Back To Prabhupada, Issue 44, Summer 2014
n the last issue we highlighted the insane reasoning underlying a resolution passed by the Governing Body Commission ("GBC") of ISKCON (please see "The Insanity of the PAD Disease"). The GBC declares itself to be "the highest ecclesiastical and managing authority of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness" (GBC Resolutions, 1998). However, as we have documented repeatedly, it misuses this position to put forward teachings that bear no resemblance to Srila Prabhupada's teachings, hoping that:
a) Most devotees will not even bother to read the GBC's resolutions and position papers, but instead will simply blindly swallow whatever the "authorities" say. Indeed, it appears as if the IRM are the only ones who actually scrutinise the GBC's statements!
b) Even if devotees do bother to read, they will not in any case be able to judge the validity of the GBC's statements.
In this way, the GBC is able to spout any nonsense it likes, and thereby guide ISKCON to take any deviant direction it decrees. For example, the GBC passed the following resolution at this year's meetings:
"Whereas the GBC, per Srila Prabhupada's mandate, must retain an essential level of oversight over all individual leaders of ISKCON, including diksa-gurus".
(GBC Resolution 318, Part B, 2014)
It claims that "Srila Prabhupada's mandate" is that the GBC should have an "essential level of oversight" over "diksa gurus".
1) However, Srila Prabhupada has never issued any such mandate whereby he states that the GBC shall have an "essential level of oversight" over "diksa gurus". The GBC has just fabricated this mandate out of thin air. Otherwise, it could easily have quoted the said mandate as an explanation for the resolution. But it is difficult to produce something that does not exist!
2) Rather, Srila Prabhupada stated only that the GBC would be overseeing the officers of each temple, with the GBC actually being subordinate to ISKCON's diksa guru, Srila Prabhupada:
"So you can write him -- note down -- that "We are managing our Krsna consciousness movement by GBC. We have got about twenty GBC's for looking after the whole world affair, and above the GBC, I am there, and under the GBC's there are presidents, treasurers, secretaries in each and every center. So the president is responsible to the GBC. GBC is responsible to me. In this way we are managing."
(Room Conversation, 28/6/76)
3) In fact, such a mandate could not exist since the diksa guru cannot be subject to oversight by anyone:
"It is also an offense to consider an empowered Vaisnava an object of disciplinary action. It is offensive to try to give him advice or to correct him. One can distinguish between a neophyte Vaisnava and an advanced Vaisnava by their activities. The advanced Vaisnava is always situated as the spiritual master, and the neophyte is always considered his disciple. The spiritual master must not be subjected to the advice of a disciple, nor should a spiritual master be obliged to take instructions from those who are not his disciples. This is the sum and substance of Srila Rupa Gosvami's advice in the sixth verse."
(The Nectar of Instruction, Text 6)
This teaching is so essential that Srila Prabhupada declares it to be "the sum and substance of Srila Rupa Gosvami's advice in the sixth verse".
Therefore, in conclusion:
Srila Prabhupada did not issue a mandate for the GBC to have "oversight" over "diksa gurus";
Srila Prabhupada taught that the GBC's mandate was actually something else;
Srila Prabhupada taught that a mandate for the GBC to oversee diksa gurus would actually be contrary to his teachings.
Indeed, the absence of such a "diksa guru" GBC mandate is further evidence that Srila Prabhupada did not authorise any successor "diksa gurus" over which the GBC would need to have "oversight"!
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