© 1998 VNN
| EDITORIAL 11/04/1998 - 2454 ISKCON Must Repudiate "New Age" Editorial (VNN) - By Ananda das / Nikhilananda das Public letter to the Iskcon GBC by Nikhilananda das "Do we need the eggs?" Please accept my humble obeisances. Some of you may have wondered why, in a number of recent debates, I and a few others have given so much importance to what is known as " new age " and its detrimental effect on ISKCON. In short, in my work of trying to help in a number of ISKCON crises (ritviks, fall-downs, abuses, sahajiya-ism, guru issues, etc. ) I had to get deeply into investigating and analyzing the conflicts, through very detailed, time-consuming research and the processing of tonnes of available data and information. At the bottom of virtually every problem I personally discovered the acceptance of new age as the original root -- through philosophical deviation, which again took away some of the all-auspicious effects of the process of bhakti and caused problems after problems. The spiritual process is all-auspicious, practical and beneficial in every way. Deficiencies and crises are caused by mixing the process with strong impurities. The spiritual process is of course so healthy that it could compensate for our deficiencies and unwanted attachments, so we can follow a natural step by step process. But even the tolerant side of the process of Bhakti will only work if our foundation is bona-fide and no substantial impurities or fundamental deviation is accepted. Only then are we "rightly situated" as Bhagavad-gita says (9.30 ) and in spite of abominable deficiencies (duracarah) one is not actually deviating (ananya bhak) in the process of Bhakti (bhajate), because of determination (vyavasitah). One must therefore be rightly situated, no matter on what level bhakti is practiced. To be "rightly situated" the fundamental issue is this: what we accept as the guideline and authority in our lives as devotees. This is an extremely important point; it is the basis of everything else -- the basis of our success or complete failure, individually and as a movement. Unfortunately, in discussing the problems, we often get lost in details, externals, structures and impulsive likes and dislikes. Chiselling at external structures (although needed) is only like spreading of make-up over the disease. To find the root of problems, the question why the healthy spiritual process produces a seemingly contradictory, overwhelming amount of complex problems for us, ever since the departure of HDG Srila Prabhupada, it may be reasonable to suggest casting a close look at our foundation -- in other words what, and whom, we as Krishna devotees accept as authority and guideline. Srila Prabhupada represents the pure teachings of the Sri Madhvacarya Gaudiya sampradaya and taught us to base our live on vijnana or scientific spiritual understanding. Vijnana also means that it is practical and that it is auspicious. Now in examining the question of what is genuine vijnana we have to study what are our scources for vijnana. Srila Prabhupada mentioned : Shastra (as received through Vaisnava parampara), sadhu (the devotee following shastra and Vaisnava parampara) and guru (the teacher following the Vaisnava parampara). Thus there is a set of three genuine standard scources of of advice from where we accept guide lines and knowledge. Let us mark at this place that of all three ( ! ) accepted sources of guidance NOT ONE of them is OUTSIDE of the Vaisnava parampara. Srila Madhvacarya accepted two ultimate sources of evidence (pramana): 1.) Shastra (as received through parampara) 2.) Perceivable reality (In other words, common sense and that which has been tested and researched solidly through direct examination) Srila Prabhupada relied very much on these two sources, shastra (received through Vaisnava parampara) and healthy common sense. The unfortunate development is that over the years now many ISKCON devotees and even members of the GBC accepted an additional factor, outside of the above mentioned genuine sources, in many aspects of their daily talks, debates, thoughts and decisions. This additional factor does not fall under the bona-fide category. It is a pollution, a confusion, a disease, a deviation. This additional factor has been, in short terms, new age -- the accepting or taking seriously of so called authorities from the new age scene. In other words, our decisions and thinking became infiltrated with the thinking of lunatics, cheaters, rascals and haunted individuals like Edgar Cayce, Madame Blavatsky, Indian tantrics, UFO "experts", shamans, pendulum swingers, doomsday prophets -- the whole arsenal of the mental asylum of the material world. The greedy loonies from the new age esoteric scene are actually criminal and have no authority from any point of view -- neither are they advanced Vaishnavas in parampara, nor are they bona-fide mystic yogis as they existed in other ages -- nor do they represent healthy common sense. Research shows that they all lie, cheat and trick, practically everyone. In the best case, they are just in illusion. Srila Prabhupada declared in reference to false authorities and pseudo-gurus : "You can cheat all people for some time. And you can cheat some people for all time. - But you cannot cheat all people or all time. " ( quoted three times, London 23rd of Sept 1969, Teheran 14th of March 1965 and LA 15th of May 1973 ) In other words, people are honoured by ISKCON devotes as more or less important scources of advice, who are often lunatics and criminals and not fixed in bona-fide vijnana -- simply because "someone said" that they have divine powers and supernatural knowledge -- simply because they tell the most fantastic and bizarre predictions (mixed with something that was somewhere in some scripture, or maybe not). How then can we be surprised to be facing severe problems? The results are disaster, confusion and the influence of tamasic stocks of ideas and visions. Visions provide the entire direction in a person's life. Tamas produces misery and pain. Everyone wonders when ISKCON's problems will be over and why the pain and problems are there. Now what astonishes me most in all of this is that, although the destructive effects of the new age contamination are visible in three-dimensional reality in so many extremely dramatic events and tragedies that it is hard to beat it further, there is not THE LEAST indication by the ISKCON GBC to actually accept the consequence and go straight to the root -- by eradicating the new age disaster through vigorous preaching to the devotees, through public warnings and through programs of re-education (as would be their duty). In consideration of the many years in which the deviant influence of the new age scene was quietly tolerated, so that devotees lost their ability to distinguish between that which is genuine and that which is blind acceptance, hype and superstition and the many years through which the Vaisnava standard has been watered down to the point of imminent dissolution of Srila Prabhupada's movement it would only seem practical to cast away all hesitation, false diplomacy and fear and introduce a massive re-education program for the ISKCON devotees at large -- similar to the successful de-nazification program conducted by the Americans after the fall of the third Reich in Europe. The fact of individuals amassing huge powers in and around ISKCON and directly offending, intimidating and threatening Vaisnavas is only a symptom of the new age syndrome which was allowed to grow in ISKCON for so many years. If we want to save the ship from sinking we better move the stirring wheel NOW. Instead : 1.) The GBC still refuses to even publish a standard warning against messing around with new age loonies, doomsday prophets and quacks. We have no idea why. Insanity and health damage through esoterics and tantrics are a documentable reality. 2.) Senior devotees, who admit in debates that we should be sober and not become too esoteric, nevertheless quote and support new age "authorities" in the same breath during discussions, as if the problem never existed and no Vaisnava standard is there. "You know, I don't really believe it all, but there are so many doomsday predictions, perhaps we should adjust our plans." And so on. This is like in the well-known joke : A man came to the doctor saying, "My brother went mad; he thinks that he is a chicken." "Why don't you place him in a sanatorium?" "Well, I need the eggs." The new age madness is spreading; people talk all kind of nonsense, why should it be repeated? Authorities are accepted without discrimination and in the end all standards, trust in genuine authority, actual appreciation of Prabhupada's books is lost. Already hardly anyone likes to hear from Srimad Bhagavatam, Understanding what is a guru, and respect for guru and Vaisnava is lost. So-called "gurus" were able to tell their disciples the most deviant things and they went along with it. After all it is all the same. Now we hear from Vaisnava, tomorrow from Aura Magica, some of her predictions must be true, after all so many praise her. Its not all that bad, some of it MAY be true. After all, a trillion flies cannot be wrong, so go and eat stool -- or new age. 3.) Even some of the GBC members have written books on UFO motherhips, and some GBC members are running to the fools for advice who pass as new age authorities on mental health and the future of the world. Exorcists and Ufologists are respected as experts. Five cent "healing stones" are sold to devotees at $20 apiece. 4.) The GBC, it seems (we may always be wrong), has not realized that it loses all authority when giving credit (authority) to new age prophets. Then there is no more Vaisnava standard -- simply anarchy and opening the door to the wildest experiments and theories. Then there is constant struggle for power and groups can, under the pretense of varnasrama or whatever, create their own deviant cults and obtain followers. After all, "somone said it". We have just seen a disciple of Harikesa in Berlin who, after practicing a pure brahmin's and preacher's life for 12 years, has now, inspired by the example of his ex-guru, started to take LSD and claim that he is having divine lilas with his master. For the last two months he has been stuck on a psilocybin trip, telling everyone that he is Lord Brahma and that ISKCON devotes are demons. His wife weeps and is a broken person; it gives pain to my heart to see this. And he is not the only one losing his mind. Others will take some more time; they start by publishing new age messages of the coming varnashrama age where everyone can do any nonsense and be a devotee. They publish songs of "simply follow the flow from your heart chakra" and give up all rules. The new age in ISKCON is flourishing. So, you are responsible. We never heard of a definite and straightforward position on new age from the GBC. So, how, without vyavasitah, without determination, by the GBC, can the devotee be ananya bhak or rightly situated, without deviation? 5.) In spite of the seriousness of the new age disaster for ISKCON which could, under the worst conditions, lead to another Jonestown and, with Harikesa happily moving on in his desire to expand his following "to save the world" as he considers himself to be the "God of war", and with devotees flirting with all kinds of self- made new age theories and with one mataji in Russia having died at the hand of a false healer, and with Harikesa having been drugged by a cheating tantric from India, two members of the Executive Comittee of the GBC, on their last visit to Germany, made statements in the public isthaghosti like, "Well, a warning against the new age would not help much ... There are, after all, so many aspects and angles of vision." (quotes available on tape). Then where is their leadership ? 6.) Remarkably, when devotees express sincere concern about the new age influence in ISKCON or make fun of a new age celebrity, a considerable number of devotees get extremely disturbed and agitated by that. Experience shows that to doubt the cheaters and esoterics in public ISKCON would be sacrilege. That is how far we got. Srila Prabhupada called the so-called gurus and prophets in the West cheaters and rascals, with refreshingly straightforward integrity, the one honest and fearless moon among so many tiny stars. Nowadays ISKCON devotees call anyone who does not share their enthusiasm for the new age cult "a negative and merciless offender." In this way, the influence of those who stand up for Prabhupada is daily diminished and the new age "authorities" become stronger. In this way devotees are stamped as demons and demons are respected as saints. Heads are tails, and tail becomes head and ISKCON is eaten up by the bogus cult movements. 7.) Why is it so hard to tolerate criticism of the new age prophets; why do devotees get attached to them ? Because they manipulate and play on the deepest emotions of people. They address their subconscious fears and yearnings and they offer fast and magical solutions. They supply opium for our constantly supressed and hurt egos in this material world, by supplying thousands of fantastic dreams of success, changes, wealth and power. They promise paradise on earth, in this material world. They promise world leadership and grandeur. The old and ever effective formula of the cheaters and demagogues who ask for nothing but our money, our lives and our tiny, little souls ... The mind is manipulated through the two essential functions of our thinking ability : Fear and desire. Hitler was an expert in playing on these two instruments. But it was not just Hitler we can blame. He was insane. We can also not say, it is all the fault of Kirtanananda, Hansadutta, Visnupada, and you name them. No. It is we who are to blame because we provide the nourishing ground for ever-new cult leaders and new age fascist excesses, by tolerating the cultivation of fundamentally irrational ideals and hallucinatory visions in our movement, for diplomatic reasons and because of a fascination with the "paranormal" which makes these deviations and excesses possible, without getting exposed. Instead of becoming critical and mature adults fixed firmly in shastra and common sense, we accept manipulation by childish new age nonsense and everything sensationally mysterious which "somone said". No wonder then that so many deviate from Prabhupada, so many lose their taste in genuine spirituality. Thus, the next disaster is pre-programmed, the next fascist cult and Kirtanananda will come, while the GBC and many senior devotees watch silently. This is the root of the problems. That is why we have to speak out. Let us save Prabhupada's movment. Let us kick out the dirt of the new age TODAY -- there may not be a tomorrow for ISKCON, without profound reform at the foundation of our thinking. Tamasi ma jyotir gamah ! Away from the sickness, away from fascist new age esoteric ignorance -- unto the light of sanity, a healthy life as Caitanya brought. This gives us a life, a new and fresh. Miracle done -- His Divine Grace -- Srila Prabhupada ki jai ! Your servant of the servant, Nikhilananda Dasa NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
