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An Honest ISKCON Part 4 of 4
By bhakta Eric Johanson Part 4 – “From Which Even the Worst of Non-Ecclesiastical Criminals are Found to Recoil” Amplifying Nescience The GBC’s overall pattern of allowing the most powerful leaders free reign thus only served to expand and propagate these people’s pretence, deviations and polluted intelligence. Their rubber-stamping the zonal acarya’s ambition and deception established a number of the zonal’s deviations as official ISKCON institution policy. “Polluted intelligence has been compared to a prostitute. One who has not purified his intelligence is said to be controlled by that prostitute. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.41), vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana: those who are actually serious are conducted…
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An Honest ISKCON Part 3 of 4
By bhakta Eric Johanson Part 3 – Caricatures What Changed? For the average devotee not much changed with Srila Prabhupada’s departure from the physical plane. They still went to the morning program and spent the day engaged in the services laid out by the temple leaders they were accountable to. However, for the leaders, especially the GBCs at the top of the above described military-like hierarchy, something very big had changed in regard to accountability. Suddenly the person who had kept them in line for years was no longer there. And it was these GBCs that had the most temptation to enjoy the movement’s facilities. For all…
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An Honest ISKCON Part 2 of 4
By bhakta Eric Johanson What Really Happened!?!? – A Very Tangled Web The General Pattern By now many devotees know the events that followed Srila Prabhupada’s departure. Rather than implementing just some of his common-sense guidance above (see part 1), the GBC established a dangerous pattern of merely reacting after the fact to the independent actions of the most powerful (and often most audacious) movement leaders. In many regards this has continued into the present. And by independent we very much mean that the actions were (are) often dictated by false ego ambition and desire for distinction. Because these actions sometimes do not concur with Srila Prabhupada’s…
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An Honest ISKCON Part 1 of 4
By bhakta Eric Johanson What Should Have Been Done? It’s easy to complain, but the question remains, “What should have been done by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada, especially in regard to initiating new devotees?” He certainly left instructions, some detailed, and there were the examples in the scriptures and of the previous acaryas (gurus). The greater context, however, was his desire to have what he developed maintained: “Our philosophy is perfect, and we cannot be defeated by anyone. So it is up to you to learn it and be able to present it nicely. Now you have everything,…
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Only Experts in Forming Initiation Machines
by Kailāsa Candra dāsa HARIḤ OṀ NAMAḤ If you are attracted to Kṛṣṇa consciousnessand have begun research into it,that is most commendable; however, you are only at the beginning of your search into achieving perfection. Specific manifestations of what appear to be Kṛṣṇa conscious institutions require more than general knowledge of Vaiṣṇavism. As you actually enter into this next and difficult layer, to merely know about the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement will be seen to be not good enough. The primary manifestation (or the first manifestation of the movement, so to speak), has changed from what it once was . . . and, after that, it has changed in other ways.…
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Have You Come To Krishna To Disturb Him?
Prabhupāda: Hm, go on. Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, (audio start) Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (leads chanting of verse, etc.) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) tathā paramahaṁsānāṁ munīnām amalātmanām bhakti-yoga-vidhānārthaṁ kathaṁ paśyema hi striyaḥ (SB 1.8.20) (video – 18:58) Prabhupāda: Next anyone. Devotees: (Repeating the verse in turn) tathā paramahaṁsānāṁ munīnām amalātmanām bhakti-yoga-vidhānārthaṁ kathaṁ paśyema hi striyaḥ (SB 1.8.20) (Video – 21:52) Prabhupāda: That’s alright, word meaning. Devotees: (repeating) tathā—besides that; paramahaṁsānām—of the advanced transcendentalists; munīnām—of the great philosophers or mental speculators; amala-ātmanām—those whose minds are competent to discern between spirit and matter; bhakti–yoga—the science of devotional service; vidhāna-artham—for executing; katham—why; paśyema—can observe; hi—certainly; striyaḥ—women. (audio 01:44)…
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Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Glorification of Srimad Bhagavatam
Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Antya Kanda, Chapter 3, English translation by Bhumipati dasa, Commentary by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada Devananda Pandita’s request to the Lord as to how to preach Srimad Bhagavatam Text 501 eka nivedana prabhu tomara carane ki kari upaya prabhu, balaha apane//CB, Antya 3.501// TRANSLATION “O Lord, I have one request at Your lotus feet. Please instruct me. Text 502 muni asarvajna-sarvajnera grantha laiya bhagavata padana apane ajna haiya//CB, Antya 3.502// TRANSLATION “I am an ignorant person yet I teach Srimad Bhagavatam, which is a book meant for the most intelligent persons. COMMENTARY Sarvajna Visnusvami has accepted Srimad Bhagavatam as the commentary on Vedanta. Devananda Pandita said, “It…
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The Witches in Our Hearts
Lecture on The Nectar of Devotion, January 29, 1973, in Calcutta by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Bhavānanda: (reading) “. . . if someone has desire for material enjoyment or for becoming one with the Supreme, these are both considered material concepts.” Prabhupāda: Yes. Three kinds of happinesses: bhoga, tyāga and bhakti, sevā. Bhoga tyāga sevā. The karmīs, they are after bhoga, sense enjoyment. And the jñānīs, they are after another side of negation of sense enjoyment. When one is fed up with sense enjoyment . . . just like in your country, the young boys, they are practically fed up with the way of sense enjoyment as their fathers…
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Dons of the “ISKCON” Empire
by Kailāsa Candra dāsa HARIḤ OṀ NAMAḤ evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa “Having thus been received by disciplic succession, this spiritual science was understood by the self-realized kings. That great science of yoga was scattered (destroyed) in this world by the influence of time.” Lines of spiritual and devotional disciplic succession are not maintained like organized religions. They require perfect men in an unbroken line of succession in order to continue them. They can be much more easily destroyed than the organized religions of Kali-yuga. The classic example is that Lord Kṛṣṇa reveals to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra…
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When Oh When Will that Day Be Mine?
Kabe Ha’be Bolo Se-Dina āmār By Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura Text One kabe ha’be bolo se-dina āmār (āmār) aparādha ghuci’, śuddha nāme ruci, kṛpā-bale ha’be hṛdoye sañcār TRANSLATION When, oh when will that day be mine? When my offenses ceasing, taste for the name increasing, when in my heart will your mercy shine, when, oh when will that day be mine? Text Two tṛṇādhika hīna, kabe nije māni’, sahiṣṇutā-guṇa hṛdoyete āni’ sakale mānada, āpani amānī, ho’ye āswādibo nāma-rasa-sār TRANSLATION Lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree. When will my mind attain this quality? Respectful to all, not expecting their honour, then shall I taste…
