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Proof of God!
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 02.11-12 – London, August 17,1973 “These people are tied up with hard knots by the ropes of material nature, but still they are declaring themselves as free. They are so blind, and these blind leaders are leading many other blind followers. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānā. They are tied up by themselves. Just like in Russia they say: “We don’t believe in God. We want to live without any God.” But they have created another God: the Lenin. Instead of going under the direction of God, they have created another God, and they are going under that direction. “So this is not a fact, that you do…
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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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We are kicking out all these cheating type of religion
Srila Prabhupada Conversation, London – July 14, 1973 Indian man (1): But if an animal kills, he kills for food. Indian man (2): Another one, Guru Mahārāja, they are taking our picture and selling all Christian books as religion education, moral education. And this is the tools. These people little cunning, eh? When it comes to my knowledge, I was almost . . . Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Indian man (2): Hare Kṛṣṇa. And they are selling all these Christian books in the schools and all over. Prabhupāda: Wherever. This is our advertisement. Indian man (2): Advertisement . . . Prabhupāda: Demonstration of world religion. Indian man (2): World religion.…
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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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Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta – Ādi-līlā 1.35
mantra-guru āra yata śikṣā-guru-gaṇa tāṅhāra caraṇa āge kariye vandana SYNONYMS mantra–guru — the initiating spiritual master; āra — and also; yata — as many (as there are); śikṣā–guru–gaṇa — all the instructing spiritual masters; tāṅhāra — of all of them; caraṇa — unto the lotus feet; āge — at first; kariye — I offer; vandana — respectful obeisances. TRANSLATION I first offer my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of my initiating spiritual master and all my instructing spiritual masters. PURPORT Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his thesis Bhakti-sandarbha (202), has stated that uncontaminated devotional service is the objective of pure Vaiṣṇavas and that one has to execute…
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“Become A Spiritual Master”
Srila Prabhupada’s Class on Bhagavad-gita 2.2, August 3, 1973, London Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) śrī bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna (BG 2.2) (break) śrī bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; kutaḥ—wherefrom; tvā—unto you; kaśmalam—dirtiness; idam—this lamentation; viṣame—this hour of crisis; samupasthitam—arrived; anārya—persons who do not know the value of life; juṣṭam—practiced by; asvargyam—that which does not lead to higher planets; akīrti—infamy; karam—the cause of; arjuna—O Arjuna. Translation: “The Supreme Person, Bhagavān, said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They…
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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…
