The current age in which we live is known as the Kali-yuga, or age of hypocrisy:
“This is the age, Kali. It is called Kali. Hypocrisy, simply hypocrisy. Kali means full of hypocrisy.”
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 26/11/66)
And nowhere is this hypocrisy more present than in the poster-child of Kali-yuga’s malefic influence – ISKCON’s unauthorised guru system. So on the one hand the architect of the current version of Kali’s own guru system, His Grace Ravindra Svarupa Das (“RSD”), lectures ISKCON leaders on the need to avoid the abuse of power:
“In his January 24 keynote address to the North American Temple Presidents and Governing Body Commissioners meeting, Ravindra-svarupa called abuse of power “the core problem” facing ISKCON leaders today, and opined that the solution lay in responsible use of power and strong spiritual practices. “To exercise power over others is not itself bad, it is natural,” Ravindra-svarupa said, “the Srimad Bhagavatam tells us that those who are in positions of power are naturally representatives of Krishna. The problem comes when those who are supposed to represent Krishna, don’t.”
(http://news.iskcon.com/ravindrasvarupa_dasa_warns_leaders_against_abuse_power)
Yet on the other hand, as we have shown in our previous issues, RSD is no stranger to the abuse of power, attempting to use his power to attack BTP magazine distributors peacefully offering BTPs to whomever wanted one, as was highlighted in the following video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IShsqg2NlQ
Indeed, the maximum abuse of power takes place when one wields a power which they are not even supposed to possess, as in the case of current ISKCON gurus, who act as absolute “good-as-God” diksa gurus for their hapless disciples, despite having been caught admitting that they were never actually ordered to take up this role (please see BTP 17, “GBC bombshell: We have no guru order”). Thus to use RSD’s own point, those pretending to be representatives of Krishna as authorised diksa gurus, are not. So when ISKCON’s leadership structure is completely based on the abuse of power, it is a bit rich for the founder of this system to lecture others on curtailing the abuse of power!
And so the charade of the “pot calling the kettle black”, or the shameless hypocrisy of Kali’s unauthorised ISKCON guru system, continues.
