Srila Prabhupada's Books Not Potent? (Mahatma das vs PADA)

[PADA: Thanks Mahatma das for your article, saying that Madhu Pandit das (and PADA) should not recognize that ISKCON people can make advancement under the current GBC guru structure. I think you are not aware that probably 90% of our various site's readers are current or former followers of GBC gurus. If we agree with you -- and say all of these people are not capable of advancing, that would chop off almost ALL of our customers, and this would severely hamper our preaching effort.  

You also seem to be very confused about how these people are actually capable of making advancement? Yes, they may have officially accepted a GBC guru, but they are still mostly reading from Srila Prabhupada's books. And that is how (at least some of them) are capable of making advancement. And that is also why they eventually may come to read sites like PADA, they read something from the books and realize that the GBC are not following the books, so they investigate further and come to us. Why is this not advancing?

For example, one devotee we are good friends with in a foreign land says that for the past 20 years his temple has lost 95% of the people who joined during that time frame. OK they join, stay a short while, and then leave, and he says, that is because they read the books of Srila Prabhupada and they realize the GBC's guru process is bogus, and then they leave. Now according to you, they did not advance --- from reading the books? How can you say that reading the books is not advancing?    

Worse! Why are you saying that they are not advancing when they read the books and then they reject the GBC process? It seems to us you are saying the books have no potency? Or worse, reading the books is not advancing, they should have stayed with the GBC? Sorry, we would say reading the books is making them advance, and we have plenty of examples, at least hundreds if not more, of how this is working nicely. 

Many of these folks read the books, then they come to read our sites, or they may have seen various news media about GBC scandals, and so ok, they were at one time with the GBC, but then they became educated further and they left, and in fact most of them left. Why are you saying that they did not advance? Not sure what your point is? I am also in touch with a few somewhat highly placed ISKCON people who told me, the GBC's gurus are a crock, and they know that from reading the books. Now according to you, these people have made no advancement?

Anyway! Most of them left, because the behavior of the GBC's gurus does not match the concept of guru found in the books. And a lot of them continue on having faith in Srila Prabhupada and his books, they just do not want to participate in the GBC's process. Its baffling that according to you, these people have not advanced? They left the GBC's gurus process due to reading the books, and are now more or less accepting Srila Prabhupada, and my friend says in his foreign city a lot of these people do not even keep the GBC's guru's pictures on their home altars anymore, only Srila Prabhupada's, how is that not advancing? 

I am also now on a forum of several hundred devotees, and ALL of them are past or current affiliated with ISKCON, and ALL of them have had ISKCON gurus at one time (some have had four as their gurus fell down). If we started out saying that they are fools who could NEVER make ANY progress from reading Srila Prabhupada's books, we will simply stop all the preaching to these people. Sorry, we should recognize that many of them have made progress by association with the books of the acharya, because they have! (Some of them are now calling me to discuss things further).

They are our best customers, and Madhu Pandit and others recognize this. Mahatma, you want us to boycott our whole program of preaching to all these current or ex-ISKCON people, but that would be declaring that reading Srila Prabhupada's books has no potency, because we would be saying even if they read his books they cannot advance. Why would we insist on saying people who read the books cannot make advancement, when we see hundreds and hundreds of examples where such people have advanced? 

Sorry! Many of these people ARE reading the books of Srila Prabhupada and thus they ARE making progress, and thus more and more of them ARE coming to accept our idea! And more of them ARE connecting with us, because they have made advancement! And that is also why 95 percent of their people leave, they are advancing in realization, and in large part that is because they read the books of Srila Prabhupada.

Madhu Pandit himself was one of these former GBC people, and our preaching, and of course the books, helped him come to the platform of worship of Srila Prabhupada. Why should we condemn this process? This is the same problem we have with HKC folks, they say Madhu Pandit should not take donations from sinful people, well that program was made by Srila Prabhupada, not Madhu Pandit? They are attacking the acharya, not Madhu Pandit. 

Anyway, if you guys do not want us to preach to our best customers, then basically you us want to stop our entire preaching process. Our program is a success, we are getting more people on board all the time. This was also the problem of the Gaudiya Matha, they attacked the preaching of Srila Prabhupada, but did not have great success preaching themselves. If there is a better process, we are not seeing it manifesting. 

Yes, the GBC guru people are reading the books of Srila Prabhupada, and yes, for that reason they can advance. And to say that reading the books of the acharya makes it impossible to advance, means you do not have much faith in these books? Or what? Then you wonder why we are not promoting your materials, well if your basic premise is that reading the books means you cannot make any advancement ... how can we promote that? ys pd]