Who is Siddhaswarupananda?

[Guest guest]

Is he a bona fide spiritual master within Gaudiya Vaisnavism?

[theist]

He is a disciple of Srila Prabhupada.

[Guest guest]

Is he a member of ISKCON?

[theist]

No. He just follows Srila Prabhupada's instructions. Would you say Srila Prabhupada was a member of the Gaudiya Matha? Or was he a follower of the instructions of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati? Institutional affiliation is not a test of anything important.

[Kulapavana]

He has done much service to the mission of Lord Caitanya all over the world. You may not share his approach or philosophical details but he is certainly worthy of respect.

 

and as to the criticism that can be found on the internet... well, the most criticized person on the web is God...

[theist]

 

and as to the criticism that can be found on the internet... well, the most criticized person on the web is God...

 

LOL...yeah that's true isn't it. Good one Kula

 

 

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[stonehearted]

And with regard to the criticism we may find, and to his service around the world, it should be noted that his folks were very helpful when ISKCON was in trouble in Poland some years ago. I'm sure that Kulapavana knows more about this than I do.

[Kulapavana]

 

And with regard to the criticism we may find, and to his service around the world, it should be noted that his folks were very helpful when ISKCON was in trouble in Poland some years ago. I'm sure that Kulapavana knows more about this than I do.

 

 

Good point, Babhruji. They won a major court battle brought against Krishna Consciousness by a Catholic Church spnsored organization. Tusta Krsna Prabhu very expertly argued it on our movement's behalf.

 

Both Iskcon and Siddhasvarupananda's organization are currently under much pressure in Poland. In many cities in Poland there are more Siddhasvarupananda's disciples than Iskcon devotees. He has a very nice preaching program going there, as well as in some other countries. I have nothing but praise for him and his followers.

[aashish108]

I thought in Poland, HH Indradumna Swami is there with his massive preaching program, so wouldn't he have more disciples there?

[Kulapavana]

 

I thought in Poland, HH Indradumna Swami is there with his massive preaching program, so wouldn't he have more disciples there?

 

Maharaja organizes great festivals, but generally they do not follow up with more personal preaching. That is their weakness. Also, Iskcon is quite divided internally and that diminishes our influence. Siddhasvarupananda's people also seem to be better organized - they have active centers in all major cities in Poland. that is not the case with Iskcon - it seems too centralized...

[stonehearted]

 

Maharaja organizes great festivals, but generally they do not follow up with more personal preaching. That is their weakness. Also, Iskcon is quite divided internally and that diminishes our influence.

I'm sorry to hear that. It seems to me that the real benefit of such festival programs could be to sow sukriti for bhakti, then go around throughout the year and cultivate it. Think of how big, how wonderful, those festivals might be if that were the case. They'd grow like crazy. And there'd be committed devotees everywhere, which would make even better stories. God, what if he went back to Wherever, Poland next year, and found that there was a need for three small temples in the area aroung that town? Wouldn't that be cool?

 

 

Siddhasvarupananda's people also seem to be better organized - they have active centers in all major cities in Poland. that is not the case with Iskcon - it seems too centralized...

I'm glad for the first part, and sorry about the second. Here's what Srila Prabhupada has to say about this:

 

Do not think in this way of big corporation, big credits, centralization—these are all nonsense proposals. . . . Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy. Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. . . . Forget this centralizing and bureaucracy.

[bija]

 

Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy.

 

A friend of mine often shares about her experiences as a young person, when she was in contact with Iskcon in the mid seventies. How things were so simple and vibrant. It must have been a wonderful time.

After a couple of years she moved away from the major city where the temple was and as Iskcon's birthing pains started to manifest, drifted somewhat away from the organisation. But was empowered enough, to operate independentaly and develop Krsna consciousness. And when the time was right some twenty years later to come back to Iskcon.

 

I have often thought of the beginnings of the Hare Krsna movement in the west and made comparisons with the 1st century Christian movement. How fresh and alive both must have been. Last night I was listening to a spiritual program that was talking about the apostle Paul. On closer scrutiny I found many parallels between apostle and acarya. And the above quote by Srila Prabhupada confirms the commonality of acarya/apostle in empowering the individuals to be able to stand and grow on their own or in small groups. Especially in the fledgling stage of a movement.

 

And, I much look forward to seeing more of Siddhasvarupananda's video's. But on doing an internet search on him I could not find any webpages or sites very much. Does he or any of his followers do much in the way of internet preaching?

[stonehearted]

 

And, I much look forward to seeing more of Siddhasvarupananda's video's. But on doing an internet search on him I could not find any webpages or sites very much. Does he or any of his followers do much in the way of internet preaching?

Nope, not any more. As far as I can tell, much of the earlier presence on the Web was due to Tusta Krishna's influence. He was the main guy behind getting the VINA news site going. Since his passing away, it seems that just about all the sites dedicated to Siddha's preaching have been taken down, and there were quite a few, all around the world, from Poland to the Philippines to the US. He may prefer that devotees preach through more personal contact, although there are some indirect projects around the Web that are less-direct approaches, carried out by his followers. And there's still video stuff, like the cable-access stuff Gaurachandra watches. He's been doing that since the '80s. I haven't seen his shows here on the Big Island much; maybe I should ask my friends who are his disciples.

 

And some of us here on the Big Island are beginning to produce our own Krishna-conscious shows for cable access. My wife and I are just beginning this, along with a Godsister of ours.

[bija]

 

And some of us here on the Big Island are beginning to produce our own Krishna-conscious shows for cable access. My wife and I are just beginning this, along with a Godsister of ours.

This sounds great, I wish you all success.

The thing I find interesting about this thread is that it inspires thoughts about preaching. Being only 40 odd years since Prabhupada came to the west, what an early stage we are in. How much room there is for creativity and expansion.

Down-under here, most of the movements activities are centered around the big cities. And in my particular circumstance I am rarely able to go to the main city, let alone focus my activities there. So this thread re-awakens thoughts of, "how to assist in bringing this movement into the smaller towns and villages?How to assist in bringing about small pockets of devotees, where the big institutions are not currently reaching?"

Gauranga!! I wish I had the courage to assist a tiny bit towards this goal in my home town.

 

Surely Siddhaswarupananda is a very special soul. To be graced by his presence, and to see these videos and his unique preaching style is a real treat.