Back To Prabhupada, Issue 52, Summer 2016
he IRM's position is based on Srila Prabhupada's words. Therefore it cannot be challenged. The impossibility of challenging the IRM's position is evidenced by what is now becoming a common response from ISKCON's leadership whenever it is confronted with the IRM's position.
Instead of answering the IRM's position with evidence from Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON leaders:
1) Claim that what the IRM states is "offensive", "vaisnava-aparadha", and threaten dire spiritual consequences as a result.
2) Attack those presenting the IRM's position.
3) Conclude, therefore, that the IRM's position should not be listened to, or cannot be correct.
Some examples of this covered in previous issues have been:
a) ISKCON GBC-elected guru HG Kripamoya Dasa threatening that the IRM is engaging in "blasphemy" and is at risk of going to "hell" (BTP 37, "Book Exposes Force Desperate Response").
b) ISKCON GBC-elected guru HH Jayadvaita Swami claiming that the BTP Editor cannot possibly be right compared to the GBC since he is just a "Gujarati guy" (BTP 34, "Determining the Truth").
c) A representative of ISKCON Nairobi claiming the BTP Editor is a "demon" due to "Western culture" and not having an "Indian background" (BTP 37, "ISKCON's Racial Arguments Continue").
Another example of such attack tactics occurred when a devotee posted the famous diagram from BTP 50 proving ISKCON's deviations (www.iskconirm.com/50). ISKCON GBC-elected guru HG Jivananda Dasa ("JD") (see page 7) then responded:
a) "offensive idiots who's only contribution to Lord Caitanya's movement and Srila Prabhupada's mission is to commit vaishnava aparad".
b) "This is the biggest mistake you could possibly make. This will get you a negative reaction far worse than all the sins you could commit in a million lifetimes".
c) "The Rtviks do NOT open temples, make devotees, associate with saintly persons, or profusely distribute Prabhupada's books."
d) "Just what, pray tell, makes your opinion worth anything more than the stool dropped by the dogs in the street?"
(JD, Social Media, 2/5/16)
"Rtviks" is the term used by ISKCON's leadership to refer to those who present the IRM's position, since the IRM repeats Srila Prabhupada's order of setting up rtvik representatives to continue initiations in ISKCON on his behalf.
As such a line of attack against the IRM's position is becoming common, we present here a comprehensive 10 point rebuttal:
1) Srila Prabhupada states:
"false arguments can be conquered by factual ascertainment."
(SB, 1.9.27)
He does not state that a false argument is conquered by ‘attacking the person presenting the false argument'. Thus, if the IRM is actually presenting false arguments, then these arguments must be answered through "factual ascertainment".
2) A fault in a person is not a fault in an argument. If one was able to find a fault in the IRM's argument, one would just present that, instead of taking shelter in diversionary attack tactics.
3) Such diversionary tactics by ISKCON leaders are another example of the PFP (Prabhupada-Free Paradigm). Thus, instead of quoting evidence from Srila Prabhupada to determine the truth, they state anything other than Srila Prabhupada's words.
4) The facts are independent of the person presenting them. If a drunk person claims that Krishna is God, this statement is not false because the person presenting it is drunk, and only true if the person presenting it becomes sober. Rather, the facts can only be determined by "factual ascertainment", and not by examining the person presenting them.
5) ISKCON leaders accept that in regards to most tenets of Gaudiya Vaisnavism, such as the position of Krishna, Lord Caitanya, the Holy Name, etc., the "rtviks" are philosophically right. Thus, they have no inherent disqualification preventing them from being philosophically correct.
6) Some activities require special qualifications. But the only qualification required for "factually ascertaining" Srila Prabhupada's orders is the ability to read. For example, in the article on page 3, we read that an ISKCON leader claims that a bona fide guru deviates, and then we read Srila Prabhupada stating that a bona fide guru does not deviate. That's it.
7) Even if the "rtviks" are hypocrites who do not even follow Srila Prabhupada, it does not invalidate the truth of their statements. For example, if a person states Krishna must be accepted as God, but does not himself follow Krishna, his statement still remains true.
8) It has been admitted that the entire leadership of ISKCON was in "maya" for a decade when they instituted the false "zonal-acarya" guru system in ISKCON (The Great Guru Hoax Part 1). Please see the statement from the Editor-in-Chief in Back To Godhead, #25-01, 1991. Thus, ISKCON's
leadership is not always more likely to be correct than others.
9) During the days of the zonal acarya system, the same type of tactics were used to keep detractors in line — that the zonal acaryas were doing great preaching (e.g. more books were being distributed then than now), while the detractors were not. Yet the zonal acarya system was still wrong. Thus, external "preaching" or lack of it does not guarantee one being right or wrong.
10) Making personal attacks instead of directly answering the IRM's position still requires one to expend time and effort. Therefore, claiming a lack of time or interest is not a valid reason to avoid answering the IRM's position.
Only factual ascertainment regarding the statement put forward can determine whether the statement is correct or not — not the qualifications of the person putting the statement forward. Such irrational, emotional and evasive responses from ISKCON's leaders are to be expected, since the IRM's position is based on Srila Prabhupada's words, and so cannot be challenged. Thus, out of frustration at being unable to answer the IRM's position, ISKCON leaders are forced to resort to taking shelter in such non-answers. However, if the IRM's position is not directly answered, then it remains unchallenged, and ISKCON's leaders automatically remain defeated due to such evasion tactics.
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