Back To Prabhupada, Issue 76, Vol. 1, 2023, Editorial
Welcome to Issue 76 of Back To Prabhupada (BTP).
Below we list a number of issues that are current in ISKCON today:
a) As we document on page 12, Srila Prabhupada and his teachings have extensively been attacked by various ISKCON leaders.
b) ISKCON India, as represented by its organisational body, the ICC (Indian Continental Committee), stated that ISKCON's GBC (Governing Body Commission) is deviant and hence they reject its authority:
"the current introduction of Female Diksha Gurus is [...] deviant and a misrepresentation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings [...] Therefore, it is resolved that: Until the GBC resolution on FDG is withdrawn by the GBC body, the ICC will not accept the GBC as authority and will protest with non co-operation."
(Resolution drafted by ISKCON India Bureau on 6/1/22)
c) GBC voted-in guru HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami ("BVKS") states that the GBC are "enemies" of, and at "war" against, Srila Prabhupada's instructions:
"a systematic defiance of Srila Prabhupada's order to institute varnasrama. [...] the GBC has acted as enemies of Srila Prabhupada's instruction [...] ISKCON leadership's ongoing war against Srila Prabhupada's clearly stated instructions."
(BVKS, Discussion with Basu Ghosh Dasa, 13/1/23)
d) The IRM states that the GBC should keep Srila Prabhupada in the centre by keeping him as ISKCON's Acarya and diksa guru, just as he ordered.
1) The GBC is supposed to be promoting Srila Prabhupada and safeguarding his teachings, and therefore one expects the GBC to take action in regard to item a) above. And if the GBC took action against any of the parties involved in items b), c) and d), one would expect them to take action against all of them, since they all involve challenges to the GBC's position on philosophical issues. Yet, for items a) to d), the GBC has only taken action against one party. Does anyone want to guess which one?!
2) In regard to b), rather than taking action, the GBC has capitulated, as we show in the article on page 5. In regard to a) and c), no action has been taken by the GBC against those involved. But, in the case of d), strict measures involving expulsion have been taken against anyone who dares to accept Srila Prabhupada as still being the Acarya and diksa guru of ISKCON.
3) These responses that were taken or not taken constitute undisputed facts regarding what has occurred. The disparity in actions taken is so blatant, that any neutral outsider would be able to deduce what is going on just from looking at these undisputed facts, without any knowledge or views about the actual issues involved:
i) The responses to items a) and d) would lead one to conclude that ISKCON does not protect Srila Prabhupada, but rather protects itself from Srila Prabhupada being the guru.
ii) In regard to the response to item b), such a capitulation would mean that political rather than philosophical considerations were at play. (And this would appear to be correct. In a recent interview dated 8/1/23, GBC voted-in guru HG Kalakantha Dasa said that a GBC representative told him that the capitulation was due to the fact that "the temples in India have 70 percent of the assets of ISKCON" and "so we have to kind of defer to them").
iii) In respect of items b) and c), either the GBC are the deviants and enemies of Srila Prabhupada as claimed; or, if they are not, then those who have made such offensive, egregious claims are guilty of being in complete illusion regarding the fine, upstanding members of the GBC. Yet, both sides still believe that regardless of which outcome is correct, they are all still "good as God" diksa gurus, which is clearly a contradictory conclusion. Which would mean that the one overriding issue is that all parties involved wish to retain their own diksa guru status.
iv) Thus, given all of the above, the GBC is guilty of not behaving in a consistent and principled manner, but rather in a discriminatory one, when it comes to Srila Prabhupada and his diksa guru status.
And the undisputed facts tell us that.
Thank you and Hare Krsna.
In Srila Prabhupada's service,
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