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Ananda dd. (UK): ‘Who is Srila Prabhupada’s disciple?’

Posted by Welcome on November 11, 2009 at 2:30

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:36 PM PST Srila Prabhupada, March 8, 1976, Mayapur: Discipline…Disciple means discipline.The word discipline comes from the word disciple, or disciple comes from discipline. So unless there is discipline, there is no question of disciple. This discipline…..that should be uniform. Otherwise sisya…sisya comes from the root, verb sas-dhatu. Sas means ruling. From this word Sasana means government. Sastra means weapon, and sastra means scripture…These things have come from one root sas-dhatu which means ruling under discipline. There is another English word, that, “Obedience is the first rule of discipline” or something. They say, “Obedience is the first law of discipline”/ So am I right?” Obedience is…” That is the…. TKG: Yes, thats more or less what it says. Srila Prabhupada: No, what is the exact word, exact. There is an English word. “Obedience is the first law of discipline.” So unless there is obedience, there cannot be any discipline. And unless there is disc

Gurukrpa Swami's Letter

Posted by Welcome on November 10, 2009 at 7:30

From: Bhakta dasa Date: 2/3/2009 7:45:43 PM To: Prabhupada Disciples
Subject: Another point of view from Gurukrpa Prabhu

Dear Prabhus:

Gurukrpa is here with me and on his behalf I am writing here.

Question to GK: What happened the final months of SP's appearance in connection with the process of initiating new devotees?
Answer: Nothing happened. In the beginning SP did the disksa, the yajna and the name giving. As the numbers increased, he authorized GBC, and senior sanyassis to pick names and chant on the beads, etc. In 1977 during the months of May, June, July 1977 I was in Vrindaban with Srila Prabhupada, giving him his massage in his bed between 1 AM and mangala aratik. During the day, many letters would arrive. Satsvarupa Swami was the secretary and we decided that only letters that would give joy to Srila Prabhupada would be read. Like numbers of books sold, etc. A maximum of five letters daily were read to SP.

After some weeks like this, there were stacks and stacks of letters,

Bhakti Caru Swami's Two-Faced Propaganda Whitewash

Posted by Welcome on October 25, 2009 at 12:30

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 accou

Fly or Sisya?

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 9:00

BY: TAMOHARADASA (ACBSP) Mar 28, CANADA — Harakumara prabhu speaks correctly. Within Srila Prabhupada's pastimes, it is seen that he left the Gaudiya Matha in order to manifest his own preaching organization, ISKCON, thus to save the world. As disciples, his example for us all is foremost and must be considered definitive when we try to understand what is to be done, and what is not to be done. Those who argue against his actions by saying where is the sastra, well what can we say? I, myself, will not be providing that today. I, for one, take his example as enough of sastra to suit the need. (As Harakumara Prabhu states, also, there is tradition of this enough.) Ultimately, though, the spiritual master's actions and example are enough. He knows that which you do not. Had one such knowledge, he would see that the guru acts in exact accordance with sastra, and in accordance with the highest levels of Mahaprabhu's mercy and will. Either you accept Srila Prabhupada, or not. What he did,

Reject the Mind's Weak Arguments

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 9:00

Mar 25, 08 — A Response to Gokulananda Prabhu The general criteria by which we must make our judgment calls is guru, sastra, sadhu. I suspect that all will agree on this. However, in such cases as when arguments can be effectively put from opposing viewpoints, supported even from sastra, and more easily still, by taking selective samples of opinions from the sadhus, then the guru's practical example must supercede the other sources of instructions, especially for the loyal disciples. To fail to do so would be to erringly minimize the guru's perfect authority. Having said this, looking at Sri Gokulananada Prabhu's arguments in regards to initiation formalities, ie rtvik or not to ritvik, we can see that viewpoints based on sastra and sadhu can be made from many angles, thus we find no clear conclusions, except inasmuch as we have prejudiced ideas. However, within the recent times, a practical example was set by the maha-jagad-guru HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharajah Thakura. It is

The Spiritual Master's Answer

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 9:00

Mar 22, '08 Unless one out and out denies Srila Prabhupada, the following must be taken as definitive: "Actually the living entity is originally the spiritual part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, but due to his rebellious nature, he is conditioned within material nature. It really does not matter how these living entities or superior entities of the Supreme Lord have come in contact with material nature. The Supreme Personality of Godhead knows, however, how and why this actually took place." Gita Purport 13:20 Crow and Tal-fruit Logic; quoted, as it is, from A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: "We never had any occasion when we were separated from Krsna. Just like one man is dreaming and he forgets himself. In dream he creates himself in different forms: now I am the King discussing like that. This creation of himself is as seer and subject matter or seen, two things. But as soon as the dream is over, the "seen" disappears. But the seer remains. Now he is in his original p

Pertinent to the Directives of Srila Prabhupada

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 9:00

Readers please note; for publishing this article, Bhaktimarg Swami banished me from Iskcon Canada Feb 29, Montreal, CANADA — My obeisances to the readers of the Vaisnava weBsites. Those following the Sampradaya Sun and Dandavats both, will be a little familiar with my articles. I have gone from being brand new to the very word "ritvik" some roughly five years ago, to being flabbergasted and outraged at apparent abuses of devotees by those in high ranks. I have had to reach my own conclusions on the directions left for us by Srila Prabhupada, and clearly his expressed instruction were, to my best understanding, for a system of officiating priests to perform initiations on Prabhupada's behalf and orders. But, I also believe that there are those, like Srila Gour Govinda Swami and others, who are fully qualified and they may act as acaryas and diksa gurus, if they dare, and if there are those who wish them to be their guru, and as Krsna allows. This, dare I say, hybrid system, is my since

Human Motivation and Advertising

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 9:00

Sep 26, CALGARY, CANADA — If you advertise power, money, and fame, you will attract persons who are desirous of such things. Then, the resulting competition to acquire them will result in the most sinful back-stabbing avaricious persons to rise to the top, just as is seen in politics. In traditional Vaisnava culture, sannyasis and saintly persons generally take vows of poverty and renunciation. If these things are featured, then only persons desirous of spiritual elevation will be attracted. This model is left aside at everyone’s peril. Srila Prabhupada knows this well, and so he left protecting instructions to avoid both premature guru-ship and purity of the motivations, and hence most actions, of the society’s members. When ISKCON personnel are paid needless exorbitant salaries, as is strictly against Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, and their spending in not properly accounted for and monitored, not only will this money breed sinful activities, but it will attract those who are af

A Day in the Life...

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 9:00

Sep 21, '07 CANADA — I was just heading down to the temple to pick up my pay cheque, when whom should I see but the newly-stamped Ugrakarma Devi Dasi! "Haribol, Maharajah, please accept my dandabat obeisances", I called out! I was so fortunate to get her association, the modern equivalent of Lord Nityananda’s wife; better, no doubt about it, as she knew all about psychology and modern methods of education. She immediately suggested to me that my character represented a retentive personality type, and that I had better consider taking up washing the toilets, as this would be appropriate service for such a person as myself. Following her learned footsteps, I offered my respects to her passive-aggressive personality type, and decided to see my Temple President to see if I could change my service. There, Sycophantarama dasa suggested that instead, I consider also putting my name on the roster to be as good as God, and become a guru, and thus I could avoid such an unpleasant service career

Leaving Srila Prabhupada's Siksa

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 8:30

Aug 2, '07 CALGARY, CANADA— A reply to Sadhushastra dasa. Thank you for your article, clearly in favor of accepting Srila Prabhupada as he is. I hope you will pardon me, though, as I do not know you or your background; whose disciple are you, and how long have you been studying Krsna consciousness? I will assume that you are a little familiar with sastra, and that you want an answer, not merely an argument. But your statements make no sense to me, as they seem to contradict each other with no clear conclusions, so it seems you are more frustrated and venting. That is understandable, I have done the same, but meanwhile those less knowledgeable may be mislead by your criticisms, and so I respond with some answers you may not like to hear. You are wise to think independently, but maybe think through a little more... You state that those who have a siksa guru think they understand Prabhupada better, but you have pre-stated, in the same sentence, that they have “left Srila Prabhupada’s si

Free Will, the Supersoul, and Tri-Kala-Jna

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 8:30

Jul 28, '07 — "The world goes on in its own perfect way. No person can deflect it by the breadth of a hair from the course chalked out for it by providence. . . . What is necessary is to change our outlook to this very world" -- His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharajah Thakura. I found this quote most interesting, as it gives a mature angle of vision on this question of free will. Apparently, the course of things cannot be changed by a HAIR's BREADTH, yet we have "minute" free will. To my best understanding, Srila Prabhupada expressed that we have a limited free will, to love or not, to be Krsna conscious or not. So far as destiny, again to my best understanding, he suggested that it was fixed. He also indicated that that was not necessarily the case for Krsna's connected devotees, who operate under special dispensation from a platform of sanction by heart-internal, and formal, initiation into the Sampradaya, i.e., empowered. The rightly situated devotee was

Response to Ravindra Svarupa on GBC Policies

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 8:30

May 27, 07 CALGARY, CANADA — Sriman Ravinda Swarupa Prabhu has recently posted on Dandavats an attempt at reconciliation, through explanation of the GBC's current policies. This is welcome, and I am sure that there will be a detailed response from the devotees. However, I have a question or two that have been asked before, but I have never seen even an attempt at an explanation by ISKCON authorities: 1. Why are wages being paid to devotees? This is clearly 100% in defiance of the instructions of our spiritual master, and MUST be immediately stopped! Ravindra mentioned in his Dandavats article that devotees who have been outside of Iskcon for some time, and who then later became re-engaged with the temples, see so many changes. Count me in this category. It is quite unnerving to have to address the leaders of the Iskcon that I love and would give my life for, have given my life for, in such a way as my natural inclination is to love and support them. It does not at all please me to be

Sannyasa, or Sans Us?

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 8:30

May 15, '07 CALGARY, CANADA — About a year ago, I wrote to HH Prahladananda Swami to receive an application for sannyasa. I received the application, but a vow of allegiance to the GBC was a main feature. I wrote back, saying that I couldn't sign such a vow, that I was dedicated to Prabhupada's Iskcon, not to some questionable GBC body. In response, he has refused to reply to my inquiries, and apparently also in what I perceive as a mood of political censorship, did not print an offering on my part to the Vaisnava health ministry publication about speech and language development among Iskcon infants, etc. despite saying he would do so before he received my denial of the GBC body as a body worthy of vowing one's sannyasa to. I am an audiologist by profession, and have a degree also in speech and language pathology, so I am well qualified. His change of mind and refusal to reply to me spoke volumes. Srila Prabhupada specifically told all of us brahmanas to take sannyasa in later years.

Charity for the Brahmanas

Posted by Welcome on October 23, 2009 at 8:30

Apr 14, '07 TORONTO, CANADA — Giving in charity to the brahmanas is essential to Vedic culture. Our Iskcon society may be benefited tremendously if we simply encourage our congregational grhastas to actually do this! There are too many poverty-restricted brahmanas, but where is the program to ensure that they are given sufficient charity to maintain themselves and their families, what to speak of performing the brahminical duty of expansively passing such charity on to others in need? Who better to empower than the surrendered, poverty-stricken devotees? Who do we want in control, a selfless brahmana or a self-motivated administrator? So where does Krsna’s Iskcon money go? Are the congregational members encouraged to give charity to the brahmanas, or are our brahmanas considered to be kali-yuga fakes not worthy of spending any money to support? I am not talking salaries here, but spontaneous donations to worthy devotees. A place to sleep, nutritious prasadam, and steady service is mor