vijay Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Coming Home to ISKCON by Dasanudas Vanacari Posted February 7, 2005 Dear Maharajas, Godbrothers, Mothers and Friends, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Those of you who know me, or have been reading my articles published on VNN and elsewhere, know that in the past I have been very critical of ISKCON. To you, this announcement may come as somewhat of a surprise. To others, it may seem trivial--what's the big deal? Well, it is a big deal when one wakes up to the realization that one has made an enormous mistake, and must immediately begin the process of correction. To all of you, and especially to the stalwart devotees of ISKCON, I owe my deepest apologies. I am very ashamed and embarrassed by some of the things I have said about ISKCON over the last decade. I beg your forgiveness for my offenses, and your blessings that I may never again become so overcome by illusion. And to the non-ISKCON devotees and friends who may have read my online writings over the years, I regret to inform you that I was wrong about many things, especially my negative attitude towards ISKCON and devotees of ISKCON. That was a very bad example and I implore you not to follow it. This is not the place for explaining why I adopted such negative attitudes; suffice it to say that they seemed like good ideas at the time. But in my humble opinion, this might be a good time to express succinctly how and why my attitude has changed. Just after New Year 2005, I was in Washington, DC visiting a friend who I had been preaching to over the Internet. I was on a japa walk near the National Cathedral, meditating on the events of the past several years. Suddenly as if directed by Supersoul, I thought, "But what if my mind is wrong?" Examining this idea, I was shocked by the growing realization that I had in fact been misled by my mind into rejecting some of Srila Prabhupada's most important direct instructions: to remain within the ISKCON society, to accept the authority of the GBC, and to cooperate together with my Godbrothers to further the Krsna consciousness movement. I further realized that, even if I disagreed with ISKCON's management policies or did not like the service I was assigned, nevertheless it was my duty to accept and perform them to the best of my ability. My rejection of ISKCON was simply in illusion created by my fault-finding mind. There is a saying, "You can choose your friends, but not your family." We may like to think that we chose Srila Prabhupada as our guru. But in reality, he chose to bring us into Krsna's family. Once we are part of that family, we cannot simply turn our backs and walk away without being guilty of gross dereliction of duty. All of us disciples are related through Srila Prabhupada, and that spiritual family relationship is eternal. We may like or not like our Godbrothers or their actions, but we cannot resign from the ISKCON family without also rejecting Srila Prabhupada's direct instruction not to do so. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur wrote that we should find the faults in ourselves, not in others. Our spiritual destination is determined by our own actions, therefore we should not care what others do, but simply perform our own duty to the best of our ability. I realized that I should not be critical of my Godbrothers, since I was not being held responsible for their activities and attitudes, but for my own. A tremendous weight lifted from my shoulders, and my heart was relieved of a stressful burden. I immediately walked down to the Metro station and went to the Potomac ISKCON temple, where I tearfully saw the Deities, ecstatically participated in the Sunday feast kirtan, and became reacquainted with many old friends. A short time later I rejoined ISKCON, and am now serving in Srila Prabhupada's mission once again. It is wonderful to see how the devotees who remained steady have matured while I was away, and this is very gratifying. There are still problems in ISKCON, but I feel very optimistic that they can be resolved. The recent installation of Sri Pancha-Tattva Deities at Mayapur is a milestone in accomplishing Srila Prabhupada's vision for ISKCON. The Spiritual Strategic Planning Team initiative is the most exciting new development, giving me great hope for the future of the society. But even if problems remain, much more importantly, now I am properly situated in service at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada. I am doing my duty: attending the morning program and performing my assigned service with humility and enthusiasm. I am doing my best to see the good in my Godbrothers and brush aside their insignificant faults. After all, they are also devotees, and also have the right to service in Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON family. And I have become very skeptical towards my rascal mind. There are literally thousands of devotees in a similar situation to mine: disconnected and alienated from ISKCON, yet yearning for the safe shelter of Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet. In the future I think we will see more and more senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada have similar realizations, and desire to return to ISKCON to serve his mission. I beg all devotees to clear their path to reunification with ISKCON, and not to shatter their hearts by placing obstacles in their path of reconciliation with their eternal spiritual family. Begging to remain your insignificant servant, Dasanudas Vanacari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pankaja_Dasa Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Prabhus, this is the exact same realiaation I had. That I am a raskal. And I should be humble. Everything Prabhuji said above thats how I feel. I think something is going down Prabhus... Exciting times for all of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 There are literally thousands of devotees in a similar situation to mine: disconnected and alienated from ISKCON, yet yearning for the safe shelter of Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet. In the future I think we will see more and more senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada have similar realizations, and desire to return to ISKCON to serve his mission. I beg all devotees to clear their path to reunification with ISKCON, and not to shatter their hearts by placing obstacles in their path of reconciliation with their eternal spiritual family. Yes Count me two. /images/graemlins/blush.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 over the years I have seen many dramatic changes in Dasanudas prabhu's life... I hope this current realization will stay with him for a while. Maybe he really likes the drama, and the public display of his "mood swings"... /images/graemlins/wink.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati also asked his disciples to co-operate in his Gaudiya Math. So? Saying that "remain in the organization" was the most important teaching of Srila Prabupad is just ridiculous and mundane propaganda-like. His most essential teaching was that everyone should try to become Krsna-conscious without regards to politics, institutions etc. I guess this is what 99% of his books are all about, not about "remain in Iskcon". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Can someone please provide the quote with reference where Srila Prabhupada tells everyone to "remain in Iskcon"? I keep thinking He said "remain in Krishna Consciousness". People are using this "remain in Iskcon" against many good devotees as leverage to make them appear as demoniac. thank you Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 This is what the mind does. What it accepts today it rejects tommorrow, and then accepts anew again the following day, while rejecting that which it had previously accepted upon rejecting what it had accepted on day one. Who can follow the many twists and turns and flip flops of the mind? Home is Krishna's service. Krishna may direct one soul this way to serve and learn and at the same time He may very direct another soul is a seemingly different direction. I do consider the concept of having found the absolute organization to be a bit frightening as the quality of any organization can change from day to day in this world. May we all find our place under Krishna's guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 People are using this "remain in Iskcon" against many good devotees as leverage to make them appear as demoniac. And why should one remain in the same room hearing this? Just because it is at an Iskcon address? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airicky Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 In reply to:-- People are using this "remain in Iskcon" against many good devotees as leverage to make them appear as demoniac. -- And why should one remain in the same room hearing this? Just because it is at an Iskcon address? Exactly! Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Although I know every word that Srila Prabhupada said is not contained in the VedaBase, doing a search of this quote "never leave iskcon" only brought back 2 results. One a 1989 Vyasa Puja entry by New Mayapur in France, and the other being in the Lilamrita written by Satsvarupa Goswami but is not a direct quote, NEITHER are direct from Srila Prabhupada. Also i re-worded the search to include "don't leave ISKCON" that returned nothing. I always felt like Srila Prabhupada's emphasis was on practicing Krishna Conciousness, not which group you practiced it in. Please, those of you that may have actually spent time with him, correct me if i'm wrong. Maybe i'm missing something in drawing this conclusion? but i don't feel like i am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airicky Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Thank you. those are the same results I got from searching with many different keywords. Prabhupada emphasized never leaving "Krishna Consciousness". This has been twisted to one of those infamous "Prabhupada saidsNever leave Iskcon". One can only speculate why it would become twisted in such a fashion. Unless it is a direct quote from Prabhupada then it is not valid. Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I have nothing against devotees who leave Iskcon to practice KC in other organizations - Iskcon has had more than it's share of problems to justify such leaves. I was just making a comment that a devotee with a very complex past comes back to Iskcon and all of a sudden he becomes a "poster boy" for pro-Iskcon propaganda. Actually, I'm very glad he came back to Iskcon (of which I'm a member myself) because some of the stuff he was preaching in the past was of very, very dubious value (IMHO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Just leaving a difficult situation is not enough in itself. It is no guaruntee that one will arrive at a superior place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 theistji, IMHO you yourself would not have lasted for very long living in Iskcon temples, especially in 1980's and 90's /images/graemlins/wink.gif my own experiences aside, I have seen and heard enough heart breaking stories to fully understand the choice many devotees made to leave Iskcon for other Vaishnava associations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pankaja_Dasa Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I thought Grihasta not supposed to live in temple. When did you leave? Oh boy.. *Mercy of Krishna not just Iskcon.. International* Society of Krishna Consciousness. Part of Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya. Est. by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Iskcon means with Krishna. - Click/paste king no more now only reading.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Kulapavana, You are right, in fact such was the case. I lasted about six months intially before leaving and then again for about three somewhere else. I basically stopped associating with ISKCON in 1978. I heard that they had scraped the zonal nonsense and so I started going again to a local temple, until one day I got ahold of a copy of the Iskcon Law Book. What a piece of nonsense that was. I was really p-off that I had been doing service for such a concocted system. More at myself for again having been so gullible and sentimental. Now I may go sometime or I may not. I wish them well. But I have long come to understand that I am not advanced enough to be serious about sadhana bhakti. Too much disipline and structure for my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 my own experiences aside, I have seen and heard enough heart breaking stories to fully understand the choice many devotees made to leave Iskcon for other Vaishnava associations. I wasn't clear. I understand why many left. I didn't and don't to this day even want to hear a class by the magnificant 11, let alone have been in a position where I was expected to worship them. In fact I was banned from my local temple in 1978 because I criticized this person erecting a vyasasana right next to Prabhupada's. The whole appointed acarya zonal trip was actually quite disheartening for a lot of people. I can understand Shiva's feelings if the many of the same people are involved as then. Perhaps they have changed, then more power to them but I don't believe it is worth the gamble. Time is short. I hope that my apprehensions and mistrust are proven unwarranted in the end. What I was trying to say above that it is not enough to leave a bad situation but one must find a more suitable one to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted February 8, 2005 Report Share Posted February 8, 2005 "it is not enough to leave a bad situation but one must find a more suitable one to replace it." thank you for your explanation. I agree with you as to the need to find something more suitable when leaving. Actually, I think it is our obligation as disciples of Srila Prabhupada (one way or another) to work very hard trying to improve Iskcon. The much maligned "11" had 3000+ willing helpers, who often benefited materially from the existing status quo. I think the only way to leave Iskcon with clear conscience is to be kicked out for speaking out against the abuses and trying to reform the system from within! /images/graemlins/smile.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vijay Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 "Thank you. those are the same results I got from searching with many different keywords. Prabhupada emphasized never leaving "Krishna Consciousness". This has been twisted to one of those infamous "Prabhupada saidsNever leave Iskcon". One can only speculate why it would become twisted in such a fashion. Unless it is a direct quote from Prabhupada then it is not valid. Mikey " I just done a search on leaving iskcon for another thread and found this, "Sudama: Questions, Prabhupada? (break) Devotee: ...one is sufficient to ask is that are Siddha-svarupananda Gosvami and Tusta-krsna Maharaja and their followers more advanced in their understanding of Krsna and the spiritual master than the other devotees in ISKCON; and secondly, are they, have they advanced beyond following the rules and regulations of ISKCON? Prabhupada: That is up to you to judge--by the result. If they are actually advanced, why they should leave this company of ISKCON? Therefore, I know they're very good souls. They might have done some mistake out of misunderstanding, but you invite them to come back again and take their position. It is not very good sign that they have left. They'll never be happy. That's a fact. (pause) Hare Krsna. (end) HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 The reality of Krsna Consciousness is that you can find it everywhere if we have but the eyes to see. There is no place He isn't. In or out of the organization of Iskcon the main thing is you follow the directives of its' founder and you will be directed to like practitioners and ultimately tread the path of its' founder, to its' founder. Under his affectionate glance you will be living in an international, nay inter-planetary movement of divine love for all, and a family that knows no bounds or circumference. In that we can find our desired life where those 6 letters will pale into insignificance in the light of your sublime existence. It's merely a training ground in preparation for your eternal occupation, for some it may be Home for others a mere station on the way. At times we'll dance with thousands, at other times we may walk alone in the desert. Be ye glad for the song has no ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 "By their fruits Ye shall know them" The movement of Mahaprabhu has expanded in many directions and will continue to spread like the rivers of the Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Haribol, Prabupada's instruction: do not leave and make factions. So stay within ISKCON. Hare Krishna, Your Servant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonehearted Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 That was one of his instructions, and an important one. But an even more important instruction is that we become Krishna conscious and preach widely by our example. We must always keep the seven purposes he gave for founding that institution at the center of our activities. If we can work together with others to accomplish those ends, we're adhering to the spirit--the essence--of that instruction. If we do otherwise, get caught up in bureaucracy, centralizing power, contolling others, we miss the essence of that instruction regardless of what institution's card we carry. ISKCON's leaders have (often deliberately) driven out so many devotees over the years; moreover, they have created programs for systematically denigrating or vilifying any Vaishnava who does not toe their line, regardless of his or her spiritual stature. Those who blindly follow them in these activities, which are as opposite to Srila Prabhupada's purpose as it's possible to be, may have to adjust to life in a ditch. He also told us not to act like fanatics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 What do you say to those that say iskcon left Prabhupada? If that is so would it still follow that one should always remain in Iskcon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 my humble opinion is that we put too much attention to organizations... we are taught from the beginning that it is the guru who chooses the disciple and not the opposite.. so nobody, if not krsna or pure devotees, is guilty if he has surrendered to a master who, incidentally, belongs to an organization or another simply i would consider the issues of guru and organization separate, and , as i see in all gaudya math (obviously except iskcon even if things are slightlychanging), one as a grihasta or brahmachary/sannyasi will serve a temple when there's need for him.. the globalized organization is not so essential in prabhupada's project, it is more essential the authonomy and the variety of local temples and congregations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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