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Capturing the world leaders...
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[Posted Thursday, 26 January 2006]

People in power look at the direction of the popular opinion. Really they put themselves at the mercy of the population. Democracy means from the bottom up. Autocracy means from top down. If you can capture the interest of the common man, then those on the top will have to cater to that interest in order to get their post. Capture a brilliant man by capturing first a thousand lunk heads. Preaching means tactical. We have to see which tactic is going to bring us the advantage.

Eternally vibrating everywhere...
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[Posted Wednesday, 11 January 2006]

The act of chanting the Holy Name and the result (cause and effect) are the same. Chanting is both the means and the result. One of the main problems we encounter with the process of chanting the Holy Name is that we anticipate some result. This is because we are projecting the exploitive material conception, which we are accustomed to work under, onto the spiritual platform.

In sex, intercourse is the culmination, essence of all material activities, and volumes of books are written as to how to get sex, how to maintain sex, and the aftermath of sex. Similarly, the Holy Name is the essence of all spiritual practices and philosophies. Volumes of scriptures exist simply to bring us to the point of chanting the Holy Name, and volumes exist describing the effect of chanting and the result of not chanting.

In order to succeed at any undertaking, it must be done exclusively and perpetually. Be it music, sport, business or in our case devotional service.

Hearing and chanting are the mainstays of devotional life. All other activities are derivatives of these two: shravanam kirtanam [hearing and chanting]. Without hearing and chanting, everything else becomes or remains karma. As opium is the mainstay of all other narcotics, the Holy Name is the mainstay of all devotional practices.

Lord Chaitanya did not establish any temples or install any Deities. He did not preach (lecture) in public. He simply propagated the sankirtan movement.

Shravanam kirtanam means Krishna is using our body to vibrate the holy Name, and we, the soul, as part and parcel of Krishna, are hearing the vibration and in this way Krishna reveals Himself to the sincere devotee who has surrendered to the process of shravanam kirtanam. Thus everything else follows as a natural transcendental consequence of hearing and chanting.

If Krishna and His Holy Name are identical, then when we hear and chant Krishna's Holy Name, it is Krishna that is chanting and Krishna that is hearing and secondly or simultaneously, the soul is also hearing and chanting due to its being part and parcel of Krishna. What exactly is our role in the hearing and chanting process of Krishna's Holy Name? It is simply submission, surrender, because Krishna is always VIBRATING or living, and we are but parts and parcels of the Supreme Living Being, Krishna, and thus we are either submissive or unsubmissive, conscious or unconscious.

The vibration of Krishna's Holy Name (Krishna) is ETERNALLY VIBRATING EVERYWHERE. We need only to hear the vibration from the lips of a PURE DEVOTEE of Krishna, and then lend our body as an instrument for vibrating Krishna's Holy Name, exactly as the radio waves are always in the ether. We need only to turn on our radio, and the vibration is then made audible.

Chanting the Holy Name is a matter of lending our body as a receiver and transmitter. We do not chant. We are not the doers; we are simply the submissive instrument for Krishna's vibrating His Name, message, etc. in this material world.

Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, illicit sex, meat eating and gambling are very destructive to the instrument of this material body, rendering it useless for transmission and receiving the transcendental vibration of Krishna's Holy Name. Therefore these things are forbidden.

A one-cent blank piece of paper passed through the government mint printing press, printed with "$100" impressions is immediately worth thousands of dollars. Similarly, ordinary food, prepared and offered to Krishna, becomes spiritual.

Parents and children...
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[Posted Wednesday, 11 January 2006]

Hansadutta: All parents look to their children, hoping they will embrace or carry on their line of thought, but this is almost never the case, 80 to 90% of the time. We see that even Srila Prabhupada's children did not follow in his footsteps. This must be the greatest suffering: for a parent to see his children's indifference or rebellion. It is very, very painful. The devotees thought their children would be different, but look at the outcome of the gurukulas, look at the children of the devotees. In spite of all that Srila Prabhupada did for his family in the years of his household life, his children did not embrace Krishna consciousness.

Das: If this is the case almost without exception, then isn't family life a waste of time?

Hansadutta: That is of course the point. Spiritual life has nothing to do with material life. The best example we have is Srila Prabhupada's own life. He was and is the Acharya of the whole world, but his wife and children couldn't care less. We can hope and try, but we have to remember that Srila Prabhupada couldn't induce his own children to take up Krishna consciousness, so what to speak of us?

Self-destructive behaviors...
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[Posted Wednesday, 11 January 2006]

Self-destructive behaviors take place under impulse, impelled by spirits. When we come to Krishna consciousness, we are asked to give them up, and the way we do that is by chanting Hare Krishna, replacing one habit with another, inviting the Supreme Spirit Krishna to enter in. He wards off everyone else as long as we stay faithful to Him. Nothing can take place without the living force. It is behind every material phenomenon.

The historical perspective
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[Posted Friday, 6 January 2006]

Related Articles Cities and Regions Since One Sun, One Religion: There is Only One Religion The Evolution of Spiritual Science Related Topics Society of Devotees — Disciples of Srila Prabhupada Religion History - Human Civilization

We must not allow ourselves, this Krishna consciousness movement, to be equated with or drawn into the same arena with Islam, Judaism, Christianity, etc. as if all are on the same playing field. People look at us as if we belong to "just another religion"—"What religion are you? I'm Christian. Oh, you're Hare Krishna. That's nice." Ordinary people see many different religions. But that is not at all correct. There is only one religion, and the original religious codes known to mankind are the Vedas. The standard for human thought and action in every field, whether government, military and politics, health, mathematics, agriculture, astronomy, poetry, music, art, philosophy—practically every branch of knowledge and human endeavor—is the Vedas. Vedic culture, Vedic knowledge and Vedic religion are the foundation of human civilization, just looking at it from a historical perception. Every other religion is really only a fractional derivative of the original, pure religion. Like Buddha. He was a Vedic prince, and derived His outlook of the world from the Vedic perspective preserved and taught by brahmanas and brought up in a culture permeated with Vedic tradition, although he later rejected the authority of the Vedas. Buddhism is therefore a derivative of some sort from the Vedas. Like opium, morphine and heroine are all derivatives from poppy seeds. So the closer we get to the source, the more pure and potent. Vedic religon, culture and knowledge is the origin of all that has trickled down through the millenia in the form of art, music, poetry, politics, religion, etc. Actually, the origin exists still. Thus we can consider that these variant cultures and religions are aftermarket products. Whatever exists in the world under the heading of religion is nothing but an adulterated derivative of the original thing. So it's not that we're going to be another religion alongside others, content to be tolerated. We should understand that just as Lord Chaitanya amalgamated all existing sampradayas into one, this Krishna consciousness movement is meant to similarly amalgamate all religions into one, bring everyone back to the original, pure religion, the Vedic religion. Lord Chaitanya took all conflicting religious communities and amalgamated them into one. [see Amalgamation of Four Sampradayas.] We have to do this in the West. We have to neutralize or disarm the Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and bring them all into the community of Krishna. Christianity, Buddhism—all are not bonafide to begin with. They are pseudo religion, bogus, adharma, stopgap measures, or like aftermarket parts, remanufactured, reconditioned. In the auto parts industry, you can get the original part—which always costs more—or you can get the aftermarket product, which is cheaper and supposed to be just as good. So for human civilization, there is only one genuine religion, one genuine book of knowledge to guide the human society. Everything else is stopgap or aftermarket. But the so-called religions of the world cannot be equated with Krishna consciousness, as if on the same footing. The actual, original lawbooks for human society are the Vedas. The Vedas are the original standard body of religion, knowledge and culture that addresses all human needs. What is our primary need? Everything in human life is meant to come to the point of releasing us from the cycle of birth and death. But everything outside the standard cannot uplift us. When adulterated, it cannot help us. So no, we shall not be satisfied to be accepted or accredited by the government as a religion on par with whatever else masquerades for religion. We have to go back to the original, genuine thing, the original authority: Krishna consciousness.

It will be easier for people to accept Krishna consciousness as a spiritual practice when they see themselves in a historical perspective. What has happened is the British and others have eclipsed it. The whole Vedic culture has been eclipsed and belittled. The world today is a remnant or vestige of the Vedic culture long forgotten. Although Srila Prabhupada's teachings are exclusively focused on devotional service to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has also set into motion a renaissance of Vedic culture, pursuit of Vedic knowledge, Vedic art, and opened up the West to Vedic music, Vedic astrology, Vedic cooking, Vedic medicine, and so on, tying it all in a auxiliary to the ultimate Vedic science: Krishna consciousness, or devotional service.

Without the self-realized soul at its head...
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[Posted Tuesday, 6 December 2005]

"The heart has reasons that reason fails to understand."—Blaise Pascal

When the Acharya comes, he gathers around him so many people, but they're bringing their own baggage and cannot prevail. It seems to be the rule that a collection of disciples can go only so far before there's an overwhelming of their past.

"O well-wisher of the devotees. May you obtain peace! The nature that the living entities have developed, according to their respective karma from birth after birth in this world, influences them to engage in fruitive activities. Until desires opposed to devotional service are destroyed from the heart, no amount of good instruction can bring any auspiciousness. Such instructions will simply come out of the ear-holes and will not enter into the heart. No amount of preaching to them or discussing devotional service will produce a good result because of their bad karma. Your discourses and discussions will therefore not yield any result. My order to you is that you should live at the place where I kept My dear Haridasa and where I loudly chanted the holy names of the Lord. You should constantly sing the glories of the holy names for the benefit of the fallen souls. As a result of the piety that people will achieve by hearing from you, and the faith they will develop, they will attain unduplicitious faith in pure devotional service in a future lifetime."—Mahaprabhu to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur (Sri Bhaktivinoda Vani Vaibhava)

"There is an eternal, impassible line of demarcation between the Savior and the Saved. Those who are really saved can alone know this, and therefore they do not aspire or pretend to be the Savior, but always keep themselves as the servant of the Savior. The Acharyas belong to the category of spiritual world teachers, and they eternally occupy the superior position."—Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, in his essay Thakur Bhaktivinode

Without a self-realised soul at the head of the institution, it would become nothing more than atheism disguised as its opposite, because in the absence of the self-realised, spiritually empowered leader, "Putanas" or impostors masquerading as spiritual leaders would inevitably hijack the institution for their own nefarious ends. "No human contrivance can prevent these Putanas from obtaining possession of the pulpits" (Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, in his essay Putana), and in the name of spirituality they would inevitably stoop to such depths of depravity that even "the worst of non-ecclesiastical criminals are found to recoil" (Putana by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur).

There has to be a fully self-realized person to spearhead the movement. No system of management will carry by itself. It's not just a management problem, not just a theological problem. We need a person who is in a seamless connection with the spiritual master. It has nothing to do with being a good manager or preacher. Otherwise, why did Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur accept Gaura Kishor das Babaji as his spiritual master?

"No stable religious arrangement for instructing the masses has yet been successful." (Putana) "The idea of an organised church in an intelligible form indeed marks the end of THE LIVING SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT." (Putana) The great institution is but the length and breadth of the shadow of a man. "There is an eternally impassible line of demarcation between the Savior and the Saved." The world teachers like Bhaktivinoda, Bhaktisiddhanta, and Srila Prabhupada are always in the superior position. Without a self-realised soul to guide them, they [the institution] would be nothing more than atheism artfully disguised as its opposite. In the absence of the spiritually empowered leader, "Putanas" or impostors masquerading as spiritual leaders would inevitably hijack the institution for their own nefarious ends. "No human contrivance can prevent these Putanas from obtaining possession of the pulpits." "The church that has the best chance of survival in this damned world is that of atheism under the convenient guise of theism. The churches have always proved to be the staunchest upholders of the grossest forms of worldliness." (Putana) "The idea of an organised church in an intelligible form indeed marks the close of the living spiritual movement. The great ecclesiastical establishments are the dykes and dams to retain the current that cannot be held by any such contrivances. They indeed indicate a desire on the part of the monks [masses] to exploit a spiritual movement for their own purposes. They also unmistakenly indicate the end of the Absolute Unconventional Guidance of the Spiritual Teacher." (Putana)

Mechanical adoption of the unconventional life of the self-realised soul will not make one a fit teacher of religion. Regulation is necessary for controlling the inherent worldliness of conditioned souls. But even such regulation is only effective if it is applied by the self-realised soul. Mechanical regulations without the guidance of the self-realised soul will have no lasting effect. Having become divorced from the living spiritual current, not only is a religious movement unable to benefit anyone any more, but it inevitably lapses into corruption.

"The people of this world understand preventive systems. They can have no idea of the unpreventive, positive eternal life." (Putana)

The scriptures never favour the creation of a sect or dogma in their ordinary worldly sense. The scriptures want to set us free from the fetters of all worldly creed and dogma. They never prescribe any mechanical course to any individual. The formulation of general rules which are intended to be binding on the members of a community is the sorry device of our bankrupt rationalism for contriving the destruction of free individual functioning.

Prayer and the answer to prayer...
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[Posted Sunday, 6 November 2005]

Unless one is completely disappointed in every relationship of love, friendship and society, it is impossible to be completely surrendered to the will of the Lord, without which it is impossible to chant His HOLY NAME, and without actually chanting the Holy Name purely, it is impossible to preach Krishna consciousness, which depends primarily on the offenceless chanting of the Holy Name. One who does not have the Name certainly cannot initiate others into the chanting of the Holy Name.

In the name of religion, people are hopelessly lost in rituals and ceremonies. Chanting the Holy Name is all that is necessary. Other things will come as a natural consequence.

The prayer to Krishna and the answer to the prayer are the same. As soon as one sincerely prays to Krishna, that act of sincerely approaching Krishna is the answer.

1. Enthusiasm, 2. Endeavouring with confidence, 3. Being patient, 4. Shravanam kirtanam smaranam..., 5. Abandon association of non-devotees, 6. Follow in the footsteps of the previous Acharyas.

The disciple is expected to become a pure devotee...
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[Posted Sunday, 6 November 2005]

To worship Srila Prabhupada (Prabhupada in the centre) as the only Acharya means to first of all be an obedient disciple (discipline of 4 regs, 16 rounds). Simply to perform the ritual of guru-puja or mouth the appropriate prayers is not enough. There must first be OBEDIENCE and DISCIPLINE, then SERVICE, and that service must be to "do as he did."

Simply "re-printing" the original books without following the discipline is just another materially motivated activity. The disciple is expected to become a PURE DEVOTEE. If he fails to become a PURE DEVOTEE, he cannot do the service of his spiritual master. Let us all become PURE DEVOTEES now and serve Srila Prabhupada by EXAMPLE and the PRECEPT.

The rebellious soul is sent to the material world to practice devotional service to Krishna. When his practice is perfect, he is again released from the material world and re-admitted to the spiritual world.

The material existence has no other purpose than this. Because we refuse to pursue this goal and pursue manufactured goals, we perpetually suffer frustration and disappointment in every undertaking.

The body is taken as everything, and everything is undertaken to decorate, enhance and preserve the material body, which is destined to become worn out by old age, disease and finally be dissolved when the life force abandons it--which is known as death.

No effort is made to understand the soul, without which the whole material arrangement is nothing but inert matter.

Everything material takes shape and moves only because the living force (soul) comes in touch with matter temporarily. Just as the machine moves only because the force of electricity activates it.

We are attempting to preach, although we are ourselves addicted to sense gratification. Unless we are pure devotees, or strictly acting under the discipline and obedience of the pure devotee, our preaching will not be effective.

Frequency of prayer is the secret of success. Quality of prayer depends on frequency of prayer. Without regular (regular, frequent) chanting of the Holy Name of Krishna (Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, etc.) there is no possibility of spiritual life. Just as without regular breathing there is no possibility of material life. Everything is synthesised in the frequent vibration of chanting the Holy Name.

What's Cooking?
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[Posted Monday, 3 October 2005]

The shastras are like cookbooks full of recipes--formulas, rituals and procedures. But unless one gets the guidance and association of a chef and actually cooks, he is never sure if what he is cooking is right or wrong.

Steaming Hot Stool
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[Posted Monday, 3 October 2005]

It is absolutely the most essential aim of the preacher to completely destroy any and all hope and expectation of even the most trivial expectations of happiness or meaningfulness of anything material. It must be seen as repulsive as steaming hot stool for the candidate to continue to harbour and pursue the notion that there is anything of merit or gain in any materially motivated activity of this world.

You Get the Whole Thing
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11 June 2003 [Posted Wednesday, 28 September 2005]

The difference between the conditioned soul and the liberated soul is that the conditioned soul only wants a certain part of the whole, he does not want the whole thing, whereas the liberated soul accepts whatever Krishna throws at him, recognising it to be the whole thing, including Krishna, who is everything. The conditioned soul is like a man going to a car sales lot and asking to buy just the tyre, or just the hood ornament on a car. The salesman says, "But I can't sell you just the tyre or just the hood ornament. If you buy the car, the tyre and the hood ornament come with it, you get everything."

Only one guru…
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Date: Tuesday, 6 September 2005

There is only one guru. Krishna is the guru, and anyone who is seamlessly integrated with Krishna, acting only according to the dictation of Krishna, on impulse of the Whole, Krishna. The guru is the instrument of Krishna, acting soley for the interests of Krishna, just as the hand is acting spontaneously, seamlessly for the interest of the whole body. There is only one guru. Not two Krishnas. And that guru is seamlessly integrated with Krishna. Now in ISKCON there are so many gurus, 80 or more, and they are all not in agreement. Why are they in conflict? Prabhupada was one man, and his achievements were phenomenal. 80 gurus means they should have accomplished 80 times as much, but what have they done? How can they disagree? Guru means Krishna, Krishna's extension, like the hand, ear, eye. He is the person acting in concert with the Whole. Even if there are many gurus, they will act in harmony, not in discord. Like the parts of a machine, all acting harmoniously as the Whole. Every one of the parts is a "guru". So if many gurus and they are in disagreement, something is wrong.

The basis of spiritual association…
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Date: Tuesday, 6 September 2005

[Devotees think of their relationships with each other:] "So-and-so is my friend, and I am his friend," and associate with one another on the basis of sentimental regard, but the only one who is my friend is Prabhupada. Prabhupada is my friend, and I am his servant. On the basis of this principle or perspective we can have a dynamic, working relationship in a cooperative spirit to serve Prabhupada. Prabhupada warned us not to associate with one another on the basis of love, friendship and society. We left that behind when we came to Prabhupada. What would be the use of recreating it now? Relating with each other according to sentiment and trying to keep up profiles as pure devotees and even gurus… Prabhupada called it "Mutual Admiration Society".

It must continue
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Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 13:56:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Miles Davis
Subject: Re: Fwd: RE: Bhaktivedanta is a very exalted platform
To: hans jurgen kary

Hari Bol Hansadutta,
Pranams. This exalted name "Bhaktivedanta" must not end with Shrila Prabhupada. It must continue. Narada Muni was a Bhaktivedanta, and we are in line from him, by Prabhupada's divine grace. There must be a school, exactly as Prabhupada devised, to continue this Bhaktishastri, BhaktiBhaibhava, etc. program for thousands of years. Courses, diplomas, this must be there, along with dedicated preaching activity and following the regs. This Madhuvisa is too young to know anything other than scholarship from the point of view of a kanistha adhikary. He is a very advanced neophyte, a beginner with education, a neophyte with big ideas and little experience. Why waste time talking to this new bhakta?

Of course, as much as you do to push on this exalted platform and title, someone along the line will take the name as a, well, their name. Mr. and Mrs. Bhaktivedanta and their child cute little Bobby Bhaktivedanta. It is inevitible. In this material world of trash, people tend to turn everything into trash. Look what they did to ISKCON.

YS
Pavan

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Followers of BHAKTIVEDANTA
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[hans jurgen kary wrote:]
Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 11:25:58 -0700
To: harekrishna@krishna.org
Subject: RE: Bhaktivedanta is a very exalted platform

Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Please accept my most humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I think I do understand what you mean, but I never thought of the name BHAKTIVEDANTAS the way you have explained the meaning "Many Bhaktivedantas". I don't think people in general will have that understanding, but rather will understand that this is a group of followers of BHAKTIVEDANTA. I may be wrong, so I will consult some others. Perhaps the name should be BHAKTIVEDANTISTS… but this doesn't sound right to me?? What do you think?

Your servant,
Hansadutta das

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Minimizes Srila Prabhupada's title
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[Madhudvisa wrote:]
Dear Hansadutta Prabhu:

Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Pranbhupada!

Please do not take any offence. You know you will get my thoughts even if they may not be what you want to hear, and I think that is better than pretending to agree but actually disagreeing which is what so many people do.

My realisations of the term "Bhaktivedantas" from Srila Prabhupada is as I have written. I know your realisation is different. But what can I do? It is my realisation at the moment, and I have tried to explain it, but you do not get my explanation.

"Bhaktivedantas" is like "Christs", a collection of Christs; it is not like "Christians", which means a group of followers of Christ. That is my realisation and my understanding of the way things are used in the English language. That is the reason it annoys me greatly because it minimizes Srila Prabhupada's title "Bhaktivedanta." Instead of one Bhaktivedanta and his followers now we have hundreds of Bhaktivedantas. That is why I am annoyed by it.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Your servant,
Madhudvisa dasa

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Belonging to Bhaktivedanta Swami
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-----Original Message-----
From: hans jurgen kary
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 8:37 AM
To: harekrishna@krishna.org
Subject: RE: Bhaktivedanta is a very exalted platform

Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu, please accept my most humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thanks for your rapid reply.

According to your logic and reasoning, the devotees also should not call themselves the HARE KRISHNAS because hare means the energy of Krishna (THE COMPLETE ENERGY), which no one can claim to be, and Krishna means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which they or anyone cannot claim to be. So to claim to be A HARE KRISHNA according to your reasoning would be absurd, and it would be (according to your reasoning) just as absurd to designate oneself as a PRABHUPADANUGA, since there are many PRABHUPADAS besides A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI. And most PRABHUPADANUGAS (an invented designation) have not read Srila Prabhupada's books, what to speak of the books of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhupadaji, Srila Bhaktisidhhanta Prabhupada and others, so that term is not befitting either.

On the other hand, the BHAKTIVEDANTAS means "Those belonging to BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI, as a disciple belongs to the guru, or the wife belongs to a husband or as an AMERICAN belongs to AMERICA, or as a Christian belongs to CHRIST, or a Buddhist to Buddha, and so on. My point is that the devoted followers of A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA belong to Srila Prabhupada as a follower belongs to a leader. If the public misunderstands this, then so be it. They will understand it when they become followers of A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA. Without becomming his followers, what can they understand? And who cares for them??

It seems to me that the name BHAKTIVEDANTAS really irritates you. I don't know why, but it should not be an irritation; rather it should inspire and make you joyful. Nevertheless I will think deeply on your points and pray to Srila Prabhupada for guidance. Even if we take it as you have indicated, an aspiring BHAKTIVEDANTA or an accomplished BHAKTIVEDANTA (like an apple green or ripe)… it is transcendentally glorious to be either a follower (neophyte or accomplished) or one belonging to BHAKTIVEDANTA as a dog belongs to its owner. I wish to be the dog of HIS DIVINE GRACE SRILA A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA. Is that not the prayer of Bhativinode Thakur? To be a dog at the door of my spiritual master? Therefore I think BHAKTIVEDANTAS, those belonging to Srila Prabhupada, BHAKTIVEDANTA is very appropriate.

Where are you physically these days?

Your humble servant,
Hansadutta das

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A group of people who all have the title of "Bhaktivedanta"?
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[On 8 July 2005 Madhudvisa wrote:] Dear Hansadutta Prabhu:
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I can understand what you are saying, but my difficulty is that when Prabhupada uses the term "Bhaktivedantas" in his books he is not talking about a bunch of aspiring devotees like us who are even having difficulties following the four regulative principles, chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna every day and geting out of bed before 4:00 am for Mangal Aroti. These are things a new bhakta is expected to do. He is using the word "Bhaktivedanta" to refer to the pure devotees of the Lord on the topmost platform.

One place where Srila Prabhupada speaks about the "Bhaktivedantas" in his books stands out to me. That is in the description of Narada Muni's previous life. He was the son of a maidservant, a sudrani, a prostitute even. So he really had no qualification. And when asked how it is that he has become such a great devotee he said that in his previous life sometimes the "Bhaktivedantas" stayed in his mother's house during the rainy season (catura-masya), and during that time he heard them chanting in the mornings and in the evenings and heard them speaking on the transcendental topics. He also just once got the chance of tasting the remnants of the prasadam left by the Bhaktivedantas. So he credits this hearing of the chanting of the Bhaktivedantas and tasting the remnants of their prasadam as the reason he took birth in his next life as Narada Muni.

So these "Bhaktivedantas" Prabhupada is talking about pure devotees of the Lord on the highest platform.

Why not call ourselves the "Prabhupadas"? That would be OK following your logic. But "Prabhupada" is also a very exalted title. The Christians do not call themselves the "Christs", the Buddhists do not call themselves the "Buddhas", nor do the Muslims call themsleves the "Mohammeds" or the "Allahas." All of these groups have names that indicate they are followers of the Buddha, followers of Christ, and followers of Mohammed. "The Bhaktivedantas" means a group of Bhaktivedantas. Like scientists means a group of scientists or scholars means a group of scholars or astrologers means a group of astrologers. So when you say "Bhaktivedantas", naturally people will assume you mean a group of people who all have the title of "Bhaktivedanta".

Another place where Srila Prabhupada speaks about the Bhaktivedantas is in relation to his being awarded the title of "Bhaktivedanta". Some of his Godbrothers awarded him that title to recognize his great scholarly understanding of the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya-caritamrta, etc. So it is a title that can only be aworded to someone who is really a great scholar of the Vedas. To call a bunch of bhaktas who have not even read all of Prabhupada's books, what to speak of come to the end of the knowledge of bhakti, is not very good.

In any case the "Bhaktivedanta" title is used by many others. "Bhaktivedanta N.M" for example. It could be confusing. People may think we are followers of NM or any of the other many so-called "Bhaktivedantas" out there. We already have a title, "Prabhupadanugas." That is of course not in Prabhupada's books, but it is based on "Rupanugas," the followers of Rupa Goswami. I like this title. It shows clearly that we are followers of Prabhupada, not Prabhupada.

So I understand your points, but I do not agree it is a very appropriate title.

PS: I just saw Patita Pavana Prabhu's response, and his point is very good. It would be just as silly to call ourselves the "Madhudvisas." I am not suggesting that you listen to me. I am just suggesting that you look in Prabhupada's books and see how he uses the word "Bhaktivedantas". You will see he does not use it to indicate a group of neophyte devotees. He uses it to indicate devotees on the highest spiritual platform. So I am simply trying to explain that point.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Your servant,
Madhudvisa dasa

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Followers of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 00:07:17 -0700
To: harekrishna@krishna.org
From: hans jurgen kary
Subject: Re: Bhaktivedanta is a very exalted platform

Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Please accept my most humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for your thoughtful letter regarding the BHAKTIVEDANTAS. Perhaps you misunderstood the meaning and intention of our use of the name BHAKTIVEDANTAS as a masthead or designation for the web site put up by Das and Bhima in Malaysia. We do not mean to suggest or imply that everyone (rubber stamping) is automatically entitled to use the "Bhaktivedanta" designation as his or her TITLE for prestigious identity, but rather that those devotees who wish to distinguish themselves from the common identity of HARE KRISHNAS being used by many non-Prabhupada followers and who want to identify themselves as being followers of HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA exclusively may go by the name BHAKTIVEDANTAS. Meaning that those identifying themselves as BHAKTIVEDANTAS are his followers or disciples by way of embracing his teachings as per his books and directives (RITTVIK REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ACHARYA). In the history of the world we find Franciscans, followers of St. Francis, Christians, followers of Christ, Mohammedeans, followers of Mohammed, Ramanujans, followers of Ramanuja, Buddhists, followers of Lord Buddha, Marxists, followers of Marx, Sankarites, followers of Sankaracharya, Lutherans, followers of Luther, Maoists, followers of Mao Tze Tung, Madhvas, followers of Madhvacarya ..... and so on. Those who feel themselves to be exclusivly followers of Srila Prabhupada, they may want to be identified as Bhaktivedantas, followers of A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA. What is the objection to that? Do you think this is unreasonable? It is not an attempt to artificially claim some designation or undeserved title; it is a way of distinguishing those who see Srila Prabhupada as the original Founder and Acharya of the modern-day movement for Krishna Consciousness world-wide. The idea is to distinguish the dedicated disciples from the generic current of deviant Hare Krishna people world-wide. What is the harm? Do you think this is inappropriate?

Your humble servant,
Hansadutta das

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Bhaktivedantas is a very exalted platform

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[On 8 July 2005 Madhudvisa wrote:] Dear Hansadutta Prabhu:
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I know we have had this discussion before, but "Bhaktivadanta" is a title reserved for the devotees who actually reach that platform. "Vedanta" is Veda and anta, means the end of knowledge. And Bhaktivedanta means one who has reached the end of knowledge of bhakti. Means he must be a great scholar of the books at least, and that is what Prabhupada has said clearly in the quotes you have given. That this title "Bhaktivedanta" can be give to his disciples who have studied all his books and passed the exams and actually reached the platform. This can be seen by Prabhupada's quote that those who reach this platform of Bhaktivedanta can initiate new disciples. History shows that Prabhupada did not confer this title of "Bhaktivedanta" on any of his disciples. He wanted them to all become qualified by 1972. But they did not become qualified. That is the history. He still wants us to become Bhaktivedantas. But it is not a rubber stamp. It is a qualification that has to be attained.

So it is not that you can rubber-stamp "Bhaktivedantas." Just declare that we are all "Bhaktivedantas." No it is a very high qualification that has to be actually achieved. Otherwise it is a joke.

Just like Mahatma Gandha called the bangis, the street-sweepers and the untouchables, "Hari-janas." But Srila Prabhupada did not approve of this process of rubber-stamping unqualified men as great saints. He has instructed us that there is a process for raising anyone to the platform of a Harijana, but that process must be followed and the men must actually become purified, actually develop love of Krishna, they have to actually be Harijanas. Otherwise simply rubber-stamping them with a name is useless.

Similarly we can not advertise that we are all "Bhaktivedantas."

Prabhupada is a Bhaktivedanta and he wants to make many more Bhaktivedantas, but real Bhaktivedantas, devotees who have come to the end of the knowledge of bhakti.

As far as I am concerened I am trying to be a devotee, that is all. I am trying to become a follower of Prabhupada. I am not a Bhaktivedanta. But in due course of time that is what Prabhuapda wants us to become. But it is not a very cheap thing.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Your servant,
Madhudvisa dasa

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From: "US" <umapati@earthlink.net>
To: "hans jurgen kary"<hansadutta@hansadutta.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2005 17:29:51 +0800
Subject: RE:

Dear old buddy Hansadutta Prabhu,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thanks for the kind letter. It's true I was annoyed by your letter. I did not expect something like this from you, and I am happy that our relationship is still the same. It's true that we have never had a conflict, and I don't want to start one now.

I don't want to go through this ritvik-guru thing again. I have given it a lot of thought and a lot of discussion with people on both sides, and I am convinced that what I am doing now is the best thing. I have tried to learn from your mistakes and from the mistakes of the others.

I am also guided by an incident in Los Angeles in the '70s. Sudama had recently arrived there after taking sannyasa. We were talking one evening, and he told me that it was unbearable for him to see people offering him obeisances. While we were talking, Visala Prabhu came up to us. "Oh, Maharaja," he said, "may I touch your holy danda?"

Sudama looked at me. "I can't stand it," he said.

Srila Prabhupada was in Los Angeles at that time, and a few days later Sudama came up to me outside. "I went to see Srila Prabhupada," he said, " and I told him that I couldn't stand it that people were bowing to me, and he told me, 'They're not bowing to *you*.'"

I always keep this in mind. When my disciples tell me how great I am, I say, "I am a fallen soul like you. The difference is that I read Srila Prabhupada's books and you don't." I remind them that the only reason they are coming to see me is that I am repeating what is in Srila Prabhupada's books. Would they come if I were teaching anything else?

When people ask me for blessings, I tell them that Srila Prabhupada's books are my blessings and that they should read more. When people ask me for special instructions, I tell them to study Srila Prabhupada's books. I tell them that the guru must first of all be a good disciple and that they should read Srila Prabhupada's books to see whether or not I am truly following.

I know I am in a dangerous situation. It would be so easy to start thinking, "Yeah, baby, I really got it together." I constantly remind myself that I am not the savior but the servant of the savior. I know well that as soon as I forget this I will be in big trouble. I have certainly seen it enough.

And I have also seen enough to know that today's weeping disciple could be my strongest critic tomorrow.

Nara Narayana said that my attitude is rare, but it is not rare among the people that I associate with. And I don't associate with any other kind of person. I don't go along with the current fashion of thinking that Srila Prabhupada may know all about the spiritual world but he really doesn't understand women or mundane social issues. In all circumstances, I try to be a disciple.

My point about doing and not doing is that if people want to say that I am doing things wrong, then let them open centers and show me how to do it right, but so far, I have not seen any example among the ritviks and the critics that I would want to follow. I cannot stand it when people just pick and pick at whatever little faults they can find in others.

As far as the GBC goes, I appreciate the encouragement and moral support that they give me. I couldn't ask for anyone nicer than my own GBC, and Tamal Krishna Maharaja was as good to me as I could have ever asked for.

It was great seeing you in Mayapur. I am happy to have found you again, and I would like to continue the association, but please, no ritvik-guru stuff.

I notice that you did not put any other receivers on this e-mail, but feel free to share it. I look forward to hearing from you.

Your most humble servant,
Umapati Swami

-----Original Message-----
From: hans jurgen kary [mailto:hansadutta@hansadutta.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 1:31 AM
To: umapati@earthlink.net
Subject:

Dear Umapati Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. I can see that my letter made you very angry, please forgive me, this was not my intention.. I was really happy to see you in Mayapur, and I cannot remember ever having any real serious conflict with you. You have always been warm and friendly towards me and others. I was not ranting and raving in Mayapur, you must have seen someone else, but not me. I was very happy to see you, otherwise I would not say so.

I think you misunderstood my quoting Lord Buddhha "DO NOTHING". I did not mean to suggest that as Prabhupada's disciples we should "DO NOTHING" and sit on the sidelines griping. Rather my point was that doing something we are not authorised to do results in disasters, and under the circumstances it would be wise to clarify what exactly we are authorised to in terms of the GURU-RITTVIK ISSUE .

I am also not comparing GURUs to Tyrants, but illustrating my point that  simply because someone is doing something, therefore it makes the question of one's authority to do what he is doing irrelevant.

I don't know who related my narration of Srila Prabhupada's asking for your company to Santa Fe while we were in Montreal, but I certainly did not narrate the story as a criticism of you; rather in telling this story I was pointing out how utterly unaware we were of the fact that Prabhupada, by material standards alone, was an old man, but we (me, you and whoever else there was in the movement at the time) did not have the sense to arrange a traveling companion, or travelling assistant. I have related the story on a number of occasions, but never to criticise you, or rave and rant against you, but really to remember our associations with His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, and how inspite of our incompetence or unconsciousness he was ever so graceful.

No, I don't expect you to take spiritual advice from me (I'm not sitting on the side lines), but I do expect you to think carefully and deeply on the facts as they stand in connection with the issue of Prabhupada's arrangement for his disciples to continue initiation after his departure. After all Srila Prabhupada did write the July 9th letter--he supported it in subsequest letters--and the fact that this directive (clear Prescription) has been ignored has not produced very satisfactory results. There is no harm in learning from one's or other one's mistakes. I have certainly made enormous mistakes. The same mistakes I made have been made by others who are more qualified and talented than I could ever be. Something is definately wrong, and having been on both sides of the fence, am trying to illuminate the issue as I see and understand it. I really do not want to quarrel with you, I was actually moved at your friendly attitude towards me when we briefly met in Mayapur. So please forgive me if I have offended you with my letter, or in any other way. You are preaching on the frontier of a communist country, and I know that takes a lot of faith, determination and austerity. I was in China in 1995 and saw first-hand what China is like. I offer you all my respects and best wishes for success, and again ask you not to be angry or offended by me.

Your humble servant,
Hansadutta das

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In the Orbit of Srila Prabhupada
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19 June 2005, Redwood Valley

At the time of Prabhupada when he was with us, we were all packed up very tight like an elite military unit, like the Green Berets or the Navy Seals--very special forces, very tightly organized, and they have a very intense allegiance and dedication to one another. There is a very tight camaraderie. It was like that in the presence of Prabhupada. He was the commander, and we were directed by him. He would casually instruct us, "You go to Germany", "You go to Japan", "You go to Australia", when we had hardly been off the block. When you grow up in New York City, your block is your world, and if you go to another block, it's like you're in enemy territory. And here was Prabhupada sending us casually, "You go to Germany and preach", "You go to London", "You go to Australia", "You go to Japan", and "Why are you not printing my books?" In this way, under his guidance, under his lotus feet, by simply carrying out his directions, things happened miraculously. Indescribably miraculous, inconceivable. So it grew to become a very prominent phenomenon in his time.

Actually, Prabhupada said 1967 was the beginning, although he came a little earlier. But for one year Prabhupada wandered in New York City. He used to say, "At night, I couldn't sleep. I had insomnia, so I would go out, and I would wander around Times Square in New York, looking at the theatre marquis." In those days, those places were all X-rated burlesque-type shows, and 42nd Street and Time Square, Broadway was infested with the lowest kinds of people. We would call them low-lifers, perverted people. But it was going 24 hours a day, so Prabhupada would wander and wonder, "How will I begin, how will I teach them Krsna Consciousness? If I just suggest these 4 restrictions, no meat eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex, no gambling, they will just tell me, 'Go home'."

So, since those days… since 1977, when Prabhupada left us, and we saw the kind of chaos and disintegration and different kinds of divergences set in, I used to quote, "Our choices were few, and the thought never hit, the one road that we traveled would ever shatter or split. I wish, I wish, I wish in vain, that we could sit simply in that room again." But anyway, the song goes on. It's a Bob Dylan song, but it's very insightful and appropriate, because we never imagined that the tight camaraderie that we enjoyed in and around Srila Prabhupada would ever be disturbed. But it was. Not by anything external; it was actually disturbed by our own shortcomings. Some of you know my own history, and it is not excusable, but it is a fact that those devotees whom Prabhupada had trained so intensely, and who had spent so much time with him in different ways became victims of Maya, and they were derailed or diverted, or in some cases completely extinguished.

So, now after so many years, I actually feel a resurgence in my heart, and being with the devotees who know me, I wanted to say that although this has taken place in so many ways, the fact is we can never give up the goal of Krishna consciousness, which is to become purified in our hearts, so much so that we can actually attain success in the line of devotional service, following in the footsteps of our spiritual master and all the previous Acharyas. We have a great tradition or history of spiritual leaders. Just as in the material world, people are very proud of their military commanders. Back in the last World War there was Patton, there was Macarthur and Eisenhower, and then it goes back to the First World War, then the Civil War. So as devotees of Krishna, we are also at war, in a great conflict with Maya, with illusion. And of course our greatest enemy is our own self. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, "The mind is one's very best friend, and the mind is one's worst enemy. For one who has learned to control his mind it is the best of friends, and for one who has failed to control his mind, it is the worst enemy." Prabhupada said, "In the great march back to home, back to Godhead, it is very thrilling, very exciting, but it is also very dangerous." But that doesn't mean that in the course of the great march, if someone falls or is wounded, he is going to give up the struggle, the great goal of going back home, back to Godhead, and getting out of the cycle of repeated birth and death. No. Krishna says, "For one who does good, My friend, he is never overcome by evil." And in another place in the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna points out that even if a devotee by chance, or even deliberately he is seen to commit the most abominable kind of act, "If he is rightly resolved towards Me [Krishna]", if he is determined, then you have to consider that person saintly. So it is expected that in a great battle or war, there are going to be casualties, and soldiers will fall by the wayside, but that doesn't mean that we are defeated. It means that everyone who is fixed-up in Krishna consciousness will get the opportunity, either in this life or the next life, to take up the mission, to take up the service and make it more perfect.

Some days ago I was invited to the Buddha School, Jim and myself went there and gave a class, and the Dharmaster wanted me to discuss the differences between Krishna consciousness and Buddhist religion. So when I began, I said that I would prefer to discuss the things that are common or similar, and the one thing we focused on was that the Christians are looking to go to heaven, the Buddhists are looking to go to Nirvana, the Muslims are looking to go to some heaven with beautiful damsels, the Krishnas are looking to go to Krishnaloka, and the demons are thinking "We will just evaporate and everything will be finished." So my point was that it really doesn't matter whether you opt for heaven or Nirvana or Krishnaloka; what really is important is that we have to see that one thing is for certain. One thing no one can deny or avoid: everyone is going somewhere. No one will be left standing. Every soldier, or every person--regardless of his religious or spiritual conviction or even an atheistic determination--everyone is going. No one is going to be left. Therefore, the intelligent person has to consider this first: that I am going, I will die, and even before that takes place, I will become old, I will be diseased. Whether I am going to heaven or not is actually a secondary consideration. That is your freedom, your option… whatever attracts you, that's fine. But you cannot avoid THE GOING part. That is fixed for everyone.

As devotees, we have by the grace of Prabhupada come into this great march, a great journey back to home, back to Godhead. When I came to Prabhupada, it was 1967, so it's been 38 years. In the course of 38 years we had euphoric success when Prabhupada was present, beyond our wildest imaginations. And it thrilled the whole world to see Prabhupada's Krishna conscious movement. It was thrilling. He took us to India at one point, and the whole of India was electrified, or I should say spiritualized. It was unbelievable for Indian people, who had been by-passed by the modern world, to see Western devotees with shaved heads, dhotis, mrdungas, kartals, singing, dancing, cooking prasadam. It was the most sensational thing that had happened in the history of India since the independence from British Rule. Everywhere Prabhupada took us, thousands of people would come. Whole towns would close down just to come and greet us. At one town, the Mayor said that even if the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had come, she would not have this kind of reception. There is no way that people would turn out to greet her in this way. It was so sensational. We were invited to meet with the wealthiest and most aristocratic people in the country, and Prabhupada took us. If a person is wealthy in India, he doesn't have a wooden house like we have, which is sort of like a matchbox. Although we're very proud of our homes, they actually are only some plasterboard and wooden beams and a shingled roof. But in India, people who are wealthy have marble homes. Their floors are marble, they eat off silver and gold plates, they have servants. It is not out of the ordinary for a wealthy person to have ten or twenty servants. Anyone who owns a car has a driver that is with that car 24 hours a day--not that he only comes for a couple of hours and drives. No. He is with that car 24 hours a day, keeping it clean and in good running condition, everything. So we were invited to the homes of the wealthiest, most aristocratic people, and they treated us as if we had descended from heaven. It was just unbelievable. And of course, even in America, we were also attracting very prominent people. Prabhupada attracted George Harrison, and George was so enchanted with Prabhupada and the devotees that he bought this fabulous manor, Bhaktivedanta Manor, which was worth maybe a million dollars at the time. We met John Lennon in Montreal. Prabhupada met Alan Ginsberg. And Prabhupada actually lived at the estate of John Lennon for 3 months. John was so taken with Prabhupada that he offered him 5 acres of land on his estate--"Just take it for free." You won't find that in all of the Beatle books, but the fact is that Prabhupada had such close association with the Beatles, especially John Lennon and George Harrison. But Prabhupada was so aloof and so transcendental that one day, when he was walking through the estate, he saw a picture of John and Yoko naked  (they were embracing completely naked), and Prabhupada stopped and pointed to it and said, "This is a sign of insanity. We have to leave immediately." The next day, Prabhupada took all of the devotees (there were probably 15 or 16 devotees) and left. Whereas the whole world was clamoring to have access to these famous musicians, Prabhupada was never attached to his own glorification, sense gratification or honor. He was always completely determined to establish Krishna consciousness, or in a broader sense, to revive the original Vedic culture and religion, even to the point where he refused or rejected a fabulous opportunity or offer to be situated there at John Lennon's estate. The devotees had made an appointment for Prabhupada to meet with the Pope, and he asked, "When we meet, what will we discuss? On what points are we going to discuss?" When Prabhupada asked that, the devotees began to hem and haw, because they hadn't thought of it in that way, so Prabhupada said, "Oh, it is only for taking photos?" And the devotees responded, "Yes, Prabhupada", so he said, "Then I am not going. It is useless. We must discuss on the important points." So he rejected that. And when he met Indira Gandhi, he insisted that she should make arrangements so the devotees can come and stay in India without being disturbed by the immigration authorities. Everywhere Prabhupada went, the professors and celebrities came. In London, Donovan came, and George came. He brought Lakshmi Shankar, who had just made a record, "Krishna, Where Are You?" Alan Ginsberg came. Lord Brockway. There was a long list of prominent personalities. So we were all euphoric, seeing our commander squaring off with all the leading persons of the day, who were in Prabhupada's estimation all demons, really. And sometimes he would say, "You're a demon", and those demons would simply laugh and kind of agree. They all were all so totally charmed by Prabhupada. At least for the time being they were in check. They could not exert any power or influence over him.

And of course, being so near to Prabhupada, we all thought that after he went we would do the same, say the same thing, and the same thing would happen. But we were all sorely mistaken, because it was not simply a show that Prabhupada was making. There was something more to Prabhupada, which we, in our nearness or our familiarity with him, had in a way missed or forgotten, or had not carefully factored in. Prabhupada was actually completely transcendental to this world. He was not a person of this world. He was a person coming down from Vaikuntha, down to the mundane world. Bhaktisiddhanta said, "There is an eternally impassable line of demarcation between the savior and the saved. Those who are truly saved know this." So the great blunder that the leading devotees in many cases fell into was: after Prabhupada disappeared, they thought  "We are also saviors, we will simply quote and wave and dress like Prabhupada and talk like him, and we will get the same effect." But it was not to be like that. We had to learn the hard way that we are the saved, and he is the savior for all time, and we are always his servants, and he is always our master. So that was the thought that flooded me this morning. Some of the devotees here  know me a long time, and it has taken a long time to recover from that colossal mistake, that colossal blunder.

Although the devotees have gone in different directions, we are all coming to the same end. We have to give up this world, this body, all our friends, and all of our belongings, prestige, which we feel we have collected. And at that time, we will be tested--"Wherever and whatever the mind is fixed on at the time of leaving this body, that nature one attains without fail." And actually I'm convinced that the devotees, for the most part, no matter where they are today, they are always thinking of Prabhupada. He used to say, "Once you come into Krishna's orbit, He never lets you go." It's like once you sign up for military service, they never let you go. Even after you have done some service for a month or a year, and you decide, "Oh, this isn't for me", and you go AWOL, absent without leave, they will come and get you. You must do your service. So many devotees Prabhupada drew into his orbit, into the vortex of his transcendental charm and power, and although they have been scattered far and wide by the force of their minds (mind is one's best friend and worst enemy), because their minds are saturated with Prabhupada, that will not go away. It is not a temporary thing, not something whimsical or flimsy, like being attracted by Elvis or Britney Spears or some flim-flam mundane person. Being attracted by Prabhupada is forever and ever. So I am convinced, and have been for a long time, that wherever Prabhupada goes, his devotees follow him and reassemble, like birds who migrate South every year, and then back after the season. Similarly all the devotees in the orbit of Prabhupada's devotional service will migrate to wherever Prabhupada is, again and again, life after life, for all time, until they are perfect.

So there is really no separation, no real time that separates the devotees. They are transcendental. Some of you may have experienced that if you meet a devotee you have not seen for 10 years, it is just like you were in the other room for a few minutes, and you've come back out. I never feel… when I see one of my old godbrothers, I always think that it was only a few minutes ago that I saw him, although it may have been 10 or 15 years. The nature of this world is that it creates obstacles, but it cannot actually check our spiritual life, the progress that we have made, and the relationship with Prabhupada in devotional service. It is not checked by anything material. And Prabhupada would always repeat that whatever happens, even if through force of circumstances, if you are out of the company of devotees or the temple, never stop chanting Hare Krishna. This is the common thread that binds the devotee and keeps him nourished in devotional service. He used to compare the japa beads with an umbilical cord to Krishna, like a child in the womb is nourished by the umbilical cord. By the chanting of the Holy Names, the devotee gets strength and enthusiasm from Krishna, by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So, I'm very happy so many devotees came. Thank you very much. Jaya! Hare Krishna.

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Can You Go On Your Own Power?
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14 June 2005

[Hansadutta wrote:] Dear Prabhus, Please accept my most humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I read with interest and irritation the ongoing arguments between the devotees of Srila Prabhupada over the validity of Srila Prabhupada's last written instructions on how and who will initiate disciple in the future. Umapati's main point is made in concluding that "WE ARE DOING SOMETHING, AND THEY ARE DOING NOTHING." This is the proof of their position’s validity, never mind what Prabhupada said about rittvik representatives of the Acharya. This argument is most foolish and unacceptable, because in history we find many passionately active personalities, who, giving the same argument, did what appeared at the time to be very great things. Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, Lenin, Mao Tze Tung, President Bush). In the end, the great doings of these men proved to be great disasters. The Buddha said, “DO NOTHING BECAUSE TIME IS TOO VALUBLE TO WASTE.” A monkey is very busy doing things day and night, but it is all useless mischief. If we do something that we are not authorised to do, the result will be mischief = mis-achievement.

There is no prescription by Srila Prabhupada that authorised any one of his disciples to initiate disciples after his departure, but there is a prescription (the July 9th letter) and subsequent letters of support to myself and Kirtanananda Swami for his disciples to initiate disciples as RITTVIK REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ACHARYA. I know that Srila Prabhupada's books are full of statements indicating he wanted all his disciples to be gurus, but it is the personal prescription of the doctor to the patient that is to be taken. The patient cannot argue that he has read in the medical book something to the contrary to the doctor’s prescription. The last order of the commander is to be obeyed. The soldier cannot argue on the basis of what he might have read in the military training manuals. But this is prescisely what ISKCON Gurus and GBCs are doing. You are jumping over Srila Prabhupada, disregarding his order, his personal prescription for his leading disciples. We can see the result, and in the future we will see more.

The track record of those who have gone forward to initiate in disregard of the authority prescribed by Srila Prabhupada for future initiations (as RITTVIK REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ACHARYA) is in itself the proof that they were not qualified gurus (myself, Jayatirtha, Bhagavan, Kirtanananda, Harikesh, Vipramukhya and others).

Why this dog obstinacy against Srila Prabhupada's order to act as rittvik representative of the Acharya? Do you not want to act as Srila Prabhupada's representative? Every time you offer a book, or an advice or give a lecture, or cook a chapati, etc. are you not, by necessity, acting as the representative of Srila Prabhupada? Is there anything that you have to offer the public that you have not received from Srila Prabhupada? Name one thing of value that is intrinsically yours that you have to offer. One thing. Anything. Then why do you insist on denying Srila Prabhupada the credit he is due by humbly following his order to ACT AS RITTVIK REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ACHARYA--a designation which makes it clear who and what you are, and who and what Srila Prabhupada is in relationship with you and the public at large. He is the SAMPRADAYA ACHARYA, and you are his representative, RITTVIK REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ACHARYA. What is the problem here??

He, Srila Prabhupada, is the Master and we are forever the servant of the Master. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada summed it up very nicely by saying, "There is an eternally impassable line of demarcation between the SAVIOR and the SAVED. Only those who are truly saved know this." The SAVIOR, Srila Prabhupada, is the one who descends (SHAKTI-AVATARA), comes down to save us. We are the saved, provided we are willing to submit and be taken up by the SAVIOR. However, if we impudently insist that we are also SAVIORS now, then what need is there of Srila Prabhupada taking us back to Godhead? You can go on your own power. Think about it: you are either the SAVIOR, or you are the SAVED.

I hope this meets you all well.

Your humble servant,
Hansadutta das

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[Umapati Swami wrote:] Dear Nara-Narayana,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Great to hear from you. It is true that I short-changed Madhudvisa Prabhu. I did not know whether he really wanted to hear from me, and I did not want to get into any more stonewall debates like the ones that happened when I had the discussion with Mother Niscala. If Madhudvisa wants to continue the discussion, I'll be more than happy to comply.

I am smack up against some writing deadlines right now, so it will take me a few days to get to all of your points. But here are a few quick points of my own. The ritviks complain that the ISKCON leaders do not put Srila Prabhupada in the center. But Srila Prabhupada is not in the center of their preaching either. Their preaching centers around "smash the GBC," a ridiculous preaching platform.

My advice to all those who are dissatisfied is this: Talk is cheap. Go out and show us how to do it. Put your money where your mouth is. Open up some centers and let us see your stuff. All this theorizing is useless. Nothing succeeds like success. Do you know more than the GBC about preaching? Do you know more than Jayadvaita Swami? Fine. Let's see some action. Otherwise it's just a lot of hot air.

And I am not telling anyone to something that I myself am not doing. And personally, I am not much interested in debating with people who just sit around and gripe. They come up endlessly with new theories that have never been tried.

And if Jayadvaita Swami admitted being defeated by a young girl, then that shows he is a gentleman, not an authoritarian. More later.

Your most humble servant,
Umapati Swami

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Original Message
From: Nathan Zakheim [mailto:zakheim@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 1:44 PM
To: Gadadhara dasa
Cc: umapati@earthlink.net; kuva zakheim; Nimai Pandit Das; Hans Jurgen Kary
Subject: Re: Umapati's reply to Madhudvisa

Dear Godbrother Umapati Prabhu,
PAMHJO, AGTSP!

It gives me great pleasure to make contact with you, as you were a very key influence to me in the early days of the movement. Now it may seem silly that I would hold you in such regard due to your senior status of having joined the movement two years before I did, but as you and I no doubt remember, those two years were equal to at least thirty current years or more than that.

I have read Madhudvisa Prabhu's posting to you, and your response to him as well. Your answer was basically nice, but considering the depth of the issues brought up by him, I seemed to me that you short changed him with your answers. You may be two years senior to me, but you are decades senior to Madhudvisa Prabhu, and to give him short shrift from your role of senior direct disciple of Srila Prabhupada, does not appear quite seemly.

As you undoubtedly remember, in the early days such stalwarts as yourself, Brahmananda, Tamal, Satsvarupa and many men who are still active in the core of our Iskcon Movement would attract dozens of new disciples to Srila Prabhupada's Lotus Feet by declaiming that "Unlike other gurus and yogis, OUR spiritual master is a PURE DEVOTEE OF THE LORD! He can see past present and future, He is known as Prabhupada, or the Person at whose Lotus Feet even Great Masters can take shelter." On that basis, thousands of eager able youth joined our movement and the rest is history until 1977 when a group of proven scoundrels were given the title "Guru" by an unelected non representational "GBC" who claimed in a most unauthorized fashion to have "ecclesiastical powers" that were absolute, such as those of the Catholic Pope and Cardinals. This may not be surprising, as the vast majority of the eleven "new" gurus were from strict Catholic backgrounds, and by that time the movement had changed from "80% Jewish in 1967 and 1968 to 90% Catholic by 1977. I remember your preaching well, and you never neglected to point out that a Bona Fide Guru MUST be a Pure Devotee of the Lord or all chaos will reign.

Now as you and I stand inundated in the midst of Chaos… What happened to your preaching on that point?

I have inserted more responses into your text below:

[Umapati wrote:] Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thanks for the reply. From what you say, I assume you are a ritvik, so it is not likely that we will come to a complete agreement, but I will try to address the major points.

[Nara-naryana comments:] RITVIK REFERS TO AN OFFICIATING PRIEST WHO ACTS AS THE "MONITOR" GURU MENTIONED IN Easy Journey To Other Planets BY SRILA PRABHUPADA. HE MAY ALSO INITIATE ON BEHALF OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTER, AND IN FACT THE MAJORITY OF INITIATIONS PERFORMED BETWEEN 1971 AND 1977 WERE INDEED RITVIK INITIATIONS.

TO MY BEST UNDERSTANDING, MADHUDVISA PRABHU HAS NOT PERFORMED ANY SUCH DUTIES AND THEREFORE MAY NOT BE IN ACCORD WITH THE ACTUAL MEANING OF RITVIK.

[Umapati wrote:] ISKCON was established by Srila Prabhupada, as was the GBC. Now I do not always agree with the GBC. I am not pleased that they did absolutely nothing about that horrible article by Ananda that was published on Chakra. But I give them my support, because that was what Srila Prabhupada wanted, and in general I think they are doing a great job.

[Nara-narayana comments:] I AM CURIOUS TO LEARN THAT ALTHOUGH SRILA PRABHUPADA GAVE CLEAR GUIDELINES AS TO THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE GBC BE ELECTED ON A THREE-YEAR BASIS FROM CANDIDATES PROPOSED BY THE TEMPLE PRESIDENTS IN HIS "DIRECTION OF MANAGEMENT" OF 1970, AND AFTER THAT DOCUMENT WAS REJECTED OUT OF HAND BY THE SITTING "GBC" THAT IN 1974 HE REITERATED HIS DEMAND THAT THE GBC BE ONLY SEATED THROUGH ELECTIONS (OR BY HIS DIRECT APPOINTMENT) AS A MATTER OF "TOPMOST URGENCY". IT IS TO OUR EVERLASTING SHAME THAT THIS DEMAND COUCHED AS A MATTER OF "TOPMOST URGENCY" WAS ALSO REJECTED OUT OF HAND BY THE "GBC" OF THAT TIME. IN THAT 1974 DEMAND, SRILA PRABHUPADA STATED THAT ALL ISKCON CHARTERS, CONSTITUTIONS, FOUNDING PAPERS ETC BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE THE DIRECTION OF MANAGEMENT.

SINCE THIS ORDER WAS DELIBERATELY DISOBEYED BY THOSE WHO WOULD HAVE LOST EVERYTHING IF IT HAD BEEN OBEYED, IT IS HARD TO DIGNIFY THOSE WHO DISOBEYED IT WITH THE TITLE OF "GBC" WHICH RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO THOSE WHO ARE ACTUALLY OBEDIENT TO THE ORDER OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTER.

SINCE ISKCON IS FOUNDED ON LOVE AND TRUST, WHEN SRILA PRABHUPADA WRITES IN THE "DOM" OF 1972, "THEREFORE I HAVE DECIDED TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES, AND I HOPE THAT MY BELOVED DISCIPLES WILL KINDLY ACCEPT THEM" ONE CAN WONDER IF BY NOT ACCEPTING THEM THE DISCIPLE CAN THEN STILL BE REFERRED TO AS "BELOVED".

[Umapati wrote:] I do not publish any articles saying or implying that Srila Prabhupada was wrong about social issues, women, or anything else, and I stated as much when I was the editor of Chakra. In fact, this was the disagreement  between Madhusudani and me.

[Nara-narayana comments:]YOU ARE TO BE CONGRATULATED....AND I HOPE THAT YOUR STAUNCH STANCE CARRIES OVER TO THE OUT AND OUT BLASPHEMY AND HERESY BEING CURRENTLY GENERATED BY HH HRIDAYANANDA GOSWAMI CONCERNING MASTURBATION NOT BEING A FALLDOWN FOR A GURU, THE DHOTTI BEING A "RIDICULOUS DIAPER FOR ADULTS" AND "MONOGAMOUS HOMOSEXUALITY" BEING EQUAL TO HOUSEHOLDER LIFE IN ISKCON. (DANAVIR GOSWAMI HAS WRITTEN ELOQUENTLY ON THESE SUBJECTS.)

[Umapati wrote:] I have heard that there is at least one person who subscribes to this idea on the GBC and that this was the reason nothing was said about the article, but I cannot confirm it.

I teach my disciples that Srila Prabhupada is absolutely right about everything, and I will not initiate anyone who does not accept this. Of course people cheat, but I do my best. I tell people that before they ask for initiation, they should study the books of Srila Prabhupada and see whether I am truly following. The books are the standard.

[Nara-narayana comments:] A RARE STANCE.

[Umapati wrote:] It was Srila Prabhupada who told his disciples to initiate, and the ritviks have never come up with any statement to the contrary, so they try to modify the words of Srila Prabhupada by saying things like "he" really means "I" and so on.

[Nara-narayana comments:] SRILA PRABHUPADA CLEARLY STATES THAT WHOEVER INITIATES MUST BE A UTTAMA ADHIKARI, WHICH IF SEARCHED ON THE VEDA BASE IS A HUGELY DISCUSSED STATUS OF PURE DEVOTIONAL SERVICE. CERTAINLY, ANY DISCIPLE OF SRILA PRABHUPADA WHO HAS REACHED THE PERFECTIONAL STAGE AND IS IN HIS RASA WITH KRISHNA CAN INITIATE ON KRISHNA'S DIRECT ORDER, ALTHOUGH SRILA PRABHUPADA WAITED TO INITIATE UNTIL HE WAS ORDERED TO DO SO IN A DREAM HE HAD OF HIS SPIRITUAL MASTER APPEARING BEFORE HIM TO INSTRUCT HIM TO DO SO.

IN THE "VARAHA ASTIKA" SRILA PRABHUPADA CLEARLY STATES THAT NOT ONE MEMBER OF THE GAUDIYA MATHA WAS QUALIFIED TO INITIATE DISCIPLES, AND IN THE "PHALGUN KRISHNA PANCHAMI" HE CLEARLY STATES THAT "IF EVERYONE SIMPLY GOES ON INITIATING, THEN EVERYTHING WILL BE DESTROYED". WE MUST SEEK LONG AND DEEP NOT TO BECOME INUNDATED WITH THE "BOILERPLATE" PLATITUDES AND CLICHES OF A SOCIO/RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION SUCH AS ISKCON HAS SADLY GRADUALLY BECOME. THE INFUSION OF FRESH SPIRITUAL POWER WILL HAVE TO COME FROM THE AUTHENTIC ACCEPTANCE OF SRILA PRABHUPADA'S LOTUS FEET COME ONE COME ALL AND COME WHAT MAY. IF THE GURU IS NOT CENT PER CENT TRANSPARENT VIA MEDIUM (AS YOU USED TO PREACH) THEN HE HAD BEST STAND TO ONE SIDE AND NOT BLOCK THE LIGHT STREAMING DOWN FROM THE PURE AND UNBREAKABLE SAMPRADAYA.

[Umapati wrote:] Thus they are guilty of the very same distortion of Srila Prabhupada's words that they accuse others of. I talked about this in an article called "Disciple of My Disciple." I can send it to you if you like.

I have not read Satyaraja's book so I cannot comment on it, but I have heard other critiques of his writing similar to what you say.

[Nara-narayana comments:] OUR MOVEMENT HAS BECOME WEAKENED FROM WITHIN WITH KNOWN SAHAJIYAS WORKING INTIMATELY WITH THE "SO CALLED" STAUNCH FOLLOWERS OF SRILA PRABHUPADA. I SAW A BBT MEETING WITH TRIPURARI SWAMI LOUNGING LANGUIDLY IN ITS MIDST!...NOT ONLY THEY HAVE NO SHAME, THEY OBVIOUSLY LACK COMMON SENSE AND BASIC INTELLIGENCE AS WELL! HOW CAN THAT RASCAL WHO ADVERTISES HIS TENTH CANTO AS "MORE SEXY THAN THE KAMA SUTRA" BE ALLOWED ANY WHERE EXCEPT TO BE BEATEN BY SHOES?

[Umapati wrote:] Srila Prabhupada was pleased with Hayagriva, but he was also pleased with Jayadvaita Swami.

[Nara-narayana comments:] HAVE YOU PROOF OF HIS BEING PLEASED WITH JAYADWAITA SWAMI?

[Umapati wrote:] According to Jayadvaita Swami, Srila Prabhupada told him that he could make changes if the changes brought the books closer to what Srila Prabhupada actually said.

[Nara-narayana comments:] IS THE ABOVE YOUR PROOF?.......IT MAY NOT BE POLITE TO BE SUSPICIOUS, BUT ACCEPTING ANYONE MERELY ON THEIR WORD IS TO DENY THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE CONDITIONED SOUL IS SUBJECT TO THE FOUR DEFECTS THAT YOU USED TO DESCRIBE SO ELOQUENTLY IN YOUR EARLY LECTURES.

AS YOU CAN WELL REMEMBER, SRILA PRABHUPADA LECTURED ON AND ON AS TO HOW SRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA SARASWATI'S DISCIPLES HAD CHANGED HIS BOOKS, AND THAT OUR BOOKS SHOULD NEVER BE CHANGED. SRILA PRABHUPADA WARNED ME NOT TO READ ANY GAUDIYA MATHA BOOKS AFTER A CERTAIN DATE, AS THEY HAD BEEN CHANGED. THERE ARE MANY KEY STATEMENTS BY SRILA PRABHUPADA THAT ANY CHANGES MUST BE RESTORED IN THE NEXT PRINTING, AND I PERSONALLY HEARD HIM STATE IN CLASS (WHEN A CHANGE WAS ENCOUNTERED) THAT IT MUST BE RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION IMMEDIATELY.

YOU ALSO USED TO ARGUE AGAINST READING THE GAUDIYA MATHA BOOKS AS THEY HAD BEEN CHANGED. ANY ADVANCED DISCIPLE OF SRILA PRABHUPADA WOULD PREACH AGAINST BOOK CHANGES IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE MOVEMENT.

WHAT HAPPENED?

[Umapati wrote:] I have confidence in Jayadvaita Swami's integrity, but I don't have much confidence in the ritviks.

[Nara-narayana comments:] MY DAUGHTER FORCED JAYADWAITA SWAMI TO RETRACT A STATEMENT THAT HE MADE IN NEW DWARKA THAT NO ONE SHOULD LISTEN TO SRILA PRABHUPADA CHANTING JAPA DURING JAPA PERIOD, AS IT WILL DISTRACT FROM HIS OWN JAPA. IS THAT THE SORT OF INTEGRITY FOR WHICH YOU HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT?

PERSONALLY, I HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR MY DAUGHTER'S INTEGRITY (AND THE FACT THAT NOW IN THE TEMPLE SRILA PRABHUPADA CAN BE ONCE AGAIN HEARD DURING JAPA PERIOD) THAN FOR THE INTEGRITY OF JAYADWAITA WHOSE POSITION WAS SO UNTENABLE THAT A YOUNG WOMAN FORCED HIM TO RETRACT HIS OWN "INFALLIBLE" WORDS IN WRITING! (I PERSONALLY WITNESSED THIS EXCHANGE).

[Umapati wrote:] As far as Srila Prabhupada's disciples writing commentaries on the Gita, why not, as long as they follow Srila Prabhupada? Srila Prabhupada did not want everything to end with his departure but wanted his disciples to continue on.

[Nara-narayana comments:] HAVING READ MADHUDVISA'S POSTING, I CAN SEE THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN HIM SHORT SHRIFT ON THE POINT THAT HE RAISED. SRILA PRABHUPADA HAS CLEARLY STATED THAT IT IS THE WORST IMAGINABLE ETIQUETTE TO WRITE A COMMENTARY ON A SHASTRA THAT HAS BEEN COMMENTED UPON BY A GREAT ACHARYA IN RECENT YEARS. EVEN WITH COMMON SENSE ONE CANNOT JUSTIFY RE-WRITING THE PURPORTS OF THE GITA OR OTHER SHASTRA TO SUIT ONE'S LESS THAN UTTAMA WHIM.

OF COURSE, ONE CAN CREATE AS MANY DISSERTATIONS BASED ON REALIZATION THAT ONE MIGHT LIKE AS EXPLORATION OF THE PURPORTS PROVIDED BY SRILA PRABHUPADA. BUT THESE COMMENTS MUST CLEARLY BE ONE'S OWN, AND NOT BE CLASSED AS SHASTRA BUT PERHAPS AS STUDY GUIDES FROM ONE PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE. SRILA PRABHUPADA CLEARLY ENCOURAGED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES TO WRITE FROM REALIZATION, AND IN LA, 1969, A PROGRAM EXISTED FOR EACH BRAHMACHARI TO NOT ONLY WRITE AN ESSAY, BUT TO DELIVER HIS PAPER TO THE ASSEMBLED DEVOTEES.

[Umapati wrote:] I rejected Gadadhara's article because I do not consider it proper to compare the previous acharyas to see who was the highest. That was not Gadadhara's intention, but that was the way it came across. But I did publish an article by Gadadhara announcing the Srila Prabhupada festival and praising Srila Prabhupada: http://www.dipika.org/2005/05/31/24_sr_prabhupad_fest_in_la/index.html

I am aware of the dangers of Mayavadi contamination, and I am always on the lookout for it.

I think this has covered your main points. I do not want to debate this endlessly. You may agree or not, as you like. Srila Prabhupada said that you can judge a thing by the results.

[Nara-narayana comments:] SO FAR, WHEN SRILA PRABHUPADA WAS AT THE CENTER OF ISKCON, ISKCON WAS FAMED FOR ITS YOUNG "BRIGHT FACED" DEVOTEES JOINING IN GROWING NUMBERS AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY OPENING TEMPLES ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THE RESULT OF THIRTY YEARS OF DECLINE, IS THAT (EXCEPT FOR MY CHILDREN AND A FEW OTHERS) NOT EVEN THE SECOND GENERATION (WHAT TO SPEAK OF OUTSIDE YOUTH) HAS LENT THEIR YOUTHFUL ENERGY TO THE LEADERSHIP AND EXPANSION OF ISKCON. THE MOVEMENT IS STILL RUN BY THE MEN WHO RAN IT IN THEIR MID TWENTIES. RUN BY A TEAM OF AGING "FIDEL CASTROS"! OR IN YIDDISH, "ALTE COCKERS"!

ATTRITION AND DECLINE IS THE RESULT THAT IS MOST CONSPICUOUS TO SEE. HERE IN NEW DWARKA. THE TEMPLE MEMBERS LOBBY THAT GUESTS NOT ENCROACH UPON THEIR PRIVACY, AND ANY EXPANSION OF THE TEMPLE OF INCREASE OF GUESTS IS CONSIDERED BY THE MEMBERS TO BE A VIOLATION OF THEIR PERSONAL PRIVACY. THEY HAVE NO MIND FOR PREACHING, LEAVING THAT TO A FEW PAID PROFESSIONALS ON THE TEMPLE STAFF, WHOSE PREACHING LARGELY CONSISTS OF COLLECTING DONATIONS FROM INDIANS.

[Umapati wrote:] I do not see the ritviks accomplishing much of anything.

[Nara-narayana comments:] BEFORE THE RITVIK WRITINGS AND DISCUSSIONS, (SUCH AS "THE FINAL ORDER") NONE OF THE ISKCON OLIGARCHY WASTED MUCH TIME ON READING SRILA PRABHUPADA'S BOOKS OR CHECKING THE VEDA BASE. USUALLY, RAVINDRA SWARUP OF SOME SUCH "OFF THE SHELF INTELLECTUAL" WOULD BE COMMISSIONED TO WRITE A POSITION PAPER, AND TO THE EMBARASSMENT OF THOSE WHO COMMISSIONED SUCH PAPERS, THEY WERE GENERALLY VERY BADLY RESEARCHED AND EASILY OVERTURNED.

NOW, PRACTICALLY EVERYONE HAS A COMMAND OF THE VEDA BASE, AND THE ONGOING HEALTHY DIALOGUE WITH THE RITVIK AND OTHER "GADFLY" STIMULANTS IS PROBABLY THE BEST IMAGINABLE TONIC FOR THE GOUT-RIDDEN NESCIENT LEADERSHIP OF ISKCON TO ENCOUNTER....AT LEAST, THE LEADERSHIP OF ISKCON NOW TAKES SOME TIME TO READ SRILA PRABHUPADA'S BOOKS WITH A VIEW TO UNDERSTANDING THEM RATHER THAN PROVING POINTS AT ONE ANOTHER.

YET, THIS TORPOR EVIDENT IN PRACTIALLY ALL OF THE TEMPLES CAN BE CLEARLY TRACED TO THE CONGESTED MENTALITY CAUSED BY NON-ELECTED GBC. ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTION OF MANAGEMENT, GBC MEANS "ELECTED", AND THERE CAN BE NO GRASS ROOTS GROWTH OF ANY SIGNIFICANT KIND WITHOUT VOTING RIGHTS EXERCISED BY THE LACTATING MOTHERS AND THEIR CARING HUSBANDS, AND THEN THE TEMPLE PRESIDENTS ELECTING THE GBC FROM A SLATE OF TP CANDIDATES.

THE MOVEMENT IS MORIBUND....STAGNANT, AND THAT IS THE REASON WHY.

[Umapati wrote:] Your most humble servant,
Umapati Swami

[Nara-narayana comments:] BELOW, PLEASE FIND A COPY OF THE 1970 DIRECTION OF MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS THE 1974 COMMAND BY SRILA PRABHUPADA TO AMMEND THE ISKCON CHARTERS TO INCLUDE THE DIRECTION OF MANAGEMENT

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Fresh Milk, Sour Milk
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10 June 2005

Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Please accept my humble (Most Humble) obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I was happy to read you letter assesing the quality and nature of the ISKCON leadership and consequent result for anyone working for ISKCON leaders (GBC, Guru etc.). Simply put: If you add any amount of fresh, pure milk to a pot of sour milk, it will become sour. It is as simple as that. I have tried again and again to tell this to whomever would listen or not listen. Finally I see you have got the point, so things can go forward for you, or anyone who truely recognizes this principle. Pure, fresh milk cannot convert sour milk to again become fresh milk. The fresh milk of Srila Prabhupada's instructions is all that is nescessary for anyone's spiritual life. A small addition of sour (Non-Prabhupada, sour milk) will spoil everything. There is no escaping this simple scientific fact. We do not have to invent anything, be in any way super intelligent. We have only to give SRILA PRABHUPADA's instructions, and everything is done by one stroke. I hope you are well.
Your humble servant,
Hansadutta das

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Undone From Within

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10 June 2005

Here is a quote that points out very directly the most basic, underlying problem that plagues ISKCON today.

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not traitor, he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared."—Cicero, 45 BC

Crowd Mentality

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20 May 2005

Read this book, understand THE CROWD MENTALITY. ISKCON is a CROWD; it is not a MOVEMENT. It is constipated, not moving. READ THIS BOOK. This is important. Please read this book and be illuminated about THE CROWD MENTALITY, and how to deal with it.

Your servant,
HANSADUTTA DAS


THE CROWD, by Gustave Le Bon, published first in English 1896

No vague, fuzzy area in Srila Prabhupada's proposal…
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3 April 2005

Dear Praghosa Prabhu,
Obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. You will find refrence to "The True Believer" again and again in the writings of various political, econmomic and social critics. Hoffer has touched on a very basic spiritual phenomena, exhibited pervertedly on the material plane, in politics, entertainment, military life etc. Through the eyes if the shastra--jnana chaksusah--and the eyes of Srila Prabhupada, we can see the pure origins of all these perverted phenomena exhibited on the material platform of LOVE, FRIENDSHIP AND SOCIETY. Everything is clear and obvious to the devotee.

Once Srila Prabhupada said Freud has understood that everything is motivated by sex desire, but what he does not know is WHY THERE IS SEX, WHY THERE ARE TWO SEXES, WHY NOT THREE, FOUR , FIVE, ONE OR NONE. He did not know, but we know, because there is purusha (Krishna) and prakriti (Radharani). In the spiirtual Absolute there are two persons: male and female, Radha and Krishna; therefore the whole creation is pervaded by this principle of purusha and prakriti in a perverted way.

Srila Prabhupada said every psychological situation possible in human relationships is illuminated in the Bhagavatam and other Vedic literatures. Just think of Mahabharata, how brilliant it is--the characters, the "archetypes", as the Freudians and Jungians would say. We know the absolute achetypes of everything seen in the mundane world.

Because Srila Prabhupada was a self realized soul, he was seeing everything from the spiritual absolute archetype point of reference, therefore nothing was bewildering for him. Whereas the conditioned souls, including those in the process of aspiring for perfection, are easily mislead and bewildered as soon as they are exposed to extraordinary measures of wealth, woman and prestige. Therefore a non-liberated "self-realized" soul cannot be a GURU, because he will become a victim of wealth allurement, sex allurement, and the allurements of fame and honor. It is as scientific as fire coming in touch with gasoline: there will be total combustion. It is not maybe; it is certain.

Srila Prabhupada, in order to protect us (disciples) and to protect the innocent public, and to protect his movement from total combustion in the fire of sense gratification of WEALTH, WOMAN and PRESTIGE, created the safe position of RITTVIK REPRESENTATIVE of the ACHARYA in order to perpetuate the increasing of BHAKTIVEDANTAs for the future of his movement after his physical disappearance from the world. It can still be done. Better late than never.

There is no vague, fuzzy area in this proposal of Srila Prabhupada. It is as scientific and exacting as the nescessity to keep the fire and gasoline seperate at all times, under all circumstances by all persons. Nothing can be left to chance or speculation or experiment. It is as clear as the mid-afternoon sun in the sky. As we write, the whole movement is engulfed in the total combustion of gasoline explosions, one explosion inevitably igniting another, until everything and everyone deviating from this RITTVK ARRANGEMENT will be burnt to ashes, as was the case with the Gaudiya Math and its ENDLESS LINE OF GURUS.

Your servant,
Hansadutta das

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