Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Janardan Maharaja / Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math (Update)
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Narayan Maharaja Glorifies Gaura Govinda Maharaja (update)
He was very brave. I have heard a recording of one of his lectures in which he says that even if a guru or any devotee repeats a mantra on a huge five-kilogram rosary, this does not guarantee that he will achieve the desired result. If he is a hypocrite, a schemer and also criticizes Vaishnavas, then he is not just not worthy to be a guru, he is not even a Vaishnava.
For this reason, almost everyone began to oppose him. He was forbidden to preach in England, France, Australia and other countries – he was not allowed to go anywhere. They wanted him to shut up, but he was not a coward, and it was impossible to control him.
In this way, Srila Gour Govinda Maharaj revealed many truths. And he especially emphasized that we should always strive to communicate with exalted Vaishnavas who are free from duplicity, do not criticize others, do not insult Vaishnavas and do not weave intrigues. We need to try to follow all his instructions, and then we can attain krishna-prema.
Gaura Premanande Hari Hari bol.
----------------------------
Swami BG Narasinga
THE ṚTVIK IDEOLOGY IS NOT PRACTICED IN THE SOCIETY OF PURE DEVOTEES
Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja: If one pretends to give initiation by touching the mantra or beads to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s photo or samādhi, then it will simply amount to making a business out of arcana. In reality, if one wants initiation into kīrtana-yajña, the descent of the mahanta-guru is essential because he cuts asunder all doubts and is expert in the science of the Absolute (Para-brahma) and the scriptures (sabda-brahma).
Monday, August 29, 2022
ISKCON India Scholars Board: Acharyas Are Sinners Who Need Atonement
Letter PAMHO:
From: Internet: "Krishna Kirti Das" <krishnakirti@gmail.com>
Date: 26-Aug-22 02:56 (08:26 +0530)
To: "Krishna Kirti Das" <krishnakirti@gmail.com>
Reference: Text PAMHO:33427831 by Internet: Krishna Kirti Das
Subject:
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Maharajas, Prabhus, PAMHO AGTSP.
The below message was forwarded to the SABHA on August 23, 2022, just a few days ago. This message below in particular discusses the scientific basis
of the CPO and how it relates to child protection generally and the case against Lokanatha Maharaja in particular. I hope you find it informative.
If you prefer to read it as a web page, there is an HTML-based and
formatted version of the letter to the SABHA members that can be found at
this link: https://bit.ly/3Thljgw
Your servant, Krishna Kirti dasa
#### BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE ####
Dear members of the SABHA, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and your services to him. I know that some of you feel that in the case regarding Lokanatha Swami should be "re-reviewed" (i.e. retried) by the CPO. And you feel this way because the CPO's diagnostic and investigative abilities in the matter of child protection are based on the "state of the art" in the fields of psychology and social science.
[PADA: Cannot argue with that. Over and over the ISKCON decision-makers allowed child molesters into posts of authority. And there has been one serious out cropping after the next -- of subsequent and repeated scandals and problems over and over as a result. The clear history of all this is, yes, the ISKCON leaders have failed -- repeatedly -- to handle molesters and molesting issues. And that is the whole problem with the Lokanath case, they did not handle it properly from square one.]
However, I, like many others, feel that there are also strong reasons to believe that the CPO's scientific orientation may be neither objective nor the best way to deal with this case specifically, or even with the some of the big problems in child protection generally. Most of you have heard shastra-based objections and remain unconvinced by them. But in my opinion (I have an MS in Statistics), some of the strongest reasons to doubt the CPO's science-based approach to social justice come from the field of science itself.
Not only myself, but none other than the late Sadaputa Prabhu (whose PhD was also in Statistics) expressed a similar fear more generally about ISKCON leaders adopting the non-theistic, mechanistic world-views of modern science just to appear respectable to society at large.
Commenting on modern science's challenge to religious institutions generally, Sadaputa Prabhu writes,
"Today, the Catholic Church has responded to this by creating a Pontifical Academy of Sciences staffed by a host of scientific luminaries, including
several Nobel laureates. The Academy discusses current scientific issues
from a mainstream scientific viewpoint, and it recently proclaimed that,
concept of evolution to man and the other primates beyond serious dispute.”
Meanwhile, Catholics continue to believe in such things as the miracles of Jesus Christ, which are part of a world view completely alien to the mechanistic, evolutionary world view of modern science.
"For those who are ignorant of the issues, or who are able to enter into a
dissociative state of double-think, this contradictory situation may be tolerable. But for thoughtful, well-educated people, it leads ultimately to one conclusion: science is right, religion is wrong, and there is no God in any traditional sense of that term."
Before taking any decision, I encourage you to read Sadaputa's essay, titled "On Preaching to Scientists and Scholars"
<https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/on-preaching-to-scientists-and-sch
olars-by-sadaputa-dasa>.
And since the CPO is also a science-based institution, Sadaputa's general concerns also apply to the CPO. And here I will briefly discuss some of the concerns Sadaputa generally presented as they could apply to the case of Lokanath Maharaja.
#### Simpson's Paradox ####
The high recidivism rate of convicted of child sexual abusers is used to justify considering even a single offense no matter how slight as unpardonable. Once a child-abuser, always a child-abuser. This is the CPO's policy and also the policy generally followed in law in secular society.
But this argument is susceptible to being undermined by the statistical effect called Simpson's Paradox. A Simpson's Paradox occurs when a trend appears in two or more different groups of data but disappears or reverses when the data from all the groups is combined into a single group. The Wikipedia entry on Simpson's Paradox
famous gender-bias study conducted at UC Berkely in 1973. In that study, the overall acceptance rate of men across all programs was found to be higher than the acceptance rate of women. This outcome suggested that there was indeed an effect of gender-bias against women in favour of men.
But on closer investigation, it was found that men tended to apply to departments that were larger and less competitive (and therefore had higher acceptance rates), and that women tended to apply to departments that were smaller and more competitive (and thus had lower acceptance rates).
And once the necessary corrections were made, the data actually showed that
there was a "small but statistically significant bias in favour of women." Indeed, in 4 of the 6 largest departments, women had a statistically higher rate of acceptance than men.
Thus, by removing distinctions between subgroups in data, Simpson's Paradox
masks or reverses the actual trends present in subgroups.
There is reason to believe that Maharaja belongs to a subgroup whose recidivism rate would be very low to nil. That group would consist of saintly people who fully take shelter of the Lord as the means for atoning for their sins.
But the problem with child abuse science is that no one wants to fund studies to identify subgroups of child abusers who have low recidivism rates. Politicians and other grant-giving institutions do not want to pay for that kind of research. Scientists who find child abusers with high recidivism rates will get grant money for more research; finding subgroups with low recidivism rates will not. Hence, the scientists and the science in the area of child abuse is biased toward a socially favoured outcome.
#### Confounded Variables and Theoretical Perspective ####
## Confounded Variables ##
Confounded variables occur when two or more characteristics (variables) in your observed data can explain a particular effect and there is no way to reliably distinguish the strength of the effect of one variable from another.
For example, conservative estimates of child sexual abuse broken down by gender are that at least 90% of all victims are female and at least 90% of their abusers are male. Although a female child is certainly less able to defend herself than a grown woman, you cannot understand from these statistics whether being a child or being female has a greater effect in causing a child sex abuse event to occur. Thus, the variables "child" and "female" are confounded.
## Theoretical Perspective ##
This "guess" comes from a "theoretical perspective," which is a set of unproven assumptions held by scientists about the causes and effects they see in the data they investigate. Often, the science researchers create experiments in order to confirm or reject the assumptions of their theoretical perspective.
But more often than not, a theoretical perspective remains unproven yet still becomes widespread in a particular scientific field, just like the Big-Bang Theory in Astrophysics, where it has become a virtually unchallengeable orthodoxy. And because it's an orthodoxy, there is grant money for Big-Bang Theory-based research and almost nothing if you want to challenge it.
And scientific fields like psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, etc., must rely more on theoretical perspectives than do any other scientific fields. This is because humans as compared with atoms and chemicals are much more difficult to reliably investigate. Atoms do not care if you blow them up or just want to look at them, but humans do. And humans typically don't like you looking over their shoulder and often lie about who they are or what they did. So, in place of reliable data and inference, these fields rely more on unproven beliefs about their subject of study (humans) than any other field. Indeed, the science in these fields
is significantly dependent on the researchers' personal or shared but unproven beliefs.
#### The CPO and its theoretical perspective ####
So, what is the CPO's theoretical perspective? What are some of the shared,
unproven beliefs that motivate their policies?
Children are vulnerable and deserve protection, but so are women. Thus, in the field of child sexual abuse, the question as to whether child or gender is the more significant factor is confounded. So, as with the science that informs it, an unproven belief in the CPO's theoretical perspective is that child is more important than gender. Therefore their solutions like "good touch, bad touch" tend to be child-centric and gender-neutral. As the CPO's name implies, the "child" in "Child Protection Office" gives more weight to being a child than to any other factor.
#### Gender Neutrality and Power Relations ####
The CPO's own definition of child abuse tells us much about its theoretical perspective. Not only is it gender-neutral to a fault, it also gives
differences in power-relations as a causal explanation for impetus to abuse
a child in the first place.
As per the CPO's website
<https://www.iskconchildprotection.org/what-is-child-abuse>:
"Child abuse is when a person exerts his or her power over a child in ways that harm and/or exploit the child. The abuser is powerful; the child is vulnerable. The abuser can gain power over the child through size, position, knowledge, or money. All of these work to make the abuser feel he or she is able to behave inappropriately toward a child and that the child will be unable to stop the abusive behavior."
This is the CPO's fundamental definition of child abuse, and its commitment to gender-neutrality and power-relations as a causal factor will tell us much about the CPO's theoretical perspective and its origins.
#### Power-Relations Theory and its Marxist Origins ####
In the broader field of the social sciences, the concept of power-relations, has several contributing theoretical perspectives. But perhaps one of the earliest and most influential among them is the Marxist perspective on class difference.
The Marxist theory of class difference is that differences between social classes in society itself gives rise to exploitation, since the people who are in a superior class necessarily act to preserve their status, which must come at the expense of exploiting others in the inferior class.
The CPO definition of abuse closely follows this understanding by noting that differences in power between an abuser and a child gives rise to desires to abuse the child (highlighting added):
"The *abuser is powerful*; the *child is vulnerable*. The abuser can *gain power* over the child *through size, position, knowledge, or money*.
All of *these work to make the abuser feel he or she is able to behave
inappropriately *toward a child."
Note that possessing power generates the feeling that "he or she" is able to behave inappropriately toward a child."
This close resemblance to classic Marxist class-conflict theory is hardly surprising, as the field of sociology itself is significantly Marxist in its own origins. As per C. Wright Mills, author of *The Sociological Imaginiation,*
"So very much of modern social science has been a frequently unacknowledged
debate with the work of Marx and a reflection, as well of the challenge of
the socialist movements and communist parties."
This does not imply that members of the CPO are secret Marxists. But given the historical development of the social sciences, it would be naive of them or anyone else to continue to believe that their perspectives and methods are not deeply influenced by Marxist thought.
#### Power Relations Theory explains commitment to gender-neutrality ####
"When perpetrators (male or female) use a child to meet their own sexual needs, where a child is coerced (physical / verbal), induced, persuaded, enticed, seduced, exposed, or entrapped into sexual acts with another person. The coercion can be either physical or verbal. Examples of sexual abuse may include fondling, intercourse, incest, and the exploitation of and exposure to child pornography or prostitution. *It is important to note that the child is never truly capable of consenting or resisting such contact.*"
Why does the CPO say "It is important to note that the child is never truly
capable of consenting"? Because if a child were able to give consent, then it wouldn't be abuse. Again, power-relations, or power-difference, is implied as the cause of abuse. That also explains why child marriage, for example, would also be considered abusive—even if both families of a boy and girl agreed to the proposal.
#### Power Relations Theory to avoid being accused of homophobia ####
But a more important reason for the CPO's adherence to gender neutrality is the social science community's belief that homosexuality is natural and not evidence of any kind of disordered condition. Otherwise, if gender was fundamental to the definition of child sexual abuse, then being openly homosexual would automatically mark one as a likely child abuser.
It should also be noted that until about 50 years ago, all civilized countries considered homosexual behaviour criminally punishable. The modern social science community considers this view to be repugnant, perhaps more than any other. And the typical way to avoid this accusation is to explain child abuse, including sexual abuse, in gender neutral terms and power relations so as not to be accused of being homophobic.
Members of the CPO know that to be suspected of being homophobic in any
measure will be professional suicide. Therefore the CPO itself has taken shelter of power-relations theory to preserve their public respectability and authority.
#### CPO theoretical perspective clashes with Krishna Consciousness ####
Sadaputa Prabhu's primary worry was that if ISKCON leaders adopt scientific
perspectives in order to appear respectable, that this would result in a loss of faith among ISKCON's own people. And the CPO is a particular example illustrating that concern.
Much could be said about the differences between the CPO's theoretical perspective and Krishna conscious perspective, but the most important with
regard to child sexual abuse is that according to the Bhagavatam, sex attraction itself is the fundamental basis of material life (pumsa-striya mithuni bhavam etam, SB 5.5.8), and hence despite the best of training a man simply being within close proximity of a woman is liable to be attracted by sex.
mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nāviviktāsano bhavet
balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati
"One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one’s own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though
one is very advanced in knowledge, he may be attracted by sex." (SB 9.19.17)
The implications of this are that when gender difference is considered the causal impetus for sex attraction, regardless of whether it is a child or not, then the emphasis is no longer on the child but on segregating society by gender.
Furthermore, being attracted by sex is no longer considered a product of power relations or class difference as per the Marxists. Instead, the sex attraction is acknowledged as a power outside of one's own self, and therefore controlling it requires arranging social relations in such a way that the possibility of the genders coming within close contact is minimized.
In other words, the theoretical perspective in Krishna consciousness is that gender, not child, is the fundamental causal factor for child sexual abuse. Therefore the Krishna conscious solution to child sexual abuse is to rearrange the society such that women come only into minimal contact with men. If 90% of child sex abuse victims are female, and 90% of the perpetrators are men, then minimizing the chances for contact between the genders will reduce the great majority of child sexual abuse incidents.
Would the CPO advocate for this? The CPO has its own theoretical perspective, which is compatible with modern social science but not with Krishna consciousness—at least not in certain fundamental ways and certainly not fully.
Your servant,
Krishna Kirti Das
Convenor
ISKCON India Scholars Board
https://iisb.co.in
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Ramesvara (Robert Grant) Writes Wrongs (Update)
Adikarta Das
Atmanivedana Swami
Badrinarayan Swami
Bhaktivaibhava Swami
Bhakti Bhrnga Govinda Swami
Bhakti Caitanya Swami
Bhakti Carudesna Swami (BTS)
Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami (BTS)
Bhakti Gaurava Narayan Swami (TKG)
Bhakti Gauravani Goswami
Bhakti Prabhupada-vrata Damodara Swami
Bhakti Raghava Swami
Bhakti Sundar Goswami
Bhakti Vasudeva Swami
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami (RNS)
Bhakti Vikasa Swami
Bhaktivyasa Tirtha Swami (BSDS)
Bhakti VV Narasimha Swami
Bhakti-bhusana Swami
Bhaktimarga Swami
Bhurijana Das
Bir Krsna Das Goswami
Caitanya Candra Das (GGS)
Caitanya Candra Caran Das (JPS)
Candra Mukha Swami (HDG)
Candramauli Swami
Caru Das
Danavir Goswami
Devamrita Swami
Dhanvantari Swami
Dhirasanta Das Goswami
Drutakarma Das
Giridhari Swami
Giriraja Swami
Gopaswami Das
Gopal Krsna Goswami
Guru Prasad Swami
Hanumatpresaka Swami
Harivilas Das
Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Indradyumna Swami
Janananda dasa Goswami
Jayapataka Swami
Jivananda Das
Kadamba Kanana Swami (JAS)
Kalakantha Das
Kavicandra Swami
Kesava Bharati dasa Goswami
Kratu Das
Kripamoya Das
Krsna Ksetra Swami
Lokanath Swami
Madhu Sevita Das
Mahadyuti Swami
Mahaman Das
Mahatma Das
Mahavisnu Swami
Manonatha Das
Matsya Avatara Das
Medhavi Das
Narayani Devi Dasi
Navayogendra Swami
Niranjana Swami
Partha Sarathi Das Goswami
Prahladananda Swami
Purushatraya Swami
Radhacaran Das (TKG)
Radha Govinda Swami
Radha Krishna Das (TKG)
Radhanath Swami
Rama Govinda Swami (KDS)
Ravindra Svarupa Das
Romapada Swami
Rtadhvaja Swami
Sacinandana Swami
Samik Rsi Das
Sankarsana Das
Satyadeva Das
Sivarama Swami
Smita Krsna Swami
Srivas Das (BTS)
Subhaga Swami
Suresvara Das
Trivikrama Swami
Vaisesika Das
Varsana Swami
Vedavyasapriya Swami
Virabahu Das
Yamunacarya D
Robert Grant: While we may agree on a number of issues, it seems absurd to simply call practically every ISKCON diksa guru a sahajiya is clearly a misuse of the word sahajiya and really borders on offending de press who have dedicated their lives to propagating the holy names of the Lord.
Such a misuse of the word sahajiya- you and everyone else should know much better than to use such a blanket condemnation on practically every current guru giving diksa in that particular way.
RS: Former ex-hippies as ISKCON diksa gurus? Have they become liberated souls in one life? Not only that they have to be approved and appointed(elected) and regulated by the mafia (so called GBC criminals) if that isn’t sahajiya what is?
Robert Grant: Ronald Singh perhaps you should research how Srila Prabhupada used the word sahajiya - then it wouldn’t be applied so indiscriminately against those who are true preachers and leaders of public Sankirtan Yajnas and Festivals and mass Book Distribution.
MPD: Robert Grant perhaps you should do a more in depth analysis of what a diksa guru is, and how one can attain to such a status.
Robert Grant: In Srila Prabhupada’s there are many statements that Madhyama Adhikari devotees or even aspiring Madhyama devotees may give diksa as they connect their disciples to their eternal Siksa Guru, Srila Prabhupada! In 1980 I published 3 papers about this and have to em out to every devotee in the western US zone. I assure you that I have carefully researched that topic with our best BBT writers and editors who assisted in researching and preparing those papers.
[PADA: Yep, here we go again. Ramesvara's idea is -- that people who are falling into illicit sex, drugs, watching porno, having sex with boys in the cottage and motorhome ... etc. are "Madhyama adhikary." Ummm, nope, they are not even up to the standards of ordinary karmis -- who avoid these actions.
RSD: Any businessman can do what you suggested. After Srila Prabhupada’s BBT was hijacked, it was all lawlessness . You directly participated in both activities (guru business and accessory to BBT hijacking) it’s not our business to judge you here but present the truth. And Robert Grant, you became a “disciple” in 1970 and wrote the Madhyama paper in 1980? After that the so called “Madhyama” were crashing and burning. Your works need a complete revision. After you found out your Madhyama were having illicit sex and taking drugs, your paper should have said "these people are not even kanistha."
RSD: These sahajiyās will come out of so many devotees. What can be done? From my Guru Mahārāja's disciples, so many sahajiyās came. These are called sahajiyās. Very easily they capture thing. So my Guru Mahārāja used to say, "When my disciples will be sahajiyā, it will be more dangerous." He used to say like that. Take things very easily.
https://vaniquotes.org/.../These_sahajiyas_will_come_out...
These sahajiyas will come out of so many devotees. What can be done? From my Guru Maharaja's disciples, so many sahajiyas came - Vaniquotes
VANIQUOTES.ORG
VD: Which ones are not sahajia prabhu please name them from the list. The elected guru system by the gbc was never authorized by my guru. Tell me where these so called people get the authority to be diksa gurus. Again please list the ones you think are not imposters. Robert Grant please prabhu list the ones you think are qualified diksa guru’s according to PRABHUPADA’S directive.
[PADA: Telling these people to take karma is hurting them, and ISKCON, and worse, the karma of the disciples is not absolved. No winners.
When we were in India, Srila Prabhupada stopped the whole kirtan when he saw two of his lady disciples having their feet touched by the old ladies at the pandal program. He told them, "I told you -- do not let people touch your feet, you will be taking their karma and you will have to suffer."
That is also why Srila Prabhupada told the story of the snake and the ants. The guru told the disciples he could take their sins, but he could not. So the disciples went to Yamaraja and they were very angry, and wanted to take revenge. So Yamaraja made them ants, and made their guru a snake, and the snake went over the ant hill, and he was eaten alive by the ants.
Worse! Ramesvara's pal -- ISKCON guru Jayadvaita -- said he was getting sick and tired from taking karma. So he appointed his much younger disciple -- Kadamba -- to start initiating instead. That much younger disciple now has terminal cancer.
**** Dasi: Many people fall down, but they weren't initiating anyone. Everyone has to die, so what if they are taking karma from others or not? I fail to see why it matters if people are taking other's karma or not, they all die anyway.
[PADA: People who were not initiating were falling down even when Srila Prabhupada was here. That does not change the facts: the neophyte does not have brahmana tejyas to absorb sins, and that is what he said. People all over the world are falling down, that does not authorize anyone to take karma. Yes, any conditioned soul can fall down -- and any person can get sick from cancer or some other disease. That is not the point.
The point is, Srila Prabhupada told us specifically -- we cannot take sins. And if we do, we have to suffer. They even admit they are getting sick and falling down from taking karma. Anyway, that is what he said, and he also said that if we do not follow this -- we can take birth as a snake and be eaten by ants later on -- the karma never goes away.
As for Adi Karta, he was one of the people who told me it is a good idea for Jayatirtha to be a diksha guru and absorb the sins of thousands of people. OK how did that work out? Jayatirtha left and UK yatra went bankrupted, and JT departs in a huge media scandal. And then Adi karta tells even more neophytes to take sins, and he claims to be as good as Jesus and too can take sins.
'Disciples go rogue Evening Standard
VD: Thank you for that clarification. Like I said facts cannot be denied. They are being distorted by a small group of devotees in the Iskcon guru business. This is very apparent in North America. India is already split into 6 different cults.
1. Radhanatha group
2. Jayapataka group
3. Basu gosh group
4. Gopal Krishna group
5. Madhu pandit group
6. Bhakti Vikas group
These groups are all alienated from each other with very different philosophical points of view. Russia is being shut down by the government for future preaching from Iskcon people. Bali has banded the Iskcon movement. These are facts not fabrications. There is more information on these matters for release moving forward. This is a fratricidal war.
PADA: All of the GBC managed ISKCON India groups have backed keeping molester Lokanath in the acharya's seat, starting with Basu Ghosh, who works closely with Bhakti Vikas swami. Jayapataka has helped keep Lokanath as a prominent speaker in Mayapur.
angel108b@yahoo.com
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Rtiviks in Mexico?
PADA: Thanks for the link prabhu. No I am not sure who these folks are. Yes, it appears that they follow the ritvik idea. If anyone has details send to: angel108b@yahoo.com
ys pd
Friday, August 26, 2022
What Happened to the ISKCON Second Generation?
DD: I would like to put it out there that over the years I have come in contact with many aspiring vaishnavas who, because of when they were born and when they came in contact with the Krishna consciousness movement they never had any personal association with Srila Prabhupada. They never experienced going on a walk with him, having a one-on-one conversation with him, didn't get to exchange letters with him, nor sit in the temple room while, from the vyasa asana, he chanted jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī and then gave the morning class, nor did they receive diksha initiation from him.
And yet despite the fact that they never had any of the above-mentioned experiences and had no personal association whatsoever with Srila Prabhupada, by dint of their sincere and strict adherence to his teachings and instructions, their humble and dedicated service to his mission, their participation in devotional activities such as book distribution and public chanting (Sankirtan) they are more intimately connected with Srila Prabhupada than so many of us (certainly myself included) who did have his personal association.
Cyber Bhagavad Gita Meeting
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thursday, August 25, 2022
More Complaints About Changed Books
[PADA: More people are waking up to the post-1978 GBC's agenda. And notice, more people are calling them "poisonous rogues." And that -- boys and girls -- is how they will be recorded in history. And they are already recorded that way now for many thousands of folks.
We said that they had a malefic agenda in 1978, and most people thought we had lost our last marble for saying that at the time. However, time has proven -- we were and are correct. We believe that the original books will survive on the basis of "supply and demand." If there is a demand, there will be a supply. So let us increase the demand and the supply will happen automatically. ys pd]
ESD: It is the original edition that Srila Prabhupada approved of and preached from. Other poisonous rogue editions conveniently emerged after he had physically departed. They are to be expected, considering the very fallen nature of the world we live in, and they are bogus.
Claimants assert that he granted them unlimited authority to edit his books ad infinitum, and that there is a document that certifies this. There is no such legitimate document. Any so-called document is forged. There is no way Srila Prabhupada would grant such disastrous freedom to manipulate his books, and the claim that he did so is preposterous.
At one point after being informed of the unauthorized changes being made to his books, he became very angry, and slamming his fist onto the desk he exclaimed, "They are ruining my books!"
The new, “revised” editions are anything but improvements. In the Gita alone the editor has gone grossly beyond the bounds of his authority and has changed 77% of the verses. That is 541 verses out of 700 verses have been illegitimately changed.“...a little learning is dangerous, especially for the Westerners. I am practically seeing that as soon as they begin to learn a little Sanskrit, immediately they feel that they have become more than their guru and then the policy is kill guru and be killed himself.” —Srila Prabhupada letter to Dixit das on September 18, 1976.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Can the ISKCON GBC Replace Krishna?
"At this [August, New Vrindaban] meeting it was presented to me that someone had testified that I had approached them for sex in Vrindaban in 1980, and I went to Balavanta and Rupanuga and Tamal-Krishna Prabhus and told them, “Yes, that was right. It was true.”
That doesn’t excuse me, but they all see that is one of the main factors and I also see that. So, in light of that, their recommendation to me is that for an indefinite period of time -- I not initiate, and that regarding my GBC activities I should continue as a GBC member with full authority as a GBC man, but I’m on probation which means that I will be watched to see that I reform myself. That was their decision.
I was actually thinking anyway (see how Krishna fulfills your desire) I had been becoming so worn down from excessive traveling and even before I went to New Vrindaban and before this came up. I was seriously meditating on taking some time off anyway from initiating.
Gold, Guns and God, Vol. 6, pp. 41-42.
August 1980: On or around this date in history 42 years ago, the GBC approved a paper written by Satsvarupa, Jagadish, Bhagavan and Jayapataka. One section, titled “The Philosophical Understanding of Discrepancies and Their Rectification,” explained that even uttama-adhikari devotees fall down from time to time and if there are “failures and setbacks” they should be seen instead as “pillars of success.”
Three ISKCON gurus were disciplined by the GBC that year: Jayatirtha, Hamsadutta and Tamal-Krishna. Jayatirtha dasa (James Edward Immel) served as ISKCON zonal guru for Great Britain and South Africa. Among other ways, Jayatirtha tainted his position by secretly consuming LSD, a psychedelic drug strictly off-limits to Vaishnavas. “Jayatirtha had been holding twelve-hour-long kirtan sessions, during which he would laugh, roll on the ground, and cry out incoherently.”
Nandini devi dasi, an Assistant Editor for ISKCON World Review, recalled. “He lectured about the divine love of Radha and Krishna in the spiritual world and told his disciples that he was experiencing devotional ecstasy. Only the GBC knew that his ecstasies were symptoms of a drug-induced psychosis. In Vrindaban and Mayapur during the 1980 GBC meetings he went out of control on heavy doses of LSD. Later he revealed that he had never fully stopped taking the drug, despite having been a devotee for ten years.”
Another ISKCON zonal guru who had become an embarrassment for the movement was Hamsadutta Swami (Hans Kary, aka Jack London), the zonal acharya for Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Shri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. As a guru, Hamsadutta developed a keen interest in guns, women and rock ‘n roll, and eventually went berserk. He was arrested and convicted for shooting up a liquor store and Cadillac dealership showroom in Berkeley, California.
Ravindra-Svarupa recalled some of Hamsadutta’s bad habits while he was an ISKCON guru, “Hamsadutta, he had problems with women, booze and guns; intoxication, with illicit sex and a special fondness for gun collecting.”
A Prabhupada disciple, in a letter to Tamal-Krishna Goswami, remembered, “After his [Prabhupada’s] disappearance, you wasted no time to proclaim yourself as his sole successor-acharya in Bombay. Initially you even had a vyasasana built for yourself in the Juhu Beach Temple and it was bigger than Shrila Prabhupada’s. You also told all of your godbrothers that the only way to approach Shrila Prabhupada was through you alone, since you had become his sole successor.”
=====================================
ND: MOST DANGEROUS CUNNING CROOKS DEMONS AND BIGGEST OFFENDERS, DISGUISED IN VAISHNAVA CLOTHES POSING AS LEADERS / TEACHERS / GURUS. THEY WANT TO CHANGE EVERYTHING (AND HAVE DONE IT IN FACT UP TO QUITE BIG EXTENT ALREADY), THE ORIGINAL BOOKS AS GIVEN BY SHRILA PRABHUPADA AND OTHER GREAT VAISHNAVA ACHARYAS!!!
CONDITIONED SOULS, NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY MAY TRY, CAN NEVER EVER BE INCLUDED AS SUCCESSORS, WHO CONTINUE SHRI GURU PARAMPARA. AND THERE ARE BIG GAPS IN THE PARAMPARA, WHICH IS A VERY NORMAL REALITY ... HAPPENED MANY TIMES!!!
Prabhupada: History, it is not a new movement. You have seen this book. You read that book thoroughly. You will get full knowledge. This movement is very, very old and standard. It is never changed. As soon as you change it, then the potency of the movement is lost."