVE AGAIN STOP ATREYA RISHI HAS NO AUTHORITY FROM ME TO MANAGE ANYTHING REMOVE HIM ACKNOWLEDGE CABLE URGENT RENNY STREET PADDINGTON SYDNEY BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI." (Copy of telegram sent to Hansadutta, Rupanuga, and Karandhar, 4/6/72)
"Sriman Atreya Rishi dasa may be very expert, but without my say he has been given so much power and this has upset my brain. I also understand that immediate actions are going to take place even prior to my permission, and that, also, 'without divulging to the devotees(!)
"I do not follow exactly what is the motive of the so-called GBC meeting, therefore I have sent the telegram which you will find attached herewith, and I have received the replies as well.
"Under these circumstances, I authorize you to disregard for the time being any decision from the GBC men until my further instruction.
"You manage your affairs peacefully and independently, and try to improve the spiritual atmosphere of the centers more carefully. I shall be very glad to know the names of your assistants such as Secretary, Treasurer and Accountant.
"Finally, I beg to repeat that all GBC orders are suspended herewith by me until further notice." (Letter to all temple presidents, 4/8/72)
"...that is my hope. But I have been very much disturbed recently by the meeting which you all have had in New York, wherein you have passed so many resolutions and elected Atreya Rishi to GBC secretary, and made so many other changes. I am very much puzzled by the whole business. Therefore I have not approved of it and you may by now have received my letter why I have temporarily suspended the GBC. Let us not revive this old matter, but I want to know from you what is your opinion of the matter, and how is it that Hansadutta and Atreya Rishi were able to persuade you all senior leaders of the Society to follow their foolish activities? Kindly inform.
"From now on, the temples will operate independently and try to improve their spiritual life more carefully, so there is no more need for such financial arrangement of centralization, as you have proposed...
"So far your statement, "our final success will be when you actually sit tight and translate books and let us manage successfully," yes, that is my desire, but if you can do it or not, that has again disturbed me very much. Now I have given you everything, but I do not see that even the basic principles of advancement in spiritual life are always there, and sometimes there is tendency to neglect what is our real purpose of life, namely, to become mad after Krishna, and instead we become carried away by big, big talk. So I am still thinking how things will go on." (Satsvarupa, 4/10/72)
"And I am surprised that none of the GBC members detected the defects in the procedure. It was detected only when it came to me. What will happen when I am not here, shall everything by spoiled by GBC? So for the time being, let the GBC activities be suspended until I thoroughly revise the whole procedure. In the meantime, you do your duty as president of Hamburg Temple, and try to improve spiritually, Our spiritual way should strictly observe the following points especially: 1) Neatness and cleanliness of all personal bodies. (I still see those who are initiated as brahmins, they do not even wash their hands after eating even; of course, there may be so many defects due to your births in non-brahmin families, but how long it shall go on? It is very easy thing.) 2) Chanting 16 rounds daily. (I don't think everyone is following these principles.) 3) Temple worship, which should be performed rigidly between four and ten AM.)
"I find that the devotees are still sleeping up to six, seven o'clock. So in the GBC agenda I do not find any such programs for reforming our past bad habits. So kindly as President o Hamburg center you try to observe yourself all the regulative principles and see all the members are following." (Hansadutta, 4/11/72)
"I think it is best thing if the GBC members always travel on Sankirtan Party in their zone and go from one village to another and visit the temples to see how the students are learning and do my work. In this way, they will avoid the propensity to sit down and plot and scheme how to eat and sleep. So you can advise them all to travel extensively on Sankirtan all over their zone." (Karandhar, 5/4/72)
Note: We would like to summarize, very concisely, the most important points made in these revealing letters and telegrams. 1) Legal formulas cannot replace true Krsna conscious behavior and endeavor. You cannot make a man Krsna conscious by legal formulas. Obviously, the GBC was thinking that possible; 2) Prabhupada exposes the GBC's tendency not to divulge their insidious schemes to the general devotees. We do not claim to have exposed, in this document, all their treacheries. Seeing how many we have exposed, just imagine how many there actually were! 3) The GBC had a tendency to enact legislation, plans, and money manipulations prior to Prabhupada's sanction, but the constitution of the GBC incorporated the necessity for Prabhupada's approval in all such important decisions; 4) The argument is sometimes raised, and Srila Prabhupada is said to have said, that the GBC, as a combined unit of over 20 men, cannot make a wrong decision due to the group influence. But Srila Prabhupada asks how two men, one of whom was not even a GBC, could push their concoction past the other members. It is simply not a fact that numbers alone can prevent deviation and group treachery. One powerful enticement can pollute all the remaining members; 5) Srila Prabhupada says that the GBC has a tendency to neglect the fundamental principles of Krsna consciousness and get carried away by the so-called big picture even though the fundamental principles are not even being followed by the leaders. 6) Srila Prabhupada directly doubts whether there is any possibility that the management will carry on after his departure. We can see that his doubt was not only utterly justified, but was directly a wanting to us all. 7) Srila Prabhupada specifically states that the whole movement may become victimized and spoiled by the GBC. It has come to take place; 8) Srila Prabhupada specifically states that the GBC men, who call themselves Srila Prabhupada's "direct representatives," have a propensity to simply plot and scheme. In this section, we are exposing many of those plots and schemes. We ask you also to expose these to all those who are sincere enough to hear and benefit from these truths.
"...if he received the vote, why you have opposed? You must be impartial. My recommendation is that he must be the president. He has been chosen by the vote, and I am giving the casting vote for him. He is doing things very nicely there, so he must be the president, Prabha Vishnu should go on Sankirtan, and Madhavananda should be president. Everything must go on. The women are doing nicely so why are they being changed from the pujari to the Sankirtan? These things should be done by the President. These are internal things, and you should not interfere. I do not approve of your changing the women. It should be the choice of Madhavananda who should be the pujari.
"Why did you close Edinburgh without asking me? Paramahamsa reports that you have closed the Edinburgh temple. Edinburgh was doing nicely. You can't close a temple without asking me? Is it too much to do this? Our propaganda is opening temples, and you are closing them. We are not for closing but for increasing. I do not approve of this. If possible the Edinburgh temple must be re-opened again. (Ed. note: It was re-opened.)
"If you close the temple, what is the management? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu pushed the Sankirtan movement, but He never said to close the Jagannatha temple or the Govindaji temple. In Edinburgh we had a nice house, why you have closed it? Why you have whimsically done this? If possible the Edinburgh temple must be reopened. Don't do anything whimsically without consulting me.
"I made the GBC to give me relief, but if you do like this, then where is the relief.? It is anxiety for me. This is the difficulty, that as soon as one gets power, he becomes whimsical and spoils everything. What can I do? " (Hansadutta, 9/12/74)
Note: A very important point in this letter is that the GBC must not interfere with the internal dealings of a temple. That means they are not insiders but outsiders simply observing the activities of the temple. If they detect deviation, they may recommend replacement. That's all. Not that they have anything to do with a temple's preaching activities. The President is the leader of any temple, and the GBC has nothing to do with his plans or preaching desires, unless they go against Prabhupada's instructions. Most of the GBC don't know those instructions however, so basically every temple is on its own. If a temple president doesn't want any of these rubber-stamped "top" men to perch up on big seats in the temple, then he has the right to nip that imposition. This is now happening in ISKCON's first liberated temple, Berkeley. Hopefully many more win follow that shining example.
As stated in a previous chapter the cause of disturbance in ISKCON is ignorance. That is clear. But there is also another cause as mentioned in the following letters: personal ambition. If the current leaders are sincere, then we can easily remove this disturbance by bringing out knowledge through discussion and debate. But if ISKCON's disturbance is an intentional display of personal ambition, then it has to be removed by other means. You can only wake up a sleeping man, not a man pretending to be asleep.
Srila Prabhupada here confirms the famous quote that power corrupts, and so naturally, absolute power corrupts absolutely when the "schemers" are not in absolute knowledge.
"Our life is very short. The Krsna consciousness movement is not meant for fulfilling one's personal ambition, but it is a serious movement for the whole world." (Satsvarupa, 7/31/70)
"In my books I have tried to explain clearly this simultaneously one and different philosophy, 'acintya bheda bheda tattva', propounded by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But sometimes it happens that this philosophy is given a self-interested interpretation. As soon as personal motivation comes in it is not possible for one to understand our Krsna consciousness philosophy." (Ishan, 9/70)
"As alleged by you I have received complaints against Bali Mardan and his wife, so seriously so much so that the girl has declared that Bali Mardan is an incarnation of bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura on my name. In India some of the important members they have collected huge amounts in the name of the Society and spent it luxuriously. I wanted you all my experienced disciples should manage the whole institution very cleverly without any personal ambition like ordinary materialistic men. The Gaudiya Math institution has become smashed, at least stopped its program of preaching work on account of personal ambitions.
"So whatever is done is done. I shall request you all not to be personally ambitious. I shall do everything in my power to fulfill your personal ambition, but that will be done in due course of time when you are fully trained up and following the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds." (Karandhar, 10/8/74)
"We have worked very hard and established a great institution, but if we think for our personal benefit then it will become ruined. This is my only concern." (Chayavana, 11/1/74)
"Regarding Brahmananda, he is actually surrendered soul, but Maya is so strong that on account of association he has even fallen down. So these two things are always side-by-side: Maya and Krsna; Krsna is service and Maya is sense gratification, so every moment we are prone to be subjugated by either of them. Our duty is therefore to be very, very careful. The poison is personal ambition. So everyone has the chance, therefore one should not be complacent. Doubts may come about, but one should be firmly fixed up that there cannot be any doubt on the Spiritual Master or Krsna. (Satyabhama, 11/7/70)
Note: These letters indicated the razor's edge. Unfortunately, the leading secretaries have all fallen off the edge. They are now completely entangled, having been carried away by personal ambition. The facilities they took to exploit various situations have degraded them beyond hope. That is the penalty for falling under Maya's enticement in the form of the lure of personal ambition. We should not remain sentimental. Srila Prabhupada did more than just warn us; he stated clearly that these things were happening. It has not been rectified. On the contrary, it has become far, far worse. We should stop being ostriches. Srila Prabhupada now goes on to describe all these personally ambitious "disciples."
"I am hearing so many things about management. My request is that until I am able to return to the USA you all please work peacefully. At our next annual meeting at Mayapur all complaints and counter complaints will be heard in the presence of all GBC and I will also be present. In the meantime work peacefully without disturbing the situation.
"In Bengal there is a proverb that even if there are some dead metal utensils but when they are together they make so much noise, so what to speak of living utensils. So this is natural, but since we are all pledged to work for Krsna, we should follow the principle of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; trnad api... This is Vaisnavism. So my request is do not be agitated. Let us do our duty honestly. Krsna will give us the intelligence to do everything nicely.
"Europeans and Americans are very agitative, but since we have all taken pledge to the service of Krsna we have to change this habit for the peaceful service of Krsna." (Ramesvara, 9/15/74)
Note: "Noisy living utensils" do not qualify as gurus. Ramesvara is still so agitated that he now has all sorts of nervous disorders, including serious ulcers. His nickname has become Rage-esvara. It is also well known that Rage-esvara is very fond of going to movies, especially science fiction movies. He was recently seen standing in the line for the movie "Dune" and it is said he has seen "Star Wars" five times. Of course many devotees, having been forced out of their father's temples, go to movies nowadays for lack of any kind of an organized society to take shelter within. A man wishing to take the responsibility of guru, however, should not be interested in such mundane things. Prabhupada was lenient with the congregational devotees, especially householders, but the leaders he insisted be exemplary.
"The future hope of solid standing of our mission is on the proper management of our governing body. Now we are increasing in volume. The area of our activity is expanding. Under the circumstances, if our management goes on nicely to maintain our prestige and good name, that will be our success. Such status quo can be maintained only on our being freed from any kind of sense gratifying attitude, because pure devotional service means: 'anyabhilasita sunyam,' or without any other desire than to satisfy Krishna." (Bhagavandasa, 2/16/71)
Note: The GBC's duty is supposed to be to make sure the purest standards are being followed by everyone, especially themselves. That's all. The householders will naturally be on all different levels of austerity, as stated in the next letter, but the leaders have to be purely following. If the leaders themselves are agitated sannyasis with no real freedom from desires for household fife, then how can they lead a community of householders? Some of these sannyasi leaders, the homosexuals especially, haven't the faintest idea of what a healthy Krsna conscious community is. Therefore, they cannot possibly help the householders. On the contrary, they are very expert at creating disturbances amongst them. In normal circumstances, sannyasa is a graduation from householder life, not something to accept if you are too irresponsible to be a householder. This is all clearly explained in Chapter 9.
"So far Dayananda, I have no objection if the grihastas live outside and earn money, but I do not want them to leave. The strict temple procedure is only for those who live in the temple. Grihastas should live outside, and they cannot follow strictly everything, but why they should give up altogether their devotional procedures? So many big stalwart devotees are leaving, why is this? Advaita, Uddhava, Krsnadasa, and now our Dayananda and Nandarani. I have sent them each one letter, so if you find them, you may deliver them my letters. This is not at all good if our big devotees fall down so easily and go away. Try to save them." (Karandhar, 7/14/72)
Note: This is called expanding to wider and wider circles as Prabhupada wanted. It is not necessary that everyone who is interested in Krsna consciousness be expected to "follow strictly everything." ISKCON's current leaders are very casual about their own tendencies, but if the "common, insignificant devotees" break a regulative principle or two occasionally, then they are quick to castigate such devotees, even to the point of destroying their families. Such leaders who have this tendency to destroy families, and thus create varnasankara should be utterly rejected. In some circumstances, when the destruction is deliberate, execution is justified in sastra. (BG, 1.36)
"I have also received the enclosed pictures of the proposed house. I am thinking that you are a very sincere devotee. I am remembering that during my recent visit there in Australia how during the kirtan you were seeing to my personal and not letting anybody come forward and still leading the kirtan. When you begin the chanting, everybody becomes captivated, and you can go on without stopping. I feel happy that even after my departure, things will go on. I am happy that I have got so many sincere devotees who will carry on. That is my happiness." (Madhudvisa, 9/18/74)
Note: According to this letter, Madhudvisa should be appointed a guru. After all, Prabhupada is saying here that, after he leaves, Madhudvisa will carry on with the mission. The point is, devotees may receive very encouraging letters from Srila Prabhupada, but it does not insure that they will continue on the straight-and-narrow path. We do not question Madhudvisa's faith. He is a devotee. But one can lose staunch sincerity despite the best encouragement, and where it has happened the worst is with those who pose and impose themselves upon the innocent devotees.
"The Miami situation is a great discredit for us because we have made such a bad impression on the neighbors that they have had us )kicked out. This is because of nasty management. Rupanuga was the GBC, and now you are, why it cannot be made clean? Avirama has proved his poor management, so he must be replaced... One thing is though, if the management continues to be so nasty, then that place will also be ruined. Management must be done very nicely otherwise it is useless." (Satsvarupa, 6/4/75)
"Now by the grace of Krishna we have got sufficient properties all over the world, so there cannot be any diplomacy or conspiracy by any sane man. All these properties and opulences, whatever we have got, this will not go with me when I go away from this world. It will remain here. I am training some of my experienced disciples how to manage after my departure. So if instead of taking th etraining if in my life time you people say I am the Lord of all I survey, that is dangerous conspiracy." (Karandhar, 10/8/74)
Conclusion: From these letters it is clear that Prabhupada was not very pleased with the GBC. He just wanted to retire to his translating and not have to deal with them. But then "Tamala would fly 10,000 miles to lodge a complaint against Jayatirtha." So what could he do? He had given us plenty of books, lectures, and letters, and he knew that if just one sincere soul would actually read them, then everything would go on. So he decided to leave.
Sane men do not engage in diplomacy and conspiracy. The pull of opulences and properties is illusory. No one can keep the control forever. It was not that simply some small section of devotees was trained by Srila Prabhupada. The training was open to everyone and still is. In Srila Prabhupada's personal presence, those "top men" he hoped to train instead became enwrapped in personal ambition. They have been thinking, for some time now, that they are the Lord of all they survey. This GBC has become a Gang of Blasphemous Conspirators. It is a very dangerous conspiracy. The Krsna consciousness movement, as established by Srila Prabhupada, is vital for the upliftment of the entire world. Now it has become almost completely spoiled by the GBC and particularly the guru sub-section. Of course they required help and so there are many fools keeping the thing propped up. And many innocent people, because of their ignorance, are also allowing this conspiracy to stay in power. We can only pray to Lord Sri Krsna, and to the real guru parampara, that some sincere disciples of Srila Prabhupada will intently read these letters, as presented above, and, without prejudice, recognize the legitimacy of our explanations concerning them. Then the duty becomes obvious.
Comments, inquiries, or donations toward this book, of which this is a rough advance copy, may be sent to: Steve Bryant (Sulocana dasa), 2124 Kittredge #32, Berkeley, CA 94794. Thank you.
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CHAPTER FOUR
WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY?
LOGICAL AND SHASTRIC CONFRONTATION FIRST...
"A man is known by his actions and by his words. But sometimes it may appear that he is doing something, but he may be thinking something else. So a man is really known when he speaks, then everything is revealed. So if this Mayavadi sannyasi does not speak, then he can fool everyone. But if you force him to speak he will expose himself therefore he is silent. Even he remains silent, we shall speak very loudly and expose these bogus men. Let our philosophy be challenged by anyone and we shall defeat them." (Hiranyagarbha, 11/22/71)
Note: We have challenged these "gurus" to debate, but they decline. If they speak, they know they will expose themselves. So they are remaining silent. But we are speaking very loudly, and we will continue to speak very loudly until the entire world knows exactly how debauched these "guru" really are or until they resign, whichever comes first. Debate is the civilized method of settling such disputes since time immemorial. Failure to accept a challenge to debate is non-different from admitting defeat."Silence means acceptance." But in Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to get justice from anyone, what to speak of "gurus" who claim to be beyond morality. Actually these men are already defeated, but, just like the monkey caught grasping the banana in the coconut, they refuse to let go, even though they know it means they will have to pay dearly in the end. Prabhupada has also said, "The difference between a gentleman and a rascal is, a gentleman, when he is caught doing something wrong, he will immediately stop. But a rascal will continue."
"I am very glad that you are challenging all of these so-called swamis and gurus. My Guru Maharaja appreciated devotees who boldly presented our Vaishnava philosophy. We must take advantage of every opportunity to defeat these rascals and drive them away, so please continue this strong attitude." (Bahulasva, 11/30/71)
Note: There are a class of devotees today who are against "ISKCON" but are not in favor of any kind of confrontation. They say, "Let them dig their own graves." That would be fine except for one thing: They are burying Srila Prabhupada and his mission along with themselves. For those devotees who are adamant not to resist the deviation, we have no ill feeling. If they are taking the path of no criticism, then they should not be hypocritical. They should not criticize us for wishing to follow Srila Prabhupada's directions above by confronting the representatives of the bogus institution. Otherwise, if these so-caned peaceful devotees, who are outside the walls of ISKCON, criticize us, the saner section should realize that such moral cowards are lending indirect support to the current imposition going on within the walls.
"But one thing is, we have not got anything to gain by fighting the demons in the streets and courts.' No, our process of solving the matter is simple, why should we unnecessarily take botheration for fighting? Only after exhausting every possibility of peaceful solution shall weight anyone. Just like Krishna. He did not call for fighting until after every chance for settlement failed.
"So we shall try to overcome our opponents by, first our words and our behavior, and all means of friendly approach we shall attempt by sober planning, and only later, all else failing, shall we actually fight. That is our philosophy. And if we stick to these lines of politics and diplomacy as set out for us by Krishna, we shall expect always victory, without any doubt." (Balavanta, 12/13/72)
Note: Last October we made is known throughout ISKCON that we were not going to simply lay down and let Kirtanananda step all over us and destroy our family. Since then we have been constantly pressuring the GBC to do something about Kirtanananda. Finally Kirtanananda himself, getting worn down by our constant exposes' on his character, petitioned the GBC to settle the matter for him. Unfortunately for him, the GBC confirmed that Kirtanananda's behavior was grossly out of line for a supposed Vaishnava. Still Kirtanananda refuses to rectify his debauched behavior. After this book is completed, we will have exhausted every avenue toward a peaceful solution. Then, if necessary, we will fight. As stated above, we will have Krsna on our side.
"I am glad you are cooperating with Madhavananda. That I want. As long as we are sincere there is no question of split amongst us. The split only means someone is not sincere, otherwise there is no question of it." (Mukunda, 2/1/74)
Note: The system to find out who is sincere and who is insincere, in civilized society, is by proper Vaishnava debate. If one side refuses to even start making the arrangements for such a confrontation, then that is a clear indicator of who is insincere. Up to this point, the GBC has totally ignored the challenges of the numerous devotees who have been outraged by this guru imposition and their behavior. In many instances, as in Mother Jadurani's case, they have resorted to violence in order to snuff out any opposition. Therefore, the outcome of a proper debate is already known to many. Therefore, even more adamantly, they refuse to debate. And even more adamantly, we are prepared to fight them.
"Your questions are certainly not stupid. They are very intelligent questions and I am just pleased to discuss all these matters threadbare." (Pradyumna, 10/13/69)
Note: Is the GBC prepared to discuss the appointment matter threadbare? Hardly. So far they've refused to discuss it all. They've been employing the political tactic known as stonewalling. In simple terms, that means they are ignoring the issue, hoping it will go away.
Analyzing a subject matter threadbare does not mean unscrupulous editing. A prime example of unscrupulous editing is the Preface to Sridhar's book, Search for Krsna, compiled by Dheera Krsna (See Chapter Six, Part One). Another prime example is Satsvarupa's editing of Sridhar Maharaja's March of 1978 talks on the implementation of appointed gurus. Those talks, after Satsvarupa's editing job, formed the entire bogus guru manifesto as though Prabhupada's books had suddenly vanished from the face of the earth.
"Therefore the management should be done very cautiously so that everyone is satisfied in their autonomous managing capacity. Of course the central point is the order of the Spiritual Master and I am very glad that you are trying to give importance to this aspect of management. The difficulty is sometimes things are interpreted in a manner dovetailing one's own sense gratification. I have got this personal experience in my Guru Maharaja's institution. Different Godbrothers took the words of Guru Maharaja in different interpretations for sense gratification and the whole mission disrupted. This is still going on for the last 40 years without any proper settlement. I am always afraid of this crack, but I am sure if our aim is to serve Krishna sincerely and the Spiritual Master simultaneously, that will be our success." (Tamala, 10/18/69)
Note: ISKCON is exactly following in the footsteps of the Gaudiya Math. What makes that so abominable is that Prabhupada gave ample wan-ring of this in numerous letters and in the books as well. Therefore no sane person can blame Srila Prabhupada for not instructing us in how to avoid these pitfalls. Herein Srila Prabhupada says that the dovetailing principle can be rationalized and thus lead the wayward disciple down the path of sense gratification in the name of service to the mission. Srila Prabhupada specifically states that he is always afraid of this crack. But if there was an open format for debate, then these things could be quickly exposed and thereby avoided.
"I have never advised him (Kirtanananda) to act like that... I have already written to inform you that somehow or other he has become crazy; otherwise he would not have disobeyed me to go directly to NY. For the time being he has cut all link with me. Therefore any instruction given by him is unauthorized and should at once be rejected. He has no right to dictate as he has without my sanction... I am very sorry that he is exploiting his present position as a sannyasa in this way." (Brahmananda, 10/14/67)
Note: At present the GBC "has cut all link" to Srila Prabhupada on account of their dictating, supposedly on Prabhupada's behalf, without following Prabhupada's instructions. Prabhupada's instructions are clearly given in his books, letters, and tapes. We are prepared to present these truths in formal debate. But a proper debate is a serious matter. In Vedic culture it could take much more time to prepare for the debate as the debate itself. First all the terms have to be defined to the satisfaction of both parties. That in itself can become a separate debate. In the case today, it will take many months to prepare for a debate since Srila Prabhupada's complete instructions have hardly been touched. Only the books have any indexes at all. The Caitanya-caritamrta index is next to useless and must be done over again. The lectures, which in themselves will make up as many volumes as all the books, have not been touched as of yet. They are transcribed and on microfilm, but they have not been indexed. 7,000 personal letters also have not been indexed. Once all these teachings have been indexed, they have to be categorized. That means pulling out everything said on a particular subject and analyzed in context. Many statements, taken by themselves, appear contradictory to other statements. So to properly analyze any subject, all of the statements on that subject must be available and taken into consideration. This should have been the first and foremost project undertaken by the GBC immediately after Srila Prabhupada's departure. Instead they spent their entire tune plotting and scheming how to fool their Godbrothers into thinking they had been appointed pure devotees. Prabhupada's teachings were literally put on the back shelf the second these men became "gurus." They have remained there ever since as far as ISKCON's "guru" are concemed.
"Because we are all individuals sometimes there is disagreement between devotees. When non-devotees quarrel they cannot stop and end up killing each other. But the devotees disagreement does not last long because they patch it up for Krsna's sake, because they are all working for the same end-Krsna's service." (Bhumata, 3/10/73)
Note: We are ready to talk and have been for the last year. We do not claim to be great pure devotees, but we do claim to be devotees. At present there is a very big point of disagreement amongst us. We are doing our share of the work in trying to bring this disagreement to a conclusion, but there must be a two-way street. If the so-called direct representatives of Srila Prabhupada are actually devotees, then they should accept our challenge to formal debate on all the matters discussed in this book. If they are not devotee...
"You say that someday you hope to be useful, but you are already useful-you are sending checks. This is the best useful. You are remembering me and chanting Hare Krishna. This is Krsna consciousness.
"Regarding the other matters, a difference between Godbrothers is natural. That difference of opinion will continue, what can be done. Siddha Swarupananda Maharaja and his group, whenever they see me they give me money. So they are not against me. So it is a natural thing for the brothers to fight, as long as they all stay obedient to the father.
"Do whatever you like, but do not forget chanting and following the rules and regulations. That will save you. (Bhurijana, 9/11/75)
Note: Here it is clearly stated that disagreements between Godbrothers are natural and cannot be avoided. The disagreements spoken of here, however, are not of the same caliber as are the conflicts going on between the different warring factions in ISKCON today. Today's conflicts fall in the category of one party "not staying obedient to the father." Therefore they must be confronted and rectified. They cannot be brushed off as simple personality conflicts as above. The statement, "do whatever you like" does not mean that all of Srila Prabhupada's disciples should go away and let the deviants run rampant with Prabhupada's reputation and movement. The time is long overdue to settle up all these burning issues before real violence enters the arena of conflict.
"You mentioned that your pathway has become filled with stumbling blocks, but there are no stumbling blocks, I can kick out all those stumbling blocks immediately, provided you accept my guidance. With one stroke of my kick I can kick out all stumbling blocks... In the beginning there were no doubts, but by bad association you have now got doubts. (Krsnadasa, 9/9/72)
Note: "Prabhupada lives eternally in his books." If that is true, as any sane disciple knows, then what is keeping us from right now taking Prabhupada's guidance and kicking out the doubts? The lazy man's way to the truth is to think a trance medium can help us to get the essence without having to study. But we do not need a trance medium to tell us what is in Prabhupada's books. Amogha Lila's dreams may contain some truths, but then they may contain some falsities also. Who cares? We do not require to gamble on such important matters. We are interested in what Prabhupada says, and only what Prabhupada says. Many devotees claim that Amoga's dreams are self-contradictory, and not in logical accordance with Srila Prabhupada's teachings. Why would Prabhupada reveal, through one of his disciples, that there have been very serious deviations by the GBC, and, in the same breath, exhort his disciples to follow the GBC no matter what they say? This is not possible. Prabhupada's books condemn that way of thought. Therefore we don't need to gamble. Prabhupada gave ample instruction on all such serious matters. The solution to these stumbling blocks is clearly given in the letter above. Srila Prabhupada's guidance is still completely available to us. He was not speaking in parables or a foreign language. He spoke very directly and clearly. We don't need a trance medium to re-translate Prabhupada's instructions. We simply need some serious devotees to sit down to read and index Prabhupada's books, letters and lectures. That is real trance.
"So my oral instruction as well as my books are all at your service. Now you GBC consult them and get clear and strong idea, then there will be no disturbance. Disturbance is caused by ignorance; where there is no ignorance, there is no disturbance." (Hayagriva, 9/14/70)
Note: Here Prabhupada is telling us how to settle this guru-issue: study his oral and written words. When we do this, and when we simultaneously follow Srila Prabhupada's instructions, we remove ignorance. By doing that, the disturbances come to an end. There is no other way.
At tills year's Mayapur meeting, due to the pressure against them, the GBC has appointed a committee to study the guru-issue. The report is to be finished by next Mayapur. But it has long since been established that conspiracy and deviation was involved from the onset. There will be no solution to the disturbance by stalling for tune in hopes that some new philosophy will pop up and get them out of their predicament. The damage done to the movement and Godbrothers cannot be swept aside. It is ignorance to think it can. No one can have his cake and eat it too. No one can live like a king for seven years on the sweat and blood of their Godbrothers, and not have to pay for it. They must pay for it, because they did not deserve it. The Godbrothers have been cheated. Therefore Prabhupada says that such "gurus," who imitate the devotional sentiments and ecstasies, "go to the darkest region of hell and take their followers with them." A desperate man cannot get out of this quandary simply by word jugglery. The disturbance can only be removed by returning to square one. This whole thing has to be rectified right from the roots. Cosmetic adjustments cannot buy much more time. Someone may be on a high opulent seat now, but if he does not deserve that seat, he may be working an ordinary job for his subsistence in the not too distant future.
It's exactly like a lazy man who deals in illegal drugs. He gets involved in making huge volumes of easy money, and he enjoys like anything for some time. Eventually, however, he realizes that he is in way over his head. Then he must live in constant fear, while trying to find a way out of his dirty business. These "gurus" have been twisting Srila Prabhupada's clear instructions for some time now in order to justify their imposition. In fact they were soundly exposed as early as 1980 but they wiggled out of that one in a most heinous way. There will be no such clever escape this time. The entire scam is exposed in its entirety. So watch where the money goes temple leaders and collectors. These men do not want to go back to washing dishes and pumping gas for a living.
"Regarding Bali Mardan, he has not resigned and until he or some other member does so there shall not be any change in the members of the GBC. If there is such resignation the candidates will be Gaursundar, Mukunda and Gurudasa for replacement by vote of the remaining members of the GBC. But why have you taken information on this important matter from Gurudasa? You should not 'understand' from Gurudasa; you should understand from me." (Rupanuga, 11/13/70)
Note: Needless to say, in the important matter of who is going to instruct new devotees, Prabhupada would not have recommended "understanding" from Sridhar Maharaja, but he would have said the exact same thing: "Understand from me." In another letter Prabhupada makes very clear, "If it is not from me in writing, don't believe it. There are so many Prabhupada says." It is commonly known that Prabhupada did give instruction that we could go to Sridhar Maharaja for technical advice on etiquette, formalities, etc., but not on matters involving the future management of the entire mission. Sridhar Maharaja himself admitted his inability to comprehend such a vast organization. We are willing to prove these points in a debate in which all devotees of Srila Prabhupada will be allowed to attend.
"I am glad that you have admitted about the GBC members not very appropriately discharging their duty. I do not mind this discrepancy but you should be alert; you and all GBC members. We are now growing in volume all over the world dealing with public money. People have respect for our movement. Now it is time for GBC members to be very, very careful so that people may not point out any black spot in the behavior of our society. I have issued a letter to all the GBC members only for this purpose that each one of you should always think how to improve the cause and advance our society and as soon as there is some good point you can communicate with your colleagues and give some decision and put it before me so that I can give my final approval." (Tamala, 9/1/71)
Note: "It will be solved when I am present." "Put it before me so I can give my final approval." "Understand from me." This is the process for settling all discrepancies, but, unfortunately, these GBC men rejected Srila Prabhupada's books and went to Sridhar Maharaja instead. Even if they knew he would approve of their appointing "gurus," still they had to edit his words to fit their plan.
"You have mentioned about some criticism made by Jayagovinda which upset you. I do not know exactly what is the point, but if there is some honest criticism, there should be no cause of becoming upset." (7/28/69)
Note: Our criticism is honest. We do not claim to be perfect but we have formed a board of sincere and serious brahmins who have thoroughly scrutinized this entire book, point by point, before printing. We feel we have presented Prabhupada's teachings as they are. But if there is disagreement, then there is only one way to find out. A proper debate. Anyone can vilify, and many have previously done so, but it takes time and thought to study and analyze Prabhupada's teaching, the sound and honest basis for debate. But if they reject our honest criticism, then we have good cause for becoming upset-very upset.
"I thank you very much for your very nice presentation of the issue of birth. You have assimilated the process of birth very nicely through the books. This has pleased me very much and I wish that all my students can become adept at presenting the information in the books like this. You can make this a grand subject for agitation in that country and your preaching on this point alone will make you very famous. Therefore you should speak everywhere on this subject matter from the Bhagavatam and Gita and you will be glorified. As the disciple is glorified so also the spiritual master becomes glorified more. Use this issue to advance your propaganda and become a leader in the society." (Tusta Krsna, 9/18/76)
Note: From the above letter, it is clear that there is nothing wrong with becoming famous as a powerful preacher and devotee. The problem is that those who deviate from their guru try to be glorified independent. So instead of glorifying the Spiritual Master even more, they defame him. Prabhupada accomplished more than his Guru Maharaja, as far as spreading Krsna consciousness goes, but he gave all the credit to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and therefore Srila Bhaktisiddhanta became more glorified. Prabhupada never thought he was on his own. He was successful because he strictly followed the instructions of his own Guru Maharaja.
"The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless." (Adi 12, p. 6)
If we disobey the instructions of Srila Prabhupada, then we are no better than prostitutes. According to Chanakya Pandit, no one respects the pregnancy of a prostitute any more than one respects the impregnation of a man's mind with knowledge if it is not heard from one's bona fide guru. Prabhupada was not interested in personal glorification. He wants to see everyone become Krsna conscious. That is accomplished by powerful preachers. The world is there.
But in order to do this, the devotees already existing must not be scattered via deviations from the Absolute Truth. When they find that they are scattered, they must have the intelligence and courage to see why that has happened and rectify that situation. Therefore there is need for a debate on all these integral issues if we are to glorify Prabhupada even more.
"So far the impersonalist rascal, you may simply challenge him by asking, "What is your philosophy?" It is not very difficult to defeat these persons, because they haven't got any substance. Simply big words. But we have got our books, Bhagavad-gita; if you engage him in public debate, politely handle his statements with a cool head and reply from the authority of our books, that's all. Krishna will give you all help to expose his lack of knowledge and his faulty understanding." (Sri Galim, 12/17/71)
Conclusion: So now the devotees-and the GBC should cooperate with this-should arrange for an international conference. Everyone serious about Prabhupada's mission should be invited. ISKCON can immediately arrange for the plane fares for the devotees. They have a right to this. This debate can then go on until the self-evident truth is revealed. It may take months. In preparation, an of Srila Prabhupada's words must be indexed and categorized. DAS can do this in three months if ISKCON supplies the men and money. There is no real money problem in this. The amount spent for one insert in the LA Times to advertise the 1984 LA Rathayatra (over $100,000) could have financed the entire project. Mukunda Maharaja revealed that ad perhaps drew only 3% of the visitors; 97% were on the beach anyway.
This debate must take place immediately. Dreadful consequences are building up as the inevitable result of the GBC's original deviations. Those reactions are ready to fructify. There is stin some chance that the civilized form of confrontation can save the situation.
Comments, inquiries, or donations toward the upcoming book, or which this is a rough advance copy, may be sent to Steve Bryant (Sulocana dasa), 2124 Kittredge #32, Berkeley, CA, 94704. Thank you.
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CHAPTER FIVE
JUST TO CHASTISE THE EVIL-DOERS
...BUT IF THERE IS NO SOLUTION, WE MUST ACT.
"Regarding the outlaws, why police protection is not there? Does it mean that in the United States if somebody is threatened, he will have no state protection and must submit to the atrocities of the outlaws? Our point should be that we shall take all necessary steps for self-protection, depending the result on Krishna. We should not idly sit down simply depending on Krishna. Arjuna had to fight in the battlefield, but at the same time he heard Bhagavad-gita. Our motto shall be like that." (Brahmananda, 9/9/69)
Note: Regarding these bogus gurus, the GBC gave us no protection. Good government means good protection. Not only the GBC gave us no protection, they are responsible for allowing the various individuals to enact their personal ambition. So any disciple of Srila Prabhupada is herein authorized to take an necessary steps for his spiritual as well as material protection. We should not think that we can simply be idle and that Krsna will make all arrangements to uproot the poison. No. We must act. We have to fight this imposition depending the result on Krsna."
"The reports of your meeting are very encouraging, so try to purge out the contamination, which has entered our Society, uprootedly." (Bhagavan, 8/20/70)
Note: "Uprootedly" is the key word here. There is a statement in Krsna Book about King Dasaratha, who "uprooted his enemies just like a farmer uproots unwanted weeds in his field." This is the authorized mood.
"Unfortunately, attempt has been made lately in our society to shake this formula. This mischievous attempt has done a great harm, but if you the members of the GBC can rectify this mischievous attempt, then still there is hope of making our progress uninterruptedly.
"There are two verses in the Chanakya sloka how a family or an institution can be glorified or burned into ashes by one person. The Chanakya Pandit says that if there is one tree in the forest producing nice aromatic flower, that one tree can glorify the whole forest by the flavor of its flower. Similarly if there is one tree in whose cavity there is a little fire, that one tree can burn into ashes the whole forest. So this simile is applicable anywhere. In a family if there is one good boy, he can glorify the whole family and similarly if there is bad boy he can burn the whole family into ashes. Similarly in this institution if there is a bad disciple he can burn the whole institution into ashes. The GBC's duty is therefore to see that every member is following the rules and regulations and chanting sixteen rounds regularly on the beads. I hope the GBC in cooperation with the sannyasis in their touring program will be able to keep vigilance systematically in order to keep the society as pure as possible." (Bali-Mardan, 8/25/70)
Note: Prabhupada here is making the direct statement that if there is a very bad boy in this society, then we must find him and purge him out. Prabhupada wanted the GBC to do this. But if the police themselves become criminals, how is it possible? At any rate, it was not Srila Prabhupada's business to take on the duty of this purging. He gave that ksatriya duty to his disciples as their service. At this point however, the ksatriya inclined devotees from ISKCON have preferred to submerge themselves in wine and women. That is also within the realm of a ksatriya's propensity, but when he ignores his real duty, that of protecting the brahmins, women, cows, etc., then his indulgence in wine and women simply makes him a debauch. At the present moment there are not one or two but there are many bad boys in ISKCON. Therefore we humbly request those inclined toward ksatriya work to give up their debauchery and come forward to save Prabhupada's mission. Then they will be properly engaged and very happy.
"Such men should be taken and beaten very hard with shoes, but it will not be very much to our credit if we are accused of fighting in this way. But if that man is caught trespassing on our property, then he may be severely punished by us." (Govinda dasi, 2/12/72)
Note: In other words, Prabhupada was not an advocate of non-violence when a serious offense to the Pure devotee is concerned. In this case it was to Tulasi Devi. In the guru-issue today, it is to Prabhupada.
"...and I am quite surprised to read it. This does not sound like you. All along I have been discouraged in every way by my Godbrothers, but still I have stuck to my duty, keeping my Spiritual Master always in front. Because there is some fighting or bickering amongst us, that does not mean that I should go away. If I have understood the order of my Spiritual Master rightly, then I must perform my duty under any circumstances and never once think of going away under disgust..." (Gaursundar, 8/26/72)
Note: It has been said that the departure of the Spiritual Master will separate the strong from the week. Contrary to popular belief, those who stay within "ISKCON" under the present contamination are the cowards, for they are neither strong enough to go out in the world and make it on their own, nor are they strong enough to fight the corruption within ISKCON.
"If you are always remembering Him by your activities and seeing Krishna everywhere, even in the heart of the demonic persons, then anger will never overcome you, being purified of all false pride. But occasionally if there is good reason, you may have to become angry just to chastise the evil doers and blasphemers. We have seen that Lord Caitanya once nearly killed Jaghai and Madhai for their offenses to His devotee, so like that, if there is offensive behavior to the pure devotees you may become like Nrsinghadeva and punish them severely." (Niranjan, 8/29/72)
Note: Anger can be justified, and it can also be sense gratification. The wrong doers will call legitimate anger sense gratification. The sense gratifiers will call their uncontrolled displays defense of Prabhupada. So, ultimately, whether or not the anger is justified is determined by the sastra and the guru vani. That is what demonstrates the sincerity and the integrity of the anger-or lack of anger-of any disciple. By posing as uttama-adhikaris, they are deliberately disobeying Prabhupada's instructions. Their anger, as well as the anger of their followers, is actually a demoniac display. So it is our duty to make it clear that this cannot go on in the name of Srila Prabhupada. This entails that we become outraged by the bad development that has engulfed the movement. Not showing anger under these circumstances is not purity or tolerance, but cowardice.
"This is our protest to all of the interpreters of the Bhagavad-gita. If they do not believe in God, Krsna, and they don't want to surrender to Him, then let him preach atheism. Everyone has got the right to do this, but why through the Gita? This is like a man who wants to smoke ganja, but he does not want to be caught. So he takes a friend's hand and smokes it in his hand, and then when the authorities come, he says, 'Oh, I have not smoked ganja, see, my hands are clean!' The idea is that if one wants to preach the Gita, he must preach it as it is, otherwise, don't go through the Gita." (Giriraja, 6/6/76)
Note: This is our protest to all of the impersonators of Srila Prabhupada. Since they cannot follow the standard of purity as exemplified by Srila Prabhupada but instead concoct their own system, they should go off and start their own societies. Why do they have to drag Prabhupada into it and exploit his legacy? This is like a man who wants to smoke ganja. When the authorities come he says, "Oh, I have not impersonated Prabhupada. Look. Prabhupada appointed me, he smoked the ganja-" The idea is that if one wants to be a bona fide guru in ISKCON, he must be prepared to act like a bona fide guru according to Prabhupada's standard, not some bogus concoction.
"It is understood that Mr. Nair is dead. So it is good news that Nrishinghadeva has killed a demon like him. Prahlada Maharaja said that even a saintly person becomes pleased when a scorpion or a snake is killed. So if it is a fact that Nair is dead it is a matter of great pleasure for all the devotees." (Giriraja, 2/21/73)
Note: Unauthorized non-violence is not Krsna conscious. Krsna is not pleased by that. Nor is Krsna pleased when violence is enacted from the lower modes. Violence enacted through false ego, which victimizes other living entities for the unauthorized pleasure of the victimizer, never pleases Krsna. But in order to counter aggressors, authorized violence or resistance is praised by saintly men, because it re-establishes goodness. Therefore such violence is actually good. Prabhupada never balked at the thought of violence when it was needed and the result would be good. But so many of his disciples cannot enter into this spirit. So they indirectly give a license to the aggression ruining the purity of Srila Prabhupada's mission. It is high time that the devotees who have been able to spot the seserious discrepancies come forward. All else failing, it may have to come to violence some day. But death in the pure service of Srila Prabhupada's mission will guarantee one is highly elevated or even liberated. So what is there to fear.
"We are not advocates of non-violence. When there is aggression we must kill them. So I think you shall immediately arrange for guns and at least 10, 12 men should be trained up so when there is again attack you can properly reply the aggressor." (Kirtanananda, 6/22/73)
Note: The message in this letter is the repulsion of aggression. Ironically, the man it was written to has hirnself become a cruel aggressor.
"I am sure Visvambhar Goswami is educated, and advanced in judgment and I am pleased he is not disturbed. But Dr. Kapoor can expose Purushottam Goswami about his deal with the late Puri Goswami of the Gaudiya Math. If the mystery of his acquiring 50,000 rupees of books from Puri is exposed then his so-called leadership will come to an end. He knows better than I and you can ask him about Purushottam Goswami's acquiring books from Puri-which is a mystery not yet disclosed, but every Gaudiya mission man knows the incident." (Gurudasa, 4/24/74)
Note: Here it is very clear that Visvambhar Maharaja is taking the passive stance by advising not to expose Purushottam Goswami and thereby make waves. But Srila Prabhupada is not so sentimental. He is saying that is should be done anyway. Of course, he is saying it in very gentlemanly way so as to not offend Visvambhara's sentiments, which are not bad. But they are not as realized as Prabhupada's judgment on the matter, either. In other words, Prabhupada is saying that just because Visvambhar is not disturbed, that does not mean we also have to be undisturbed about this cheating. This is a very, very important letter. It reveals the practical mood of a real preacher.
Similarly there are many "mysteries" surrounding these new "gurus" which we are not at all afraid to expose, just as Prabhupada was not afraid to expose Purushottam, Bon, Tirtha, or Sridhar, etc.
To give one very graphic example, several devotees have testified that Kirtanananda told his women to "do the needful" in regards to Jadurani's getting her head kicked in and covered in blood in the 1980 incident (full story in Chapter Ten). Does anyone think Prabhupada would have like that action? Ironically, in 196768, when Kirtanananda was venomously attacking Prabhupada and actually deserved a beating, Prabhupada told the devotees, specifically Jadurani, "Do not have him beaten but defeat him with philosophy." When these two women who beat Jadurani first went to Kirtanananda to receive permission, he also could have told them to defeat her with philosophy. However, since neither these women nor Kirtanananda could actually defeat her, he had her beaten instead. He never apologized for this. In fact, afterwards,when asked about it, he said he was pleased by it. This is an example of very sinful violence and not violence used to curtail aggression.
"Even they have changed her face, still it was not possible to hide the fact that she is old, like great grandmother. Because you are a devotee you could not tolerate the nonsense. You are a very good boy." (Gopal-Krsna, 11/28/74)
Note: Again, a real devotee cannot tolerate nonsense going on in the name of religion. A sentimental devotee, pretending to be on the uttama-adhikari platforrn, will say: "Peace brother, live and let live. Let God handle it. It's all one. Become perfect yourself before casting the stone. Let them dig their own graves. Don't make waves. Let's just get high,etc." This is all sentimental weakness. Where is Gopal Krsna now that the face of ISKCON has so dramatically changed. He is one of the "gurus" doing the chiseling, that's where he is.
"It is very good that the New York temple life is now much improved. What is very pleasing to me is that they have confronted the nonsense. They are sound devotees, otherwise they would have been carried away by this wrong propaganda." (Satsvarupa, 11/28/74)
Note: This is such an important letter. It appears that almost all of ISKCON is carried away by the wrong propaganda, but so few are willing to "confront the nonsense." How can it be that everyone is so carried away? It is one thing to be a householder with job, wife, and children etc. and not come forward to fight against this conspiracy, but what about all the sannyasis who are supposed to be the powerful, celibate men preaching our philosophy? Are they all so eager to be appointed "gurus" in a future Mayapur meeting? Or do they all fit into the category described below?
"Asvatthama was condemned by the Lord Himself, and he was treated by Arjuna just like a culprit, not like the son of a brahmana or teacher. But when he was brought before Srimati Draupadi, she, although begrieved for the murder of her sons, and although the murderer was present before her, could not withdraw the due respect generally offered to a brahmana or to the son of a brahmana. This is due to her mild nature as a woman... Asvatthama proved himself to be an unworthy son of Dronacharya or a brahmana, and for this reason he was condemned by the greatest authority, Lord Sri Krsna, and yet a mild woman could not withdraw her natural courtesy for a brahmana.
"The specific words used in this sloka are vama-svabhava, "mild and gentle by nature." A good man or woman accepts anything very easily, but a man of average intelligence does not do so. But, anyway, we should not give up our reason and discriminatory power just to be gentle. One must have good discriminatory power to judge a thing on its merit. We should not follow the mild nature of a woman and thereby accept that which is not genuine. Asvatthama may be respected by a good-natured woman, but that does not mean that he is as good as a genuine brahmana." (SB, 1.7.42)
Note: It is almost inconceivable how so many men have been ripped-off, exploited, discouraged, had their families destroyed, found out their "guru" is gay, or on drugs, or having sex with his disciples, ad nauseum, and still remain unable to recognize Asvatthama for what he is. And, astoundingly, it only requires "average intelligence" in order to see this imposition for what it is! Time to break the spell.
"There is a Sanskrit proverb; sati shatvam samacharit, and this means that if somebody's cunning, we must also become cunning. To a cunning person we must not be a simpleton. Krishna conscious devotees are expected to be very intelligent, so we have to work very intelligently to prove our advancement in Krsna consciousness." (Hamsadutta, 6/8/69)
Note: The simple-minded and honest devotees have had a hard tune comprehending how these supposedly advanced men became so enwrapped in plotting and scheming to exploit Srila Prabhupada's legacy and disciples. Now we must follow Prabhupada's instructions and be cunning ourselves if we are to survive, save, and push on Prabhupada's mission. We must try and always remember that they, the "GBC," are thinking that the Krsna consciousness movement should be "run Machiavellian." For the information of our respected readers, Machiavelli was an Italian political thinker during the time of the Renaissance. He wrote one (in)famous book called The Prince. This book contains political methodologies comparable to Chanakya's artha sastra, only exactly the opposite. It employs evil techniques for evil ends. The subtitle of this book goes, "The Man Whose Name Has Become Synonymous with Evil." Tamala Krsna used to distribute this book amongst "the leading secretaries" and insisted they study it. Bhagavan especially was keen on it. Interestingly, ISKCON Italy has purchased Machiavelli's castle in Florence for their center. We would not be at all surprised to find out Bhagavan is the reincarnation of Machiavelli.
"Regarding the matter with Purusottama dasa. You immediately go and take back whatever books of ours that he has in his possession. You may inform him that we do not require his editing, neither should he correspond with our men in Los Angeles. He is a very heinous man. He wants to become more important. Who sent him books from Los Angeles without asking me? Who has given him the books he now has? You take them back immediately. If this man comes to see me in Vrindavana, I do not wish to see him." (11/7/75)
Note: "He wants to become more important." Earlier on Prabhupada said "Has the GBC now become better than Guru Maharaja?" As such, these same words, "a heinous man," can be applied to anyone who claims they are beyond the injunctions in Prabhupada's books, as ISKCON's "gurus" claim.
"We find from the history of Mahabharata that the battle of Kurukshetra was because of the belligerent attitude of Duryodhana. So such war as it was conducted under the advice of Lord Krishna is not bad, but war declared and executed by demonic politicians is certainly very bad. A Krsna conscious person like Arjuna is not inclined to the activities of warfare, but when there is a necessity for peace in the world to educate men to become Krsna conscious, a Krsna conscious person does not lag behind." (Bibhavati, 6/12/69)
Note: Naturally, most of the devotees in ISKCON are not inclined, for one reason or another, to the activities of warfare. But if we want to call ourselves disciples of Srila Prabhupada, we must not "lag behind." We must fight for what is right, or we should "decide to die rather than not execute Prabhupada's mission properly." (SB, 4.28.48)
"According to Vedic injunctions, there are six kinds of aggressors: (1) A poison giver, (2) One who sets fire to the house, (3) One who attacks with deadly weapons, (4) One who plunders riches, (5) One who occupies another's land, and (6) One who kidnaps a wife. Such aggressors are at once to be killed, and no sin is incurred by killing such aggressors. Such killing of aggressors is quite befitting for any ordinary man, but Arjuna was not an ordinary person. He was saintly by character, and therefore he wanted to deal with them in saintliness. This kind of saintliness, however, is not for a ksatriya. Although a responsible man in the administration of a state is required to be saintly, he should not be cowardly. (BG, 1.36)
Note: Many devotees within "ISKCON" have been attacked with deadly weapons. Indeed, Chakraddhari was murdered at New Vmdavana by Daruka and Tirtha with the help and inspiration of the Temple treasurer, Dulal Chandra. This incident is well-known to all at New Vmdavana, so much so that Kuladri was having to make frequent announcements to the devotees during Prasadam: "If the police come and ask any questions regarding Chakraddhari, you don't know anything." We personally heard this said. And, of course, many devotees have had their wives stolen from them by ISKCON's sexyasis. This also merits the death penalty. There are literally thousands of examples of these aggressions that it is not possible to do justice in relation to any of them in this document. Eventually, however, they will all be heard and the guilty parties punished, either by us, or by Yamaraja.
"When Krishna was born, from the day of his birth, the demons wanted to kill him in so many ways but practically it was found that demons were killed by Krishna and He established His mission, yada yada hi dharmasya... So if we work sincerely, the Krishna consciousness movement is non-different from Krishna. As Krishna killed all the demons, we should also be able to kill all demons if we remain faithful in the discharge of our mission." (Yashomatinandan, 9/27/76)
Note: Many men will say that it is impossible that there can be anything wrong with ISKCON because it is non-different from Prabhupada, but here we see that it is only non-different from Prabhupada "if'we are working sincerely.
"When my Guru Maharaja was present even big, big scholars where afraid to talk with His beginning students. My Guru Maharaja was called "living encyclopedia." He could talk with anyone on any subject. He was so learned. So we should be like that as far as possible. No compromise-Rama Krishna, Avatars, yogis, everyone was enemy to Guru Maharaja-he never compromised. Some Godbrothers complained that this preaching was chopping technique and it would not be successful. But we have seen that those who criticized, they fell down, For my part I have taken up the policy of my Guru Maharaja-no compromise. All these so-called scholars, scientists, philosophers who do not accept Krsna are nothing more than rascals, fools, lowest of mankind, etc. So you go on with your work it is very encouraging to me. Thank you." (Karandar, 7/27/73)
Conclusion: It is evident here that Prabhupada is very proud of his Guru Maharaja and similarly we should be proud of Prabhupada. Prabhupada tolerated innumerable offenses by his ambitious secretaries just to be able to give us the pure knowledge needed to fulfill the mission of Lord Caitanya. Now we should show our gratitude by carefully studying, discussing and then following those instructions so that we can properly execute his mission."No compromise." We have to follow Srila Prabhupada's directions and only then will he be pleased. Then he will ask Krsna to benedict us with real understanding so that we may also be able to shout one day, "No compromise!" We must fight to preserve the purity of our guru's mission. Nothing else is important. That is his message in all of these letters.
Nowhere in Vedic literature do we find the concept of non-violence in the face of demoniac aggression. The Bhagavad-gita was spoken just prior to the wholesale slaughter of millions of soldiers. That slaughter took place because the aggressors refused to surrender to the good advice of Krsna. Similarly the Godbrothers have been giving good advise to the "gurus" now for seven years, but they have refused to accept it. So the time has come for violence. We are not eager for violence. They leave us no choice. The violence being enacted upon Prabhupada and his mission is far worse than anything that could happen to us in the course of a physical confrontation. Therefore, if the demoniac imposition refuses to surrender to Prabhupada and Krsna's instructions, then we will fight to the death.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
A VERY HUMAN STORY
THE LILAMRTA-PLANTING THE WEED
Devotees often react to our statement that Lilamrta's portrayal of Srila Prabhupada's life is bogus and offensive with the following rationalizations:
"If all the struggles and difficulties which Srila Prabhupada went through were actually not struggles at all, but Krsna's lila, then won't that discourage devotees from struggling to serve Krsna? In other words, if devotees see that only a mahabhagavata can do something wonderful, since Krsna only works directly through him, then what is the use of my struggling? I am not a pure devotee."
"If Prabhupada set the example of struggling in Krsna's service in order to encourage us to struggle for Krsna, then what is the point of minimizing his example? He wanted us to see him struggle for Krsna. Otherwise, why would he do it? If we say that Prabhupada never really struggled, then don't we negate his personal example? Isn't that offensive and impersonal?"
"If you say that Srila Prabhupada only pretended to be struggling, so that we would follow his example and struggle for Krsna, then isn't that the same as saying Prabhupada was simply playing a role to trick his disciples into working hard. Doesn't that negate his great achievement and make him out to be a duplicitous person, another offense?"
These are admittedly powerful and logical sounding arguments, but they do not have shastric backing. Obviously, had Srila Prabhupada mystically manifested everything he needed for preaching, without ever appearing to struggle or be in want of anything, then what would have been the reaction in his disciples' minds? They would have thought: "Why should I go out and work hard when my guru can manifest a beautiful temple or a mountain of gold instantly just like Kardama Muni manifested a city in the sky?" The disciples would not want to work for Krsna but instead would want to enjoy Krsna's opulence. Such disciples, seeing this opulence, would only become envious of Prabhupada and crave those mystic powers themselves. Srila Prabhupada instead wanted to give us the desire for the humble service of the Lord. Although to some, this may appear less valuable, it is a far greater opportunity. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada only rarely manifested his mystic potency. He did not want to attract cheap followers. At the same time, he gave stern warnings that the disciple is never to think that the spiritual master is under the laws of material nature. Hence an apparent contradiction.
The pure devotee has the powers and opulences of mystic yogis given to him by Krishna directly, but he does not want our unpure minds to become enamored by it. At the same time it is a serious offense to think the pure devotee is not in complete control, but instead is under the control of the material energy. So how to reconcile this?
According to sastra (scripture), one should not view the spiritual master from the bodily platform. That would include viewing his history from the eyes of a book like "Lilamrta" which accentuates Prabhupada's bodily relationships and tends to bring him down to the level of the conditioned devotee, struggling to do his service to God. In this connection, Chanakya Pandit warns us:
"One should not get too close to the fire, a woman, the King, or the spiritual master. Neither should one remain too far away, for then one cannot get the benefits to be derived. One should deal with these four in the middle way."
This is an excellent example. Everyone can understand the example of fire, a woman, and the King. Fire is the most obvious. Similarly, women are known to be able to lead a man astray and be quite ruthless at times. Kings are known to have a man's head severed at the drop of a dime. But here the Pandit includes the guru in this example. Why? Prabhupada gives the answer in numerous places: The guru is directly connected to Krsna and thus an offense to the guru is extremely dangerous, much more dangerous than offense to the other three combined. They can only harm one's body and mind. Offense to the Guru, however, can completely check one's spiritual progress for many lifetimes. There is no way to calculate the severity of gurvaparada in terms of lifetimes, or hellfire, etc. The damage of becoming too familiar with the guru is compared to a mad elephant entering a china shop or a nicely trimmed garden. They are both utterly destroyed. Therefore, one is advised never to become familiar with the guru. One is only meant to become very well versed in, and familiar with his instructions, not his apparent bodily and mental "needs." But in "Lilamrta," Satsvarupa has described Srila Prabhupada's thoughts and emotions as though he were in a direct link to Prabhupada's head. This is extremely dangerous and offensive. Perhaps this explains why Satsvarupa is now suffering such severe headaches that he has become practically incapacitated. No devotee in his right mind should read even one page of "Lilamrta," and those copies that have already been distributed should be recovered and burned.
So, in dealing with Srila Prabhupada's life in the middle way, some of the main occurrences in his life, such as the childhood Rathayatra festival, his early enthusiasm to worship the Radha-Krsna Deities, his first meeting with his Spiritual Master, his enthusiasm to preach and publish Back to Godhead, etc., could be described. Srila Prabhupada set that example for us. He never went into a detailed description of his own Guru Maharaja's bodily history. Bhaktivinode Thakura had eight children. Should we go into his history with his family? Of course not. So why should Satsvarupa and the GBC think that they can set a new standard? Were Satsvarupa actually a liberated soul, he would have seen Srila Prabhupada's true platform. He would not have been interested in the history of Prabhupada's so-called physical and emotional "needs." Such a history is clearly viewing the pure devotee from the material viewpoint. Aside from provoking the ocean of material emotions within the hearts of women, sudras, the less-intelligent, etc., (the audience the book was geared toward), it can accomplish nothing but the destruction of our transcendental awe and reverence and faith in Srila Prabhupada.
One may argue that such mundane sentiment, since it is directed toward Srila Prabhupada, is actually transcendental and will elevate us to a higher level of devotion and even award liberation. At first this may sound logical, but it is not the conclusion of sastra. Sastra unequivocally states that the pure devotee should never be seen from the mundane or bodily-mental-intellectual point of view. Satsvarupa has projected him in this way, although the author tries to deny he is doing it in some places. If Prabhupada is seen in that way, it is compared to a mad elephant entering the garden. One's spiritual life is finished. He immediately falls down to spend his lifetime in useless speculation.
Many devotees agree with the above conclusion, but they argue that Satsvarupa has made this error unintentionally. But this is not the fact. The GBC, particularly Satsvarupa and Adi Keshava, deliberately decided that the best way to preach via an autobiography of Srila Prabhupada was to project him to the masses as a great man. This was supposedly done for the purpose of preaching, since the masses could never accept Srila Prabhupada as being the sum total of all the demigods. This kind of reasoning is external and is an insufficient excuse for committing such an offense to Srila Prabhupada. A more insidious motive is clearly evident. If Srila Prabhupada is viewed as having been chock full of human weaknesses, then, when these bogus gurus of ISKCON display their weaknesses, such as agitation, fear, sex-desire, ignorance, mistakes, illusion, etc., they will have their excuses in the apparent example of Srila Prabhupada as put forth by "Lilamrta," and the less-intelligent will be unable to distinguish between the two.
The following are some scriptural quotes which substantiate our conclusion. There are many more references; we are only quoting a few:
"When one actually engages in unalloyed, uncontaminated devotional service, he is already liberated. Krsna's devotee is not subject to material condition, even though his bodily features may appear materially conditioned. One should therefore not see the pure devotee from a material point of view. If we consider the bodily defects of a Vaishnava we should understand that we are committing an offense at the lotus feet of a Vaishnava. An offense at the lotus feet of a Vaishnava is very serious. Indeed, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has described this offense as hati-mata, the mad-elephant offense. A mad elephant can create a disaster, especially when it enters a nicely trimmed garden... One is forbidden to observe the activities of a pure Vaishnava from a material point of view. For a neophyte especially, considering a pure devotee from a material point of view is very injurious. One should therefore avoid observing the pure devotee externally but should try to see the internal features and understand how he is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. In this way one can avoid seeing the pure devotee from a material point of view, and thus one can gradually become a purified devotee himself." (NOI, p. 60-63)
"'Acaryam mam vijaniyat.' One should consider the acarya to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In spite of all these instructions, if one considers the spiritual master an ordinary human being, one is doomed. His study of the Vedas and his austerities and penances are all useless, like the bathing of an elephant. An elephant bathes in a lake quite thoroughly, but as soon as it comes on the shore, it takes some dust from the ground and straws it over its body. Thus there is no meaning to the elephant's bath. One may argue by saying that since the spiritual master's relatives and the men of his neighborhood consider him an ordinary human being, what is the fault on the part of the disciple who considers the spiritual master an ordinary human being? This will be answered in the next verse, but the injunction is that the spiritual master should never be considered an ordinary man..." (next verse) "Similarly, if the family members of the spiritual master, who is the bonafide representative of the Supreme Lord, consider the spiritual master an ordinary human being, this does not mean that he becomes an ordinary human being. The spiritual master is as good as the Supreme Lord, and therefore one who is very serious about spiritual advancement must regard the spiritual master in this way. Even a slight deviation from this understanding can create disaster in the disciple's Vedic studies and austerities." (SB, 7.15.26)
"When one serves a Vaishnava unknowingly, one still gets a good result, and if one unknowingly insults a Vaishnava one suffers the bad result. A Vaishnava is especially favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pleasing him or displeasing him directly affects the pleasure and displeasure of the Supreme Lord...by pleasing the spiritual master, who is a pure Vaishnava, one pleases the Personality of Godhead, but if one displeases the spiritual master, one does not know where he is going." (SB, 4.9.23)
"It is therefore said, vaisnavera kriya mudra vijna na bhujhaya. A highly advanced Vaishnava lives in such a way that no one can understand what he is or what he was. Nor should attempts be made to understand the past of a Vaishnava." (SB, 7.13.14)
"When a devotee sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his meditation or when he sees the Lord personally, face to face, he becomes aware o everything within this universe. Indeed, nothing is unknown to him. Everything within this material world is fully manifested to a devotee who has seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (SB, 1.2.21)
Note: No one will deny that Satsvarupa appears to be glorifying Srila Prabhupada in the Lilamrta. The problem is that, along with the glorification, he has also defamed Prabhupada. In one breath Srila Prabhupada is described being completely transcendental and beyond ordinary emotions, etc., but in the next sentence he is described as being dependent on a Mayavadi, or confused, insecure, etc. This makes the whole thing contradictory, bewildering, and offensive. It takes on the characteristics of milk touched by the lips of a serpent. One naturally will start to think that a pure devotee can have mundane emotions. Before long, everyone deluded by that mentality becomes a sahajiya, a cheap imitator. They then think, "I can exhibit lust, greed, attachment, and everything else and still be an uttama-adhikari because I am pure inside." This mentality has already blatantly reared its ugly face in ISKCON, and our treatise is exposing numerous examples of this inauspicious trend.
WARNING
THE FOLLOWING SPECULATIONS ON THE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF SRILA PRABHUPADA, AS QUOTED FROM "LILAMRTA," ARE NOT FACTS. THEY REPRESENT THE WAY IN WHICH THE AUTHORS OF THAT BOOK WOULD LIKE THE READERS TO THINK ABOUT THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A PURE DEVOTEE. SATSVARUPA CANNOT READ ANYONE'S MIND, ESPECIALLY SRILA PRABHUPADA'S. WHILE READING THESE QUOTES, PLEASE REMEMBER, AT ALL TIMES, THAT THEY ARE A PART OF AN OVERALL CONSPIRACY TO MAKE THEMSELVES, THE SELF-APPOINTED "GURUS," OUT TO LOOK LIKE REAL SAINTS.
"LILAMRTA" SAYS THAT SRILA PRABHUPADA STRUGGLED AND LEARNED
"He was unafraid of the city's pandemonium. After all he was an experienced Calcutta man." 2, p.206 (This is not the reason Prabhupada was unafraid.)
"He had gotten first-hand experience of American life, and he gained confidence that his health was strong and his message communicable. He had learned that casual one-time lectures here and there were of limited value..." 2, p.20 (Prabhupada did not brave to learn the hard way.)
"Only seven people attended...they had misled Swamiji." 2, p.239 (Pure devotee misled?)
"His struggle to continue his mission was part of his preparation." 2, xviii Just the title of Vol. One, "A Lifetime in Preparation," subtly implies that Srila Prabhupada was not a pure devotee from birth.)
BUT SASTRA SAYS:
"People following the principles of devotional service can never be put into difficulty." (SB, 2.8.18)
"Those who are devotees therefore have no problems in the material world... For a devotee, everything in this world is very pleasing because he knows how to use everything in the transcendental loving service of the Lord." (SB, 4.8.82)
Note: Here Prabhupada says that although the devotees may appear to struggle and learn by their mistakes, in actuality, they are always freed from such mistakes and illusions.
"LILAMRTA" SAYS PRABHUPADA WAS ATTACHED TO HIS FAMILY
"...but the request (to take sannyasa) seemed so difficult and unlikely... He went on with his duties but remained shaken by the dream." (l, p.118)
"'...Why is Guru Maharaja asking me to take sannyasa?' he thought. It was not possible now." (1, p.140)
"He felt himself operating somewhat like the materialists he had criticized in his writings, absorbed in the struggle for existence with insufficient time for self-realization." (1, p.120)
"Srila Prabhupada's obligation to his wife and children..." (1, p.xviii)
"But Abhay didn't have his heart in it. It was a duty-he had to do it to maintain his family."
BUT SASTRA SAYS:
"He is never shaken, despite the most grievous sufferings." (BG, 6)
"Attachment for household paraphernalia and for Lord Krsna go poorly together." (SB, 2.4.2)
"Devotees are certainly liberated persons. Therefore, 0 greatest of the brahmanas, they cannot possibly be absorbed in family affairs." (SB, 5.1.2)
"A self-realized man is no longer obliged to perform any prescribed duty, save and except activities in Krsna consciousness." (BG, 3.18)
"Nonetheless, they performed all prescribed activities just to set examples for the people in general." (BG, 3.20)
Note: This last statement is the reason that Srila Prabhupada remained in household life: To set the example for us. But Satsvarupa does not make that clear in his "biography." He tries to interpret Srila Prabhupada's activities in a mundane way, making him seem "human" and thereby leading all the readers to hell. Satsvarupa is directly indicating above that Srila Prabhupada had not yet advanced to the point of being transcendental to family attachment. Try and see how offensive this is.
"LILAMRTA" SAYS PRABHUPADA WAS HELPLESS & PITIABLE
"A mendicant, Prabhupada was temporarily dependent on the good will of his Mayavadi acquaintance, with whom he regularly conversed and from whom he accepted shelter."
"Now his last hope was Sri Padanpat Singhania... He was Prabhupada's final hope."
"He decided to phone Carl Yeargens and ask him to help. Hearing Swami's voice on the phone-it was an emergency!" (2, p.61)
"Robert Nelson couldn't give Prabhupada the kind of assistance he needed."
"As the Gaudiya Math broke down, he was also affected. Under the present circumstances how could he carry out his spiritual master's order to preach. Previously the main obstacle to his preaching had been family commitinents, but now the obstacles were compounded. Now he had to wait helplessly for the outcome of this struggle." (2, p.97)
"A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja...now had to face starkly that he had not one friend of stature in the US. Suddenly, he was as homeless as any derelict on the street. In fact many of them...were more secure he. They were ruined but settled." (2, p.96)
"Where was he going? He didn't know. He had come onto the street without knowing where he would go...it was no place to stand wondering where you will live or is there a friend you can turn to." (2, p.95)
"This is what it meant to be working without government sponsorship...without a patron. It meant being vulnerable and insecure." (2, p.96)
"Paramahamsa Maharaja: 'When Abhay arrived, he appeared very poor, starving. He had no means.' Abhay told him how his business had failed and how he had willingly left his family and was now destitute." (1, p.164)
"Kumar Jain: 'I felt pity also because of the conditions under which he would come.'" (1, p.185)
BUT SASTRA SAYS:
"Krsna, by His grace, will supply whatever we need in executing our devotional service...even if we do not ask for them." (SB, 8.6.14)
"When a devotee needs something, the Supreme Personality of Godhead supplies it." (SB, 7.10,54)
"A Krsna conscious person does not take shelter of any person, man or demigod." (BG, 3.18)
"A Vaishnava guru is never dependent on the contributions of his disciples." (Adi, 7.91)
"Hiranyakasipu did not know that Prahlada Maharaja was the most fortunate person within the three worlds because Prahlada was protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Such are the misunderstandings of demons. They do not know that a devotee is protected by the Lord in all circumstances." (SB, 7.8.12)
"A person in full Krsna consciousness is not unduly anxious to execute the duties of his existence. The foolish cannot understand this great freedom from all anxiety. For one who acts in Krsna consciousness, Lord Krsna becomes the most intimate friend. He always looks after His friend's comfort, and He gives Himself to His friend, who is so devoutly engaged working twenty-four hours a day to please the Lord."
"LILAMRTA" SAYS PRABHUPADA WAS FORCED TO ACT
"Forced by conditions he accepted as Krsna's mercy, Prabhupada sat patiently..."
"But in the ten months since Calcutta, he had been moved by force of circumstances, or as he understood it, 'by Krsna's will,' from one place to another."
BUT SASTRA SAYS:
"The first sign of a Mahatma is that he is already situated in the divine nature. He is not under the control of the material nature." (BG, 9.13)
Note: This is an example of contaminations in "Lilamrta" which are more subtle and difficult to perceive. At first glance, these statements appear innocent enough. C)n close analysis, however, it says that Prabhupada was being forced to act by material nature, but that he "took it" as Krsna's mercy. Again, any neophyte can think in this way. Just as Krsna descends by His sweet will, so also the pure devotees act by their sweet will which is always the same as Krsna's will. They are never under the control of material nature. They are not even in contact with matter. They do as they please, the same as Krsna does. A correct wording for the above-mentioned concept would be: "He had moved, by his desire to serve Krsna, from one place to another." Then it is clear that Srila Prabhupada is not being forced by material nature. These kinds of subtle contaminations in "Lilamrta" are too numerous to detail to the full extent in this book.
"LILAMRTA" SAYS PRABHUPADA SUFFERED "EMOTIONAL TURMOILS"
"He sat on the couch while I swept with the vacuum cleaner, and he was so interested in that..."
"...came upon a verse in which Lord Krsna said something that startled him... Abhay shuddered as he read the verse. It seemed to speak directly to him. 'But what does it mean? Does it mean,' he thought,' that Krsna will take away all my money? Was that what was actually happening? Was that why his business plans were failing?... (1, p.88)
"His spiritual emotions were so turbulent that he wasn't thinking of going to Jhansi. He wanted to take a train to... Anywhere." (1, p. 163)
"Abhaya spent his time in Jhargaram chanting the Holy Name and becoming settled in detachment from his family."
"...yet without his spiritual master's physical presence, he felt small and very much alone. At times like tills, he questioned the wisdom of having left his family and business." (1, p.222) (In one letter Prabhupada said about his Guru Maharaja: "I have never for a moment left his association because I am following his instructions.")
"But to Abhay, Calcutta and the British were not alarming, and he even held a certain fondness for his Scottish teachers. Although he looked up to them with a mixture of awe, distance, and some tension, he admired their moral uprightness and their gentlemanly, courteous behavior with the boys."
"Although Prabhupada's home had suddenly become an insane terror, the street at its door was also a hellish, dangerous place. He was shaken." (2, p.95)
"America seemed so opulent, yet many things were difficult to tolerate. The sirens and bells from fire engines and police cars seemed like they would crack his heart." (2, p.37)
"He had taken quite a shock and now he was leaving the arena of David's madness." (2, p.95)
"Abhay was baffled; so much work had been undone. He felt he had worked so many months for nothing." (1, p.135)
"But his first attempts to arrange a meeting were unsuccessful. Frustrated at being put off by Mrs. Morarji's officers, he sat down..." (1, p.276)
"He had little idea of what to do as he walked off the ship onto the pier. 'I did not know whether to turn left or right.'" (2, p.8)
"When Abhay left Bharati Bhavan, with its six-foot-high lettering 'League of Devotees' painted across the outside wall, he felt sad."
"But he found the Swami just the opposite-very straightforward and even cutting in his speech and his mouth turned down at the comers, making him look mournful." (2, p.232)
"Prabhupada looked grave, almost sorrowful." (2, p.89)
"But it was embarrassing for him when he could not pay..." (1, p.186)
"...and Abhay and the others felt ashamed."
"Bhaktivedanta Swami's neighbors observed him coming home dead tired in the evening." (1, p.283)
"The next morning Prabhupada didn't get up. He was exhausted... For the first time, it became apparent that he was overexerting himself." (2, p.259)
"He stayed until around 11:00 and then he became drowsy. The party was over." (2, p.269)
"After some time, the drive became tiring for Prabhupada, and he dozed, his head resting forward." (2, p.172)
"One day, while delivering Back to Godhead to various addresses in the city, Abhay suddenly began reeling, half-unconscious, overcome by the heat." (1, p.194)
BUT SASTRA SAYS:
"Sometimes a representative of the Lord engaged in preaching work meets various so-called difficulties...although apparently very severe, the devotees of the Lord feel transcendental pleasure because the Lord is satisfied." (SB, 2.8.6)
"A pure devotee of the Lord does not live on any planet of the material sky, nor does he feel any contact with the material elements. His so-called material body does not exist, being surcharged with the spiritual current of the Lord's identical interest, and thus he is permanently freed from all contamination of the sum total of the mahat-tattva." (SB, 1.13.55)
"People following the principles of devotional service can never be put into difficulty." (SB, 2.8.18)
"Those who are devotees therefore have no problems in the material world... For a devotee, everything in this world is very pleasing because he knows how to use everything in the transcendental loving service of the Lord." (SB, 4.8.82)
"In the liberated stage, oneness with the Supreme Lord means that one has no realization other than happiness. (SB, 3.28.37)
Note: Since this book is primarily for experienced devotees, we are not going to refer to the many hundreds of thousands of quotes that clearly show that pure devotees do not ever manifest the above emotions and turmoils. They may appear to, hey may even say something to that effect, but the fact is that pure devotees are not in touch with matter. If they appear to exhibit such frailties, it is only to win the hearts of the fallen souls around them. After all, few would come forward to offer service to a superman. Such truths should not have to be spoken so openly, but it is necessary to make them clear in order to get his poisonous book, the "Lilamrta," recovered and burned.
CONCLUSION
The author, and those who worked with him on the "Lilamrta," have committed a horrendous offense to Srila Prabhupada. If they had tried this same "interpreting the mind" trick with some famous materialist who had died, they would be liable to get hit with a devastating slander lawsuit from the materialists' heirs. So just consider the gravity of what has happened-and is still happening-to Srila Prabhupada's reputation from the distribution of this slanderous book, the "Lilamrta." The descriptions in this book of the "problems" Srila Prabhupada seemingly underwent are not at all becoming to him, even though they draw out false empathy or even sympathy from the less-intelligent. The Mahabhagavata's disciples are never expected to take such quotes and apparent situations and put together a book which tugs on the heartstrings of all of its readers, while at the same time tugging and ripping out the devotional creeper.
Srila Prabhupada descended to this place and displayed the opulence of Krsna even amidst the most disturbed, atheistic, and inimical conditions. This world, with very little exception, consists mostly of impious men, religious fanatics, pseudo-seekers, demons, and so many frustrated persons who can have absolutely no faith in anyone. We all came to Srila Prabhupada, by his causeless mercy, from a category comparable to these. Just as Krsna and Lord Caitanya, when They descend, appear to fools as ordinary human beings, similarly, to the gross materialists, Srila Prabhupada certainly appeared to be a rather helpless mendicant with a cane, etc. Yet we, his disciples, are meant to know that he actually had the power to deliver the Ganges and all holy places from sinful reaction (SB,9.9.6). He had the power to surpass all the perfections of the yogis and make the whole universe tremble (SB, 4.8.78). Does this so-called "Lilamrta" invoke these realizations about our spiritual master? Or does it instead allow you to view him from two points of view, to empathize, and at times, even sympathize with him as he struggles to eke out his livelihood.
"Lilamrta" does not just make passing references to Prabhupada's apparent struggles, fully explaining how these things, in actuality, were the Lord's plan to glorify His devotee? No. Instead it highlights his so-called "inabilities," '-emotional and mental turmoils...... failures and setbacks," with the obvious purpose of weaving a web of heart-rending, tear-jerking sentimentality that can, and does, lead the readers into seeing Srila Prabhupada as an ordinary struggling man, just like the new "gurus," as being as good as, or better than, Srila Prabhupada. The "Lilamrta" is one of the reasons why this abominable mentality is even possible. Imitation thrones also assists the delusion. Equal worship is another strategy. "Lilamrta" is a contamination at nines so subtle, and so poisonous, that it works on the subconscious without a careless devotee even being aware. This book, and the books of Sridhar Maharaja will both produce results on the same level. Both have the same poisonous effect on one's soul. "Lilamrta" teaches that an uttama-adhikari can be an ordinary, struggling man, and Sridhar's books subtly teach impersonalism (Chapter Six). As many of these books as possible should be recovered and destroyed. If not, the authors will be subject to sever punishment, both in this lifetime, and for many future lifetimes to come. And the innocent victims reading these books may have their material existence extended as well.
Comments, inquiries, and donations toward this book may be sent to Steve Bryant (Sulocana dasa) 2124 Kittredge #32, Berkeley, CA, 94704. Thank you.
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these are some of the chapters not in order here
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INTERVIEW WITH JANAMEJAYA DASA, BERKELEY TEMPLE
JULY 26TH, 1985
Sulocana dasa (SD): So this devotee, Varsha dasa, is an old friend of yours.
Jj: Yes.
SD: He also took initiation from Hamsadutta.
Jj: Yes.
SD: Was he already married at the time he took initiation?
Jj: No. What happened was, his wife was really into Hamsadutta, she was like a Hamsadutta groupie. She was always running over to his house, practically drove him nuts, so he got her married off to Varsha with the hopes that she'd quit bugging him. Anyway, after Hamsadutta fell down she finally lost her faith in him. Then the New Vrindaban mothers came here, and she got into their trip and so they ended up both going out there. Now they have a kid.
Sd: She got pregnant here in Berkeley.
Jj: Yeah.
SD: Is she also a Hamsadutta disciple?
Jj: No. She's a disciple of Srila Prabhupada.
SD: So why did they go to New Vrindaban?
Jj: Because Hamsadutta moved out there for awhile. She's a Hamsadutta groupie so she had to follow him everywhere, but after awhile, her faith got transferred to "Bhaktipada".
SD: So after Hamsadutta fell down her mind went to Kirtanananda. Were they sankirtana devotees here in Berkeley?
Jj: She was. He was on and off.
SD: So after Hamsadutta left New Vrindaban, they just decided to stay there?
Jj: Yeah, they gave her a position. Any Hamsadutta disciple that ever went out there, they gave a position.
SD: What position did they give her?
Jj: Like head of the girl's gurukula or assistant, something like that.
SD: Why didn't they just send her out on the pick?
Jj: She has a baby to take care of.
SD: What was his wife's name?
Jj: Her name is Sudharma. Anyway when Varaha was out here he was telling me how great everything was at New Vmdavana. He was chanting the glories of New Vrindaban. I just thought: "God, I've got to set this poor guy straight. This guy's really brainwashed." He was passing fliers around, putting them on the bulletin board, trying to get people to go out there.
SD: This was after you'd read my expose on Kirtanananda Swami?
Jj: Yeah. So I said, "Hey, let's go on sankirtana." I got him out there and started talking to him. It's an hour's drive, and he started telling me about the glories of New Vrindaban, how they're pushing vamasramadharma out there, how successful it is, this and that, and I said, "Bullshit. They're stealing wives, they're controlling all the men out there through their wives. They're getting these women to worship 'Bhaktipada' and that's how they control the men. Either you do what Bhaktipada says or they'll marry your wife off to somebody." So then he started thinking. He goes, "Yeah, you're right" he says."Actually, I got this feeling there are a couple of Prabhupada men out there always talking to my wife. I got this feeling that if I didn't go along with their program, you know, go on sankirtana, and act surrendered to Bhaktipada, even though I'm not into him..." that's what he said, "that they would try to get her married off to somebody else. He'd just finished telling me how great everything was, but then when I got him to think-like he'd never even thought-l got him to really think about it, and he said, "Yeah, you're really right." He started telling me an incident of how he and Chakravarti were going to go to India and their wives were going to come a couple of weeks later, so, while they were out here, they got a phone call from their wives. He told me specifically what Chakravarti's wife said. He said she told him he had better come back right away, that "Bhaktipada's been talking to me, and he wants me to marry somebody else."
SD: He said Kirtanananda personally told her to leave her husband and remarry.
Jj: Yeah.
SD: Varaha's wife also?
Jj: No, but he just knew that he had better get back here too. She didn't say anything, but he just picked up on it. You know, if somebody is going to work out there, digging ditches, whatever, they've got to get him married off. So, if your wife's there, and you're not there, and they know you're not really going to be an asset to the community, well, they're going to marry your wife off. It's all like peer pressure. They got all these women hopping around going "Jaya Bhaktipada" and your wife, along with all these women, are very much influenced by peer pressure. More than men are. To a great extent, they just get into it. It's all peer pressure. Peer pressure is extremely heavy. My wife was influenced by it. I just know how it is. That's why I'm not into "Bhaktipada" coming here, bringing his mothers' parties, cause that means I'll have to deal with that. Even though my wife understands philosophically that it's off the wall, I just don't want to have to worry about her getting into it.
SD: That's a good realization you have.
Jj: Another thing he told me was how once he wanted to take his wife shopping with him. He knew somebody would get upset about it but he did it anyway. On the way out in the parking lot, one of the little gurukula girls begged to go with them. His wife was in charge of them, so they took her along, and when they came back, there was like the President, and some of the big men there waiting for him in the parking lot. They gave him real heavy sauce and wouldn't let him see his wife for a week or two.
SD: They wouldn't let him see his own wife?
Jj: Yeah, and he said anytime now, if he goes to associate with his wife, they always have some mother tagging along watching.
SD: Why?
Jj: To report to Bhaktipada.
SD: You were saying earlier that they also won't let you see your kids.
Jj: Yeah, he said, "If you miss mangala-artik more than two or three times in one week, then you can't see your kids that week." In other words, their training the kids up even to reject the parents. They even use that on them. So now Varaha says, "I don't have a wife. Of course, I have one, but I feel like I have no control over her whatsoever." They tell the children that the parents are off the wall. Not to listen to them. So he feels like, "I don't have a kid-l don't have a wife" but he says, "I'm attached to them, so I stay."
SD: But he knows that as soon as he leaves there-or stops doing sankirtana-they'll immediately get his wife in bed with one of Kirtanananda's men?
Jj: Yeah, right. If he gets out of hand. Like that. He actually discussed it with her. She said, "No, don't worry about it, I'm not into it." But he told me, "She's a woman and susceptible." I went through a similar thing in Vancouver. My wife and I had some problems and so we separated for a while. She went up there. She didn't even know what was going on, but I found out from some other devotees there, one guy I knew, like they had it all planned out. They'd get her re-initiated, they already had some guy picked out for her, and she didn't even know anything about it. So when I talked to her, she goes: "Yeah, they're real nice to me up there," and this and that. She didn't know they had all these little plans for her. So when I went to go get her, I went in like a new bhakta so I could trick them. So once I found out where she was, I talked to her and she agreed to come, but you know, we had to split in the middle of the night. She was real innocent. She went to the temple president and told him I wanted her to go and they just like flipped out and got real nasty, then they revealed themselves. She said, "And I'd thought they were so nice." Another incident he told me was this one Bhaktipada disciple, was fixed up with this one girl who didn't want to marry the guy. She was into someone else, and then one night they tried to escape together, but got caught. They (Kirtanananda's men) beat the crap out of the guy and threw his motorcycle over a cliff. They finally managed to elope anyway. (This incident involves Murti dasa's daughter and will be told in a later publication.) It goes on everywhere. In the days when jiva was here, I heard stories. Almost all the mothers on his party were married to somebody, but then they went out on Jiva's party and, you know....
SD: Did he have sex with most of the women?
Jj: He had twenty-five women, but I don't know how many of them he had sex with. I heard that he was so burdened in that area that they even had some brahmacaris go over there to keep the women satisfied.
SD: How many marriages did he wind up destroying? Do you know?
Jj: No. They're scattered all over by now.
SD: Was there anything else Varaha told you?
Jj: Well he's out there and he knows he has to stay there or they will remarry his wife, even though he doesn't really like "Bhaktipada". He says, "I'm married, but I'm not really married." He says, "They got a program that if you want to have sex with your wife you have to get permission, and they put you in this guest house for one night so you can have a kid."
SD: They do that to everyone or just the new people that don't know any better? Jj: I guess it depends on who you are and what they want to do with your wife. SD: What else do you know about Jiva's party?
Jj: Kushala told my wife that if some of the women went out and didn't meet their quota, they'd slap her around a little. But if you got your score, then you got the privilege to sack out with the sankirtana leader. One devotee told me that he went over there one night to fix some electrical problem and heard some women arguing, "I collected more than you, I should sleep with him tonight." Back and forth. Like that. I once asked jiva-this was after he'd taken sannyasa and fell down-he was like a sankirtana leader in Portland with his wife, Champak. I was up there too. And I asked him, "How did you control all these women for all those years?" And he said, "Well, they're just really stupid, you know, they're extremely stupid. And I always wanted to be a pimp, and when I became a devotee, Krsna fulfilled my desire. I always had a strong desire to be a pimp. That's all I ever wanted to be. So Krsna just fulfilled this desire." (This man jiva, was trained up in this philosophy by Dharmatma, Kirtanananda's right hand man.)
SD: I heard he wasn't even good looking?
Jj: No. You look at him, he's like a little caveman. He's got these tattoos all over him. He used to have a big naked lady on his back, but when he became a devotee, he had a Nrsinihadeva made over it, to cover up this naked lady. He was a boxer in San Quentin prison-tough as nails. He would just love to go out on sankirtana and get in some fight with someone and beat the crap out of him. They used to worship Jiva. Even after Hamsadutta gave him sannyasa.
SD: Hamsadutta gave him sannyasa?!
Jj: Well, he had to. He knew that if he just came and broke the whole thing up, Jiva would just bloop and the women would follow him somewhere else. He needed them to collect, like that. So he said, "what I'll do is just give him sannyasa." So even when he was sannyasa, he had all these women standing around. It was like he had 25 wives. Every tune he went into the temple they all paid their obeisances. Before he took "sannyasa" he even had a vyasasana at the sankirtana house. He was like their guru. It was a whole thing.
SD: The guy was a mobster and sex-freak, and all of a sudden he's a guru in ISKCON with his own little harem. How long did this go on?
Jj: A couple of years. You should find some of those mothers who were on his party. They can tell you some stories. I know there's two of them down in LA. I heard rumors that if the women didn't get their quotas they should go out and pull a few tricks.
SD: Yeah. That's not surprising. Kusala told me Jiva would encourage them to steal anything they could get their hands on.
Jj: When Hamsadutta got here, you know he wanted to stop this women's party, and Caru, who was the temple president at that time said: "You can't do that. These women are collecting a million dollars a year, and distributing all these books." Srila Hamsadutta said, "Well then, if it's all right, then whey don't you send your wife out with Jiva and let her get screwed a few times and see how you like it?" Then Caru shut up.
COMMENT
It should not be thought that the leaders in ISKCON were/are not aware of these kinds of activities. They are all fully aware of what's going on, but the greed for profit, adoration, and distinction far overshadows their desire to encourage moral behavior amongst the general devotees as well as themselves.
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