Back To Prabhupada, Issue 47, Spring 2015
elcome to Issue 47 of Back To Prabhupada (BTP).
On page 8 of this issue we feature a letter from an ISKCON spokesman defending ISKCON gurus being hypocrites on the plea that we have to accept that such impurities will be in the heart until complete purification takes place. It is true that in the current age we live in, hypocrisy will be especially prevalent:
"This is the age, Kali. It is called Kali. Hypocrisy, simply hypocrisy. Kali means full of hypocrisy."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 26/11/66)
However, this still does not make it acceptable to be tolerant of ISKCON's leaders being hypocrites, as suggested by our ISKCON spokesman:
1) Srila Prabhupada stated that his success was based on the fact that he was not a hypocrite:
"I am successful only because I am following strictly the orders of my Guru Maharaj and do not deviate. Therefore people respect what I am saying and they listen, because I do not say one thing and do another."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 16/6/72)
2) If one is a hypocrite then one should not take up a position as a religious teacher:
"The purport of these instructions is that in the present age there are many persons who accept the renounced order of life but who are not spiritually advanced. [...] Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not accept such hypocrisy."
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya)
Srila Prabhupada: "How a priest can be intoxicants?" [...]
Father Tanner: "He would say it was his weakness."
Srila Prabhupada: "Weakness is hypocrisy. If you are weak, you cannot become priest. Because you are teacher, religious teacher. You should not take that post. That is hypocrisy."
(Room conversation, 11/7/73)
Thus, it's clear that we should not tolerate ISKCON's leaders being hypocrites.
Yet, BTP issues are filled with evidence of how ISKCON's leaders and sannyasis are full of hypocrisy, due to, using Srila Prabhupada's point just quoted, ‘saying one thing but doing another'. Such as ISKCON sannyasis claiming to be "renounced" when they are not, or leaders like HH Bhakti Charu Swami claiming his "Vyasa-puja" festivals are devoted to Srila Prabhupada rather than himself, when they are not. And so on.
Our philosophical battle with the GBC presents a very special case of hypocrisy. We have documented:
a) How ISKCON's leadership has presented a philosophical position that is completely wrong in regards to Srila Prabhupada's orders for who should be ISKCON's diksa guru.
b) Though this ignorance still continues, in recent times it has been punctuated with the GBC also agreeing (albeit unwittingly) with the IRM that Srila Prabhupada is the diksa guru of ISKCON. The "climbdown" series documented in BTP, as well as the GBC's "Founder-acarya" book (please see article on next page), are examples of this. In addition, we have the "label hoax" where ISKCON's leaders have effectively admitted that they are acting as "rtviks", while Srila Prabhupada acts as the diksa guru. But they have just swapped the labels around, with Srila Prabhupada now only called the siksa guru, whilst they call themselves diksa gurus.
c) Yet, though philosophically they have conceded defeat, they do not act on it. That is, they ‘say one thing but do another', which is hypocrisy. And, as we saw, Srila Prabhupada states that it is because he did not engage in such behaviour that he was successful.
Therefore, it is important that ISKCON's leaders are not hypocrites if they want the Krishna consciousness movement to be successful. And such a lack of hypocrisy is especially important in regards to their philosophical position — for if they gave up such hypocrisy here, then the "guru" issue would immediately be resolved. For then, they would accept their admitted function as "rtviks", whilst Srila Prabhupada would be officially restored to his true position as ISKCON's diksa guru.
Thank you and Hare Krsna.
In Srila Prabhupada' service,
Krishnakant
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