Guest guest Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 Newsletter of the ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) font-family:Arial"> Issue 63 Arial"> 1. IRM Participates In Historic Conference 2. 'Guru Wars' Break Out 3. IRM News Briefs 4. Atheism In GBC Committee Exposed 5. “Back To Prabhupada” (BTP) Update 6. ISKCON Guru Imitates Srila Prabhupada Arial"> 7. Urmila's Deception Continues 8. Tripurari Speculates About Ritvik - Again 9. New E-mail Address 1. IRM Participates In Historic Conference EN-GB">Report by Veda Guhya Das, California Arial"> mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> EN-GB">October 17th, 2003 marked a significant landmark in ISKCON history, as the ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) was invited to present its case to the annual meeting of the American Family Foundation (AFF), the world's leading anti-cult organisation. The AFF helps families and cult members to identify dangerous cult behaviour and also offers counselling to ex-cult members and their loved ones. This invitation to speak to an international audience of the world’s leading scholars and experts in the field of religious movements arose due to the publication of the IRM’s acclaimed philosophical paper, ‘The False Dawn of Guru Reform’. This was the first time in history that the GBC have had to debate their Guru system before a public third-party audience. Anuttama Das, ISKCON’s Director of Communications, who was present on behalf of the GBC, has spent the last six years attending the AFF meetings to try and dispel the notions that ISKCON has turned into a cult. Now for the first time, he had to publicly confront evidence presented by the IRM of a massive Guru hoax perpetrated by ISKCON’s leaders and sustained by psychological and violent suppression of its own members. EN-GB"> EN-GB">The IRM’s Krishnakant, the author of the famous book “the Final Order”, was invited to open the proceedings. Over the half-hour allotted to him he delivered a devastating Powerpoint presentation entitled “The Great Guru Hoax: Why ISKCON Is Still A Cult”, which was projected on to a large screen. His lecture was both dynamic and comprehensive, and he systematically showed how the GBC-Guru cartel has misappropriated power by defying the directives of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada, installed unqualified leaders, censored critical thinking through intimidation and violence, and thereby turned post-1977 ISKCON into a ‘cult’, using the AFF’s own definitions in that regard! EN-GB">Krishnakant began with a synopsis of how the bogus, unauthorised Guru system came to exist within ISKCON in the first place. As most of our readers will know, Srila Prabhupada instructed in his final written institutional directive of July 9th, 1977 that eleven representatives were appointed to initiate new disciples on his behalf (in Sanskrit, these representatives are known as ‘ritviks’). However, despite Srila Prabhupada's clear written instructions, these 11 ritvik priests decided amongst themselves that they would become full-fledged Diksa (Initiating) Gurus in their own right. Several years and many Guru falldowns later, the great Guru hoax part 2 came along. Instead of going back to the original ritvik system that Srila Prabhupada had ordered, the leaders decided the solution to ISKCON’s self-destruction would be – TO ADD YET MORE BOGUS GURUS! After explaining the history of this unauthorised Guru system, the presentation showed point-by-point how ISKCON continues to use cult tactics to maintain control over ISKCON members. The AFF has a checklist of points to determine whether an organization is a destructive cult; a brief summary of some of these points is listed below: * ‘Leaders are self-appointed’ * ‘Authoritarian pyramid structure with authority at the top’ EN-GB">* ‘Questioning, doubt and dissent are discouraged or even punished’ EN-GB">* ‘Isolation from society – the only valid source of feedback and information is the group’ EN-GB">* ‘Use of mind control techniques’ Arial"> EN-GB">* ‘Milieu control: control of the environment and communication within the environment’ EN-GB">- and Krishnakant proved using documented evidence how the activities of the present day bogus Gurus fits every one of these characteristics! EN-GB">One devotee initiated by ISKCON Guru Bir Krishna Goswami stood up and testified to the audience how his ‘Guru’ had strongly promoted the use of drugs without prescription to control disciples’ minds and emotions – a practice which, of course, is strictly against the principles of Krishna consciousness as laid down by our saintly Founder and Guru Srila Prabhupada, as well as being against the law of the land! Krishnakant then supplied evidence of the GBC’s tactics of thought and speech control, a common cult tactic of psychological intimidation. One particularly chilling example was a letter sent by the now fallen Vipramukhya Swami, which stated that one was not allowed to discuss Srila Prabhupada's position as the Guru of ISKCON even in one's OWN HOME, lest they be physically removed by the Police the next time they show up at the temple! EN-GB">If this wasn’t frightening enough, an even darker side of the GBC-Guru mafia was shown with an internal GBC memo which supported self-confessed child abuser Dhanurdhara Swami. EN-GB"> EN-GB">Next, the GBC’s total state of confusion and deception over whether they were appointed as Gurus or not was demonstrated with an array of contradictory and self-contradictory quotes, such as when Tamal Krishna Goswami stated in 1980 that Prabhupada never appointed Gurus, only ritviks; and then 4 years later published a book in which he stated that Prabhupada appointed 11 successor Gurus. There was also evidence from Anuttama himself who stated in the ‘ISKCON Communications Journal’ in 2000 that Prabhupada had “hand-selected leaders who had been appointed as Gurus”; while 6 years earlier in 1994, Ravindra Svarupa Das had stated in the SAME publication that “there was NO hand-picking of successors.” EN-GB"> EN-GB">There then followed an illustration of the censorship employed by the GBC on the reading and distribution of IRM literature – a control of freedom of thought and speech much disdained by academics and anti-cultists alike. The absurd nature of this censorship was highlighted by the fact that the very paper the GBC itself commissioned to be written on the ritvik issue in the first place – ‘The Final Order’ – is now banned from all ISKCON outlets. This situation becomes doubly absurd when you take into account that one of ISKCON’s own leading academic advisors, Professor Kim Knott, recommended in her Foreword to ‘The Final Order’ that it should be “read carefully and discussed widely” because it contained “profound issues” vital for every devotee to consider! EN-GB"> EN-GB">Krishnakant then concluded by summarising the IRM’s mission and global presence, and laid down a challenge to Anuttama and the GBC to allow IRM articles to be published in ISKCON’s own publications, the ‘ISKCON Communications Journal’ and ‘Back to Godhead’; and by reiterating the fact that the real Guru of ISKCON is His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. EN-GB"> Anuttama Describes ISKCON Decline EN-GB"> EN-GB">After Krishnakant’s powerful presentation, everyone was waiting eagerly to see how Anuttama Das, ISKCON’s Director of Communications, would respond. Unsurprisingly, Anuttama’s talk paled into oblivion. He did not even try to rebut any of the arguments or evidence presented by Krishnakant, neither did he try to defend ISKCON’s unauthorised Guru system. He simply went on to read from a sheet of paper a long and rather tedious list of GBC ministries and committees that were doing their best to improve ISKCON. But there was no real substance to his talk. Instead, he made a rather canned presentation trying to legitimise the current ISKCON structure, but all he succeeded in doing was proving that ISKCON under the current GBC-Guru system is in meltdown. For example, he stated that nearly all of the full-time ‘Gurukulas’ (ISKCON schools) have been closed down due to child abuse; and that there are presently only 20 people living at the Potomac temple, amidst a congregation of about 2000, most of whom are Indians. This latter statistic is not proof of a more enlightened ISKCON, but rather symptomatic that ISKCON is in decline under the present system as devotees are voting with their feet and moving out of the full-time mission. This also completely defeats Srila Prabhupada’s whole vision of ISKCON as being a vibrant, dynamic INTERNATIONAL society; instead, all we have now is a structure surviving on the easy patronage of local Hindu communities, rather than a world spiritual mission dedicated to liberating mankind. Anuttama views this situation as evidence of progress; but the reality is that it is but a dim shadow of Srila Prabhupada’s original ISKCON. At the end of the presentations, Krishnakant announced the arrival of the newly published IRM magazine ‘Back to Prabhupada’, and the IRM devotees present at the conference then distributed the magazines, as well as prasadam cookies, to all the delegates. The delegates eagerly snapped up a copy each, with no magazines left at the end! In this way, everyone had a permanent hard copy of the IRM’s position and role in reinstating Srila Prabhupada as the bona fide Guru and Initiating Spiritual Master of the Hare Krishna movement. EN-GB"> EN-GB">The academics and anti-cult professionals at the conference greatly appreciated the IRM presentation and had some very interesting questions. One of the delegates asked: "I don't see what's wrong with going back to the original system. Why is that so unorthodox?" So just by this one question we can see that even ISKCON outsiders can easily understand what a great hoax was foisted on the movement after Srila Prabhupada’s departure. EN-GB"> END OF Report by Veda Guhya das. EN-GB">You can view this Powerpoint presentation NOW by clicking below to download the presentation in a zipped or unzipped format: EN-GB">www.iskconirm.com/AFF.zip EN-GB">www.iskconirm.com/AFF.ppt EN-GB">(Please be advised - the zip file may take 3-4 minutes to download, while the unzipped file may take up to 10 minutes to download. Once downloaded, in case the file is not already in full, animated slideshow mode, simply select “Slide Show” from the menu at the top of the screen, followed by “View Show”. Then proceed systematically by hitting the “Pg Dn” key on your keyboard. If you miss a step, simply hit your “Pg Up” key to go back). 2. 'Guru Wars' Break Out Those of you with a good memory may remember the 'Guru wars' which erupted in ISKCON during the 'zonal acarya' years from 1978-1987, as the 11 'zonal' gurus fought to establish their power against each other based on the disciples and money they could amass. Indeed, there was even a GBC paper written at that time addressing the issue of how to end the 'fratricidal wars'. Well, 'Guru wars' have broken out again. Only this time the catalyst has been the 'culture war' between the so-called 'liberals' and 'conservatives' which has been brewing for some-time, highlighted by the nomination of the first woman to become a Diksa Guru (Urmila Dasi), which we reported on in the last IRM newsletter (see IRM Newsletter 62: "5. GBC Violates Own Guidelines in Nominating Female Guru”). Thus the 'liberal' fringe wishes to promote the 'rights' of women, gays etc., and the so-called 'conservative' fringe opposes this since they instead wish to impose their concept of 'Vedic tradition'. The fight has now boiled over with Gurus taking pot-shots at each other. Please see what Bhakti Vikash Swami (representing the 'conservatives'), one of the 80 bogus voted-in ISKCON Gurus has to say about Bhakti Tirtha Swami (representing the 'liberals'), another one of the false 80 'voted-in' ISKCON Gurus: 12.0pt;font-family:Arial"> "My point is why is he making statements without giving evidence, eg homosexuals are considered auspicious in Vedic culture? With motherships from Atlantis, the world controlled by a Skull and Bones Society, etc., etc., BTS has a history of talking and publishing imaginative nonsense that disqualifies him from being an acarya. He should talk according to guru sadhu and sastra or take a mothership and fly off to another dimension. This nonsense must stop. It is simply cheating." (Bhakti Vikash Swami, 19/8/2003, PAMHO 7147009) "Such a charismatic leader can at any time walk out of ISKCON along with his mesmerized flunkeys" (Bhakti Vikash Swami, 23/8/2003, PAMHO 7160564) Indeed, Bhakti Tirtha Swami has himself taken offence at such heavy criticism, as he responds to infamous GBC crony Ajamila das for supporting Bhakti Vikash Swami's behaviour: font-family:Arial"> "I will no longer participate in these discussions. Beyond a doubt HH Bhakti Vikasa Maharaj is bias toward me. I don’t know how you see vaisnava aparadhs to be Guru Sadhu and Sastra or reguesting devotees to disregard the GBC as bonafide. [...] The leaders in Croatia are writing a letter to the EC and to HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami with complaints about his visit to Croatia, his calling me a demon, his demanding to them not to let me initiate there for he was arranging for me to be rejected as a Guru. His influence on his disciples where they spent hours talking to various disciples of mine that I was not bonafide and that to those who were aspiring for me that they should reject me as their guru for he was going to try to petition to have me rejected as a guru. His letters that I am a crazy man are with the executive committee." (Bhakti Tirtha Swami, 1/9/2003, PAMHO 7194737) The fight has become so heavy, that Bhakti Vikash Swami ends with a statement, which we can all agree with: Arial"> "Thus ISKCON, which is meant to kick out cheating religion from the world, itself degrades into a cheap cult, an apasampradaya, a laughing stock, and a disgrace to Srila Prabhupada and the parampara." (Bhakti Vikash Swami, 23/8/2003, PAMHO 7160564) As we explained previously, this phony war is to be expected when there is no honor amongst the thieves who had previously joined together to usurp Srila Prabhupada's position and carve up his Society for themselves, with their bogus Guru program. With the Kali-yuga tendency of the need to quarrel overwhelming them, these bogus Gurus and their supporters will always need something to fight about. Indeed, on COM (the ISKCON conferencing system), they have spent the last 2 months arguing about whether or not one can ever address a female devotee as 'prabhu', and still the fight goes on with no resolution. Unless ISKCON returns to ONLY having Srila Prabhupada in the center and these pretender Gurus are banished, unity will NEVER be possible, as there is no center to unite around, only 80 competing power centers, and the 'Guru wars' will continue. 3. IRM News Briefs a) ISKCON Bangalore Honoured By Government We are pleased to announce that ISKCON Bangalore was honoured by the state government for its 'Akshaya Patra' prasadam distribution programme, receiving the 'Rajyotsava' award. This special award is given every year to those individuals or institutions who have made an outstanding contribution to society, and is so prestigious that a public holiday is declared as part of the annual award ceremony, with the awards always being announced on the front page of all the newspapers, as exemplified below: EN-GB">"BANGALORE : NRIs B V Jagadeesh and Kumar Malavalli, BATF member Kalpana Kar, Iskcon's Akshaya Patra programme, sportsperson Boniface Prabhu and actress Tara are among the 60 recipients selected for the Rajyotsava award this year. [...] Chief minister S.M. Krishna will confer the awards on the Rajyotsava Day, November 1. It entails a 20-gm gold medal, a shawl and a plaque." EN-GB">(The Times of India, 31/10/2003) Arial"> b) Preaching To The Famous World famous illusionist and magician, David Blaine, known as a modern day 'Houdini', made international headlines recently for being suspended alone in a box for 44 days without any food. Before embarking on his death-defying stunt, he had been preached to by New York IRM devotee Jayananda Das, who also presented him with one of Srila Prabhupada's books. In fact, David had known Jayananda before he became famous since at that time Jayananda was a famous rock musician in New York. When they met, Jayananda Prabhu presented him with Srila Prabhupada's "Science of Self-Realisation", and David mentioned that he had just attended his first Yoga class! Jayananda Prabhu then explained the difference between real Yoga as taught by Srila Prabhupada and the gymnastic yoga which only provides physical benefits, whilst David listened intently. c) Prasadam Distribution In The Holy Dhama The highly successful 'Akshaya Patra' prasadam distribution programme launched by ISKCON Bangalore, which is already the largest distribution programme of its kind, distributing tens of millions plates of prasadam, has now expanded outside Bangalore for the first time. A large kitchen is being constructed at the IRM's 20 acre property in Vrindavan, and already 1000 children are being fed everyday, with plans to upscale it to 30,000 a day, eventually covering most children in the Mathura district. This expansion is just the beginning. Talks are already underway with various state and city governments to expand the program to many parts of India including the nation's capital New Delhi. d) Jayapataka Swami Unwelcome In Soviet Union Arial"> As the message below indicates, it seems that the devotees in the former Soviet Union are waking up, with Jayapataka Swami's (JPS) disciples being forced to mount a campaign to try and strong-arm local devotees to accept JPS as their local GBC, even though the locals don't want him!: CIS: Igor Vovk <Igor.Vovk (AT) cis (DOT) pamho.net> JPS Istagosthi (disciples and followers), CIS: Disciples JSSS (JPS Sisya Samuha), CIS: MKD Dear devotees! Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! We need to help JPS get in Ukraine, Kazachstan, Midl Azeya. From the words of his disciples, He is very regretful that nobody wants to welcome him as GBC in Ukraine, Kazachstan, Midl Azeya. I call for JPS's disciples and well-wishers. Let us address to minister of justice in ISKCON and to GBC with a request to resolve this misunderstanding. I offer to start to collect votes. (Text CIS411706 (23 lines), 19/6/2003) It seems there is no end to the naked ambition and lust for power these bogus GBC Gurus have. 4. Atheism In GBC Committee Exposed In Dhira Govinda Prabhu's latest paper entitled "Delivery of Transcendental Knowledge is Key to Initiation Process", he not only nudges a few millimeters closer to what we hope he will eventually understand to be the only defendable position on the issue of initiation in ISKCON, that which is presented in ‘The Final Order’, but he also ably exposes the atheistic nature of one of the GBC's most important and influential committees, the Sastric Advisory Committee (SAC). This body is meant to act as the brahminical brains behind ISKCON's understanding and philosophy regarding, amongst other things, guru-tattva and the meaning and process of initiation. But according to statements made by the SAC, as quoted in Dhira Govinda's paper, they appear to have not even the most elementary grasp of Bhagavata philosophy. In his previous paper "The Prominent Link" (answered on the IRM web site at http://www.iskconirm.com/Dhira_Govinda.htm), Dhira Govinda Prabhu had made the following valid point: "Just as Sri Krsna, Srimati Radharani, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are non-different from Their Deity forms, and are fully capable to act and relate in Their Deity forms, the murtis and pictures of the parampara acaryas, such as Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, can similarly act non-differently from the acaryas." Dhira Govinda then quotes a SAC member disputing this well-known and accepted principle quite emphatically: "This is a novel theory, or at least one I am not familiar with, that the murtis and pictures of specially empowered acaryas are equally potent to the murtis of the Supreme Lord and His internal potency [...] The arca-murti of the Personality of Godhead is a special incarnation, nondifferent from His original self, and manifests all His potencies to those who worship Him with love. The murti or picture of one's guru is recognized as the proper place to make offerings in worship, but as far as I know the Vaisnava sastras do not identify the guru's image as the same kind of arca-murti." (ISKCON Sastric Advisory Committee member) font-family:Arial"> Curiously the SAC "brahmin" contradicts another GBC mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> quango mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial">, the GBC Deity Worship Research Group, who seem to think such representations of the guru are "non-different from his original self": "You may worship the spiritual master in a picture, a murti, a yantra (a diagram with inscribed mantras), a ghava (installed waterpot), or you may worship the spiritual master's shoes, which are considered nondifferent from him.” (Pancaratra Pradipa, ISKCON GBC Press) font-family:Arial"> More worryingly this GBC sponsored "brahmin" seriously contradicts Srila Prabhupada: "The photos of my murti are very nice. The murti of the Spiritual Master should be treated as good as the Deity. Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair, uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih/kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya, the guru should be treated as good as God. This is stated in all the sastras. The difference is that God is master-God and guru is servant-God. So the installation ceremony for such a murti should be similar to that done for other Deities. All Temples can have this Deity if they like." (Srila Prabhupada Letter to Karandhara 29.1.76) Above, Srila Prabhupada clearly contradicts the idea that there is some difference in potency between the murti of the spiritual master and the murti of the Supreme Lord. Srila Prabhupada says the "guru should be treated *as good as God*" and that "the murti of the Spiritual Master should be treated *as good as the Deity*." Obviously he would not tell us to treat them the same if they were in fact different; that would be cheating. Yet the SAC member seems to believe they are very different. Indeed, he calls the whole notion "novel"! So we are left with the pitiful situation whereby the GBC's own "Sastric Advisory Committee" are completely ignorant of a point that Srila Prabhupada teaches is 'stated in *all* the sastras'! To assert that the murti of the acharya and his self are different is simply atheism, since it is downgrading the acharya to the status of an ordinary human being. Mind you, the SAC has no choice but to do this, since their whole program involves supporting many dozens of ordinary men who are posing as successors to Srila Prabhupada. 5. “Back To Prabhupada” (BTP) Update The explosive new magazine "Back To Prabhupada” (BTP) has hit the streets, and the reaction has been, well, explosive! From devotees writing in all emotional, and praising such good news about everyone being able to go back to Srila Prabhupada, to threats from ISKCON employees fearful for their livelihoods, we have had it all! For those of you who want to see what all the fuss is about, and still have not written in with a request for a free copy of the magazine, please write in immediately. We have already had 1500 individual requests from 50 different countries, and more requests continue to stream in everyday, as word spreads of the magazine throughout the ISKCON world. In addition we have had bulk requests for another 2500 magazines from different temples and devotees around the world who have distributed them amongst congregations, Life Members and devotees. In addition, academics, the media and law enforcement agencies have also been sent a copy, so they are fully briefed regarding the real truth about Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON and today's ISKCON. Devotees have requested where they can send donations to support the printing and distribution of the magazine, and for this a special bank account named "Back To Prabhupada" has been set up. Those devotees wanting to donate and to the magazine may write in for the bank account details. The magazine's first issue contains amongst other things: * Going Back To The Real Hare Krishna Guru * New York Honours Srila Prabhupada * Proof of the Guru Hoax * Cult Tactics Used to Hide The Truth So what are you waiting for, please write in to irm (AT) iskconirm (DOT) com with your mailing address for your free copy today! 6. ISKCON Guru Imitates Srila Prabhupada As is well known, during 1977-1987 in ISKCON we experienced the zonal acarya system. Below is a description of this system: EN-GB">"But the problem started when some individuals became gurus after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance. They were inexperienced and so naturally prone to make mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes they made was to behave like Srila Prabhupada when they became gurus. Literally this meant, what Srila Prabhupada was to his disciples, the gurus became to their disciples. As a result Prabhupada's position became obscured…in 1981 we started to face a crisis due to this system." (Disciple’s meeting, Text PAMHO6829041, 19/5/2003) "I strongly believe that if the gurus had acted as Srila Prabhupada's obedient followers and represented him properly, then they would not have fallen down. The cause of their fall down was actually their offenses to Srila Prabhupada in trying to usurp his position. Since Srila Prabhupada's disappearance, ISKCON has experienced a series of losses. When eleven gurus started to function as if they were the "chosen ones" who inherited Srila Prabhupada's legacy, senior godbrothers became disheartened and left the movement." (3/11/2003, Text PAMHO7428765) To try and prevent this activity of "what Srila Prabhupada was to his disciples, the Gurus became to their disciples", functioning as they were the "chosen ones", "obscuring" and "usurping" Srila Prabhupada's position, the GBC passed a number of resolutions to outlaw this direct imitation of Srila Prabhupada, one of them being: EN-GB"> "Zonal-Acarya" System: No guru should declare himself or allow himself to be declared an "acarya" or "present acarya" for ISKCON or for a geographical area of ISKCON. [ ..] A guru cannot use or allow his disciples to apply to him the honorific title "His Divine Grace" or the honorifics ending in "pada" in written public document or in open public forum." (Laws of ISKCON, 1.6.3, & 1.5.6.1, from 'Gurus and Initiation in ISKCON', GBC) 10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> EN-GB">The point being that the honorific title “His Divine Grace” is ONLY meant for Srila Prabhupada and the previous bona fide Acaryas, something which even the usually bewildered GBC was able to legislate! EN-GB">However, the same personality who gave us the descriptions of the terrible zonal acarya Guru system above also recommended that his disciples post their ‘Vyasa-Puja’ offerings to him daily so that he can be publically glorified. An excerpt from one of these offerings appears below: EN-GB"> "Dearest Gurumaharaj Please Accept My Humble Obeisances. All Glories To Your Divine Grace! All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! Today I celebrate your Vyasa Puja with great joy and gratitude. I feel so honoured to have my spiritual life directed by your Divine Grace…We live in a dangerous material world. Your Divine Grace has constantly guided us on how to cross the sea of danger as soon as possible…. Gurumaharaj, you are a pure vaisnava, for you chase not after name, fame, adoration or prestige. Your only attachment is the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada, who has fixed your Divine Grace to the lotus feet of Krsna. You have defeated this material world of Maya; hence although your Divine Grace is blessed with everything, you are not attached. You are fixed and established in pure, eternal and loving relationship with Krsna. Your Divine Grace fully understands that everything in this material world are all paraphernalia for Krsna's enjoyment …We have observed how your Divine Grace uses everything for the enjoyment and loving service of Krsna, Guru and Gauranga…Your Divine Grace is a first class vaisnava." EN-GB">Please note the profuse use of the banned term 'His Divine Grace', a term which is supposed to be reserved for Srila Prabhupada only. (There were also other offerings which used this term). EN-GB">When even the GBC can see that this term should not be used, it’s clear that anyone who would encourage its use is clearly trying to become another zonal acarya and imitate Srila Prabhupada in the same way that the zonal acaryas did. EN-GB"> So here we have a personality who: EN-GB">1) mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> First heavily cautions us against the 'zonal-acarya' system due to the imitation of Srila Prabhupada which resulted. EN-GB">2) mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Then insists that his disciples’ glorification of him in the same imitative manner is publically posted for others to appreciate. EN-GB">Who could this paragon of hypocrisy be? EN-GB">Yes, it’s the old master himself - Bhakti “I do the opposite of what I say” Caru Swami (BCS)! EN-GB">Quite obviously, BCS just cannot get enough of this misplaced adulation. However, the IRM will not be deflected in its mission to protect Srila Prabhupada’s honour and exclusive position as ISKCON’s sole Initiating Guru by exposing the bogus Guru shams such as we see so vigorously practised by BCS. EN-GB">In the words of a famous Roman general who deposed a corrupt, self-appointed emperor: “The time for honouring yourself will soon be at an end”. 7. Urmila's Deception Continues We had highlighted in our last newsletter how the application resumé of Urmila Devi Dasi to become a Diksa Guru contained evidence which made her guilty of "duplicitous behaviour" and "not exhibiting proficiency in knowledge and understanding of sastra (scripture)", which alone disqualified her from acting as a Diksa Guru according to the GBC's OWN rules (please see IRM Newsletter 62: “5. 'GBC Violates Own Guidelines In Nominating Female Guru'”). Unfortunately this duplictious behaviour of hers, backed up with more ignorance of sastra, continues. In trying to demonstrate that she is correctly situated in the vanaprastha asrama, even though she is separated from her husband via a legal agreement, she submitted the following 5 quotes saying: "Here's some relevant quotes" (Urmila Devi Dasi, posted on ISKCON India Conference, Tue, 16 Sep 2003 07:22:39) The quotes she sent were: ------------- "A householder is not expected to remain at home for all his days. After getting his sons and daughters married, a householder can retire from household life, leaving his wife in the charge of the grown-up sons." (SB 3.23.52 purport) "The duty of the husband to leave home as soon as there is a grown son to take charge of his wife and family affairs." (SB 3.25.5) "When the man is fifty years old, his eldest son should be around twenty-five, old enough to take charge of the mother.They should follow their father's instructions, their husband's instructions and the instructions of their grown, scholarly sons." (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Verse 5) "When a child, a woman must be strictly controlled by her father. When she is young, she must be strictly controlled by her husband, and when she is old, she must be controlled by her elderly sons." (SB 5.6.4 purport) "The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who desires to adopt the third order of life, vanaprastha, should enter the forest with a peaceful mind, leaving his wife with his mature sons, or else taking her along with him." (SB 11.18.1) ------------- She sent these quotes to support her position that she can be separated from her husband and still be correctly situated in the vanaprastha asrama. However Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.52 and 3.25.5, and Teachings of Lord Caitanya verse 5, all refer to the same incident - the renunciation of Kardama Muni and the subsequent taking charge of Mother Devahuti by her son Kapiladeva. However, as the verse to the purport of Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.52, which is not quoted, makes clear, all these statements refer to Kardama Muni taking SANNYASA and NOT Vanaprastha: "My dear brahmana, as far as your daughters are concerned, they will find their own suitable husbands and go away to their respective homes. But who will give me solace after your departure as a SANNYASI? (S.B. 3.23.52) So all these quotes are merely reinforcing the quotes which we supplied in the previous IRM newsletter, which state only if the husband takes sannyasa must the wife become separate. Whereas S.B. 5.6.4 is simply stating that a woman must be protected at all stages of her life. This is not in doubt. But as all the quotes that BOTH we, and now even Urmila has produced, have shown, this protection is provided by the husband until he takes sannyasa. This therefore only leaves us with one quote from Hridyanananda das Goswami's translation of the 11th canto of the Bhagavatam, the same person who nominated Urmila for the position of Guru. yes"> (Srila Prabhupada produced only the first 10 cantos of the Bhagavatam). *** It is pertinent to note therefore that at this point Urmila is unable to put forward any evidence from SRILA PRABHUPADA in support of her position, whereas we supplied 4 quotes from Srila Prabhupada against her position in the last IRM newsletter.*** For completeness, let us look at this quote produced from Hridyananda Maharaja’s Bhagavatam translation. Of course, without Srila Prabhupada's translation and transcendental purport, this verse is useless to us followers of Srila Prabhupada. However, for the sake of argument let us ASSUME that Hridyananda Maharaja has rendered the 11th canto completely in line with how Srila Prabhupada would have. The only thing which can be said here is that this verse refers specifically to a husband who lives in the forest, sleeps on the floor, eats only food he finds in the forest, and in the freezing winter remains submerged up to his neck in water. Becoming emaciated, he then achieves the Maharloka planet. So notwithstanding that this quote is not from Srila Prabhupada, it does not in any case appear to be at all appropriate to the current situation, since the last we heard the husband in this case was working in the 'forests' of Michigan! So in conclusion, we have 4 unambiguous quotes from Srila Prabhupada, against one quote from Hridyananda das Goswami which is not even applicable to the situation in hand. So Urmila tried to pass off 3 quotes about Sannyasa, 1 quote about Protection generally, and another from Hridyananda Maharaja about a husband who lives as a renunciant in the forest as being “relevant” quotes to her individual situation of being in Vanaprastha, legally separated from a husband who is still working a job! What duplicity! 8. Tripurari Speculates About Ritvik - Again We already highlighted in Newsletter 61 how Tripurari Swami contradicted his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, on the subject of Srila Prabhupada having set up a Ritvik system of initiation for ISKCON (please see Newsletter 61: "6. Tripurari Speculates About Ritvik"). Unfortunately, Tripurari Swami has done it again, as we will see from the excerpt below, taken from SANGA, Monday, August 18, 2003 Vol. V, No. 18: -------------Question: "What could be more natural than reading someone's books, finding inspiration, taking up spiritual practices, and feeling a close connection with the author? That this person (Srila Prabhupada) is no longer living doesn't matter because his books are alive. You seem to have no problem accommodating change and say that this or that change is merely a "detail" in the bigger picture, yet with this detail (initiation from a departed guru) you seem to have no capacity to accommodate its complexity." Tripurari Swami: "The problem with your analysis is that this particular author and guru (Srila Prabhupada) has emphasized throughout his books the necessity of taking initiation from a guru who is physically present." ------------- The problem with *Triuprari's* analysis is that it is a straightforward lie. There is not ONE place in Srila Prabhupada's books where Srila Prabhupada has stated "the necessity of taking initiation from a Guru who is physically present," what to speak of such a statement being “emphasized” repeatedly. If Tripurari or anyone else can find such a statement from Srila Prabhupada's books, the IRM will immediately give them a $1000 reward. ------------- Tripurari Swami: "This unambiguous emphasis is not a detail but rather a principle that is at the heart of the system of guru-parampara, in which one guru follows another and the lineage is thus kept alive and vital." ------------- This “unambiguous” lie (that “Srila Prabhupada has emphasized throughout his books the necessity of taking initiation from a guru who is physically present"), is not a detail but rather a principle that is at the heart of the system of bogus guru-parampara, in which one bogus unauthorised Guru follows another, and the lineage is thus kept unauthorised, disconnected and ‘asara’, or useless. This is a practice that is currently followed by many bogus Gurus in ISKCON, Gaudiya Matha and by Tripurari Swami himself. -- Tripurari Swami: "Of course, anyone who reads the books of a guru and is inspired by him has a meaningful connection with him, but it becomes all the more meaningful when such a person follows his teachings and accepts initiation from one of his successors." - Of course, anyone who reads the books of a guru and is inspired by him has a meaningful connection with him, but it becomes all the more meaningful when such a person follows his teachings and accepts initiation from HIM, as directed by the Guru himself (Srila Prabhupada) in the July 9th, 1977 directive. It can not become meaningful if one accepts initiation from someone who was never authorised to become the Guru's successor in the first place. Again, we humbly suggest that Tripurari Swami stick to offering his insights on the writings of Sridhara Maharaja, and whoever else he follows. It is clear he does not have the faintest idea what Srila Prabhupada's teachings are about. 9. New E-mail Address Please note that the e-mail address for the IRM newsletter and any other IRM correspondence has now *changed*. It is NO LONGER irm (AT) ntlworld (DOT) com. The NEW address is: irm (AT) iskconirm (DOT) com Thank you. font-family:Arial">Krishnakant, font-family:Arial">Newsletter Editor Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, and please keep your letters, and e-mail addresses of other devotees who should be added to our list, flowing in. A hard copy of our main position paper 'The Final Order' is available on request. All other IRM papers can be accessed through the EDITORIAL SECTION of the IRM website at www.iskconirm.com If you would like to receive any of the back issues of the Newsletter please let us know. font-family:Arial">No 1. Invitation to Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja No 2. GBC Lose First Round of Court Case No 3. The Story VNN Refused to Publish No 4. Poison Theorists Accuse Adri of Complicity No 5. Iskcon Continues to Promote Child Abusers No 6. Invitation to Malaysia No 7. United World Body Formed No 8. Does Srila Prabhupada Support Poisoning Theory? No 9. PADA Attacks IRM Position No 10. PADA Continues to Present False Evidence No 11. GBC Funded Video says Ritvik Spiritual No 12. Child Rapist Selected by Gurus to Defend their Legitimacy No 13. GBC Facing Perjury Charge in Calcutta High Court No 14. Sahajiyism Makes a Comeback in Iskcon. No 15. Govt. Minister Inaugurates Bangalore Rathayatra No 16. Iskcon Calcutta Triumphs Following Arson Attack No 17. Fighting Lies with Truth Not More Lies No 18. GBC Resolutions Continue to Provide Laughter No 19. Indian Leaders Endorse IRM Position that GBC Confused No 20. Convicted Child Abuser Officially 'Returns' to Parampara No 21. GBC Special Issue - GBC Chairman Admits ISKCON 'Disintegrating' No 22. Krsna Confirms Iskcon Rebirth - New York Special Issue No 23. Hare Krsna Explosion Begins in New York as IRM Temple Opens No 24 IRM Launches Media Campaign to Defend Srila Prabhupada No 25 GBC Teaches That 'Living Gurus' NOT Required No 26 BBT Admits Books Changed to Fit GBC Philosophy No 27 Big Breakthrough for Krishna in Singapore No 28 Bangalore Tops World Book Distribution No 29 City of New York to Honour Srila Prabhupada No 30 Gurukula Lawsuit Special - The Facts No 31 BBC Glorifies Srila Prabhupada to the World No 32 Harinam Revived in World famous Times Square No 33 ISKCON Guru on Run From Police - Suicide Case Special font-family:Arial">No 34 GBC Declare All Out War No 35 GBC Fail Again in Second Expulsion Attempt No 36 Indian Press Glorifies New York IRM No 37 Iskcon Temple in Bangladesh Joins IRM No 38 All Ports Alert for Jayapataka To Be Issued No 39 The GBC's Best Trick Yet No 40 Biggest Prasadam Distribution Program Ever Begins No 41 Double Edition - IRM Granted Prime Kumbha Mela Site No 42 Danavir Invents A New Philosophy No 43 IRM Makes World Headlines - Kumbha Mela Special No 44 GBC Meetings End in Fiasco No 45 GBC Paralysis Documented in Resolutions No 46 Mayapur Attempt to Storm Calcutta Temple Ends in Fiasco font-family:Arial">No 47 Mayapur Attack Cover-up Exposed No 48 Massive GBC Fraud Uncovered font-family:Arial">No 49 BBC Broadcasts World IRM Special No 50 Mayapur Bomb Blast Reveals GBC Terrorist Campaign No 51 Mayor of New York Dedicates Srila Prabhupada Memorial No 52 Chief Minister Honours ISKCON Bangalore Temple President No 53 High Court Grants Iskcon Bangalore Injunction Against Jayapataka Swami No 54 More Laughter From GBC Resolutions No 55 High Court Declares ISKCON Bangalore Legally Independent No 56 First Temple President's Meeting held in Malaysia No 57 Supreme Court Throws Out GBC Appeal font-family:Arial">No 58 GBC Publicly Dishonours Srila Prabhupada font-family:Arial">No 59 IRM Begins Massive Expansion Into Vrndavan font-family:Arial">No 60 IRM Expands Into Russia font-family:Arial">No 61 Indian President Launches 25 Million Plates of Prasadam font-family:Arial">No 62 Singapore Expands Into Historic Building font-family:Arial"> Your comments, questions and feedback are appreciated. Please write to us at: irm (AT) iskconirm (DOT) com *Legalese -- You are receiving this e-mail because you either submitted this email address to the IRM or someone else did it for you. We do not buy lists or gather them via software, nor will we ever give/sell your address to anybody. If you wish to , please reply with the word “remove” in the subject header. To from: IRM Newsletter, just follow this link: http://www.iskconirm.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=u&l;=irm&e;=vediculture&p;=9397 Click this link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.