"Attack on ISKCON" (by Indradyumna swami) vs PADA

"Attack on ISKCON"

A class delivered by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami

in Moscow, Russia, at November 27th, 1998

[PADA: Yep, after burning ISKCON down to ashes in the West and bankrupting it, then most of the leaders fled to India, Russia, Ukraine etc. to set up camp with the more gullible [and thus ignorant] people who did not know their odious history over there in these foreign places. 1998 is also when the Windle Turley child molesting lawsuit was ramping up, and Indradyumna looks like he was hiding out from the whole process, not taking any responsibility for the situation.]

Indradyumna Swami: So I wanted to take the opportunity while I'm in Moscow to speak to the devotees, both who're living here and who're visiting Moscow at this time. I wanted to speak with you and share my realizations on the subject matter which I'm very concerned about. And I would entitle the subject matter, "An Attack on ISKCON." 

It's quite a strong title, but it is a fact. Since I've recently been here in Russia, I've seen that Srila Prabhupada's movement is under attack in a variety of ways. And I know that my disciples are looking towards me for a statement, or more than a statement. They would like an explanation of how I perceive the issue.

WHAT IS ISKCON?

So first of all, let's identify what is ISKCON, and then who or what is attacking ISKCON. First of all, ISKCON means International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which is how Srila Prabhupada called his movement to spread the teachings of Lord Caitanya - not only in Western countries but around the world. As we all know, Prabhupada came to the Western world on the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati thakura, based on the desires of Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja and, specifically, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and of course the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to see a world-wide organization of devotees chanting Hare Krishna.

Prabhupada had tried to preach in India, but it was not fruitful. He couldn't even get one family to donate one son whom he could train as a preacher in Krishna Consciousness. And he found that his Godbrothers were not cooperating to fulfill the desire of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvata Thakura to preach Krishna consciousness.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's prophecy that there'll be fire in the Math... He actually literally said these words to Srila Prabhupada -- when they were walking together at Radha-kunda one day. "There will be fire in the Math." Actually, that fire fully manifested after the departure of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. And thus, Prabhupada's Godbrothers, most of them, were not cooperating to preach Krishna consciousness, but rather they were fighting over who is the next acarya, who had which place in the temple, who should be honored, etc.

[PADA: So we decided to burn down ISKCON with the same guru imbroglio, and not only that, we made the 1936 architect of the Gaudiya Math's disaster -- Sridhara Maharaja -- into our "senior advisor" in 1978. And SM became the ghost writer of most of our early GBC documents, such as our highly offensive "The Mahajanas Have Difficulties" (1980).]

So Prabhupada gave up any hope at that time that the Gaudiya Math could work together to preach around the world, so he left and took the essence of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's teachings and desire, and he went to the Western countries, and he started his own movement.

Because he is acarya, what's more, he's saktyavesa-avatara. He's saktyavesa-avatara, specifically empowered to spread Krishna consciousness. And because he is acarya, he had the power to do such a thing. And so, soon after arriving in America he formed the organization called ISKCON. He didn't call it International Society for God Consciousness, he called it International Society for Krishna Consciousness because he wanted us to become pure lovers of Krishna, who is God.

ISKCON IS Srila PRABHUPADA'S DESIRE

So what is ISKCON? ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada's personal desire. It is his service to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to flood the world with love of God. It is the vehicle which is spreading the teachings of all of our predecessor acaryas, it is the medium by which all the work of the previous acaryas is now culminating in a movement to spread love of God.

So exactly how ISKCON was set up, and how it was to function, etc., it was all realized by Srila Prabhupada and set into motion by Srila Prabhupada. And as Srila Prabhupada is perfect, so his ideals of ISKCON, his principles of ISKCON in the way in which he asked us to execute ISKCON, are also perfect. And in the ten or twelve years that Srila Prabhupada was personally with us on this planet, with us Westerners, establishing ISKCON around the world, we could see how under his personal care and guidance it was functioning perfectly.

Although that's not to say that there weren't problems in ISKCON even when Prabhupada was here. There were many problems, but Prabhupada was always there to guide us how to solve the problems and correct them. And then, when Prabhupada knew that he was going to pass away... Well, even before that, in order to make ISKCON function properly, Prabhupada created the GBC.

WHAT ABOUT THE GBC?

As someone wrote to me recently, the idea of GBC is not in the scriptures (chuckles), so, "Why we should follow GBC"? But the point is anything that a pure devotee does is as good as sastra. There's the Bhagavata, which means the philosophy of the sastra, and there's a person Bhagavata, the person who exemplifies that philosophy and preaches that philosophy. So Prabhupada is the person Bhagavata. What he says is as good as sastra because he's self-realized.

Just like we take that the poems and the songs of Bhaktivinoda Thakura are as good as sastra because they're given by a realized person. So the argument that GBC is not valued because it's not in the scriptures, is a bogus argument. It undermines Srila Prabhupada's position. 

He's a fully self-realized soul, pure devotee of the Lord. So Prabhupada created the GBC, he had picked all the men in the GBC, and he helped to train them, to correct them when they made mistakes, to bless them when they were successful.

And as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati did, when he left his body, he said, "No one person should become the acarya, or the spiritual master of ISKCON." 

[PADA: That is not what happened. 11 ISKCON leaders declared they are the "appointed successor acharyas," and they are pure devotees like "Vishnupada" "Acharyapada" "Gurupada" etc. -- and the rest of the GBC became their compliant hand maidens. Then the 11 formed "the acharya board" and they blocked the rest of the GBC from having any input into their newly formed committee.

And once their guru scam's illicit sex and drugs "guru scandals" started to surface among these "acharyas," there was harsh repression, demonizing, banning, beating, suing, chasing with baseball bats -- and even assassinating of dissenters (like us). 

In other words, neither one person -- nor 11 persons -- were named as the next acharya. This was the big lie and Indradyumna and ilk went along with it. Then Indradyumna was later nominated by the illicit sex guru's process to be voted in as a co-member. 

And he was nominated after the ISKCON GBC were famously reinstating their oral sex with taxi drivers "Vishnupada," and then Indradyumna swami was voted into their "oral sex in the dham with taxi drivers" guru system. Meanwhile, they excommunicated Sulochan at their 1986 meeting, which painted him as a demon, and he was then assassinated. No one person should be guru -- is simply not what transpired -- the 11 became gurus, then Indradyumna took a guru certification from them, etc.]

Rather his organization, rather that the GBC, the collective group of men, would be the ultimate authority in ISKCON, because Prabhupada knew that all the problems that would come up in the future, what have to be taken care of, they wouldn't all manifest during his lifetime. And he had confidence that a group of senior men, who were loyal to him, will be able to solve these problems by guru and Krishna's grace.

[PADA: And then the GBC created their illicit sex with men, women and children guru process, which bans, beats, molests, sues and assassinates Vaishnavas. And we were (just barely?) saved (by Krishna?) from Indradyumna's false gurus process when the FBI arrested the hit man they had sent -- to assassinate me. 

Having the FBI save me from the Indradyumna swami's guru process means, the FBI has been doing the "problem solving" and not the GBC. Similarly, the Berkeley police made 72 felony arrests in 12 months at Berkeley temple, because the GBC was not monitoring anything going on there. It was "a criminal circus" according to the police.]

So, Prabhupada once said about ISKCON that it is not different than him, that it is his body. And in this like we have to consider ISKCON as sacred as is the divine form of Srila Prabhupada. Of course, that's not to say that there will not be problems in ISKCON. And there are many problems in ISKCON, but not because the idea is imperfect, but simply because we are imperfect.

[PADA: All of you GBC are imperfect, fine, so that means -- none of you are gurus. That is not what happens, you folks make the imperfect, even the pedophiles, into your acharyas.]

But nevertheless, we should never abandon ISKCON. 

[PADA: We didn't. We were banned, beaten, chased out, threatened with lawsuits, threatened with death, chased with baseball bats, and our friends were assassinated. We were ejected out. To say we left is simply -- a lie. We were told we are banned from all ISKCON property in 1979. We did not leave, we were forced to walk the plank and go.]

And this seems to be a very common thing these days, that some other organization comes along, some other ... some charismatic individual comes along, and because devotees are dissatisfied within ISKCON -- because of its problems or their personal problems, they give up ISKCON so easily and join these other organizations. This makes my blood boil. It makes me very angry that devotees would so easily leave Prabhupada's transcendental ship which is meant to cross us all over the ocean of Kali-yuga.

[PADA: The devotees did not "leave ISKCON and go to Sridhara Maharaja." The GBC went there, and then the GBC insisted everyone has to accept the authority of Sridhara Maharaja -- because he is now the "shiksha guru" "senior advisor" of ISKCON etc. Then later, the GBC announced that Narayan Maharaja is their "rasika guru" of ISKCON, and the GBC has also taken ISKCON people over to BP Puri, BV Puri, disciples of Ananta Vasudeva like Fakir Mohan etc. The GBC spawned all this competition, not the rank and file. 

None of the rank and file devotees started all these manpower siphoning off programs, they were all started by the GBC's and leaders themselves. The GBC folks went to these outside authorities. Then they declared they are ISKCON's authorities. And that is what started opening the floodgates of sending many / most ISKCON people off to all these other organizations. The India ICC people are still consulting with various other outside "scholar" authorities -- even now.] 

And what makes me even more angry is that while they are abandoning ISKCON, they have so many criticisms of ISKCON. In order to justify their leaving ISKCON, they criticize ISKCON as they are leaving and when they've left. But for one who has served ISKCON for thirty years, and for one who... I'm trying to be loyal to Prabhupada as his disciple, knowing how important ISKCON is to Srila Prabhupada, and it makes me very angry. And that is the reason that I am speaking to all of you today.

[PADA: You have been loyal to the people who are making all these siphoning off programs, not Srila Prabhupada. Your pals like Sacinandana swami are associating with Radha Kunda babaji people and all the rest of it, and for decades.]

WHY THERE ARE FAULTS IN ISKCON?

So now we have established what is ISKCON. ISKCON is Prabhupada, it is Prabhupada's creation, it is Prabhupäda's desire, and it is the Movement which Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu envisioned to save the entire world. So what about the mistakes ISKCON is making ? That means the individuals within ISKCON.

[PADA: OK so now we are saying ISKCON made maybe 100 acharyas, and acharyas are defective beings -- subject to illusion, cheating, imperfect senses, mental speculation, drinking Vodka, watching porno, never mind illicit sex with men, women and children. 

So that is the first problem, you are claiming that the GBC are gurus, and gurus are defective and often fallen. Of course as soon as we say acharyas are not engaged in illicit sex with men, women and children, we are booted out the door. They are defective, they are prone to illicit sex and drugs, therefore, they are Krishna's guru successors.]

Well, the British sometimes say, "England, with all thy faults, I love thee." This is a mentality of the loyal Britishmen. ISKCON has mistakes, we're not denying that. Why? Because so many different types of people come to this movement. There's devotees coming who are just finishing up their Krishna consciousness, it is their last birth. 

There're devotees who're, you know, this will be their second-to-the-last birth. There're devotees who're coming for the first time. And there's even materialists who take temporary shelter of this movement. And in some cases there's even demons posing as devotees. Prabhupada said that in Caitanya-caritamrita, that demoniac people take shelter of this movement, pose themselves as devotees, and create so much chaos. But even the demons can become purified in Kali-yuga (chuckles).

[PADA: So the GBC is finding out there are illicit sex prone deviants in ISKCON, maybe even demons in ISKCON. And then they are rubber stamping these deviants, or those prone to be such deviants, as ISKCON's acharyas. What is that going to produce? OK bad results, every time. They make mistakes, they are prone to illicit sex, they might even be demons, so let us make them into Krishna's guru successors! What could go wrong pilgrims?]

So it means there's no surprise that there're problems in ISKCON because we have all different types of devotees. We've materialistic devotees, we have kanistha, we have madhyama, and we also have uttama. So you have to expect that there's going to be problems. But that doesn't mean we should leave, because Prabhupada said one time also, "Better to rectify than remove." He was talking about one temple president who wasn't acting properly. So the GBC wanted to throw him out. But Prabhupäda said, "Better than throw him away is to correct him."

[PADA: But you guys all left, and that is why you are in Russia, India etc.?]

So in the same way, better than leave ISKCON is to stay in ISKCON and help ISKCON correct its mistakes. But nowadays, devotees so easily... because of frustration, they just want to abandon Prabhupada's ship. ISKCON is like in an infant stage, and an infant goes to many childhood diseases and childhood illnesses and problems. But you don't throw your baby away because he has the measles or the mumps. You correct the baby and make him healthy.

[PADA: And be banned, vilified, demonized, beaten, chased with baseball bats, threatened with death, and just barely surviving an assassination attempt with help from the FBI. The FBI told me -- I was 24 hours away from being dead. You folks are not allowing correction, your folks are suppressing correction, even with murders. If you folks want us banned, or dead, you do not want to be corrected.]

GAUDIYA MATHA AND ISKCON -

TWO DIFFERENT FAMILIES

So because ISKCON is in this, I wouldn't say weak, it's just a growing stage, we see that other "spiritual" organizations are taking advantage of that to gain members for their organizations.

[PADA: No, no, no! The GBC went to the Gaudiya Matha and not vice versa. The GBC introduced ISKCON to -- Sridhara, Narayan, BV Puri, BP Puri, Babajis, Sahaijyas, Fakir Mohan, Bhagavat Sapta folks, etc.] 

Like Gaudiya Math. Yesterday there was several questions about Gaudiya Math. I've nothing against them. And I don't want to make any offenses to many of the exalted members of the Gaudiya Math. But we're not Gaudiya Math, we're ISKCON. It's like two different families. We've been born in this family, and they've been born in that family. 

But both families are meant for going back to Godhead. But even logically from a material point of view, if you're born from a particular father, you can't change your father for another father, because he's your father!

You can't decide, "I don't want you to be my father, I want that man to be my father." You can do that, but it's very artificial. You have a certain blood, a certain DNA, a certain RNA which make you part of a particular family. And due to some whim you just can't change that and go towards next door and say, "Oh, now you're my father." It doesn't work like that.

[PADA: But the GBC said in 1978 that anyone who does not accept the authority of Sridhara Maharaja has to leave ISKCON, and many did leave. And Sridhara was still acting as an advisor for Hansadutta and Jayatirtha into the mid 1980s, after he was established as their advisor by the GBC in 1978.]

So, we are members of ISKCON, we've been created by Srila Prabhupada's mercy. We are born of Srila Prabhupada's mercy, and we should remain loyal to his family. Besides that, Srila Prabhupada himself left that organization because they were just too busy fighting. 

As Sivarama Maharaja said last night during his talk, "It was only Srila Prabhupada who cared enough about us, to come to the West, undergo so many austerities and difficulties to establish Krishna consciousness, that we're here today." It is only because of Prabhupada and his ISKCON that these people, you know, have any access to the Western countries at all now.

[PADA: And Sivarama was a huge defender of the GBC going to Sridhara Maharaja, and later going to Narayan Maharaja. In fact Sivarama was circulating audio tapes of their "rasika meetings with Narayan Maharaja."] 

And we see that most of the people, their members they are making, are devotees who are disillusioned and disaffected with ISKCON. They don't have the power to go out, and write books, translate books into English, or Russian, or German, or Spanish, distribute it, amounts of books, and do festivals, and make devotees like that. 

[PADA: Neither do the GBC gurus, their temples are just as empty as the Gaudiya Matha.]

They have to prey on disaffected, disillusioned ISKCON devotees. And from the very beginning Srila Prabhupada knew this tendency. Because he grew up in the Gaudiya Matha himself, he knew their members better than you and me. So although he respected his Godbrothers, he was always afraid they would take advantage of his success.

[PADA: But you are the guys who sent everyone over to consult with the Gaudiya Matha. Now you are crying that you made your own Frankenstein monster, that you lost control of.]

KEEP YOUR DISTANCE

This history, in most, devotees in Russia don't know. Prabhupada was afraid that his Godbrothers would take advantage of his success. Therefore from the very beginning he told us, "Don't be disrespectful to my Godbrothers. Don't make offenses by being disrespectful. But keep your distance." 

We have a saying in English, "Good fences make good neighbors." We should not be disrespectful, especially to senior members of the Gaudiyaa Matha, but we should not associate with them intimately, which means to live with them, to hear from them, to take their instructions. We're not supposed to associate intimately.

[PADA: And that is why we made a rule, everyone has to accept the authority of Sridhara Maharaja from the Gaudiya Matha, or get out of ISKCON. And later Sivarama was sending his people over to meet with Narayan Maharaja.]

Someone may doubt that Prabhupada actually said that. But I'll tell you a little story wherein I know Prabhupäda said that. One time, during Mayapura festival, the sannyasis took us out on a parikrama. We went through different places of Lord Caitanya's pastimes, and on the way back the leading sannyasi, Acyutananda, and other leading sannyasi, they took us to the Gaudiya Math temple of Sridhara Swami. Sridhara Swami was there, and he and different devotees at the Gaudiya Math received us nicely. 

And then he spoke to all of us. And in his talk he very subtly criticized Srila Prabhupada. That, "He went to the Western countries, but any of us," he speaking about Gaudiya Math, "they could have also gone to the Western countries and have done so. You should respect all members of Gaudiya Math, not just Srila Prabhupada."

[PADA: That means the GBC already knew Sridhara Maharaja held a grudge against Srila Prabhupada when they declared he is the advisor in 1978.]

Sridhara Maharaja is one of the most important sannyisis in Gaudiya Math. He now passed away, but he's a very important member of Gaudiya Math. And I have no doubt he went back to Godhead. But there was a little jealousy there. 

So, when we came back to our temple, Mayapura temple, Mayapura Candrodaya Mandira, Prabhupada heard that we went there, and he was furious. He was so angry that we visited the Gaudiya Math temple. 

And he called the devotees who were on the parikramä into his room. And he chastised the sannyasis in front of them. "I have told you many times, you must respect my Godbrothers but you're not to associate intimately with them." So anyone who says to me, "Where's this statement coming that Prabhupäda said we should not associate with Gaudiya Math?", I reply that it was part of the darsana that Prabhupada gave.

[PADA: And that is why Indradyumna, Rupanuga, Acyutananda, Brahmananda, Gargamuni, and many, many, many others also knew we are not supposed to go to Sridhara, yet they supported the GBC in 1978 going to Sridhara and supported his influence.] 

OUR ALLEGIANCE SHOULD BE WITH SRILA PRABHUPADA

Another instance was when Prabhupada was very sick in 1971, he wanted to go back to India, and one disciple said, "Well, Prabhupada, if you go and you don't come back, can you send one of your Godbrothers back to guide us?" So you know what Prabhupada did? He started crying.

He said, "How do you think anyone can replace me?" He said, "Besides, if they come and they say one thing different, it will create chaos." We have to understand that. With all due respect, all of Prabhupada's Godbrothers are great souls, but Prabhupada was the greatest soul, he was mahatma. 

He was particularly empowered how to spread Krishna consciousness around the world. And we know that it is so because he has been so successful. And you should know for a fact that even within Gaudiya Math there's so many differences, differences of opinion, differences on the conclusion of sastras, etc.

So if one Gaudiya Math member comes and says something different, that is to undermine Srila Prabhupada's position as very special personality. "Oh, you can take this opinion or Prabhupäda's opinion." Prabhupäda is a maha-bhagavata, saktyavesa-avatara, his position is not simply, you know, a spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada is acarya. So if a member of Gaudiya Math says something different, then who do we owe allegiance to? To Srila Prabhupada. And they do say things different.

[PADA: And when I protested their sex and drugs guru in 1978, the GBC said -- Sridhara Maharaja said "none should protest." So the GBC is following Sridhara Maharaja and not Srila Prabhupada. They cited Sridhara to me in 1978.]

For example, His Holiness Narayana Maharaja, who has become very popular figure throughout the world. He's very charismatic. He says that he is a close associate of Srila Prabhupada (chuckles) because Prabhupada used to write him letters. And no doubt, he's a very advanced soul. But he says some things different, he stresses, you know, rasika-bhakti for even young devotees. He doesn't stress the preaching so much. He says the origin of the jeeva is not the spiritual world, but a state of being between the material and spiritual world.

[PADA: Which is why most of the top leaders of ISKCON like Satsvarupa, Tamal, Giriraja, Sivarama and many others were insisting we have to listen to NM. And they were sending their top people to listen to him, and promote his tapes and lectures all over the ISKCON society. And the GBC was calling him their rasika guru and etc. And Sivarama in particular was a huge booster of the NM faction, and he is Indradyumna's pal. ys pd]