Back To Prabhupada, Issue 54, Winter 2016/17
he previous article explained the No Change in ISKCON Paradigm ("NCIP"). During his physical presence, Srila Prabhupada established the systems, regulations, teachings, management, and so on, which would apply in ISKCON, and they were to be followed without any addition or subtraction, rather than be changed.
Thus, managing and operating ISKCON is actually very simple. Everything continues how it was when Srila Prabhupada was physically present. Hence, there can be no questions or confusion regarding what should be done, as Srila Prabhupada already left us a working model to follow and everything in ISKCON would simply continue to function and work smoothly.
In contrast, we will now examine what happens when we deviate from the "no change" model given by Srila Prabhupada.
The appeal below was posted on a GBC-funded website and made on behalf of the Kirtan Standards Committee, which advises the GBC:
"The kirtana is at its climax. The leader from the top of his lungs bursts forth with a resounding Gurudeva, Gurudeva, Gurudeva Gurudeva [...], etc. Some devotees look at each other -- who am I supposed to be singing to or should I be singing it at all. Who is the leader referring to? A kind of silent unsurety lingers in the background or foreground. Some say we should not at all chant others say at specific occasions and times, others anytime, anywhere. Some say before Jaya Prabhupada is okay some after. Some say it is to Srila Prabhupada, some to their initiating guru, some to all the gurus, some the predecessor guru. On behalf of the Kirtan standards committee I would like to hear what the esteemed assembly of learned and experienced devotees could kindly contribute to this topic."
("Dandavats", 20/12/16)
a) Thus, the movement's leadership has no idea even about something as basic as how to conduct a kirtana!
b) The appeal was made on behalf of the committee by HH Janananda Goswami, who is a supposedly ‘good as God' GBC-elected diksa guru. Thus, we have a "guru" who does not even know who ‘gurudeva' is!
This absurd ignorance about how to have a kirtana can be added to the other absurdities we outlined in BTP 44 (please see "Guru-Tattva Basics – 1"). There we exposed how ISKCON's gurus also cannot agree on basic fundamentals such as what the word "guru" refers to, how and why one is a diksa guru, how the diksa guru is worshipped, and even who can be a diksa guru!
More evidence of this absurd ignorance comes from a "sanga" held by the senior most leaders in ISKCON, comprised of GBCs, sannyasis and gurus. They had to answer the following question*:
"If you could ask Srila Prabhupada just one question what will that question be?"
One of the questions* put forward was:
"What is the role of the diksha guru in ISKCON?"
Thus, though they have been running a diksa guru program for almost 40 years, ISKCON's leadership still does not know what a diksa guru is!
Another question* presented by ISKCON's leadership at this sanga to ask Srila Prabhupada, when they had to answer the question stated above, was:
"When you said don't change anything, what exactly did you mean?"
Thus, ISKCON's leadership actually acknowledges the NCIP! But they claim that "don't change anything" means that you can change the guru and initiation system Srila Prabhupada gave for ISKCON, where he is the diksa guru and initiations occur on his behalf via representatives ("rtviks"). But if ISKCON's leadership could pick and choose what they wanted to change, then "don't change anything" would become "change whatever you want", which would be another absurdity!
One question* that the participants of this leadership sanga were asked to brainstorm was:
"What challenges are we facing at present due to the lack of clarity on the intent or context of Srila Prabhupada's instructions?"
Thus, ISKCON's leadership is fully confessing that they are ignorant regarding Srila Prabhupada's instructions. And yet they are supposed to be leading us! In reality, there is no lack of clarity in Srila Prabhupada's instructions and the actual path is very simple. Just continue ISKCON as Srila Prabhupada left it when he physically departed, with no change.
* "ISKCON News" report, 13/2/17
Initially when the guru hoax was introduced immediately after Srila Prabhupada departed, it simply copied the absolute diksa guru model given by Srila Prabhupada -- only, it was applied to his supposedly 11 "zonal-acarya successors" (The Great Guru Hoax, Part 1). When that was accepted by the GBC to be false a decade later (please see "An Apology", Back To Godhead, #25-01, 1991), they then generated a new, made-up diksa guru model from scratch. You now had a contradictory system of supposedly still absolute ‘as good as God' diksa gurus, but now under the authority of a non-absolute GBC management body. These diksa gurus were voted in, able to fall down and "leave" the parampara, and disciples could get re-initiated multiple times (The Great Guru Hoax, Part 2).
Thus, instead of following the path laid down by Srila Prabhupada, the GBC changed it and instead made up their own guru hoax program of "successors" to Srila Prabhupada. Such invention had to be done because Srila Prabhupada did not give any orders or directions for how a society of many guru successors simultaneously under the authority of a GBC would operate in ISKCON. No such direction was given because no such system was authorised!
Consequently, ISKCON's leadership had no real idea what it should be doing and thus just made it up as it went along. And this is why the stunning ignorance, confusion and contradiction of even the very basics mentioned earlier arises, and why it still remains even after 40 years.
We need to return to the Society Srila Prabhupada left us, the ISKCON where everything worked, everyone knew what had to be done, and there were no absurdities such as not even knowing how to have a kirtana!
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