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“When Our Men Will Be Sahajiyas” Part 3 of 4
by bhakta Eric Johanson Continuing the Wrong Tradition “We will establish hundreds of temples, and they will all be very opulent. But if we do not follow the instruction of the Spiritual Master, they will just be show-bottle. Do you know what show-bottle means? It means colored water in a bottle which looks just like medicine, but which, when you take it, does not work.” Room conversation, NY, July, 1970 It is not difficult to look at the current state of the ISKCON institution and conclude that it is practicing a form of sahajiyism. Some temples are run by skeleton crews and many others by are run…
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“When Our Men Will Be Sahajiyas” Part 2 of 4
by bhakta Eric Johanson Roots of Sahajiya siddhanta-alasa jana anartha to’ chade na “One who is lazy in properly understanding the Vaishnava philosophical conclusions can never become free from anarthas, the unwanted bad habits and philosophical misconceptions that impede devotional service.” Prakrta Rasa Sata Dusini 28, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, “It is not so easy. That is called sahajiya. Why you want such exalted things so easily?” Room Conversation, July 8, 1976 Who Gets Misled? Like anything, cognitive dissonance is not, in and of itself, completely opposed to Krishna consciousness; many devotees surrendered because of a type of cognitive dissonance (the distressed). Many of us…
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“When Our Men Will Be Sahajiyas” Part 1 of 4
by bhakta Eric Johanson “These sahajiyas will come out of so many devotees. What can be done? From my Guru Maharaja’s disciples, so many sahajiyas came. These are called sahajiyas. Very easily they capture thing. So my Guru Maharaja used to say, ‘When my disciples will be sahajiya, it will be more dangerous.’ He used to say like that. Take things very easily.” A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Room Conversation on January 28, 1977 in Bhuvanesvara Cognitive Dissonance The theory of cognitive dissonance was first presented in 1956 by a social psychologist named Leon Festinger. He studied a UFO cult based in Chicago whose leader predicted that the…
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Reality and Illusion
From Dialectic Spiritualism: Benedict Spinoza Page 182-3 Syamasundara dasa: Spinoza believes that the more we understand reality, the more we understand God. Srila Prabhupada: This is because God is reality, and forgetfulness of God is illusion. Illusion is also God, but in illusion we forget God; therefore it is not real. Sunshine and darkness are both reality because they exist side by side. Wherever there is light, there is also shadow. How can we say that the shadow is not reality? It is maya, but because maya attacks the individual soul, Kn;J)a is forgotten. In that sense, illusion or the unreal is also reality. Syamasundara dasa: But…
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See Krishna Everywhere
Kṛṣṇa-kāntī: (introducing recording) Śrīla Prabhupāda’s morning walk, recorded May 14th, 1973, at Cheviot Hills Park, in Los Angeles. Prabhupāda: The material energy, it is also coming from Kṛṣṇa. The spiritual en . . . Kṛṣṇa Himself is spiritual energy. Exactly like that is. This weather is coming from sun, but sun is covered. The weather created by sun makes himself covered; not himself covered, it is covering our eyes. Sun is not covered; my eyes are covered. Therefore material means when our consciousness is not developed. That’s the meaning. It is somehow or other covered. That is material. (aside) Where is our scientist? They . . . the mistake of…
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The Greater Krishna Consciousness Movement Part 4 of 4
by Nitya Krsna dasa Srila Prabhupada’s Non-Sectarian Movement & Apa-Sampradaya? cont. Servant to All Until the zonal acaryas and their abuses, virtually every devotee in the ISKCON institution had a strong service attitude. When the reform movement devotees concluded that they were just as qualified to lead the movement as the zonals, political maneuvering started to displace their service attitude. Similarly, for decades the movement’s women were sidelined and suppressed by the male GBC and apparent gurus. That changed after the child abuse scandals of the 80’s and 90’s, along with their lawsuits. The women then understood that their suppression had failed both the children and the…
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The Greater Krishna Consciousness Movement Part 3 of 4
by Nitya Krsna dasa Apa-Sampradaya? Sahajiya Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a great reformer of the Vaishnavism of 150 years ago. At this time, 350 years after Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inaugurated the movement of chanting the holy name, all sorts of deviations from His teachings had become rampant in India. It was so bad that many respectable people equated Gaudiya Vaishnavism with sexual debauchery, usually because of imitations of Krishna’s pastimes with the gopis (cowherd damsels of Vrindavana). In response, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura listed the thirteen prominent deviations from the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. These were groups which had strayed from His strict instructions and example.…
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The Greater Krishna Consciousness Movement Part 2 of 4
by Nitya Krsna dasa The Circular Firing Squad Schism, Factions and Sectarianism Initiation in Vaishnavism means, among other things, that one agrees to follow the direction of their spiritual master for the rest of their life. It is by this submission to a pure personality that sincere initiates are delivered from the burden of the past karma of many lifetimes, both sinful and otherwise. Genuine deliverance is, however, dependent on the guru being genuine and the disciple being sincere. Initiated people are commonly called disciples and receive a spiritual Sanskrit name when they take their initiation vows. Uninitiated devotees are called bhakta John or bhaktin Mary, etc.…
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The Greater Krishna Consciousness Movement Part 1 of 4
by Nitya Krsna dasa Sects & How the Swanlike Condemn Pretenders While Remaining Strictly Non-Sectarian The greater Krishna consciousness movement always exists in the spiritual sky, and to the extent that we connect to those pure representatives of Krishna that are fully devoted to Him, we can also participate. This movement was most recently shown to the world by the last widely accepted pure devotee of Krishna, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada). He was acting on behalf of the previous spiritual masters of the Brahma-Madhava-Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession, or sampradaya, going back to Lord Krishna Himself. Those unalloyed servants of Krishna have taught us…
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The Hard to Hide Incarnation
Jaya Sacinandana! Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Antya Kanda, Chapter 9, English translation by Bhumipati dasa, Commentary by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada Text 157 eka-dina advaita sakala bhakta-prati balila paramanande matta hai’ ati//CB, Antya 9.157// TRANSLATION One day when Advaita Prabhu was intoxicated with ecstasy, He spoke to all the devotees. Text 158 “suna bhai-saba, eka kara samavaya mukha bhari’ gai’ aji sri-caitanya-raya//CB, Antya 9.158// TRANSLATION “Please listen, My dear brothers. Let us all together glorify Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. COMMENTARY The word samavaya means “together.” Text 159 aji ara kona avatara gaoya nai sarva-avatara-maya—caitanya-gosani//CB, Antya 9.159// TRANSLATION “Today we will not glorify any incarnation other than Lord Caitanya, who is the source…
