Back To Prabhupada, Issue 57, Vol. 1 2018
he desire among ISKCON's guru hoaxers to continue to usurp Srila Prabhupada's worship as the sole diksa guru in ISKCON is so strong that they will even flout their own GBC laws curtailing them from being worshipped like Srila Prabhupada, or using Srila Prabhupada's honorific title "His Divine Grace" for their own glorification. Thus, in the last issue (please see "Overwhelmed by the Desire to Be Guru"), we gave the case study of ISKCON guru HH Indradyumna Swami ("IDS") who deliberately broke the GBC's regulation restricting ISKCON gurus from receiving as-good-as-God "Vyasa-puja" worship more than once a year. Unable to contain his desire to be worshipped, IDS admitted to having no less than 11 "Vyasa-puja" worship ceremonies in the past year!
And in BTP 53, we highlighted HH Bhakti Charu Swami ("BCS"), a leading ISKCON guru and current (2017-2018) ISKCON GBC Chairman, allowing the use of Srila Prabhupada's "His Divine Grace" title for himself, in his 2016 Vyasa-puja book. In particular, the very front of the Vyasa-puja book had used "His Divine Grace" to refer to BCS in his "Srila Bhakti Charu Swami Pranati" ("Prayer to Bhakti Charu Swami"). This is the standard prayer to BCS, which is authorised for use by all his disciples when addressing him. This deviation in BCS's Vyasa-puja book was brought to the attention of the GBC by a BTP reader, who, due to his reading of BTP, had been educated in the various deviations engaged in by ISKCON leaders — not only against Srila Prabhupada but also their own GBC! The GBC in turn asked BCS to take corrective action, and BCS stated that he was informing his disciples of this deviation from the GBC's laws, so as to "make sure that such a thing never occurs in the future." (BCS, quoted in email by GBC Corresponding Secretary, 30/9/16)
However, having read our book 100 Contradictions: The Life and Teachings of HH Bhakti Charu Swami, our intrepid BTP reader was well aware of the long list of contradictions and hypocrisy spouted by BCS in his teachings, and he therefore decided not to take BCS at his word, but to examine the evidence for himself. And he found that, at the very front of next year's 2017 Vyasa-puja book, lo and behold, it again states in "Srila Bhakti Charu Swami Pranati":
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhakti Charu Swami, who is very soft hearted and is expert at compiling devotional literatures."
Thus, Srila Prabhupada's "His Divine Grace" title is again applied to BCS. And, it was this same use of the "His Divine Grace" title in the "Srila Bhakti Charu Swami Pranati" in the previous year's 2016 Vyasa-puja book that led to BCS having to tell the GBC that he was taking action to ensure it would "never" happen again. Consequently, one would have expected BCS to have been especially vigilant that exactly the same thing would not happen again. Instead, at the very first opportunity to correct the previous mistake, we find that rather than be corrected, it was repeated!
Consequently, our reader again pointed out this same deviation to the GBC Corresponding Secretary, who responded:
"I sent this information to Maharaja and his senior disciples and received a contrite apology from the devotee responsible for the VP book assuring me it was an honest error and won't be repeated."
(Email from GBC Corresponding Secretary, 9/10/17)
However, we may note that this "honest error" which "won't be repeated", was what BCS himself said one year ago, namely that he would "make sure that such a thing never occurs in the future."
We can note two important lessons from this incident:
1) Both times that this breaking of the GBC's laws took place, BCS had to first be warned about the deviation by the GBC, even though he is obviously aware of his own standard prayer uttered to him by all his disciples! And the GBC in turn were only made aware due to a BTP reader! And both times the GBC asked our reader to let them know if it happens again. Thus, BCS is not concerned to follow the GBC's laws, even though, as the GBC chairman, he wants others to follow them! And the GBC themselves also are not able to police that their rules are being followed, even though that is their job. Instead, they need the IRM to do it for them.
2) The fact that BCS allowed exactly the same "His Divine Grace" deviation to happen at the very first opportunity, just demonstrates the overwhelming strength and pervasiveness of the desire to take Srila Prabhupada's position.
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