GBC debates Srila Prabhupada's position 30 years on

Autumn 2006

Can you imagine if the Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness were to set up a special committee to determine the "position of Lord Krishna"?
Would this not be a sure sign that they have no idea what they are doing, and are therefore unfit to lead the movement?

Similarly, a committee set up to determine the position of the personality who leads us to Krishna, would also be no less ludicrous. Yet 30 years after Srila Prabhupada's physical departure, this is exactly what the GBC is doing, as the GBC's own report from meetings held in October states:

"First, each GBC member spoke for 5 minutes about their vision of the future of ISKCON and the GBC body. That discussion was distilled down to 6 topics that could form at least the beginning of their work:
1. SP (Srila Prabhupada)'s position […]

VI. Working committees A. Three GBC members (or ministers) minimum will be assigned to each of the six topics the GBC body felt needed to be addressed:
1. SP's position […]"
(GBC Special Meeting Report Summary, October 2006)

If the GBC are not even yet sure about something as fundamental as Srila Prabhupada's position in ISKCON, how is it possible to trust them on any issue?

In 2003, the GBC's "Sastric Advisory Council" (SAC) decided who Srila Prabhupada is not; he is not the diksa (initiating) Guru for anyone:

"Unfortunately for all of us, Srila Prabhupada is not physically present and so is no longer giving diksa to anyone."
(SAC, March 18th, 2003, emphasis added).

Yet every morning, every devotee in ISKCON stands in front of Srila Prabhupada during the Guru-puja ceremony glorifying Srila Prabhupada with the verse: "Divya-jnana hrde prokasito".
Srila Prabhupada explains that this means the Guru (namely himself) is giving diksa!:

"Divya-jnana hrde prokasito.
What is that divya-jnana? […]
This is divya-jnana. Diksa. Diksa means from this divya-jnana."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, July 11th, 1976)

"There are two words, divya-jnana.
Divya-jnana means transcendental, spiritual knowledge […]
that is di-ksa. This is called diksa, diksa, the combination. So diksa means the initiation to begin transcendental activities. That is called initiation."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture February 22, 1973)

Since this ceremony has been authorised by Srila Prabhupada to be conducted every single day in every single ISKCON temple for as long as ISKCON exists (predicted to be thousands of years), Srila Prabhupada is therefore the only diksa Guru in ISKCON for as long as ISKCON exists. That is the sum and substance of "Srila Prabhupada's position". But going by the previous 30 years of running the movement into the ground with their false guru succession programme, we don't expect the GBC to recognize Srila Prabhupada's actual position any time soon.