e show how ISKCON leaders agree with us that Srila Prabhupada is spiritually present in ISKCON, and what this means in practice. Emphases added.
ISKCON leaders' various objections to Srila Prabhupada remaining ISKCON's diksa guru are all based on assuming that the diksa guru must be "living" or physically present, e.g.:
a) The "tradition" is that the diksa guru must be "living";
b) The "living" guru is needed so that he can "bend the ear" of the disciple;
c) "Sastra" only contains examples of "living" gurus;
d) The diksa guru needs to be "living" in order to be able to personally "accept" the disciple;
e) The parampara will "stop" if we do not have "living" gurus.
And so on. All these arguments:
1) Are indirect as they do not quote a "living guru" order from Srila Prabhupada. Hence, an appeal needs to be made instead to "tradition" and so on;
2) Assume that it is not even possible for Srila Prabhupada to give diksa even if he wanted to, due to his lack of a physical body.
But, conversely, they accept that Srila Prabhupada does still act as the diksa guru for those he initiated whilst he was physically present, and thus what is actually being claimed is not that the diksa guru needs to be "living" – but that he only needs to be "living" when he begins to act as the diksa guru and accepts disciples for initiation.
Speaking about the relationship with the diksa or initiating spiritual master, GBC voted-in guru HH Jayadvaita Swami ("JAS") states:
"The spiritual master may be present, the spiritual master may be physically absent, whatever. [...] This is the spiritual platform. On the material platform, things come and go, things are seen and not seen [...] So remembering the instructions of the spiritual master [...] this will give us that close connection with the spiritual master."
(JAS, Talk, 27/3/24)
1) JAS states that since the relationship with the diksa guru is on the spiritual platform, his physical presence is not relevant.
2) Thus, one continues to connect with the diksa guru even when he is physically absent.
Therefore, this ability of Srila Prabhupada to connect as a diksa guru would also apply to the beginning of the diksa guru-disciple relationship called "initiation", as it is also taking place on the spiritual platform, and thus by definition physical presence cannot be required.
Another ISKCON leader, GBC Nominations Committee member (and former GBC) Tamohara Dasa ("TD") states that:
"Srila Prabhupada is still with us and will always be with us [...] because his spiritual presence is eternal. It's continuing. [...] It's absolutely possible for everyone to have a relationship with Srila Prabhupada because Prabhupada is eternally the guru for ISKCON, the Founder-Acarya
(TD, Lecture, ISKCON Alachua, 16/11/23)
Thus, we are assured that:
1) Not only is Srila Prabhupada spiritually present in ISKCON;
2) But he is continuing to be spiritually present eternally in the same way he was spiritually present when he was also physically present;
3) Everyone in ISKCON can have a relationship with Srila Prabhupada as their guru.
Points 1 and 2 mean that Srila Prabhupada's spiritual position has not changed following his physical departure, but it is eternally the same. Thus, there is no change to the spiritual position he had when he was physically present, which includes acting as diksa guru, as this is not a material position. Which is consistent with point 3.
The statements above from ISKCON leaders about Srila Prabhupada's spiritual presence mean that Srila Prabhupada does not suddenly become spiritually impotent just when it comes to beginning the diksa relationship. Rather, these statements uphold Srila Prabhupada's spiritual ability to function as a diksa guru, period. And the above two examples are only the latest in a long line of ISKCON leaders who are continually reminding us that Srila Prabhupada is still spiritually present. We have quoted many of them in previous BTP issues.
Thus, ISKCON's leaders have to accept that Srila Prabhupada can continue to remain the current link in the disciplic succession following his physical departure and give diksa by virtue of his continued unchanged spiritual presence. Hence, the various indirect arguments given by ISKCON's leaders stated at the outset, which assume that Srila Prabhupada is unable to continue as ISKCON's diksa guru due to not being "living", are defeated by ISKCON's leaders themselves, due to their acceptance of Srila Prabhupada's continued unchanged spiritual presence.
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ISKCON leaders are then left with only one path to block Srila Prabhupada being ISKCON's diksa guru: that though Srila Prabhupada can continue as ISKCON's diksa guru, still, he explicitly chose to stop doing this by giving a direct order naming successors to succeed him as ISKCON's diksa guru on his physical departure. But we saw in the article on page 4 that there is no record of Srila Prabhupada having given such a diksa guru succession order.
Indeed, there is only one claim that could even possibly qualify as being such a succession order explicitly tied to Srila Prabhupada's physical order: that on May 28th, 1977, Srila Prabhupada supposedly ordered 11 rtviks to transmogrify into diksa gurus as soon as he physically departed. But we have documented in detail that this rtvik to diksa guru transmogrification order only "exists" if one "plants" it into Srila Prabhupada's mind through the mystical power of mind reading because Srila Prabhupada himself never ordered such a transmogrification (see BTP 78, "A Guru System Dependent Entirely on Mind Reading").
Thus, due to –
1) ISKCON leaders' acceptance of Srila Prabhupada's unchanging continued spiritual presence;
2) No diksa guru succession order existing, other than in the minds of ISKCON leaders
– they are forced to accept that Srila Prabhupada continues to give diksa since it is not physical, but spiritual.
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