Back To Prabhupada, Issue 85, 2026
There have been a number of court fights between the GBC and ISKCON temple presidents over ISKCON temple properties. These disputes had arisen because the latter had come to believe that Śrīla Prabhupāda remains ISKCON’s dīkṣā guru, i.e. they were considered by the GBC to be "ṛtviks", though the actual court cases themselves did not deal with the “ṛtvik” philosophy.
1) The very first such case was between the GBC and then ISKCON Calcutta Temple President, Adridhāraṇa Dāsa;
2) Another was between the GBC and then ISKCON Long Island Temple President, Nimāi Paṇḍit Dāsa;
3) And yet another example is the one between the GBC and ISKCON Bangalore Temple President, Madhu Paṇḍit Dāsa (“MPD”).
In cases 1) and 2), ISKCON Bangalore also supported both fights. However, in cases 1) and 2), the GBC won, and in case 3), the “ṛtvik” side won. Following this latter win, MPD made the following statement on 17/8/25 in his Vyāsa-pūjā offering, claiming that his court victory was vindication that the ṛtvik system is correct:
“our victory in the Supreme Court is nothing other than a direct blessings of Śrīla Prabhupāda who has vindicated our stand that only the ṛtvik system should be followed in ISKCON”
However, if this court win was a vindication from Śrīla Prabhupāda that the ṛtvik stance is correct, then it would mean, by the same logic, that in the earlier two cases in Calcutta and Long Island where the “ṛtviks” lost, the ṛtvik stand was not vindicated.
In the article on page 14, we quoted from a recent statement made by the ISKCON India Scholars Board (IISB), and in that statement they also quoted MPD’s “vindication” argument above, because there is a chance that even Bangalore’s recent court win could be reversed since the case is back in court again. Thus, if this were to happen, then by MPD’s own logic, the ṛtvik stand would again not be vindicated.
Thus, such “court vindication” reasoning cannot be correct, because the ṛtvik stand cannot be both vindicated and not vindicated via the courts, and thus both true and not true. Which is why court verdicts have no bearing on whether or not the ṛtvik stand is vindicated:
“A Vaiṣṇava ācārya is self-effulgent, and there is no need for any court judgment.”
(Cc., Madhya-līlā, 1.220, purport)
Hence, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s position as ISKCON’s dīkṣā guru will always be vindicated simply because he ordered that it be so, regardless of losses or victories in the courts.
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