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Forward to Gold, Guns and God Vol. 7
By bhakta Eric Johanson Read Gold, Guns and God Vol. 7 The search for truth can take some to unexpected places, and since the physical departure of Hare Krishna movement founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada) in November 1977 the ISKCON institution’s leadership has provided any number of cul-de-sacs in this regard. One of these is the subject of the Gold, Guns and God (GGG) book series. Author Henry Doktorski’s search for truth and healing of his experience in that space now includes giving a detailed account of its events and personalities. ISKCON is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is said that children inevitably…
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Only at the Time of Sri Gurudeva’s Disappearance Can One Recognize the Actual Identity of His Disciples
by Bhakti Sri Rupa Siddhanti Maharaja, a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada Independence from, or disobeying the order of Sri Guru is the cause of so many difficulties. But it is not always easy to detect during the physical presence of Sri Guru… Only at the time of Sri Gurudeva’s disappearance can one recognize the actual identity of his disciples. One can then understand who has approached Sri Guru with what intention. Even after taking shelter of a sad-guru’s lotus feet, some disciples secretly strive to occupy the seat of Sri Gurudeva at the time of his disappearance. Their acceptance of the shelter of Sri Guru’s feet was…
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Proof of God!
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 02.11-12 – London, August 17,1973 “These people are tied up with hard knots by the ropes of material nature, but still they are declaring themselves as free. They are so blind, and these blind leaders are leading many other blind followers. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānā. They are tied up by themselves. Just like in Russia they say: “We don’t believe in God. We want to live without any God.” But they have created another God: the Lenin. Instead of going under the direction of God, they have created another God, and they are going under that direction. “So this is not a fact, that you do…
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Rittviks Follow Guru Whimsically (and Blindly)
by bhakta Eric Johanson Krishna consciousness is also known as sanatana dharma – eternal religion. It is the eternal activity of the soul, service to the supreme absolute truth, bhagavan Sri Krishna. “Sanātana-dharma means devotional service. The word sanātana refers to that which is eternal, which does not change but continues in all circumstances. We have several times explained what the eternal occupational duty of the living being is. Indeed, it has been explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya-kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: the real occupational duty of the living entity is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Purport, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.11.2, Therefore, the siddhanta or spiritual…
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We are kicking out all these cheating type of religion
Srila Prabhupada Conversation, London – July 14, 1973 Indian man (1): But if an animal kills, he kills for food. Indian man (2): Another one, Guru Mahārāja, they are taking our picture and selling all Christian books as religion education, moral education. And this is the tools. These people little cunning, eh? When it comes to my knowledge, I was almost . . . Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Indian man (2): Hare Kṛṣṇa. And they are selling all these Christian books in the schools and all over. Prabhupāda: Wherever. This is our advertisement. Indian man (2): Advertisement . . . Prabhupāda: Demonstration of world religion. Indian man (2): World religion.…
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Life Itself by George Harrison
Life Itself [Verse 1] You are the One You are my love You send the rain and bring the sun You stand alone and speak the truth You are the breath of life itself Oh yes, you are You are the One [Verse 2] You’re in my dream I hold you there in high esteem I need you more each step I take You are the love in life itself Oh yes, you are You are the One [Bridge 1] You are the one that I’d die for And you’re all that is real You are the essence of that Which we taste, touch and feel [Verse 3] You are…
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The First Requirement
by bhakta Eric Johanson To become a disciple in a genuine devotional school and to understand and accept its teachings is both praiseworthy and rare. Such a lucky individual can only be a sincere seeker of spiritual life, but that transcendentalist must initially be able to complete the first requirement. Spiritual life is not only difficult; it’s a razor’s edge. Bona fide choices produce enlightenment, while misguided decisions create chaos. The first requirement necessitates that someone new to this consciousness becomes educated about these choices. People who take to a spiritual path desire a higher state of consciousness. Sometimes, however, they wind up in a forlorn state of…
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Review of Srila Prabhupada’s Hidden Glories: His Inconceivable Tolerance and Mercy
by bhakta Eric Johanson yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 7.128 This two book set definitively presents the evidence that A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, was poisoned in 1977, most probably by his disciple/caretakers. Nothing is spared to make the convincing case, including extensive refutations of any possible objections. Having established this, the books present some…
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Further Dangers of Rittvik
Here Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada contrasts the guidance received from a physically departed spiritual master, Jesus Christ (or Srila Prabhupada), and a physically manifest guru. This is not only applicable to current rittvik advocates but all current followers of Srila Prabhupada since there is no known physically manifest pure devotee. From Amrita Vani, the Spiritual Master by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, English translation by Bhumipati dasa 40. If Jesus Christ was a jagad-guru and his instructions capable of bringing us deliverance, why do we need a spiritual master? We accept both the universal spiritual master and the initiating spiritual master. By accepting only the jagad-guru, we may…
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Rittvik is a New (Apa) Sampradaya
by bhakta Eric Johanson In recent years the rittvik advocates have come up with a new philosophical term for those who disagree with them. They call them “living guru” devotees. Take for example this characterization of Kailasa Candra dasa, a longtime opponent of rittvik, as found on p576 of book 1 of Srila Prabhupada’s Hidden Glories: “By 1989 he had become a living guru radical who had become an apologist for the living guru argument. He remains antagonistic to the rittvik order of Srila Prabhupada.” The thing is, and this also spotlights a big dishonesty of most rittvik advocates, in 1989 most devotees had never heard of rittvik,…
