Sunday, June 18, 2017

Bhakti Vikas Swami needs to be removed (Giribaradhari das)



RE: H.H. Bhakti Vikasa Swami

BY: GIRIBARADHARI DAS (ACBSP)

andham tamah pravisanti
ye 'sambhutim upasate
tato bhuya iva te tamo
ya u sambhutyam ratah
(Sri Isopanishad, verse 12)

Srila Prabhupada has often used the phrase, 'We are at war with Maya'. (Declare war on the illusory energy – Vaniquotes)

There are many instances of heroes in war. Srila Prabhupada tells many stories of the Gurkha warriors. (Soldiers (Conversations) – Vaniquotes) One such instance comes to mind. The story of the Gurkha soldier who was armed with his machete-like Gurkha knife when he was faced with an enemy soldier who had a rifle and attached bayonet. The Gurkha pulled the rifle and bayonet with his left hand into himself and at the same time chopped at his opponent's neck with his right hand, which was wielding his Gurkha knife.

In Mahabharat there are so many examples and instances of heroism and of great warriors. Just as we are familiar with the many ranks in the armed forces, such as private, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, major, general, and so on, there are so many ranks in the Mahabharata and there are accounts of great warriors; maha-maharathis, ati-maharathis, maharathis, atirathis. (Maharathi (warrior) – Wikipedia)

Srila Prabhupada has said that we are at war with Maya. In war there are also many casualties. Casualties of war. "It is very difficult to conquer over the influence of Maya, but [he] who is firmly fixed up in Krishna Consciousness cannot be a victim of Maya. Anyway, we cannot stop our fighting with Maya, neither we can expect that all our soldiers will remain unhurt. You know Arjuna's son Abhimanya was killed in the battle in which Bhismadeva was a party. Fight Krishna's cause sincerely andyou will be gloried with victory."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, December 21, 1967)

"They are now feeling the pressure of the opposite party. So... Fight is fight. When there is fight, my Guru Mahārāja used to say, 'Some of our soldiers will die. It doesn't matter.' You don't expect that not a single soldier of your party will not die. No, some of them will die. Still, fight must go on. Fight cannot be stopped. So fight like brave soldiers, Krishna will help you. Don't make any compromise. No truce with these demons. Fight must be. Our fighting weapon is Hare Krishna movement. That's all. Sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). 

Astra. That astra is yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana, this saṅkīrtana, this astra weapon. They're now afraid of this astra more than atomic weapon. Is it not?"
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Bhuvanesvara, February 3, 1977)

So it is to be understood that in the fight against Maya there will be casualties. And so it has been proven. Many came into contact with Srila Prabhupada, took first initiation, took second initiation, took sannyasa, travelled with Srila Prabhupada, managed temples, distributed many books, rendered all kinds of service, were pujaris, book distributors, cooks and so on. But somehow in the war against Maya they became casualties. Maya is strong and will attack one, and sometimes a soldier will surrender to Maya.

[PADA: Correct, just about everyone knew all along that these leaders were falling down left, right and center -- from the 1960s to the end of the 1970s when Srila Prabhupada departed. In fact he suspended sannyasa just before he departed. 

This begs the question, why did so many people assume these falling down characters could pull off the stunt of being "appointed acharyas"? Even Narayan Maharaja said they are all monkeys, at the same time, he said they should be worshiped as acharyas. He did not think his monkey acharya's program would fail? 

Why did hardly no one see the writing on the wall, making a class of falling down people into acharyas would all end up as a catastrophic failure? And why are a few remaining people, like Hanuman dasa Croatia, saying that the leaders who went along with this bogus process like Bhakti Vikas swami -- are foolish acquiescing puppy dogs, simultaneously, they are bona fide? And why would anyone defend keeping BVKS at this point, which is the subject of this article?]  
Many people have suffered in their waging of war against Maya. Many succumbed to the allurements of Maya, were tempted by Maya and left the association of Srila Prabhupada. Some returned to the association of Srila Prabhupada, but many did not. Maya overcame them. The enemy, Maya, is very strong. It is hard fighting against Maya and it takes great will and energy and great determination to have faith in Srila Prabhupada, in Lord Caitanya and in Lord Krsna. 

To wage war against Maya the soldiers and the generals must be qualified. The leaders must be qualified. In order for the society to defend itself against the onslaught of the forces of Maya, the soldiers must have good officers commanding, guiding, demonstrating how and where to wage war. Captains, lieutenants, commanders in chief must be capable in order to demonstrate their prowess and steadfastness in the war against the enemy, Maya.

[PADA: Really good analysis here!]


And then we have the enemy within the gates. The enemy who is in our midst. The enemy who will slit your throat when you are sleeping, the enemy who will stab you in the back, the enemy who will sabotage your assault, the enemy who will give false information, the enemy who will modify the commands, the enemy who will mislead, the enemy who will confuse your mind, the enemy who will weaken your defense, the enemy who will thwart your strategies from within, the enemy in disguise, the enemy who assumes the dress of a sadhu.

It is hard enough fighting against Maya, but when Maya enters one's own camp and creates havoc, it is truly a routing disaster.

When a person first hears about the mission of Srila Prabhupada, first hears about Krsna and is attracted to the Hare Krsna Movement, ISKCON, and then leaves because of a temple president's abuse, or a sankirtan leaders's abuse or a manager's abuse or a teacher's abuse or a sannyasi's abuse, or of someone's abuse from within one's own camp, then that is most unfortunate. There have been many instances of children being abused, women being abused, and men being abused by various so-called leaders. 

And this has left many being traumatized, either physically or emotionally. Or sexually. Many of the abused have been tolerant and determined and stayed on to fight. Many more have not.

It takes so many hours and days and weeks and months and years, of book distribution, of harinam, of preaching to get one person to come and associate with the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. Then, if that person becomes disgusted with, and frustrated by, and horrified by, and has an abhorrence for ISKCON because of abuse, it may take many hundreds or thousands of lifetimes before that person will again be able to turn towards a spiritual path, many lifetimes before again being afforded the opportunity to associate with the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

[PADA: Amazing, and sad, but very likely true. Human life is itself very rare, how many souls are in other species compared to humans? And then after that, association with a pure devotee is even more rare. And then, if one is pushed out of the pure devotee's lifeboat, he might sink back into the material ocean of birth and death for an extensive period of time before such a rare opportunity arises again.]

And sometimes there are some leaders who have somehow or other become leaders in ISKCON but they have become useless. In the history of ISKCON there have been corrupt leaders, fallen gurus, pedophiles and philanderers.

[PADA: Ouch! Or worse, the other leaders are, at least according to Hanuman dasa Croatia, compliant and compromised puppy dogs who simply follow and support the corruption without discrimination, so they can get the bone of post and position tossed to them by the main corrupt ones. And then as these compliant puppies chew on the bone of position given to them by the corrupt ones, this makes them even more weak and compromised.]

If the leaders, the generals, make mistakes, many people suffer. If the leaders are of poor moral and spiritual fibre, many people suffer. If the leaders cannot tell right from wrong, abuse from non-abuse men, women and children suffer. Many who wish to follow the path of Krsna Consciousness suffer. 

I would therefore ask that H.H. Bhakti Vikasa Swami stand down or be removed from his post. Resign with dignity. Through his recent writings he has truly demonstrated to one and all that he is unfit in every sense of the word to be in a position of leadership. That is patently obvious. He ought step down.

In the war against Maya such persons can certainly serve in the lower ranks, but not in a position of leadership. I hope that these online discussions have led Bhakti Vikasa and those who still follow him to realize that he is not of leadership material, and I would respectfully ask those who associate with him, his friends, his followers, to ask him to step back and recover himself. 

He is a danger to those who are fighting against Maya. He is a liability that ISKCON cannot afford. He must continue in his war against Maya of course, but as a private. Not as a general. It is obvious that he is not fit for such a post. Better he not misguide others and make more casualties.

It takes so much energy and time to encourage a person to take shelter in ISKCON. If a person has a bad experience it may take many millions of births before another opportunity arises for that person to engage in Lord Caitanya's sankirtan movement. People must be enthused by the association of genuine, caring vaishnavas; not pretenders. Bhakti Vikasa, I say to you, "Do you want to help Srila Prabhupada's Mission? Then please don't help. Your help is causing untold ruckus. Please don't help."

Of course, there are others in the hierarchy of the ISKCON management structure in the guise of leaders. It is not only Bhakti Vikasa who is a hindrance to Lord Caitanya's movement. Why are the contributors to Sampradaya Sun taking it upon themselves to point out to one and all, the frailties and dangers to ISKCON of having someone such as Bhakti Vikasa advising people on marriage or women or children? 

In the vernacular one would say, "He hasn't got a clue!" And he is not the only one. Why do we even have an ISKCON GBC? The GBC is a body set up by Srila Prabhupada to see that spiritual standards are maintained within ISKCON. But the GBC are not united. Each one has his own individual interpretation of what the GBC is. Not even the GBC listen to the GBC. So why has this mantle of responsibility fallen upon the various contributors and editors who write for the website of Sampradaya Sun? What are the members of the GBC doing? Why can they not take it upon themselves to speak out?

Just see what is happening all over the world. What has happened to the ISKCON standards? The GBC, the sannyasis, the leaders, the temple presidents. No one seems to see what is going on. However, if Bhakti Vikasa can be humble enough to stand down, reflect upon the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, imbibe the mood of Srila Prabhupada and take it upon himself to speak out, tell the truth, then perhaps we will have a start to a real spiritual movement, the real ISKCON, as Srila Prabhupada envisioned. 

And get rid of all the strange goings on in the various ISKCON centres around the world and focus on the mission of Srila Prabhupada as very clearly detailed in the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. Stand down, Bhakti Vikasa, before your ideas on child abuse and child abusers are passed on to successive generations. For therein lies the danger.

His true and good friends and loyal followers ought lend a guiding hand to Bhakti Vikasa. That would be for the best. Let him write books. Do research. Let him not be in any leadership position. He is obviously not a leader. Not in a practical way. And this is true of many of our so-called leaders. Srila Prabhupada uses the term, "mis leaders". From the submissions of Bhakti Vikasa, it is blatantly obvious that he is indicative of the deep seated problem. The tip of the iceberg, as they say.

Regarding the leaders in ISKCON: well, let's just hope that some persons of high moral and ethical character with a spiritual understanding will become the leaders of ISKCON. Hopefully one day. Krsna and Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada willing.

There is certainly a dearth of that morality and ethics right now, as clearly shown by the position that Bhakti Vikasa has foolishly taken in defending the known ISKCON child abuser, Bhakti Vidya Purna. The ISKCON Child Protection Office has many files on Bhakti Vidya Purna and his treatment of young innocent vaishnavas. (Report on the Bhaktivedanta Gurukula Village)

Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes pseudo-Vaisnavas, "disciples of Kali" – Vaniquotes

Bogus/ cheating

Madhya 1.218 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, "chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevānistāra pāyeche kebā: unless one serves a Vaiṣṇava, he cannot be delivered. The spiritual master initiates the disciple to deliver him, and if the disciple executes the order of the spiritual master and does not offend other Vaiṣṇavas, his path is clear. Consequently Śrī CaitanyaMahāprabhu requested all the Vaiṣṇavas present to show mercy toward the two brothers, Rūpa and Sanātana, who had just been initiated by the Lord. 

When a Vaiṣṇava sees that another Vaiṣṇava is a recipient of the Lord's mercy, he becomes very happy. Vaiṣṇavas are not envious. If a Vaiṣṇava, by the mercy of the Lord, is empowered by Him to distribute the Lord's holy name all over the world, other Vaiṣṇavas become very joyful-that is, if they are truly Vaiṣṇavas. One who is envious of the success of a Vaiṣṇava is certainly not a Vaiṣṇava himself, but an ordinary mundane man. Envy and jealousy are manifested by mundane people, not by Vaiṣṇavas. 

Why should a Vaiṣṇava be envious of another Vaiṣṇava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaiṣṇava is very pleased to accept another Vaiṣṇava who is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the śāstra (upekṣā). The word upekṣā means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaiṣṇavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. 

There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. When Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā nistāra payeche kebā, he is indicating an actual Vaiṣṇava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava.

This behavior is indicative of real Vaiṣṇavas. When they saw that Rūpa and Sanātana were fortunate enough to receive the mercy of the Lord, they were so pleased that they all congratulated the two brothers. A jealous person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava is not at all happy to see the success of another Vaiṣṇava in receiving the Lord's mercy. Unfortunately in this Age of Kali there are many mundane persons in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas, and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has described them as disciples of Kali. He says, kali-celā. 

He indicates that there is another Vaiṣṇava, a pseudo Vaiṣṇava with tilaka on his nose and kaṇṭhī beads around his neck. Such a pseudoVaiṣṇava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaiṣṇavas. Although passing for a Vaiṣṇava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore says that such a pseudo Vaiṣṇava is not a Vaiṣṇava at all but a disciple of Kali-yuga. 

A disciple of Kali cannot become an ācārya by the decision of some high court. Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a Vaiṣṇavaācārya. A Vaiṣṇava ācārya is self-effulgent, and there is no need for any court judgment. A false ācārya may try to override a Vaiṣṇava by a high-court decision, but Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga." Madhya Lila 1.220 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta)

There are many jealous people in the dress of vaishnavas in this Krsna Consciousness Movement.

"There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krsna consciousness movement, […] Such a pseudo Vaisnava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaisnavas. Although passing for a Vaisnava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaisnava. Bhaktivinoda Thakura therefore says that such a pseudo Vaisnava is not a Vaisnava at all but a disciple of Kali-yuga."
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 1:218 and 1:220, purports)

"By a false display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God. [...] to mislead the people in general they themselves become so-called acaryas, but do not even follow the principles of the acaryas. These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society."
(Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 12, purport)

Soldiers (Conversations) - Vaniquotes

Many quotations about waging war on Maya. The crocodile of maya.

Declare war on the illusory energy - Vaniquotes

Sri Isopanishad Purport of verse 12:

"...And the pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor detachment from material affairs. Most of them want to continue in the golden shackles of material bondage, under the shadow of altruistic and philanthropic activities, and in the name of religious principles, and still pass as spiritual masters as devotees of God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acryas the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession; and to mislead the people in general they themselves become so called acaryas without even following the principles of the acaryas.

These rogues in human society are the most dangerous elements and, for want of religious government, they pass on without being punished by the law of the state. They cannot, however, avoid the law of the Supreme who has clearly declared in the Bhagavad gita that these envious demons in the garb of religious propagandists shall be thrown down into the darkest regions of hell. It is confirmed in the Sri Isopanishad that the pseudo religionists are heading towards the most obnoxious place in the universe after finishing with the spiritual mastership business which is simply for the matter of sense gratification."

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