Back To Prabhupada, Issue 31, Spring 2011
In the article titled “One foot in the parampara concoction” from the last issue of BTP, we cited the following 2010 statement from ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission:
“It is our duty to inform you that Umapati prabhu is no longer authorized by the ISKCON society to serve as an initiating spiritual master and sannyasi within ISKCON […] Disciples and followers who wish to do so may continue to consider Umapati prabhu their spiritual master and continue to take guidance from him.”
(GBC Statement, GBC meetings, 2010)
We commented that the GBC, in its statement, is claiming that the former Umapati Swami is simultaneously able to both not function, and function, as a diksa guru -a “half-guru”, who has one foot in the parampara (disciplic succession of bona fide gurus), and one outside -by both not acting as an initiating spiritual master in ISKCON, and at the same time acting as an initiating spiritual master to his ISKCON disciples!
Perhaps realising the farcical nature of Umpati’s “half-guru” status, the GBC has now gone further, and defrocked him entirely of guruship:
“In recent years, accusations were presented to the GBC that Umapati Swami had violated the required standards of behavior for a Krishna Conscious leader. The GBC carefully considered these allegations and determined that Umapati Swami, now Umapati Dasa, shall no longer be accepted as a sannyasi, nor may he function as an initiating guru within our society.”
(GBC Statement on Umapati Das, 28/2/2011, released 13/4/2011)
As we will now detail, this bizarre series of events reveals just how spiritually-bankrupt ISKCON’s guru hoax system and its management by the GBC has become.
The 2010 GBC “half-guru” statement, states that prior to 2010, Umapati had been deviating for a number of years:
“Umapati prabhu had misused his status as a guru to behave inappropriately with several male disciples over a number of years and that this behavior was of a sexual nature.”
(GBC Statement, GBC meetings, 2010)
However, the 2011 “no-guru” statement says that all initiations carried out by Umapati during this deviant period shall be considered bona fide:
“ISKCON will not recognize initiations given by Umapati Dasa after February 2010. Devotees initiated prior to this date are accepted as duly initiated members of ISKCON.”
(GBC Statement on Umapati Das, 28/2/2011, released 13/4/2011)
So the GBC is clearly saying that if you got initiated by a deviant, even during the period he was engaging in sexually deviant behaviour, such initiations shall be considered bona fide, and one shall be considered duly initiated. However, the GBC has already declared that a guru who has never deviated, Srila Prabhupada, cannot initiate!
Therefore, the GBC’s motto is:
Deviant guru – gives bona fide initiations.
Srila Prabhupada – cannot initiate.
We have given many examples in our publications to illustrate Srila Prabhupada’s statement that in this age of hypocrisy, known as Kali-yuga, everything is “topsy-turvy”:
“Therefore, by the influence of the age of Kali, everywhere, politically, socially or religiously, everything is topsy-turvy, and therefore for the sane man it is all regrettable.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1:16:22 purport).
But the above example probably tops them all!
The 2011 “no-guru” statement also states that Umpati is still able to visit ISKCON centres:
“Umapati Dasa himself may visit ISKCON centers, but only with the prior permission of both the Temple President and GBC representative.”
(GBC Statement on Umapati Das, 28/2/2011, released 13/4/2011)
However, as we have documented in previous issues, IRM supporters are banned from entering ISKCON temples for stating that Srila Prabhupada is the guru of ISKCON. Therefore, with its statement on the ex-Umapati Swami, the GBC is saying that:
If you are a deviant, you are welcome.
If you are not a deviant, but believe in Srila Prabhupada as being the guru, you are not welcome.
More “topsy-turvy” madness!