Intimate Associates -- or -- Bed Bugs? 06 09 26

ANTARANGA (Intimate Devotee)

—Śrīla Bhaktiprajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja

(Translated from Gauḍīya 15th Volume , Issue number 17 ,Year 1935)
— Siddhanta Vāṇī Publications

Overview :

A widespread misconception prevails within many devotional circles that anyone who physically served, accompanied, or remained in close bodily proximity to the transcendental vapū of a great ācārya or even to Bhagavān Himself—must necessarily be an intimate disciple (antaranga-bhakta) or confidential associate who knows the true heart of Great Acaryas. 

This article was penned by the Paramahamsa Jagadguru Śrīla Bhaktiprajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja to dispel this superficial and materially conceived notion of intimacy, and to firmly establish devotees in the ontological understanding of what truly constitutes intimacy with Guru and Bhagavān.

By distinguishing external, physical association from genuine spiritual affinity founded upon faithful adherence to the heart and teachings of the ācārya, this profound and revolutionary essay reveals the actual qualifications of an antaranga-bhakta. It demonstrates that true nearness is not determined by bodily proximity, but by the degree of one's surrender, fidelity, and alignment with the inner purpose and conception of the Guru-varga.

For every aspiring devotee who sincerely desires to understand who is genuinely a follower of the ācāryas and who wishes to avoid the pitfalls of sentimentalism, personality-cultism, and external considerations, this article is not merely beneficial; it is essential reading.
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Those who outwardly surround an Acarya or great saint, who remain constantly near him, render bodily attendance, perform various forms of physical service, or execute his orders are not thereby necessarily to be accepted as eternal associates or intimate devotees. Many persons approached the great personalities such as the Vaisnava-sarvabhauma Om Visnupada Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja, Om Visnupada Srila Ṭhakura Bhaktivinoda, and Om Visnupada Srila Gaurakiśora dasa Gosvami Maharaja with diverse ambitions, and they even enacted various forms of external service before them. 

Yet their inner disposition was entirely different from that of these great souls; this is demonstrated by their many concealed immoral activities and hypocritical, heretical conduct. From an examination of the lives of these eternally perfected Vaisnava mahajanas — Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Gosvami, and others — it is learned that many persons, even while imitating the act of daily partaking of their remnants, nevertheless remained hypocrites and antagonistic toward Vaisnavas.

On one occasion, a certain individual stated that those who massage the feet of great saints more, who can sit on the same seat, share the same bed, or dwell privately with them, are the true intimate associates. Hearing this, a certain Vaisnava remarked that, if this were so, then mosquitoes and bedbugs would have to be counted among the most intimate associates of great saints; for they remain constantly on the saint’s bed, even upon his head always keeping his company and nourishing themselves -- by sucking his pure, sattvika blood. 

If, under the guise of serving and associating with Sadhus, great Saints, and Acaryas, we remain busy collecting multifarious forms of gain, worship, and prestige, then our imitation of service to the Saint or Guru is nothing but bloodsucking, like the so-called service rendered by mosquitoes and bedbugs to a Saint’s body. Therefore, to attempt to suck the pure, sattvika blood of the Sadhus and Gurus in the name of serving them, and to mistake such deception for affection, is the most terrible misfortune. 

To ensure that our intelligence is not corrupted by such misfortune, we must always remain vigilant and sincerely pray before Hari, Guru, and Vaisnavas.

PADA: This is really the biggest problem we have had personally with ISKCON's post-1978 situation. "Prabhu you are wrong about the leaders -- and a great offender to advanced senior Vaishnavas! These senior devotees are the most intimate servants of Srila Prabhupada! They love Srila Prabhupada and will only do his bidding after he departed."

Maybe so, and maybe not. Looking at their track record -- of all the banning, beating, molesting, suing and -- sometimes killing of us Vaishnavas, it would seem these "senior men" had lots of self motivation for position, power, prestige, worship, and no small amount of desire to usurp the post of acharya for themselves, to control -- aka seize -- the manpower, money, and buildings, which they did. 

Right. So what happens if they are simply giant sized bed bugs -- sucking the sattvic blood of a pure devotee? What if they are simply posturing externally as great servants, while inwardly hiding nefarious personal motives for self aggrandizement? What if they "nevertheless remained hypocrites and antagonistic toward Vaisnavas." 

And that might explain why the 1940s Gaudiya Matha had such a big problem with -- how did you guess -- banning, beating, sexual deviant gurus, and suing and killing Vaishnavas? The leaders usurped the mission and made it into their personal guru business arrangement.

And what happens if the "intimate servants" are really exploiting blood sucking mosquitos and bed bugs? And that is why Srila Prabhupada said his Gaudiya Matha Gobrother "gurus" were like bugs, sitting on the lap of the king, while biting the king. 

And this is why -- when we said there is a problem, so many devotees chastised PADA and they glorified the GBC -- bed bugs -- who have been sitting on the lap of their guru -- biting their guru, and essentially destroying ISKCON and its citizens, to turn it into a Hindu cultural hall business, as they have done. 

This also explains why we had so much initial resistance, even from some so-called ritviks, on the poison issue. "Hell no prabhu, they loved Srila Prabhupada and would never treat him badly, never mind give him poison." But that is not what his statements, and the surrounding evidence, suggests? What is interesting to me is that this type of "usurping the post of guru" has a long history, and we just lived another -- more recent -- chapter of that ongoing story. 

And this explains why guys like Henry Doktorski and his ilk cannot understand what really happened here. He (and all kinds of current and former GBC blood sucking bed bug worshipers) keep insisting that these leaders are the dear most servants of guru and Krishna.  

Whereas we believed -- even in 1970s -- they are self motivated, if not ill motivated, and somewhat power hungry and -- prone to fall down into illicit behaviors. Which they did in spades. Never mind all the constant cat and dog fighting over encroaching -- by taking people from "my zone," and keep "your zone's pickers out of my zone," and "we are not going to help the crisis your zone" and etc. That was all going on in the 1970s all along.

"For every aspiring devotee who sincerely desires to understand who is genuinely a follower of the ācāryas and who wishes to avoid the pitfalls of sentimentalism, personality-cultism, and external considerations, this article is not merely beneficial; it is essential reading."

Yup. So that means a small cabal of a few: self‑absorbed; self‑centered; egocentric; egomaniacal; self‑obsessed; conceited; vainglorious; pompous; imperious; haughty; proud / smug; boastful; self‑serving; self‑seeking; self‑important; psychopathic; megalomaiacs -- hijacked ISKCON. 

And then we wonder why there were so many problems? Because when the blood sucking bugs sitting on the king's lap become worshiped as the king's successors, there will be nothing but problems. Guaranteed 100%. 

As happens. As will always happen. And unless a person is very alert to distinguish the king from the bed bugs biting the king, he will become bewildered and mistake the bugs as the king's successors and representatives, instead of his blood sucking aggressors. 

Oddly, even at the time of Krishna there were plenty of people who were personally associated with Him, but they did not like Him, and sometimes wanted to kill Him etc. Or like Satrajit, they argued with Him and refused His orders. Personal association might be useful, and might be harmful. 

But personal association is no guarantee of surrender and faithfulness, and might produce a lot of envy and toxic desire to "kill guru and become guru" -- including poisoning -- as we found out here. Someone sent me a video of Navayogendra getting all sorts of his fans swarming all over him. 

He has become another bed bug biting the king. He is stealing worship meant for the king, for himself. And all of the people who do that are going to suffer severe reactions, because we are not allowed to steal from anyone, never mind a pure devotee. But for those who can see the bed bug is not the king, then they can be released from that illusion and move forward, and more people are all the time. 

ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com

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WAKING UP THE DEAD

You cannot make someone see clarity when they find comfort within their fog.

No matter how much evidence is presented.

No matter how patiently things are explained.

No matter how obvious the truth appears from the outside.

Some people are not resisting clarity because they can’t see it.

They’re resisting it because seeing it would require change.

And change is uncomfortable.

Clarity demands accountability.

It asks difficult questions.

It challenges old beliefs.

It exposes excuses.

It shines light on things a person may not be ready to face.

So instead, they prefer to stay in the fog.

Not because it’s healthy.

But because it’s familiar.

The fog protects them from taking responsibility.

Protects them from self-reflection.

Protects them from having to admit that perhaps the problem was never entirely outside themselves.

And this is where many people exhaust themselves.

They spend years trying to save, fix, convince, explain, or awaken someone who has no desire to wake up.

They mistake effort for influence.

Love for control.

Patience for responsibility.

But Awareness cannot be forced.

Truth can be offered.

It cannot be imposed.

Because every person reaches clarity in their own time - or sometimes not at all.
And that realization is both painful and freeing.

Painful because it means accepting that not everyone will understand.

Freeing because it means no longer carrying the impossible burden of making them.

Sometimes the wisest thing someone can do is stop arguing with the fog.

Stop chasing understanding from those committed to confusion.

Stop trying to drag people toward a truth they aren’t ready to face.

Because clarity is not something that can be given.

It is something that must be chosen.

And until a person wants the truth more than they want the comfort of their illusions…

No amount of light will remove the fog they insist on living in.

PADA: Well yup!