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EDITORIAL May 16, 1999 VNN3874 They Can't Take The ISKCON Out Of Me! BY DAMODAR DASA EDITORIAL, May 16 (VNN) — I went to Saturday market today. While I was down there I ran into a bunch of young devotees distributing books, about six or seven.. mostly newer bhaktas. The first one who made contact with me was a young woman, she was very pleasant, we started talking about the book she was distributing and we got on the subject of the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita... After a little while she asked if I wanted to buy the book and I told her that I prefer reading the original unedited versions she quickly told me that she had to go and left. I didn't think much of it at the time... then, as I was walking out of the market I ran into another Bhakta who I'd met on a previous occasion in a bookstore. I fired up a friendly conversation with him and he too offered me the same book. I told him what I'd just told the young woman, that I prefer the unedited versions to the new ones. At that point he told me that the GBC has authorized the printing and distribution of these new books and implied that my decision was against GBC policy and point blank told me I was wrong. He told me that the only people who object to the editing and changing of Srila Prabhupada's original books are those devotees who are "outside" of Iskcon. I could feel the tension building up in his tone and demeanor as we began talking about the GBC and how they've made many grievous errors in the past twenty years. Being a relatively new devotee of only two years, he hasn't personally witnessed many of these aberrations, yet I was a bit surprised when he brought up the subject of the GBC created the Zonal Acarya system and admitted that it was a mistake. I asked him why the Zonal Acharya system was a mistake and he said because they (the gurus) were taking too much worship. At this point I casually mentioned that the GBC are downgrading the worship of all the Iskcon "gurus". He must not have liked the word downgrading, because he immediately objected to the word downgrading. I pointed out to him this years GBC resolutions forbidding gurus having their feet washed, having pranam prayers and so on, he seemed to not have an answer. Of course the fact that now days "Gurus" can be put on probation, suspended etc. is clearly a degradation to the role of ISKCON's so called Diksha gurus. Over the next few minutes of the conversation I really felt like I was talking to a brainwashed cult member because he wouldn't stop spouting words from his mouth... each time I tried to interject, he'd talk right over me. After I jumped on the Zonal Acharya subject that HE brought up, and I began logically pointing out the flawed logic of the current system, a system that has been directly derived from the original flawed system... he just started pouring out rhetoric like a robot. Each time I would try to get a word in he wouldn't stop... like in a normal conversation... one person talks, then there is a little break where the other jumps in... even in quickly paced discussions... each person can sense when the other wants to talk and there is dialog. This Bhakta was unable to even hold a civilized conversation. It gave me a bad feeling in my stomach to be witness to such cult like behavior. In my work or just out in public talking to regular karmis I am never talked AT like this. I wanted to have a reasonable, intelligent conversation about a subject that he introduced, what I got was a incessant stream of GBC style hot air. Like I said, it really turned my stomach. It really made me think of the word cult and all of the negative connotations that are conjured up when it's brought up in the context of mindless, blind following of a personality, or in this case, a group of personalities. On top of everything, I felt a certain amount of self righteousness and a somewhat condescending attitude exuding from from this particular bhakta... the qualities of humility and respect were conspicuous by their absence. I guess in his mind his position is justified. After all, he's merely a foot soldier taking orders from his superior and the GBC. What's troubling is, the new bhaktas that join these days are obviously programmed from the very beginning to whatever the current GBC position on guru tattva is and also subjects like the editing of Srila Prabhupada's books and any other controversial subject that they encounter in the "outside" world. The only problem is, their pat answers are not able to withstand any scrutiny whatsoever. It has always been my conviction that Srila Prabhupada has given us everything in his books, that is one of the beauties of Krishna Consciousness... that we have all the answers. It doesn't make any sense to me that the GBC will not sit down and discuss siddhanta with sincere and capable vaisnavas. It's not fair and un-vaisnava like to simply proclaim vaishnava aparadha and walk away. I guess as long as you don't put forth questions like... if the original eleven so called Diksha gurus were self appointed, how could they have voted in other so called Diksha gurus? I did finally ask him this question, he said that they WERE appointed Diksha gurus... but stated that they just took on too much worship in the beginning. and then he said something to the effect that now the GBC are back on track with the limited puja program. I asked him where Srila Prabhupada appointed them diksha gurus... but he was of course unable to provide that information. I was expecting him to bring up the falsified May 28th tape but he didn't. I guess they can't really fall back on that tape anymore after the laboratory confirmed that it's most probably falsified. Finally, I asked him... if the original eleven were not authorized by Srila Prabhupada to give diksha initiation... what is the position of those devotees voted in as diksha gurus by them? are they unauthorized too? including the devotee whom he's calling guru right now? It was too much for him to handle... he said I was being offensive, turned and walked away. A simple question... and yet, he chose not to answer. Perhaps it was offensive in his mind, but I really wanted him to think about what would be an intelligent, logical answer... instead he gave up and called me offensive. It's apparent that these types of blind followers don't have answers, so they don't want to discuss and in fact, they CAN'T discuss or have isthagosthi. The GBC are doing a disservice to all these nice new bhaktas, they've brainwashed them into believing their rhetoric, yet they haven't given them the philosophical arsenal to defend it. It's like a government sending troops to a war without any weaponry, the only recourse for soldiers without weapons is to run, hide and hope they go away. The original eleven self appointed gurus were never authorized to be diksha gurus... the fact that most of them have fallen away should be proof to any reasonably intelligent person that they were not diksha gurus... how could they give diksha when they obviously didn't have it to begin with? One thing I find very offensive are these neophytes who say that Srila Prabhupada appointed diksha gurus, and now we see that so many have fallen down... this is their way of saying that Srila Prabhupada somehow made a mistake. Now they are trying to make us swallow the limited guru theory.... this is a deviation and a concoction, putting a vaisnava diksha guru on probation or suspension is so utterly absurd, it is beyond comprehension! Now we're left with four remaining out the original eleven... are they already fallen in someway from the standards of a pure vaisnav diksha guru?... or are they are just like ticking time bombs, waiting to bloop with a female disciple or a large bank account or whatever?. My encounter with the Iskcon cult today really made me think about what the obstacles of trying to get Iskcon back on track and stop the insanity of worshipping neophytes and kanisthas as vaisnava diksha gurus. It really made me appreciate again how much work you and the others doing to combat these deviations.. In some ways it really is a battle, not unlike the Pandavas and the Kauvaras. One has the kingdom, one is banished. One on the side of purity, one in the grips of illusion. I walked away feeling glad that I'm not part of a cult like what Iskcon has become.. I thought to myself... you can take me out of Iskcon.. but you'll never take the iskcon out of me. I've seen Iskcon, and this, what I witnessed today is definitely not Iskcon the way I understand Srila Prabhupada wanted it. On the surface it appears to be... the distribution of books etc. But it isn't... In name only is it Iskcon... the essence is gone. Until they bring Srila Prabhupada back into his position as the worshippable diksha guru in his Iskcon it will never be the same, in my humble opinion. Well, I guess I just needed to get that off my chest! Haribol. Damodar Dasa Dear Nalini, Haribol! Just thought I'd write you about my brief encounter last week with Maha-Vishnu Swami (older Indian man). It was ironic because I spoke (very briefly) with him the same day as our conversation wherein we mentioned how devotees with some position in ISKCON are cordial until they see you don't defer to their authority, and then they become harsh and arrogant. In a nutshell, when I entered he was carrying on about how Srila Prabhupada left the Gaudiya Math when he couldn't work with his Godbrothers, so those who don't surrender to the GBC should go away and start their own institution. I told him it is not an ordinary thing to start a spiritual institution and shouldn't be compared to opening a corner market, and that we are very attached to our guru's mission. We may disagree with the GBC, but ISKCON is not a totalitarian regime and it is our prerogative to disagree (esp. since they have made countless blunders in the past). But he just became more obnoxious, even claiming that we were not devotees because (although we had on devotee dress and tilak) we didn't have shaved heads. I told him he should not speak like that and left the room, seeing that my presence was inciting him to more offenses. It was a pathetic demonstration on his part, and I shrugged it off as more of the same, but still Srila Prabhupada was so kind he appeared in my dream that night. He was so personal and gracious, having me sit almost knee to knee, and he said not to be concerned about all this. They think he is present where there is money collected, but he said, "Only devotion can capture me." Hope to see you soon, YS, Bhu Bhutatmaji, You are so blessed to hear from Srila Prabhupada so often. I got a call tonight from two youngsters (21 or so) who just want Srila Prabhupada as their guru. They said that every time they visited an ISKCON Temple they had some horrible experience, but they are remaining devotees only because of Srila Prabhupada. I'm sorry you had such an experience yourself. People that act like that are clearly described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3rd Canto. We should just avoid that association. Within the last two weeks, I have visited a Temple twice. The first time, in the lobby of the Temple, an old friend came up to me and asked me if I would preach to her friend to come and get initiated by an elderly Gaudiya Math devotee, because he didn't check people that wanted initiation, just gave it to them--and that she would only have to chant 4 rounds a day. The second time, a girl came up and was glorifying one ISKCON guru because "he could speak on BHAGAVAD-GITA for an hour straight without mentioning KRISHNA!" (Inferring that this was powerful but nonsectarian preaching). I think it is becoming more and more clear that there is a distinct difference in the quality and mode of devotees who want Srila Prabhupada as guru and those who don't. Anyway, all glories to the mercy you receive from Sri Jagat-gurudeva and thanks for sharing it. NKD Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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