ISKCON Leaders Are Immature (Australia Report) 03 22 25

PADA: Here is an interesting analysis from Australia. The leaders are often harsh, cruel, immature, belittling, bullying, impersonal, discouraging younger devotees, and so on and so forth. Umm, and these guys are the gurus? No wonder so many rank and file are unhappy then! 

Of course we also find some of the so-called ritviks are behaving badly towards others as well. A lot of maturing is needed all round. 

The good news is, more people are pointing to these types of probems and exposing the issues, so there is a sort of grass roots independent self help society forming outside of ISKCON. But yeah, if gurus are behaving badly, it is going to create a negative impression of the whole religion. 

That is why the religion has been slowed, stunted and growth has been harmed, and badly in many cases. Now there are a bunch of ISKCON "trauma therapy advisors," a real big out cropping these days. Well yeah, but what kind of religion causes trauma to its citzens? Anyway, interesting points here. 

Personally, I have to sanctuary myself from all the madness from time to time, it is really sometimes a little overwhelming. Poor Srila Prabhupada and Krishna wanted to help us, but alas, they cannot always save people who do not want saving. Immature, harsh, bully, and guru? Told ya that was a problem!

ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com

ISKCON today on March 22, 2025, is still in its very early immature pioneering years of attempting to introduce Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's great sankirtan to the entire world. The present immature inexperienced leaders in ISKCON, still have a lot to learn about genuinely caring and guiding the spiritual welfare of all aspiring devotees of Krsna and offer encouragement and love.

Remember, all aspiring devotees have voluntarily given their life to ISKCON, without wanting any financial payment, (at least it was like that in the beginning years of ISKCON). Each aspiring fragile devotee deserves to be treated with respect and kindness, otherwise, if a young devotee is treated badly, then that devotee will go on and treat others badly too, this I saw and experienced over the years.

In other words, leading devotees and sannyasis should learn how to properly support, nurture and inspire ALL devotees and congregation with respect and encouragement, so they can voluntarily choose to serve in their own unique capacity. No two individual jiva-souls (devotees) are the same, each are unique in front of Guru and Kṛṣṇa. 

If this reassurance of self-confidence, where the aspiring devotee is always being nurtured, given confidence and encouraged to voluntary contribute as the individual unique servant of Krsna they really are, is achieved by the ISKCON leadership today, then each young aspiring devotee will be inspired to offer their very best service. Instead of being forced with harsh and often threatening words and demands to artificially surrender, to only do what you are told to do without personal contributions, or risk getting cleverly kick out of ISKCON for not being their "yes" man or women.

It is a fact many have been cleverly forced to do as they are told by being bullied and impersonally humiliated into submission in front of others, by breaking one's individual spirit really meant to voluntary offer your own personal unique contributions. Such humiliating dress down is openly and coldly done in front of other young impressionable devotees by these immature ISKCON so called leaders, including a sannyasi GBC bully, instead of being taken aside and spoken to privately, confidentially and caringly.

So much damage was done by these immature nonsense ISKCON leaders over years, that left life long impressions on all those who heard them belittling and putting down devotees often making them the butt of jokes, who gave their life to Prabhupada with out any desire for any payment.

Many were often impersonally and repeatedly treated like this over the years in ISKCON in Australia, one devotee in front of others was told by a nonsense sannyasi to put his head in the toilet and pull the chain, or would bring up a confidential letter Prabhupada personally wrote to one devotee chastising him, using it to humiliate him and put him down in front of others in a class saying, "You should see the letter Prabhupada wrote him."

Such nonsense impersonal bullying only destroys the aspiring devotee's fragile emotions of self-respect, self-expression and finding the encouragment to offer their own individual unique voluntary contributions. So many leaders in ISKCON over the years have cleverly used harsh, threatening and nasty belittling words to destroy the character of many young devotees, by breaking down their individual attempts of personal achievements by making them feel worthless and useless without them, just so they have control under their bogus heading of "surrender prabhu!"

This I witnessed and experienced many times over the years, and they know who they are. Such impersonal treatment of an aspiring devotee over the years only deadens their character, destroys self esteem, self confidence and self worth.
Sadly, this happened way too much over the years in ISKCON.

Srila Prabhupada – “Love means you take and you give also. Suppose if you love somebody and you simply take from them, but you don't give anything in return. Oh, do you think that is very good? No, it is not good to use people like that, that is not love, it is exploitation! If I go on simply taking from you, and don't offer you anything, that is simply exploitation not love!”(Lecture BG, Ch 9 text 2-5, New York City, Nov 23, 1966)

Srila Prabhupada – “Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force, no, Krsna does not want to become a lover like that, ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!” (Washington DC July 8, 1976)

Śrīla Prabhupāda – “Love means "two-persons," I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, then these things must be there.” (Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)

Srila Prabhupada – “The impersonalist philosophy is oneness so how there be love with just one? Is it possible? Have you got any such experience that love means one? No. Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He loves you so much that He's trying to get you back. That is Kṛṣṇa's attempt. "Please, My dear boy, or My dear friend, My dear servant.” 

(Lecture SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)

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Chapter 8: Attaining the Supreme

TEXT 8

abhyasa-yoga-yuktena

cetasa nanya-gamina

paramam purusam divyam

yati parthanucintayan

SYNONYMS

abhyasa—practice; yoga-yuktena—being engaged in meditation; cetasa—by the mind and intelligence; na anya-gamina—without being deviated; paramam—the Supreme; purusam—Personality of Godhead; divyam—transcendental; yati—achieves; partha—O son of Prtha; anucintayan—constantly thinking of.

TRANSLATION

He who meditates on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Partha [Arjuna], is sure to reach Me.

PURPORT

In this verse Lord Krsna stresses the importance of remembering Him. One's memory of Krsna is revived by chanting the mahamantra, Hare Krsna. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one's ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. Purusam means enjoyer. Although living entities belong to the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord, they are in material contamination. 

They think themselves enjoyers, but they are not the supreme enjoyer. Here it is clearly stated that the supreme enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different manifestations and plenary expansions as Narayana, Vasudeva, etc.

The devotees can constantly think of the object of worship, the Supreme Lord, in any of His features, Narayana, Krsna, Rama, etc., by chanting Hare Krsna. 

This practice will purify him, and at the end of his life, due to his constant chanting, he will be transferred to the kingdom of God. Yoga practice is meditation on the Supersoul within; similarly, by chanting Hare Krsna one fixes his mind always on the Supreme Lord. The mind is fickle, and therefore it is necessary to engage the mind by force to think of Krsna. One example often given is that of the caterpillar that thinks of becoming a butterfly and so is transformed into a butterfly in the same life. Similarly, if we constantly think of Krsna, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily constitution as Krsna.