ISKCON And The Sinking of the Concordia 12 20 24

PADA: This is a good analogy (below) where the captain of the Concordia abandoned ship -- and left all the passengers in peril. And many passengers suffered badly, many were injured, and some died. And ISKCON leaders, like Bhagavan, Bhavananda, Hansadutta, Harikesh, Jayatirtha, Kirtanananda, Ramesvara, Satsvarupa -- and many others -- steered the ISKCON ship into the rocks -- and then they all sort of abandoned and left the ship -- to sink -- and imperil, harm or even kill the passengers. See ya later suckers! 

And then Giriraja, Ravindra Swarupa and similar others sort of bailed out in a different way, they had to leave due to various forms of "health crisis." And some of them are supposedly "going senile" -- just at the time more and more questions are emerging about the whole mess they helped make. And Danavir, Jayapataka and others seem to be suffering another whole set of weird "health issues." 

OK this is maybe connected to their taking too much karma. Of course, we also have a number of guys like Hrdayananda, who has sort of left the captain's seat indirectly, since he lives off shore, and off ISKCON property. He is a leader de facto, but is not actively participating. OK he is essentially gone, although not officially. And then Bhakti vikas swami is making an independent Krishna Life program, Radhanath has his own Chowpatty charity, OK they also bailed out direct or indirect. And a number of these leaders started ISKCON's competing spin-offs like Sridhara, Narayan, BV Puru, BP Puri, Babajis etc. 

Even some of the former stalwart defenders of the GBC's sinking guru ship like Rupanuga had to bail out of the sinking ship. And that is why one devotee told me -- "we should advertise -- will the last person to leave ISKCON remember to turn the lights out."  

Yeah, it is like the Concordia ship sinking incident. All sorts of people became bogus gurus, and many others were cheer leaders who supported that deviation, and the odious results were banning, beating, molesting, lawsuits, murders and tons of bad public media publicity, but where are all of the people who steered ISKCON into the rocks now? OK they almost ALL bailed out. 

Someone else told me awhile ago -- that it is like they all started a big fire in the ISKCON house, then they poured gasoline onto the fire, and once the house was just about burnt to toast, they just wandered off and left ISKCON as a smoldering burnt out hulk. And then they started their own independent programs to mainly take care of themselves, while ISKCON continued, and continues -- to suffer, and so do many past and current citizens. One common complaint from victims? No accountability for the problems these leaders caused so many others.

Thus! Currently: most of these leaders are now gone; most of the original Prabhupada devotees are gone; most of the children of the original Prabhupada devotees are gone; and they have been replaced with a sort of "Hindu management board" taking control of many or most temples. Even in 1988 Lokanath swami was complaining the temples have become skeleton crew, ghost towns. OK a skeleton - like person is -- very, very sickly, or nearly dead.

And a number of people report "seeing hardly any Western people at ISKCON temples." Meanwhile, a friend of mine -- who still goes to one these Hindu-ized temples -- says he knows for sure at least 50% of the Hindus who come to the temple there -- eat meat. So original ISKCON is sort of being replaced or displaced with a Hindu cultural hall process. 

And never mind all the quotes Prabhupada gave about his desire to NOT have the Hindu program connected to his program. He said the Hindu program is Kaitava Dharma (cheating); if the Hindus take over ISKCON they will make it into a business; Hindus are a hodge podge; Hindus already know everything, and so on and so forth, and thus for sure he would not want them to be in charge of his program under any circumstances. 

But more and more, they are. And naturally that is one of the questions the media people ask me, where are all these leaders now? Dispersed, disbanded, and basically -- exited stage right. Took the money and ran. 

OK like the captain of the Concordia. But only -- after -- they drove the ship onto the rocks. The problem is that eventually, a person will be held accountable for their actions, here or next life. And if they aided, abetted, co-orchestrated -- banning, beating, molesting, suing and killing -- of Vaishavas -- by helping the elite cabal that made that process, they will have to answer for that. ys pd 

PATITA PAVANA DASA

AGE OF DISINFORMATION?

We have been discussing the similarities between the Concordia cruise ship disaster and mis-leadership by false prophets who pose as gurus. To review, the captain of the sinking Concordia abandoned the passengers, exactly as a blooped imitation acharya deserts his disciples due to the pull of his senses. Such acharya-bloopers leave their disciples in limbo, and at the mercy of an impersonal institution. This is exactly how the captain of the Concordia left those under his care to a listing ship, with dozens of deaths.

But there is one more similarity. After the Concordia hit a rock off the coast of Giglio Island, the captain downplayed the impending tragedy with disinformation. Passengers were urged to return to their cabins and to stay calm--as meanwhile the ship was sinking!

Spreading disinformation from the top has been an ongoing problem for many years in ISKCON. In fact, the greatest disinformation that ISKCON leadership has been guilty of broadcasting is the supposed divinity of its chosen few--the Original Imitation Acharyas.

Here in Europe, during the heyday of "His Divine Grace Shrila Harikesha Swami Vishnupada," this pretended "acharya" had over 10,000 disciples. Festive gatherings at his many centers in the Eastern European bloc and Russia attracted thousands of devotees.

Yet, around 1997-98, this pretended paramhamsa fell prey to his senses and went head over heels for a lady disciple, who used to massage the swami. To rationalize his affection, it was alleged that the "Maharaja" claimed she was something like an incarnation of Shrimati Radharani.

All the while, ISKCON's leadership played the cover-up card by spreading the disinformation that that "Harikesh is ill." Somehow, the "renounced" Harikesh soon landed on his feet, happily married to his divine better half and living in a beautiful and rich bungalow in Florida. There were whispers that the leaders gave him a very generous retirement package to go off and play his awful "elevator music" on his guitar.

Now, here is the point, as a result of the disinformation that Harikesh was a divinely-empowered totally enlightened "guru," his many thousands of devotees simply fizzled out and merged back into their karmi lives. Thousands were lost-- misled by disinformation into the dark hole of repeated rebirth.

In this case, disinformation meant that Harikesh -- like so many other swami posers -- claimed to be qualified messengers of Krishna who had appeared to take fallen souls back to Godhead. And people believed that disinformation. Had such guru posers just been honest, and explained that they were merely representatives of Shrila Prabhupada, then disciples would not have lost faith when the guru fell into the muck of Maya. 

Had he--and others--merely preached properly from the point of view of parampara--giving all credit to the previous acharya--then those tens of thousands of lost devotees might still be with us today.

When our minds tell us that we have become the Neo-Prabhupadas, then troubles are just around the corner--and those troubles wil lalso afflict anyone who is dumb enough to believe such a foolish charade.. When the leaders are honest, there can never be any need for cover-up embellishments with saccharine layers of dis-information.

Truth be told, our business is to direct others to the teaching of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada--exactly as Guru Maharaja has given in his original books. As it is said, "honesty is the best policy,," and being honest about our own struggles--and about the actual divinity of the previous acharya--is the only means to extend the sampradaya into the future.

Today, Harikesh still returns to ISKCON centers to boast about what a great devotee he is--even as thousands of his former "disciples" are languishing like drowning passengers aboard the Concordia. We are strongly advised not to criticize Harikesh, while no one really gives a damn for the thousands of people who have been misled back into the iron-like snares of Maya.

While researching this rant, I found this satire about the Harikesh (and ISKCON's) penchant for dis-information.

https://harekrsna.com/.../editor.../11-11/editorials7986.htm

IMAGES: (R) Days of divinity.: Harikesh on the "Vyasa Asan" receiving worship with a grin. (L) Robbie Campagnola today with his "divine goddess."

Gaura Keshava / Bhagavan ACBS / Krishna's Cows / Ukraine 12 19 24

PADA: Bhagavan dasa (William Erlichman) is evidently promoting Gaura Keshava dasa as an authority. He was the main person who instituted ISKCON's reversing the offerings -- originally from guru to Krishna, changed to -- Krishna to guru. Why? Just in case your guru is bogus, at least Krishna gets the offering. 

Really? 

Well why not figure out why we are promoting bogus gurus in the first place! That means, instead of just admitting their gurus are not authentic, they are just bending the rules into making bogus guru worship authorized. Guess what? It is not authorized. 

And according to Bhagavat Maharaja, Gaura Keshava has many other problems. If I recall properly, Gaura Keshava was doing some fire sacrifices at New Vrndavana many years ago, evidently not aware that Kirtanananda is not a pure devotee. 

Meanwhile one of Bhagavan's children told me, since I am an important contributor, he is going to get me unblocked from Bhagavan's forum, but that never happens. Anyway, worship of conditioned souls as God's successors is a bad idea, and bending the rules to make it appear as authorized, does not actually make it authorized. ys pd 

angel108b@yahoo.com


GAURA KESHAVA DAS HAS BEEN AN ERRANT INFLUENCE

Widely known as a learned brahmana and scholar, Gaura Keshava das was a leading member of the Shastric Advisory Council (SAC) and he became ISKCON’s advising brahmana, touring ISKCON to train brahmanas and pujaris. Based upon his own defective opinion, after studying shastra, Gaudiya Math, sampradayas, and “technicalities,” he advocated reversing Srila Prabhupada’s ascending order of offering in temple or home altar worship, to a descending order, with Krishna first and last, down to the ISKCON conditioned “guru.”


Most of ISKCON in India, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere adopted the changed deity worship procedure, supported by Jayapataka, Bhavananda, many GBCs. ISKCON pujaris mentally seek the permission, in a meaningless exercise of imagination, of their conditioned “guru’s” photo on the altar and then make offerings first to Radha Krishna, then Gaur Nitai, the Guru parampara, Srila Prabhupada, and last to their “guru.”


But this was not how Srila Prabhupada taught us to offer altar worship or food, where we offer first to Srila Prabhupada, then previous acharyas, Gaura Nitai, and lastly Radha Krishna. Srila Prabhupada warned us not to make changes, but ISKCON has made serious changes to the deity worship and food offerings. This was an attempt to solve the quandary of conditioned “gurus” not being spiritually able to pass the worship up the disciplic succession.


But can a conditioned “guru” induce Krishna to accept worship directly, even if he asks his false guru for permission? The contradictions and anomalies that compound and multiply when ISKCON adopts defective initiation and guru doctrines cannot be solved with adding more defective doctrines to be applied in deity worship. These deity worship changes took place when ISKCON “gurus.”


Bhavananda and others were discovered in sinful activities. Should his disciples should first offer to him, or to Krishna and then to him? The GBC decided he should not be offered bhoga, but only prasadam, for his own good and that of others, thus changing the process of deity worship, adopting the descending sequence that is practiced in Gaudiya Math temples.


Some temples are still offering in the original ascending order (like Los Angeles). Gaura Keshava offensively wrote March 29, 2009: “… we must follow the shastra, and not imitate his personal example when it does not technically follow shastra. The system of arotike in all Gaudiya Vaishnava temples is to first pay obeisance to the guru and take his permission for worshipping Lord Krishna.


"Then worship Krishna first and then Radha, then Mahaprabhu and the guru parampara in descending (senior to junior) order, lastly to the assembled devotees. In ISKCON Srila Prabhupada instituted another order offering the items to the guru first. In this case, the item cannot technically be offered afterwards to the Lord, having first been enjoyed by the guru. This is technically not correct.


"Therefore we must in this case follow shastra and adapt our worship method to the one followed by all Vaishnava sampradayas. The doctrine or principle of worshiping the guru first is correct but the technicality of HOW that is to be done is incorrect.


"This system is followed in most Europe temples where I standardized the deity worship in the 1980’ s. It is not followed in some temples like Los Angeles, as some Prabhupada disciples find it hard to accept. They have no experience of the correct technical details as practiced in India.”

======

KRISHNA AND HIS COWS

"Mother Yasoda would then address Nanda Maharaja, "See my dear son, whose eyes are white, who has a turban on His head, a wrapper on His body and leg bells which tinkle very sweetly on His feet. He is coming near, along with all of His surabhi calves, and just see how He is wandering upon the sacred land of Vrndavana!"

Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 43

"The cows in Krsna's abode are also liberated souls. They are called surabhi cows. There are many popular pictures showing how Krsna loves the cows, how He embraces and kisses them. That passive relationship with Krsna is called santa. Their perfect happiness is achieved when Krsna comes and simply touches them."
Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 8

"Krsna always tends the cows. His name is cowherd boy. To become animal of Krsna is a great, great fortune. It is not ordinary thing. Any associate of Krsna, either His cowherd boyfriends or calf or cows, or the Vrndavana trees, plants, flowers or water, they are all devotees of Krsna. They like to serve Krsna in different capacities. Somebody is serving Krsna as animal. Somebody is serving Krsna as fruits and flowers, as tree, as Yamuna water, or the beautiful cowherds men and damsels or Krsna's father and mother, so many with Krsna. Krsna is not impersonal.

So He has got so many lovers. Krsna also loves them. So Krsna's another name is pasu-pala, pasu-pala-pankaja. He is, mean, tender of the animals. Surabhir abhipalayantam. He takes pleasure in tending the cows, surabhi. These are surabhi cows, not these ordinary cows, surabhi cows. Surabhi cows means you can milk the cow as many times as you like and as much milk as you like. That is surabhi."

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam, 06-26-74, Melbourne

These cows are the Lord's pet animals. From the surabhi cows one can take as much milk as one needs, and one may milk these cows as many times as he desires. Of the surabhi cows, all of whom are very dear to Lord Krsna, seven are said to be the most important. They are: Mangala, Pingala, Ganga, Pisangi, Manikastani, Hamsi and Vamsipriya. Srimati Radharan also has pet surabhi cows, among whom Sunada, Yamuna and Bahula are the most important, along with Tungi, Her chubby pet calf.

In addition to these pet surabhi cows, many other types of pets belong to Krsna and Radharani. Krsna's pet dogs are Vyaghra and Bhramaraka. Padmagandha and Pisangaksa are His pet oxen, Suranga is His pet deer, and Dadhilobha is His monkey. Kalasvana is His pet swan, Tandavika His pet peacock, and Daksa and Vicaksana are His pet parrots.

Radharni's old pet monkey is called Kakkhati. Rangini is Her pet doe, Carucnadrika is Her pet cakori bird, and Madhuri is Her pet elephant. Tundikeri, Her pet swan, is fond of swimming in Radha-kunda. Suksmadhi and Subha, Her two parrots, like to perfectly imitate Lalita-devi's playful jokes spoken to her master and mistress (Sri Sri Radha-Krsna). 

By this wonderful repetition the parrots astonish the gopis.

"I think the drones that are buzzing all around You must have been Your devotees in their past lives. They cannot leave Your company because no one can be a better, more affectionate master than You. You are the supreme and original Personality of Godhead, and the drones are just trying to spread Your glories by chanting every moment. I think some of them must be great sages, devotees of Your Lordship, and they are disguising themselves in the form of drones because they are unable to give up Your company even for a moment. My dear brother, You are the supreme worshipable Godhead. 

Just see how the peacocks in great ecstasy are dancing before You. The deer, whose behavior is just like the gopis, are welcoming You with the same affection. And the cuckoos who are residing in this forest are receiving You with great joy, because they consider that Your appearance is so auspicious in their home. Even though they are trees and animals, these residents of Vrndavana are glorifying You. They are prepared to welcome You to their best capacity, as is the practice of great souls in receiving another great soul at home. As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate that the footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body."

Krsna Book, Chapter 15

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

=======

PADA: Remember when they said Russia needs to invade Ukraine to stop the dangerous alleged Bio-labs there? Well as it turns out -- Russia already blew up the dam and sent the contents of entire bio labs, chemical plants, paint factories, millions of gallons of gasoline, oil, and 100 tons of sewage into the ocean and now they are having 100s of tons of oil floating around the same sea. And so now there is another mass of dead animals and fish floating in the sea. 

The Russians are in fact the actual bio hazard ... there are now thousands and thousands of birds that are covered in oil. The Russian oil ships? OK some are 60 years old ships taken out of retirement. Oil only leaks 2 gallons a day they said ... what could go wrong here? 

Wow, they estimate now that millions and millions of fish and birds, and numerous other living beings will all SUFFER BADLY and then die, as well as unlimited small and microorganisms that the fish need to eat. It will be a horrible death for these creatures. This is the real bio-hazard -- in case no one noticed.

It looks like some of these ocean going ships were in fact never made for the ocean, and are only light weight river going ships, made for calm waters, and are not made for large ocean waves ... but they knew that all along ... and we knew that all along. 

To me it is ironic that in the name of saving the planet from biological disasters, they are making some of the worst bio disasters in history -- themselves. We are here to fix it! OK actually -- we are here to make it WAY worse. 

Wow, just like the ISKCON GBC! We are going to fix everything by making a pile of gurus! Ummm, nope, you are going to make things worse. How worse? Way worse. So many living entities have to suffer and die, all so that -- we can save the world! And 95% of the Prabhupada devotees have to be removed from ISKCON -- to save ISKCON. Oh oh pilgrims! The only good news is, all this makes people like me want to save -- ourselves -- from all these dubious folks!

ys pd

HK Kirtan VIDEO / Monkey Movie Review 12 18 24

 

THE MONKEY ON A STICK MOVIE

By a Devotee:

They missed the many statements that a Krishna conscious woman is on the spiritual platform, and if she can maintain that, then she is just as intelligent as a man. So in this particular case, they are saying that they are smarter than Krishna or God. What a joke. Like Srila Prabhupada would say can you float trillions of planets? Can you make the sunrise and sunset on time every day? 

Can you create time itself? So of course we know the answers to these rhetorical questions. So once again, we are so teeny tiny. So an intelligent person who has read some of the Vedic scriptures and have read some of Srila Prabhupada's purports and commentaries on the words of God would just listen and keep their dumb mouth shut. Then, in the movie, a woman was saying she felt bad because she should’ve been speaking up more about the deviations of her Godbrothers. 

Well, the reason why she wasn’t speaking up -- calling the police -- notifying the other devotees to the deviations and crimes -- because she was part of the problem. Early on Srila Prabhupada told Keith Ham through personal contact with him and through letters to his managers or GBC managers in that region more or less to kick Keith ham or Kirtanananda to the curb. 

But the letters against Kirtanananda, which Sulochana was bringing out, are not even mentioned in this movie? Why was Sulochana such a threat? He was bringing out the actual statements of Srila Prabhupada about Kirtanananda and the other GBC gurus.  

I read some of the actual letters which were hidden by GBC devotees up until recently. In addition to that, Srila Prabhupada personally went to meet with Keith ham and told him to not involve himself with management at all and he also told him to just chant and wear white. These incidents were hidden from the devotees but the GBC managers who kept Keith Ham on AS A PURE DEVOTEE GURU in spite of Srila Prabhupada warnings and orders, and his many deviations.

As we can see if we watch the movie, they went out of their way to re-create with actors some sexual scenes, and also some gory violent scenes. But the fact that this was the result of a bogus guru appointment, was not explained clearly if at all.

The lesson we must learn from all of this especially sincere, devotes is to have complete faith in the spiritual master and God, Krishna . If you can’t get to that platform, don’t bury yourself in a hole by thinking you are smarter than Krishna. That’s the reason why we’re here in these material worlds in the first place.

PADA: Yeah, the most important issue, why was Sulochana made a target, is not revealed clearly in this movie, ever. Real reason for his assassination? He was bringing out: the bogus appointment tape, the letters, the will, the July 9th letter and other documents, and that all proved -- there was no "guru appointment." 

That is the REAL reason he was a threat to these gurus, and he had to be removed, and that is not explained hardly in this movie -- if at all, but things like "women in ISKCON" and "going to the moon" are discussed and detailed. 

What about the guy who is supposed to be the main topic of the movie? What was the actual motive for his murder? He was exposing the bogus guru program, and so various big leaders combined and made him a target. The movie misses the target here big time, and it just looks like all sorts of random chaos was going on for no sensible reason, but there was a very sensible reason, the leaders had to stop the person exposing and undermining their claim to authority, and they did. 

Of course, a lot of the people involved with ISKCON as members at the time, who seem to be interviewed the most, also did not know what was Sulochana's issue or main complaint. And they still don't.

 

Why was his main complaint not made clear, right out of the gate? Because most of the film gives the speaking floor to the people who never understood these issues, and I was basically blocked out -- save for a few 4 second sound bites here and there. Very disappointing, but then again, if most devotees have no idea what happened and why, then the movie people are probably not going to grasp it either. 

But yeah, it does look like a lot of random chaos -- and violence -- and maybe murders -- was going on -- and a wide spectrum of assorted criminal activities, but the person challenging the authority of these gurus was made a specific target for a specific reason, and that is unfortunately missed. 

Yup. Unfortunate, a lot of people, including many devotees, still do not know -- these gurus were never appointed -- and the whole guru thing was a giant scam. Even today an older devotee was arguing with me that the new people were meant to be "disciples of my disciples." 

He still thinks we needed some sort of "disciples" to be the successors or GBC gurus, never mind he was booted out and no longer participates himself. Sorry, we do not need conditioned souls to be gurus, it just won't work, and hasn't. And the people who worship conditioned souls as their gurus will not be liberated, so the blind lead the blind into a ditch.

Henry Doktorski:

ys pd 

=======

BG 15 TEXT 16

dvāv imau puruṣau loke
kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca
kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni
kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate

SYNONYMS

dvau—two; imau—in this (world); puruṣau—living entities; loke—in the world; kṣaraḥ—fallible; ca—and; akṣaraḥ—infallible; eva—certainly; ca—and; kṣaraḥ—the fallible; sarvāṇi—all; bhūtāni—living entities; kūṭasthaḥ—in oneness; akṣaraḥ—infallible; ucyate—is said.

TRANSLATION

(Lord Krishna says) There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every entity is called infallible.

PURPORT

As already explained, the Lord in His incarnation as Vyāsadeva compiled the Vedānta-sutra. Here the Lord is giving, in summary, the contents of the Vedānta-sūtra: He says that the living entities, who are innumerable, can be divided into two classes-the fallible and the infallible.

The living entities are eternally separated parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When they are in contact with the material world, they are called jīva-bhūtāḥ, and the Sanskrit words given here, sarvāṇi bhūtāni mean that they are fallible. Those who are in oneness with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, are called infallible.

Oneness does not mean that they have no individuality, but that there is no disunity. They are all agreeable to the purpose of the creation. Of course, in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as creation, but since the Supreme Personality of Godhead has stated in the Vedānta-sūtra that He is the source of all emanations, that conception is explained.

According to the statement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, there are two classes of men. The Vedas give evidence of this, so there is no doubt about it. The living entities, who are struggling in this world with the mind and five senses, have their material bodies which are changing as long as the living entities are conditioned. One's body changes due to contact with matter; matter is changing, so the living entity appears to be changing.

But in the spiritual world the body is not made of matter; therefore there is no change. In the material world the living entity undergoes six changes-birth, growth, duration, reproduction, then dwindling and vanishing. These are the changes of the material body. But in the spiritual world the body does not change; there is no old age, there is no birth, there is no death. There all exists in oneness.

It is more clearly explained as sarvāṇi bhūtāni: any living entity who has come in contact with matter, beginning from the first created being, Brahmā, down to a small ant, is changing its body; therefore they are all fallible. In the spiritual world, however, they are always liberated in oneness.

#SoulfulJapa #HareKrishna #SrilaPrabhupada pic.twitter.com/3rtahLnPbg

— Madhu Pandit Dasa (@madhupanditdasa) December 17, 2024

Monkey Movie / Hare Krishna Project / GBC Lawyers Up / Indradyumna 12 17 24

MONKEY ON A STICK UPDATE

HI Friends - I know there's been some confusion on how to watch Monkey on a Stick. The version of the documentary on Amazon is abridged, presented as a TV series in two episodes. But you can buy both for $6.50 and watch it on your computer. You don't need to sign up for anything or download any apps.

Just put Episode 1 and Episode 2 in your cart and buy it. After that, on your computer, you can go to Amazon.com and find the episodes in your "Returns and Orders" folder under "Digital Orders." Then you can click the link and it will start playing. Warning: the movie includes a lot of me. Also some cuss words, sex, and violence. Not for kids.

The unabridged, original version of the movie is on Apple TV. So if you already have Apple TV, you can watch the full movie. The abridged one is pretty good, so I recommend watching it. When we get venue for the unabridged show that is easier to access, I'll post that.

Here's the link for the one on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Episode-1/dp/B0DN4YVYFP/steamboatshop

=================

ORIGINAL BOOKS PROJECT

THE IDEAL CHRISTMAS GIFTS

The Hare Krishna Project Book Shop - Srila Prabhupada's Original Books for Sale. 
We now have a new stock of Srila Prabhupada's original, unedited, books for sale.

We currently have available:

- Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 1972 Macmillan edition (pocket size) - £6
- Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 1972 Macmillan edition (full size) - £12
- The Topmost Yoga System - £4
- Beyond Birth & Death - £4
- Perfect Questions Perfect Answers - £4
- Life Comes From Life - £4

(+ P&P)

For details visit our website at www.theharekrishnaproject.org.uk/shop

Orders can be placed by emailing us at info@harekrishnaproject.org

"Your report of book distribution is very encouraging. Please go on increasing more and more. Yes, you should become the topmost temple for distributing my books. This is a very good proposal. That [book distribution] is the only way to please me. Distribute my books profusely. That is real preaching."

- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to: Bala Krsna 23 October, 1976)

=================


CB: Srila Prabhupada broke with tradition which formally meant sitting down with the guru in a typical village setting and learning the philosophy and intricacies of Bhakti that way. He started the worldwide sankirtana movement and so designated and empowered his disciples to manage and maintain a new system of management which included guiding devotees and even acting as ritvik priests particularly after 1970.

Ritvik has been used by Jesus Christ for over 2,000 years. Has been used by Ramanuja Acarya for over 1,000 years. Has been used by Madhava Acarya for hundreds of years. Narottam Das Thakur, accepted Vishvanatha Chakravarty Thakur as his diksa guru although Narottam had left his body over 100 years prior. 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Swami, was his own ritvik in diksa, in front of the picture of his diksa guru, Gourakisora Dasa Babaji who had left his body years earlier in 1915. Two German Matajis, took ritvik diksa in March from Bhaktisiddhanta Swami, who had passed in January of the same year. Srila Prabhupada established a ritvik system as part of the initiation process.

The actual process of diksa is called divya jnana or receiving the transcendent knowledge and so even if one reads one of Srila Prabhupada’s books he is already a disciple. That much potency Srila Prabhupada has.

SSD: Hare Krishna. I have read HDG Bhagavad Gita as it is without anyone's else's interference and even while reading I began singing (didn't know the other way) the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra on self made beads 16 rounds, which took me around 6 hours daily. 

I have worshipped the BG by taking bad before each reading session. It was 40 years ago. Then after several months I visited ISKCON, the zonal guru scam, unknowingly, none else but myself to be blamed for then joining it. 

I have been through thick and thin the past forty years but I am every day for the last seventeen years, after I said fare well good bye to the IsGone, listening to audio recordings of Srila Prabhupada alone for several hours every day. He is my only Guidance in the search for my eternal identity and service. 

I am on the streets of Poland 5, 6 days a week since 2010, average 450 hours in a year. I train my mind without falsehood to serve Srila Prabhupada instructions with conviction, otherwise how would I be able to sing alone Hare Krishna in my home town, where I can hardly remain unrecognizable anymore. 

Now, you telling me that I have been missing the revelation you got about him, HDG AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada allegedly being my diksa guru? He is my guru, he is my saviour and when I stop being a monkey he and Sri Krishna will appear to me as my diksha guru, it may even take lifetimes, I hope not so long, but this is the way ever since. Exceptions are there but those are either eternal associates of the Lord's Lila pastimes or offences made by ruffians and intruders only.

CB: Hare Krishna, prabhu. It is nice to see you on this auspicious forum. Thank you for sharing information about your experiences. In a previous life, you were on the path of bhakti. Now, in this life, you are continuing on the path. Somehow, you found Srila Prabhupada’s books. But it is also true that Srila Prabhupada’s books found you. So it is really both—you found the books and the books found you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Now you are connected to him, he is your eternal guide, and that is all that matters.

PADA: Yah. Rather oddly ISKCON / Gaudiya Matha / Sridhara and Narayana maharaja people etc. keep telling me that our idea of worshiping a pure devotee is "not found in Krishna's tradition." Oh excuse me then, pray tell what is your tradition? 

Well, we promote the worship of -- illicit sex with men, women and children, homosexuals, pedophiles, drunks, drug addicts, debauchees, porno swamis, and assorted criminals as people's "eternal link to God." Hmm, sounds like an eternal link to the worship of Kali Yuga / Satan / Beelzebub. OK thanks, that is what I thought your tradition was! The good news is, more people are realizing, our idea is the right idea, we have to worship the pure devotee -- no exceptions required.

ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com

=====

PADA: Oh oh pilgrims, more and more "lawyers" getting posts in ISKCON. They are circling the wagons with a legal team to defend from us cranky dissenters! OK that means they know what they are doing is wrong and needs legal defense to sustain itself. Same thing as the MAFIA, "talk to my lawyers." No wonder they wanted to sue the people making this child welfare forum, they are being exposed. ys pd

INDRADYUMNA'S GIRLS

Padayatra' in New Zealand, in reality it was just a Summer preaching / festival tour. Indradyumna Swami has always behaved this way with young girls. He is a friendly extrovert with a sense of self-celebrity who does whatever he likes.

It is uncertain whether his involvement with the prepubescent girls of Iskcon was for noble purpose or otherwise - in this regard it should be noted that he has no allegations of sexual impropriety against him.

His supporters state that he involved himself with the young girls to help and inspire them spiritually. Fair enough, but it appears the strategy has not worked in the long run, as many of the girls in the video - all of whom I know - now have a very different view of Indradyumna ... and, in many cases, Krishna Consciousness itself. All right, many of them want nothing to do with the religion. As children they had no way to discriminate if his behavior was appropriate. 

I remember when he first visited NZ in 1988, he gave attention to the boys in the gurukula. We went to the beach and wrestled in the sand and he told stories about his Amazon river preaching adventures. We liked him because no Swami had ever given us attention before.

Then, as he returned to NZ in subsequent years for Summer preaching activities, his attention shifted quite noticeably from the gurukula boys to the gurukula girls. I recall a feeling of being left out.

He began to surround himself with the young girls of the community. Sometimes there were two 11-12 year old girls hanging off each of his arms as he spoke to others, including in preaching contexts.

When you surrender your faith to someone, it is amazing how you then let them behave in ways you'd never normally accept. No one called out Indradyumna's association with the young girls of the community. And I believe he knew that they didn't have the power to do so. He was exploiting his position as a guru. 

But others, outside of the group, saw it was a problem. I remember the event at Hastings in 1996 when Indradyumna gave the talk. A devotee had invited his mother along.

"He spoke some wise words", his mother said afterwards. "But what is he doing hanging around with the young girls? That's strange". I agree with the mother - there is something very strange about it. And it is amazing so many people outside the religion see the problem immediately, but the people inside are generally blinded by fanatical attachments. 

Later, when many of those young girls grow up, they are unable to participate in the religion ... because they matured enough to see how fanatical it really is. Religion without philosophy is fanaticism. And the rest of the GBC does not even notice there is a problem either, he is never called out, because they are all the same, exploiters of sentiment. 

Bhakta Dasa's Non Existing Guru etc. 12 16 24

 

Two Russian cargo ships are in distress near Crimea following bad weather | CNN

PADA: Oh oh pilgrims! Old tanker ships, made in the 1960s, ordinarily would be retired and on the scrap heap. But Russians need any ship they can find for their "ghost fleet" to ship oil. And many people already said these ships are not safe for sea travel, and self evidently, they are not. 

Now we have the problem of all these old run down and un-certified ships falling apart and leaking hundreds of tons of oil into the ocean, as happened here. All that, after the Russians already blew up the dam in the same area and washed away chemical factories, paint factories, gasoline and oil storage plants, gas stations, sewer plants -- and hundreds of tons of raw sewage -- and washed away many living things like dogs, cats, chickens and many other animals, and it all was washed away into the sea as well. Which has made the sea there full of toxic materials. 

I don't think these Russians care whatsoever about the environment of planet earth. Never mind they have tossed out millions of their little butterfly mines, which is estimated to take the next 100 years to collect up and make the place safe for humans and animals. Very reckless. 

It's going to be very amazing when Yamaraja tells these folks -- they have to go back to take birth in these exact places that they contaminated, and live in all the toxic chemical mess they made there, and suffer stepping on their own mines and all the rest. Their karma will catch up.    

=================

PADA: It is rather amazing that folks like Sanat / Mukunda / Prahlad / HKC Jaipur / Mathura Pati etc. have all been promoting Bhakta dasa as their hero and spokesman. And he says herein that our idea of CURRENT worship of Srila Prabhupada is a figment of people's imagination. And HKC Jaipur's Prahlad says -- because PADA is not promoting his spokeman's idea -- that worshiping a pure devotee is imaginary nonsense -- we are "destroying the unity of the Prabhupadanugas." And Kamsahanta says PADA's preaching is "the worst thing that ever happened in ISKCON." 

OK they are simply repeating one of the GBC's main talking points. Which means, none of these folks has freed themselves of GBC's contamination. And then, their defender Bhakta Peter says he sees "nothing wrong" with being one of Tamal's bucket boys and parrots. Sorry, the GBC's talking points are - wrong. Never mind their ideas have destroyed thousands of lives and the integrity of the ISKCON society in the process. Sorry, worship of the pure devotee is an ETERNAL principle, it never changes now, or ever, and it never will change. Ever!

BHAKTA DASA (William Benedict):

HARE KRISHNA!

Guru Ashraya is one step on the path towards prema bhakti. It is not hypothetical that one submits to a person. You may imagine you are a disciple of someone, but if that person has not accepted you personally, it is imagination. 

PADA: Bhakta dasa himself is the one who has a hypothetic imaginary guru. We need to submit to an "actual person," but Bhakta's "actual person" is a phantasmagoria, theoretical, hypothetical, imaginary person. He does not even have a name or exist. Bhakta dasa never mentions the name of his alleged guru, because -- there is none. He just does not want anyone to worship Srila Prabhupada, because worship of no one and nothing is better.  

Neither Bhakta das tells us "who" should we have new people offer their bhogha to now. We should offer our bhogha to -- no one? An imaginary person? How does he know offering the bhogha NOW by new people -- to the pure devotee -- is imagination and it is not accepted? Indded, how does he know the offerings are imaginary, or are being accepted -- or not? 

And who is the "actual person" his children and / or his friends offer their bhogha to right now? He never explains. Telling people that offering bhogha to a pure devotee is imagination means, offering to no named person, ok nobody, thus they will simply be eating un-offered bhogha. We offer our bhogha to -- no one, and that is the plan?

Of course Bhakta dasa also criticized PADA for "making offenses to Saint Radhanath." Oh oh wait, that is the homo and pedo guru lineage -- that Bhakta dasa has become a cheer leader of. And that lineage bans, beats, molests, sues and assassinates Vaishnavas. And offers bhogha to homos, pedos, drunks and other assorted deviants. And makes samadhis for homos and pedos in the dham.

Bhakta's own son is living in Alachua -- where many people there believe Jayapataka is the guru. And JPS is the founder father of the molester messiah's program. And we had to have his program sued for $400,000,000. Who is the guru of Bhakta's children, or the other children -- he is advising? Who is the person they offer bhogha to: -- the imaginary Srila Prabhupada offerings; or Jayapataka; or BV Puri who is departed; or Saint Radhanath or -- whom? We never know. When did Srila Prabhupada ever say offering bhogha to the pure devotee is imagination? 

And Bhakta has promoted BV Puri, who was also promoting "Saint Radhanath" at his ashram. We cannot falsely imagine ourselves to be worshipers of a pure devotee, because we can factually become promoters of a homo and pedo guru process? Or what?

It is a long time since I was in contact with the Episcopal Church, or the Catholic Church, but they called those who were with Jesus "disciples", and others who followed Apostles. I am sorry, but Srila Prabhupada is a person who appeared here and taught Krishna Science for a number of years. He never once said or wrote that he is going to keep giving imaginary initiations to anyone after he left his manifest form. 

PADA: Diksha means to get divyam jnanam that destroys sins, and Prabhupada's books gave that divyam jnanam all the time and still do. It is amazing that Bhakta das thinks the current followers of Srila Prabhupada -- who are worshiping Krishna and His pure devotee, are worshiping an imaginary -- no one and nothing. The people who worship Krishna and His pure devotee are worshiping no one and nothing is also called - atheism. But worship of Saint Radhanath is authorized? Or what?

Sorry, it not there. It is not what he taught us. Go ahead and bring forth a zillion citations, they do not make what is concocted truth. Prabhupada wanted MILLIONS of gurus and millions of temples, and he never taught us that it is difficult to teach what he taught us. It is too bad that some got the idea to falsely pretend to be something they are not, and in many ways ruined the formerly somewhat united family of Srila Prabhupada's.

PADA: But Bhakta dasa has concocted that there is a guru somewhere, and yet he has offered us none -- because he cannot even name who his guru is. OK there is none, or he would name that alleged person by now.

For 56 years I have heard every word that was recorded by His Divine Grace and read his books, letters, and worshipped him. I do not need to be sent pages of quotes that some imagine support the false concept that His Divine Grace did not want his disciples to make disciples and teach them the same things he taught us.

PADA: But no disciple / guru is named by Bhakta dasa? All glories to -- nobody? 

The very idea is offensive to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada that he failed to teach anyone the process sufficiently that they could teach it to others. Rupanuga taught it well enough in Buffalo decades ago to bring an entire group of young people to Krishna. He taught, and in the presence of the spiritual master, the disciple brings the new man to the spiritual master for the ceremony of initiation. Prabhupada explained this so many times. But, people still want to concoct something feigning their loyalty to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

PADA: Rupanuga was one of the original people who helped name the bogus 11 as gurus. So we should worship the people whose program has had devotees banned, beaten, molested, sued and assassinated? And follow the advice of one of the original cheer leaders of that process?

It is BS. Become a devotee, preach, and make others devotees. That is the process. You do not need a throne. You just need to live in truth and speak truth.
I am not interested in getting cut and pastes from all the words of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada with which I am familiar with for decades.

Das anu das anu das,
Bhakta dasa

PADA: And Bhakta dasa is also the person Mathura Pati / Mathias Sabji has been advertising as our shiksha guru / head priest / authority -- that everyone should hear from. Sorry, we have to name our guru. We cannot say ALL of the disciples are EXPECTED to become gurus -- but then not name which -- IF ANY -- of them HAVE BECOME gurus. Srila Prabhupada says not naming the guru is called MAYAVADA. 

Otherwise, there IS NO GURU, if NONE can be identified. And Bhakta's BV Puri is NOT HERE, and his Saint Radhanath guru has been tinged with various scandals, including evidently, working as Kirtanananda's hand maiden, and having a role in Sulochana's departure. 

There is no named guru, or Saint Radhanath is the guru, or departed BV Puri is the guru -- who was promoting Saint Radhanath, or what? Can anyone identify who is the guru of Bhakta dasa? Because he never does! And neither does Rupanuga name who the alleged current guru is either. I often tell people, their idea is -- someone or ANYONE else can be the guru -- as long as it is NOT Srila Prabhupada. Then we wonder why there has been so much chaos? 

Q: Where is all this going? 

A: Nowhere. 

ys pd 

angel108b@yahoo.com

=================

PADA: The GBC externally appears to be lazy, incompetent and ineffectual. But the Jayapataka people wrote to complain to me -- that my helping various lawsuits -- has cost ISKCON $100,000,000 -- or more. They complained I am more of an expense than the TOVP building.

That means they are very, very, very effective at protecting their own interests, suppressing complaints from victims -- and whistle blowers. And all this has been accomplished by their spending lavishly, if not unlimitedly -- vast amounts of $$$ on amassing a large bag of legal tricks.

This is a highly orchestrated plan of basically keeping the cabal members out of the reach of justice. This takes a lot of GBC's time, money, effort and hard work. They have held countless meetings -- often with very expensive lawyers -- to shore up their control of the assets of the society. Jus their Bangalore lawsuit cost them $20,000,000, and Bangalore had to spend $20,000,000 to defend themselves, but -- there has been a shortage of funds for shoes for kids? 

Their priority is very clear -- spend whatever it takes on -- lawyers -- to hold power.

None of this should be considered as incompetent and ineffective, they have been highly effective at keep the dissenters at bay with all these legal maneuvers. Now -- are we surprised -- they are replacing the CPO with -- lawyers.

Having all of us exiled out, sometimes having some of us terminated, and allowing in their criminal and predator pals to replace us, is not something that has happened haphazard and random. It is a highly orchestrated and controlled process. It looks random and haphazard, but no one spends $100,000,000 on legal issues, and brings in EVEN MORE lawyers to deal with the child protection issue, unless they are highly motivated, highly organized, and are sitting around having meeting after meeting -- calculating how to keep their posts and powers intact.

AMC Krishna Movie / What is Conservatism? / Apathy 12 14 24

MONKEY ON A STICK MOVIE

https://www.amcplus.com/shows/monkey-on-a-stick-murder-madness-and-the-hare-krishnas--1071412

Watch Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness, and the Hare Krishnas Online | Stream New Full Episodes  AMC+

I just signed up for a free 7 day subscription to AMC+ through my Amazon Prime account to be able to watch for free! 

=====

WHAT IS CONSERVATISM?

PADA: Oh oh one of my "conservative flag waving" friends chastised me for posting the R. Wolff video -- claiming it is "democratic party talking points." OK maybe, except all sorts of "conservatives" themselves have been raising a red flag discussing the problems with China trade. I think it is a universal problem for the whole USA and all of its citizens of any politics. 

In fact, a number of conservatives have made China trade their biggest cause celebre. I don't even know if R. Wolff is a conservative, but if he is citing easily found recorded trade statistics, and the government's not so good China trade agreements, what would it matter?

Evidently the main problem is that R. Wolff, as well as much historical evidence, shows that the Reagan "de-regulating" era is where many trade barriers with China were taken down. And China was granted "USA most favored trade partner" status etc., and that created a flood of China products entering the USA market, where they remain now. 

Anyway, I said -- apart from us splitting hairs on "who started the problem" -- it really does not matter much since, all sorts of people have been in power since Reagan and -- nothing much was ever done by anyone from any party to fix the issue. And therefore, the USA has become a sort of giant Chinese flea market. 

In fact, I went to the actual flea market, and the Mexican guys there with the big Mexican sombrero hats, frilly Mexican little girl's dresses etc. all came out of "Made in China" boxes. I just helped someone put together an IKEA desk, also made in China, and never mind our San Francisco port here is always clogged with China ships full of containers. Not rocket science to figure out our economy is basically based on distributing China's products.

OK so R. Wolff says, America has lost is economic power status because it is no longer manufacturing all these things here. And that is correct.

But even trade and economy problems -- is not the real root or main issue. I said -- Srila Prabhupada condemns atheistic Communism, and therefore we (the USA) should not be funding that process with trillions of dollars of trade. Srila Prabhupada also condemns abortion, which goes on in China on a huge scale, and thus we should also not be funding the country doing that on mass scale either. 

Well that caused my conservative friend to lose his lunch altogether and he said I am "discussing politics." Well actually no. Srila Prabhupada says atheistic Communism is evil, abortion is also evil, and therefore, their program should not be funded. Ever. Oddly, the conservatives are always talking about how evil it is to be "funding abortions." Well duh-oh, so why would it matter if the abortions being funded are being done in China? 

OK the USA is evil if it funds abortions here, but it is fine to fund a program that has abortions somewhere else. Sorry, Krishna does not care if the babies being aborted are USA babies, or China babies. Why would that matter to Krishna? Krishna does not like funding abortions, or the country that makes mass abortions, it is bad karma. That is a universal law, it applies everywhere.

And the USA will reap that karma if it funds it here, there, or anywhere, and therefore we should fix this. The karma of animal slaughter is bad, and the karma of people slaughter is even worse bad, and that has nothing to do with -- this or that -- politics. This is just a fact of how karma and the laws of the material world are governed. And there are no exceptions allowed in the iron wheels of the karma chakra. 

Anyway, after all this he blocked me. And someone else asked me why so many people like this guy block PADA, or they even want PADA blocked from the internet etc.? I said they just don't have any good answers for my points -- so they block me. 

On the one hand, this is good news and there is not anything to lament here. It means -- Krishna is doing me a giant favor and keeping me out of the company of motivated and bogus spiritual cheaters, if not nutty crack pot people. On the other hand, if I am complaining about bogus gurus: -- banning, beating, molesting, suing and killing vaishnavas; and changing the books; and poisoning their master, then blocking me simply enables the regime doing all that. It helps the bad guys, and big time, and blocking me has helped them all along.    

In any case! The question never changes. Since Srila Prabhupada says: Communism and abortion are evil, thus -- should anyone fund that process with trillions of dollars of trade, anywhere at any time? And! If someone doesn't know the answer, then blocking me means -- they don't want to know the answer. 

ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com  

=================    

“WE MUST OVERCOME OUR APATHY - The mad elephant in the room is the corrupted, deviant ISKCON which continues to crush and suppress all intelligent and free-thinking devotees, forcing them into exile.

Today there are tens of thousands of exiled Hare Krishnas, those who could not sell their hearts and souls to the tyranny of the “cult” institution. Some left due to their spiritual weakness. But many, if not most, could no longer reconcile their intelligence with the falsehoods of the institution. They could find no place to settle in the house of frauds, where discussion is framed by the established narrative and facts are twisted to accommodate that narrative. 

Truth dissolved into the politically correct doctrine as dictated by the GBC elite. Brown-nosers, bootlickers, sycophant's, and the power / guru ambitious are mostly who remain in its membership. The honest ones have left the institution, built for all to live in, but which was hijacked by deviant misleaders, led by His Divine Grace’s poisoners.

Hopefully the exiled will have enough wisdom, courage, and spiritual conscience to recognize truth when they see it, and that they have the “shakti” to act upon recognizing the facts and evidence that ISKCON was gurujacked by those who poisoned Srila Prabhupada. As is common in those who witness the insanity and fraud in this world, an overwhelming sense of futility prevails amongst these exiles. 

Was there really a novel virus which is so dangerous, requiring lockdowns and “emergency” untested vaccines? Are major elections free and fair, or have they been hijacked by the globalist elites? Estranged and banished devotees similarly have had their enthusiasm sapped by the natural reaction: “What difference can I make anyway?” 

This sense of futility leads to apathy and a reluctance to verify the “conspiracy theories” even when the proof stares us in the face. “Oh, it just can’t really be true.” The sad truth is when we are confronted with monstrous evil, our first reaction is to reject it, not because we don’t believe it exists, but because admitting its reality implies a responsibility to do something about it. And stopping evil takes away from “me time.” And what’s the point in pointing out the hypocrisy of it all? People tend to just want to live in peace.

But Srila Prabhupada struggled and sacrificed so much to give us Krishna consciousness and a perfect process of spiritual advancement, and if we take his mercy and improve ourselves with his gifts, we become indebted to him. How can we repay Srila Prabhupada? Foremost, he wants us to stick to the process of chanting Hare Krishna, and he also wants us to preserve and propagate his pure teachings. Put aside the temporary feelings of futility and rise to our duty of doing whatever we can to defend Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental mission and divine mercy from deviant actors. This starts with making our voices heard.” (Srila Prabhupada’s Hidden Glories, 1.674)

=======

𝐁𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐊𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐉𝐈𝐘𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍..!!!

"During the time (The Lion Guru ) Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Jagad Guru Prabhupada was considering sending a few of his disciples to foreign countries to spread the message of Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he met with Sri Rabindranath Tagore, the world-renowned author and winner of the Nobel prize in Literature, to inquire about his visit to the West to receive the Nobel prize.
Srila Jagad Guru Prabhupada enquired, “In your opinion, to which Western country should our Gaudiya Matha preachers first be sent to spread the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?”

Sri Rabindranath Tagore replied, “None. It is unadvisable to send preachers to any western countries at this moment. Many unscrupulous people who earlier visited these places to preach Vedic Dharma have tarnished the image of Indian saints. As a result, the people of the western countries have lost faith in sadhus.”

After further discussion on the matter, Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada briefly introduced him to the ideology of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which is the doctrine of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Sri Rabindranath Tagore, being captivated and moved by Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada’s presentation of Gaudiya philosophy said, “It is only if you yourself visit the western countries that great success in preaching will be assured. 

Everybody will certainly greet you with honour.“ Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada replied, “I will send persons who are just as qualified as me.”

During the conversation, while referring to pseudo Gaudiya Vaisnavas, Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada used the term prakrita-sahajiya. Upon hearing the term, Sri Rabindranath Tagore said, “I have never come across this term in my life; I have not seen this term anywhere in the dictionary.“

Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada explained, “The word sahajiya is a highly sacred term. It refers to those truly pure devotees of Sri Krishna whose hearts are filled with a spontaneous, unconditional love and affection for Him that does not depend on the statements of scriptures that glorify him as Bhagavan. Examples of such exalted, eternally perfect devotees are the residents of Vraja, like Sri Nanda, Sri Yasoda, Sri Radharani and others. Nowadays, many unqualified conditioned souls try to imitate the moods of these great, liberated personalities by deceitfully imposing such moods on their own character. 

Therefore, I use this word prakrita-sahajiya to refer to such persons, because nowadays, the prostitution of words, or the gross misrepresentation or concoction of the true meaning of words, to support one’s vested interest has become common practice. These days, the vast majority of people are incapable of understanding the actual imports of words, and so, perversions of terminology often remain unchecked.“

The underlying message in this account is that the words of Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada did not belong to this material world, but rather to the transcendental world. He often used terms that were unknown even to the most famous and admirable scholars of society."

~ from “Vishuddha Chaitanya-Vani” Volume 1

Gita Recital Video / Bakasura -- and False Renunciates 12 12 24

 

PADA: Oh oh pilgrims. Shouldn't these guys should be winding down their grandiose talks -- and they should tone it down a notch. Nope. Talking to the dead now. Well maybe, but it looks like more people are finding these guys are making unreal claims since their whole thing is more under a microscope. 

Now people are more and more examining their statements. And this is also what has been going on in ISKCON. Wait? What did the GBC actually say? I think it is a good thing -- actual pastors are coming out to complain about these folks -- and say that we need to get back to the basics -- and "prosperity preaching" was not one of the original teachings of the religion. ys pd    

BAKĀSURA by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati Ṭhākura Prabhūpāda

(Translated from Śrī Gaudīya Prabandhāvali, Issue 29)

The Supreme personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is enacting His divine pastime as a cowherd in the sacred land of Vṛndāvana, delighting in the pastime of grazing the calves. Among all His divine līlās, it is His human like pastimes that is deemed the most sublime:

"Kṛṣṇera jateka khelā, sarvottama nara-līlā, nara-vapu tāhāra svarūpa."

One day, the two brothers, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, while grazing their calves, arrived with the cowherd boys at the eastern side of the Nandiśvara Hill, at a place called Vakasthala (also known as Vakathara), situated beside a vast and serene lake. 

The calves, having walked a great distance, were parched with thirst. Perceiving this, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma led them to drink from the pristine waters of the lake. After quenching their thirst, the calves ascended the banks and began grazing upon the lush green grass.

The two brothers, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, began to marvel at the beauty of the lake. Its vast expanse was adorned with diverse lotuses, kumuda, and kalhāra blossoms. The gentle hum of intoxicated bees created a symphony of divine sweetness, filling the air with bliss. Enraptured by this serene scene, the cowherd boys joined them in savoring the charm of the place and refreshed themselves by the lake.

Unbeknownst to them, a ferocious demon, commissioned by the wicked Kamsa, lay in wait at the lake, disguised as a massive white stork, Vaka, intent on slaying Kṛṣṇa. Neither Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, nor the cowherd boys had yet noticed his ominous presence.

As they were returning from their drink by the shore, the cowherd boys suddenly caught sight of an enormous white form, immobile and menacing, lying along the banks of the lake. Suddenly beholding this strange sight, the cowherd boys began to murmur among themselves, saying, “Has some peak of Mount Nandiśvara, struck by the thunderbolt of Indra, broken off and fallen here? Yet, would not the crash of such a fall have made a tremendous noise?”

Hearing this, another boy speculated, “Perhaps while we were engrossed in our boisterous games, shouting ho ho, the sound of the thunderbolt and the fall of the peak went unnoticed.” Gazing at the peculiar form, some among them exclaimed, “But we can see eyes, a beak, and other features—could this enormous figure be a creature?”

As this realization dawned upon them, fear seized their hearts. Trembling, they ran towards Kṛṣṇa, crying, “Kanhaiyā! Protect us, save us!” Observing the fear etched on their faces, Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of divine calm, recalled to them the slaying of Vatsāsura to soothe their nerves. He spoke reassuringly, “Do not be afraid. I shall punish this being at once.” Saying this, He gently directed the boys to a safe distance and strode forward to confront the creature.

As Kṛṣṇa approached, the massive bird-demon, Vaka, spread wide its sharp and elongated beak and, in an instant, swallowed the boy-like form of Kṛṣṇa. Disguised as a colossal stork, the demon sought to extinguish the pure-hearted faith of the innocent cowherd boys. Witnessing this, the boys, save for Balarāma, fell lifeless to the ground, overcome with shock.

By the power of Kṛṣṇa’s divine līlā-śakti, their consciousness and bodily functions were stilled, leaving only their sight intact. With unmoving, wide-eyed gazes, they beheld Kṛṣṇa, their hearts yearning for His safety, fixed upon the terrifying maw of Bakāsura. Motionless and silent, their only prayer was the vision of their beloved.
Meanwhile, the demon, convinced that he had destroyed Kaṁsa’s enemy, began to revel in his supposed triumph. Yet, mortal calculations often falter before divine will. Within moments, Bakāsura felt an unbearable searing in his palate, akin to the touch of molten iron.

Panicking, he thought to himself, “Have I mistakenly swallowed a blazing fireball?” The scorching agony that engulfed his throat and palate caused him to writhe in torment.

The demon began to feel as though his eyes were about to burst from their sockets, and his breath grew stifled, heralding the imminent departure of his life force. In desperation, he quickly spat Śrī Kṛṣṇa out of his mouth, only to behold the Divine Child standing before him, unscathed, radiant, and utterly tranquil in form.

Overcome by both fear and rage, Bakāsura grew frantic. He thought to himself, “It seems my fate is sealed, like that of Śakaṭāsura, Tṛṇāvarta, and Vatsāsura before me. Yet, before I meet my end, let me make one final attempt!” Resolving thus, he opened his beak wide once more and lunged at Kṛṣṇa, intent on killing Him.
At that moment, Kṛṣṇa turned His serene gaze towards Balarāma and the cowherd boys, offering them a reassuring glance. Then, with astonishing swiftness, He grasped the upper and lower mandibles of the demon's beak. As effortlessly as a playful child splits a stalk of vīraṇa grass, Kṛṣṇa tore apart the mighty Bakāsura, rending him in twain.

When the lifeblood of Vraja, Nandanandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, emerged unharmed from the demon's maw, life stirred once more in the bodies of Balarāma and the cowherd boys. Yet, even though their consciousness had returned, their faculties of action had not yet been restored. They could only gaze at their beloved Kṛṣṇa, unable to move, their eyes fixed upon Him with unblinking devotion.

Kṛṣṇa, in His effortless grace, had vanquished the mighty demon with ease. The celestials, witnessing this divine act, began to shower Him with fragrant blossoms from the heavens. Balarāma and the cowherd boys, awestruck by the miraculous sight before them, watched in wonder and reverence.

Then, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, filled with joy, approached the cowherd boys and lovingly embraced them. At His gentle touch, the boys’ lost vitality returned, and their limbs regained their strength. Overwhelmed with bliss, they rushed forward, arms outstretched, to embrace Kṛṣṇa. With exuberant joy, they praised Him in countless ways, their hearts brimming with gratitude and love.

Although the time for concluding their playing pastimes with Goṣṭha and returning to Nanda Bhavan had not yet arrived, Rohiṇīnandana Balarāma said, “Kṛṣṇa! Today, there is no need to play further. Let us return home.” With this, all the cowherd boys began to gather the calves. Kṛṣṇa, taking up His flute, played a melodious tune, which called all the calves to Him. Thus, bringing the calves along, they arrived near Nanda Bhavan.

Thus, leading the calves, when they approached Nanda Bhavan, Mother Yaśodā came rushing out. She lifted Kṛṣṇa into her arms, cleansed His limbs, and lovingly kissed His face. Meanwhile, the cowherd boys, overwhelmed with supreme bliss, began to dance with joy and narrated to everyone the story of Kṛṣṇa’s slaying of Bakāsura. They also described the celestial shower of flowers, the heavenly music, and all the other wondrous occurrences in vivid detail.

In colloquial language, it is often said, “bakaḥ parama dhārmikaḥ”—“The heron is supremely pious.” The heron, a type of bird, stands still and serene near water bodies. Its intent, however, is to prey upon fish that come close, oblivious to its true nature. Mistaking the heron for an inert, harmless object due to its stillness, the unsuspecting fish approach it, only to lose their most precious possession—their very lives—due to their simplicity and misplaced trust.

*Dear readers! Similarly, the ignorant and naïve souls of this world are no different from these fish. Uninformed and guileless people often place their trust in hypocritical renunciates -- fraudulent individuals -- who don the guise of ascetics, seeking fame (pratisṭhā), worship(pujā), and material gain(lābha). With the hope of liberation from the prison of material existence, such gullible souls surrender their all to these charlatans, only to be deceived and left wandering, bruised and betrayed.*

The people of Bhārata (India), by nature, are deeply inclined toward dharma. Their faith in religion often blinds their ability to discern. Dharma is the very foundation of Indian culture, and we often lose ourselves in its name, becoming fanatically devoted to anything presented as religious. But are we truly practicing real dharma?

Observing the religious fervor and faith of the people, many have taken to donning the robes of ascetics, exploiting the spiritual sentiments of the uneducated masses. They use religion as a means of livelihood, amassing wealth, women, and prestige. 

For such deceitful individuals, they believe that in India, no profession is as lucrative as donning the garb of a saint. Such attire conveniently conceals all their immoral deeds, while society views them with reverence and respect. This so-called profession demands little investment — just a beard, unkempt nails, and a saffron robe dyed for a mere two rupees. Adorned with thick garlands and large tilakas, and armed with deception, manipulation, and eloquence of words, these charlatans find their business flourishing.

People, too, fear their outward appearance, thinking, “If we offend them or incur their curse, we might face complete ruin.” This fear prevents anyone from questioning or confronting them.

Our nation is not lacking in such disguised ascetics. They are everywhere—on roads, riverbanks, cities, and villages. Some are mere impostors, while others are verbose orators. Everywhere you look, these pretenders abound, exploiting the faith of the masses for their own gain.

Ah, my dear friend! What we are trying to convey is that in a country where there are so many ascetics, why do we still see the people in such a state of anxiety and deprivation? Therefore, we cannot simply call someone an ascetic based on their outward appearance. Just by seeing someone in the robes of an ascetic, one is reminded of the "markata vairāgya" (the false renunciation of a monkey). 

A markata vairāgī, outwardly, may appear like a true ascetic—leaving behind family, adopting the state of a naked hermit, and demonstrating extreme detachment. However, in truth, they are mere enjoyers (bhogī), for the purpose of their outward renunciation is only to plunder the wealth of others and indulge in sensual pleasures. Due to this false intent, the outer garb of renunciation eventually becomes an object of scorn, for the deceit of the fraudulent cannot endure for long. As soon as such a person advances toward his goal, his deceit is exposed.

Thus, for your true well-being, I urge you to understand this: anyone who, with the burden of kanaka (gold), kāminī (women), and pṛtiṣṭhā (prestige) in their heart, assumes the appearance of a saint is, in fact, just like that fraudulent Bakāsura.* Such individuals are also known as bagula bhaktas—those who wear the guise of devotion, but whose hearts are filled with deceit.

The eternal duty of all living beings is service to Kṛṣṇa, but when we abandon this path and adopt the path of indulgence, we fall into the same deceptive conduct as Bakāsura. This very Bakāsura-like attitude is the essence of deceit under the guise of dharma. It is the greatest restraint upon true spiritual progress in the world. Such deceit, under the name of dharma, leads to the ruin of both society and the individuals who indulge in it. There is no greater harm than this.

We know, dear readers, how we become ensnared in the traps of calamity by falling into these deceptions. Just as a bald man, after being struck on the head by a ripened fruit falling from a bela tree, would never again stand beneath that tree, so too have we become wise. Therefore, we will no longer lose everything simply by believing someone to be a sādhu based on their external appearance. 

The hypocritical sādhu’s true aim is never the worship of Hari; in fact, they become obstacles even in the path of others’ devotion. To reveal the deceit of such fraudulent ascetics, the Vaiṣṇava Thākura has sung:

"Kanaka, kāmīnī, pratiṣṭhā bāghinī, chāṛiyāche jāre sei ta' vaiṣṇava.

One who abandons desire for wealth, women, and all devouring tigress of prestige, and walks the path of true renunciation, he alone is a real Vaiṣṇava or for those these three things left away is real Vaiṣṇava.

Gaurāra āmi, gaurāra āmi, mukhe balile nāhi chale.

I am a servant of Gaurā (Lord Caitanya), I am a servant of Gaurā; simply uttering this with my mouth does not make me true servant of Gaur, simply calling like this won't work.

Gaurāra āchāra, gaurāra vicāra la'ile phala phale.

Following the ācharaṇa and instructions of Gaurā (Lord Caitanya), one attains the fruits of spiritual realization.

Lok dekhān gaurā bhaje tilak mātra dhari.

The people see and believe that someone who wears the tilak and follows external rituals is a devotee of Gaurā.

*Gopaneti atyācāra gaurā ghare churi.*

But secretly, those same individuals commit great offenses and even steal, hiding their true nature in the house of Gaurā."

O Lord Gauracandra, the Lord of all living beings! We are Your eternal servants, and You are our eternal Lord. Seeing our miserable state, You, out of Your natural compassion, left Goloka and came to this earthly abode in the guise of a beggar, singing at our door:

"Jīva jāgo, jīva jāgo, kata nidrā jāo māyā pisācīra kole."

Lord Gauranga is calling, “Wake up, sleeping souls! Wake up, sleeping souls! How long will you sleep in the lap of the enchantress called Maya?

Upon seeing Your form as the world-enchanting ascetic, the fortunate souls, forgetting all else, surrendered themselves at Your divine feet. But today, what has happened to the souls? By taking your name , which didn't consider any offenses and, by simply chanting it, causes the body to tremble and the heart to become mad in love for You—today, that very name is being exploited by a band of deceivers who roam the world, claiming Your name. They are bringing ruin not only to themselves but also leading society into degradation.

O Lord, we are Your very own souls, and today, these souls, entrapped by the deceptive ascetics, have strayed far from You and are suffering. O Lord, who but You will expose their deceit? O Lord, when will You come? We can no longer bear the delay. O Lord, either come in Your world-enchanting form and redeem the world, or send Your devotees to protect us from the hands of these heretical, false ascetics. 

O Gaurā Kṛṣṇa, if You do not slay Bakāsura, who will? We are but innocent, ignorant children of the Dharma jagata, powerless and helpless. O Almighty, please shower Your grace upon us by revealing even a little of Your divine power. O Lord, You are ours, and we are only Yours.