Following in Srila Prabhupada's Footsteps. Part 3 of 3

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This is a paper Badrinarayan Prabhu has just completed entitled "Following in

Srila Prabhupada's Footsteps." It is a reply to "My Heartly Blessings," by

Narayana Maharaj via Bhudhara das.

 

Householder Disciples

 

Srila Prabhupada laid out a clear code for his householder disciples: intimate

relations are permitted only once a month, and then only for the purpose of

having children and after fifty rounds of japa are chanted.

 

Bhurijana Prabhu gives the following report based on his talks with Srila

Narayana Maharaja:

 

"Narayana Maharaja said that no Gaudiya Vaisnava acarya had ever given such

explicit instructions regulating household life. He asked why Srila Prabhupada

bothered with the private affairs of married couples, saying that it is not

really the business of the guru to give instructions on these matters."

 

Again, Srila Narayana Maharaja is free to teach as he likes; ISKCON follows

Srila Prabhupada.

 

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Srila Prabhupada's spiritual identity

 

Bhudhara Prabhu writes:

 

"Srila Narayana Maharaja has suggested . . . how we might appreciate what hints

Srila Prabhupada has given us about his nitya-lila."

 

He then goes on to string together bhajans Srila Prabhupada chanted, book

prefaces, and the sannyasa mantra to make a case for Srila Prabhupada's being

in gopi-bhava.

 

Whenever Srila Prabhupada was asked about this topic, he would become quiet and

stern. His stock answer, oft repeated, was "That you do not require."

 

Since we respect Srila Prabhupada's statements on this subject, enough said. We

should simply note that it was not his mood to reveal his spiritual identity to

us, nor do we need to know it. (A final observation: That so much time and

attention has been spent on a topic we "do not require" illustrates the types

of distractions one can fall prey to when there is premature hearing of

"rasa-katha.")

 

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Cooperation

 

"My Heartly Blessings" contains an emotional appeal for an "ecumenical spirit"

among Vaisnava institutions. Bhudhara Prabhu admonishes ISKCON to "transcend

crippling institutional limitations."

 

No one will deny that Srila Prabhupada would have liked to see more cooperation

between his Godbrothers and ISKCON. Simultaneously, Srila Prabhupada was fully

aware of the sad history resulting from his disciples' association with certain

of his Godbrothers.

 

Bhudhara Prabhu himself admits as much, while trying to couch his admission in

the following artfully constructed paragraph:

 

"While we do not want to digress into a review of the history of relations

between the two institutions, it may be helpful to reference some of the

positive aspects of the relationship. This may also lead to a more full

understanding of a history that cannot be summarily discounted by reference to

misunderstandings of the past. It is easy to create catch-phrases that lump the

non-familiar into convenient undesirable categories."

 

Why don't we want to "digress into a review of the history of relations between

the two institutions"? Because such a digression would inevitably review the

painful history of slights, abuses, and attacks tolerated by Srila Prabhupada

and ISKCON.

 

What are those "misunderstandings of the past"? Could they be Srila

Prabhupada's numerous warnings to his disciples to avoid mixing with members of

the Gaudiya Matha?

 

It was not without good cause that Srila Prabhupada wrote the following warning

to Rupanuga Prabhu in a letter dated 28 April 1974:

 

"We shall be very careful about [my Godbrothers] and not mix with them. This is

my instruction to you all. They cannot help us in our movement, but they are

very competent to harm our natural progress. So we must be very careful about

them."

 

Actually, ISKCON has tried to be one of the most accommodating of all the

Gaudiya Vaisnava missions. According to Jayapataka Maharaja, a long-time

observer of the relations among the various Gaudiya Mathas, it is practically

unheard-of for the acarya of one matha to expect to be able to travel to

another matha's various branches and be given a forum to lecture to the local

matha's residents and congregation. Yet ISKCON had been willing to try this,

bringing its members to hear from Srila Narayana Maharaja and hosting him at

our various temples. (It is only when the canvassing and criticism by Srila

Narayana Maharaja's followers became intolerable that ISKCON broke off the

relationship.)

 

Bhudhara Prabhu makes his case for cooperation primarily by presenting excerpts

from Srila Prabhupada's letters and conversations. Further study reveals that

most of those letters and conversations concern Srila Prabhupada's efforts to

work on joint preaching programs through the Bhaktivedanta Charity Trust.

 

Srila Prabhupada, with his usual genius, was trying to find a way to build a

bond of mutual respect and cooperation between ISKCON and the Gaudiya Matha

while protecting his institution from the Gaudiya Matha's proven tendency to

infiltrate and try to change ISKCON. We are safest if we follow in Srila

Prabhupada's footsteps by cooperating with the Gaudiya Matha in executing

preaching programs in which we have a mutual interest, such as restoring

tirthas and distributing prasadam to large numbers of people. These are, of

course, the very activities of his Bhaktivedanta Charity Trust, as mentioned in

those original letters and conversations.

 

History teaches us that problems arise not from the institutional distinctions

between ISKCON and the Gaudiya Matha but when Gaudiya Matha members become

instrumental in promoting changes in the practices and philosophy established

by Srila Prabhupada.

 

Srila Prabhupada, while the emblem of humility, was adamant that in all formal

contexts his name bear the title "founder-acarya." He insisted that the full

title be used on all ISKCON buildings, books, letterheads, advertisements, etc.

>From the Vedic literature we learn that one of the meanings of the term

founder-acarya (samsthapakacarya) is "he who sets the standards to which all

others conform." Srila Prabhupada clearly intended the standards he established

for the philosophy and practice of Krsna consciousness to remain as the norm

for ISKCON for the next ten thousand years.

 

Bhudhara Prabhu advocates closer relations with the Gaudiya Matha and cites

Srila Prabhupada's statements about "cooperation" as the basis for this

rapprochement. However, he omits an important principle on which Srila

Prabhupada saw that such cooperation should be based. Bhudhara Prabhu writes:

 

"From the early days of his mission until his last, Srila Prabhupada encouraged

cooperation with his Godbrothers."

 

Bhudhara Prabhu quotes the following line from a letter by Srila Prabhupada

dated 5 September 1969:

 

"I am sure if Gaudiya Mission and I combine together, it will be very nice

thing to preach the cult of Lord Caitanya all over the world."

 

But Bhudhara Prabhu omits the very next sentence, in which Srila Prabhupada

writes:

 

"I can reorganize all the branches of the Gaudiya Math in India, and if there

is any financial question, it will be not difficult for our society to help in

that way also."

 

In other words, the basis for cooperation was to be that Srila Prabhupada, as

the one truly successful worldwide preacher, would "reorganize all the branches

of the Gaudiya Matha." It was not that ISKCON would accept the Gaudiya Matha's

leadership and gradually abandon or alter the standards and philosophical

principles given by Srila Prabhupada.

 

 

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The Original Position of the Jiva

 

In his public statements and personal communications, Srila Narayana Maharaja

teaches that the jivas cannot fall from the spiritual world.

 

Even the most adamant "no fall" advocates concede that whenever Srila

Prabhupada was directly asked about the original position of the jivas in the

material world, he replied with his standard answer: "Once we were with Krsna,

but by misusing our free will we have fallen to this material world. By

practicing the science of devotional service to Krsna we can revive our

original consciousness and return back home, back to Godhead."

 

Srila Narayana Maharaja preaches in one way, Srila Prabhupada in another. No

doubt Srila Narayana Maharaja is fully entitled to present Krsna consciousness

as he likes. Our duty is to accept the version of Srila Prabhupada and preach

as he did.

 

(See Appendixes #3 and #4.)

 

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Conclusion

 

Bhudhara prabhu writes:

 

"The GBC's position paper suggests that Srila Narayana Maharaja somehow wants

to 'modify' Srila Prabhupada's legacy. This is so misleading that in

non-ecclesiastical circles it would be considered slanderous."

 

Before responding to this statement, let us recap what ISKCON is being asked to

embrace:

 

* A stress on the need for raganuga practices and hearing "rasa-katha from a

rasika-bhakta"

 

* the broad introduction of literature whose study was previously restricted by

Srila Prabhupada

 

* a new interpretation of what Srila Prabhupada's "unfinished work" was

 

* a new meaning of first initiation

 

* a theory that the guru does not accept the karma of his disciple

 

* that ISKCON is now to be influenced by unseen letters and decisions not

necessarily based on a deep study of Srila Prabhupada's books

 

* different standards for first initiation

 

* different standards for the grhastha-asrama

 

* a new definition of ISKCON'S role among the various Gaudiya missions

 

* re-interpretation of the mood of the Deity worship in at least two leading

ISKCON temples

 

* various theories about Srila Prabhupada's spiritual identity

 

* a different preaching presentation on the origin of the jiva

 

In a number of lectures to ISKCON devotees, Srila Narayana Maharaja complained

that he had much to give ISKCON but that he was being blocked by its leaders.

What he wants to give is summarized in the above list. It is difficult to

imagine any ISKCON leader going before Srila Prabhupada and presenting to him

such a list of proposed modifications.

 

The truth is not slander. There is no question but that there are many

differences between Srila Prabhupada's presentation and that of Srila Narayana

Maharaja.

 

ISKCON recognizes Srila Narayana Maharaja as an advanced Vaisnava. Its leaders

appreciate his many services to Srila Prabhupada in the past. He is certainly

free to travel all over the world and preach as his realization inspires him,

and ISKCON wishes him success in his efforts.

 

At the same time, all members of ISKCON, and in particular its leaders, are

enjoined by the following statement of Srila Prabhupada:

 

"It is not that I disobey my real Spiritual Master and call someone else as

Spiritual Master. That is wrong. It is only that I can call Spiritual Master

[siksa-guru] someone who is teaching me purely what my initiating Spiritual

Master has taught." (Letter to Sri Galim, 20 November 1971)

 

If we have committed any offenses in the course of this presentation, we assure

Srila Narayana Maharaja and his followers that they are unintended and

regretted. We pray that they will be merciful upon us, understanding that while

these are delicate matters, we are dutybound to speak as we have been taught by

His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

 

In the service of Srila Prabhupada,

 

Badrinarayan dasa

Member ISKCON GBC

June 6, 1997

 

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APPENDIXES

 

Appendix #1

 

Bhudhara Prabhu criticizes the tone of the GBC position paper regarding ISKCON

devotees' taking siksa from Srila Narayana Maharaja. The following is a

sampling of the terms Bhudhara Prabhu aims at the authors of the GBC paper:

 

Sophomoric, devious, libelous, lacking common sense, insidious, foolish,

scare-mongering, paranoia, lack of experience and philosophical skill,

dark-minded, lack of open-mindedness, brow-beat the reader, to lack a

generosity of spirit, high-handed ecclesiastical mode of presentation, heresy,

deceitful behavior, dark nature, unseemly.

 

With all due respect, the old adage "Physician, heal thyself" does come to

mind.

 

Appendix #2

 

In the letters that follow Srila Prabhupada refers directly to Sri Sri

Rukmini-Dvarakadhisa. This correspondence certainly forms a strong argument

that he accepted those names. The excerpt from a room conversation shows Srila

Prabhupada personally using the name Dvarakadhisa with affection and intimacy.

 

Letter, 24 Nov 1976

 

Thank you very much for the pictures of Rukmini Dvarakadhisa. They are very

nice.

 

Letter, 10 Nov 1975

 

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your card dated October 25,

1975, along with the beautiful photographs of Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisa of

New Dvaraka.

 

Letter, 29 Jun 1973

 

It is very encouraging to hear the arrangement you are making for worship of

Their Lordships Sri Dvarakadhisa and Rukmini. Please do it very nicely and I

shall be glad to see the completed result.

 

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The following exchange is excerpted from a room conversation recorded in

Vrndavana on June 17, 1977. Here Srila Prabhupada recalls very intimately

addressing Krsna in Los Angeles as Dvarakadhisa as early as 1970. Srila

Prabhupada is describing how he left Vrndavana in 1965 and came to the West,

and then how Krsna sent him back to India to establish temples in Mayapur and

Vrindaban.

 

----------------

 

TAMALA KRSNA: Actually, when you intended to go to America, everyone was

advising, "Better not go. It is too dangerous for someone of your age. Do not

go." Someone even said that you may not come back.

SRILA PRABHUPADA: I thought all this. I went to USA not to come back. I left

here hopeless. I did not want to come back. I went with determination that "If

I do this job, I will survive." So Krsna helped me. . . . I made my

headquarters in Los Angeles.

TAMALA KRSNA: Well . . . by your coming here it was wonderful.

SRILA PRABHUPADA: That means Krsna desired. Otherwise I had no plan to come

back here.

TAMALA KRSNA: Your business was in the West. Still it is, you said. Still,

whatever we're doing here--

SRILA PRABHUPADA: Therefore I took this permanent residency.

TAMALA KRSNA: Not intention but... Do you regret having come back to India?

SRILA PRABHUPADA: No, it is well. My plan was like that, but Krsna's plan was

different. When I was coming back, I was speaking to Dvarakadhisa, "I do not

know. I came here to live. Why You are driving me away?" While leaving Los

Angeles I was not happy.

TAMALA KRSNA: Oh, I remember.

SRILA PRABHUPADA: But He had this plan.

TAMALA KRSNA: Pretty nice plan.

SRILA PRABHUPADA: Krsna wanted that "You left Vrndavana. I'll give you better

place in Vrndavana. (chuckles) You were retired in Vrndavana. I obliged you to

leave. Now you come back. I'll give you better place." So He has given a temple

[Krsna-Balarama Mandir] hundred times better than Los Angeles. Is it not?

TAMALA KRSNA: There's nothing comparable in the three worlds.

SRILA PRABHUPADA: Hm. So it is always by His desire.

 

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Appendix #3

 

The following is from a letter Srila Prabhupada wrote to Madhu-dvisa Prabhu

when the latter was the GBC for Australia.

 

Crow And Tal-Fruit Logic

 

We never had any occasion when we were separated from Krsna. Just like one man

is dreaming and he forgets himself. In dream he creates himself in different

forms: now I am the King discussing like that. This creation of himself is as

seer and subject matter or seen, two things. But as soon as the dream is over,

the "seen" disappears. But the seer remains. Now he is in his original

position.

 

Our separation from Krsna is like that. We dream this body and so many

relationships with other things. First the attachment comes to enjoy sense

gratification. Even with Krsna desire for sense gratification is there. There

is a dormant attitude for forgetting Krsna and creating an atmosphere for

enjoying independently. Just like at the edge of the beach, sometimes the water

covers, sometimes there is dry sand, coming and going. Our position is like

that, sometimes covered, sometimes free, just like at the edge of the tide. As

soon as we forget, immediately the illusion is there. Just like as soon as we

sleep, dream is there.

 

We cannot say therefore that we are not with Krsna. As soon as we try to become

Lord, immediately we are covered by Maya. Formerly we were with Krsna in His

lila or sport. But this covering of Maya may be of very, very, very, very long

duration, therefore many creations are coming and going. Due to this long

period of time it is sometimes said that we are ever-conditioned. But his long

duration of time becomes very insignificant when one actually comes to Krsna

consciousness. Just like in a dream we are thinking very long time, but as soon

as we awaken we look at our watch and see it has been a moment only. Just like

with Krsna's friends, they were kept asleep for one year by Brahma, but when

they woke up and Krsna returned before them, they considered that only a moment

had passed.

 

So this dreaming condition is called non-liberated life, and this is just like

a dream. Although in this material calculation it is a long, long period, as

soon as we come to Krsna consciousness then this period is considered as a

second. For example, Jaya and Vijaya. They had their lila with Krsna, but they

had to come down for their little mistake. They were given mukti, emerging into

the Brahmasayujya after being killed three times as demons. This Brahmasayujya

mukti is non-permanent. Every living entity wants pleasure, but Brahmasayujya

is minus pleasure. There is eternal existence only. So when they do not find

transcendental bliss, they fall down to make a compromise with material bliss.

Just like Vivekananda founded so many schools and hospitals. So even Lord

Brahma, he is still material and wants to lord it over. He may come down to

become a germ, but then he may rise up to Krsna consciousness and go back to

home, back to Godhead. This is the position.

 

So when I say Yes, there is eternal lila with Krsna, that means on the evidence

of Jaya-Vijaya. Unless one develops full devotional service to Krsna, he goes

up only up to Brahmasayujya but falls down. But after millions and millions of

years of keeping oneself away from the lila of the Lord, when one comes to

Krsna consciousness this period becomes insignificant, just like dreaming.

 

Because he falls down from Brahmasayujya, he thinks that may be his origin, but

he does not remember that before that even he was with Krsna. So the conclusion

is that whatever may be our past, let us come to Krsna consciousness and

immediately join Krsna. Just like with a diseased man, it is a waste of time to

try to find out how he has become diseased, better to spend time curing the

disease.

 

On the top of the tree there is a nice tal-fruit. A crow went there and the

fruit fell down, Some panditas, big big learned scholars saw this and

discussed: the fruit fell due to the crow agitating the limb. No, the fruit

fell simultaneously with the crow landing and frightened the crow so he flew

away. No, the fruit was ripe and the weight of the crow landing broke it from

the branch, and so on and so on. What is the use of such discussions? So

whether you were in the Brahmasayujya or with Krsna in His lila, at the moment

you are in neither, so the best policy is to develop your Krsna consciousness

and go there, never mind what is your origin.

 

Brahmasayujya and Krsna lila--both may be possible, but when you are coming

down from Brahmasayujya or when you are coming down from Krsna lila, that

remains a mystery. But at the present moment we are in Maya's clutches, so at

present our only hope is to become Krsna conscious and go back to Home, back to

Godhead. The real position is servant of Krsna, and servant of Krsna means in

Krsna lila. Directly or indirectly, always we are serving Krsna's lila. Even in

dream. Just like we cannot go out of the sun when it is daytime, so where is

the chance of going out of Krsna lila? The cloud may be there, it may become

very gray and dim, but still the sunlight is there, everywhere, during the

daytime. Because I am part and parcel of Krsna, I am always connected. My

finger, even though it may be diseased, remains part and parcel of my body.

Therefore, we try to treat it, cure it, because it is part and parcel. So Krsna

comes Himself when we forget Him, or He sends His representative.

 

Awakening or dreaming, I am the same man. As soon as I awaken and see myself, I

see Krsna. Cause and effect are both Krsna. Just like cotton becomes thread and

thread becomes cloth, still, the original cause is cotton. Therefore,

everything is Krsna in the ultimate sense. When we cannot contact Krsna

personally, we contact His energies. So there is no chance to be outside

Krsna's lila. But differences we see under different conditions. Just like in

the pool of water and in the mirror the same me is reflecting, but in different

reflections. One is shimmering, unsteady, one is clear and fixed. Except for

being in Krsna consciousness, we cannot see our actual position rightly,

therefore the learned man sees all living entities as the same parts and

parcels of Krsna. Material existence is impersonal because my real personality

is covered. But we should think that because I am now covered by this clay, I

am diseased, and we should think that I must get to business to get myself

uncovered, not wonder how I got this way. Now the fruit is there, take it and

enjoy, that is your first business. God is not bound by cause. He can change,

He is the Cause of all Causes. Now don't waste your time with this "Kaka taliya

nyaya," crows and tal-fruit logic.

 

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Appendix #4

 

"Not Even the Leaves Fall in Vaikuntha," by Satya Narayana dasa and Kundali

dasa:

 

"Especially dumbfounding is the fact that Srila Prabhupada consistently

answered the direct question either in letters or in person in favor of the

fall. This leads many devotees to believe that of the two versions, he

ultimately favored the fall theory" (Second Wave: Chapter 6, page 123)

 

 

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(end of part 3 of 3)