Back To Prabhupada, Issue 79, 2024
Over the years, the GBC has had to devise many different versions of the holy parampara or disciplic succession, for those who have taken part in the GBC's guru system. We review these different GBC-created "paramparas", and evaluate them against the characteristics of a bona fide disciplic succession.
The GBC has decreed that it is possible to be connected to the disciplic succession even if you do not have a diksa guru! There are a number of cases where ISKCON gurus have "fallen down" and thus are no longer acting as gurus for their disciples. However, those who used to be their disciples have been told that they are still connected to the parampara, as if nothing has happened, even though they no longer even have a diksa guru. An example of this would be the disciples of Bhakti Vidya Purna/Anirdesya Vapu Dasa. The latter has been removed as a GBC diksa guru, and also has been forbidden to continue to act as a diksa guru for his disciples, or indeed give any instruction to anyone in ISKCON! But his disciples are told by the GBC that they "continue to be initiated devotees in ISKCON, in the line of Srila Prabhupada, with the full privileges and responsibilities thereof." Which means no guru is required to be connected to the parampara. These points above are all documented in GBC Resolution 301:55, 2022. This "parampara" is illustrated above in diagram 1).
Another variety of GBC parampara connection is where a guru is also fallen and thus prohibited from continuing to act as a diksa guru and initiate disciples. But, this fallen guru is still allowed to function as a diksa guru for his existing disciples, even though it is accepted by the GBC that he is not qualified to be a diksa guru and take disciples. An example of this would be Satsvarupa. Satsvarupa was removed from being able to give initiation or present himself as an initiating guru due to an "illicit" relationship with a female. He was also sanctioned for writing a pornographic book, and all of his future publications were subject to being checked. Which meant even his writing could not be trusted. Despite this accepted lack of qualification to continue as a diksa guru, Satsvarupa is still allowed to continue acting as a diksa guru for his existing disciples. And, thus, these disciples are considered to still be connected to the parampara through their fallen guru. These points are all documented in: Statement by GBC Executive Committee dated 7/7/07, Letter sent out by Satsvarupa in December 2007, and the Preamble by the GBC Executive Committee to this letter. This "parampara" is illustrated above in diagram 2).
In the previous version of the "parampara", the fallen guru in question was supposedly at least not fallen at the time he initiated his disciples. However, the GBC also offers a "parampara" in which the GBC diksa guru was always fallen from the very start, including when initiating his disciples. An example of this is Umapati. He was removed from being able to act as a diksa guru for anyone, including his disciples, due to having engaged in illicit sexual relations with his disciples. It is stated that these deviations occurred for a "number of years" prior to 2010. However, it is also stated that those who were initiated by Umapati during this time prior to 2010, whilst Umapati was deviating, are still to be considered "duly initiated members of ISKCON". Thus, they are considered by the GBC to still be connected to the parampara, despite having no diksa guru and also having a deviant initiation. These points are all documented in GBC Statement, GBC meetings, 2010 and GBC Statement 28/2/11. This "parampara" is illustrated above in diagram 3).
In the previous article, we noted that ISKCON had strongly preached against the concept of "jumping over" the current link in the parampara, as an argument to stop one from accepting Srila Prabhupada as one's diksa guru. However, in the same article, we also documented that ISKCON gurus do not themselves actually believe in or follow this principle of not jumping over. Hence, there are actually various GBC diksa gurus and their disciples today who are both initiating at the same time. This means that one would be "jumping over" a current GBC diksa guru to take initiation instead from his diksa guru, and thus be connected to the parampara via what the GBC would consider to be "jumping over" to a "previous acarya". Therefore, this "jumping over parampara" would constitute yet another type of "parampara" that the GBC has created, and is illustrated above in diagram 4).
Having reviewed these different "parampara" systems created by the GBC, certain conclusions become very apparent:
1) 3 of the 4 paramparas had to be created solely due to the need to prop up a GBC guru system in which their gurus continually "fall down".
2) The GBC is thus saying to ISKCON members: don't worry about how bogus our GBC gurus may turn out to be – you can still always be connected to the parampara, no matter what happens!
3) At the same time, the GBC insists that the one way you can definitely never connect to the parampara is directly via Srila Prabhupada. Rather, they state that accepting Srila Prabhupada as one's diksa guru is a "dangerous philosophical deviation" (GBC Resolution 73, 1990). Hence, the GBC is basically saying that literally anything – whether the guru is completely fallen, or there is no guru at all – is better than Srila Prabhupada for connecting to the parampara, such is their disdain for Srila Prabhupada.
Even ISKCON members whose gurus are not yet visibly "fallen", or who did not accept their gurus via "jumping over", are still connected to these different parampara systems in the following ways:
1) If in the future their gurus are revealed to have fallen, then they will also end up belonging to one of these (or other newly created) "paramparas"!
2) The "paramparas" which were created to rationalise and accommodate fallen gurus highlight something that is very significant:
"The spiritual master must never be carried away by an accumulation of wealth or a large number of followers. A bona fide spiritual master will never become like that. But sometimes, if a spiritual master is not properly authorized, and only on his own initiative becomes a spiritual master, he may be carried away by an accumulation of wealth and large numbers of disciples. [...] One should, therefore, strictly adhere to the principles of disciplic succession."
(The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 14)
This means that if a guru falls, then it proves that he could not have been authorised to begin with. Yet, all current ISKCON gurus are born from the same process of authorisation as these fallen gurus – which is via the GBC guru system. Which means that even if some gurus are never shown to have "fallen", these gurus are still not authorised, having been authorised via the same unauthorised system.
The characteristics of the bona fide parampara are completely different to these GBC-created "paramparas". The bona fide parampara requires that one must be connected to it via someone who –
a) Is an acarya, pure and perfect;
b) Is always in the parampara;
c) Is the current link
– as proven by the quotes below:
"the disciplic succession of acaryas."
(SB, 3.29.17, purport)
"the parampara system of pure devotees"
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 23/4/72)
"the perfect, disciplic succession of spiritual masters beginning with the Lord Himself."
(Sri Isopanisad, 1, purport)
"A bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not deviate at all"
(Bg., 4.42, purport)
"one should approach the current link, or spiritual master in the chain of disciplic succession."
(SB, 2.9.7, purport)
"This is called parampara system. You cannot jump over to the superior guru, [...] neglecting the next acarya, immediate next acarya."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 8/12/73)
Thus, the GBC's fallen, guruless, jumped-over "paramparas" are immediately shown by these quotes to all be deviant. Yet, Srila Prabhupada perfectly fulfils all these conditions as one through whom we can directly connect to the parampara: he is a perfect acarya who has never deviated and – as proven in the previous section – is the current link to the disciplic succession, as the GBC gurus are not "properly authorised" and therefore cannot succeed him.
We can thus compare this real parampara, shown in diagram 5) above, with the deviant GBC paramparas we have described thus far.
If someone does not accept that the philosophy underlying the GBC's guru hoax is a deviation, just show them diagrams 1-5, which graphically illustrate the completely farcical, deviant "paramparas" that have arisen from this "philosophy".
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