Autumn 2006

As we have consistently pointed, the only possible way one could claim to be an initiating guru in ISKCON is if Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON’s real Guru, had authorised one or more successors. This authorisation by the bona fide spiritual master is not optional – it is a sastric (scriptural) injunction:

“One should take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, who is authorised by his predecessor spiritual master. This is called diksa-vidhana.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.8.54, purport)

Below we see three more confessions that the creation of diksa (initiating) gurus in ISKCON to replace Srila Prabhupada was not based on any order from Srila Prabhupada. Rather, four separate reasons are given as to how these gurus came into being:

1) Other unauthorised gurus fell down.
2) The opportunity was there to take disciples.
3) A lot of pressure was applied to become a guru.
4) The GBC body decided that Srila Prabhupada should be replaced.

“I became a spiritual master after some of my very senior and very qualified god brothers fell down. Therefore, I didn’t have any illusion that I was a pure devotee and I was infallible. Initially I didn’t want to take up this very grave responsibility of becoming a spiritual master, but since quite a few devotees were very determined to take initiation from me and were waiting for a long time, and since there was a lot of pressure from some of my senior godbrothers also, I accepted that responsibility.”
(Bhakti Caru Swami, 16/2/2002, PAMHO Text 5992588)
 

“At this time I also was asked to take up the role of initiating spiritual master. I didn’t consider that this would be very conducive to my personal spiritual life and I was satisfied for others to do that service and that I would stay in the role of sannyasi, a preacher, siksa guru, GBC, and probably it was at Gaurangi’s (at the time a young female devotee, and now a disciple) repeated prompting that ultimately I began to think seriously of that service and took it up.”
(Sivarama Swami, Podcast, 4/10/06)
 

“Soon after Prabhupada’s departure, the collective GBC announced that some of Prabhupada’s senior men would continue the lineage by initiating new disciples of their own. Naturally, TKG, as one of Prabhupada’s nearest and dearest servants, would be one of these people.”
(Satyaraja Das, Associate Editor, Back To Godhead, July/Aug 2002, p. 25)