Back To Prabhupada, Issue 66, Vol 2, 2020
GBC member Praghosa Dasa published an infographic titled "Srila Prabhupada; No Ordinary Guru, No Ordinary Acarya" on a GBC-funded website, as an attempt to showcase Srila Prabhupada's glories. However, as we will show, it "unwittingly" provides good evidence that Srila Prabhupada should be ISKCON's diksa guru. All quotes in shaded boxes are taken from this post. Emphases added.
"The further recognition of Prabhupada with the title Founder-Acarya."
In our book – Srila Prabhupada: The Founder-Acarya of ISKCON: Presenting the Conclusions of the GBC Foundational Document – we quoted the GBC's own statements to prove that:
a) The title "Founder-Acarya" means that Srila Prabhupada is the Founder and Acarya of ISKCON.
b) As the Acarya he is also the diksa guru of ISKCON.
"Departing from the custom of an acarya, he did not name a sole successor in his will. Hence the first article in Srila Prabhupada's will reads: "The Governing Body Commission (GBC) will be the ultimate managing authority of the entire International Society for Krishna Consciousness"."
Actually, it is not just that Srila Prabhupada did not name a "sole" successor, but rather he named no successors at all, period. As explained above, the GBC was to simply be the managing authority for ISKCON, that was all. This was a position that the GBC already held even when Srila Prabhupada was physically present:
"The GBC (Governing Body Commissioned) has been established by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to represent Him in carrying out the responsibility of managing the International Society for Krishna Consciousness [...] has been authorized by His Divine Grace to make necessary arrangements for carrying out these responsibilities of management."
(Definition of GBC, Resolution 1, first ever GBC meeting, 1975)
Thus, actually nothing changed on Srila Prabhupada's physical departure, and it is not as if therefore the GBC now suddenly became Srila Prabhupada's successors. Hence, there were no successors authorised, including any diksa guru successors. As GBC member and GBC guru Bhakti Charu Swami also admitted:
"ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada's ashram. [...] Generally the guru has an ashram and he hands over the authority of the ashram to one disciple. He appoints a successor. But Srila Prabhupada didn't do that in ISKCON."
(BCS, Disciples' Meeting, 1/8/07)
Thus, without any successor, there is no succession, and Srila Prabhupada remains the current link to the disciplic succession.
"Srila Prabhupada & ISKCON. For ISKCON to survive and thrive for decades and centuries to come, it can only do so with Srila Prabhupada truly at the centre of it. He formally initiated approximately five thousand disciples."
It is admitted that Srila Prabhupada must be "truly at the centre" of ISKCON, and yet it is also stated that the majority of devotees in ISKCON do not have Srila Prabhupada at the centre:
"Over 75,000 devotees have been initiated since 1966."
70,000 of those devotees were barred from accepting Srila Prabhupada as their diksa guru, and were instead directed toward one of the 80-odd GBC voted-in gurus on offer. We proved in the last issue, in the article "The Ongoing Minimisation of Srila Prabhupada", how these gurus are leading their disciples away from Srila Prabhupada.
"No Ordinary Guru. [...] Srila Prabhupada trailblazed [...] going beyond the traditional role of guru. [...] extraordinary efforts of Srila Prabhupada. Why Founder-Acarya? His example of guru going way beyond the normal or the ordinary, rather it is firmly rooted in the extraordinary, the exceptional, the remarkable. This title is quite rare. [...] Our Unique Acarya. Gave birth to his movement, the first worldwide Vaisnava mission."
It is stated about Srila Prabhupada: he is a "unique Acarya", "extraordinary", "exceptional" and "remarkable"; "going way beyond the normal"; that he "trailblazed" and went beyond "tradition"; that his "Founder-Acarya" title itself is "rare". And yet, if this is true, then Srila Prabhupada cannot be denied from giving diksa in his own Society of which he is the Acarya – other than to the handful of people who were on the planet at the same time as him – due to the need to follow "tradition"!
"Future & Truth. Prabhupada's real and living presence must be front and centre to all things ISKCON going forward and most importantly of all, to all ISKCON's devotees."
It is stated that it is "most important" that Srila Prabhupada's "real and living presence" is strongly emphasised to all of ISKCON's devotees. It is also stated elsewhere that we can "attain and sustain our association with Srila Prabhupada."
However, proponents for the GBC guru system claim that this "living" presence is not living enough for Srila Prabhupada to be a diksa guru, since a "living" guru is needed!
One part of a "bait-and-switch" technique is to glorify Srila Prabhupada to the maximum, as has been done here. The other part, as was seen in the previous article, is to take attention away from the GBC diksa gurus by emphasising that the diksa guru is not in any case very important. In this way, it is hoped that it will not be noticed that these supposedly not so important GBC diksa gurus have actually supplanted Srila Prabhupada in ISKCON, and that they still insist on and get the maximum worship. And that their disciples are encouraged to see them as Srila Prabhupada-type figures who give them everything, as anyone who reads the Vyasa-puja offerings these disciples make to these GBC "diksa" gurus will see.
The infographic set out to delineate Srila Prabhupada's glories, and as is often the case in GBC-published materials, it can't help but also unwittingly acknowledge Srila Prabhupada's real position as ISKCON's diksa guru. For Srila Prabhupada's life, glories and position as everyone's eternal master go hand in hand.
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