Vote #1

[Guest guest]

> Dear Bhaktarupa prabhu,

>

> Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

> Thanks for your response to my questions. What I understand you to be

> saying is that we cannot legislate how Srila Prabhupada can or will appear

> to any particular devotee. This is very much a private affair. The

> spiritual principle of guru, sadhu and sastra is the all important thing,

> and this cannot be restricted to an institutional framework. You see a

> difference between institutional or managerial authority, and spiritual

> authority. In order to make the organisation run smoothly, a person

> working within ISKCON must follow managerial direction, but only when it

> is aligned with guru, sadhu and sastra. You therefore see the GBC as the

> ultimate managerial authority, but not necessarily the spiritual

> authority. Spiritual direction can come to a devotee in many different

> ways, not necessarily through institutional managers. It will always be

> recognised by sincere devotees, no matter how it manifests, but the

> dishonest will never recognise proper spiritual authority in any shape or

> form.

>

> These are the points I understand you to be making. Please let me know if

> I am right or wrong, and after that I will try to respond (probably with

> yet more questions, because I am not very submissive).

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and to say all this. You

have got it right, but I wanted to take the opportunity to make a bit of a

clarification/improvement of what I originally wrote to you. I do not want

to say that the GBC Body is not a spiritual authority. They can certainly

take that role. I only have a problem with calling them the ultimate

spiritual authority. We should not try to institute some strict dichotomy

between spiritual roles and managerial roles. There is considerable

overlapping. In an institution such as ISKCON they are largely overlapping.

I said in my previous text that a spiritual authority should be followed

unquestioningly. I should have said that our ultimate spiritual authority

should be followed unquestioningly.

 

Your servant, Bhaktarupa Das

[Guest guest]

> Here's another quote to end with, to back up my argument that education

> and empowerment is better than control and legislation: (it's a good one

> for the pro-varnashrama argument too)

>

> "Simply enforcing laws and ordinances cannot make the citizens obedient

> and lawful. That is impossible. Throughout the entire world there are so

> many states, legislative assemblies and parliaments, but still the

> citizens are rogues and thieves. Good citizenship, therefore, cannot be

> enforced; the citizens must be trained. As there are schools and colleges

> to train students to become chemical engineers, lawyers or specialists in

> many other departments of knowledge, there must be schools and colleges to

> train students to become brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, sudras,

> brahmacaris, grhasthas, vanaprasthas and sannyasis."

> SB 9.10.50

>

> "Schools and colleges". Hello ISKCON, that's your cue.

>

> Yhs

> KDd

 

Excellent reference, straight from the Bhagavatam, verifying the importance

of varnasrama education in ISKCON and that education is better than

legislation. However, such education in ISKCON will only be achieved if we

have a varnasrama structured GBC. The massive programme of setting up

varnasrama colleges throughout ISKCON is predominantly an administrative

duty, and the programme of teaching in the colleges is predominantly a

brahminical duty. Our current GBC structure, however, is predominantly made

up of individuals trying to do BOTH the administration and the teaching and

as a result nothing is being achieved.

 

Let's hope the GBC does not emulate the non-listening stance being currently

adopted by the British Government against the unreasonable-tax-on-fuel

protestors.

 

ys

 

ada