Back To Prabhupada, Issue 79, 2024
If one wishes for one's arguments to be taken seriously, one should at least take them seriously oneself rather than defeat them. Otherwise, one will simply expose oneself as having no integrity, principles or philosophy. Which is the case with ISKCON's leadership. (All emphases in article added.)
To oppose the IRM's position, ISKCON had issued a book called 100 Deviations of Rtvikism. This book is supposed to give arguments against what ISKCON calls "rtvikism" or accepting Srila Prabhupada as one's diksa guru. One argument given is that if one accepts Srila Prabhupada as one's diksa guru, then one would be accepting diksa from a "previous" acarya. This is because ISKCON's leaders believe that their GBC gurus are the "current" diksa gurus one must accept, thereby making Srila Prabhupada a "previous" acarya. This results, it is claimed, in making the offence of "jumping over" the current generation of present "ISKCON acaryas":
"Rtvik-maya vadis jump over the guru [...]
If you can jump over one generation of the disciplic succession you can jump over so many."
(100 Deviations of Rtvikism, point 27)
"It fosters the idea that one can take diksa from any previous acarya. This thought itself is an offense. Srila Prabhupada has repeatedly warned us against jumping over present acaryas."
(100 Deviations of Rtvikism, point 107)
We had refuted all the points made in the above-mentioned book here, and showed that "jumping over" does not apply to Srila Prabhupada, as he did not authorise the GBC gurus to succeed him. But, the GBC gurus do say that they are the next generation of the disciplic succession, and thus claim that one must not "jump over" them.
However, a number of these supposed GBC guru successors to Srila Prabhupada have subsequently been "succeeded" by their own disciples who have become diksa gurus.
One example is GBC guru HH Jayapataka Swami ("JPS"), whose disciple HH Gauranga Prema Swami also became a GBC voted-in diksa guru approximately 1 year ago. However, JPS has also been continuing to initiate at the same time, a state of affairs which JPS recently informed us will still continue, in a statement made by JPS's Office on 18/12/23:
"new comers (new akankshi) from Namahatta are advised to approach HH Gauranga Prema Swami for aspiring, shelter and initiation. [...] Namahatta devotees who are already aspiring to take shelter from Guru Maharaj [JPS] can take shelter and initiation from Guru Maharaj."
In the same statement, it is said that JPS may never stop initiating:
"he [JPS] wants to gradually and systematically pass on that responsibility to his disciples and eventually stop initiating, or significantly reduce it. Once that happens, if someone strongly wants initiation from Guru maharaj, he may make an exception"
Thus, JPS's disciple, who is now initiating his own disciples, is, according to ISKCON's leaders, the new current generation of the disciplic succession, with JPS being therefore a "previous acarya". Yet, JPS is still advocating here that persons can "jump over" his disciple and instead take initiation from JPS directly, thereby completely contradicting the argument made in the aforementioned book against "jumping over" the most current generation of GBC gurus who are initiating. Indeed, since another one of JPS's disciples has been an initiating guru for 17 years, JPS has been advocating "jumping over" to him for a long time! And yet, guess who was behind this very same book? The book states that it was: "a project inspired by H.H. Jayapataka Maharaja".
A number of other GBC gurus and their disciples have also been initiating together, and thus "jumping over" has been taking place, for many years. Hence, to argue that "jumping over" is wrong only if it involves accepting Srila Prabhupada, but not when it involves accepting a GBC guru, simply highlights how the GBC has absolutely no philosophical principles.
A consequence of the idea that Srila Prabhupada is the diksa guru of ISKCON, which ISKCON leaders call "rtvik", is that Srila Prabhupada would take everyone back to Godhead. GBC voted-in guru HH Sivarama Swami ("SRS") condemns this idea as being "absurd":
"this idea comes up that Srila Prabhupada is the one who takes everybody back to Godhead and that ultimately every devotee in ISKCON, their main connection is with Srila Prabhupada. This is not anywhere in sastra [...] This rtvik concept of accepting somebody who's already passed away is, it's more than absurd and of course you don't find any reference to it anywhere in sastra"
(SRS, "Guru-tattva" Disciple Meeting, 1/9/23)
In SRS's Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada last year, he also stated the following:
"I have seen your movement continue to transform the young and the old. And while every person's story is unique, they all have one thing in common: you are their savior. [...] every story of salvation increases your already endless glories. [...] you continue to live and guide sincere souls [...] Srila Prabhupada, I didn't do anything. We just distributed your books."
Thus, SRS accepts that:
a) Srila Prabhupada is taking many persons back to Godhead today.
b) Srila Prabhupada does this by acting as a living guru who guides sincere souls.
c) He, SRS, does not deliver anyone.
SRS is thus promoting what he has also called the "absurd" concept whereby one practically accepts Srila Prabhupada as the guru who takes one back to Godhead. Which means it is SRS who is the one who is "absurd":
a) For promoting the same idea which he has called "absurd".
b) By behaving in an absurd manner when he insults Srila Prabhupada by dismissing that which he admits is true: that Srila Prabhupada is taking everyone back to Godhead by acting as their living guru.
We see how ISKCON leaders promote arguments only as an excuse to try to stop Srila Prabhupada being the guru, but they do not themselves believe in these same arguments. Thus, one cannot take anything an ISKCON leader says seriously in regard to Srila Prabhupada's position in ISKCON. After all, when they do not believe in what they are saying, why should anyone else believe them?
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