Devotee Writings etc.
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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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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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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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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,…
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Bhaktipadastakam Prayers
Sanskrit and English translations by Kusakratha dasa Narrative comments by bhakta Eric Johanson The following Sanskrit verses represent the pinnacle of zonal acarya hubris, pretense and delusion. Now, some 40 years after their era, many don’t know that thousands of devotees thought that these eleven men were all pure devotees, residents of the absolute spiritual sky. The one with the most believers, however, was Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada, Srila Prabhupada’s first sannyasa disciple. Someone versed in Sanskrit actually composed these “prayers” to him. Verses and photo courtesy of henrydoktorski.com. chaitanya-sankirtan-dhama navya- vrndavanam dhama praksitam tu yenaiva tam sri-prabhupada-prestham sri-bhaktipadam satatam stumas tam Let me sing about your unlimited…
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Perfect Discretion Part 3 of 3
by Nitya Krishna dasa Srila Prabhupada, Can a Sudra Be Guru? The GBC’s journey from being the 1978 rubber stamp for the autocratic zonal acaryas acting in the tradition of guru’s supreme authority to being the ecclesiastical and absolute masters of all affairs “ISKCON” is now largely complete. In recent years the ISKCON Law Book has even contained a number of mandatory vows that their apparent gurus have to agree to and sign. In keeping with the body’s priority of maintaining political control of the assets and personnel of the movement, these vows are quite specific to the institution governed by them, as opposed to Krishna consciousness…
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Perfect Discretion Part 2 of 3
by Nitya Krishna dasa On the Killing of Brahminical Culture Having apparent gurus serve at the pleasure of the GBC puts them in a dependent, employee-like relationship with the body. In real Vedic culture a bona fide spiritual master is in the highest social position. Such a Vaishnava is above even the intellectual brahmanas. This is because he has all those qualifications but has advanced still further to performing devotional service to Krishna. The genuine spiritual master thus never has to serve any institution of the material world, such as the GBC, because he is freely distributing love of Krishna to everyone. “And servant, when one becomes…
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Perfect Discretion Part 1 of 3
(On Accepting the GBC as Spiritual Authority) by Nitya Krishna dasa “Devotees may be divided into three classes. The devotee in the first or uppermost class is described as follows: one is very expert in the study of relevant scriptures, and he is also expert in putting forward arguments in terms of those scriptures. He can very nicely present conclusions with perfect discretion and can consider the ways of devotional service in a decisive way. . . . . . The first-class devotee never deviates from the principles of higher authority, and he attains firm faith in the scriptures by understanding with all reason and arguments. When we…
