Four Trends That Changed ISKCON and Their Consequences

[Guest guest]

New article at Hare Krishna Cultural Jounral: Four Trends That Changed

ISKCON and Their Consequences

 

URL: http://www.siddhanta.com/2006/07/four_trends_tha.html

 

Excerpt:

 

 

*Sadhu, Shastra, and Srila Prabhupada Deemphasized*

 

The resurgence of ritvikism, however, was not the most significant result of

what many devotees perceived as unacceptably high rates of fall down among

ISKCON's gurus and sannyasis. The most significant outcome was that it

broadly undermined their institutional authority and undermined the

tradition they represented. This in turn led to a further weighting of the

authority of Srila Prabhupada's published literature.

 

Srila Prabhupada's writings have always been the primary authority for

ISKCON's members. However, with this added weight to the authority of Srila

Prabhupada's published works (over and above what it had formerly been),

other sources of authority such as tradition and the teachings of previous,

recognized acharyas became deemphasized. Although this deemphasis was

unintentional, in the minds of some devotees it had the effect of detaching

Srila Prabhupada's writings from its Gaudiya Vaisnava literary tradition.

This disconnect made Srila Prabhupada's writings more susceptible to

manipulation and creative interpretation.

 

For some, this resulted in virtually discrediting the teachings of previous

acharyas in the disciplic succession or discrediting significant sections of

Srila Prabhupada's own published literature. Their radical ideologies

practically required them to do so. In defense of their radical

interpretations of Srila Prabhupada's teachings, they would say that some

specific teaching may have been relevant in another time, place, and

circumstance but today is no longer applicable. Ritvikism was one notable

result of this mode of thinking, and another was ISKCON's women's rights

movement.

 

Although these two movements have very different objectives, both presume

that Srila Prabhupada's teachings are more of a radical departure from

tradition rather than a continuation of it. As can be seen from these two

statements, one from the IRM's *Final Order *and the other from a meeting of

senior Vaisnavis (women devotees) in Mayapura, the key similarities are

their nearly identical claims that on the basis of higher, abstract

religious principles, Srila Prabhupada broke with tradition and introduced a

new and radical spiritual practice:

 

*"The important point is that although the ritvik system may be totally

unique, . . . it does not violate higher order sastric principles. It is

testament to Srila Prabhupada's genius that he was able to mercifully apply

such sastric principles in new and novel ways according to time, place, and

circumstance."* (Final Order, page 31)

 

*"Vedic life, as extolled in our scriptures, is highly interpretive.

Understanding what is truly Vedic is elusive. Srila Prabhupada, taught us

about Vedic society and the role of varnashram in elevating society, but he

did not practically speaking, engage his spiritual daughters within such a

system. They were active preachers, pujaris, cooks, etc. Srila Prabhupada in

fact, introduced a new model with new standards; one based on

preaching."*(Meeting of senior Vaishnavis. Feb 18, 2004, Mayapura)

 

 

Prominent in both statements are two ideas: Srila Prabhupada introduced

something radically new and that tradition is irrelevant (at least for their

respective causes). Of course, there are number of confirmed examples of

shastric injunctions that Srila Prabhupada himself said were no longer

applicable today. Yet what is being recast as irrelevant are injunctions or

teachings for which a strong case for their current relevance can be argued.

The ritviks, however, sidestepped problematic statements with an appeal to

"higher order shastric principles" and the women's rights supporters

sidestepped statements they found disagreeable with an appeal to example and

practical action.

 

For the most part, all of this was made possible by radically elevating the

status of Srila Prabhupada's authority and personality at the expense of

weakening if not abandoning other traditional checks on speculative drift.

The irony is that efforts to strengthen Srila Prabhupada's authority, to put

him "back in the center", ended up weakening his authority and removing him

further from the center of ISKCON.

[Guest guest]

keep focus on krishna , he will show you way and dont deviate from this .

leave all thoughts and surrender on to his lotus feet he will guide you

your servent

ganesh das

[Guest guest]

 

keep focus on krishna , he will show you way and dont deviate from this .

leave all thoughts and surrender on to his lotus feet he will guide you

your servent

ganesh das

 

Lord Sri Krishna orders this:

 

tad viddhi pranipatena

pariprasnena sevaya

upadeksyanti te jnanam

jnaninas tattva-darsinah

 

"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth."

 

The sastras enjoin that before we take a guru we study him carefully to find out whether we can surrender to him. We should not accept a guru suddenly, out of fanaticism.

That is very dangerous as we have seen 30 times in the past.

So Ganesh das, what is your answer how to know if a guru is above the option of falling down or a rascal wanny-be who ruins our lives?

Or is it all one?

[Kulapavana]

 

Srila Prabhupada's writings have always been the primary authority for

ISKCON's members. However, with this added weight to the authority of Srila

Prabhupada's published works (over and above what it had formerly been),

other sources of authority such as tradition and the teachings of previous,

recognized acharyas became deemphasized. Although this deemphasis was

unintentional, in the minds of some devotees it had the effect of detaching

Srila Prabhupada's writings from its Gaudiya Vaisnava literary tradition.

This disconnect made Srila Prabhupada's writings more susceptible to

manipulation and creative interpretation.

 

you could summ it all up in two words: personality cult