The
greatest danger to the propagation and development of the
Krsna Consciousness movement, is the adulteration of the
pure message presented to us in disciplic succession from
Srila Prabhupada’s books. Srila Prabhupada comments on
this as follows.
So
if you read Bhagavad-gita as it is, that is mad-asrayah. But
if you interpret Bhagavad-gita according to your rascal
imagination, that is not Bhagavad-gita. Therefore it is
called mad-asrayah, "under My protection, as I am
tea..." We are therefore presenting Bhagavad-gita as it
is. We do not change. Why should you change? What
right you have got to change? If Bhagavad-gita is a
book of authority and if I make my own interpretation, then
where is the authority? Can you change the law book
according to your interpretation? Then what is the meaning
of that law book? That is not law book. You cannot
change. Similarly, if you accept Bhagavad-gita as the book
of authority, you cannot change the meaning. That is not
allowed. What right? If you have got some opinion, if you
have got some philosophy, you can write in your own book.
Why you are, I mean to say, killing others and yourself by
interpreting Bhagavad-gita? You give your own
thesis in a different way. But these people, they take
advantage of the popularity of Bhagavad-gita and interpret
in a different way according to their own whims. Therefore
people do not understand what is Krsna. That is the
difficulty. And the purpose of Bhagavad-gita is to
understand Krsna. And all the so-called scholars'
and politicians' commentary is to banish Krsna or to kill
Krsna--the Kamsa's policy. The Kamsa was always thinking of
Krsna, how to kill Him. This is called demonic endeavour. So
that will not help you.
(B.G.
7.1 Hyderabad, 27th April, 1974)
So
Bhagavad-gita, the lessons of Bhagavad-gita, cannot be
changed by the whims of rascals. This is not possible.
(S.B.
3.26.32, Bombay, 9th January, 1975)
Srila
Prabhupada says that people change Bhagavad-gita to banish
Krsna or kill Krsna, and thus minimise His position. He
describes this as Kamsa’s policy.
Let
us examine the position of the G.B.C. and their changes of
Srila Prabhupadas books. They write in the back of the
Bhagavad Gita, that by working with Srila Prabhupada’s
books for the last fifteen years, they are more familiar
with his philosophy and language. With this newly
accomplished scholarship they claim to present a more
accurate translation to that of the original standard
translation, authorised by His Divine Grace. They achieved
this by referencing the same sanskrit commentaries that
Srila Prabhupada consulted when writing the Bhagavad Gita as
it is. They, of course, do not mention that they acquired
their scholarship from an apa-sampradaya community in
violation of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions. Let us
examine one of these scholarly changes and compare it to the
original.
TRANSLATION
Just
try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.
Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him.
The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you
because they have seen the truth.
(B.G.
4.34)
TRANSLATION
Just
try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.
Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The
self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because
he has seen the truth.
(B.G.
4.34)
The
latter quote is from the original Bhagavad-gita in which
Srila Prabhupada uses the word soul, whereas the scholarly
version uses the plural souls. If we accept that this change
is more true to the original Sanskrit manuscripts, then why
did Srila Prabhupada himself never use the plural when
quoting the verse in lectures? The following is an example
illustrating how Srila Prabhupada would always present the
verse.
And
what is that submission? "Render service unto
him." Try to please him by satisfying him, by service.
Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah, you singing. If he is
pleased, then you know Krsna is pleased. And if he is
displeased, then there is no other way. This is the process,
submissive. "The self-realized soul can impart
knowledge." And because you have to select spiritual
master, a self-realized soul... Just like if you want to
study particular subject matter, you have to approach a
realized person, a perfect person. Then you get. "The
self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because
he has seen the truth." One who has not seen the truth,
he cannot.
(B.G.
Lec., 4.34-9)
Why
didn’t Srila Prabhupada himself instruct his disciples to
change this so called mistake? Srila Prabhupada was very
alert in making sure the correct translation was presented
in his books. Here are a couple of examples.
Nitai:
"At the time of death,
Ajamila saw three awkward persons, very fearsome in
appearance, with ropes in their hands. They had twisted
faces and deformed bodily features, and their hair stood on
end. They had come to take Ajamila away to the shelter of
Yamaraja. Ajamila became extremely bewildered when he saw
them. His small child, Narayana, was playing a little
distance off, and with tearful eyes and great anxiety, he
called the name of his son very loudly three times,
"Narayana, Narayana, Narayana!"
Prabhupada:
Is there, "three times"?
Nitai:
It said in the manuscript. The manuscript said,
"three times."
Prabhupada:
Who said in the manuscript? There is no three times. Not
Narayana three times, one time. "Oh, Narayana,"
that's all. So did I say, "three times"? No, it is
not said here. You should correct it. Once, "Oh,
Narayana," that's all.
There is no reason of calling
three times. There is no mention here. Once is sufficient.
(laughter)
(S.B.
Lec, 6.1.28, Philadelphia, 13th July, 1975)
Pusta
Krsna: "My dear Prahlada, may you live a long
time. One cannot appreciate or understand Me
without pleasing Me, but one who has seen Me or
pleased Me has nothing for which to lament for his own
personal self."
Prabhupada:
"His own personal satisfaction."
(S.B.
Lec, 7.9.53, in Vrndvana, 8th April, 1976)
The
last quote is very significant as it appears to be a very
minor fault. Nevertheless, Srila Prabhupada was very quick
to correct Pusta Krsna by saying satisfaction.
Madhu-dvisa:
"Just try to learn the truth
by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him
submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized
soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen
the truth.
Prabhupada:This
is the process of understanding spiritual knowledge.
"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual
master."
(B.G.
4.34, Los Angeles, 12th January, 1969)
Here
we see Srila Prabhupada in the same situation as when with
Pusta Krsna. He says nothing about the translation and
particularly the word soul. Therefore this change by the
G.B.C is the policy of Kamsa. By using the authority of the
Bhagavad Gita, they are killing the spiritual lives of
thousands of innocent readers by subtly indoctrinating them
with their concoted philosophy. The self realized soul “Srila
Prabhupada” is now dead. Now we can approach sixty
conditioned “souls”. This type of change is made by
persons outside the parampara.
But
if you misinterpret, if you pollute it by your own
interpretation, then you will not see. These
rascals, they are simply polluting. Because they are not
coming in parampara system, everyone is
trying to (sic:) becoming a very learned scholar, very
learned leader, but they are rascals. Actually they are
rascals because they cannot see.
(B.G.
Lec., 16.8, 28th January, 1975)
So
rather than continuing the pure disciple succession, such
Prabhupada killing policies are destroying the very basis of
Vaisnava tradition.
But
some way or other, if it is distorted at a certain point,
then the knowledge is lost. As soon as any of the disciples
in the succession distort the knowledge, then it is lost.
That is being explained. Sa kalena mahata. The time is very
powerful. It changes. That is the... Time means it changes,
kills the original position. You have got experience. You
purchase one anything. It is very fresh, new. But time will
kill it. It will become shabby. It will be useless at a
time, in due course of time. So time is fighting. This
material time, it is called kala. Kala means death. Or kala
means the black snake. So black snake destroys. As soon as
touches anything, it is destroyed. Similarly, kala... This
kala is also another form of Krsna. So kalena mahata.
Therefore it is called mahata. It is very powerful. It is
not ordinary thing. Mahata. Its business is to destroy. Sa
kalena iha nasta. So by due course of time... Because how
the kala can destroy? As soon as kala sees
that you are distorting, then it will be lost. So don't try
to understand Bhagavad-gita from persons who are under the
influence of kala--past, present, future. Don't try to
understand Bhagavad-gita from so-called rascal philosophers,
commentators, and... They will write Bhagavad-gita in a
distorted way. Somebody will say, "There was
no Krsna."
(B.G.
Lec., 4.2., Bombay, 22nd March, 1974)
Srila
Prabhupada commented on this changing policy on the 22nd of
June 1977, calling it whimsical and orders his disciples to
reprint the books in the original way.
Yasodanandana:
Sometimes they (editors) appeal that ‘We can make better
English,’ so they can change like that, just like in the
case of the Isopanishads. There are over a hundred changes.
So where is the need? Your words are sufficient. The potency
is there. When they change, it is something else.
Svarupa-damodara:
That’s actually a very dangerous mentality. Yasodanandana:
What’s it going to be in five years? It’s going to be a
different book.
Prabhupada:
It is a very serious situation. You write one letter, ‘Why
you have made so many changes?’ And whom to write to? Who
will care? All rascals are there. Write to Satsvarupa that,
‘This is the position. They
are doing anything and everything at their whim.’ The next
printing should be (done) again the original way.
Another
dangerous philosophy presented by the G.B.C. is in regards
to the pure disciplic succession. They claim it can be
contaminated, and that the acaryas, influenced by maya,
may sometimes deviate from the instructions of the Lord.
One
is therefore advised to study Bhagavad-gita, or any other
scripture, under a bona fide spiritual master, with service
and surrender. A bona fide spiritual master is in
the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not
deviate at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord as
they were imparted millions of years ago to the sun-god,
from whom the instructions of Bhagavad-gita have come down
to the earthly kingdom. One should, therefore,
follow the path of Bhagavad-gita as it is expressed in the
Gita itself and beware of self-interested people after
personal aggrandisement who deviate others from the actual
path. (B.G. 4.42)
A
bona-fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession
from time eternal, and is never influenced by maya. He never
deviates from the instructions of the Lord, anyone who does
was never part of the strict chain of unalloyed acarya’s.
Thus the philosophy held by the G.B.C. is against the
conclusion of sastra. Thus they must be considered apa
sampradaya or “outside the sampradaya.”
In
the parampara system, the instructions taken from the bona
fide spiritual master must also be based on revealed Vedic
scriptures. There are many so-called followers of
the Vaisnava cult in the line of Caitanya Mahaprabhu who do
not scrupulously follow the conclusions of the sastras, and
therefore they are considered to be apa-sampradaya, which
means "outside of the sampradaya."
(C.C.
Adi 7.48)
The
major reason these apa-siddhantic conclusions have poisoned
the society, is due to the leaders disobediance of the
following order given by His Divine Grace.
I
am in due receipt of your letter dated September 3, 1975
with the enclosed statement about Bon Maharaja. So I
have now issued orders that all my disciples should avoid
all of my godbrothers. They should not have
any dealings with them nor even correspondence,
nor should they give them any of my books or
should they purchase any of their books,
neither should you visit any of their temples. Please
avoid them.
(S.P.L.
to Visvakarma, 9th November, 1975)
The
first point to note is that in this letter to Visvakarma
dasa, Srila Prabhupada is informing him that he has now
issued orders to all his disciples
to avoid all his Godbrothers. This
is a very clear instruction, and no instructions to the
contrary were given in writing or on tape after this. He
specifically instructs us to have no dealings
with them, not even correspondance,
nor should we give them any of His
books, nor purchase theirs,.neither
should we visit any of their
temples. He ends by strongly pleading with us “Please
avoid them”. The word avoid is used as it
gives special stress to purposefully keeping away
(dictionary definition).
We
may say this instruction was given at a particular time,
during certain circumstances and is no longer valid. What
were these circumstances? The circumstances in question
were, that Srila Prabhupada’s neophyte Godbrothers, having
disobeyed the instructions of Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati
Thakura, had become useless or more precisely
apa-sampradaya.
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura, at the time of his departure, requested
all his disciples to form a governing body and conduct
missionary activities cooperatively. He did not instruct a
particular man to become the next acarya. But just after his
passing away, his leading secretaries made plans, without
authority, to occupy the post of acarya, and they split in
two factions over who the next acarya would be. Consequently,
both factions were asara, or useless, because they had no
authority, having disobeyed the order of the spiritual
master.
(C.C.
Adi, 12-8)
One
who is in the line of disciplic succession cannot
manufacture his own way of behaviour.
(C.C.
Adi 7.48)
Therefore
to protect his innocent neophyte disciples and young but
growing transcendental society from the contamination of
apa-siddhantic philosophy, He ordered us to avoid
association with them in any shape or form. Have these
circumstances changed? Of course not. Rather pots of
poison become more potent with age. This poison has
completely infected the whole of Srila Prabhupada’s
society to such a degree, that our so called leaders are
completely under the control of these offenders. These
leaders have now become instruments in the hands of maya and
through them this poison is being administered to all the
members of the society. Clearly the philosophical
deviations remain within the Gaudiya Matha, therefore how
can we possibly say Srila Prabhupada’s order to avoid them
does not?
The
order to avoid them is clear! It
applies under the present circumstances, in fact,
association with apa-sampradya communities is forbidden
under all circumstances.
In
order to follow strictly the disciplic
succession of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, one should
not associate with these apa-sampradaya communities.
(C.C.
Adi, 7.48)
We
cannot adjust this order according to our particular whim. That
is deviation.
Any
opinion different from the opinion of the spiritual master
is useless. One cannot infiltrate materially
concocted ideas into spiritual advancement. That is
deviation. There is no scope for adjusting
spiritual advancement to material ideas.
(C.C.
Adi 12-9)
Such
a deviation from the orders of Srila Prabhupada is an
offence at his lotus feet, and the lotus feet of the Holy
name. How can anyone claim to be acarya if he has not first
become a disciple.
If
someone blasphemes a Vaisnava, one should stop him
with arguments and higher reason. If one is not
expert enough to do this he should give up his life on the
spot, and if he cannot do this, he must go away.
(C.C.
Adi 7.50)
If
there were an acarya amongst us he would have spoken out
about all this nonsense and blasphemy to His Divine Grace
Srila Prabhupada. Any sincere disciple would at least
completely disassociate himself from such offenders. What to
speak of the acarya, the representative of the Lord, who’s
mission is to establish the principles of religion.
====================
So
Krsna, He is within our heart. Hrdy antah sthah.
Therefore, as soon as we become a little inclined towards
Krsna, then from within our heart He gives us favourable
instruction so that we can gradually make progress,
gradually. Krsna is the first spiritual master, and when we
become more interested, then we have to go to a physical
spiritual master.
(B.G.
Lecture, 1966)
Prabhupada:
Therefore God is called caittya-guru, the spiritual master
within the heart. And the physical spiritual master is God's
mercy. If God sees that you are sincere, He will give you a
spiritual master who can give you protection. He will help
you from within and without, without in the physical
form of spiritual master, and within as the
spiritual master within the heart.
(Car.
Rome, 23rd May, 1974)
These
quotes are used by certain people to substantiate their
claim that Srila Prabhupada is no longer accessible as an
initiating spiritual master, and that we need to approach a
“physically manifest guru”. In the purport of S.B.
4.8.54 Srila Prabhupada says.
Not only
should one chant or murmur the mantra, but in front of him
he must have the Deity, or physical form of the Lord.
Of course, when the Lord appears it is no longer a physical
form. For example, when an iron rod is made red-hot in a
fire, it is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, when we
make a form of the Lord--whether of wood or stone or metal
or jewels or paint, or even a form within the mind--it is a
bona fide, spiritual, transcendental form of the Lord.
(S.B.
4.8.54)
This
is confirmed in a purport from Caitanya Caritamtra.
Thus
in different places throughout the universe there are
various Deities in temples bestowing Their causeless mercy
upon the devotees. All these Deity forms are non-different
from the murtis in the spiritual world of the Vaikunthas.
Although the arca-murti, the worshipable Deity form of the
Lord, appears to be made of material elements, it is as good
as the spiritual forms found in the spiritual
Vaikunthalokas. The Deity in the temple, however, is visible
to the material eyes of the devotee. It is not possible for
one in material conditional life to see the spiritual form
of the Lord. To bestow causeless mercy upon us, the Lord
appears as arca-murti so that we can see Him. It is
forbidden to consider the arca-murti to be made of stone or
wood. In the Padma Purana it is said:
arcye
visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhir
visnor
va vaisnavanam Kali-mala-mathane pada-tirthe'mbu-buddhih
sri-visnor
namni mantre sakala-kalusa-he sabde-samanya-buddhir
visnau
sarvesvarese tad-itara-sama-dhir yasya va naraki sah
No
one should consider the Deity in the temple to be made of
stone or wood, nor should one consider the spiritual master
an ordinary human being. No one should consider a Vaisnava
to belong to a particular caste or creed, and no one should
consider caranamrta or Ganges water to be like ordinary
water. Nor should anyone consider the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
to be a material vibration. All these expansions of
Krsna in the material world are simply demonstrations of the
Lord's mercy and willingness to give facility to His
devotees who are engaged in His devotional service within
the material world.
(C.C.
Mad, 20 -217)
The
Deity, the spiritual master, Ganges water and the holy name
etc. are all completely spiritual. They are expansions of
Krsna in the material world. They are simply demonstrations
of the Lords mercy to fallen souls who cannot approach the
spiritual form of the Lord in the conditioned state of
material existence. In this way they can be called physical,
or more clearly manifest to the physical senses of
the conditioned souls.
The
merciful Lord left behind Him the great teachings of the
Bhagavad-gita so that one can take the instructions of the
Lord even when He is not visible to material eyesight.
Material senses cannot have any estimation of the Supreme
Lord, but by His inconceivable power the Lord can
incarnate Himself to the sense perception of the conditioned
souls in a suitable manner through the agency of matter,
which is also another form of the Lord's manifested energy.
Thus the Bhagavad-gita, or any authentic scriptural sound
representation of the Lord, is also the incarnation of the
Lord. There is no difference between the sound
representation of the Lord and the Lord Himself. One can
derive the same benefit from the Bhagavad-gita as Arjuna did
in the personal presence of the Lord.
(S.B.
1.15.27)
Here
we see Srila Prabhupada describing the Bhagavad Gita or any
authentic scriptural sound representation of the Lord, as an
incarnation of the Lord through the agency of matter, or in
other words a “physical” form of the Lord.
The
Lord, out of His causeless mercy, touched His conchshell to
Dhruva's forehead, and he was transcendentally inspired.
This transcendental inspiration is called brahma-maya
because when one is thus inspired, the sound he
produces exactly corresponds to the sound vibration of the
Vedas.
(S.B.
4.9.4)
The
sound manifest by Dhurva Maharaja or more relevantly Srila
Prabhupada exactly corresponds to the sound vibration of the
Vedas. Thus it is an authentic spiritual sound.
So
if we examine these quotes which describe the need to
approach the physical spiritual master, we can conclude that
we have to approach a spiritual master who is manifest to
our physical senses, rather than thinking we can receive
guidance from the Supersoul only, who is described as
Adoksaja or beyond the material mind and senses.
Thus
if we approach the transcendental vani of Srila Prabhupada,
which is so mercifully manifest to our material senses, we
have approached the “physical” spiritual master.
Using
these quotes according to our whim, taking them out of
context so we can support our deviant conclusions, is
offensive! Srila Prabhupada repeatedly stressed we take
shelter of a spiritual master’s instructions, not his
bodily presence.
Srila
Prabhupada never contradicts himself! Contradictions
manifest in the minds of persons who distort his teachings
for personal interest.
To
answer this argument, it is described here that one
has to associate with liberated persons not directly,
physically, but by understanding, through philosophy and
logic, the problems of life.
(S.B.
3.31.48)
Such
association with Krsna and the spiritual master should be
association by vibration, not physical presence. That is
real association. (Elevation to Krsna
Consciousness Ch 4.)
Physical
presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but
vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must
take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence.
(CC
Antya Ch5.)
“Hence
Forward” It’s Very Clear!
This
document has presented evidence for ritvik in absentia on
the basis of pure and simple logic. Srila Prabhupada is very
clearly present by his transcendental sound vibration and is
still giving all fallen souls initiation into the holy name.
Thus
the system he officially introduced on July 9th 1977 was to
continue, any other conclusion would be illogical or more
clearly madness.
“Temple
presidents may henceforward send recommendation for
first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven
representatives are nearest their temple. After considering
the recommendations, these representatives may accept the
devotee as an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada by
giving a spiritual name.”
(letter
to G.B.C. and Temple presidents signed and approved by His
Divine Grace). July 9th 1977.]
This
is a very clear instruction. Henceforward is defined in the
dictionary as meaning from now into the future,
indefinitely. Research showed that the word
“henceforward” was used 81 times in the complete works
of Srila Prabhupada. For example.
The
Lord was also asked by Nityananda Prabhu to accept these
repenting souls, and the Lord agreed to accept them on one
condition, that they henceforward completely give up
all their sinful activities and habits of debauchery. both
the brothers agreed and promised to give up all their sinful
habits, and the kind Lord accepted them and did not again
refer to their past misdeeds.
(S.B.
Introduction)
In
not one of these 81 occasions was the word used to indicate
anything other than something that was unchangeable. Another
very significant point is in regards to the person who wrote
the letter, Tamal Krsna, he clearly new what the word
“henceforward” meant.
Tamala
Krsna: Prabhupada says, in future,
henceforward, these people should not be allowed to
hold lectures here. Strictly Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teaching
forbids. Mayavadi haya krsne aparadhi. You tellthem,
"You're Mayavadi. So this is a Krsna conscious temple.
(S.P.C.
Vrndavana, 1st November, 1977)
Everyone
recognises that a mayavadi will never be allowed to speak in
our temples. Therefore, the word “henceforward” is
clearly used to mean final and permanent. If due to the
influence of the material energy he made a mistake when
writing the letter, wouldn’t Srila Prabhupada have told
him to reword the letter, According to the dictionary
definition and Srila Prabhupada’s own use of the word,
this letter would clearly indicate that these
representatives would continue performing initiations on his
behalf indefinitely. If this wasn’t what Srila Prabhupada
intended to happen, why didn’t he have the letter
re-worded and thus present his actual desires more clearly,
Srila Prabhupada once told Ramesvara... “Krsna will speak
to you directly. You will see him and hear him. Every
decision I make, Krsna is telling me to do it directly.” (B.T.G.
article).
Another
important point is that if Tamal Krsna was well aware of the
meaning and implications of the word “henceforward”, why
did he not use another word indicating a more temporary
arrangement? Unless, he also understood that the ritviks
where to continue performing initiations on Srila
Prabhupada’s behalf indefinitely.
In
the following letter, which he wrote two days after the
“henceforward” letter, he clearly reveals that he had in
fact understood the permanence of the appointment.
Tamal
Krishna: “A letter has been sent
to all the temple presidents and GBC which you should be
receiving soon describing the process for initiation to
be followed in the future. Srila Prabhupada has
appointed thus far eleven representatives who will initiate
new devotees on his behalf.
(Letter
to Kirtananandana Maharaja, 11th July, 1977)
This
is confirmed by the following conversation which he had with
Yasodanandana dasa as recorded in his diary on the 10th of
July 1977.
YND:
“What does all this (officiating letter) mean?”
TKG:
“Devotees have been writing to Prabhupada for initiations,
and now Prabhupada has named eleven ritviks (priests) who
can initiate on his behalf”...
YND:
“And when Prabhupada departs?”
TKG:
“They’ll be ritviks,
That’s what Prabhupada said.”
And
finally the following conversation took place on the 28th of
May1977, just prior to the official announcement on the 9th
of July 1977.
Satavarupa
swami: 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 initiations would be conducted.
Srila
Prabhupada: Yes. I shall recommend some of you...I
shall recommend some of you to act as officiating (guru)
acarya.
Tamala
Krishna swami: is that called ritvik-acarya
(officiating-priest)?
Srila
Prabhupada: Ritvik, yes.
Tamala
Krishna swami later on summarised his recollection of the
above May 28th instructions:
“If
it had been anything more than that (a continuation of the
ongoing ritvik--or officiating on behalf of Srila
Prabhupada--priest system), you can bet your bottom dollar
that Prabhupada would have spoken for days and hours and
weeks--on end--about how to set this thing up with the
gurus, but he did not, because he had already said it a
million times. He said, ‘My Guru Maharaja did not appoint
anyone. It was by qualification.’ We made a great
mistake.”
“Actually
Prabhupada never appointed any gurus. He appointed eleven
ritviks. He never appointed them gurus. Myself and the
other GBC have done the greatest disservice to this movement
the last three years (1977-1980) because we interpreted the
appointment of ritviks as the appointment of gurus.”
“You
cannot show me anything on tape or in writing where
Prabhupada says: ‘I appoint these eleven as gurus.’ It
does not exist because he never appointed any gurus. This
is a myth.”
(From
Topanga Talks, December 3, 1980)
Here
we find clear confirmation that the appointment of gurus and
their functioning in that capacity between 1977-1980, was in
fact a concoction and disobedience of Srila Prabhupada’s
instructions for them to continue in their role as ritvik
representatives. The following letter confirms Srila
Prabhupada’s continued status as the initiator.
The
GBC should all be the instructor gurus. I am the initiator
guru, and you should
be the instructor guru by teaching what I am teaching and
doing what I am doing. This is not a title, but you
must actually come to this platform. This
I want.
(SPL
to Madhudvisa Swami, 4th August, 1975)
He
says the devotees in the G.B.C. should all become the
instructor gurus. The words should reveal
that at that time nobody was actually on this platform.
Srila Prabhupada says “you must actually come to this
platform. This I want.”
There
are two kinds of instructing spiritual masters. One
is the liberated person fully absorbed in meditation in
devotional service, and the other is he
who invokes the disciple's spiritual consciousness by means
of relevant instructions.
(CC
Adi, 1.47 )
Here
Srila Prabhupada describes the two kinds of instructor
gurus. The second describes a person who gives instructions
based on the revealed scriptures. The first describes the
siksa guru Srila Prabhupada wants us all to become. On this
platform we will be fully qualified to preach the glories of
the Lord.
So
this society is attempting to create a society of devotees
all over the world, without any discrimination of caste,
creed, colour. One must be a devotee of Krsna. Yei krsna
tattva vettha sei guru haya. One must know the
science of Krsna. Then he can preach to others. Sei guru
haya. That is our purpose.
(N.O.D.
Lec. 26th October, 1972)
Srila
Prabhupada says that his society is trying to create
devotees who are qualified to know the science of Krsna.
Then they can preach to others.
This
is complete liberated stage. In the previous verse it has
been spoken, bhagavat-tattva-vijnanam mukta-sangasya jayate.
The science of God, bhagavat-tattva, the science of
Absolute Truth, becomes manifest to the liberated soul.
We find sometimes that one man is posing to have very much
advanced in spiritual understanding or a great devotee, but
mukta-sanga, he's not mukta-sanga,
(S.B.
Lecture, Vrndavana, 1st November, 1972.)
Again
confirmation of the qualifications of the siksa guru we all
have to become. Therefore even when many devotee’s have
reached such an advanced platform of devotional service, the
position will remain.
“I
AM THE INITIATOR GURU,
AND
YOU SHOULD BE THE INSTRUCTOR GURU
BY
TEACHING AND DOING WHAT I’M DOING.”