Back To Prabhupada, Issue 25, Autumn 2009
In our last issue we pointed out that HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami (“BVKS”) confessed that he should not become a diksa (initiating) guru, but only a monitor guru:
““Monitor guru” seems to be the most suitable position for me — an older student guiding a younger one, who may well surpass the monitor as he grows older but will always remain faithful and respectful to him; the teacher of both is the same. ‘Nikunja-yuno’ etc. in relation to me? Not even a joke; it’s ridiculous.”
(BVKS, Vedic Village Review, Issue 14, September, 1990)
But shortly after he made this statement, he went on to become a regular ISKCON GBC-elected diksa guru to whom “Nikunja-yuno” is sung every morning by his disciples.
As we will now expose, this rank hypocrisy of hiding behind the “monitor guru” label to disguise one’s actual supposed “Nikunja-yuno” status* seems to be a common pattern amongst ISKCON’s unauthorized GBC voted-in diksa gurus.
* Srila Prabhupada describes this status as follows: “Nikunja-yuno rati-keli-siddhyai ya yalibhir yuktir apeksaniya. So the ultimate goal of the spiritual master is that he wants to be transferred to the planet of Krsna, where he wants to associate with the gopis to help them to serve Krsna. […] some of the devotees, spiritual master, they are thinking of becoming assistants to the gopis.” (Lecture 9/9/1973)
A monitor guru is basically a siksa (instructing) guru on behalf of the diksa guru, who takes on some students just as a leading student does on behalf of the teacher in school:
“This means that a candidate who has successfully followed the first twelve items can also become a spiritual master himself, just as a student becomes a monitor in class with a limited number of disciples. […] In the next stage, the candidate does not become afflicted by lamentation and illusion.”
(Easy Journey to Other Planets, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
Prabhupada: In India the system is in the school that the best student is appointed... What is called in English? The chief student is called “minor,” or... “M,” beginning.
Tamala Krsna: Monitor.
Prabhupada: Monitor, yes. Monitor. So He was monitor. That is the same. And He’ll teach the students from grammar all Krsna.
(Room conversation, 4/8/69)
These quotes make it clear that:
a) A monitor guru acts on behalf of the diksa guru, assisting him as a siksa guru whilst the diksa guru is present, just as a head student will assist the teacher in class by teaching the other students. It is not that he has succeeded the teacher after the teacher has departed and become a teacher himself.
b) The monitor guru is nowhere near being a self-realised diksa guru, still being afflicted by lamentation and illusion, just as a head student is nowhere near being a qualified teacher.
So even though there is a world of difference between a diksa guru and monitor guru, we see below two regular ISKCON diksa gurus claiming they are in fact only humble monitor gurus:
“I am most fallen, as I am so arrogant as to agree to take up the post as one of your monitors (consult Easy Journey to Other Planets p. 34: concept of monitor-guru),”
(HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Vyasa-Puja offering, 1985)
“In 1990 he accepted his first disciple as Srila Prabhupada had wanted his followers to also guide and initiate others in Krishna Consciousness. He took up this task in the spirit of being one of Prabhupada’s “monitor” gurus. Now he has initiated over a 100 disciples.”
(Website biography of HH Mahavishnu Swami [UK])
But the introduction to Mahavishnu Swami’s authorized biography makes it clear that he is a “Nikunja-yuno” diksa guru and not a “monitor guru” lest we make the mistake of actually believing what he has written!:
“The Biography below was written originally by one of his disciples, but Maharaja altered it and expanded on the original. When reading his Biography, please always bear in mind the following important words from Srila Prabhupada:
One who is an actually bona fide spiritual master, representative of Krsna, is not different from Krsna. PURPORT: Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says: saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih. The spiritual master is described in every scripture as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual master is accepted as identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead because he is the most confidential servant of the Lord (kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya). Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.29.51”.
As we have noted above, “saksad-dharitvena” and “kintu prabhor”, along with “nikunja-yuno”, are sung every morning during mangala-arati prayers to the diksa guru, glorifying him, amongst other things, as personally assisting the gopis – a glorification only meant for Srila Prabhupada!
Even one of ISKCON’s biggest guru hoaxers, HH Jayapataka Swami (“JPS”), the Sannyasa-guru of the just mentioned HH Mahavishnu Swami, has blasted such claims to being “monitors” when one is supposed to be acting as a diksa guru:
“The guru should announce to his disciples that he is spiritual master as a monitor only, etc. etc. Then what is next? That he should say he actually can’t guarantee to take them back to Godhead by following Srila Prabhupada’s teachings since he is unqualified? Then how he can accept disciples?”
(JPS, Prabhupada Disciples Forum on Com, June 1999)
So whilst it would be a great improvement if ISKCON’s unauthorized diksa gurus did actually act as monitor gurus, we see it is just more cheating to go along with the original cheating of claming to be diksa gurus. So the cheater gurus like to pretend they are simply humble “monitors”, whilst their disciples and the GBC like to glorify their gurus as being so “humble”, being “only” monitors on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. Such a false show of humility is intended to attract even more followers to such cheaters. But all the time both act as if the ISKCON guru is a full-fledged “assistant to the gopis” diksa guru. Because in Kali-yuga, the age of hypocrisy – WORDS SPEAK LOUDER THAN ACTIONS!
Those who wish to no longer be cheated need to stop playing such games, and accept that Srila Prabhupada alone is ISKCON’s diksa guru, and his cheating successors with their cheating labels need to be rejected.
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