Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Lugubrious Clowns of ISKCON's GBC (ISKCON) ys pd 05/29

The Lugubrious Clowns of ISKCON's GBC

BY: ANAGHASTRA DAS

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld recently quipped that, "If comedians could invent people, they'd create Donald Trump." That means that Seinfeld has never met ISKCON's GBC. If the GBC were to carry out their supercilious charades in the real world, they'd end up as a regular feature on Saturday Night Live. There would be skits of swamis meeting with Feng Shui architects to plan their pompous samadhis. Jay Leno would roast them with jokes about elitist sannyasis with empty begging bowls and million dollar bank accounts.

Comedians enjoy sticking needles into bloated public figures like Donald Trump because the falsely aristocratic are usually blissfully unaware of how pompous they appear to others. When the social climber takes himself a bit too seriously, it automatically makes for a good joke for the simple reason that the audience is already quietly laughing. Self-righteousness makes a comedian's job a cinch because the jokester needs only to ignite giggles at something the public already agrees is funny. Neither do the masses feel guilty about laughing out loud when an affected upstart is ridiculed because of a mass sense of justice that snobs have no humility and deserve it.

That is one of the reasons why blundering President George W. Bush was such an easy mark for comedians. He wore his incompetence on his own nose while he stumbled to overcompensate for his lack of dash, ability and intelligence. But the many humorous aspects of George Bush fell flat because of the great harm he caused his own countrymen and the world in general. As a puppet for banks and world corporations that have politicians as their CEO's, his financial policies bankrupted the very people who voted for him while his merciless wars killed millions of innocent civilians. The Oliver Stone satire of Bush "W" flopped for that reason. By the time the film came out, so many had been personally undone by a buffoon in power that the joke had turned to ice. It's hard to chuckle at a rich dolt whose policies have forced you to move into your car. Laughter had turned to bitterness. And that is the situation with the GBC.

The GBC should take some satisfaction in the fact that they are not as famous as they think they are or they, too, might have been the centerpiece of the next Hollywood flop. But laughing at the self-righteous clowns ends and real action begins when hurtful policies come banging on your own front door like a LA SWAT team. And nothing raises the ire of a genuine devotee of the Lord like seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna, Whom the bhakta lovingly serves, belittled. That is why Shrila Prabhupada deprecated in the meanest of terms mayavadis who minimize the glory of Shri Krishna. Prabhupada never spared impersonalists who try to dismember the Supreme Lord. He always condemned these aparadhis as rascals, fools, mudhas, jackasses, demons, atheists and the lowest of mankind. In fact, for a high-class Indian gentleman to have spoken in this way, if translated into good old American English, the listener's ears would burn. But those are the facts: one who assaults the Supreme Lord with lewd, seductive verbiage disguised as wisdom should be unmasked in no uncertain terms, which Prabhupada never failed to do as the torchbearer of truth in a world darkened by deceit.

ISKCON News, the official source of information for devotees, has hired an editor, Krishna-lila dasi, who is also a filmmaker. Her offensively-titled film, "Krishna the Playful God" plainly reveals that she does not understand the personal philosophy of Krishna Consciousness from the very first beginning of Bhagavad-gita As It Is: Shri Bhagavan uvacha. The words on her website, linked to her bio-data at ISKCON News reads"

"According to Plato, the human being is a playmate of God, and the world is God's playground. There are many cultures in human civilization that have the notion of a playful god or gods in their concepts. Among these figures is one of the most prominent: the Hindu god Krishna, whose mischievous, wily or celebratory activities have been preserved in thousands of literary works, paintings and sculptures throughout the millennia. This documentary elaborates on the importance ‘play' in the world of religion and culture."

ISKCON News' signing on of a filmmaker -- whose film openly advocates mayavada --- plainly exposes their intent and lack of commitment to Shrila Prabhupada's ideologies. In one stroke, they have declared war on the philosophy of the Sampradaya Acharya. They have crossed the line to the point where it appears useless to merely poke fun at their imperious masquerades. Sincere devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement must become serious about defeating the contamination that is infecting the Society's management like rust in a junkyard of old cars. But rather than educating devotees on the fine line that separates mayavada from Vaishnavism, they have shown a convenient solidarity with the nirvisheshas and shunyavadis.

Krishna is not so cheap that any human being can become "a playmate of God." The Editor of ISKCON News is responsible for offensive mayavadi philosophy, pure and simple -- offenses that are an egregious affront to everything that Prabhupada stood for. This means that the pomposity of the GBC has spewed overboard and the joke is no longer funny. With the false propaganda of an impersonal penthouse yogi, their own official Editor is attacking the Supreme Lord Whom they claim to serve. Perhaps long ago the Kauravas and their friends also thought Krishna was some kind of 'playful God', but they didn't know that Lord Yamaraja as King Yuddhisthir was facing them on the other side of the battlefield. So the Kauravas got to play with Krishna's representative as Death personified instead.

According to Dandavats.com, another GBC site known to criticize Shrila Prabhupad regularly, each year the GBC takes an oath at the samadhi of Shrila Prabhupada. It is an oath which all devotees and friends of ISKCON should carefully read:

1. To accept His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as the Founder-Acarya and Supreme Authority of ISKCON. To follow his teachings, instructions and directions.

2. To accept the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON as the ultimate managing authority of ISKCON as directed in Srila Prabhupada's last will and testament.

3. To abide by the Society's spiritual rules, namely no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat-eating and chant a minimum of sixteen rounds of maha-mantra japa every day. To follow the principles set forth in Srila Prabhupada's books.

4. To accept that all ISKCON's funds, assets and properties under my control or direction, including anything ISKCON may have acquired under my direction, is the sole property of ISKCON and in the event of my death, resignation or other relinquishment of all ISKCON responsibilities, all these shall accrue solely to ISKCON and at all times I shall have no claim on them whatsoever.

5. To be guided by the spiritual directions of ISKCON's management, to cooperate with the local GBC representative, and to fulfill my duties in a serving spirit never intentionally acting against ISKCON's interests.

6. I will maintain the spiritual programs, standards, and teachings established by Srila Prabhupada in the projects and with the devotees placed in my care. I further agree not to involve the Society or those devotees placed under my care in any activities contrary to the above mentioned principles.


The GBC is actually pledging allegiance to itself. Like a crowd of obedient, patriotic Americans at a baseball game, with bowed heads, the GBC adopts a mood of grim seriousness and pays due homage unto themselves. Although the oath contains no words about SERVING SHRI KRISHNA THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD, it is replete with words about serving their own interests. Sure, you can argue that Krishna-seva is built into the first point of following Shrila Prabhupada. But it is a fact that the guiding principle of service to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna is not specifically mentioned, whereas following the GBC is mentioned twice.

The actual sum and substance -- purport if you will -- of this oath is that, "If a GBC member bloops, he should disappear with empty pockets. Just leave the money behind for the rest of us." Sure, Shrila Prabhupada set up the GBC, but as Krishna's service to guide others into Krishna's service, and not as a whimsical autocratic body like some pope-run monarchy that is right in all it decrees because it decrees that it is right.

Also consider what it means when your local GBC says, "I swear to be guided by the local GBC." It only means that he is willing to be guided by himself. It is double talk that gets him a free license for unlicensed autocracy.

The awful "playful god" movie is only one issue. Hundreds of articles written by or about Mayavadis appear on their ISKCON News website, sanctioned by an editorial staff that is accustomed to indiscriminately praise, rather than defeat, Mayavadis. Those who ride the political yacht for the free refreshments should consider that when the boat goes down, they will all drown together.

The contaminated impersonal sentiment that has infected the GBC -- as shown by their tacit approval of a film repulsively entitled, "Krishna the Playful God" -- is turning what could have been a world Vaishnava movement into a Mayavadi-ridden organization that swears allegiance to a body that has misunderstood the intent of the Founder-Acharya. Are there no devotees and friends of ISKCON left who are faithful to the Torchlight of the Sampradaya? If so, they must rise up in the face of this tyranny of transcendence for the sake of preserving the dignity of Shrila Prabhupada's mission; a mission that, by the grace of Shri Guru, is based only upon loving service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna.

"It Can't Happen Here!"  After the GBC meeting, the good old boys sat around together to watch episodes of the playful God Krishna cartoons.

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