Bhakti Vikas Swami "Balancing Guru Bhakti and ISKCON Values"

Balancing Guru Bhakti And ISKCON Values
Published June 11, 2013

By His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami

"CLIQUE"

[PADA: OK, so the leaders of ISKCON finally admit -- ISKCON has been divided into "guru cliques." This was the first rattle out of the box in 1978, their "gurus" started competing and infighting over zones, territory, disciples, money, buildings, assets, life members -- and so on. Rather amazing that it has taken some of these ISKCON leaders over 35 years to even begin to see this -- is -- a problem. And due to this problem taking over the whole priority focus of ISKCON for the past 35 years, the other problems were not dealt with, like bad media, criminal activity, child abuse, mass purges of devotees, bankrupting the society, book changes and so on. 

They also started a big fight "who is more rasika," with Jayatirtha winning that battle easily, using his LSD, marijuana and drug "ecstasy" program. Then Tamal started his Narayan Maharaja rasika club and so on. And now, we find more people who are saying ISKCON has become a group of independent fiefdoms, Marxist dictatorships, guru cults, Oligarchies, and so on. The BVKS people are more or less saying that as well, but in nicer terms -- "cliques."  

Dictatorship? Is that not what a "clique" is? Its not rule by consensus, its rule by the leaders of the clique, the elites. Of course, they are ONLY using the word clique -- and NOT using the real words meant to describe what is really happening: "individual personality cults," and these cults are fighting over the assets of ISKCON for the past 35 years.  

And this happened right away after 1978. We had New Vrndavana people who were putting sugar into the gas tanks of Hansadutta's samkirtana vans, and Hamsadutta's people were putting sugar into the gas tanks of the New Vrndvana samkirtana vans, and so on and so forth. There was also fighting of all types, serious vilification, insults, and even death threats among the guru camps. 

And foolish people like the apa-GBC, Danavir, Vipramukhya, BVKS and ilk, they all promoted the idea that all this odious schism infighting was the "divine lila of the pure servants of Radharani"! What! Yep, this is quite common in the spiritual world, people are pouring sugar into your vehicle over there in Vaikuntha, hoping you will crash and die! And BVKS program thinks -- this is the activity of the Lord's Vaikuntha servants?  

The "guru wars" issue has never been settled, and it has had many other odious out croppings and symptoms such as -- fighting over "re-initiating disciples." Another issue that is creating friction all the time has been "stealing the disciples from another zone." That makes ISKCON appear to be a bunch of fractured and separated "guru franchises" rather than a unified preaching mission. Is this not what ALSO happened to the Gaudiya Matha?

Basically, the "guru wars" is a long and sordid mess, which we could detail in another 250 pages of writing, suffice it to say, the leaders have had some severe infighting going on all along. Satsvarupa wrote about this in his diaries, that the constant infighting, friction, if not yelling and shouting of the gurus at the Mayapura meetings, is giving him migraine headaches, so he can not attend. 

Gurus are normally giving people bliss, and not  normally giving people migraines? This begs the question, how can people who are infighting like cats and dogs be -- Lord Krishna's successor gurus? And why doesn't BVKS know this? BVKS does not know that cat and dog infighting is not the symptom of the intimate servants of Radharani? Rather BVKS promotes the idea that the servants of Radharani are something like Los Angeles street gangsters, who insult one another, fight like cats and dogs over money, territory, followers, and so on. Yes its true, only persons following BVKS would compare the servants of Radharani to Los Angeles gangster's turf wars. That means of course, these folks have zero clue as to what is a servant of Radha and Krishna.]  

Divine Lila? Radha's servants "engaged in turf wars"? What are the people in the BVKS program smoking?

  

Introduction by His Grace Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva Dasa

Lakshmi Nrsinghadeva dasa: ISKCON’s code and ethics are based on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and the direction of GBC the governing body appointed by him to govern ISKCON. The personal life of devotees is again largely governed by the above two. The practicing devotees seek shelter of a spiritual master in ISKCON as part of their sadhana bhakti which also brings another dimension to their spiritual life namely the serving the spiritual master or diksha guru in his specific service to the movement. 

[PADA: OK, where exactly does Srila Prabhupada order the "Governing Body" members to act as acharyas, and claim they can absorb sins like Jesus is doing? And when their gurus are falling down, then they have explained, this is all due to "absorbing too many sins," even "having too many ghosts," and so on, but there are no examples of any acharyas falling into illicit sex with men, women and children, because "they absorbed too many sins"? 

Absorbing too many sins?

Why would a person who is like Jesus, and who can absorb sins like Jesus, take any interest in material life anyway? At all! And why are the regular "ordinary Joe citizen" devotees, ok like us, who have no official position in the society, feeling mainly freedom from illicit sex, drugs and so on, whereas there is a self evident epidemic of these failures among the GBC's alleged "sin absorbing like Jesus" messiah's class? And does not BVKS know it is very sinful to say that people who are like Jesus are -- overwhelmed -- by sinful activity due to "absorbing too many sins"? Where does the BVKS program come up with these idiot ideas? Oh, I forgot, they consulted with Sridhara maharaja, Narayan Maharaja, and others who also supported false gurus in India -- and who invented these types of bogus rationalizations.

If the GBC first of all "2/3 show of hands votes in" their sin absorbing Jesus like gurus, and then monitors, chastises, checks and balances, censures, suspends, and excommunicates their gurus, this begs the self evident question, how did the GBC become the superior authority to the acharyas? When did Srila Prabhupada say: "Henceforward, the GBC is the higher authority over the Lord and His successors and acharyas"? When did Srila Prabhupada say the acharyas shall be: Voted in, voted out, suspended, censured, monitored, removed, excommunicated, and -- removed when the guru absorbs too many sins like Jesus is doing, and so forth? 

Nor do we see any value to their GBC "excommunication" process anyway, since they already excommunicated Kirtanananda, and yet just now their biggest GBC leaders helped bury his dead body in the holy dham of Vrndavana? What is the use of their excommunion -- since they are then going to make their excommunicated debauchees, molesters and criminals -- into their topmost Holy Dham deities? And where is any of this authorized by Srila Prabhupada?] 

LND: Today there are many Srila Prabhupada disciples serving as spiritual masters and guiding their disciples in Krishna Consciousness. 

[PADA: OK being someone who can absorb sins like Jesus, being God's pure living representative on earth, is a "service" granted by the GBC? So what happens when we give the service of being the brain surgeon to the hospital janitor? This makes no sense, the BVKS program is issuing "messiah certificates" -- you are now going to absorb sins, you are as good as Jesus, because that is your -- service? And where does Srila Prabhupada say that being God's successor and a messiah who can absorb sins is -- a "service" granted to someone by the GBC's rubber stamp of votes? Is this not the "rubber stamp of guru" problem that Srila Prabhupada constantly criticized, attacked, and said -- would lead people to hell?] 

LND: As Krishna exhibits many a mellow or rasa in dealing with his devotees his devotees too are heterogenous in the way they relate with him. So this plurality within the ambit of teachings of Srila Prabhupada is undoubtedly strength of our movement and gives a spirit of unity in diversity. But on the dark side there are dangers of guru based groups with a sectarian outlook which could weaken the ideals that Srila Prabhupada envisioned for ISKCON.

[PADA: This is pretty amazing, there is a "dark side" to having "a plurality" of Krishna's successors and messiahs on the planet? One would NORMALLY think that the more messiahs we have on the planet, the more Vaikuntha the atmosphere would be here? Nope, the more messiahs we have on the planet, the more its in danger, the more the world descends into hellish infighting? Do these people ever actually read any shastra, ever? Yep, the more devotees of Radharani we have on the planet, the more the planet becomes a Satanic schism and dark hell? What! 

Sorry, the more messiahs we have on the planet, the more there is light and divine realization, and the darkness goes away. The whole idea that the increase of more servants of Radha and Krishna on the planet means, the more the planet moves into the dark side, is a direct insult, attack, and maha-aparadha to the Divine Couple and their sevakas. Notice how foolish the BVKS people are, they actually think the more we have divine messiahs from God on the planet, the more the planet descends into hell, danger and Satanic "darkness." 

And BVKS says these dark lords simply need a little advice, and BVKS is going to advise them, instead of admitting they are bogus? They think the acharyas are leading people into the dark side and so on. This is simply insult upon insult to the Lord and His acharyas. Normally, people would say that Satan is taking people to the dark side, only BVKS group would dare say that God and His messiahs are taking the world to the dark side. Small wonder then -- these people go to the most obnoxious regions when they leave their dead carass behind, they are already there.]    

LND: The following article by H.H. Bhakti Vikasa Swami titled Dangers of Guru Groupism is a candid analysis of this syndrome and some suggestions on how to keep the central point i.e. keeping Srila Prabhupada’s ideals without having to compromise the plurality in the movement. This was published in Congregational Preaching Journal of ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry in Jan–Mar 04.

[PADA: Every time we turn around these people concoct another guru species and category? Machine gun gurus; Illicit sex gurus; LSD gurus, Gambling in Reno gurus; Chicken salad gurus; Even pedophile gurus. Now BVKS folks have come up with their newest "previously unheard of guru species" the "plurality of gurus leading us into the darkness species." Another previously unidentified guru species? Where does it all end?]

Newly identified guru species? 

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By His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami

By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, more and more people worldwide are coming to Krishna consciousness. Congregations especially are increasing. Along with this naturally come challenges, but better to face the challenges that arise from preaching than to have no preaching.

[PADA: By the mercy of Krishna (?) more and more people are being taught by the BVKS program that: God's messiahs are engaged in illicit sex with men, women and children, and other dangerous and dark things? Or is this going on by the mercy of Satan? Why is BVKS saying that by God's mercy, people are being told that God's messiahs are low class, evil, dark debauchees? By the mercy of God, we have to worship BVKS and his debauchee messiahs program, or leave ISKCON, and get beaten and killed on the way out the door? Then BVKS wonders why the temples are empty? Because the BVKS idea that God's gurus and successors are low class, illicit sex, and intoxication fools, destroys religion, which is the business of Kali Yuga, not Krishna? No, BVKS program is going on by the mercy of Kali Yuga and Satan and so on, not Krishna? Krishna has washed His hands of these fools a long time ago.

Worse, BVKS program has invented and concocted all these bogus hurdles and challenges. BVKS says we need to worship his gurus, who are all the time being caught "engaged in illicit sex with men, women and children," that clearly means BVKS has no idea what a guru is in the first place. This also means he has no idea of what is ordinary morality, he cannot even find good moral men to act as his messiahs? 

Even our neighbor's cat Mr. Snuffles is not "engaged in illicit sex with men, women and children." And that means: Mr. Snuffles will never become a messiah in the BVKS guru program, because he is way too advanced for their program. He is not as degraded as their messiahs from heaven. BVKS cannot even find people who are as advanced as Mr. Snuffles to be his messiahs from heaven? BVKS find the worst debauchees he can dig up on the planet, to declare as his acharyas and "Radha's sevakas." Well, these fools are messing with the wrong person here, anyone who insults Krishna, Radha, and their sevakas, will find themselves at the bottom of the barrel of species, and quickly. And they will stay in those lower species for -- the duration. And I have seen a lot of these lower species creeping around my house, goody, its a good place for fools to be situated, even I have to admit.]

Guess who wants us to worship illicit sex and intoxication, Satan and -- BVKS program! Unfortunately, they will both end up in the same location!

BVKS: A unique feature and strength of ISKCON is having many devotees awarding initiation. 

[PADA: It unique because its BVKS concoction.]

BVKS: But this can also engender problems. 

[PADA: Serving Krishna and Radha's pure sevakas is -- a big problem? That is what Satan says? All these people do -- all day long -- is figure out MORE odious ways to insult Krishna and His sevakas!]

BVKS: One problem that negatively affects the development of preaching is that of “guru groupism.” In some places there is no such competition, either due to enlightened leadership or more commonly because something resembling the old zonal acarya system is still prevalent, with new devotees having little choice in who they should take initiation from.

[PADA: Every years the GBC still delineates ZONES, they have never given that up?] 

BVKS: Although devotees have been aware of guru groupism, some have come to accept it as part of life, and to openly discuss it has seemingly been taboo. 

[PADA: Right, anyone who says the emporer has no clothes is booted out.]

BVKS: However, I submitted this topic for open discussion among ISKCON leaders. I suggested that in our movement some disciples tend to form groups centered around their gurus. 

[PADA: This was going on right at the start in 1978? When Jayatirtha blooped, he took 1,000 people with him, that was the result of guru group-ism, and this was well known all along. The GBC is producing personality cults.]

BVKS: Thus, rather than functioning as a united organization centered on serving the mission of Srila Prabhupada, we tend to form smaller sub-groups within the institution, each with the petty agenda of increasing its numbers, and-in competition with other such groups-to canvass new devotees and to promote their guru as best. Guru groupies become preoccupied with competing for new recruits rather than educating devotees on the principles and practices of spiritual life as taught by Srila Prabhupad. 

[PADA: Right the whole movement has been sacrificed at the altar of the BVKS bogus guru groupie program, all the preaching is stunted in the meantime, so people of the world are all going to hell by not being able to participate, and guess who gets the reward from the Yamaduttas for dragging all the human society to hell? BVKS team, thats who! I would not trade places with these people for all the gold in the universe, its not worth it.]

BVKS: Significantly, no one denied that such problem existed and discussion ensued as to the effects of this syndrome. His Holiness Lokanatha Maharaja commented that guru groupism is one of the greatest dangers facing our movement: if left unchecked it could lead to a complete splintering into various factions. It should be checked now, before it’s too late.

[PADA: Well it is already too late, you have ruined and bankrupted the movement, and left it with empty and bankrupted temples. The damage has already been done, you drove the good ship ISKCON onto the rocks and it sank, killing most of the passengers. All you can do now is plead for mercy in the court of public opinion, we all know you sank the ship and killed most of the passengers. You are in denial about it since 1977.] 

BVKS: Guru groupism tends to promote a neophyte, fanatical, divisive, and separatist mentality that cannot be healthy, neither for the individuals who subscribe to it, nor for our movement as a whole. Certainly there can be no real cooperation and unity if this syndrome persists.

[PADA: Right, you have created a society of neophytes, Jayapataka for example was lamenting many of his people cannot even read. You want these illiterate people, because they will beat and kill us, because they do not know any better. And further, you are creating a movement that is fanatical (people get killed) and you know that and admit that. That means all the blood of the beaten and killed is -- on your hands. As far as the origins of this syndrome, BVKS has to look in a mirror.] 

BVKS: Despite the above, my observation is that in many areas of the world devotees initiated by various ISKCON gurus tend to serve Srila Prabhupada’s mission in a spirit of cooperation. Although each devotee has a personal relationship with the guru, it is a private matter that creates no separatism in the interactions with disciples of other gurus. These devotees tend to better respect all gurus and senior devotees and to identify themselves as members of ISKCON and followers of Srila Prabhupada, rather than as members of a guru-based subgroup.

[PADA: That was the first thing the BVKS program did, they demonized the followers of Prabhupada as an evil sub-sect, so his devotees were getting banned, beaten and killed. This is something I now have to discuss on TV, its shocking even the ordinary people to know how evil the BVKS program is. So many of  the God brothers and sisters are now dead, and many of their children were molested and will never come back, ever. Even if they wanted to apologize to these brothers and sisters, its too late. Sorry you folks will die with the blood of many of these dead vaishnavas on your hands, they died of broken hearts after you jettisoned them from their father's house. Now there is no way to even fix it, you are doomed. I know, I see it, its a fact. All you can do now is soften the blow you are going to get in the court of Yama.] 

Other points I raised:

(1) Many people come to Krishna consciousness because they want to get away from the superficiality of material life, in which everyone is competing with each other. When they read Srila Prabhupada’s books they become inspired by the high ideals His Divine Grace articulates. But when such newcomers become subjected to the manipulative tactics of guru groupism, they think that the temple environment is the same as the material environment from which they seek relief. Upon encountering this neophyte competition, many intelligent people back off and leave Krishna consciousness altogether.

[PADA: BVKS is one of the original architects of this manipulative tactic, and now he is still saying, the gurus, the residents of Krishna loka, are masterminds of materialistic manipulation? Cannot BVKS say one paragraph without insulting the pure devotees as evil, manipulative, materially minded fools?]

(2) On the positive side, it was noted that if disciples of different gurus could unite more, we could achieve wonderful results, considering the ripeness of many of the affected preaching fields.

[PADA: Not going to work ever, the Gaudiya Matha gurus never united, its a pipe dream.]

(3) The stress should be on educating newcomers in what it means to be a disciple and what are the qualifications of a bona fide guru, thus enabling them to come to an intelligent decision based on genuine faith in guru. Without this, the number of disciples may increase, but the quality of guru-disciple relationships might be shallow and based on hype rather than genuine spiritual exchange.

[PADA: Newcomers already know the movement worships devils as saints, so they are not coming, they are paying money to go to new age kirtana around San Francsco, they are not interested in ISKCON after BVKS destroyed this movement with his disgusting worship of debauchees project.] 

(5) Some devotees believe that canvassing for new initiates is a service to their guru. But it is actually a disservice to the guru to bring him people insufficiently educated in what it means to be a disciple. Later, such recruits’ dubious activities would give the guru a bad reputation and extra karma. Another result of such aggressive canvassing is that later some devotees lament that they were unduly influenced or practically forced to take initiation without being given the chance to thoroughly examine the guru and make a thoughtful choice.

[PADA: Exactly. Its now a Frankenstein monster made by BVKS project, even he cannot control it, just like Sridhara could not control his bogus messiahs.] 

(8) The sustained input of gurus is required to rectify matters. Gurus should make clear to their disciples their duty to educate newcomers about the process of initiation, which includes making a personal decision based on knowledge and without undue pressure from others.

[PADA: Oh great, we need the gurus to fix this. The foxes are going to count the chickens? ys pd]