Sunday, July 29, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Must identify your guru!
“One thing on the invitation card you have written all glories to our Guru Maharaja. This is impersonalism. As soon as we offer obeisances to guru, the name should be there. We are stricty personalists. The sahajiya's, they write glories to guru. Why you are learning this impersonalism? Who has taught you? Daily I am offering obeisances to my guru by vibrating his real name, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, otherwise it is impersonal.” (SPL to Bhavananda, 14th July, 1972)
As I see it by Haripada dasa
[PADA: Edited for clarity]
1 - Srila Prabhupada did not leave anyone as his successor.
2 - Srila Prabhupada on 9 July sent from Vrindavana a special steering to all ISKCON, saying and directing that he gave two orders 1-initiate in his name and 2 - that GBC were initiating by who is closer.
3. A few months after Srila Prabhupada entered his samadhi-lila the GBC met in Mayapur, brought there by their personal interests and invented that Srila Prabhupada appointed them to them gurus.
4. Some people were envious of these gurus, and seeing that only a few were eating cake, began to protest and to criticize the gurus, then the GBC also made some of these people gurus to silence the mouths of these protestors by increasing the numbers of gurus.
5. Now there are 140 gurus. And no one wonders if Srila Prabhupada had left anyone as guru, and how it is possible that there are now 140 gurus. But that question does not come forward with a few sudras, a sudra is a person without intelligence.
And when I and others tried to expose the truth to attack these sudras, the did not say anything. They think you can do us this to us, their living for free. And then they charge us a subsidy of 426 euros per month if we take only prasada twice a day. And we were 28 years washing clothes by hand.
And we were every day cooking for your adorable deity. We are following the process, how can we be compared to these 140 KANGAROO GURUS? They live in mansions and they have ENGANADO Y EXPLOTADO to many persons. They HAVE their OWN BANK, NOT LOWER than ONE MILLION EUROS. They made THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE MAKE THEIR VYASA PUJAS, and made them MORE OPULENT THAN that OF SRILA PRABHUPADA.
They ARE ON THE SIDE OF DURYODANA. NONE OF THE LEADERS OF ISKCON IS THINKING -- HARIPADA DASA IS DISTRIBUTING MORE BOOKS OF SRILA PRABHUPADA, that he HAS GIVEN THE WORLD. THE POOR HARIPADA DASA, THE GBC GURUS STOLE FROM HIS DEVOTEES OF PUERTO RICO $ 2,500 TARGETED AT PROVIDING PRASADA TO THE VRAJAVASIS. HE GAVE US HIS COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 750,000 EUROS.
WE should now give A DONATION AS A REWARD FOR HIS SERVICES, BUT SO FAR NOTHING AT ALL THAT HAS COME. BUT I NOW AM HAPPIER THAN EVER. FEEL MORE FREE THAN A HUMMINGBIRD AND I CEASED TO BE CONTROLLED BY THESE PEOPLE THAT FOR ME FULL OF ARROGANCE, INERT PEOPLE WHO ARE A BURDEN ON MOTHER EARTH.
I ADMIT THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN ME MATERIALLY, BUT SPIRITUALLY, THOSE PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE INTERNAL ACHIEVEMENTS SINCE THEY ARE 45 YEARS OFFENDING A SRILA PRABHUPADAY, FOOLING THE STAFF IN A CONSCIOUS AND DELIBERATE WAY.
THE SPIRITUAL ACHIEVEMENTS ARE FOR HONEST PEOPLE NOT FOR THE CROOKS. This is WHY THREE TIMES I HAVE TOLD SEVERAL KANGAROOS SUCH AS PINOCHIO PADA, TO THE SMALL PEAR PADA, TO VIAGRA PADA, TO THE CRAZY PADA TO THE HYPOCRITE PADA, about HAVING A DEBATE WITH ME ON THE SUBJECT OF THE GURU-TATTVA AND they HAVE SAID, NO, they do NOT WANT TO KNOW NOTHING OF THE GURU-TATTVA. They think EVERYTHING is OKAY. OF COURSE, I SAY they do NOT WANT TO TALK TO ME, because they HAVE FEAR, SINCE they HAVE MORE THAN 140 KANGAROOS TOGETHER IN SPIRITUAL REALIZATION.
We want to nectar, the truth will make you free, it will always be better to pray than to criticize, the only way to eliminate the evil personal and collective is through kindness. EVIL WILL FLOURISH WHEN THE GOOD PEOPLE DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO PREVENT IT.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
GBC employs voodoo witchcraft (again)
Manu Dasa: Can you believe that an initiated devotee (Fijian Indian) told me that I should do an Arati to my son (6 years old) with a plate of chilies and salt etc so that I could help remove the evil spirits from him! Show me where in Prabhupada's books where he suggests we do this to Vaikuntha children! It is this infiltration oh Hindu custom and superstition that has made this Vancouver temple totally hindu. It's official, I hate it here. Can you believe they let someone go on the altar who suggests such things? He would need some authority to give him some etiquette on only using guru sadhu shastra for teaching. So glad we are moving into our new place on Sunday and won't have to deal with this kind of crap. I so regret not telling him to clean his own garden as his grown children are hardly exemplary Vaisnavas.
====================
SRILA PRABHUPADA: No, no. Why not take this... Suppose he is attracted by some woman. Let him dress like a gentleman and keep with the woman as husband and wife and preach. What is the wrong there? Whatever is done, you close up that chapter. Now you become a householder. There is no harm. And live as a gentleman householder and preach. But don't play duplicity in the dress of sannyāsī to keep private relations. That is not good. That is duplicity. Better openly become a respectable householder and serve Kṛṣṇa. Our service is main thing, either in this dress or that dress. So if you cannot keep yourself sincerely as a sannyāsī, then get yourself married. But you cannot keep the girl as friend. That is also not good.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Can't always fix ISKCON
PADA: There were some original Christians, the Corinthians, who were being told by Paul to quit behaving like debauchees. Apparently, there were also major problems amongst some of the early Christians, never mind us. It seems whenever a new religious process starts, there are all sorts of troubles with the original followers. And so it was with — the Srila Prabhupada original devotees. They too had similar problems as the original Corinthians, agreed.
What historically and factually happened is: The 99 percent did not do a whole lot to fix the mess after 1977. So sorry to offend anyone, but we know what really happened here, because we lived it. OK now there are more of the original pre-1977 wave of disciples who are trying to fix things, and that is good, but for quite awhile there just were not that many. Sorry. Its what happened.
Now, we are trying to move ahead, into the next generation of Krishna devotees. Meanwhile, the 1960s and 1970s “originals” are dying off both literally and in terms of influence, and the next wave is doing a whole lot better in terms of behaviors. In fact, most of our newer preaching programs are being conducted by second generational devotees, who have vastly improved behaviors.
I think its time to start to focus on the new wave of activity and not be so concerned for the first wave of “originals,” which is crashing on the beach and disintegrating anyway.
I recall going to the Los Angeles police in 1997 with bhakta Jim to report that his brake lines had been cut on his car. The police said to us, these Watseka Krishnas are — One part a bunch of crazies; One part a bunch of low life criminals; One part, the part your are talking about now, really bad criminals who will kill you if they can. So —
You fellows need to STAY AWAY from there, MOVE OUT OF THE AREA, and NEVER VISIT them again! You fellows cannot fix that place, we know, we get called there ALL THE TIME. So this is pretty much what even the outsiders figured out, the “originals” created an un-inhabitable mess. We cannot always fix it, so, it might be time to move ahead with a newer group of people, this older group, cannot be fixed.
Apparently even the Christians have had ongoing problems themselves, look at the medieval church and all its problems. So Jesus was pure, but his movement has not been so pure? Therefore we need to just move along and try our best with — the mess we have been handed. At the same time I understand the anger and frustration with some of these problems, but these problems are not unique to the post 1980s Krishnas, even the Medieval folks had anger and frustration with their Papal regime in Rome.
Its what happens in Kali Yuga, religion tends to become ir-religion. At the same time we are getting many newer people, and these newer people have learned a lot from the mistakes of us in the elders generation, so its not all wasted, it was a learning experience for all of us. Even the police cannot fix these broken down Watseka messes, it might be time for us to move out and move on. ys pd
What historically and factually happened is: The 99 percent did not do a whole lot to fix the mess after 1977. So sorry to offend anyone, but we know what really happened here, because we lived it. OK now there are more of the original pre-1977 wave of disciples who are trying to fix things, and that is good, but for quite awhile there just were not that many. Sorry. Its what happened.
Now, we are trying to move ahead, into the next generation of Krishna devotees. Meanwhile, the 1960s and 1970s “originals” are dying off both literally and in terms of influence, and the next wave is doing a whole lot better in terms of behaviors. In fact, most of our newer preaching programs are being conducted by second generational devotees, who have vastly improved behaviors.
I think its time to start to focus on the new wave of activity and not be so concerned for the first wave of “originals,” which is crashing on the beach and disintegrating anyway.
I recall going to the Los Angeles police in 1997 with bhakta Jim to report that his brake lines had been cut on his car. The police said to us, these Watseka Krishnas are — One part a bunch of crazies; One part a bunch of low life criminals; One part, the part your are talking about now, really bad criminals who will kill you if they can. So —
You fellows need to STAY AWAY from there, MOVE OUT OF THE AREA, and NEVER VISIT them again! You fellows cannot fix that place, we know, we get called there ALL THE TIME. So this is pretty much what even the outsiders figured out, the “originals” created an un-inhabitable mess. We cannot always fix it, so, it might be time to move ahead with a newer group of people, this older group, cannot be fixed.
Apparently even the Christians have had ongoing problems themselves, look at the medieval church and all its problems. So Jesus was pure, but his movement has not been so pure? Therefore we need to just move along and try our best with — the mess we have been handed. At the same time I understand the anger and frustration with some of these problems, but these problems are not unique to the post 1980s Krishnas, even the Medieval folks had anger and frustration with their Papal regime in Rome.
Its what happens in Kali Yuga, religion tends to become ir-religion. At the same time we are getting many newer people, and these newer people have learned a lot from the mistakes of us in the elders generation, so its not all wasted, it was a learning experience for all of us. Even the police cannot fix these broken down Watseka messes, it might be time for us to move out and move on. ys pd
Monday, July 23, 2012
San Francisco Rathayatra photos 2012
From Sunday: July 22, 2012
Outfit made by: Isvari dd (with help from Diane and Gadhadhara prabhus)
Time to move forward
PADA: Right, we should mainly focus on just moving ahead, and having newer people accept Srila Prabhupada as their guru, i.e. make new disciples for him. And we are doing that all over the place. Why should we care only about the older ones, most of whom are perpetually removed from the whole scene anyway, and a lot of them are now gone (left their bodies), and many more of them are now blooped out, watching football, old, sick and dying off etc.? These "ISKCON elders" folks are not the main thing we need to focus on right now. They are for the most part, not going to help us go forward. There are a few who are helpful, and of course they are appreciated.
However, not many of these older folks showed up for Rathayatra this year either, so they are a dwindling issue. When I moved to Berkeley in 1984 there was only three “Prabhupada originals” there: One was gay; One was a bank robber — who was eventually arrested in West Virginia for bank robbery; And the only other one was, Hansadutta. I did not wait for the “older devotees” to help me, there were hardly any there anyway, and the few who were there — were not too helpful. I had to move on, and so should the rest of us.
So I started to work with the newer people there, and many of those newer people have subsequently gone on to make more Prabhupadanugas (and they still are preaching today). And many of them still thank me today for helping them -- all that long time ago. In sum — they have moved ahead with making their friends and families into NEW Srila Prabhupada devotees, they are not waiting for the "older ones" to magically revive, although some of them have.
OK agreed, if we can get some of the older people to help, that is great, but why bother wasting so much time trying to fix them? Go out and do something independent, that is the best idea. Srila Prabhupada also did not wait for his Gaudiya Matha brothers to revive, he himself pretty much said — its like beating a dead horse to work with the Gaudiya Matha brothers, its not going to get us anywhere. Move forward, that is what he did, and that is what we did in 1984.
And Srila Prabhupada did not look back, and we should not be looking back now. Hence, make new Prabhupada devotees, and do not worry about the older ones who are fading out anyway, and only a few exceptional "elders" like Krshnacandra are going to help us, the rest is up to the newer generations. Sorry, that’s what it has come to, continued beating of the dead horse of the older generation will not produce anything, ever.
Srila Prabhupada showed us that by his own example, do not beat the dead horse of the older folks in the Gaudiya Matha, move ahead, and move along to fresh ground. Go ahead and preach to new people. We are doing that, and we are making headway. Our friends in the Sunnyvale temple consider the whole ISKCON guru mess to be a waste of time and effort, they are moving ahead by preaching to newer people, and I applaud their idea, and — its working! We also got a recent bonus since the official ISKCON center left San Jose, so that will boost our place. Krishna is helping us here, so apparently He approves of this strategy. ys pd
However, not many of these older folks showed up for Rathayatra this year either, so they are a dwindling issue. When I moved to Berkeley in 1984 there was only three “Prabhupada originals” there: One was gay; One was a bank robber — who was eventually arrested in West Virginia for bank robbery; And the only other one was, Hansadutta. I did not wait for the “older devotees” to help me, there were hardly any there anyway, and the few who were there — were not too helpful. I had to move on, and so should the rest of us.
So I started to work with the newer people there, and many of those newer people have subsequently gone on to make more Prabhupadanugas (and they still are preaching today). And many of them still thank me today for helping them -- all that long time ago. In sum — they have moved ahead with making their friends and families into NEW Srila Prabhupada devotees, they are not waiting for the "older ones" to magically revive, although some of them have.
OK agreed, if we can get some of the older people to help, that is great, but why bother wasting so much time trying to fix them? Go out and do something independent, that is the best idea. Srila Prabhupada also did not wait for his Gaudiya Matha brothers to revive, he himself pretty much said — its like beating a dead horse to work with the Gaudiya Matha brothers, its not going to get us anywhere. Move forward, that is what he did, and that is what we did in 1984.
And Srila Prabhupada did not look back, and we should not be looking back now. Hence, make new Prabhupada devotees, and do not worry about the older ones who are fading out anyway, and only a few exceptional "elders" like Krshnacandra are going to help us, the rest is up to the newer generations. Sorry, that’s what it has come to, continued beating of the dead horse of the older generation will not produce anything, ever.
Srila Prabhupada showed us that by his own example, do not beat the dead horse of the older folks in the Gaudiya Matha, move ahead, and move along to fresh ground. Go ahead and preach to new people. We are doing that, and we are making headway. Our friends in the Sunnyvale temple consider the whole ISKCON guru mess to be a waste of time and effort, they are moving ahead by preaching to newer people, and I applaud their idea, and — its working! We also got a recent bonus since the official ISKCON center left San Jose, so that will boost our place. Krishna is helping us here, so apparently He approves of this strategy. ys pd
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Rocana still has no guru
ROCANA: New Book on Ritvikism: I've just read The Idiots Guide to Ritviks, Bhakta Jack's new treatise on Ritvikism, and I just gotta tell ya that I loved every word of it.
[PADA: Notice that Rocana thinks that only an idiot would worship Srila Prabhupada and not his living guru, except he has no living guru? That means: Rocana would rather see people have no guru at all rather than accept Srila Prabhupada as their guru.]
ROCANA: Well, goodness me, you know that I've never been a fan of that roasted baloney called Ritvikism, but this new approach makes real good sense.
[PADA: Worship of the pure devotee is "roasted baloney"? Oh, right, that is because Rocana has been promoting the GBC's gurus, you know, the homosexual and pedophile messiahs, and he just cannot get over the fact that he was wrong to do that, and we were right to promote Srila Prabhupada instead.]
ROCANA: Ritvikism in its original form states that you can't become initiated into the current sampradaya because there are no qualified diksha gurus.
[PADA: Well so far Rocana (since 1977 at least) has said that his illicit sex with men, women and children program are qualified to be diksha gurus, if he is not promoting them still, then whom else?]
ROCANA: So it's a real conundrum that if there are no devotees qualified to initiate, then from where do these Ritviks get the brass gumption to initiate you as one of the acharya's disciples?
[PADA: A priest is giving people Jesus to worship, this is wrong since these priests haven't the brass gumption to claim, that they are Jesus re-incarnated? What is Rocana talking about? We are not supposed to have the brass gumption to claim we are the next messiah, we are supposed to be humble and promote the bona fide acharya. Rocana has had the brass gumption to promote his illicit sex with men, women and children as messiahs program, sorry, his program has failed. ys pd]
ISKCON Silicon Valley new property
By Akruranath Das
ISKCON of Silicon Valley has recently purchased a property in Mountain View, California, which will serve as the new home of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Sri Radha-Madana Mohan, and Sri Sri Laksmi-Nrsimhadeva, and as the principal meeting place and base of operations for the ISV community.
ISV has pioneered congregational book distribution and is rated among the top temples in North America. With no full time distributers, ISV’s book scores remain high due to the sincerity of householders (weekend warriors). ISV has an enthusiastic grhastha congregation with many activities for children and a variety of outreach programs including college outreach, corporate outreach, monthly Harinama Sankirtan, Motel Gita book distribution, Bhakti Shastri classes, Bhakti Life programs, and thrice-weekly regular temple feast programs with live internet broadcasts (www.virtuualtemple.org), as well as special observance of all Vaisnava holidays and festivals. ISV also participates with ISKCON Berkeley in organizing the annual Ratha Yatra festival in San Francisco.
The new property is located at 1965 Latham Street, Mountain View, CA 94040, near the intersection of El Camino Real and Renstorff Avenue. It has a great central location in the heart of Silicon Valley, very close to companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, etc and not far from Stanford University. The building is charming and well constructed. It was built in1985 as an office building, and renovated by its most recent owner in 2006 to be used as a Gnostic Christian sanctuary and shrine of Mary Magdalene, and the sellers were pleased that a feminine Deity, Srimati Radharani, would continue to be worshiped on site. It is over 4,900 sq. ft on a 1/4 acre lot. The parking lot accommodates 17 cars, and there is additional street parking available in the neighborhood. There are two beautiful mature pepper trees in the parking area which provide shade and a pleasant fragrance. The peaceful but conveniently-located neighborhood has many apartments available for rent as well as nice single family residences.
The ISV congregation is very excited about the new property. We have been looking for a property for years, but with prices high and inventory low, nothing suitable could be found in ISV’s price range. Members of the congregation spontaneously donated a combined total of approximately $350,000 in the final weeks before closing on the sale. However, additional fundraising is continuing in order to complete the necessary renovations and pay off the mortgage. ISV will be installing a commercial kitchen in the building and conducting other extensive remodeling and repairs. We expect all the work to be done in time for the Deities to move in by October 2012.
Although the new temple will not officially open until then, ISV observed two programs at the property in June. On Saturday, June 9th, our regular Saturday program was convened at the new location, with class given by His Holiness Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Maharaj and an ecstatic kirtan led by His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu. On Sunday, June 10, a memorial service was held for ISKCON supporter - Purusottama-Bhai Patel, with addresses given by His Holiness Giriraja Swami and His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu. (Please see attached photos)
We invite all devotees worldwide to help our Ananda Vardhana new temple project, increasing bliss throughout the Bay Area, by connecting to http://isvnewtemple.com/ and donate for this new ISKCON temple.
If you need more information, please contact isvnewtemple@gmail.com
If you need more information, please contact isvnewtemple@gmail.com
We would keep you all updated with the progress of our new Home base and thanks for your support for us.
Your servants
Ananda Vardhana Team at ISV
Ananda Vardhana Team at ISV
Prabhupadanugas UKRAINE
http://prabhupadanugas.blogspot.in/2012/07/prabhupadanuga-ukraine.html
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A few comical photos
Ravindra Swarupa's temple AWARD
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"Problem" with senior Prabhupada devotees?
PADA: Yes, I am sure there was a big reunion in Australia that did not amount to much. There was also a big “reunion of senior Srila Prabhupada devotees” over in England recently, where many of the “old timers” came out of the wood work to have a big harinama on Oxford Street. After that, indeed right away, they vanished, and all went back into the wood work — never to be seen or heard from again, ok until maybe another reunion where next time, ten of them will be missing due to passing away. I agree this is not a very substantial contribution for the salvation of ISKCON.
The Gaudiya Matha also had some annual bigger meetings for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s Vyasa pooja ceremonies and so forth, and Srila Prabhupada called them simply “a festival of offering fruits and flowers” — ok, their members did not amount to much either, and after the big ceremony, they also went back into the wood work. Nothing changed.
So, it seems that there are / were a lot of sentimental people who joined the Gaudiya Matha and ISKCON. And when push came to shove, they got shoved out. I do not really see a need to attack these rank and file people on a regular basis however, because without those people, there never would have been any ISKCON at all, no temples, no books, no nothing. In sum, these folks did what they could, up to their level of capacity, and then many of them reached their limits of participation when — the manure hit the fan in 1977. And most of the Gaudiya Matha’s God brothers of Srila Prabhupada folks also jumped ship when the manure hit the fan there in 1936, this is simply history repeating.
Of course its also true that a lot of the devotees are ex-hippies. I live here in San Francisco, and we can see what happened to the “hippie zone” here. Initially, the hippies took over the Haight / Ashbury and Golden Gate park area. They flourished in the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s, the area became infested with dangerous crooks. Why?
The word got around in California’s jails that when you get out, make pretend you were a hippie, go to the Haight area, and you’d get free sex and drugs. Charles Manson did exactly that. So a big criminal element began to take over the area. Then there were: beatings, muggings, break-ins, robbery of all types, auto theft, rapes, etc. In sum, the place turned into a haven for crooks, so the city voted to put in 120 more police for the beat, and 20 new police patrol cars were purchased — to patrol the area, and its still like that, there are extra police in the area.
Basically, this is what happened in ISKCON as well, the hippies types were overwhelmed by the criminal element. Except, we had no police to check the situation? And that is what happened to the hippies themselves, their kingdom was ruined by the crooks, and I know its a very frustrating and aggravating situation, but the bottom line is, the hippies are no match for the criminals, whether in or out of ISKCON.
At the same time, there are some very heavy attachments for the criminals among some of my God brothers who are getting some sort of material benefits from acquiescing with the criminal’s acharya process, and they have attacked us in so many ways, shunning, banning, threatening and so forth. The reformers excommunicated Sulochana in 1986, knowing I was working with him. So there has been some compromise with the criminals, making the problem worse.
Even recently some of the bone head sector who eats “prasada” offered to the molester messiahs at the Watseka temple are harassing me, but they never harass the molester guru’s process the same way? So the criminals have something to offer to these compromisers, namely a post, a salary, free room and / or meals etc., and some of my brothers even told me if I paid them the same salary, they would work for me.
So the whole system has broken down due to material entanglements, but then again this happened at Kurushetra, many people went along with the Kauravas because they could give them: salary, post, benefits and so forth. So this is basically the way of the world.
At this point I think we need to simply understand these factors and realize this is all part of the material world, and move along doing the best we can to focus on getting others to worship the pure devotee and Krishna, and not let “the whirlpool of unfortunate events” — as Krsnadasa Kaviraja calls it, take us down the drain.
There was a lot of compromise, plain and simple, but that is also what happened in Kurushetra, its what happens all the time here, we need to realize that and move on. At the same time, we need to understand this process, and try to avoid it for ourselves. So its important we understand all this from historical point of view, just like its important to understand the history of the Gita. In sum, there is no point in begrudging the compromisers with the bogus acharyas, just thank our lucky stars we are realizing the mistake of doing that for ourselves. ys pd
The Gaudiya Matha also had some annual bigger meetings for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s Vyasa pooja ceremonies and so forth, and Srila Prabhupada called them simply “a festival of offering fruits and flowers” — ok, their members did not amount to much either, and after the big ceremony, they also went back into the wood work. Nothing changed.
So, it seems that there are / were a lot of sentimental people who joined the Gaudiya Matha and ISKCON. And when push came to shove, they got shoved out. I do not really see a need to attack these rank and file people on a regular basis however, because without those people, there never would have been any ISKCON at all, no temples, no books, no nothing. In sum, these folks did what they could, up to their level of capacity, and then many of them reached their limits of participation when — the manure hit the fan in 1977. And most of the Gaudiya Matha’s God brothers of Srila Prabhupada folks also jumped ship when the manure hit the fan there in 1936, this is simply history repeating.
Of course its also true that a lot of the devotees are ex-hippies. I live here in San Francisco, and we can see what happened to the “hippie zone” here. Initially, the hippies took over the Haight / Ashbury and Golden Gate park area. They flourished in the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s, the area became infested with dangerous crooks. Why?
The word got around in California’s jails that when you get out, make pretend you were a hippie, go to the Haight area, and you’d get free sex and drugs. Charles Manson did exactly that. So a big criminal element began to take over the area. Then there were: beatings, muggings, break-ins, robbery of all types, auto theft, rapes, etc. In sum, the place turned into a haven for crooks, so the city voted to put in 120 more police for the beat, and 20 new police patrol cars were purchased — to patrol the area, and its still like that, there are extra police in the area.
Basically, this is what happened in ISKCON as well, the hippies types were overwhelmed by the criminal element. Except, we had no police to check the situation? And that is what happened to the hippies themselves, their kingdom was ruined by the crooks, and I know its a very frustrating and aggravating situation, but the bottom line is, the hippies are no match for the criminals, whether in or out of ISKCON.
At the same time, there are some very heavy attachments for the criminals among some of my God brothers who are getting some sort of material benefits from acquiescing with the criminal’s acharya process, and they have attacked us in so many ways, shunning, banning, threatening and so forth. The reformers excommunicated Sulochana in 1986, knowing I was working with him. So there has been some compromise with the criminals, making the problem worse.
Even recently some of the bone head sector who eats “prasada” offered to the molester messiahs at the Watseka temple are harassing me, but they never harass the molester guru’s process the same way? So the criminals have something to offer to these compromisers, namely a post, a salary, free room and / or meals etc., and some of my brothers even told me if I paid them the same salary, they would work for me.
So the whole system has broken down due to material entanglements, but then again this happened at Kurushetra, many people went along with the Kauravas because they could give them: salary, post, benefits and so forth. So this is basically the way of the world.
At this point I think we need to simply understand these factors and realize this is all part of the material world, and move along doing the best we can to focus on getting others to worship the pure devotee and Krishna, and not let “the whirlpool of unfortunate events” — as Krsnadasa Kaviraja calls it, take us down the drain.
There was a lot of compromise, plain and simple, but that is also what happened in Kurushetra, its what happens all the time here, we need to realize that and move on. At the same time, we need to understand this process, and try to avoid it for ourselves. So its important we understand all this from historical point of view, just like its important to understand the history of the Gita. In sum, there is no point in begrudging the compromisers with the bogus acharyas, just thank our lucky stars we are realizing the mistake of doing that for ourselves. ys pd
Saturday, July 21, 2012
GBC meeting 2023
GBC Meeting, 2023
BY: NAGAR BEHARI DAS
Radhakantananda das: Look, Maharaja, I realize that I am the youngest member here. But you asked me to participate because you said that the GBC had grown stale, outdated, tired and self-serving. Those were your very words. I was reluctant to join considering the implications of becoming a part of a body that has been despised as much as this one. I spoke to you frankly, but you insisted, and I appreciate the efforts of the new GBC to turn it around, to go back to Srila Prabhupada's standard.
BY: NAGAR BEHARI DAS
Radhakantananda das: Look, Maharaja, I realize that I am the youngest member here. But you asked me to participate because you said that the GBC had grown stale, outdated, tired and self-serving. Those were your very words. I was reluctant to join considering the implications of becoming a part of a body that has been despised as much as this one. I spoke to you frankly, but you insisted, and I appreciate the efforts of the new GBC to turn it around, to go back to Srila Prabhupada's standard.
Things have changed since the old guard was forced out due to the direct action of devotees all over the world who were sick and tired of being exploited. So when you said that the GBC needed fresh blood to move away from stagnation and corruption, I came forward to serve the devotees. So please let me speak and if you don't agree, then say so. Are we afraid to express ourselves? I thought those days were over. Prabhupada said about his beloved disciples, "Just learn to engage them." And that is exactly what the previous GBC did not do with their banishments, ex-communications, now-defunct law book and general cold shoulder to those who were the Society's essence, the devotees.
Gouravani devi dasi: Look at it this way, without devotees you do not have a society. And without a society what is the use of GBC? Our power is derived from serving them, and from the Founder-Acharya, not the other way around. So it is about time to listen to the voice of reason and cultivate a little love and trust. Isn't compassion supposed to come with the territory of being a Vaishnava?
Ram Purushottam das: Right, Mataji, but a lack of warmth was the standard policy of the previous GBC. Except, of course, towards themselves. History records that child molesters were maintained and even worshipped as gurus while the families of the children were swept aside so that our illustrious predecessors could strut about with titles like GBC Emeritus. Many sincere disciples were used as cash cows by GBC personalities who destroyed their own initiates by investing their disciples' hard earned money in fruitless and bankrupt businesses. Gurus married or seduced their own disciples or children of disciples. Dozens of Gurukula kids grew up feeling abused and abandoned, and then committed suicide.
Gouravani devi dasi: Yes, I know, Prabhu. That is how my father died when he was forty-one. When he took his own life, in the note he left behind he wrote about how he could never understand why the GBC-guru who molested him retained a leading position in the society until his last days on this earth, while my grandmother who bore him was forced to live in a car.
Radhakantananda das: I heard that one GBC set up a credit card machine next to a Deity of Goddess Durga, right in front of Radha and Krishna. Prabhupada said, "call a spade a spade" and that is exactly what we should be doing here. It's our job, our duty. The GBC that was just ousted famously ignored the needs of the individual devotees who comprised the heart and soul of the society. It was Srila Prabhupada's order from 1972 that devotees should become qualified for Bhakti Shastri, Bhakti Vaibhava, Bhaktivedanta and Bhaktisarvabhauma. To this day despite the dedication, renunciation and scholarship of thousands of ISKCON members, not one Bhakti Sarvabhouma has been recognized. It is as though the past GBC care little about preaching, about what Prabhupada desired or the salvation of fallen conditioned souls.
Gouravani devi dasi: What to speak of their own Godbrothers and sisters…In fact, in those days there was more emphasis placed upon mundane college degrees than devotional qualifications. It was as though the Society's failures in the ‘80's could be rectified if devotees just went back to college and got jobs. Devotees who received PhD's were constantly touted as the most advanced on the official ISKCON GBC website.
Ram Purushottam das: Right, Mataji, the same website that conveyed the message that book distributors were inferior to academic mental speculators. My grandfather, who you all know was an original GBC member, said that this fever for material degrees got so far out of hand that devotees from the Bhaktivedanta Institute were just eager to sip tea with famous scholars and were scared to even mention Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Many GBC's used their positions to write their own books full of watered down compromises and pretended to preach from them. One even went on a World Peace Tour, even though Prabhupada said quite bluntly that lasting peace does not exist anywhere in the material world.
Gouravani devi dasi: I even have a set of books I call "The Compromise Collection",which ISKCON's leaders substituted for Prabhupada's encyclopedic works. You wouldn't believe the self-serving compromises in books like Servant of the Servant, Many Moons, Spiritual Warrior, Journey Home, Pilgrim's Progress and Bhagavad Gitas by Kirtanananda or Tripurari. Or the hundreds of volumes of Vyasa Puja books written and offered to ordinary conditioned living entities, many of whom absconded from ISKCON with large amounts of cash and new girlfriends. If you want to see what was wrong with ISKCON's leadership in black and white, come visit my library. These books stand as proof that our old guard placed their ambitions before the concept of serving Shri Guru. Did you know that in college towns wherein devotees taught Hinduism, that street sankirtan was even prohibited by the GBC?
Ram Purushottam das: There were even plans uncovered in 2014 to build a GBC Hall of Fame, modeled after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cincinatti.
Radhakantananda das: As they say, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." And with no checks or balances, it was as though some of our illustrious predecessors thought they could sweep their crimes of sexual abuse, child molestation, embezzlement and other serious offenses under the rug forever and continue to send the bill to their disciples. They thought that they could get away with it forever until…
Bhakti Devashraya Swami: …Until the creation of the Internet.
Bhakti Prabhava Swami, Chairman: Prabhus, let's call it quits for lunch, shall we?
Bhakti Devashraya Swami: Oh, good idea. What's on our menu today?
Bhakti Prabhava Swami, Chairman: That would be whatever prasadam the other devotees are honoring downstairs in the prasadam hall: dal, rice and chappatis. Sadhu sanga, anyone?
Gouravani devi dasi: Look at it this way, without devotees you do not have a society. And without a society what is the use of GBC? Our power is derived from serving them, and from the Founder-Acharya, not the other way around. So it is about time to listen to the voice of reason and cultivate a little love and trust. Isn't compassion supposed to come with the territory of being a Vaishnava?
Ram Purushottam das: Right, Mataji, but a lack of warmth was the standard policy of the previous GBC. Except, of course, towards themselves. History records that child molesters were maintained and even worshipped as gurus while the families of the children were swept aside so that our illustrious predecessors could strut about with titles like GBC Emeritus. Many sincere disciples were used as cash cows by GBC personalities who destroyed their own initiates by investing their disciples' hard earned money in fruitless and bankrupt businesses. Gurus married or seduced their own disciples or children of disciples. Dozens of Gurukula kids grew up feeling abused and abandoned, and then committed suicide.
Gouravani devi dasi: Yes, I know, Prabhu. That is how my father died when he was forty-one. When he took his own life, in the note he left behind he wrote about how he could never understand why the GBC-guru who molested him retained a leading position in the society until his last days on this earth, while my grandmother who bore him was forced to live in a car.
Radhakantananda das: I heard that one GBC set up a credit card machine next to a Deity of Goddess Durga, right in front of Radha and Krishna. Prabhupada said, "call a spade a spade" and that is exactly what we should be doing here. It's our job, our duty. The GBC that was just ousted famously ignored the needs of the individual devotees who comprised the heart and soul of the society. It was Srila Prabhupada's order from 1972 that devotees should become qualified for Bhakti Shastri, Bhakti Vaibhava, Bhaktivedanta and Bhaktisarvabhauma. To this day despite the dedication, renunciation and scholarship of thousands of ISKCON members, not one Bhakti Sarvabhouma has been recognized. It is as though the past GBC care little about preaching, about what Prabhupada desired or the salvation of fallen conditioned souls.
Gouravani devi dasi: What to speak of their own Godbrothers and sisters…In fact, in those days there was more emphasis placed upon mundane college degrees than devotional qualifications. It was as though the Society's failures in the ‘80's could be rectified if devotees just went back to college and got jobs. Devotees who received PhD's were constantly touted as the most advanced on the official ISKCON GBC website.
Ram Purushottam das: Right, Mataji, the same website that conveyed the message that book distributors were inferior to academic mental speculators. My grandfather, who you all know was an original GBC member, said that this fever for material degrees got so far out of hand that devotees from the Bhaktivedanta Institute were just eager to sip tea with famous scholars and were scared to even mention Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Many GBC's used their positions to write their own books full of watered down compromises and pretended to preach from them. One even went on a World Peace Tour, even though Prabhupada said quite bluntly that lasting peace does not exist anywhere in the material world.
Gouravani devi dasi: I even have a set of books I call "The Compromise Collection",which ISKCON's leaders substituted for Prabhupada's encyclopedic works. You wouldn't believe the self-serving compromises in books like Servant of the Servant, Many Moons, Spiritual Warrior, Journey Home, Pilgrim's Progress and Bhagavad Gitas by Kirtanananda or Tripurari. Or the hundreds of volumes of Vyasa Puja books written and offered to ordinary conditioned living entities, many of whom absconded from ISKCON with large amounts of cash and new girlfriends. If you want to see what was wrong with ISKCON's leadership in black and white, come visit my library. These books stand as proof that our old guard placed their ambitions before the concept of serving Shri Guru. Did you know that in college towns wherein devotees taught Hinduism, that street sankirtan was even prohibited by the GBC?
Ram Purushottam das: There were even plans uncovered in 2014 to build a GBC Hall of Fame, modeled after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cincinatti.
Radhakantananda das: As they say, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." And with no checks or balances, it was as though some of our illustrious predecessors thought they could sweep their crimes of sexual abuse, child molestation, embezzlement and other serious offenses under the rug forever and continue to send the bill to their disciples. They thought that they could get away with it forever until…
Bhakti Devashraya Swami: …Until the creation of the Internet.
Bhakti Prabhava Swami, Chairman: Prabhus, let's call it quits for lunch, shall we?
Bhakti Devashraya Swami: Oh, good idea. What's on our menu today?
Bhakti Prabhava Swami, Chairman: That would be whatever prasadam the other devotees are honoring downstairs in the prasadam hall: dal, rice and chappatis. Sadhu sanga, anyone?
Friday, July 20, 2012
Sunnyvale temple schedule 21, 22 July 2012
Trouble viewing this email? Read it online
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Parents leaving behind "bad climate" planet
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/18/parents-need-to-act-against-climate-change-for-their-kids-sake.html
USA drought 2012
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Rolling Stone Magazine's "Global Warming" article:
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Devotee band from Sedona AZ
http://www.tunecore.com/music/red-rock-rishis
[PADA: To hear samples of their music, click on the media player. ys pd]
[PADA: To hear samples of their music, click on the media player. ys pd]
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Embarassment of being an ISKCON devotee
"The Embarassment Of Being An Iskcon Devotee"
[PADA: See original post at Prabhupadavision.com]
The Embarassment Of Being An Iskcon Devotee, by An Exploited Fool – USA: I joined Iskcon when Srila Prabhupada was no longer present, as most of us did. The average life expectancy of a temple devotee is 3 years now, compared to many more when Srila Prabhupada was guru. Even 3 years after Srila Prabhupada left -- over half his disciples still lived at the temples or associated often, despite the changes made by some men claiming to be his spiritual successors and uttama adhikaris. During these 3 years as a temple devotee, on average, there are 3 stages the devotee goes through:
Stage 1 – The neophyte stage.
At this stage one is a newcomer to Krishna Consciousness. He is relieved from all sinful reactions as he or she starts chanting Hare Krishna, taking prasadam and attending morning programs. He or she is told who their guru is most likely to be and they accept them into their hearts. They have full faith in their spiritual master because all the rest of the devotees who have joined ahead of them and their God brothers and sisters tell them what a great guru he is. They take first initiation.
Stage two – The second year (Middle stage)
By now they have heard rumors their guru is bogus many times. But they are told those who criticize are “envious demons” and such, those who have “fallen down” while the guru will never fall. He is too pure. There are those who try to explain what is wrong with the movement or certain gurus but they are driven out and rightfully so for their sinful "blasphemy of the devotees." Second initiation is offered and accepted, since someone needs to worship the Deities.
Stage 3 – The Advanced devotee stage.
You go online and start to realize not all the devotees who left can be wrong? You learn all about so many other gurus who have fallen and start to lose faith in your own, especially when he is caught with a prostitute, underage homosexual activity, sex with other people’s wives, bramacaris, etc.
[PADA: Proof that our program of promoting Srila Prabhupada as the guru ONLINE is working.]
You start to dress the Deities up like Santa Claus because it doesn’t really matter anyway, it is what Krishna really wants, and you can tell that by now because you are so advanced, and who are the gurus, temple presidents and gbc to tell you otherwise? They are all in maya themselves, or so one might think. So finally one day when your guru kicks you in the butt for being two seconds late for an offering instead of helping you, when he yelled at you and could have made the offering on time, you decide to leave.
You want to tell the new devotee who just joined how hellish it is in Iskcon and how this should not be but you run for your life on the way out. They make sure of that. With subtle and gross threats of retaliation for speaking out. You have given all you had to your guru, who just took off in your donated car on a vacation to give his foot a rest after kicking you and he is using the last of your laxmi on hotels for his girlfriend and himself so where to go? After months of struggling you finally decide you must get a job because we have to keep the body and soul together somehow.
Then the embarrassment comes in. You go online and seek some solace in the association of like minded devotees but instead find many devotees have left Iskcon altogether and gone over to the Gaudiya Math? Others have found shelter with LION GURUS (i.e. sex scandals gurus) or are following ex guru-ex child molesters both within and without the movement or any number of other philosophies. It seems the people in charge are winning in their own minds for the time being.
[PADA: Good, our critics are winning in their own minds only. We are making good progress all over the place.]
You are afraid to tell anyone even online you believe in Iskcon because the Iskcon you believe in is the one by Srila Prabhupada, not the current day one where -- if a guru can hold on to even one disciple he is considered a success, because that one disciple can serve him for the rest of his life, and he can die a happy man, never having had to lift a finger to support himself for the past half a century. You are a laughed at person considered a fool and subjected to the scorn of most people throughout the Western world.
But we don’t worry. We know we are following Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada is pure and Krishna will take us back to home back to Godhead at the end of this lifetime. Srila Prabhupada said so. Stay in Iskcon, follow the 4 regulative principles, chant 16 rounds, and you will see Lord Krishna face to face at the end of this life. It is just unfortunate that the ones in charge think they are the ones who are staying in Iskcon while driving all the rest of us away. As Srila Prabhupada also said, “A GBC who misuses his position will end up as a shudra in his next birth.”
[PADA: See original post at Prabhupadavision.com]
The Embarassment Of Being An Iskcon Devotee, by An Exploited Fool – USA: I joined Iskcon when Srila Prabhupada was no longer present, as most of us did. The average life expectancy of a temple devotee is 3 years now, compared to many more when Srila Prabhupada was guru. Even 3 years after Srila Prabhupada left -- over half his disciples still lived at the temples or associated often, despite the changes made by some men claiming to be his spiritual successors and uttama adhikaris. During these 3 years as a temple devotee, on average, there are 3 stages the devotee goes through:
Stage 1 – The neophyte stage.
At this stage one is a newcomer to Krishna Consciousness. He is relieved from all sinful reactions as he or she starts chanting Hare Krishna, taking prasadam and attending morning programs. He or she is told who their guru is most likely to be and they accept them into their hearts. They have full faith in their spiritual master because all the rest of the devotees who have joined ahead of them and their God brothers and sisters tell them what a great guru he is. They take first initiation.
Stage two – The second year (Middle stage)
By now they have heard rumors their guru is bogus many times. But they are told those who criticize are “envious demons” and such, those who have “fallen down” while the guru will never fall. He is too pure. There are those who try to explain what is wrong with the movement or certain gurus but they are driven out and rightfully so for their sinful "blasphemy of the devotees." Second initiation is offered and accepted, since someone needs to worship the Deities.
Stage 3 – The Advanced devotee stage.
You go online and start to realize not all the devotees who left can be wrong? You learn all about so many other gurus who have fallen and start to lose faith in your own, especially when he is caught with a prostitute, underage homosexual activity, sex with other people’s wives, bramacaris, etc.
[PADA: Proof that our program of promoting Srila Prabhupada as the guru ONLINE is working.]
You start to dress the Deities up like Santa Claus because it doesn’t really matter anyway, it is what Krishna really wants, and you can tell that by now because you are so advanced, and who are the gurus, temple presidents and gbc to tell you otherwise? They are all in maya themselves, or so one might think. So finally one day when your guru kicks you in the butt for being two seconds late for an offering instead of helping you, when he yelled at you and could have made the offering on time, you decide to leave.
You want to tell the new devotee who just joined how hellish it is in Iskcon and how this should not be but you run for your life on the way out. They make sure of that. With subtle and gross threats of retaliation for speaking out. You have given all you had to your guru, who just took off in your donated car on a vacation to give his foot a rest after kicking you and he is using the last of your laxmi on hotels for his girlfriend and himself so where to go? After months of struggling you finally decide you must get a job because we have to keep the body and soul together somehow.
Then the embarrassment comes in. You go online and seek some solace in the association of like minded devotees but instead find many devotees have left Iskcon altogether and gone over to the Gaudiya Math? Others have found shelter with LION GURUS (i.e. sex scandals gurus) or are following ex guru-ex child molesters both within and without the movement or any number of other philosophies. It seems the people in charge are winning in their own minds for the time being.
[PADA: Good, our critics are winning in their own minds only. We are making good progress all over the place.]
You are afraid to tell anyone even online you believe in Iskcon because the Iskcon you believe in is the one by Srila Prabhupada, not the current day one where -- if a guru can hold on to even one disciple he is considered a success, because that one disciple can serve him for the rest of his life, and he can die a happy man, never having had to lift a finger to support himself for the past half a century. You are a laughed at person considered a fool and subjected to the scorn of most people throughout the Western world.
But we don’t worry. We know we are following Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada is pure and Krishna will take us back to home back to Godhead at the end of this lifetime. Srila Prabhupada said so. Stay in Iskcon, follow the 4 regulative principles, chant 16 rounds, and you will see Lord Krishna face to face at the end of this life. It is just unfortunate that the ones in charge think they are the ones who are staying in Iskcon while driving all the rest of us away. As Srila Prabhupada also said, “A GBC who misuses his position will end up as a shudra in his next birth.”
[PADA: Anyway, this is the point, real ISKCON means to worship Srila Prabhupada, thats the ticket home. ys pd]
Prabhupadanugas spreading like wildfire!
Jaya Radhe: Srila Prabhupada's ritvik movement is spreading like wildfire, thus killing all the envious snakes (bogus gurus) who remain hidden in the dry leafs! Envious snakes cannot run from the forest fire, they are the first to die. So all these bogus snake like gurus are similarly being burnt to ashes by the power of Srila Prabhupada's mission. The snakes have no power to control the wildfire, they simply burn to ashes. When all the dry brush is thus burnt up the ash (carbon) actually helps fertilizer the soil which helps promotes healthy new growth!! :)
"The Lord is so kind and merciful that He gives the devotee proper guidance and all protection, and thus the devotee very peacefully makes solid progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness without outward disturbances. A serpent may be very angry and ready to bite, but the furious snake is helpless when faced by a blazing fire in the forest. Although an enemy of a devotee may be very strong, he is compared to an angry serpent before the fire of devotional service."-SB 9.4.48 purport
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"The Lord is so kind and merciful that He gives the devotee proper guidance and all protection, and thus the devotee very peacefully makes solid progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness without outward disturbances. A serpent may be very angry and ready to bite, but the furious snake is helpless when faced by a blazing fire in the forest. Although an enemy of a devotee may be very strong, he is compared to an angry serpent before the fire of devotional service."-SB 9.4.48 purport
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Friday, July 13, 2012
Sunnyvale temple program 14,15 July 2012
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One ISKCON's Rayal Nitai's analysis pt.1
By Raya Nitai Dasa Vanacari
RND: The Parallel Lines Committee, of which I have great respect for, released their final draft of new legislation, supposedly aimed at dealing with rouge gurus who fall outside the acceptability of the GBC. It was published on dandavats.com. After three weeks in print and 1300 views, it has 7 facebook "likes."
[PADA: A few questions: Which previous gurus (acharyas) were subordinated to a Governing Body (GBC) aka "a paralell line of authority"? Why were rogues voted in as the GBC's acharyas in the first place? Which previous gurus acted "unacceptably"? Which previous acharyas were rogues? RND is getting into these root issues, very nice. Bravo! This original 1977 problem is now emerging as self-evident, the GBC does not know what a guru actually is, hence they keep appointing, voting for, and rubber stamping defective and rogue gurus.]
RND: The recent Governing Body Commision's legislation entitled "Understanding ISKCON’s Lines of Authority" is supposed to be a document addressing "the tension created when spiritual masters sometimes act as an independent line of authorty in ISKCON." However, this legislation does much more than ease the tension created by disagreements among leading Vaisnavas. What this legislation actually does is to help further implement a centralized authoritarian control system over EVERY member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
[PADA: There is "tension and disagreement" between the acharyas and the people creating and administering the acharyas? Dr. Frankenstein cannot control his (voted in) creations? And these acharyas are sometime rogues? Where has this "guru policy" ever been done in the history of Vaishnavism -- i.e. there is a "governing board" that is "2/3 show of hands voting in" many acharyas? And then the board is disagreeing with the acharyas it has just made? Is this not the policy of "rubber stamping gurus" that Srila Prabhupada disagrees with?
And RND says their system is dictator's style "authoritarian." And RND admits that means: all of the members of the entire ISKCON society are now being forced, coerced and fully obligated to accept the authority of these voted in gurus, or else face being excommunicated from ISKCON (as I was) even if those gurus are rogues. RND hits it right on the nail, the GBC is "legislating" the post of guru. That is exactly what Aindra was complaining about as well. Sorry, the guru is "administered" by Krishna, or else he is not a guru. The guru speaks as Krishna dicates, not as some governing panel dictates.]
RND: This is being done in defiance of the explicit instructions given by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada; that the GBC is to have a very limited jurisdiction in regards to the detailed operations of the society and the activities of it’s members.
[PADA: Right, "limited powers" is the actual mandate of GBC operations, whereas voting in over one hundred new "acharyas" is making the GBC act on the unlimited spiritual plane. The actual pure devotees are operating on the unlimited and eternally liberated plane, how can the pure devotees be subject to the authority of the very teeny minded, limited and still conditioned plane of the GBC's managers? Very good point here, the idea of voting for conditioned souls as gurus, and even rogues for gurus, and then forcing ISKCON's temples to accept these false gurus, makes normal managing impossible. Why? Because, when these rogue gurus take over a temple, they usually malefically affect the worship, the finances, the delegation of manpower, and so on.
In point of fact, these GBC gurus collectively bankrupted ISKCON by mis-managing and sometimes even starving the school children of the society, while they lived like mini-emperors in fancy and opulent facilities. This happened because there are no checks and balances, good progress! The idea of checks and balances for gurus is a contradiction. Lets face it -- they are not gurus, they are managers who need "checks and balances."]
RND: The legislation also aims at minimizing or completely doing away with any kind of checks and balance systems which would prevent the decay of the ability of the management of ISKCON to uphold the desires of Srila Prabhupada, based on guru, sadhu and shastra.
[PADA: First of all, there are no checks and balances needed for God and His "shaksat" (direct) successor gurus? This is absurd. Next, there are no guru, sadhu and shastra supports for the idea that God's direct successor's lineage, i.e. God's guru chain and God's parampara of gurus -- either -- are, were, or could have been rogues? How can God's "pure chain of successors" contain even one rogue? Next point, if the GBC is managing, how can they manage gurus, who are supposed be -- beyond the authority of managers? And notice, there are no checks and balances systems in place, ok that means their whole program is rogue, maverick, lawless, and what Dr. Stilson judah told us is: antinomianism (lawless in the name of religion). How can rogue gurus be controlled if there is no system of checks and balances, never mind gurus are never subordinated to a system of checks and balances "management" in the first place? RND is really getting it. Their whole process is full of major defects and giant pot-holes.]
RND: This has been gradually implemented over the last decade or so in an informal way and now, with the official position paper being recently released for public presentation on some ISKCON media forums, the authors of this paper, who are the heads of management in ISKCON, have declared their official position.
[PADA: That the GBC is "in charge of" the acharyas was the original position of the GBC in 1977, not just the last decade. They were off and running right away: monitoring, correcting, chastising, suspending, reinstating, and finally excommunicating Jayatirtha. The policy of the GBC managing gurus was implemented right at the start.]
RND: I was privileged to have a small part in the process of designing this piece of legislation. I was presented with an eighth draft of the paper about a year ago and I gave some input at that time, although it appears to have been largely discarded. I was asked by the member of the Parallel Lines Committee who gave me the draft, not to share it with anyone so that there would not be different versions of the paper floating around.
[PADA: Draft number eight? Yes, this is another big problem, there are many "different versions" of "guru tattva" within the many GBC reports over the years. For example in 1978, Sridhara Maharaja was declared as the GBC's siksha guru and "higher authority." Yet by 1982 SM was declared a de facto "demon," and an official declaration was made that "no one can visit his matha" because he was "trying to take over ISKCON." Another example is that some of the GBC's gurus over the years have said that "zonal gurus" is the wrong policy, then they STILL TO THIS DAY appoint zones for their gurus every year anyway, and so on ad infinitum. And none of these contrary documents and statements have ever been resolved, they just make another pile of contrary papers to pile onto their already existing pile of contrary papers.]
RND: Therefore, I have not and will not share the draft with anyone.
[PADA: This seems to be a little absurd all by itself, there is a bunch of contrary drafts being made on the topic of guru tattva, and being made by the gurus themselves? How come the gurus cannot agree upon: what is a guru? Why do they make one draft, and the next draft contradicts their previous draft?]
RND: However, in order to show the direction the committee has adopted in regards to creating this legislation, I will provide short excerpts from the eighth draft that have been omitted from the final edition.
[PADA: Eight drafts? So that means the first seven were full of mistakes, illusion, cheating and sensory defects. How do we know version number eight is going to be the fully "free from defects" version? This is clearly mental speculation, they keep changing their documents just like the speculative scientists keep changing their theories. And the GBC has already made and published many reports that contradicted their previous reports. Srila Prabhupada says "change means rascal."]
RND: I feel that this is necessary to illustrate to the reader exactly what is in the minds of the leadership of ISKCON. When the final edition was made public, I noticed that many important points that were previously included in the eighth draft were left out, making the final edition an extremely one-sided and authoritarian piece of legislation. I also noticed that many quotes from Srila Prabhupada that were very relevant to the subject matter had been omitted.
[PADA: Oh Oh, big surprise, quotes from Srila Prabhupada were omitted? Right, Srila Prabhupada says gurus are not falling down, for starters.]
RND: In this report, I will show, in-depth, how the leadership of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is mirroring the current secular geo-political trend of implementing authoritarian rule over the public and effectively eliminating most, if not all of every citizen’s Krishna-given liberties.
[PADA: Now we are getting to the root issue, the current leaders are running ISKCON by a policy of tyranny and not consensus of the devotees.]
RND: This trend also bears a canny resemblance to the Zonal-Acharya system, which was allowed, by the GBC, to foster for over a decade after the disappearance of our beloved Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
[PADA: Sorry, every GBC report has geographical zones for gurus even up to the current GBC reports.]
RND: The difference being the GBC acting as the sole, unified Zonal-Acharya, instead of a group of swamis and gurus, with little connection to one another, competing for supremacy.
[PADA: Oh no, the gurus, the residents of Krishna loka, are "competing for supremacy"? No, the residents of hell are competing for supremacy. The whole idea of guru is being turned upside down. Good for RND he is starting to notice the cracks in their system. This is a great start. ys pd]
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