PADA Video on Aindra / Krishna Janma Video / Locanananda writes 09 04 26

 

PADA: Oh oh, youtube mashed up my video and it has a dead spot from 7:20 - 8.00. Sorry about that!

LOCAN ANANDA DASA Part 2 One World Scripture -- 

The Bhagavad-gita As It Is

In the Introduction to the original Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada sums up the state of worldly affairs and offers the formula by which human society may achieve its highest possible level of accomplishment and social integration with the following words:

"In the present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. So let there be one common scripture for the whole world -- Bhagavad-gita. And let there be one God only for the whole world -- Sri Krishna. And one mantra only -- Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And let there be one work only -- the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

We always understood that, in writing this, Srila Prabhupada was referring to the original edition of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is and not to some later revised edition that he had not even given his permission to publish.

In Part 1, we mentioned that of the original forty-eight color plates included in the original work, thirty-two colorful illustrations had been removed leaving only sixteen color pages in the 1983 revised edition of the Bhagavad-gita. The greatest shock was to see that pictures of the predecessor acaryas were no longer presented to emphasize the significance of the principle of the unbroken chain of disciplic succession beginning from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. 

It is that chain of pure devotee spiritual masters that differentiates our Krishna consciousness movement from every other religious denomination. So, it is in the interest of devotees throughout the world that those pictures be immediately reinstated in all future printings of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

The Bhagavad-gita was not the only book where Srila Prabhupada intended to include pictures of the great acaryas, as expressed in a letter to Brahmananda dated March 21, 1968, as follows:

"So far the order of photos in the Teachings of Lord Caitanya is concerned, they should go like this: My photo, Guru Maharaja's photo, Srila Gaura Kisora, Srila Bhaktivinode, Lord Caitanya, and lastly, Lord Caitanya's birthplace. For Lord Caitanya's photo, you may use a photograph of one of Jadurani's recent paintings of Panca-tattva."

Whoever has a sense of how to please Srila Prabhupada should immediately conclude that a great disservice has taken place which should be corrected without delay. Those who are responsible for this affront to the previous acaryas should beg their forgiveness by prostrating themselves at the lotus feet of each of the spiritual masters they have offended.

We had previously referred to the many hundreds of letters written by scholars and educators praising the literary achievements of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada was always eager to interact with professors who were recognized in their field of expertise. He would conclude their exchange by deftly pointing out the failings of their illogical conclusions. He also showed great appreciation for those who treasured classic Vaisnava literature and who saw the tremendous benefit to be derived from following the process outlined in the Bhagavad-gita to become fully Krishna conscious.

Below is one such letter from Dr. V.N. Shukla, a professor of Sanskrit and Hindi. He describes Srila Prabhupada's work in these terms: "Words fail me to describe the height of scholarship and devotion manifested in the volumes mentioned.... He stands for the feelings of international brotherhood and spiritual integration of all mankind."

After reading the opinion of such world-renowned Sanskrit scholars, it gives one pause when considering whether those BBTI editors who made changes to more than 500 verses in Srila Prabhupada's original Bhagavad-gita As It Is were at all justified or even sufficiently competent to do so without consulting with scriptural experts like Dr. Shukla, whose credentials are recognized throughout the academic world, and by teachers of Vedic religious principles and practices.

Adoring praise from Indian Sanskrit Scholar, Dr. V.N. Shukla -- Professor of Sanskrit and Hindi at M.U. Aligarh, U.P., India:

"I consider as one of my greatest spiritual thrills, that I had through a physical darshan of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on 30th March, 1976 for the first time. I had the rare privilege to see with my own eyes the very embodiment of Krishna consciousness, the be-all and end-all of all beings.

"Sri Swami Prabhupada has established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness which is spread in 108 cities around the world. All the members of ISKCON are pure Brahmins and Vaisnavas, initiated in the most austere sadhana recommended by the greatest Goswamis of Vrndaban -- Sri Rupa Goswami, the author of Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, and Sri Sanatana Goswami, the author of Hari Bhakti Vilasa and many other works.

"I had earlier known Srila Prabhupada through his enormous works on Krishna Bhakti, the nucleus of all Indian Vedic spiritual literature. To name a few of them, the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, The Nectar of Devotion, Krishna (three volumes), Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, and the commentary on Sri Isopanisad will suffice. It is noteworthy to mention that the Isopanisad Bhasya is the greatest contribution of Srila Prabhupada as it completely refutes the Mayavada arguments of Sankaracarya. This book is a treasure to be possessed by every western scholar.

"Words fail me to describe the height of scholarship and devotion manifested in the volumes mentioned above. Our future generations and the posterity will definitely find a better world to live in through the efforts of Srila Prabhupada, as he stands for the feelings of international brotherhood and spiritual integration of all mankind, which is the backbone of the Vedic sanatana dharma of India. The literary world outside India, particularly the westerners, should be highly indebted to he who has so scientifically acquainted them with what is best in Krishna conscious India. I may be permitted to recommend to all scholars, professors and other Dharmacaryas the great importance and contribution of the books of Sri Swami Prabhupada." (Part 3 to follow)

Krishna's Janmashtami (Birth) Celebrated 08 04 26

VASUDEVA RECEIVES THE BIRTH OF HIS SON:

(Krsna Book 1.3 Excerpt)

Vasudeva saw that wonderful child born as a baby with four hands, holding conchshell, club, disc, and lotus flower, decorated with the mark of Śrīvatsa, wearing the jeweled necklace of kaustubha stone, dressed in yellow silk, appearing dazzling like a bright blackish cloud, wearing a helmet bedecked with the vaidūrya stone, valuable bracelets, earrings and similar other ornaments all over His body and an abundance of hair on His head. Due to the extraordinary features of the child, Vasudeva was struck with wonder. How could a newly born child be so decorated? He could therefore understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa had now appeared, and he became overpowered by the occasion. Vasudeva very humbly wondered that although he was an ordinary living entity conditioned by material nature and was externally imprisoned by Kaṁsa, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa, was appearing as a child in his home, exactly in His original position. No earthly child is born with four hands decorated with ornaments and nice clothing, fully equipped with all the signs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Over and over again, Vasudeva glanced at his child, and he considered how to celebrate this auspicious moment: "Generally, when a male child is born," he thought, "people observe the occasion with jubilant celebrations, and in my home, although I am imprisoned, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has taken birth. How many millions of millions of times should I be prepared to observe this auspicious ceremony!"

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London, August 21, 1973 Prabhupāda: (chants maṅgalācaraṇa prayers) His Excellency, the High Commissioner; ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this ceremony, Janmāṣṭamī, advent of Krishna. The subject matter I’ve been ordered to speak on is advent of Krishna. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā,

janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya

This fact, that we can achieve such a stage of life when we can stop our birth and death… Sa ’mṛtatvāya kalpate. This morning, I was explaining this verse:

yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarsabha sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate

Amrtatva means immortality. So the modern civilization, they have no idea, either the great philosopher, great politician or great scientist, that it is possible to attain the stage of immortality. Amṛtatva. We are all amṛta. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mrīyate vā kadācin. We living entities, we never die, never take birth. Nityaḥ śāśvato yaṁ, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre Every one of us, we are eternal, nityaḥ śāśvato; Purāṇa, the oldest. And after annihilation of this body, we do not die. Na hanyate. The body is finished, but I have to accept another body. Tathā dehāntara prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati. Dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā.

This simple thing, at the present moment, they are lacking knowledge, that we, all living entities, part and parcel of Krishna, we are eternal, we are blissful, and we are cognizant. Krishna is described in the Vedic śāstras:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ Krishnaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. God, Krishna, when I speak Krishna, that means God. If there is any important name… God, it is sometimes said God has no name. That’s a fact. But God’s name is given by His activities. Just like Krishna accepted the sonhood of Mahārāja Nanda, or Yaśodāmāyī, or Devakī, or Vasudeva. Vasudeva and Devakī were Krishna’s real father and mother. Nobody is real father and mother of Krishna, because Krishna is the original father of everyone. But when Krishna comes here, advents, He accepts some devotees as His father, as His mother. Krishna is the original, ādi-puruṣaṁ. Ādyaṁ Purāṇa- puruṣam nava-yauvanaṁ ca He is the original person. Then must be very old? No. Adyam purāṇa puruṣam nava-yauvanam ca. Always fresh youth. That is Krishna. When Krishna was on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, you have seen the picture, He’s just like a boy of twenty years or, at most, twenty-four years old. But at that time, He had great-grandchildren. Therefore, Krishna is always youth. Navayauvanam ca. These are the statements of Vedic literatures.

advaitam acyutam anādiṁ ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca vedeṣu durlābhaṁ adurlābhaṁ ātmā-bhaktau

So, to understand Krishna, simply if we read as a formality the Vedic literature, it will be very difficult to understand what is Krishna. Vedesu durlābhaṁ. Although all the Vedas are meant for understanding Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo. Aham eva vedyo. What is the use of studying Vedas if you do not understand Krishna? Because the ultimate goal of education means to understand the Supreme Lord, the supreme father, the supreme cause. As it is said in the Vedānta- sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Brahma-jijnasa, to discuss about the Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman. What is that Brahman? Janmādy asya yatah. That Brahman means wherefrom everything emanates. So science, philosophy, means to find out the ultimate cause of everything. That we are getting from the śāstras, Vedic literature, that Krishna is the cause of all causes. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam . Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ Krishnaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

Cause of all causes. Just like try to understand. I am caused by my father. My father is caused by his father. He is caused by his father, his father… Go on searching, then you’ll ultimately come to somebody who is the cause. But He has no cause. Anādir ādir govindaḥ I may be cause of my son, but I am also result of the cause, my father. But the śāstra says that anādir ādir, He is the original person, but He has no cause. That is Krishna. Therefore, Krishna says that janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ . The advent of Krishna, it is very important thing. We should try to understand Krishna, why He advents, why He comes on this material world, what is His business, what are His activities. If we simply try to understand Krishna, then what is the result? The result is tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya . You get that immortality. The aim of life is to achieve immortality. Amṛtatvāya kalpate.

So in the advent of Krishna, we shall try to understand the philosophy of Krishna. His Excellency was speaking of peace. The peace formula is there, spoken by Krishna. What is that?

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

If the politicians, diplomats, they are trying to establish peace in the world… The United Nation is there, and there are many other organizations. They are trying to have real peace and tranquillity, no misunderstanding between man to man, nation to nation. But that is not happening. That is not happening. The defect is that in the root is wrong. Everyone’s thinking “It is my country. It is my family. It is my society. It is my property.” This “mine” is illusion. In the śāstra it is said, janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti This “I and my” philosophy is illusion.

So this illusion means māyā. māyā… If you want to get out of this illusion, māyā, then you have to accept the Krishna’s formula. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gītā for guidance if we accept the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Everything is there. Peace is there, prosperity is there. So that is a fact. Unfortunately, we do not accept it. That is our misfortune. Or we misinterpret it. Krishna says in the Bhagavad- gītā, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. Krishna says that “You always think of Me,” man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. “Become My devotee.” Mad-yājī, “You worship Me.” Māṁ namaskuru, “And offer obeisances unto Me.” Is it very difficult task? Here is Krishna’s Deity. If you think of this Deity, Rādhā-Krishna, is it very difficult? Man-manā. You come into the temple and, just as a devotee, offer your respect to the Deity, man-manā bhava mad- bhakto. As far as possible try to worship the Deity, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. Krishna does not want your whole property. Krishna is open to the poorest man for being worshiped. What He is asking? He says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati: “With devotion, if a person offers Me a little leaf, a little fruit, a little water, I accept it.” Krishna is not hungry, but Krishna wants to make you devotee. That is the main point. Yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. That is the main principle. If you offer Krishna little things… Krishna is not hungry; Krishna is providing food for everyone. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. But Krishna wants your love, your devotion. Therefore He is begging little patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. There is no difficulty in understanding Krishna and to accept Krishna consciousness. But we’ll not do that; that is our disease. Otherwise, it is not difficult at all. And as soon as we become devotee of Krishna, we understand the whole situation. Our philosophy, Bhāgavata philosophy, is also communism because we consider Krishna the supreme father, and all living entities, they are all sons of Krishna.

So Krishna says that He is the proprietor of all planets, sarva-loka- maheśvaram. Therefore whatever there is, either in the sky or in the water or in the land, they’re all Krishna’s property. And because we are all sons of Krishna, therefore every one of us has the right to use (the) father’s property. But we should not encroach upon others. This is the formula of peace. Mā gṛdha kasya svidhanam, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. Everything belongs to God. You are sons of God. You have got the right to use father’s property, but do not take more than you need. That is punishable. These things are stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Stena eva sa ucyate, in the Bhagavad-gītā, “he’s a thief.” If anyone takes more than he needs, then he’s a thief. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ. If for the satisfaction of Krishna… Yajña means Krishna’s another name is Yajñeśvara. So you act for Krishna, you take prasāda Krishna. That what we are teaching here. In this temple, we are residing Americans, Indians, Englishmen, Canadians, Africans, different parts of the world. You know that. Not only in this temple, all over the world. [break]

…when we forget this philosophy, that Krishna is the supreme father, Krishna is the supreme proprietor, Krishna is the supreme enjoyer and Krishna is the supreme friend of everyone. When you forget this, then we come into this material world and struggle for existence, fight with one another. This is material life. So you cannot get… The politicians, diplomats, philosophers, they have tried so much, but actually nothing has become fruitful. Just like the United Nations. It was organized after the second great war, and they wanted that peacefully we shall settle everything. But there is no such thing. The fighting is going on between Pakistan and India, between Vietnam and America, and this and that. It is not the process. The process is Krishna consciousness. Everyone has to understand this fact, that we are not proprietor. Proprietor is Krishna. That’s a fact. Just like America. Say two hundred years ago the Americans, the European migrators, they were not proprietor—somebody was proprietor. Before them, somebody was proprietor or it was vacant land. The actual proprietor is Krishna. But artificially you are claiming that “It is my property.” Janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti. This is called māyā.

So Krishna advents for give us lesson. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata. Krishna says, “My dear Arjuna, I come when there is discrepancies in the process of religious life.” Dharmasya glānir bhavati. And what is dharma? The simple definition of dharma is dharmāṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat- praṇītam. This is dharma. Dharmāṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam. Just like what do you mean by law? Law means the word given by the state. You cannot make law at home. That is not possible. Whatever the government gives you, that “You should act like this,” that is law. Similarly, dharma means the direction given by God. That is dharma. Simple definition. You create dharma. I have created this dharma, another man creates another dharma; these are not dharma. Therefore, where the Bhagavad-gītā ends, that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ , this is dharma—to surrender to Krishna. Any other dharma, they are not dharma. Otherwise, why Krishna asks sarva-dharmān parityajya: “Give up”? He said that dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge: “I advent to establish the principles of religion.” And at last He says, sarva-dharmān parityajya. That means the so-called dharmas that we have manufactured, man-made dharmas, they are not dharmas. Dharma means what is given by God. But we have no understanding what is God and what is His word. That is the modern civilization defect. But the order is there, God is there—we won’t accept. Where is the possibility of peace? The order is there. Krishna says, the Supreme, bhagavān uvāca. Vyāsadeva writes bhagavān uvāca. One should know what is bhagavān. Vyāsadeva could have written Krishna uvāca. No. He says… If one may misunderstand Krishna, therefore he writes in every stanza, every verse, śrī bhagavān uvāca. So Bhagavān is there. Bhagavān is speaking. Bhagavān is accepted by all the ācāryas. Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇusvāmī. Latest, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu also, even Śaṅkarācārya, he also accepts Krishna—sa bhagavān svayaṁ Krishna. So the verdict of the modern ācāryas, and in the past also, Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Asita, everyone accepted Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Arjuna, who heard from Krishna, after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, he said, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣam ādyaṁ śāśvatam.

So everything is there. Especially in India, we have got so much asset for understanding God. Simple thing. Everything is there ready made. But we won’t accept. So what is the remedy for such disease? We are searching after peace, but we won’t accept anything which is actually giving us peace. This is our disease. So this Krishna consciousness movement is trying to awaken the dormant Krishna consciousness in everyone’s heart. Otherwise, how these Europeans and Americans and other countrymen, they never heard of Krishna four or five years ago, how they are taking Krishna consciousness so seriously? Krishna consciousness is there in everyone’s heart. It has to be awakened only. That is described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta

nitya-siddha Krishna-bhakti ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

It is awakened. Love for Krishna, devotion for Krishna, is there within everyone’s heart, but he has forgotten. So this Krishna consciousness movement is simply meant for awakening that Krishna consciousness. This is the process. Just like when you are sleeping, your, I have to call you loudly—“Mr. such and such, such and such, get up. You have got this business.” No other senses will act when you are sleeping. But the ear will act. Therefore, in this age, when people are so fallen they will not hear anything, if we chant this Hare Krishna mahā-mantra, he’ll be awakened to Krishna consciousness. This is practical.

So actually if we are anxious for peace and tranquillity in society, then we must be very serious to understand Krishna. That is our request. Don’t take it neglectfully, the Krishna consciousness movement. This movement can solve all the problems of life, all the problems in the world. Social, political, philosophical, religious, economical—everything can be solved by Krishna consciousness. Therefore, we request those who are leaders—just like His Excellency is present here—you should try to understand this Krishna consciousness movement. It is very scientific, authorized. It is not a mental concoction or sentimental movement. It is most scientific movement. So we are inviting all leaders from all countries: try to understand. If you are sober, if you are actually reasonable, you’ll understand that this Krishna consciousness movement is the sublime movement for the welfare of the whole human society. That’s a fact. Anyone may come. We are prepared to discuss this subject matter. Krishna bhūliyā jīva bhoga vāñchā kare. We should not…

Our human life, the ultimate goal of human life is to achieve immortality. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti , This is our…, we have forgotten this. We are simply leading the life of cats and dogs, without any knowledge that we can achieve that perfection of life when there will be no more birth, no more death. We do not understand even that there is possibility of amṛtatvam. But everything is possible. Amṛtatvam. Nobody wants to die. That’s a fact. Nobody wants to become old man, nobody wants to become diseased. This is our natural inclination. Why? Because originally, in our spiritual form, there is no birth, no death, no old age, no disease. So after evolutionary process down from the aquatics, birds, beasts, plants, trees, when you come to this form of human form of body after… Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva lakṣāṁs tād jīva-jātiṣu. This is evolutionary process. We come to the human form of body. Then we should know what is the goal of life. The goal of life is amṛtatvam, to become immortal. That you can become immortal simply by becoming Krishna conscious. Krishna says. It is a fact. We have to simply understand. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. If you try to understand Krishna in truth, tattvataḥ, then, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti, after giving up this body, you don’t accept any more material body. And as soon as you don’t accept any material body means you become immortal. Because by nature we are immortal.

So Krishna advents, Krishna advents to teach us this lesson, that “You are immortal by nature. As spirit soul you are part and parcel of Me. I am as immortal. So you are also immortal. Unnecessarily, you are trying to be happy in this material world.”

mamaivāṁso jīva bhūto jīva-loke sanātanaḥ manaḥ saṣṭanindriyāni prakṛti-sthāni karṣati

Simply struggle for…, unnecessarily. The best thing is that you have enjoyed sense life in so many varieties of life, as cats, as dogs, as demigods, as tree, as plants, as insect. Now, in this human form of life, don’t be captivated by sensuous life. Just try to understand Krishna. That is the verdict of the śāstras. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye . To work very hard like dogs and hog for sense gratification is not the ambition of human life. Human life is meant for little austerity. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam. We have to purify our existence. That is the mission of human life. Why I shall purify my sattva existence? Brahma-saukhyam tv anantam. Then you get unlimited pleasure, unlimited happiness. That is real pleasure. Ramante yogino ’nante satyānanda-cid-ātmani iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate.

So, at least in India, all the great personalities, saintly persons, sages and ācāryas, they have cultivated this spiritual knowledge so nicely and fully, and we are not taking advantage of it. It is not that those śāstras and directions are meant for the Indians or for the Hindus or for brāhmaṇas. No. It is meant for everyone. Because Krishna claims

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yaḥ tāsāṁ mahad brahma yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

Krishna claims that “I am everyone’s father.” Therefore, He is very much anxious to make us peaceful, happy. Just like the father wants to see his son is well situated and happy; similarly, Krishna also wants to see every one of us happy and well-situated. Therefore He comes sometimes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati This is the purpose of Krishna’s advent. So those who are servants of Krishna, devotees of Krishna, they should take the mission of Krishna. They should take up the mission of Krishna. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s version.

āmāra ajñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa yare dekha, tare kaha, ‘Krishna’-upadeśa

Krishna-upadeśa. Just try to preach what Krishna has said in the Bhagavad-gītā. That is the duty of every Indian. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says.

bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya janma haila yāra janma sārthaka kari para-upakāra.

So Indians, Indians are meant for para-upakāra. Indians are not meant for exploiting others. That is not Indians’ business. Indian history is all along for para-upakāra. And formerly, from all parts of the world, used to come to India to learn what is spiritual life. Even Jesus Christ went there. And from China and from other countries. That is history. And we are forgetting our own asset. How much we are callous. Such a great movement, Krishna consciousness, is going on all over the world, but our Indians are callous, our government is callous. They do not take. That is our misfortune. But it is the Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mission. He says any Indian, bhārata bhūmite manuṣya janma, if he’s human being, he must make his life perfect by taking advantage of this Vedic literature and distribute the knowledge all over the world. That is para-upakāra. So India can do. They are actually appreciating. These Europeans, American young men, they are appreciating that how great… I get daily dozens of letter, how they are benefited by this movement. Actually, that is the fact. It is giving the life for the dead man. So I shall specially request the Indians, especially His Excellency, kindly cooperate with this movement, and try to make successful your life and others’ life. That is the mission of Krishna, advent of Krishna.

Thank you very much. (end)

Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Pedophiles Welcome! : Prabhupadanugas? UNWELCOME! 09 02 26

https://www.krishnaconsciousnesssociety.com/?

angel108b@yahoo.com

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Yeah, heard that hundreds of times:

ISKCON children victims are "getting their karma."

BHAKTI VIKSA SWAMI

PEDOPHILES WELCOME : PRABHUPADANUAGAS UNWELCOME

PADA: Rather odd conversation here with Bhakti Vikas swami. He seems to be saying, we should allow pedophiles back into ISKCON to "do important service" even if they have criminally abused children, and / or were caught or known. OK that means the GBC ISKCON leaders are not going to legally charge these pedo guys with these crimes. 

Which answers the BIG question we get all the time "why weren't the pedophiles put in jail by the ISKCON leaders"? Right, we need to be merciful to the pedophiles and give them mercy, forgiveness, and allowance to continue hanging around the society. And not have them legally charged criminally with crimes. 

Who is legally sued then? I forgot, it is the people who worship Srila Prabhupada, like the Bangalore devotees. The GBC spends $20,00,000 trying to put the directors of Akshaya Patra (a free food program in India) in jail. So if you are a pedophile, we should not charge you legally with crimes, we should allow you back to do important service -- whatever that means. 

But if you decide to worship Srila Prabhupada as your guru, you will be banned, beaten, sued, and maybe -- killed. Then people wonder why there has been a pedophile out cropping in ISKCON? BVKS then says he does not care who does not like what he says, he might be rejected. He already has been rejected, the temples are ghost towns. And that is why we need to be forgiving to the pedophiles, they are needed to do important service, because everyone else already abandoned ship. 

ys pd angel108b!yahoo.com   

BHAKTI VIKAS SWAMI

(0:00) The title of this talk will be Perspectives on Child Abuse, starting now. (0:11) I'm now going to speak on a very unpleasant subject. (0:18) What I'm going to say will definitely not be accepted or acceptable to some.

(0:28) I might lose some friends and disciples who strongly disagree with me. (0:36) I have been asked to clarify why I support child abuses. (0:42) This is not the first time that I've been called upon to do this, (0:47) but I've not done so because my experience in trying to address such questions is that (0:56) those who disagree, to put it mildly, tend to take things out of context and presume (1:07) that any perspective other than their own means that I am a supporter of the evil of child abuse.

PADA: BVKS supports Jayapataka swami, who has made what some victims call "Auschwitz for kids." There are numerous victims according to various testimony including that a number of other schools such as Vrndavana and other GBC locations also harbored child abusers and for many years. BVKS may not be abusing children himself, but the system he promotes and supports does abuse children.    

(1:20) The implication is that I support child abuse, I support child abusers, therefore I support (1:30) child abuse. I didn't take this up previously. I didn't respond to this because of the (1:43) nastiness of those who just presume that I must be evil because I don't take the same position (2:00) that they do.

PADA: Why is it nasty to address that BVKS's GBC system has had rampant child abuse and harbors notorious child abusers -- and BVKS is a leader in that system? And BVKS has been a defender / apologist / hand maiden / enabler of that system, and his sannyasa guru Jayapataka is the head of that system in Mayapur where we have had Dhanurdar, Bhakti Vidya Purna, Bhavananda, Satadhanya, Nitai Chand and others of that ilk roaming about over there?  

So I have to say, I do not support child abusers. (2:09) And you say, yes you do, but I want to draw a distinction between child abusers (2:16) and ex-child abusers. It seems to be presumed that anyone who has abused children must be (2:27) innately evil and cannot possibly be a devotee of any kind.

PADA: That is not really the issue at hand. The issue is that while all the abuse has been going on there was a severe effort to curb whistle blowers by BVKS's GBC society as a whole. And in fact GBC enforcers were sent to California to HUNT US DOWN LIKE DOGS and take out me and Sulochana, so violence -- including murders of Vaishnavas -- has been being used by BVKS's guru process to suppress complaints about child abuse. 

And when ex-child abusers are loitering about in ISKCON, they seem to get a free pass, but our Prabhupadanugas are banned, beaten, sued and maybe killed. Did I forget to mention that a child committed suicide after he saw how Dhanurdar was given a glorious welcome at Los Angeles temple? You guys are harming the victims over and over again. BVKS may think it is a good idea to allow in former perps, but it looks like the victims are not being consulted or taken into account. 

Surely a devotee cannot do such (2:35) horrible things. However, that's not what Krishna states in Bhagavad Gita. Although (2:45) citing the Apichet Suddharachara verse in this context invokes horror in some, (2:54) as if it doesn't apply.

There are some situations where some have decided that Krishna's words in (3:02) this regard, they're not applicable. They say that anyone who is chanting Hare Krishna but (3:14) who's done child abuse cannot be sincere in any way whatsoever. They're wolves in sheep's clothing.

(3:25) A little aside here, we live in a bad world. The whole society around us is abusive of children. (3:36) If we see how many children grow up taking drugs from a young age, having sex at a young age, (3:48) are suicidal and criminal, there are rampant kinds of child abuse which are just considered normal (4:03) in so-called civilized society.

No one makes a fuss. Contraception, abortion, (4:14) divorce, especially in the presence of young children, fighting between parents in the (4:23) presence of young children. It may be that those who are so much against, (4:34) well, we should be against child abuse, but those who are so much vocal about it don't see that (4:42) there are much broader parameters of child abuse.

PADA: What does any of that have to do with the GBC's mass child abuse of Krishna kids? The regular society is bad, our society is bad -- what is the problem? The problem is that "someone else is a crook" does not allow you to also be one, or support others who are. The ISKCON society has to be responsible for what happens in its society, and hold the perps and their enablers accountable. 

So yeah, be vocal about it, try to stop it, but (4:57) could try to keep a somewhat balanced perspective on it also. Getting back to (5:05) child abuse in ISKCON, there's a strange psychology, dichotomy, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (5:14) syndrome. If you don't know what that is, look it up.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The one person who was (5:24) basically good but had a very bad side to him and eventually became very bad. (5:36) So it may be that the devotee has some demoniac tendencies, they take to Krishna consciousness (5:45) seriously, and after doing so they succumb to some really very, very bad (5:54) anarthas.

Yet they're still trying to be devotees. There but for the grace of God go I. (6:05) That's the saying. I can't say I'm categorically better than a child abuser.

PADA: Right, we GBC are the enablers of the industrial scale child abuse process, so I cannot say I'm better than a child abuser. Correct. The enablers of the abuse process are co-equal parts of the whole process, neither is much better than the other. "I did not hit you, my stick did."

How many sins have I (6:17) done, maybe not in this life, cow killing, murder, rape, contraception, abortion, genocide. (6:26) I'm in this material world because I'm sinful. Should have Prabhupada kindly (6:32) pick me up or try to pick me up.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur sings, (6:45) What kind of horrible things have I not done thousands and thousands of times. (6:57) The response to child abuse that seems to be mainstream in devotee society at present (7:06) is that offenders should be shamed as far as possible and driven out of Vaishnav society (7:14) and no one should have any sympathy for them whatsoever. 

PADA: Yes, there is a problem when the sincere Prabhupadanugas are driven out, and the molesters and their enablers get to stay. That is what has happens in ISKCON, most of the sincere householders are driven out and the false renunciates and their entourage of predators remain.   

Any sign, any trace of any sympathy (7:26) for a devotee who has succumbed to some terrible tendency proves that the person who has sympathy (7:35) is as bad, as evil as the wrongdoer.

What would Srila Prabhupada say? It seems to me unlikely (7:49) that he would totally reject and abandon a misbehaved devotee. (7:57) After who knows how many births we take to Krishna consciousness, (8:05) Srila Prabhupada, he did reject some disciples, (8:14) but not for misbehavior, even bad misbehavior, and especially there's at least one case we know of, (8:22) of a devotee who had performed very valuable service, had the potential to do much more. (8:30) It came to light that alongside doing his valuable service, (8:36) he was having multiple fall downs.

He was a Sanyasi GBC member. I'll say the name (8:43) because it is mentioned anyway in Hari Shari Prabhu's Transcendental Diary. The name is Madhu (8:51) Dwisha.

He was a GBC member and a Sanyasi. Srila Prabhupada liked him very much. He had done (8:57) tremendous service in picking up the Australian ISKCON.
So anyway, I'm going to read from (9:08) Hari Shari Prabhu's Transcendental Diary. Pusha Krishna Maharaj spent a long time on the phone (9:16) in the evening informing all the temples in Madhu Dwisha's zone on the east coast that he, (9:24) Madhu Dwisha, has fallen and is no longer the GBC. 

However, when he came to report (9:34) his actions to Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada was angry. Prabhupada was made aware of the (9:40) initial suspicions in Australia, but his idea had been to keep the affair quiet until he reached New (9:48) York because Srila Prabhupada had reassigned Madhu Dwisha, taken him out of the Australia zone. (9:57) He'd heard about his multiple fall downs and reassigned him to a GBC zone in New York. He (10:04) didn't remove him from GBC service.

So Prabhupada wanted to keep the affair quiet until he reached (10:10) New York where he could see Madhu Dwisha personally and attempt to clear everything up (10:17) without a scandal. He wanted to save him and he was upset that news of Madhu Dwisha's fall down (10:23) was now widespread. He rebuked Pusha Krishna.

Now you have made it impossible for him to return. (10:33) Srila Prabhupada wanted Madhu Dwisha to return. Later on in the Transcendental Diary, we find (10:49) Harisharai Prabhu recalling that Pusha Krishna Swami himself (10:55) fell down. Harisharai Prabhu writes, Pusha Krishna's fall was not unexpected. (11:05) Srila Prabhupada pinpointed the cause. He said it was because he had made Madhu Dwisha's difficulties (11:11) a public issue.

Prabhupada had wanted to keep it quiet and deal with Madhu Dwisha on his own (11:19) for despite his entanglement in illicit activity, Madhu Dwisha was still doing service. (11:26) Prabhupada said that he had wanted to rectify him and keep him in devotional service. (11:32) But without consultation, Pusha Krishna had advertised the situation and this was counter (11:38) to his desire, to Srila Prabhupada's desire.

So Srila Prabhupada was looking to rectify him. (11:50) Nowadays with the internet, it's impossible to hide anything. Is that good or is it bad? Well, (11:58) whether it's good or whether it's bad, it's just a fact of life in the present age.
(12:05) But we can see that Srila Prabhupada's, what Srila Prabhupada's approaches. Now (12:15) falling down with women, it's serious misbehavior for anyone, for a sannyasi especially. (12:27) 

PADA: What does Madhuvisa having affairs with grown up females have to do with the molesting of small kids? Madhuvisa for the record was against my efforts to curb the child abuse and he said I was "making offenses."

Child abuse is in a different category, we can say, but it's falling down with a woman, (12:37) you can say, well, that's abuse of the woman or anyway, it's child abuse is particularly (12:46) horrible. One point is that falling down with women is so common (12:55) within ISKCON and illicit sex is so much accepted in mainstream society (13:03) that we tend to treat it quite lightly. 

PADA: Child abuse is not merely illicit sex among consenting adults, it is a crime against children.

Certainly those who, men who fall down with women, (13:10) they don't get roasted in the same way that child abusers do. For a brahmin to fall down, (13:20) for someone who's supposed to be a brahmin who engages in illicit sex, meat-eating, (13:27) taking of intoxication, gambling, it's in traditional Vedic culture, these are all considered (13:37) very sinful.

Nowadays, we don't consider them so, but mainstream society still considers child (13:47) abuse to be very, very bad. That might change, you never know. I'm not saying it's good if it (13:56) changes, but it's better if it changes that mainstream society recognizes that any form of (14:03) illicit sex is sinful, is bad, and there are gradations also.

Child abuse is definitely very, (14:13) very bad, but still we can consider Srila Prabhupada's outlook that he doesn't want to (14:22) completely reject a devotee who wants to be a devotee, (14:31) who's done very valuable service, he wants somehow to accommodate them. (14:36) This can become a very tricky question. By accommodating fallen sannyasis, (14:44) do we not undermine the whole institution of sannyas and cheapen it? By giving some room for (14:52) ex-child abusers to continue in Krishna consciousness, do we not lessen the crime (15:00) of child abuse and normalize it? 

It's a dilemma, at least it's not for everyone a dilemma, for many (15:09) it's no dilemma, just drive them out, throw them out. But I'm just wondering if that is the (15:17) fully correct attitude and by being so rejecting of devotees who are trying to be devotees, (15:30) we may commit offenses to them also. This will be hated by those who hate what I'm saying, but (15:42) there are cases we see in the pastimes of Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, (15:52) of them saying that people had become ghosts for their offenses in criticizing devotees.

(16:04) And again they will say, well you can't be a devotee if you do such horrible things, but again (16:11) that's not the verdict of Bhagavad Gita.

PADA: OK so the Bhagavad Gita says we need to ban, beat, sue and kill anyone who worships Srila Prabhupada, but we should be merciful to child abusers. WTF? 

So yeah, it is a dilemma on the one hand, we want to keep (16:17) out, drive out child abuse altogether from Vaishnav society. I wonder if it's even possible (16:26) when it's so rampant in Kami society, despite all endeavors to stop it, curb it, it goes on rampantly. (16:39) It doesn't mean that we shouldn't make endeavors to keep it out, (16:46) but it's probably going to be with us.
The whole society is very bad. (16:53) Iskcon is not an island. We're in the middle of this horrible Kali Yuga.

PADA: But the karmi police, media and courts had to help me combat the mass child abuse in the Krishna religion. To say that the karmis are doing the same thing as ISKCON is not correct, they will vehemently attack child abusers programs. 

(16:59) So we want to drive out child abuse altogether. So it might seem that by (17:04) completely rejecting in all respects anyone who has any record of child abuse, (17:14) then we can drive it out completely, finished. But is it really proper to drive out devotees (17:28) who have made and who have the potential to continue making valuable contributions? (17:36) There are devotees who have done child abuse and have come out of that and have gone on for decades (17:50) inspiring devotees, helping them.

Are they really all wolves in sheep's clothing? (18:02) Or are they trying to be Krishna conscious? As we're all trying, we're all struggling. (18:10) It could be said, well, devotees, they can continue practicing Krishna consciousness, (18:16) but not in Iskcon. They can do it at home or they can go off to the Gauri Amart or Shree (18:24) Sampra or whatever, whoever will accept them.

PADA: No, all of us are not struggling with being potential child abusers, we instinctively want to protect children.

But then again, we have devotees who did things wrong (18:31) a long time ago but have not engaged in child abuse literally for decades. Maybe some allowance (18:38) could be made for them considering that association with devotees is essential in Krishna consciousness. (18:45) krishna bhakti janma mool hoye sadhu sanga krishna prema janme tehon punah (18:52) mokya anga.

The very root of krishna bhakti, the root of its arising is association with devotees. (19:04) And even when one comes to the level where krishna prema is awakening in one's heart, still (19:14) it is a major limb of devotional service. That is what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says.

PADA: But by association with child abusers, and worshiping child abusers like Lokanath etc. we are associating with child abuse and not pure bhakti. 

So, (19:23) could ex-child abusers who are prepared to (19:34) at least clean toilets in Iskcon temples or (19:39) if they go into any Iskcon temple, everyone will know, yes, they did this, they did that. (19:45) If they regularly go to some temple, give them some service, give them some association, allow (19:52) them to join in kirtan. We also have to consider the recognized phenomenon in secular society (20:03) of people making accusations of rape and child abuse, (20:09) even against their parents, which later turn out to be false.

(20:17) It's a syndrome. It's not just one or two cases. There are (20:22) enough cases that it's a very worrying syndrome.

In the meantime, (20:29) after the accused parties have been imprisoned, their reputations destroyed, their lives destroyed, (20:41) and we see, at least in some cases of child abuse that have been adjudicated (20:51) within Iskcon, that the accused parties will admit that they've done some wrong, but they (20:57) state that there are exaggerations and misrepresentations also. 

But typically, (21:04) those who are accused are so much scorned that they're not considered worthy even of a proper (21:12) hearing. In other words, whatever the accusations are, are taken as a fact, and (21:22) the persons who are accused shouldn't even be listened to.

There can't be anything that they (21:32) could possibly say to re-present or to give a different perspective. Often, trial is by public (21:44) contempt on the internet. So, child abuse is terrible, horrible, dangerous, but it's also (21:56) dangerous that within Iskcon there are no proper judicial procedures followed, not only in cases (22:02) of child abuse.

What are called judicial procedures in cases of child abuse often seem to be driven (22:14) by vindictiveness, with the guilty verdict already settled before inquiry, and then deliberately dig (22:23) up all kinds of dirt, wrong things that the person may have done, or they're accused of doing, (22:34) which have got nothing to do with child abuse. The investigators try to get people to say bad (22:44) things. They're looking for material to incriminate, sometimes not involving the accused (22:51) whatsoever.

And not to speak of the accused, even someone who has anything good to say about them (22:59) is considered a pervert. If it is attempted to explain that there are many devotees who (23:05) have taken guidance from and been benefited by and who have no complaint against the accused, (23:14) or if it is attempted to state that some of the accusations are possibly not completely accurate (23:24) or exaggerated, one is immediately labeled a facilitator of child abuse. (23:33) So, it's natural that devotees become, or anyone, becomes livid and wants to (23:42) scream and maybe perform physical violence against child abusers.

But if we are to operate (23:51) as a functional society, there have to be proper judicial procedures. Otherwise, it's very dangerous. (24:05) And anyone can say anything and it's just taken as being true.

PADA: The judicial system of ISKCON is to ban, beat, sue and kill whistle blowers on child abuse. 

Anyway, (24:14) I don't want to discuss this further. I'm giving this little talk. It's going out in public.

It (24:20) will be cut into pieces, no doubt. But I don't want to discuss this further with those who are (24:32) so livid against any kind of child abuse that they seem to have lost their discrimination (24:48) and just presume that everyone must be very bad if they have anything to do with (24:59) or any sympathy for anyone who ever performed child abuse. That's my experience.

It's a certain (25:07) kind of persons it's impossible to discuss with in a reasonable manner. So, in such an atmosphere, (25:16) I won't attempt to discuss further. You can send me all kinds of nasty emails. That's it. (25:27) I may lose friends or disciples, but that is my position." 

BHAKTI VIKAS SWAMI

PADA: Yeah we won't allow this to be discussed further, suck it up, or we will ban, beat, sue and kill you. ys pd

The 14 Lokas - The Cosmic Map of Existence pic.twitter.com/Rw6hK9yRwI

— Radhika (@Madhavi_Gopan) September 2, 2026

Iran / Govinda Dasi / GBC meeting / 11 Naked Emporers 09 01 26

IRAN WAR

PADA: OK prabhu well thanks for that. My opinion is that the MAGA heads said we won this war maybe 45 times already, to appease the public, markets and media. They recently said Iran is dead, and they have no military left etc. 

Well ships still keep getting blown up in the Gulf, and so do our bases. A dead person would no longer be a threat -- and ships would be moving freely there, and that has not happened, because they are not dead. My feeling is that Iran is draining down our interceptor inventories, after that, we will have no defense. And they know that. 

A Pentagon leaker said, we all know a long term war with Iran is not sustainable, we do not have the defense munitions and we are already low. And it will take years to replenish what we already lost. Meanwhile Iran is making more missiles every day, we are way behind their capacity. 

So I think there is no clear path how we could win this, it does not seem to exist or we would have done that already. At this stage I think we are just keeping this going as long as possible because we simply cannot admit, we made a huge mistake. ys pd  

=======

PADA to Govinda Dasi:

PADA: Unfortunately, in the early 1980s I was complaining about the book editing, the mass mistreating of children, the intoxicated womanizer acharyas, and all the associated crimes that were going on left and right -- all being published all over the Western news medias on a regular basis. And not hardly any devotees were supporting my efforts, or making similar known efforts. 

So by 1986, the CBS TV news people (Jane Wallace etc.) asked me, who else is public protesting that we can interview, we want to include them. And I could not name anyone that I knew of at the time. So I understand why a lot of people think the current protest is "a day late and dollar short." So many ex-Krishna children, maybe over 100 or more around here, tell me the same thing, the people protesting the child mistreatment now are -- "a day late and dollar short." 

Of course, better late than never is also true. In any case -- I get that question to my blog all the time, well prabhu, why did everyone wait so long? It is the same question I get from the media people over and over. So when people ask that question, it is not new, I was getting the same question in 1986. ys pd

PADA: Yep, to my great fortune the FEDS, the Berkeley PD, the karmi courts etc. helped me survive the whole thing. So we all have a job, and they had their job, and they did it well or I would not be here. When Jane Wallace was interviewing me in 1986, she said that Kirtanananda sitting on a big gold seat being covered with the hands of many boys is "pedo heaven," and she was astonished hundreds of people were chanting "Jaya Bhaktipada." 

She said anyone who ACTUALLY understood Bhagavad Gita is a "fight for justice" would have pulled that sinful man off his seat on the spot, so obviously, none of your people have any idea what the Gita is even talking about. I agreed with her. 

The point is, unless people understand what Srila Prabhupada, the Bhagavad Gita, and Krishna are saying, then no progress can be made at any time. Of course original books are important so that people can eventually understand, and that is a good idea for you all all of us to support them. But the real problem the whole time, and still going on now is, people never understood who Srila Prabhupada and Krishna are, or none of this would have happened in the first place. 

Hopefully people will eventually understand, I agree we should strive for that. I appreciate your efforts on the original books, but the entire house needs cleaning, and the books are one aspect of that house cleaning. We also have to re-establish the worship of the bona fide acharya, or nothing will be solved correctly. ys pd

H Dasi: Purity is the force. Books the basis. Preaching the essence. Utility the principle.... Purity... is the force...

GC: Govinda Dasi is using her adhikar to speak the truth. Better late -- the time is NOW -- the one advantage is the rascals have had so much time … we are late in the game.

JG: Yes, most important. Without it there can be no real Sadhu Sanga. So the present state of ISKCON speaks for itself.

PADA: I think a lot of devotees thought they were powerless to do anything. Maybe so and maybe not. In ISKCON I helped a lawsuit where children victims told me that there were over 2,000 victims. Almost zero of those cases were ever reported to the authority, and that is how the problems got worse, and worse, and worse. 

I helped one woman with a case in Texas in 1986 and she was treated badly -- by many senior devotees in Texas. The seniors should have helped her, and not the GBC. And the 300 seniors families supporting Kirtanananda were many ISKCON seniors, and they went against me and Sulochana. I think the point is, most of the ISKCON seniors did not help us protest these things, for example I was protesting the book changes in the early 1980s, and no one helped and a lot of people told me to shut up. 

When I helped the victim children in 1997, all sorts of seniors attacked -- me -- and not the GBC. The point is, the seniors as a group failed, and a lot of people cannot see how that process happened. Therefore for some folks, it looks like too little too late, and I can also see how that thinking would emerge. Govinda dasi is doing a good job now, that is good, but there was a time when she had me blocked from the ISKCON history forum, saying I was wrong to complain the way I was. Sorry, these complaints should have been front and center. ys pd

=====

ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC)

Update on the Third Meeting of the

Global Vaishnavi Diksha Guru Committee

Hare Krishna Devotees,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

The Global Vaishnavi Diksha Guru (GVDG) Committee convened its third meeting on 4 August 2026, under the chairmanship of Govardhana Dasa, First Vice-Chairman of the GBC Executive Committee, with representatives from the Regional Governing Bodies and the invited speaker, Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, participating.

Representatives from the following Regional Governing Bodies (RGBs) and zones were present: African RGB, Euro RGB, Fiji, India Bureau, Latin America RGB, North America RGB, and Singapore.

The meeting began with prayers and a reading from the Srimad Bhagavatam.
The meeting formed part of the Committee's ongoing process of hearing a broad range of perspectives regarding the GBC Resolution on Vaishnavi Diksha Gurus. During this meeting, presentations were given by Hridayananda Dasa Goswami and a representative of the European Regional Governing Body (Euro RGB). Bhakti Vikas Swami had also been invited to present but was unable to attend the meeting.

A representative of the Euro RGB presented two papers, Introduction: Defining the Role of All Preachers, Men or Women, in ISKCON and Way Forward: Rethinking ISKCON's Culture. The presentations outlined the Euro RGB's reflections and recommendations for the Committee's consideration regarding the GBC Resolution on Vaishnavi Diksha Gurus, - with particular emphasis on strengthening ISKCON's preaching mission, enhancing cooperation and accountability within ISKCON, and supporting the guru-disciple system.

Hridayananda Dasa Goswami's presentation explored principles of scriptural interpretation, including the relationship between guru, sadhu, and shastra, and the application of spiritual principles according to time, place, and circumstance in ISKCON's preaching mission.

Following the presentations, Committee members engaged in discussion and sought clarification on various points raised. The Committee remains committed to conducting its work in a respectful spirit, considering the diverse perspectives received while seeking to preserve ISKCON's unity and serve the mission of Srila Prabhupada.

- Issued by GBC Communications

PADA: The temples are empty ghost towns. If the homosexual and pedophile messiah's club starts to make female bodied guru members, it won't bring people to ISKCON, it will remain a ghost town. It is trying to fix stage 4 cancer with a band aid. ys pd

=========

11 Naked Emperors

August 29, 1978: On or around this date in history 48 years ago, the eleven zonal acharyas pose for a formal portrait with a large photograph of their spiritual master on the lawn at the holy place of Mayapur, India, where the Governing Body Commission holds their annual meetings. Back to Godhead, the official magazine for the Hare Krishna movement, reported the “appointment” of the eleven “successor gurus.”

Recently the International Society for Krishna Consciousness entered a new phase in its history, as eleven successor gurus appointed by ISKCON’s founding spiritual master began initiating new disciples around the world. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada selected the eleven successor gurus in June 1977, five months before he passed away. According to the Vedic system, a spiritual student has to take initiation from a guru still physically present on earth. 

So Srila Prabhupada, who represents an unbroken chain of spiritual masters coming down through time from Lord Krishna himself, chose some of his most 

advanced disciples to carry on the chain and initiate new devotees.

However, in the same Back To Godhead issue, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is quoted as saying (two weeks before his death), “All of my disciples will take the legacy. . . . I—one—may soon pass away, but they [my disciples] are hundreds, and this movement will increase. It’s not that I’ll give an order, ‘Here is the next leader.’ Anyone who follows the previous leadership is a leader. . . . All my disciples are leaders, as much as they follow purely.”

Are not these two statements contradictory? How could Prabhupada have selected the eleven successor gurus in June 1977, five months before he passed away, and also said that “It’s not that I’ll give an order, ‘Here is the next leader.’ Anyone who follows the previous leadership is a leader. . . . All my disciples are leaders, as much as they follow purely.”

(Not to mention that Prabhupada DID NOT appoint successors in June 1977—it was July 1977—and if you take the time to read the July 9, 1977 letter, he had appointed rittvik priests, not successors.)

Apparently Prabhupada came to realize as his death approached that his senior-most disciples were not following purely. And the proof is the fact that Prabhupada never appointed successors, and yet the eleven regarded themselves as successor acharyas and fooled nearly everyone for close to a decade.

In this connection Prabhupada says, “There is a Bengali saying that a jackal is king in a small forest. The story is that a jackal became king in the forest by fooling the other animals for some time, but he remained always a jackal and his ruse was at last exposed.” (Rupanuga, 11/13/70)
For more, see Eleven Naked Emperors.

http://henrydoktorski.com/11NakedEmperors.html