Back To Prabhupada, Issue 26, Winter 2009/10, Editorial
Welcome to Issue 26 of Back To Prabhupada (BTP).
Many devotees have noted parallels between BTP and the pre-1977 BTG (Back To Godhead), the magazine which Srila Prabhupada started to propagate his Krishna Consciousness movement, and which today, like his ISKCON movement, has been hijacked by the guru hoaxers, with only the name remaining the same. The parallels devotees have mentioned have been two-fold. The first is to do with the anticipation and excitement each issue of BTP generates, and it is best epitomised by a reader’s letter below:
“I read your magazine cover to cover as soon as I get it. The same happened with The Final Order. They read like the old Back to Godhead magazines we got in the early ‘70’s. Thank you for your effort to protect ISKCON from the diksa gurus.”
- Mahasana Das, Florida, USA
We have received many other similar letters.
The other parallel relates to the purpose of BTP. Srila Prabhupada saw BTG as a tool by which to “CED” - challenge, expose and defeat - opposing materialistic philosophies, as expressed in the letter below:
“We can talk with anyone. Marx, Darwin, all professors and politicians, we can challenge and defeat them. Our philosophy is so perfect. So go on exposing them, that is the purpose of Back to Godhead paper, to expose their materialistic ideas as all nonsense and present the real philosophy that Lord Krsna gives.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, September 26th, 1975)
And, similarly the purpose of the original BTG was to criticise materialism:
“On the whole, I wish to present Back To Godhead purely in the line of Krishna Consciousness throughout and criticism of too much materialism, as you have written many articles already. That is very nice.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 15th, 1969)
Srila Prabhupada clearly states that to CED is the very purpose of BTG – “So go on exposing them” – therefore, the title of this editorial “Go on exposing them”. And that materialism should be criticised throughout. Similarly, BTP’s purpose is to CED the most dangerous materialistic philosophy, which has currently derailed the Krishna Consciousness movement. That most dangerous philosophy is that certain orders of Srila Prabhupada, the founder and acharya of ISKCON, do not matter, and therefore one can make progress in Krishna consciousness even whilst disobeying Srila Prabhupada, which would mean that ultimately Srila Prabhupada does not matter. ISKCON also contains too much of the worst aspect of materialism– the desire to be worshipped as good as God. The guru hoax, which includes the institutionalization of worship of unauthorized persons as good as God, therefore, must be thoroughly criticized. The very movement which Srila Prabhupada started specifically to take people ‘Back To Godhead’ has unfortunately abandoned Srila Prabhupada, such that a movement is needed to bring it ‘Back To Prabhupada’ before it can then take devotees once again ‘Back To Godhead’! Hence, BTP will indeed “go on exposing them”... all those who are currently taking ISKCON off track with their ambition for “Power, Position and Property” (as to those 3 deadly ‘Ps’ - please see page 10). And we will make no apologies for doing this, even though some persons may find constant exposing and criticising too “negative”, just as Srila Prabhupada did not make any apologies for desiring that his BTG expose and criticise all and sundry who dared to put forward materialistic ideas. Of course, our target audience is different. Whilst BTG was meant for mass distribution to the public, and was meant to criticise materialism in general, BTP concentrates on CED-ing the one materialistic idea which has subverted the very movement meant to save the world from materialism. Thus, it is an internal publication meant primarily for those who accept Srila Prabhupada’s teachings as the authority for their spiritual lives.
Certainly, it would be best that such a publication as BTP was not necessary in the first place; that the movement had continued on the same path after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, as it was on before his departure. Then we could all be concentrating our energies on exposing the same materialistic philosophers that Srila Prabhupada so brilliantly defeated, and also urged us to confront. But defeating such materialistic ideas is useless unless it is replaced with the correct understanding of Krishna consciousness. So when ISKCON is back on track, BTP can turn into the magazine that BTG used to be during Srila Prabhupada’s presence. But, until ISKCON is back on track, the battle will go on, for any attempts to go back to Godhead without first being situated at Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet, in exact accordance with his instructions, are meaningless. Hence, back to Godhead must now be preceded by going back to Prabhupada.
Please feel free to write to me at the following email address: irm@iskconirm.com.
Thank you and Hare Krishna.
Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,
Subscribe for FREE to Back To Prabhupada Magazine - Click Here
Return to "Deviation" Index
Return to "Mission" Index
Return to "Great Guru Hoax" Index
Return to IRM Homepage