Devotee Writings etc.

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 conclusions of Krishna consciousness is also sanatana, eternal. These truths don’t change. They include the instructions of the Lord in Bhagavad-gita. One of those instructions concerns the prime importance of accepting a spiritual master.

 

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” Bhagavad-gita 4.34

 

Here the words “approaching” and “inquire” directly necessitate performing physical action in relation to a physically manifest person, the guru. This is also the example provided by all those accepting a guru in the sastras or scriptures.

 

Srila Prrabhupada also gave numerous instructions to his disciples that they should follow in his footsteps and eventually accept disciples of their own.

 

“Anyone following the order of Lord Caitanya under the guidance of His bona fide representative, can become a spiritual master, and I wish that in my absence all my disciples become the bona fide spiritual master to spread Krishna Consciousness throughout the whole world.” Letter to Madhusudana, November 2, 1967

 

“Yes. All of them will take over. These students, who are initiated from me, all of them will act as I am doing. Just like I have got many Godbrothers, they are all acting. Similarly, all these disciples which I am making, initiating, they are being trained to become future spiritual masters.” Conversation Detroit, 71-07-18

 

These and many similar quotes are orders or instructions to his disciples as to how he wanted initiations to be performed after his physical departure. He made clear any number of times that he wanted his disciples to also become gurus who would initiate those new people who would come to Krishna consciousness after his physical departure.

 

Following the One Guru

 

In accordance with the sanatana principle, it is said that guru is one. In other words, all genuine gurus speak the same sanatana message and don’t contradict each other. Something that contradicts what the real gurus say is therefore an apasiddhanta, or not genuine Krishna conscious philosophy.

 

“As God is one, guru is also one. There cannot be different gurus. Nowadays it has become a fashion that ‘I have got my own guru. You have got your own guru.’ No. Guru means the representative of God. As God is one, similarly, guru is also one. There cannot be different gurus. Because God is one, how there can be different gurus? The principle of guru is one. (child crying) (aside:) Stop. The original guru is Kṛṣṇa.” Arrival Lecture, San Francisco, July 15, 1975

 

Here Srila Prabhupada makes clear that the reason real gurus all agree philosophically is because they are all fully Krishna conscious, or completely in agreement with Krishna. It should be obvious at this point that all genuine gurus will agree with Lord Krishna’s Bhagavad-gita 4.34 order to approach a physically manifest guru in order to become initiated by him. All of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to his disciples to also become gurus after his physical departure are consistent with this “guru is one” sanatana principle. Therefore, he would never have deviated from this by changing his mind to institute a post-departure rittvik system for initiations, whereby, after his physical departure, he would continue initiating the new people his disciples would otherwise accept. His followers would then be left with merely being the priests or rittviks during the initiation ceremony.

 

In this regard, there are many quotes where Srila Prabhupada emphasizes how his Krishna conscious philosophy was “no change” from what was given by the previous gurus he followed. The idea is that the disciple serves their guru with the aim of achieving the same full realization of and absolute conviction in the sanatana Krishna conscious philosophy – Lord Krishna’s philosophy. All this proceeds that much more smoothly if the disciple is receiving the fully sufficient guidance of a pure devotee spiritual master, a fully God-realized soul.

 

“Pure devotional service is rarely achieved. That is the criterion. Pure devotional service has got so many advantages, but it is very difficult. It is very difficult. Na janma-koṭi-sukṛtibhiḥ na labhyate (CC Madhya 8.70). Pure devotional service, even after endeavoring for millions and millions of births, it is very difficult to achieve. Pure devotional service can be achieved only through the mercy of a pure devotee. Otherwise, it is not possible. mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo ‘bhiṣekaṁ, niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat, naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ, spṛśata . . . spṛśata . . .(SB 7.5.32) What is that? The purpose is that unless one takes the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee, it is not possible to become a pure devotee. Mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajaḥ. Mahīyasām, great personality, great devotee. Pāda-rajaḥ means the dust of the lotus feet; abhiṣekam, taking to the . . . on the head. Mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo ‘bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānām. Mahīyasām, great personality, means niṣkiñcana. Bhagavad-bhakta is niṣkiñcana. He has no more material obligation. That is bhagavad-bhakta.” Lecture on The Nectar of Devotion, Vrindavana, November 3, 1972 (emphases added)

 

How and What to Follow

 

Rittvik initiation advocates don’t agree with the above straightforward sanatana and literal understanding (abhidha-vritti) of Srila Prabhupada’s intentions for initiations in his absence. In this regard one of their foundational documents is entitled, “The Final Order.” Such a title carries with it an entirely different understanding of following the guru on this matter. The word “final” entails the simultaneous rejection of any previous, apparently contradictory guidance, such as the two quotes above directing his disciples to become gurus after his physical departure.

 

This approach to following the guru is hardly one of absorbing oneself in the sanatana realization of the siddhanta as embodied in the principle and example of guru. It is more akin to that of an office clerk standing ready to take whatever dictation the boss needs. How are such devotees transforming themselves from dull mundane thinkers to embodiments of the absolute by such disregard? Rather than the simple innocence of the sincere follower, this is the mentality of a no-think simpleton. Because it is such a departure from the overall conscious context of sanatana devotional service, it is little more than blind following, something done by whimsical people.

 

A “final” order that supersedes all previous ones is also illogical because, which one do you pick? Srila Prabhupada gave any number of later instructions, some of which contradict the so-called rittvik final order, in the months after this supposed “final” one. Why can’t another group of devotees unite and demand that one of those be called the real final order? All this proves that, once devotees part ways with absorbing themselves in the guru’s sanatana mentality, they immediately enter the contradictory and absurd realm of maya, illusion.

 

This becomes that much clearer when we actually consider what they call the final rittvik order. The so-called order is actually an answer to a question put forward by Satsvarupa dasa (then swami) about “initiations in the future.”

 

Satsvarūpa: By the votes of the present GBC. Then our next question concerns initiations in the future, particularly at that time when you’re no longer with us. We want to know how first and second initiation would be conducted.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I shall recommend some of you. After this is settled up, I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating ācāryas.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Is that called ṛtvik-ācārya?

Prabhupāda: Ṛtvik, yes.

Conversation with GBC members, Vrindavana, May 28,1977

 

Here it’s actually hard to even call Srila Prabhupada’s answer about officiating acaryas an order, especially one that contradicts and reverses everything he had previously preached about disciples succeeding their guru and accepting their own disciples. At face value it’s an answer to an unclear question that in itself is subject to a lot of interpretation. And a very important point here is that this so-called earth-shifting initiation change wasn’t even initiated by Srila Prabhupada. He was just replying to someone else’s question. This wouldn’t have been his way if he actually wanted to change how initiations would be performed after his physical departure. His example from previous edicts, such as the primacy of distributing his books, was that he would have left no doubt, absolutely no room for interpretation.

 

And the most obvious interpretation of his answer here is what was actually done in regard to initiations previous to his physical departure. In July 1977 eleven senior men were named in a letter, and they acted as officiating priests (rittviks) for all the people who had been waiting to become Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, all up until his physical departure. He had also used rittviks to initiate any number of other new people for many years previous to this, the same exact thing as his answer to Satsvarupa’s question. These things are why this interpretation of his answer above is the most appealing. It also doesn’t contradict all his previous sanatana instructions to his disciples to become gurus in his physical absence.

 

In regard to that part of Satsvarupa’s question, “particularly at that time when you’re no longer with us,” Kailasa Candra prabhu has nicely written that everything about Srila Prabhupada’s answer remains in the sanatana realm if we understand that he just ignored that part of the question. In other words, Srila Prabhupada was only giving an answer for that part of the “future” that was before his physical departure. He was under absolutely no obligation to answer every part of the question.

 

This means the so-called rittvik order is hardly an order at all. It’s a mere inference based on an interpretation, an interpretation that grossly contradicts the sanatana consciousness of the siddhanta of guru, sadhu and sastra. It’s therefore an apasiddhanta, what to speak of being whimsical, illogical and blind.

 

The flipside of thinking there is a final rittvik order is that one simultaneously rejects all the real orders for his disciples to become gurus. This rejection is a very serious instance of minimizing and offending the guru (gurvaparadha), one of the offences to the holy name. Many rittvik advocates take this abominable mentality to the extreme of saying that following these very real sanatana orders is offensive. They call following these orders the “Dreaded Acarya Disease Syndrome (DADS).” In this way they pave their way to future births and deaths in material consciousness.

 

Divyam Jnanam

 

Rittvik advocates love to cite certain quotes by Srila Prabhupada where he says that initiation is just a formality or that one can get initiation simply by reading his books. One thus achieves divyam jnanam (divine knowledge) by virtue of Srila Prabhupada’s absolutely pure divine grace. Their idea is then that a rittvik initiation is just a formalization of something that has already occurred for the new disciple.

 

Of course, it is possible for someone who is very serious about spiritual life to receive the bhakti-lata-bija (seed of devotional service) from a departed pure devotee simply by coming in touch with his writings or recordings. There are also some quotes where one can make similar spiritual advancement by getting the mercy of the book bhagavat. However, first of all, how often does such a person come alomg? Rittvik advocates would have us believe this applies to practically anyone who likes something in Srila Prabhupada’s books and can be convinced to follow the four regs. for six months. The four regs. are no meat eating, no sex outside of marriage, no intoxication and no gambling.

 

They pretty much stop there, however, saying that such qualifications were often enough for a disciple to be formally initiated by Srila Prabhupada when he was physically manifest. They usually don’t talk about how a person who has truly achieved divyam jnanam would act. It would seem that achieving that would definitely include understanding that one is the eternal servant of God, Krishna, and that one’s business was thus to follow the orders of guru and Krishna. These would include the Lord’s instruction in Bhagavad-gita 4.34 to accept a physically manifest spiritual master.

 

Such a devotee would therefore look on the rittvik idea of initiation with a great deal of suspicion. Thus it is that much harder to believe that those who do accept rittvik initiation have actually achieved divyam jnanam or received the bhakti-lata-bija. In other words, a strong proof that one has actually achieved divyam jnanam is that they would reject the offer of rittvik initiation and would welcome accepting initiation from a genuine physically manifest guru. This is actually acting in accord with the sanatana siddhanta of guru, sadhu and sastra, the real orders.

 

Develop a Personal Relationship With Srila Prrabhupada!

 

Dhira Govinda prabhu has cited some nice quotes by Srila Prabhupada, similar to this next one, that make clear he is always personally available.

 

“I went to your country for spreading this information of Krishna Consciousness & you are helping me in my mission although I am not physically present there but spiritually I am always with you.” Letter, October 3, 1967

 

This means that anyone who is sincere can serve him through his teachings and make the same spiritual advancement one would make when he was physically present. The association of the pure devotee transcends both time and space and, as quoted previously, “unless one takes the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee, it is not possible to become a pure devotee.” This means that currently developing our service relationship with Srila Prabhupada is for every one of his followers, both new and old, both initiated and uninitiated. And, as described previously, some new people may actually come to the level of divyam jnanam and receive, through his divine grace, the bhakti-lata-bija.

 

The mistake of the rittviks is to deviate from the sanatana siddhanta and say that virtually all these new people who attempt to form a relationship with Srila Prabhupada have therefore become eligible to become his formally initiated rittvik disciple. And, of course, this is a very tempting offer that many accept. By doing so, however, they immediately deviate from Sri Krishna’s instruction in Bhagavad-gita 4.34 and simultaneously fall into the association of a group of gurvaparadhis who categorically reject all of Srila Prabhupada’s orders to become guru and accept disciples of their own.

 

These fallen new people would also include those who previously developed divyam jnanam through forming a relationship with Srila Prabhupada. The offensive association that immediately spoils these neophytes’ devotional lives is all the rittvik leaders. If these rittviks actually believe Srila Prabhupada is sastra or infallible, they should follow all his real orders and not reject the ones they don’t prefer.

 

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

 

Nothing in this article should be taken as an endorsement for the ISKCON institution or any of its so-called gurus. Please see An Honest ISKCON.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.