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| Prabhupada’s ISKCON is Beautiful and Perfect! Posted: 10 Apr 2012 06:48 PM PDT click on image to enlarge Prabhupada’s ISKCON is Beautiful and Perfect! I often write to simply sort out my own thoughts and get them off my chest, so to speak. Recently I came across the following letter I wrote a long time ago. Although it is just my own thoughts, maybe others will be inspired by it, so I am presenting it here: “As it is said by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih: a spiritual master, or the parampara-acarya, should be respected exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 4.22.4) Here we see the difference between a conditioned soul (or even an advanced devotee) and Srila Prabhupada. We must respect all devotees even though they are conditioned souls, to one degree or another, but it says here that “the spiritual master, or the parampara-acarya should be respected exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead”. It is not proper to put a conditioned soul in this position and thus artificially give him (or her) the respect or worship equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This will simply cause a disturbance. Artificial or blind following can and will create havoc in the world.
We must be honest with ourselves and others regarding the actual level of advancement we and others are at. This is simply part of being honest and one of the main qualities of a Vaisnava, sadhu, or brahmana is honesty. As King Prithu has said in the Srimad Bhagavatam 4.15.22, “O gentle suta, magadha and other devotee offering prayers, the qualities of which you have spoken are not distinct in me. Why then should you praise me for all these qualities when I do not shelter these features? I do not wish for these words meant for me to go in vain, but it is better that they be offered to someone else.” In the next purport after this verse Srila Prabhupada clearly warns, “If a man who does not factually possess the attributes of a great personality engages his followers in praising him with the expectation that such attributes will develop in the future, that sort of praise is actually an insult.”(SB 4.15.23) Often times I see devotees that are acting in the position of GBC or initiating spiritual master in Prabhupada’s ISKCON and do not stop their followers or disciples from offering them very pompous praise and glorifications. It’s none of my business what others do because it is not my position to criticize or correct a devotee that is more “senior” then me. The thing that really does get to me is when I meet devotees that have taken initiation from some ISKCON guru who is a conditioned soul and they emphasize this guru and his mood more than Srila Prabhupada and his mood. This really makes me fried! Unfortunately I see this happening more and more as time goes on. How can anyone claim to be in ISKCON and change the mood that the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, worked so hard to establish, what to speak of allowing the devotees they initiate to take shelter of them more than they do Srila Prabhupada? Anyone who was in ISKCON before 1977 and even slightly thereafter knows very well that the mood in ISKCON was very different than it is now. The preaching spirit and going out on daily sankirtana for like 8 hours a day was just the way things were. This was what it meant to be in ISKCON as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. The Spirit of sankirtana was ablaze like a thousand burning suns. Now preaching/sankirtana is something you might do a few times a year if you are living in the temple and don’t have a full-time job, and if you get really fired up and if it is a nice day outside. By the way, sankirtana DOES NOT mean conning people by asking for donations for “food-for-life” (for me and my wife) and in return giving them stickers or hats with slogans like “Party till you puke” or “F_ck you you f_cking f_uck” etc., like I have seen so many “devotees” doing. Cheating people out of their money and using that money to live a very nice and comfortable life for their selves and family and calling that sankirtana is simply a kick in Lord Caitanya’s and Srila Prabhupada’s face. Sankirtana means distributing Prabhupada’s books and doing public Harinamas! Oh yeah, and Harinama does not mean chanting the demigod’s names as we are now seeing many “devotees” doing in public yoga studios and festivals like the so-called “Bhakti” fest. Harinama means chanting Lord Hari’s names. Once a devotee asked Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada, when you are not present with us, how is it possible to receive instructions, for example, on questions that may arise? Prabhupada’s reply was, “Answers are there in my books.” (From a Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course on May 13, 1973, in Los Angeles) So here is the answer, right where Prabhupada said the answers will be – in his books: the solution to this problem that has become like a virus in Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON, is we must actually start distinguishing between a conditioned soul and our divine master and parampara-acarya Srila Prabhupada. It must be noted that wherever there is an instruction there is also a prohibition. The instruction is that “a spiritual master, or the parampara-acarya, should be respected exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” The obvious prohibition is naturally — if one is not on this level, simply rubber-stamping, lavishly praising, or following them even when their mood differs from Srila Prabhupada is prohibited. We must be honest and clear about the level of advancement we are at and the level of advancement others are at, whether they have been dubbed to be a GBC, or yes, even an ISKCON initiating guru. If they are a conditioned soul (very conditioned or a little conditioned) then we must call a spade a spade and stay faithful to Srila Prabhupada and follow Srila Prabhupada, not that conditioned soul. Nowadays it is commonly opined that if one is rubber-stamped by the GBC as an ISKCON guru then he is, as if magically and instantaneously transformed, all of a sudden not a conditioned soul anymore, but is now all of a sudden as good as God. These erroneous but popular outlooks must be smashed and we must cultivate what Srila Prabhupada wanted — “Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent” (Bombay 22 December, 1972) not blind sudra flunky followers that simply know how to praise whoever they are told to praise. And if that conditioned soul guru (“conditioned soul guru” – sounds odd doesn’t it…) falls down or has difficulties, half his blind followers fall down with him because that’s all they were ever trained to be, blind followers, and a society of the blind leading the blind is not ISKCON, it is simply a con! Those leaders and gurus that are allowing their disciples to insult them by their improper and invalid praise must be immediately stopped if they want to claim to be in ISKCON. So the solution and positive alternative is that if we claim to be in ISKCON then we must follow our parampara-acharya, our ISKCON acharya’s mood, no one else’s. Srila Prabhupada wanted us to be a big family with him in the center just like when he was personally present, not to splinter and divide ourselves up into a bunch of small groups based around who performed one’s initiation ceremony. One of his last requests was, “Don’t make me small.” (July 17, 1977, Vrndavana). So what has changed? If some devotees want to establish a different mood or change the emphasis or protocols of Prabhupada’s ISKCON from how Prabhupada had it, with the emphasis on sankirtana and with Srila Prabhupada in the center, to anything else, then that is fine, it’s a free world — make your own society where you can be the acharya. But don’t do it in Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON where he is the parampara-acarya. NOTE: Prabhupada in the center means Prabhupada is the one glorified, is the one devotees are directed to for their personal realizations — via his books, audio, personal prayer, etc., Prabhupada is the one we pray to and take shelter of (not a conditioned soul — not even a conditioned soul that the conditioned souls in the GBC have decided to vote in as an official ISKCON initiating guru (whatever that means)), it is Prabhupada’s mood that is the standard. If this is not the case then it is not ISKCON, it is not the philosophy that is presented in Prabhupada’s books. I don’t care what you write on a sign and stick in the ground in the front of the property or what the legal documents say. Legal jargon, rubber stamps and big big signboards are not what makes one ISKCON, a follower of Prabhupada, or much less a central figure of worship. On the contrary, one only proves oneself to be a Kali-cela, a follower of Kali. “Bhaktivinoda Thakura therefore says that such a pseudo Vaisnava is not a Vaisnava at all but a disciple of Kali-yuga. A disciple of Kali cannot become an acarya by the decision of some high court. Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a Vaisnava acarya. A Vaisnava acarya is self-effulgent, and there is no need for any court judgment. A false acarya may try to override a Vaisnava by a high-court decision, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga.” (Madhya 1.220) If in the whole world, all the leaders in ISKCON but one, and all the ISKCON temples but one, have to leave and start their own society due to not following this standard, then good! Better to have only one real ISKCON temple in the world with only one real devotee following Prabhupada’s mood then to have a worldwide organization of who knows what. Prabhupada said to boil the milk, not water it down. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and all glories to those that are actually in Prabhupada’s ISKCON because they stick to Srila Prabhupada’s mood, recognize their own actual level of advancement, and do not accept praise or position that should be offered to only Srila Prabhupada, and are not concocting or changing anything. Hare Krishna! Thanks for taking your time to read this article. May it inspire us all to tighten and deepen our own personal fidelity to Srila Prabhupada. Pasted from; http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/04-12/editorials8447.htm         |
| Raja-Vidya The King of Knowledge Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:36 PM PDT …It is said that the execution of devotional service is so perfect that one can perceive the results directly. This direct result is actually perceived, and we have practical experience that any person who is chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) in course of time feels some transcendental pleasure and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination. This is actually seen. Furthermore, if one engages not only in hearing but in trying to broadcast the message of devotional activities as well, or if he engages himself in helping the missionary activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gradually feels spiritual progress. This advancement in spiritual life does not depend on any kind of previous education or qualification. The method itself is so pure that by simply engaging in it one becomes pure. Bhagavada-gita As It Is Macmillan Edition 1975 rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ rāja-vidyā—the king of education; rāja-guhyam—the king of confidential knowledge; pavitram—the purest; idam—this; uttamam—transcendental; pratyakṣa—directly experienced; avagamam—understood; dharmyam—the principle of religion; susukham—very happy; kartum—to execute; avyayam—everlasting. This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed. Purport
Generally, people are not educated in this confidential knowledge; they are educated in external knowledge. As far as ordinary education is concerned, people are involved with so many departments: politics, sociology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, etc. There are so many departments of knowledge all over the world and many huge universities, but there is, unfortunately, no university or educational institution where the science of the spirit soul is instructed. Yet the soul is the most important part of this body; without the presence of the soul, the body has no value. Still people are placing great stress on the bodily necessities of life, not caring for the vital soul. The Bhagavad-gītā, especially from the Second Chapter on, stresses the importance of the soul. In the very beginning, the Lord says that this body is perishable and that the soul is not perishable. That is a confidential part of knowledge: simply knowing that spirit soul is different from this body and that its nature is immutable, indestructible and eternal. But that gives no positive information about the soul. Sometimes people are under the impression that the soul is different from the body and that when the body is finished, or one is liberated from the body, the soul remains in a void and becomes impersonal. But actually that is not the fact. How can the soul, which is so active within this body, be inactive after being liberated from the body? It is always active. If it is eternal, then it is eternally active, and its activities in the spiritual kingdom are the most confidential part of spiritual knowledge. These activities of the spirit soul are therefore indicated here as constituting the king of all knowledge, the most confidential part of all knowledge. This knowledge is the purest form of all activities, as is explained in Vedic literature. In the Padma Purāṇa, man’s sinful activities have been analyzed and are shown to be the results of sin after sin. Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are entangled in different stages and forms of sinful reactions. For instance, when the seed of a particular tree is sown, the tree does not appear immediately to grow; it takes some time. It is first a small, sprouting plant, then it assumes the form of a tree, then it flowers, bears fruit, and, when it is complete, the flowers and fruits are enjoyed by persons who have sown the seed of the tree. Similarly, a man performs a sinful act, and like a seed it takes time to fructify. There are different stages. The sinful action may have already stopped within the individual, but the results or the fruit of that sinful action are still enjoyed. There are sins which are still in the form of a seed, and there are others which are already fructified and are giving us fruit, which we are enjoying as distress and pain, as explained in the twentieth verse of the Seventh Chapter. A person who has completely ended the reactions of all sinful activities and who is fully engaged in pious activities, being freed from the duality of this material world, becomes engaged in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. In other words, those who are actually engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord are already freed from all reactions. For those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all sinful reactions, whether fructified, in the stock, or in the form of a seed, gradually vanish. Therefore the purifying potency of devotional service is very strong, and it is called pavitram uttamam, the purest. Uttamam means transcendental. Tamas means this material world or darkness, and uttamam means that which is transcendental to material activities. Devotional activities are never to be considered material, although sometimes it appears that devotees are engaged just like ordinary men. One who can see and is familiar with devotional service, however, will know that they are not material activities. They are all spiritual and devotional, uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. It is said that the execution of devotional service is so perfect that one can perceive the results directly. This direct result is actually perceived, and we have practical experience that any person who is chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) in course of time feels some transcendental pleasure and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination. This is actually seen. Furthermore, if one engages not only in hearing but in trying to broadcast the message of devotional activities as well, or if he engages himself in helping the missionary activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gradually feels spiritual progress. This advancement in spiritual life does not depend on any kind of previous education or qualification. The method itself is so pure that by simply engaging in it one becomes pure. In the Vedānta-sūtra this is also described in the following words: prakāśaś ca karmaṇy abhyāsāt. “Devotional service is so potent that simply by engaging in the activities of devotional service, one becomes enlightened without a doubt.” Nārada, who happened to be the son of a maidservant, had no education, nor was he born into a high family. But when his mother was engaged in serving great devotees, Nārada also became engaged, and sometimes, in the absence of his mother, he would serve the great devotees himself. Nārada personally says, “Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me.” (Bhāg. 1.5.25) Nārada tells his disciple Vyāsadeva that in a previous life he was engaged as a boy servant of purified devotees during four months of their stay and that he was intimately associating with them. Sometimes those sages left remnants of food on their dishes, and the boy, who would wash their dishes, wanted to taste the remnants. So he asked the great devotees whether he could eat them, and they gave their permission. Nārada then ate those remnants and consequently became freed from all sinful reactions. As he went on eating, he gradually became as purehearted as the sages, and he gradually developed the same taste. The great devotees relished the taste of unceasing devotional service of the Lord, hearing, chanting, etc., and by developing the same taste, Nārada wanted also to hear and chant the glories of the Lord. Thus by associating with the sages, he developed a great desire for devotional service. Therefore he quotes from the Vedānta-sūtra (prakāśaś ca karmaṇy abhyāsāt): If one is engaged simply in the acts of devotional service, everything is revealed to him automatically, and he can understand. This is called prakāśaḥ, directly perceived. Nārada was actually a son of a maidservant. He had no opportunity to go to school. He was simply assisting his mother, and fortunately his mother rendered some service to the devotees. The child Nārada also got the opportunity and simply by association achieved the highest goal of all religions, devotional service. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that religious people generally do not know that the highest perfection of religion is the attainment of the stage of devotional service. Generally Vedic knowledge is required for the understanding of the path of self-realization. But here, although he was not educated in the Vedic principle, Nārada acquired the highest results of Vedic study. This process is so potent that even without performing the religious process regularly, one can be raised to the highest perfection. How is this possible? This is also confirmed in Vedic literature: ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is in association with great ācāryas, even if he is not educated or has not studied the Vedas, can become familiar with all the knowledge necessary for realization. The process of devotional service is a very happy one. Why? Devotional service consists of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, so one can simply hear the chanting of the glories of the Lord or can attend philosophical lectures on transcendental knowledge given by authorized ācāryas. Simply by sitting, one can learn; then one can eat the remnants of the food offered to God, nice palatable dishes. In every state devotional service is joyful. One can execute devotional service even in the most poverty-stricken condition. The Lord says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalam: He is ready to accept from the devotee any kind of offering, never mind what. Even a leaf, a flower, a bit of fruit, or a little water, which are all available in every part of the world, can be offered by any person, regardless of social position, and will be accepted if offered with love. There are many instances in history. Simply by tasting the tulasī leaves offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages like Sanatkumāra became great devotees. Therefore the devotional process is very nice, and it can be executed in a happy mood. God accepts only the love with which things are offered to Him. It is said here that this devotional service is eternally existing. It is not as the Māyāvādī philosophers claim. They sometimes take to so-called devotional service, and as long as they are not liberated they continue their devotional service, but at the end, when they become liberated, they “become one with God.” Such temporary time-serving devotional service is not accepted as pure devotional service. Actual devotional service continues even after liberation. When the devotee goes to the spiritual planet in the kingdom of God, he is also engaged there in serving the Supreme Lord. He does not try to become one with the Supreme Lord. As it will be seen, actual devotional service begins after liberation. So in Bhagavad-gītā it is said, brahma-bhūta. After being liberated, or being situated in the Brahman position, one’s devotional service begins. By executing devotional service, one can understand the Supreme Lord. No one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by executing karma-yoga, jñāna, or aṣṭāṅga-yoga or any other yoga independantly. Without coming to the stage of devotional service, one cannot understand what is the Personality of Godhead. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is also confirmed that when one becomes purified by executing the process of devotional service, especially by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā from realized souls, then he can understand the science of Kṛṣṇa or the science of God. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ. When one’s heart is cleared of all nonsense, then one can understand what God is. Thus the process of devotional service, of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the king of all education and the king of all confidential knowledge. It is the purest form of religion, and it can be executed joyfully without difficulty. Therefore one should adopt it. Text and Purport pasted from; Prabhupada Books         |
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