Back To Prabhupada, Issue 72, Vol 1, 2022
BTP has previously exposed the deviations and cheating of GBC voted-in guru HH Radhanath Swami ("RNS") in regard to promoting mundane philanthropy, physical yoga and other non-Krsna conscious activities (please see BTP 49, "Radhanath's Cheating Mission"). We showed clearly how these activities were not authorised by Srila Prabhupada. Recently, a member of the GBC's Sastric Advisory Council ("SAC"), Chaitanya Charan Dasa ("CCD"), who is also a disciple of RNS, has attempted to rebut these points. All quotes in shaded boxes are from a presentation CCD broadcast on 3/12/21. All emphases added.
"The Bhaktivedanta Hospital has sometimes been criticised [...] Prabhupada has criticised spiritual teachers getting into humanitarian compassion and now why would Maharaja [RNS] open a hospital when Prabhupada has criticised that?"
CCD states that RNS engaged in an activity – opening a hospital – which Srila Prabhupada criticised. However, having admitted this, he tries to justify RNS opening a hospital by claiming:
"What Prabhupada criticised was something very specific [...] basically, it was with a Advaitic conception that everyone is Brahman, everyone is God. So, but that is not the only motive with which humanitarian compassion can be done [...] compassion is an integral part of our tradition."
Thus, CCD argues that when Srila Prabhupada criticised so-called spiritual leaders opening hospitals, he was only referring to Advaitic (monistic or impersonalist) missions opening hospitals, but that in our own Krsna conscious tradition such "compassion" of opening hospitals is authorised. However, Srila Prabhupada was also against opening even ISKCON-run hospitals, and thus did not advocate any circumstance for ISKCON to be involved in opening hospitals, period:
"There are many missionaries, they open hospitals or similar philanthropic activities, but we never do that. So many friends advised me to open some hospitals, dispensaries. Oh, I flatly said that "We are not interested in the hospitals." [...] Here is spiritual hospital. [...] the other hospitals, they cannot stop death [...] We are therefore not interested with this kind of hospital."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 4/3/75)
Thus, in his desperation to justify his guru's deviant behaviour, CCD has cheated his audience by presenting clearly false ‘evidence' of what Srila Prabhupada authorised.
"Prabhupada often says yoga is for the body and we should focus on bhakti, so Maharaja told me that actually, no, we need to provide people as many ways as possible for associating with devotees and experiencing Krsna. [...] if somebody going into yoga, we need to teach yoga, [...] direct philosophy [...] many people find that as too intrusive, too threatening"
CCD admits that Srila Prabhupada stated that we should only focus on bhakti and not yoga. However, he then quotes RNS saying "No" to this and instead RNS says that we should actually do the exact opposite of what Srila Prabhupada taught. Therefore, CCD also explains in this presentation that RNS has introduced bodily yoga classes at his Ecovillage retreat project near Mumbai.
The argument that "if somebody going into yoga, we need to teach yoga", was actually directly put to Srila Prabhupada. A proposal regarding attracting foreign tourists who were interested in yoga was presented to Srila Prabhupada. In response, Srila Prabhupada explicitly forbade appealing to the public through regular bodily yoga classes and instead compelled the teaching of real yoga as taught by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita:
Srila Prabhupada: "And then they should be given lesson on six or seven verses [of Bhagavad-gita] very elaborately, and they will hear. [...] Two hours [...]"
Gopala Krsna: "But now we should not teach them any exercise at all?"
Srila Prabhupada: "This is exercise. If he sits down two hours like that, it is more than exercise."
Gopala Krsna: "But this may not satisfy them. They may want to do..."
Srila Prabhupada: "No, we are not going to satisfy them. This is our. This is our process. If you want to learn, then we have to learn according to Bhagavad-gita. We are not going to flatter you."
(Conversation, 27/12/76)
Hence, Srila Prabhupada wanted the "direct philosophy", which RNS's program avoids teaching, to be taught. Thus, CCD has admitted that RNS's program is in direct defiance of Srila Prabhupada's teachings.
In another presentation, which focuses on "Appreciating Radhanath Maharaja's Expertise", CCD claims:
"So when Prabhupada was writing a book, he had a particular audience in mind. [...] Prabhupada always references the spiritual master as singular [...] So that in one sense, Prabhupada was addressing the situation of his disciples. At that time in our movement there was only one spiritual master, and it's practically not possible to address all possible audiences at the same time."
(CCD Presentation, 22/12/21)
CCD states that Srila Prabhupada's books were written based on his being the singular spiritual master in ISKCON, and were addressing the situation of "his disciples". However, since even the GBC accepts that Srila Prabhupada's books were actually meant to guide every devotee in ISKCON for all time –
"b. Srila Prabhupada's instructions are the essential teachings for every ISKCON devotee."
(GBC Resolutions, 1994, ‘Founder-Acarya Statement')
– it would mean that ISKCON was only ever meant to contain "his disciples", with Srila Prabhupada as its singular spiritual master!
CCD made the above statement to try to justify why it is possible to do things that are not taught in Srila Prabhupada's books. But, in trying to do so, he has ‘unwittingly' preached that Srila Prabhupada should be the diksa guru of ISKCON, as his books were written specifically for that situation!
The attempt to defend RNS's deviations has not only failed, but rather it has been confirmed that he preaches direct defiance of Srila Prabhupada's orders. We can also see how, when a guru hoaxer deviates from Srila Prabhupada, their disciples will try to rationalise the deviation rather than follow Srila Prabhupada.
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