Back To Prabhupada, Issue 84, 2025
In the previous article, we examined how child abuse is considered by some to be less severe than a belief. A connected claim would be to insist that child abusers and demons must also still be seen as Vaisnavas. We examine this claim below.
The demon "Vaisnavas"
ISKCON Bangalore have an official social media channel in which they claim to give:
"Śrila Prabhupāda's original vision for ISKCON [...] and re-establish truth within his movement."
One of the talks posted on this channel giving this "truth" states that the GBC lied about Srila Prabhupāda's orders that he remain ISKCON's initiating guru for ISKCON. And thus the following question about this dishonesty by the GBC was asked during this talk:
"how to explain the level of dishonesty?"
The answer given is that:
"I was reading Prabhupāda's books, and he would say right in his books that there'll be sometimes demons in the garb of devotees in this Hare Krishna Movement. [...] gradually the pieces of the puzzle came together and we finally started to figure out this thing, how it played out."
("How the GBC Lied to ISKCON", 4/6/25)
Thus, it is claimed that such misleading and lying behaviour by the GBC was due to them basically being "demons". However, in a talk given by Madhu Pandit Dasa ("MPD"), who is the leader of ISKCON Bangalore, he refers specifically to all those in the guru hoax camp, and the dispute between them and ISKCON Bangalore, and states:
"And therefore we all have to be very careful about understanding that this is not a dispute necessarily between some karmis. This is a dispute in which the conviction of the two groups of Vaisnavas are different."
(MPD, "Vijayotsava" celebration, 18/5/25)
Hence, though the guru hoax side is in dispute with ISKCON Bangalore, they must be seen as equal to the latter in terms of being "Vaisnavas". This of course includes the lying "demon" GBC mentioned earlier, as they are the reason why there is this dispute to begin with. Indeed, we are told to be "very careful" to make sure we do this. Thus:
a) Not only are we told that those who are demons must still be seen as Vaisnavas;
b) But these "demon Vaisnavas" are also equated with the, we assume, completely non-demon, ISKCON Bangalore Vaisnavas.
Contradicts Śrila Prabhupāda
But is this conclusion, that it is possible for one who is a "demon" to also be a "Vaisnava", true? Consulting Śrīla Prabhupāda, we find that this claim is completely wrong. Because it is one of the most basic teachings of Srila Prabhupāda that there probably are no two other classes of persons who are completely separate, opposite and mutually exclusive than "Vaisnava" and "demon":
"the demons (āsuras tad-viparyayah) are always against the vişnu-bhaktas, or Vaisnavas."
(SB, 6.7.39, purport)
"the demons and the demigods or the Vaisnavas are always the two classes of living beings"
(SB, 2.7.1, purport)
Due to this being such a basic teaching of Śrīla Prabhupāda, one will find many more similar quotes from Srila Prabhupāda attesting to this fundamental truth.
Deviant child abuser "Vaisnavas"
In the same talk from MPD just quoted, while again addressing those in the guru hoax camp, he states:
"He's (Prabhupāda) very compassionate. Those who have deviant also he's very compassionate. Because they are also, irrespective of whatever it is, it is very rare in this world to have Vaisnavas. We have to spread the holy name of the Lord. That is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
Hence, it is claimed that GBC gurus, even if they are deviant, must still be seen as "Vaisnavas". And MPD has already told us what activities he believed these "deviant" GBC gurus have been involved in:
"The self-appointed deviant unelected GBC and unauthorized Gurus have been involved in 1. Poisoning the Founder Acharya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [...] 2. [...] massive child molestation and child abuse cases of about one thousand children [...] 3. [...] life styles contrary to the teachings of Srila Prabhupāda [...] 4. [...] murdered a devotee [...] 5. [...] drug practices which are totally opposed to the teachings of Srila Prabhupäda."
("Interview with Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa", archived from iskconbangalore.org)
Thus, we are told that those who have engaged in child abuse and general mass immorality, sinful activity and disobedience to Srila Prabhupāda, must still be seen as "Vaisnavas".
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Śrila Prabhupāda: Distinguishes between demons and Vaisnavas
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Contradicts Śrila Prabhupāda
In regard to the claim of being "deviant" and engaging in sin and immorality, but still being a Vaisnava, Śrīla Prabhupāda states:
"He is worshiping, bhajana, taking another's wife." [...] Bhaktivinoda Thakura says. If you take tilaka and mālā and do all nonsense things, then you are not a devotee. You are kali-chelā. To become a devotee is not so easy thing."
(Śrila Prabhupāda, Morning Walk, 25/3/76)
In the talk quoted, MPD had justified those who are "deviant" being seen as "Vaisnavas" by stating they are still engaged in the "mission of Lord Caitanya" to "spread the holy name". We can note that in the above quote, Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks about those who are "worshiping, bhajana". But their also being "deviant" means they are disqualified from being a Vaisnava. And "Lord Caitanya's mission" involves being in contact with the bona fide spiritual master:
"by the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master, one takes to Krsna consciousness, his conditional life of material existence is vanquished, and his original consciousness, known as Krsna consciousness, is revived. [...] Therefore Śri Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is for everyone to engage in welfare activities to awaken the foolish living entity"
(SB, 7.7.27, purport
But ISKCON Bangalore already accept that everyone in the guru hoax camp is not doing this, by preventing people from accepting Śrīla Prabhupäda as the bona fide spiritual master, and thus they would not be faithfully prosecuting Lord Caitanya's mission.
Conclusion
Claiming that those who are "demons" are also Vaisnavas, is not Śrīla Prabhupāda's teaching. Indeed, this is a most elementary, basic spiritual teaching.
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