Podcast transcription:

On and For the Record

(Ch. 7 Review of Eleven Naked Emperors)

Analysis of Chapter Seven

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

“ . . . if there is bad boy, he can turn the whole family into ashes. Similarly, in this institution, if there is a bad disciple, he can burn the whole institution into ashes.” 1

Well, there were a number of bad boys. They did burn the ISKCON institution down with potent assistance from the imprimatur of the vitiated G.B.C. and from the Gouòéya Mutt to do just that.

Who were they? They were as follows: Bad boy Satsvarüpa (the so-called Gurupäda), Bad Boy Hådayänanda (the so-called Äcäryadeva), Bad Boy Bhävänanda (the so-called Viñëupäda), Bad Boy Bhagavän (the so-called Gurudeva, a.k.a. “The Sun King”), Bad Boy Hansadutta (the so-called Kåñëa-Kértan Öhäkur), Bad Boy Harikeça (the so-called Viñëupäda), Bad Boy Jayapätäka (the so-called Äcäryapäda), Bad Boy Jayatértha (the so-called Térthapäda), and Bad Boy Rameçvara, who, to his marginal credit, did not adopt one of those imitation labels.

On and For the Record

(Ch. 6 Review of Eleven Naked Emperors)

Analysis of Chapter Six

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

Podcast transcription:

On and For the Record

(Ch. 5 Review of Eleven Naked Emperors)

Analysis of Chapter Five

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

“Now, after the death of Päëòu, there was conspiracy. Dhåtaräñöra wanted that “Actually, this is my kingdom. Now, somehow or other, I could not get it. Now my brother is dead. So if I do not inherit, why not my sons.?” This was the politics. Politics are always there, and enviousness, jealousy. This is the nature of this material world. You cannot avoid it. Spiritual world means just the opposite. There is no politics. There is no jealousy. There is no enviousness. That is spiritual world. And material world means politics, jealousy, diplomacy, enviousness, so many things. [1]

“I am so sorry to learn that there is a sort of conspiracy by some of our God-brothers as not to give me a place at Mayapur.” [2]

“Now by the grace of Krishna we have got sufficient properties all over the world, so there cannot be any diplomacy or conspiracy by any sane man. All these properties and opulences, whatever we have got, this will not go with me when I go away from this world. It will remain here. I am training some of my experienced disciples how to manage after my departure. So if instead of taking the training, if in my lifetime you people say I am the Lord of all I survey, that is dangerous conspiracy.” [3]

Podcast transcription:

On and For the Record

(Part Three of the Review of Doktorski’s Eleven Naked Emperors)

Analysis of Chapter Four

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

The process of Kåñëa consciousness is known by many terms, each of which signals the particular emphasis of a prominent trait in it. For example, you have all read and heard that Kåñëa consciousness is called bhakti-yoga. Bhakti technically refers to bhäva, an extremely advanced stage of Kåñëa consciousness. Yet, every devotee who applies himself or herself to the process experiences fleeting moments of bhäva or ecstasy within, often even at the beginning of the neophyte stage. It is thus not a misnomer to call the overall process by the term bhakti-yoga, and Prabhupäda advertised it as such.

It is sometimes called sädhana bhakti. It is sometimes called vidhi-sädhana bhakti. It is sometimes called rägänuga-sädhana bhakti. It is sometimes called sädhya-bhakti, and that is at bhäva. Siddhänta Sarasväté, in a purport to his commentary on Brahma-Saàhitä, has also called it jïäna-bhakti yoga, as per that preliminary stage.

Podcast transcription:

On and For the Record

(Part Two of the Review of Doktorski’s Eleven Naked Emperors)

Analysis of Chapter Three

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

Unless they are too painful, everyone remembers the crossroads moments in their lives. These were the times of decisions of impact, ones which locked in the course of the future in some specific way. To be a crossroads moment, it had to be comprehensive and major in consequence. We may regret one or more of them and, conversely, we may thank our lucky stars (there is truth to that aphorism) that we made the crucial decision we did at that momentous time. In no small part, we have had (or still have) powerful intellectual and emotional responses to these moments on the basis of how things played out after that decision. The Sanskrit for this principle is phalena-paricéyate: Judge by the results.

In relation to any specific crossroads moment, if we analyze our decision in relation to it in an unbiased way, in the vast majority of cases, we shall come to this conclusion: The more that critical thinking was integral to our decision during that moment in our lives, the better the decision was. In other words, with a few exceptions, we did not just luck into a good or a bad result at a crossroads moment.

Podcast transcription:

On and For the Record

(A Review of Doktorski’s Eleven Naked Emperors)

First of a Multi-part Series

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

Concerning the history of the Western Hare Kåñëa movement, in order to put the puzzle together, some basic components and building blocks must be secured and assimilated from the outset. There is only one accurate narrative in connection to Çréla Prabhupäda’s Hare Kåñëa movement of Kåñëa consciousness. As opposed to this, there are numerous false narratives, and you need to confront and overcome all of them.

They are all illusory, and one of the qualities of such mäyikä narratives is kñaro-bhävaù: Endlessly mutable.1 If there was the right narrative and only one wrong one, that would make the task much easier, but such is not the case. There are at least a dozen false narratives floating in the ether and on the astral plane as to what went down and why in relation to the Western branch of Kåñëa consciousness, which Prabhupäda attempted to establish in the Sixties and the Seventies.

Podcast transcription:

The Story of “ISKCON”

(Institutional Elitism Replaces Zonal Megalomania)

Second of a Two-Part Series

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

A root illegitimacy haunts “ISKCON,” and that specter has forced it to rely upon a warped narrative, mixed with stupid slogans, in order to bind its acolytes. It is confident that most of them will not confront its illegitimacy. Knowing the Story of “ISKCON”–understanding where it is going and where it may go up the road—requires personal intelligence transcending the mode of ignorance via confrontation within yourself.

Intelligence must be in the mode of ignorance in order to believe that institution’s fanatical bromides. “ISKCON is One” or “ISKCON is the Hare Kåñëa movement” are two examples of such hackneyed slogans. Thesetrite mottos cover reality. Even if there was some sliver of truth to them (and that only during the brief period that Prabhupäda’s institution ran well and was bona fide), they have no legitimacy now.

Podcast transcription:

Ever-Changing “ISKCON” Paradigms:(Institutional Elitism Replaces Zonal Megalomania)

First of a Two-Part Series

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

When His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda left physical manifestation in late 1977, what was his wish for the management of his branch of the Hare Kåñëa movement? It seems only logical that something strongly akin to the managerial style and form that he first inaugurated in the mid-Sixties should remain how he wanted management to be continued. For the eleven years he was here, despite the formation of the Governing Body Commission in the early Seventies (an expansion), his management paradigm did not ACTUALLY change in either essence or its practical day-to-day implementation.

His management paradigm was prescriptive. The prescription was the rite: It included the äcära, vicära, and pracära which he authorized for his disciples. It was meant to purify his initiated disciples, including those who he recognized as managers or sannyäsés. It was meant for each and every one of his disciples to become a perfect Vaiñëava, which would mean that they were meant to become gurus in their own right via the rite:

Podcast transcription:

Hinduism, Sahajiyäism, “ISKCON,” & You

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us . . .”1

Many of you recognize this quotation, of course, as it is one of the most famous excerpts from a well-known author from his most famous novel. However, Charles Dickens did not possess a monopoly on the concept of best and worst, although, from the material perspective, it was in effect at his time. You could argue that the same is true today, but I am not very concerned about that; I am concerned about it, but in a different way. I wrote on this dichotomy in my 2009 book (entitled: Beyond Institutional Gurus, Initiations, and Party Men), in both the Introduction as well as on the back cover. Here is one of those excerpts:

Podcast transcription:

Body of Lies

by Kailäsa Candra däsa

HARIÙ OÀ NAMAÙ

Who are the most dangerous elements in human society? How do they escape punishment for their actions from the nation-states in which they function? Are they envious? Are they demoniac? What is their destination after death? What is the essence of their business?

In the material universe, the default is disobedience. The defaults here are all negative, and the Parameçvara has ultimately designed every material universe to be a place of punishment. Tremendous effort must be made in order to transcend its clutches. Rationalism is helpful in the beginning, but mukti is only attained by revelation. You have to strive in order to actuate the Absolute. That is the only real positive alternative, because the Absolute is transcendental to the mahat-tattva.