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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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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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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
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The Journey Home Debunked
Kaliya Mardana dasa presents a forceful defense of Srila Prabhupada’s original mission in this critical review of Radhanatha Swami’s book, The Journey Home, in which he accuses the ISKCON institution’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) of supporting impersonalist (mayavada) contamination of that mission through their endorsement of the book. The-Journey-Home-Debunked From Chapter 39: There is an extremely urgent need to utterly wipe out and destroy Mayavada all over the world. That is because impersonalism spells death to the public at large and sends them one and all to hell. Destruction of Mayavada can only be achieved through preaching genuine Krishna consciousness in its pure form exactly as Shrila Prabhupada taught. Wiping…
