Hare Krsna, obeisances to all;
In response to BCS's article suggesting Iskcon could /will reform its abusive structure, Sampradaya Sun. ;
Just a few practical necessities we should probably address;
While Bhakti Caru’s article sounds like a step in the right direction, talk is cheap. There is also the question of addressing all the devotees’ greivances seriously.
Suggestions; Issue a call for all of Srila Prabhupada’s diciples to return, including all the “ritvik-vadis”, then totally remove the current GBCs, and re-elect all officers in the temples once Prabhupada’s disciples are prepared, and extend full voting rights to all such disciples, living in the temple or not. Elect all these temple authorities, and then they should elect an all-new GBC. The current administrators should be disallowed to be reelected until a new governing regime is settled, so that the perception will be of complete breaking with the old ways and a return to original Iskcon mood.
Remove all banned labels on account of ritvik, and apologize to us.
Extend the natural right to all initiated devotees of Srila Prabhupada to live and fully serve to their best capacities in our spiritual master’s temple societies, and no one can kick them out or restrict their thinking or preaching in any way! Establish istagostis immediately, and show submission to the collective devotee’s ideas and suggestions.
Try to provide full facilities for preachers of all kinds, including brahmacaries and vanaprasthas.
Issue membership cards, acquire life insurance programs, give daksina regularly and generously to all ashrama members, except grhastas.
Stop all salaries immediately! Other avenues of support may be arranged, as ncessary, such as daksina or grants.
Stop earning money by doing Hindu ceremonies before our deities. Stop allowing anyone other than initiated Iskcon brahmanas or other qualified brahmana Vaisnavas to cook in the temples.
Insist that every devotee go on sankirtana regularly. Reduce the deity worship if necessary to accomplish this. The yuga dharma is harinama sankirtana, not temple worship, so priorities need to be rearranged in some cases.
Remove the rubber stamp system altogether. Retain the current spiritual masters who accept ritivk role, and make arrnagments for those who do not accept this to be reestablished outside of Prabhupada’s temples. All temples and farms etc started by Srila Prabhupada should be designated as such, while those started by others should go to their hands and their disciples.
Rewrite the role of all sannyasis in Iskcon to one appropriate for the ashrama. No more sannyasi managers. All brahamanas should give classes at least occassionally, and the cult of the high-flying sannyasis and Iskcon rock stars must end now.
Stop harassing Madhu Pandita et al. Withdraw all court cases.
Stop rewriting Srila Prabhupada’s books, and extend right to print to all disiciples.
Any devotees who wish to act as gurus should have lesser rights within Iskcon, and restrictions of their activites within Prabhupadas society should be mandated. They and their disciples should either rethink their allegiances to Srila Prabhupada, or make way for Prabhupada’s disciples to manage and govern without interference from these new spiritaul masters or their disciples. They should plan to and be assisted to find their own centres as sub-branches of Iskcon. Once their seperate identity is established and Prabhupada’s temples are returned to him and his disciples, ritvik post-samadhi disciples as well as the original devotees, then full mutual cooperation between Iskcon and the branches can be maintained.
Start massive e-preaching within a now unified Iskcon body.
Increase devotee in-temple ashramas immediately, and encourage seekers to live with us for a stretch, and encourage renunciants of all ashreamas to live in and perform sankirtana activites of all sorts.
Action along these lines will be real. Just talk not followed by actual
reform will be dissappointing and not so helpful.
Thank you, prabhus. Hare Krsna and obeisances to all!
Reply
Sukhada devi dasi says:
September 25, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Thank you Tamohara for your views. I hope Prabhupada’s disciples who went away will be encouraged by your words.
Reply
October 25, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Dear Sukhada Devi; Please mataji; What makes you think any of us “went away”? We were driven out violently by the current usurpers!! But perhaps that was not your meaning when you say “went away”. Thanks otherwise. Pamho.
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Sanjeev Punj says:
August 12, 2009 at 5:57 pm
My humble best wishes towards the success of ISKCON, and the GBC in particular, in view of the changes and corrections that are being carried out.Indeed it will shine brightly and globally again, and the chanting has to be spread with even more fervour and enthusiasm. Wish you godspeed. Jai Sri Krishna.
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Gadadhar Dasa says:
August 12, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Dear Bhakti Charu Swami:
PAMHO, AGTSP, and Hare Krishna.
I am glad that you have expressed your thoughts to the world of devotees. I have few points for your consideration:
(1) You say we made similar mistake nevertheless. Well, Gaudiya Matha appointed one Acharya at a time but ISKCON appointed 11 Zonal Acharyas – all at once. So our mistake was 11 fold compared to Gaudiya Matha.
(2) You say this mistake was corrected partially by appointing more Gurus. Actually it was a bribe extended by the entrenched ISKCON leaders (GBCs and Gurus) to innocent followers of Srila Prabhupada that they can be Gurus in short time if they go along and get along with the corruption of the existing leaders. So mistake was compounded and not partially corrected as you state.
(3) By now more than 50 appointed Gurus have fallen down and gone away and more than 100 Gurus have been appointed so far. So our mistake is at least 100 times worst than Gaudiya Matha.
(3) Why it took 32 years for all of you smart guys that you all have been wrong all along while:
- 95% of Srila Prabhupada’s disciple left ISKCON or were driven out by you guys
- thousands of disciples of new gurus joined ISKCON and went away disappointed by Machiavelli tactics of ISKCON leaders
- North American Temples became empty.
- BTG printing and distribution went down from 1,000,000 (ONE MILLION) a Month in 1975 to almost nothing now.
- distribution of books, harinama, and prasadam came to halt
- thousands of children were abused/molested and abusers are still welcome as saints in ISKCON while children have to go to courts.
- at least half a dozen devotees have been murdered by your gang members.
- did it ever occurs to any of you that even one of the above facts should have been enough to provide sufficient warning and wake up call to find out what you all have been doing was not only wrong but criminal.
Now, show us the meat. You have no credibility as a group. No one trusts you guys. Show us how you are going to change things as Srila Prabhupada wanted.
Please note that HDG Srila Prabhupada was not the party to the mistakes of Gaudiya Matha but was the savior of the mission of his Gurudev BSS.
On the other hand, you have been the major player in Guru Appointments and ISKCON politics. You are carrying a big burden of vikarma on your head. Please come out clean 100% and be savior of ISKCON.
Wishing You Well,
Yhs- Gadadhar Dasa
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Krishnapriya devi dasi says:
August 12, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Dear Bhakti Charu Maharaj,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Reading the posting above, I am thinking back, of the dream I had of Srila Prabhupada, in which he told me not to worry about you - as he was going to watch over you.
The realizations you have can only be had by the Grace of His Divine Grace.
These are however so far, mere words: how you will act on them and how yourself and the GBC will set all the wrongs right and take ISKCON back on track remain to be seen.
Yet it is so simple: BACK TO PRABHUPADA!
He is our eternal GURU.
For all who come to ISKCON and pursue their spiritual lifes.
We, who have chosen for HIS DIVINE GRACE, should not have been ousted out of the Temples, and out of grace with the masses of ISKCON.
Personal honour or dishonour ar no issue at this stage of choosing FOR or AGAINST Srila Prabhupada. It is like in the Mahabharat Yuddha, the stalwarts like Bhisma, Dronacarya, Karna, Krpacharya failed to choose for The Absolute Truth.
The solution of rectifying ISKCON lies in the GBC recognising that their authority is absolute on managerial level, only so far it goes in carrying out the orders of His Divine Grace, and that there is no question of spiritual absolute authority - for Absolute Spiritual authority of ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada ONLY.
Will the GBC dismantle? Will ISKCON restructure as per Srila Prabhupada’s order. Is it not time finally to come clean of all the errors and misconduct and misleadings.
If GBC is sincere, if ISKCON leaders are sincere then obviously next step will be: getting back a GBC as Srila Prabhupada wanted. The world again in 12 zones. And Ritviks initiating ON BEHALF OF SRILA PRABHUPADA.
Can you and our godbrother/godsisters, who all with all good intentions perhaps, are now misleading the whole world give up This False Guru business and Let there be ONE ACHARYA OF ISKCON FOREVER: SRILA PRABHUPADA.
It is His rightful position. Can he be restored to it on this his coming Vyasa Puja?
yours in Srila Prabhupada’s eternal servant,
Krishnapriya devi dasi
Reply
Tamoharadasa says: Very nicely spoken, Mataji.
August 13, 2009 at 5:42 am
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Comments
1. The following is Srila Prabhupada’s final, written, signed order on Sanskrit diacritics. As usual, it’s crystal clear and doesn’t leave any room for speculation and/or interpretation by the “intellectual class” (rascals).
Prabhupada: In reply to Jayadvaita’s questions, henceforward the policy for using diacritic markings is that I want them used everywhere, on large books, small books and also BTG. If there is any difficulty with the pronunciation, then after the correct diacritic spelling, in brackets the words “pronounced as _”, may be written. So even on covers the diacritic markings should be used. We should not have to reduce our standard on account of the ignorant masses. Diacritic spelling is accepted internationally, and no learned person will even care to read our books unless this system is maintained. (Letter to Jadurani, 31 December, 1971)
Here, it’s obvious that Srila Prabhupada’s definition of the word “henceforward” is the same as the dictionary definition:
henceforward – from this time forth; from now on
Obviously, the GBC and the BBT Trustees understood this directive to mean the dictionary definition, because they didn’t suddenly stop using Sanskrit diacritics in Srila Prabhupada’s books and in BTG magazine after Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure!
2. Satsvarupa Maharaja: “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 will be conducted.”
Srila Prabhupada: “Yes. I shall recommend some of you. After this is settled up. I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating acarya.”
Tamala Krishna Maharaja: “Is that called ritvik-acarya?”
Srila Prabhupada: “Ritvik. Yes.”
(GBC Meets with Srila Prabhupada — May 28, 1977, Vrndavana)
The rest of the conversation is confusing, but irrelevant. Srila Prabhupada said, “You can say anything; just don’t put it in writing!” If anything, the rest of the conversation authorizes his disciples to initiate disciples of their own outside of ISKCON, but certainly not within ISKCON!
3. “I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating acarya” was done by Srila Prabhupada in the form of a formal, signed document, the letter to all GBCs and temple presidents on July 9, 1977. It is perfectly clear to anyone who is not self-motivated: Ritvik initiations, henceforward! (Paraphrased)
4. Srila Prabhupada’s will states that “The system of management will continue as it is now and there is no need of any change.” My question is, “Since a will, by definition, goes into effect immediately after a person leaves his material body, why were changes made to the system of initiations immediately after Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure? Also, his will states, “…a successor director or directors may be appointed by the remaining directors, provided the new director is my initiated disciple…” My question is, “How can the property directors always be, in the future, ‘my initiated disciples’, unless Srila Prabhupada’s system of ritvik initiations is continued now and in the future