GBC's guru voting "unfounded in Srila Prabhupada's instructions"

Debunking Lies and Fallacies in the 
'She Can Become Guru' Video

BY: DHAMESVAR MAHAPRABHU DAS (VDA)

"Prof. O'Connell: Is it possible, Swamiji, for a woman to be a guru in the line of disciplic succession?

Prabhupada: Yes. Jahnava devi was-Nityananda's wife. She became. If she is able to go to the highest perfection of life, why it is not possible to become guru? But, not so many. Actually one who has attained the perfection, she can become guru. But man or woman, unless one has attained the perfection.... Yei krsna-tattva-vetta sei guru haya [Cc. Madhya 8.128]. 

The qualification of guru is that he must be fully cognizant of the science of Krsna. Then he or she can become guru. Yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei guru haya. [break] In our material world, is it any prohibition that woman cannot become professor? If she is qualified, she can become professor. What is the wrong there? She must be qualified. That is the position. So similarly, if the woman understands Krsna consciousness perfectly, she can become guru."

(Interview with Professors O'Connell, Motilal and Shivaram -- June 18, 1976, Toronto)

[PADA: Oh no! Recently some Bhakti Vikas swami followers were writing to PADA, saying us folks are going to hell and so on, because we have rejected the idea that any "yei Krsna tatta" person can become a guru. Ooops! Not what the BVKS / GBC guru program has been doing? They kicked out almost all of the 5,000 Srila Prabhupada devotees, saying they are not surrendered to the BVKS illicit sex and debauchee's acharya's program.  

If "anyone" can be a guru, why did they kick out these 5,000 gurus, and claim that only members of the BVKS debauchee acharya's process can be gurus in ISKCON? Then, BVKS says women cannot be gurus. There are easily tens of millions of women in the world who have rejected the BVKS illicit sex messiah's program. Why are these women "less advanced" than BVKS is? 

This is an insult to women all over the planet, -- the women class has to worship an illicit sex and debauchee's guru lineage, or they are branded as "too foolish" to come and do so? No, they are way smarter than BVKS and the assembled GBC, they know that worship of debauchees takes people to the hellish planets, and they are not interested in that process. Of course!  

Tens of millions of women will never worship the BVKS's illicit sex acharya's program as their messiahs, why does that mean they are not advanced? That means BVKS is picking on women, saying they are not advanced as he is, because they do not worship his illicit sex with men, women and children as their messiahs from heaven program? Why attack women wholesale, all because -- as a group -- they do not want to worship the BVKS illicit sex with men, women and children "chain of gurus from God" acharya's process? 

Bhakti Vikas's program buried their dog lover messiah in a samadhi

Sorry, the qualification for guru in ISKCON today is that they have to accept that acharyas are often debauchees. Anyone who says acharyas are not commonly degraded and falling down fools, participating into illicit sex, drugs, alcohol, porno movies and so on -- is booted out of ISKCON. So in ISKCON today its not simply that "anyone" who knows the science of Krishna can be a guru, its anyone who accepts that acharyas are often fallen down and debauchees can be a guru. 

Of course then again, "anyone" who knows the science is a broad brushed term, it is also applied to us newcomer neophytes who are only qualified to give others some basic beginner's instructions, but we are not qualified to be diksha gurus. And in that case, it means these neophytes should act as SHIKSHA GURUS and preach according to their capacity. They should NOT artificially claim acharya's status. So we are going to hell, for saying that neophytes cannot be diksha gurus in our parampara?]    

In this essay, I will establish the positive truth of how any man or woman can become a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, rather than an advocate of any imperfect 'ism' of this world, and I will debunk the unauthorized claims and arguments in the 'She Can Become Guru' video: Shrila Prabhupada says, "The qualification of guru is that he must be fully cognizant of the science of Krsna. Then he or she can become guru." Thus the qualification to become a guru is the same for both men and women.  [...]

Why didn't "the men" on the GBC notice there was a problem here?

"The infatuation and bondage which accrue to a man from attachment to any other object is not as complete as that resulting from attachment to a woman or to the fellowship of men who are fond of women. A living entity who, as a result of attachment to a woman in his previous life, has been endowed with the form of a woman, foolishly looks upon maya in the form of a man, her husband, as the bestower of wealth, progeny, house and other material assets."

[PADA: What happens in ISKCON is that they have "men" acharyas who are attracted to illicit sex with men, women and perhaps even children. So really, anyone in the house is not safe from their sexual predator gurus, except maybe the family goat? And this sexual predator program is "a continuation of Krishna's guru parampara"? Sorry! Any ordinary woman walking down the street ALREADY knows that deviants are not part of a chain of successors from God? And because BVKS is voted into his sex with taxi driver's guru program, he is bona fide? And we are wrong and going to hell for saying his sex with taxi drivers messiahs program is -- not -- the qualification of acharyas?] 

However, the 'She Can Become Guru' advocates have a different message than Shrila Prabhupada, one of affirmative action. They believe that the qualification to become a guru is to be rubber-stamped by the GBC, and that both men and women have equal likelihood to become qualified, but that artificial prejudice is repressing women. The video begins:

"The crown jewel of discrimination against women in ISKCON is the refusal of the GBC to allow them to initiate disciples. This is the top position of spiritual leadership in our society, and there's no question that the fact that there are 80 men and no women initiating makes people turned off to this organization."

The underlying belief here is that if there are 80 gurus in male bodies, and no women, that this is due to discrimination by the GBC. However, in the introduction to the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, when Shrila Prabhupada lists the acaryas of our lineage, he lists 32 gurus in male bodies and no women. According to the ISKCON Sastric Advisory Committee, known gurus in female bodies from our lineage include only:

[PADA: The GBC guru lineage lists all sorts of people who have fallen down, how did it go from 32 bona fide gurus to over 100 dubious ones?]

"If she is able to go to the highest perfection of life, why it is not possible to become guru? But, not so many. Actually one who has attained the perfection, she can become guru. But man or woman, unless one has attained the perfection.... Yei krsna-tattva-vetta sei guru haya [Cc. Madhya 8.128]. The qualification of guru is that he must be fully cognizant of the science of Krsna. Then he or she can become guru." (Shrila Prabhupada, June 18, 1976, Toronto)

"Prabhupada: If a woman is perfect in Krsna consciousness... Just like Jahnava-devi, Lord Nityananda's wife, she was acarya. She was acarya. She was controlling the whole Vaisnava community.

Atreya Rsi: Lord Nityananda?

Prabhupada: Wife. Jahnava-devi. She was controlling the whole Gaudiya Vaisnava community.

Atreya Rsi: Do you have references about that in any of your books, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: I don't think. But there are many acaryas. Maybe somewhere I might have mentioned. It is not that woman cannot be acarya. Generally, they do not become. In very special case. But Jahnava-devi was accepted as, but she did not declare." (Room Conversation -- June 29, 1972, San Diego)

The GBC does not have the power to make any man or woman qualified as a spiritual master. Each individual is responsible for his or her own Krishna consciousness, and if qualified, he or she is automatically a guru. If GBC vote had the power to make people bona fide spiritual masters, then then none of the many devotees who they have approved would have fallen down.

[PADA: Now we are making progress, yes the GBC has no power to make people into gurus, otherwise so many of them would not have fallen. Bravo!] 

It is an essentially useless system unfounded in Shrila Prabhupada's instructions which leads to unnecessary political issues like the complaints of the 'She Can Become Guru' advocates. Instead, devotees ought to be taught from Shrila Prabhupada's books how to recognize a bona fide spiritual master, and then choose any qualified devotee to take initiation from. And all such gurus will transparently represent the Founder-Acharya, who should be the focus and ultimate authority for all generations of devotees to come in ISKCON.

[PADA: GBC's guru voting process is "unfounded in Srila Prabhupada's instructions." More progress.]

Next in the video, we are presented with a picture of many young devotees standing in front of the Krishna House in Gainesville, Florida. The 'She Can Become Guru' advocates explain that:

"Here in Gainesville we've had over 200 young people taking part in Krishna consciousness. They like the chanting; they get involved. They tend to shy away from being involved in the organization on a long term basis because of regressive attitudes like this from the leadership."

Because I am in this picture, and I personally know every single person who is pictured in it, I can testify that not a single one of them has shied away from Krishna consciousness on account of what they consider regressive attitudes from the leadership. There is one person in the picture who used to cross-dress on the strength of the argument that he was not his body, and he left the temple to bicycle cross-state, but it had nothing to do with being offended by the leadership of ISKCON. Furthermore, in my many years at Krishna House, I never encountered one example of this claim. So it is a lie.

[PADA: Right, the Gainseville ISKCON program is the Southern headquarters of the worshipers of the illicit sex with men, women and children guru's parampara. They teach in essence, the guru parampara comes from Krishna, and therefore you'll find it contains -- drug addicts, sexual predators, criminals, machine gun swamis, pornography addicts, people who heads have been chopped off for having sex with other's wifes, and so on and so forth.] 

"Women should be under the protection. In the Manu-samhita it is said that woman should not be given freedom. Na stri svatantryam arhati. They cannot properly utilize freedom. It is better to remain dependent. That is very good. Independent woman cannot be happy. That's a fact. We have seen in the Western countries, on, in the name of independence, so many women are unhappy. So that is not recommended in the Vedic civilization and on the varnasrama-dharma." (Shrila Prabhupada, lecture on SB 3.25.5-6 -- Bombay, November 5, 1974)

[PADA: Right, women should be protected, instead, as soon as they say they do not want their children to worship an illicit sex with men, women and children guru's parampara they are booted out the door, insulted, vilified, castigated, name called, harassed, demonized -- and all the rest.] 
And although the 'She Can Become Guru' advocates claim to represent the interests of women, in fact they only disempower women by convincing them that they are victims of artificial prejudice that is in fact non-existent, or at best based on the artificial institutionalization of guruship in ISKCON. Truly empowered women know that their Krishna consciousness does not depend on anything but chanting their rounds, reading Shrila Prabhupada's books, associating with devotees, honoring prasadam, and so on.

[PADA: Nope, being a woman in ISKCON today means you'll have to advocate for the GBC's illicit sex with men, women and children guru parampara or you'll will be booted out on your derriere, as has happened already to thousands of them. Women as a class are not going to participate in that deviation, and to say they should is an insult to their intelligence which comes from the same supersoul the men have. ys pd]