[PADA would like to offer our sincere appreciation to all these devotees like Padmagharbha dasa who, over the past decades, have supported our effort to re-establish Srila Prabhupada as the acharya. Our eternal thanks! ys pd]
[From Padmagarbha das] Dear Gopta,
Thank you for your kind and 'sentimental' letter. I too am quite 'sentimental', I even often tear up in sentimental movies. Only when it comes to the philosophy of Krsna consciousness, and specifically the words and teachings of Srila Prabhupada, as well as loyalty to Srila Prabhupada, I fanatically try to avoid sentimentality!
You feeling 'unworthy' and unqualified in weighing-in on the matter of Patita Pavan, Bhakta dasa and others who are rejecting SP's orders due to you not practicing strictly, is a reflection of your feelings of guilt as well as your humility. However, there is an ocean of difference between weakness and cheating, as stated perfectly by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja:
"Cheating and weakness are two separate things. Persons devoid of a cheating propensity achieve perfection in life, but a cheater is never successful. Vaisnavism is another name for simplicity. Cheaters are non-devotees. Sincere persons can be weak, but they are not cheaters. Cheaters say something but do something else. Weak people are embarrassed by their defects, whereas cheaters are maddened by their achievements. I will cheat the acharya,I will deceive the doctor,I will nourish the poisonous snake of my sinful propensity with banana and milk, hiding him in the hole of my cheating propensity, and I will demand name and fame from the people while posing as a saint [a senior devotee].
These are not symptoms of weakness but of utter deceitfulness. Such cheaters will never achieve any good. By hearing humbly from saints with a sincere attitude, however, one will gradually attain auspiciousness. After accepting tridandi-sannyasa if one remains busy with worldly activities, thinking that family life is more important than spiritual life or maintaining the sinful mentality of kidnapping Sita from Rama [stealing SP's disciples] as Ravana did even while dressed as a devotee, then one is a self-killer. We are far from the worship of Hari. Even if we have weakness and have enough anarthas to last us for millions of years, we are not as misfortunate as if we possessed a cheating propensity. It is better to take birth as animals or birds than to take shelter of cheating."
Gopta, by rejecting SP's orders [final] on the issue of Guru Tattva the leaders of iskcon AND their enablers are not only cheating the unsuspecting newcomers, but they are cheating the entire universe out of being able to take shelter at SP's lotus feet!
[PADA: Correct. People like Patita Pavan das, Bhakta das, the Gaudiya Matha folks etc., they are enabling the GBC's gurus to continue with their cheating, by promoting these cheaters as gurus.]
Had they kept SP at the center of this movement, most likely tens of millions of jivas would have taken shelter of this movement by now. Srila Prabhupada stated, "if the leaders follow strictly [his instructions], this movement will spread like wildfire." It is most disheartening and most offensive for Patita [and others] to reject, and to contradict SP's clear and well documented instructions on the ritvik-arrangement by quoting one of SP's godbrothers.
Toronto, 9 Nov. 1975
"My dear Visvakarma das,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 3, 1975 with the enclosed statement about Van Maharaja. So I have now issued orders that ALL my disciples should avoid ALL of my God brothers. They should not have ANY dealings with them nor even correspondence, nor should they give them any of my books or should they purchase any of their books, neither should you visit any of their temples. Please avoid them."
Those 'first generation' Prabhupada disciples who have rejected SP's 'final order', are usually those who are either extremely envious and ambitious, or often those who disobeyed SP's orders not to associate with his devious God brothers.
Bhakta das and Patita's claim that the 'ritviks' are impersonalists and atheists, as well as a cancer on the Sampradaya is a MOST outrageous and a MOST offensive direct attack on Srila Prabhupada.
Actually, what Patita endorses, the present iskcon guru tattva position, THAT is impersonalism and IT is a cancer on the Sampradaya!
The spiritual master and the body that he manifests in this material realm are to be worshiped, to be considered on the same level as the Supreme Lord. Just like red hot iron is considered fire, the body of the "bona fide" spiritual master is considered spiritual. In several letters SP stated that he IS present in his picture, therefor the worship of his picture, or murti is non-different from worshiping SP directly.
SP is personally present to accept the worship, to accept the bhoga that is being offered to his pictures.
In all iskcon centers, as well as in the homes of the "disciples" of iskcon's "gurus" arotics and offerings of bhoga are being performed to pictures of conditioned souls. Those individuals are NOT present in their pictures, they are NOT there to accept the offerings. All there is on the 'altar', is a piece of paper with pigments on it depicting the material form of a conditioned soul.
A body made of material elements, combined only to resemble the shape of a real person. The 'material' body is NOT the person! So, I firmly belief that since neither the pictures, nor the actual material bodies of conditioned souls posing as gurus are 'spiritual', are they to be accepted as 'persons' [what to speak of being spiritual masters]. Therefore, such very practice must be considered "idol worship", and that actually is "impersonalism"! Propogating the belief that conditioned souls [bodies], many of them guilty of behaviors not even acceptable by "karmis", are to be worshiped as good as the Supreme Lord, THAT I feel is a "cancer on the Sampradaya"!
"One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari [the highest stage of spiritual realization] " (The Nectar of Instruction, text 5, purport)
"There is no possibility that a first-class devotee will fall down, even though he may mix with non-devotees to preach. Conviction and faith gradually increase to make one an uttama-adhikari, a first-class devotee." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 22.71, purport]
"When one has attained the topmost position of maha-bhagavata, he is to be accepted as a guru and worshipped exactly like Hari, the Personality of Godhead. ONLY such a person is eligible to occupy the
post of a guru." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 24.330, purport)
"It is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. [...] Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Krishna, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul." (Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.14, purport, 1972 ed.)
"A bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not deviate at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord [...]" Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 4.42, purport)
"A spiritually advanced person who acts with authority, as the spiritual master, speaks as the Supreme Personality of Godhead dictates from within. Thus it is not he that is personally speaking. When a pure devotee or spiritual master speaks, what he says should be accepted as having been directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the parampara system." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 5.71, purport)
"You are correct when you say that when the Spiritual Master speaks it should be taken that Krishna is speaking. That is a fact. A Spiritual Master must be liberated." (Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 10th, 1969)
".... such an acarya, or spiritual master, should be considered non-different from Krishna, that is, he should be considered the incarnation of Lord Krishna's potency. Such a personality is Krsnalingita-vigraha, that is, he is always embraced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna [...] He is the guru, or spiritual
master, for the entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the maha-bhagavata stage, and a paramahamsa-thakura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as paramahamsa or thakura." (Sri Caitanya-
caritamrta, Madhya-lila 25.9, purport)
"Unless one is a resident of Krishna Loka, one cannot be a Spiritual Master. That is the first proposition. A layman cannot be a Spiritual Master, and if he becomes so then he will simply create disturbance [...] So to summarize the whole thing, it is to be understood that a bona fide Spiritual Master is a resident of Krishna Loka." (Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 10th, 1969)
"One should understand the Spiritual Master to be as good as I am, said the Blessed Lord [...] `the Spiritual Master is the sum total of all demigods. That is, the acarya has been identified with God Himself." (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, February 1936)
"The spiritual master, or acarya, is always situated in the spiritual status of life. Birth, death, old age and disease do not affect him [...] therefore, after the disappearance of an acarya, his body is never burnt to ashes, for it is a spiritual body. The spiritual body is always unaffected by material conditions." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.4.20, purport)
"The conclusion is that a spiritual master who is authorized and empowered by Krishna and his own guru should be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the verdict of
Visvanatha Cakravarti: saksad-dharitvenasa. [...] As Hari is free to act as He likes, the empowered spiritual master is also free. As Hari is not subject to mundane rules and regulations, the spiritual master empowered by Him is also not subject." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 10.136, purport)
"Unless one takes shelter of a bonafide, fully Krsna conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Krsna... ....Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Krsna can understand Krsna." [SB 7-5-32]
"Unless one is initiated by a bonafide spiritual master, ALL his devotional activities are USELESS. A person who is not properly initiated can again descend into the animal species." [Madhya Lila 15 .
"One should take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, who is AUTHORIZED by his predecessor spiritual master. This is called dikshan-vidhana. [SB 4.8.54]
"A siksa guru [instructing guru or priest] who instructs against the instructions of the spiritual master
he is not a siksa guru. He is a demon! Sometimes the diksa guru [initiating guru] is not present always. Therefor one can take learning, instructions from an advanced devotee. That is called siksa-guru.
But siksa-guru does not mean he is speaking something against the teachings of the diksa-guru. He is not a siksa-guru. He is a rascal. Because that is offense. Guru avajna, defying the authority of guru.
This is the first offense. So, one who is offensive, how can he make advance in chanting? He cannot make. Then everything is finished, in the beginning!" [Bg. 17:1-3, 07-4-74, Hawaii]
"Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is NO such single instance throughout the whole vedic literature.
And nowadays, so many rascals they are becoming guru without any authority. That is NOT guru. You MUST be authorized!" [Bg. 4.2]
"As for your next question, can only a pure devotee deliver others, ... anyone if he is a pure devotee he can deliver others, he can become spiritual master. But unless he is on that platform he should not attempt it. Then both of them will go to hell, like the blind man leading the blind." [letter to Tusta Krsna dasa, 12-14-72]
"Therefore, having a bona fide spiritual master and serving him, and pleasing him, and getting his mercy is essential. Otherwise there can be NO advancement in Krsna consciousness. And unless the spiritual master is a pure devotee of Krsna, then he has no potency to give Krsna. He is simply a cheating rascal!
So, in fact, above all the rules and regulations and offenses I have mentioned, the most important thing, the essential thing, which is required, if you want to come to the stage of purely chanting the Hare Krsna mantra,
is, you MUST have a bonafide spiritual master, who is a pure devotee of Krsna. Without having a bona fide spiritual master you can chant Hare Krsna forever, but will not be able to advance, because Krsna does
not reveal Himself in this way. He ONLY reveals Himself to those devotees who surrender to, and serve, and please His pure devotee!" [letter to his London disciples, July 1969]
"Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide, fully Krsna conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Krsna.... Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Krsna , and has taken the dust of his lotus feet can understand Krsna..... One must take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master, that is the way to return home, back to Godhead." [SB 7.5.32 purport]
"It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple". [S.B. 28.7]
May 28, 1977, Vrndavan
Satsvarupa Maharaja:"Then our next question concerns initiations in the future, PARTICULAR AT THE TIME WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER WITH US . We want to know how initiations would be conducted."
Srila Prabhupada:"Yes, I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating acarya." [ 'Officiating' is the performance of a function on behalf of another]
Tamal Krsna Maharaja: "Is that called ritvik-acarya?"
Srila Prabhupada: "Ritvik. Yes".
Gopta, the leaders of iskcon, the gbc, the sanyasis, and most of all, the "gurus", they have rejected outright a multitude of Srila Prabhupada's orders: "The order NOT to change his books; the order to sign the 'Oath of Allegience'; the order not to associate with his God brothers; the order to implement the "DOM"; the order to create self-sufficient farming communities; and most of all the order to continue the "ritvik initiation" process "Henceforth".
Outright rejection of, and even contradicting the orders, the very teachings of ones spiritual master I belief to the ultimate act of "being critical", of "finding fault" with the Acarya. And the following is what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta says of those who engage in such behavior:
"I do not want to see the faces of vile persons who criticize my Gurudeva, or who support those who criticize him. They are the cause of all inauspiciousness."
"May I never see the wicked face of that evil person who maligns [defames] the lotus feet of my Sri Gurudeva, or anyone who countenances [supports, approves] such a slanderer."
So, Gopta, do I want to engage with Patita in a debate on this issue? No, I don't think it would serve any purpose. Even if Srila Prabhupada gave me the intelligence, the right words and arguments to "defeat" Patita, I don't belief he would accept it. It would be like 'casting pearls before swines'.
This subject has been expertly debated and presented for years by prabhus much more qualified than me, and I am sure Patita, Bhakta Dasa, and all the other "enablers" have seen all the evidence,and they have heard all that can be said on this issue. Yet, they won't accept. "It is simple for the simple, and crooked for the crooked!"
It is ironic, the person Patita quotes, to support his argument, HH Puri Maharaja, not only had he publicly stated that iskcon's gurus are not "qualified" for their posts, but Puri Maharaja also can be heard on one of Siddhanta dasa's "Memory" tapes confirming Srila Prabhupada ordering for"ritviks" to succeed him after his departure.
In the debate on facebook, when confronted with the argument that over forty iskcon "gurus] have already 'fallen down', all Patita came back with is that this does not mean that 'they' are all unqualified. He is hereby proclaiming that Srila Prabhupada set up a system of "transcendental Russian Roulette", whereby the aspiring initiates in iskcon are to select a guru, while keeping their fingers crossed, hoping they chose one who is not going to fall down. Pure insanity, I say!
One of the main arguments of those rejecting the 'ritvik' system of initiations, is that it is "against tradition", that it is not part of our Sampradaya. And that Srila Prabhupada would never 'break' tradition. Never mind that he did, and that the Acarya has the authority to do so!
Instead, those ney-sayers insist that Srila Prabhupada set up a system by which unqualified, conditioned souls, still posessing unspeakable anarthas [pedophelia, homosexual behavior, whore-mongering, adultery, thieving, lying, and even the murdering of Vaisnavas, including the poisoning of their own spiritual master], that SP wanted such individuals to continue the disciplic succession, to continue being Acaryas in the Sampradaya. Is that the tradion, the behavior of spiritual masters in our, or any Sampradaya?
So, if Srila Prabhupada was faced with making some "practical" adjustment in the "tradition" of our Sampradaya, it shouldn't be difficult at all, which one he would choose!
I personally was there when Rohini Kumar Swami [one of iskcon's fallen gurus] related being present, in New York, when Srila Prabhupada was asked by a reporter, "who is going to be the next Acarya?" And Rohini Kumara told us that SP's answer was, "After me there won't be another Acarya." Hoping this finds you in progressing Krsna consciousness, your friend, Padmagarbha dasa
[From Padmagarbha das] Dear Gopta,
Thank you for your kind and 'sentimental' letter. I too am quite 'sentimental', I even often tear up in sentimental movies. Only when it comes to the philosophy of Krsna consciousness, and specifically the words and teachings of Srila Prabhupada, as well as loyalty to Srila Prabhupada, I fanatically try to avoid sentimentality!
You feeling 'unworthy' and unqualified in weighing-in on the matter of Patita Pavan, Bhakta dasa and others who are rejecting SP's orders due to you not practicing strictly, is a reflection of your feelings of guilt as well as your humility. However, there is an ocean of difference between weakness and cheating, as stated perfectly by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja:
"Cheating and weakness are two separate things. Persons devoid of a cheating propensity achieve perfection in life, but a cheater is never successful. Vaisnavism is another name for simplicity. Cheaters are non-devotees. Sincere persons can be weak, but they are not cheaters. Cheaters say something but do something else. Weak people are embarrassed by their defects, whereas cheaters are maddened by their achievements. I will cheat the acharya,I will deceive the doctor,I will nourish the poisonous snake of my sinful propensity with banana and milk, hiding him in the hole of my cheating propensity, and I will demand name and fame from the people while posing as a saint [a senior devotee].
These are not symptoms of weakness but of utter deceitfulness. Such cheaters will never achieve any good. By hearing humbly from saints with a sincere attitude, however, one will gradually attain auspiciousness. After accepting tridandi-sannyasa if one remains busy with worldly activities, thinking that family life is more important than spiritual life or maintaining the sinful mentality of kidnapping Sita from Rama [stealing SP's disciples] as Ravana did even while dressed as a devotee, then one is a self-killer. We are far from the worship of Hari. Even if we have weakness and have enough anarthas to last us for millions of years, we are not as misfortunate as if we possessed a cheating propensity. It is better to take birth as animals or birds than to take shelter of cheating."
Gopta, by rejecting SP's orders [final] on the issue of Guru Tattva the leaders of iskcon AND their enablers are not only cheating the unsuspecting newcomers, but they are cheating the entire universe out of being able to take shelter at SP's lotus feet!
[PADA: Correct. People like Patita Pavan das, Bhakta das, the Gaudiya Matha folks etc., they are enabling the GBC's gurus to continue with their cheating, by promoting these cheaters as gurus.]
Had they kept SP at the center of this movement, most likely tens of millions of jivas would have taken shelter of this movement by now. Srila Prabhupada stated, "if the leaders follow strictly [his instructions], this movement will spread like wildfire." It is most disheartening and most offensive for Patita [and others] to reject, and to contradict SP's clear and well documented instructions on the ritvik-arrangement by quoting one of SP's godbrothers.
Toronto, 9 Nov. 1975
"My dear Visvakarma das,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 3, 1975 with the enclosed statement about Van Maharaja. So I have now issued orders that ALL my disciples should avoid ALL of my God brothers. They should not have ANY dealings with them nor even correspondence, nor should they give them any of my books or should they purchase any of their books, neither should you visit any of their temples. Please avoid them."
Those 'first generation' Prabhupada disciples who have rejected SP's 'final order', are usually those who are either extremely envious and ambitious, or often those who disobeyed SP's orders not to associate with his devious God brothers.
Bhakta das and Patita's claim that the 'ritviks' are impersonalists and atheists, as well as a cancer on the Sampradaya is a MOST outrageous and a MOST offensive direct attack on Srila Prabhupada.
Actually, what Patita endorses, the present iskcon guru tattva position, THAT is impersonalism and IT is a cancer on the Sampradaya!
The spiritual master and the body that he manifests in this material realm are to be worshiped, to be considered on the same level as the Supreme Lord. Just like red hot iron is considered fire, the body of the "bona fide" spiritual master is considered spiritual. In several letters SP stated that he IS present in his picture, therefor the worship of his picture, or murti is non-different from worshiping SP directly.
SP is personally present to accept the worship, to accept the bhoga that is being offered to his pictures.
In all iskcon centers, as well as in the homes of the "disciples" of iskcon's "gurus" arotics and offerings of bhoga are being performed to pictures of conditioned souls. Those individuals are NOT present in their pictures, they are NOT there to accept the offerings. All there is on the 'altar', is a piece of paper with pigments on it depicting the material form of a conditioned soul.
A body made of material elements, combined only to resemble the shape of a real person. The 'material' body is NOT the person! So, I firmly belief that since neither the pictures, nor the actual material bodies of conditioned souls posing as gurus are 'spiritual', are they to be accepted as 'persons' [what to speak of being spiritual masters]. Therefore, such very practice must be considered "idol worship", and that actually is "impersonalism"! Propogating the belief that conditioned souls [bodies], many of them guilty of behaviors not even acceptable by "karmis", are to be worshiped as good as the Supreme Lord, THAT I feel is a "cancer on the Sampradaya"!
"One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari [the highest stage of spiritual realization] " (The Nectar of Instruction, text 5, purport)
"There is no possibility that a first-class devotee will fall down, even though he may mix with non-devotees to preach. Conviction and faith gradually increase to make one an uttama-adhikari, a first-class devotee." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 22.71, purport]
"When one has attained the topmost position of maha-bhagavata, he is to be accepted as a guru and worshipped exactly like Hari, the Personality of Godhead. ONLY such a person is eligible to occupy the
post of a guru." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 24.330, purport)
"It is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. [...] Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Krishna, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul." (Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.14, purport, 1972 ed.)
"A bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not deviate at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord [...]" Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 4.42, purport)
"A spiritually advanced person who acts with authority, as the spiritual master, speaks as the Supreme Personality of Godhead dictates from within. Thus it is not he that is personally speaking. When a pure devotee or spiritual master speaks, what he says should be accepted as having been directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the parampara system." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 5.71, purport)
"You are correct when you say that when the Spiritual Master speaks it should be taken that Krishna is speaking. That is a fact. A Spiritual Master must be liberated." (Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 10th, 1969)
".... such an acarya, or spiritual master, should be considered non-different from Krishna, that is, he should be considered the incarnation of Lord Krishna's potency. Such a personality is Krsnalingita-vigraha, that is, he is always embraced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna [...] He is the guru, or spiritual
master, for the entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the maha-bhagavata stage, and a paramahamsa-thakura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as paramahamsa or thakura." (Sri Caitanya-
caritamrta, Madhya-lila 25.9, purport)
"Unless one is a resident of Krishna Loka, one cannot be a Spiritual Master. That is the first proposition. A layman cannot be a Spiritual Master, and if he becomes so then he will simply create disturbance [...] So to summarize the whole thing, it is to be understood that a bona fide Spiritual Master is a resident of Krishna Loka." (Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 10th, 1969)
"One should understand the Spiritual Master to be as good as I am, said the Blessed Lord [...] `the Spiritual Master is the sum total of all demigods. That is, the acarya has been identified with God Himself." (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, February 1936)
"The spiritual master, or acarya, is always situated in the spiritual status of life. Birth, death, old age and disease do not affect him [...] therefore, after the disappearance of an acarya, his body is never burnt to ashes, for it is a spiritual body. The spiritual body is always unaffected by material conditions." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.4.20, purport)
"The conclusion is that a spiritual master who is authorized and empowered by Krishna and his own guru should be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the verdict of
Visvanatha Cakravarti: saksad-dharitvenasa. [...] As Hari is free to act as He likes, the empowered spiritual master is also free. As Hari is not subject to mundane rules and regulations, the spiritual master empowered by Him is also not subject." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 10.136, purport)
"Unless one takes shelter of a bonafide, fully Krsna conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Krsna... ....Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Krsna can understand Krsna." [SB 7-5-32]
"Unless one is initiated by a bonafide spiritual master, ALL his devotional activities are USELESS. A person who is not properly initiated can again descend into the animal species." [Madhya Lila 15 .
"One should take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, who is AUTHORIZED by his predecessor spiritual master. This is called dikshan-vidhana. [SB 4.8.54]
"A siksa guru [instructing guru or priest] who instructs against the instructions of the spiritual master
he is not a siksa guru. He is a demon! Sometimes the diksa guru [initiating guru] is not present always. Therefor one can take learning, instructions from an advanced devotee. That is called siksa-guru.
But siksa-guru does not mean he is speaking something against the teachings of the diksa-guru. He is not a siksa-guru. He is a rascal. Because that is offense. Guru avajna, defying the authority of guru.
This is the first offense. So, one who is offensive, how can he make advance in chanting? He cannot make. Then everything is finished, in the beginning!" [Bg. 17:1-3, 07-4-74, Hawaii]
"Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is NO such single instance throughout the whole vedic literature.
And nowadays, so many rascals they are becoming guru without any authority. That is NOT guru. You MUST be authorized!" [Bg. 4.2]
"As for your next question, can only a pure devotee deliver others, ... anyone if he is a pure devotee he can deliver others, he can become spiritual master. But unless he is on that platform he should not attempt it. Then both of them will go to hell, like the blind man leading the blind." [letter to Tusta Krsna dasa, 12-14-72]
"Therefore, having a bona fide spiritual master and serving him, and pleasing him, and getting his mercy is essential. Otherwise there can be NO advancement in Krsna consciousness. And unless the spiritual master is a pure devotee of Krsna, then he has no potency to give Krsna. He is simply a cheating rascal!
So, in fact, above all the rules and regulations and offenses I have mentioned, the most important thing, the essential thing, which is required, if you want to come to the stage of purely chanting the Hare Krsna mantra,
is, you MUST have a bonafide spiritual master, who is a pure devotee of Krsna. Without having a bona fide spiritual master you can chant Hare Krsna forever, but will not be able to advance, because Krsna does
not reveal Himself in this way. He ONLY reveals Himself to those devotees who surrender to, and serve, and please His pure devotee!" [letter to his London disciples, July 1969]
"Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide, fully Krsna conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Krsna.... Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Krsna , and has taken the dust of his lotus feet can understand Krsna..... One must take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master, that is the way to return home, back to Godhead." [SB 7.5.32 purport]
"It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple". [S.B. 28.7]
May 28, 1977, Vrndavan
Satsvarupa Maharaja:"Then our next question concerns initiations in the future, PARTICULAR AT THE TIME WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER WITH US . We want to know how initiations would be conducted."
Srila Prabhupada:"Yes, I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating acarya." [ 'Officiating' is the performance of a function on behalf of another]
Tamal Krsna Maharaja: "Is that called ritvik-acarya?"
Srila Prabhupada: "Ritvik. Yes".
Gopta, the leaders of iskcon, the gbc, the sanyasis, and most of all, the "gurus", they have rejected outright a multitude of Srila Prabhupada's orders: "The order NOT to change his books; the order to sign the 'Oath of Allegience'; the order not to associate with his God brothers; the order to implement the "DOM"; the order to create self-sufficient farming communities; and most of all the order to continue the "ritvik initiation" process "Henceforth".
Outright rejection of, and even contradicting the orders, the very teachings of ones spiritual master I belief to the ultimate act of "being critical", of "finding fault" with the Acarya. And the following is what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta says of those who engage in such behavior:
"I do not want to see the faces of vile persons who criticize my Gurudeva, or who support those who criticize him. They are the cause of all inauspiciousness."
"May I never see the wicked face of that evil person who maligns [defames] the lotus feet of my Sri Gurudeva, or anyone who countenances [supports, approves] such a slanderer."
So, Gopta, do I want to engage with Patita in a debate on this issue? No, I don't think it would serve any purpose. Even if Srila Prabhupada gave me the intelligence, the right words and arguments to "defeat" Patita, I don't belief he would accept it. It would be like 'casting pearls before swines'.
This subject has been expertly debated and presented for years by prabhus much more qualified than me, and I am sure Patita, Bhakta Dasa, and all the other "enablers" have seen all the evidence,and they have heard all that can be said on this issue. Yet, they won't accept. "It is simple for the simple, and crooked for the crooked!"
It is ironic, the person Patita quotes, to support his argument, HH Puri Maharaja, not only had he publicly stated that iskcon's gurus are not "qualified" for their posts, but Puri Maharaja also can be heard on one of Siddhanta dasa's "Memory" tapes confirming Srila Prabhupada ordering for"ritviks" to succeed him after his departure.
In the debate on facebook, when confronted with the argument that over forty iskcon "gurus] have already 'fallen down', all Patita came back with is that this does not mean that 'they' are all unqualified. He is hereby proclaiming that Srila Prabhupada set up a system of "transcendental Russian Roulette", whereby the aspiring initiates in iskcon are to select a guru, while keeping their fingers crossed, hoping they chose one who is not going to fall down. Pure insanity, I say!
One of the main arguments of those rejecting the 'ritvik' system of initiations, is that it is "against tradition", that it is not part of our Sampradaya. And that Srila Prabhupada would never 'break' tradition. Never mind that he did, and that the Acarya has the authority to do so!
Instead, those ney-sayers insist that Srila Prabhupada set up a system by which unqualified, conditioned souls, still posessing unspeakable anarthas [pedophelia, homosexual behavior, whore-mongering, adultery, thieving, lying, and even the murdering of Vaisnavas, including the poisoning of their own spiritual master], that SP wanted such individuals to continue the disciplic succession, to continue being Acaryas in the Sampradaya. Is that the tradion, the behavior of spiritual masters in our, or any Sampradaya?
So, if Srila Prabhupada was faced with making some "practical" adjustment in the "tradition" of our Sampradaya, it shouldn't be difficult at all, which one he would choose!
I personally was there when Rohini Kumar Swami [one of iskcon's fallen gurus] related being present, in New York, when Srila Prabhupada was asked by a reporter, "who is going to be the next Acarya?" And Rohini Kumara told us that SP's answer was, "After me there won't be another Acarya." Hoping this finds you in progressing Krsna consciousness, your friend, Padmagarbha dasa
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