Question for Tripurari swami - Sridhara maharaja folks no.5

5) Yasodananda visits Sridhara Maharaja, March 1978.

First of all the GBC deputed Yasodananda prabhu to make the original contact with Sridhara Maharaja in 1978. When Yasodananda first went to visit Sridhara in Navadvip, Sridhara maharaja was self-evidently very shocked that the GBC wanted to have anything to do with him at all, since SRILA PRABHUPADA had made so many negative comments about him personally; As well as comments about Sridhara's unfortunate concoctions in the Gaudiya Matha; And the Gaudiya Matha's false guru's disasters in general -- as we often find in Srila Prabhupada's conversations, lectures, letters, and even in his books. (Sridhara Maharaja later commented that he was well aware of criticisms of him and the Gaudiya Matha in Srila Prabhupada's works).  

And we were personally also surprised to find that Sridhara Maharaja was the new "higher authority" and "shiksha guru" for the GBC since -- in 1970 Himavati dasi came back from Sridhara's matha in Mayapura crying in Srila Prabhupada's room, complaining that the big leaders of Sridhara's math were laughing and joking that Srila Prabhupada was "the guru of the hippies and mlecchas." Srila Prabhupada told us, do not go to his ashram anymore. We never did go after that.

Notice also that in the later part of 1977 (conversation will be added below) Srila Prabhupada was agreeing with Satsvarupa that Sridhara Maharaja was ALL ALONG SINCE 1966 aloof and he WAS NOT associating with Srila Prabhupada. And Sridhara Maharaja was instead associating with the malefic Mayapura God brothers who hated Srila Prabhupada (like Madhava maharaja). We also find a letter from Srila Prabhupada where he had wanted to buy some land from Sridhara Maharaja in Mayapura, but that Sridhara Maharaja was asking for too much money, so ISKCON could not buy the land. Why wasn't Sridhara Maharaja just donating the land instead of bumping up the price?  

It makes no sense that Sridhara would be so much aloof all along, indeed Sridhara would be criticized all the way to the end of 1977 for being "aloof" with Srila Prabhupada agreeing, and then all of a sudden Sridhara Maharaja would emerge as the main "next leader" of ISKCON? Also at the end of 1977 Sridhara Maharaja was being DIRECTLY criticized by Srila Prabhupada for being one of the important founders of the homosexual Bagh Bazaar guru party, which Srila Prabhupada said was a deviation and was the "severe offenders" party. Why would we be "taking advice" from the person who was: aloof, who was associating with the envious God brothers like Madhava Maharaja, and who was the founder father of the "severe offender's" party? This makes no sense at all.

Even some of the factual followers of Sridhara Maharaja have agreed with me: Sridhara was not prepared to manage the ISKCON society because he really had not been taking part in the ISKCON society, and thus he did not know how it was functioning. It is still quite common for us to hear things like "Sridhara Maharaja did not know how manipulative the GBC were," and -- he did not know this, he did not know that and so forth. Yes, he was aloof and was not participating. Apparently, Sridhara did not even know that Srila Prabhupada had said that he would not appoint any successors?

And it furthermore makes sense that Sridhara "was not prepared" to deal with the problems in ISKCON, because he had not been "prepared for the task" by Srila Prabhupada, because -- he had never been given that task in the first place? Some of the followers of Sridhara Maharaja have told me for example -- Sridhara did not know that Srila Prabhupada had suspended sannyasa in 1977, so Sridhara thought they were gurus because he did not know Srila Prabhupada had been making negative comments about these leaders? Right, Sridhara did not know because he was aloof and he was not being prepped to be the advisor by Srila Prabhupada.

Certainly Srila Prabhupada would have brought Sridhara Maharaja over for some weeks, months or even years of preparation of how he should interact with the GBC leaders, if Sridhara was intended to be the new "shiksha guru advisor" for ISKCON? Wouldn't Srila Prabhupada have introduced his GBC leadership council to Sridhara Maharaja and said, "Here are the ISKCON GBC leaders, and we'd like you to help them  manage the society by using this system, or that system," ... but no such conversations ever took place that we know of? In fact, this made no sense EVEN to Sridhara Maharaja himself. He was totally shocked to hear he was going to be the new "advisor." Why was Sridhara being deputed to be the new advisor for ISKCON, when he had not even been told he was going to be the advisor, or what things he would need to know to help manage the society the way Srila Prabhupada had wanted?

Tamal said basically the same thing, if Srila Prabhupada had appointed gurus he would have talked about it at least for 30 days, not merely thirty minutes? And thus the same thing would apply to Sridhara Maharaja. If he was the intented new advisor for ISKCON after 1978, why was the system of taking Sridhara's advice not known to either Sridhara Maharaja himself, nor most of the GBC's leaders, nor apparently any of us rank and file? None of us were ever informed that Sridhara had been appointed as the new advisor for ISKCON either? It seems self-evident that Srila Prabhupada would have spent time setting this up, but he never did because he did not want Sridhara Maharaja to be the advisor.  

Of course the GBC later wrote a paper after 1982 called "Purity Is The Force" where they cited quotes from Srila Prabhupada saying, we should not visit Sridhara Maharaja. And since Srila Prabhupada had said "amongst my God brothers, no one is qualified to be acharya," why would he appoint Sridhara Maharaja as the advisor aka "siksha guru acharya," knowing Sridhara was not qualified to act as acharya? And why would Sridhara Maharaja de facto appoint the 11 GBC as gurus knowing that Srila Prabhupada was always saying they are barely fit to be even the most neophyte of devotees at all?

SRILA PRABHUPADA: "Now has the GBC become more than Guru Maharaja? As if simply GBC is meant for looking after pounds, shilling, pence. The GBC does not look after spiritual life. That is the defect. All of our students will have to become guru but they are not qualified. This is the difficulty." (Alanath, 11/10/75)

April 22, 1977 Tamal Krsna is admitting that he and his God brothers are all conditioned souls, that none of them are qualified to be gurus. So how is it that they ALL suddenly became "qualified gurus," all at the SAME TIME, immediately after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance? Srila Prabhupada is saying here in April of 1977 that no one is yet qualified to be guru, not one single person. How can it go from "no one" is qualified in April of 1977, to 11 are "qualified to be gurus" in just a few months?? Its called rubber stamp guru, not bona fide guru!

Prabhupada: What is the use of producing some rascal guru?
Tamala Krsna: Well, I have studied myself and all of your disciples, and it’s clear fact that we are all conditioned souls, so we cannot be guru. Maybe one day it may be possible...
Prabhupada: Hm.
Tamala Krsna: ...but not now.
Prabhupada: Yes. I shall choose some guru. I shall say, “Now you become acarya. You become authorised.” I am waiting for that. You become all acarya. I retire completely. But the training must be complete.
Tamala Krsna: The process of purification must be there.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes, must be there. Caitanya Mahaprabhu wants that. Amara ajnaya guru hana. "You become guru." (laughs) But be qualified. Little thing, strictly follower...
Tamala Krsna: Not rubber stamp.
Prabhupada: Then you'll not be effective. You can cheat, but it will not be effective. Just see our Gaudiya Matha. Everyone wanted to become guru, and a small temple and "guru." What kind of guru?

PADA: Notice, Srila Prabhupada goes back to criticizing Sridhara Maharaja's policy, yes, the Gaudiya Matha's leaders, ok -- like Sridhara Maharaja -- made gurus, but what kind of gurus? OK, bogus gurus. And the result was: "the Gaudiya Matha mission was finished" -- at least according to Srila Prabhupada.