Devotee Writings etc.
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ISKCON Authority: Where Did It Originally Come From?
(And Where Does “ISKCON” Power Come From?) By Kailāsa Candra dāsa HARIḤ OM NAMAḤ We find the following excerpt from an important room conversation between His Divine Grace Śrila Prabhupāda and members of his Governing Body Commission at the Krishna-Balaram temple on May 28, 1977 in Vṛndāvan, India: Leading Secretary (1): The people who they give dīkṣā to, whose disciple are they? Prabhupāda: They’re his disciple. Leading Secretary (1): They’re his disciple. Prabhupāda: Who is initiating. He is grand disciple. Leading Secretary (2): Yes. Leading Secretary (1): That’s clear. Leading Secretary (2): Then, we have a question . . . Prabhupāda (interrupting): When I order, “You…
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Review of Branding Bhakti
Pranams. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Religious studies academics are prone to the same weakness in relation to the religious institutions they examine as media organizations covering government. It becomes far too easy to trade objectivity for ease of access to official information. At worst the reporter or academic becomes “embedded” and more or less acts as the mouthpiece of the state or institution. The journalist I.F. Stone said, “All governments lie,” and religious institutions are not that different. The author of Branding Bhakti, Nicole Karapanagiotis, PhD., is also relatively young and therefore more dependent on previous scholarship on the ISKCON institution (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) which was founded in 1966.…
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Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the 21st Century
(How the ISKCON Institution Came to Give Up Srila Prabhupada’s Absolute Authority) by bhakta Eric Johanson yanra citte krsna-prema karaye udaya tanra vakya, kriya, mudra vijneha na bujhaya “Even the most learned man cannot understand the words, activities and symptoms of a person situated in love of Godhead.” Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya-lila 23.39 The Bona Fide Spiritual Master In order to understand what is beyond our sense observation and realize the absolute truth we require to come in contact with a person who is already intimately familiar with them. Such a person is called a spiritual master: om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah “I offer my respectful…
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Come Back!?!
Come back to the original Krishna consciousness given by Srila Prabhupada, the only cure for the disease of repeated birth and death. “So because this disease is called bhava-roga… Bhava-roga means again and again taking birth, bhava-roga. But if we take the medicine, bhavauṣadhi. Everything is there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhava-roga, the disease of repeated birth and death in the material world, and the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is bhavauṣadhi, the medicine to cure this bhava-roga. Bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-‘bhirāmāt ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt virajyeta pumān vinā paśughnāt (SB 10.1.4).” Lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.15, Los Angeles, June 1, 1972 To truly cure the disease of material life Srila Prabhupada says one must follow…
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Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance 2021
It’s All in a Name (A poem completed on Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day 1989) This is the age of quarrel, and that’s not hard to show. We’re unlucky, misguided and spiritually slow. Life and memory are short, the surplus seems the pain, That behind what’s called love is just material gain. But one thing is so bright that it puts the sun to shame, And that’s the absolute pleasure in the Holy Name. Because though the names in this world will all become dim The identity of God’s Name is the same as Him. Races, creeds and countries come and raise up their borders. We’re separate behind our loyal skin…
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ISKCON, ISKCON 2.0 and Beyond, Eunuch “Gurus” and What Comes After. Part 5 of 5
By Nitya Krishna dasa Spiritual Walmart & What Comes After Another current institutional catch-all, save-all device is that no one is forced to follow any particular so-called guru, but can simply engage is services directed by Srila Prabhupada, seeing him as their pre-eminent siksa guru. ISKCON institution law says as much: “ISKCON devotees shall instruct new members to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and to receive guidance, training and assistance from those who are practically and directly instructing them in Krishna consciousness. ISKCON members shall not compel or coerce new members to accept any particular siksa or diksa guru or to take diksa initiation at any particular point in time.…
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ISKCON, ISKCON 2.0 and Beyond, Eunuch “Gurus” and What Comes After, Part 4 of 5
By Nitya Krishna dasa Wrangling the Future Needless to say, the institution’s leaders have had a difficult time sweeping the many consequences of their material solutions under the brand or auspices of Srila Prabhupada’s purity. Scandals like ongoing child abuse and pedophilia haven’t gone away completely despite the cover-ups and apparent amends. The now grown gurukuli child victims are another group largely ignored by the institution’s leaders, along with those who don’t think Srila Prabhupada’s books should be changed. Minimizing Srila Prabhupada as absolute authority and approval of mayavada contamination have also received attention. Observers also regularly find the scandals of those close to the GBC being ignored, dismissed or…
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ISKCON, ISKCON 2.0 and Beyond, Eunuch “Gurus” and What Comes After, Part 3 of 5
By Nitya Krishna dasa The Devil in the Wrangling Details The deposing of Srila Prabhupada as absolute spiritual authority and tolerance of mayavada certainly leads one to think that the ISKCON institution is now following a different process than his. This quote, cited previously, bears repeating: “We cannot simply accept that part of the scripture we like, and reject what we don’t like, and still expect to get the result. For example, a hen lays eggs with its back part and eats with its beak. A farmer may consider, ‘The front part of the hen is very expensive because I have to feed it. Better to cut it off.’ But…
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ISKCON, ISKCON 2.0 and Beyond, Eunuch “Gurus” and What Comes After, Part 2 of 5
By Nitya Krishna dasa Material Adjustments – Keeping the Errors Current Of course, it is relatively easy to look back and point out where things went wrong and who was responsible. However, it is also easy to cite Srila Prabhupada’s instructions for what he wanted. “Preaching is the essence” is one all remember. Facilitating that preaching is therefore one of the prime duties of the GBC, the “ultimate managing authority.” After 40 some years of devotees subordinating themselves to the body, many have forgotten that, as servants, the GBC body’s dharma, or occupation, is pleasing Srila Prabhupada and his devotees in these ways.
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ISKCON, ISKCON 2.0 and Beyond, Eunuch “Gurus” and What Comes After, Part 1 of 5
By Nitya Krishna dasa Of Peacocks and Dry Ponds siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa “A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi Lila 2.117
