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Dear Prabhus, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla
Prabhupāda!
Kṛṣṇa is controlling everything. Kṛṣṇa obviously wanted the demons in ISKCON to reveal themselves quickly, and most of the demons have already taken the bait: “Step right up and become a ‘guru’. Then everyone will bow down to you, including the young, sexy female recruits! Boy, will this ever make your rival, critical, fault-finding Godbrothers envious, but if they are envious, it’s their problem because they are not qualified to be a ‘guru’ like you are!”
These fools did this in spite of the fact that Śrīla Prabhupāda made it extremely clear that he did not want this, and that none of his disciples were qualified to be gurus, and that he didn’t appoint any successors, and that the GBC is the “ultimate managing authority in ISKCON,” and that the ritvik system should continue in ISKCON “henceforward.”
Every single one of ISKCON’s “gurus” falls into one of the following two categories:
1) A criminal, for having illegally taken control of ISKCON in 1978 through the agency of lies, deceit, the hiding and destroying of taped and printed evidence, and the “kicking out,” the banning, the beating, and even the murdering of their skeptical, critical, or challenging Godbrothers.
2) A criminal, who “joined up” with the above mentioned criminals, by being “voted in” as “guru” by the above mentioned criminals and the supporters of the above mentioned criminals.
Can anyone deny, therefore, that every single one of ISKCON’s “gurus” is a criminal, and that every one of them, therefore, belongs in jail?
Anyone who says that Śrīla Prabhupāda left things unclear (concerning how ISKCON is to be managed in the future) is a great offender of Śrīla Prabhupāda. They are saying that Śrīla Prabhupāda was irresponsible.
There are a few “devotees” who, after it became clear that the GBC was never going to let them become “gurus,” turned against the GBC, but they didn’t join the “ritviks” because they still wanted to become “gurus” themselves, even though they are far from qualified. They are becoming less and less qualified also, because they are constantly committing offenses by criticizing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s own system of ritvik initiations, which he prescribed for the future of ISKCON as the only practical solution to the problem of what to do about initiations after his physical departure.
From the May 28th, 1977 Tape (“The Appointment Tape”):
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Satsvarūpa Dāsa Gosvāmī: Then our next question concerns
initiations in the future, particularly at that time when you are
no longer with us. We want to know how first and second
initiation(s) would be conducted.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. I shall recommend some of you. After this is settled up I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating ācārya[s].
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī: Is that called ritvik ācārya?
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Ritvik. Yes.
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What could be more clear than this?
Those GBC men present at this meeting obviously didn’t like Śrīla Prabhupāda’s reply, because they kept the conversation a secret (See “GBC Suppressed The Truth” - http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9912/ET13-5073.html).
Some may say, “But, what about the rest of the tape?” The rest of the tape was obviously superceeded by Śrīla Prabhupāda’s July 9th, 1977 letter, which was written approximately 1 ½ months later, and which was signed by Śrīla Prabhupāda, and which was sent, by Śrīla Prabhupāda’s direct order, to all temples presidents and to all members of the GBC. In the July 9th letter, Śrīla Prabhupāda states three times that the devotees who are initiated by the “ritvik representatives of the Ācārya” are “my initiated disciples.” He also said in the letter that this was to be the system of initiation within ISKCON from that point onwards (“henceforward”).
The GBC also tried to keep the July 9th letter and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s will a secret. Śrīla Prabhupāda states in his will that all future property trustees are to be “my initiated disciples.” Where are these future disciples supposed to come from if not by ritvik initiation?
I’m not saying that a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda can’t become a guru and start his or her own institution like Śrīla Prabhupāda did. Then the market would decide whether that particular Godbrother or godsister has got the necessary potency.
It doesn’t make any sense for there to be more than one guru in an institution, and ISKCON’s multiple guru system has proven that it doesn’t work. It’s extremely obvious that Śrīla Prabhupāda never authorized such a system. He was always critical of the Gauḍīya Maṭha for having such a system, instead of a “Governing Body Commission” (GBC), like the math’s founder-acarya, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, wanted.
If we have a working, fully functional, fully qualified GBC, then we don’t need multiple “gurus.” The fact that most of the GBC men are “gurus” is the biggest reason why the present ISKCON GBC is not working. These “gurus” are often found criticizing the GBC and each other, therefore causing much dissension among the rank and file. Thus ISKCON has become like a dysfunctional family. This has caused the various temples to not be properly maintained, the women, children, cows, and old men to not be properly protected, and the preaching spirit to be on the wane.
About 3 years ago I attended a seminar called “The Effective Manager—8 Keys for Leadership Success.” The speaker was Brian Tracy. He started off by saying that statistics show that 70 percent of management decisions are wrong! He went on to say that this is OK: Leaders should not be afraid to make mistakes, but the most effective leaders are the ones who realize their mistakes quickly, and immediately make the necessary adjustments. This shows that humility actually gives businessmen a competitive advantage. Maybe this is what is meant in the Bible by “The meek shall inherit the Earth.!”
The ISKCON “gurus” are afraid that if they admit that they have made a mistake, then their disciples will lose faith in them. Therefore they are extremely bad managers. It’s a “catch 22.” The fools are caught like rats in a cage of their own making, all because of their impure desire for fame, adoration, distinction, a desire to impress the ladies, a desire to take revenge against their Godbrothers whom they perceived to be political enemies, enviousness of their own Godbrothers, and even enviousness of Śrīla Prabhupāda himself!
I want to be part of a temple that’s just like the “good old days”—everything centered around Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda—everyone either a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, or aspiring to become a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda. The “ritviks” already have such temples in India, and they are planning a big center in New York City’s incredible island of Manhattan also.
Here is a plan which might save ISKCON:
The idea is to have one or more “guru free zones.” That is, temples and/or farms where devotees who are critical of the ISKCON “gurus” are welcome, where ISKCON “gurus,” “ritvik bashers,” etc. are not allowed, and where a “ritvik” system of initiations would be implemented.
If such “guru free zones” survive and prosper, and if they are a more successful arrangement than the present system, then the idea could be implemented in more and more locations, and would eventually take over all of ISKCON!
If they do not work, then they will eventually die out.
Let’s “Let the market decide.”
Your servant,
Pratyatoṣa Dāsa
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