KCD’s Monthly Podcast – April 2024

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:

“We are in the Golden Age, but you cannot readily discern that from any obvious indications at the present moment. The inability to recognize it is because we are in a juxtaposition, where access to the knowledge of K???a has expanded exponentially, while that of the perverted reflections of what are wrongly alleged to be His movement have also advanced. Those deviations, in concert with Western culture, are covering genuine transcendence quite effectively at this time.”2

You can take advantage of spiritual life much more instantly than at any time before in recorded history. There are many reasons for this, and most of you already are aware of those reasons. In point of fact, you are taking advantage of one of them at this very moment.

At the same time, if you do not possess deep-rooted realizations combined with good association—and we offer you that association in our articles, videos, and podcasts—the facts and the truths of what has gone down and what is going down in the Hare Kåñëa movement is as clear as mud. Everything is very mixed up now, compromised, and perverted, including the narrative history of Prabhupäda’s branch of Lord Caitanya’s Kåñëa consciousness movement.

This terrible result is due to many factors, but three of them (as indicated in the headline) are, in particular, going to be discussed in this month’s audio podcast. Those three are: Hinduism, Sahajiyäism, and Institutionalism. The latter targets the fabricated, so-called “ISKCON” confederation.

This text wall of this month’s transcript presentation will be different from all previous ones, as well. Instead of, within the text of the transcription, giving the citation details of what has been just quoted, we shall employ Endnotes for the first time.

Sources will not be verbalized, although air quotes will indicate them. As such, if you want to know where the excerpt has been culled from, no problem. Consult the text wall, find the number at the end of the excerpt of your interest, and then proceed to the end of the article (which will have concluded, in the audio version, at SAD EVA SAUMYA). You will in that way be given the citation source to your satisfaction.

In today’s post-modern convoluted environment of pseudo-spiritual and pseudo-devotional cults, the spread and proliferation of matter disguised as spirit can be bewildering. If you are a progressive transcendentalist, you desire to get free from all of this confusion. Today’s presentation is meant for your edification and realization, it is meant to help you transcend the traps intrinsic to this puzzling situation.

What is Hinduism? What is it based upon? Does genuine Kåñëa consciousness actually have a place and a status in Hinduism? These questions, and many more related to them, will be answered in this podcast. Our presentations—whether written, aural, or video—are as it is and as you like it–the “you” being referred to is you as a spirit spark of the Absolute with an eternal, personal relationship to the Supreme Person controlling, at all times and all places.

We are all equal on the transcendental plane, the plane of spirit spark, but we are all unequal otherwise. Yet, my presentations are based upon the presumption of your sincerity and seriousness in spiritual life. As such, I treat you as equal to me. I do not, therefore, dumb down my presentations. Yes, this may mean that you have to approach what I produce with some basic knowledge of transcendence, but most of my viewers, listeners, and readers meet that criteria.

You can also consider yourself transcendentally lucky by coming to this presentation, as it is meant for your eternal advantage . . . and, as far as that goes, it will often help you (to some extent) on planes and levels below that which is transcendental to the mahat-tattva.

First, there is the consideration of Hinduism. Then, there must be a consideration of the sahajiyä. Virtually all of you know something about Hinduism, obviously, but this will be presented with more detail and your knowledge of it should thus expand. Not all of you—although, likely most of you—have heard the term sahajiyä. My guru, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swämi Prabhupäda, introduced a relatively new term, a conglomerate term, and it is reproduced in this excerpt:

“The regulative principles are a device how to overcome the influence of maya and come to the platform of spontaneous love of Kåñëa. If we want to exist as first-class men in society, all our students must be induced to following the regulative principles. One shouldn’t think artificially he has come to the spontaneous platform. That is sahajiyäism.”3

The new term referred to is sahajiyäism. This term will be used repeatedly throughout our presentation, and, as you may have noticed, it was also incorporated into the headline of this podcast. We are going to be discussing sahajiyäism, but only as it pertains to the branch of Vaiñëavism founded by the aforementioned Founder-Äcärya. That branch of the Brahma-Madhva-Gauòéya Vaiñëava sampradäya was known as the Hare Kåñëa movement in the West. In terms of an incorporation document created in the Sixties, that entity was known as ISKCON.

You may have noticed that this acronym (it is an acronym of a corporate name, viz., the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) has quotation marks on each side of it in the headline. And finally, there is you. Where you are situated internally determines to what degree you gain glean benefit from this presentation.

Such is the case with anything you read or watch, of course. Where is your mind at? Do you know how to differentiate intelligence from mind? Do you know what ahaìkära means and how it relates to your conditioned life in the cycle of birth and death? Do you know where you are at on the causal plane, and how that relates to your astral body, which consists of the just mentioned elements of manas, buddhi, and ahaìkära?

The process of spiritual life runs on two tracks. One can be considered positive, and one can be, superficially, considered negative. I am named after the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. Some fanatical “Christians” consider him to be Satan. Although Çiva is the controller from the Causal Plane of the satanic energy, he has another feature, a transcendental feature, that is more important:

“ . . . he is the greatest of all devotees. Vaiñëavänäà yathä çambhuù: Çambhu, or Lord Çiva, is the ideal Vaiñëava. He constantly meditates upon Lord Räma and chants Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. Lord Çiva has a Vaiñëava sampradäya, which is called the Viñëu Svämé-sampradäya.”4

One feature of Lord Çiva is superficially quite negative, but he has this transcendental side to him, as well. In other words:

“Lord Çiva takes charge of reforming persons who are ghosts and demons, not to speak of others, who are godly; therefore, he is the spiritual master of everyone, both the dull and demoniac and the highly learned Vaiñëavas. It is also stated, vaiñëavänäà yathä çambhuù: Çambhu, Lord Çiva, is the greatest of all Vaiñëavas. On one hand he is the worshipable object of the dull demons, and on the other he is the best of all Vaiñëavas, or devotees, and he has a sampradäya called the Rudra-sampradäya.”5

How is this knowledge to be applied? There are many applications, but the one I am pointing out here is that the train runs on two tracks. You have to be able to know, realize, and overcome the negative in order to take advantage of the transcendentally positive:

vidyäà cävidyäà ca yas
tad vedobhayaà saha
avidyayä måtyuà tértvä
vidyayämåtam açnute

One who simultaneously knows both that vidyä and avidyä, transcending death by culture of the knowledge of nescience, enjoys immortality.”6

Only one who is willing to cultivate knowledge of both sides of the tracks can transcend the cycle of birth and death. As such, pointing out how nescience works in Hinduism, pointing out how it is working in sahajiyäism, and pointing out how it is all-pervading in “ISKCON” is only superficially unpleasant, but it is very necessary. It must be done: abhigacchet. Those who work under the spiritual influence of Lord Çiva as the greatest Vaiñëava are able to do it.

We are all transmitters of cosmic forces from different parts of this universe. We are all responsible for our influence. If you are transmitting hellish vibes, you are a conductor from a principality located in naraka-loka. However, everything allegedly negative that is transmitted by an individual is not necessarily coming from the lower regions.

Indeed, it may be coming from transcendental forces and powers. You have to be able to discriminate, which is not a bad word. Transmitting the negative in order to overcome its connection to the pathological mode of ignorance—showing that for what it is and what that results in—is integral to buddhi-yoga. Get used to this if you want to take advantage of devotees who are beyond institutional influence. The same applies to taking advantage of Prabhupäda’s presentations and purports.

Prabhupäda could be (and was!) superficially negative in much of his speech and writing. Please note that the No Negativity demand of the sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows crowd consists, objectively speaking, of a negative noun and a negative adjective. In no yoga system—in no genuine yoga system—can negativity be avoided. Rules and regulations in spiritual life automatically entail restriction, which is integral to negativity–in most cases. Of course, if the rules and regulations are bona fide, they are not coming from, nor do they lead to, hellish regions. In point of fact, they come from and produce just the opposite place and result.

As such, revealing Hinduism for what it is–even if that appears to be somewhat negative (read, superficially negative)–is integral to the process of transcending it. Similarly, sahajiyäism. Similarly, “ISKCON.” And just as importantly, similarly the fruitive being, which false ego, ahaìkära, constantly tries to convince you is actually your self.

Let us consider Hinduism. It is a word derived from Islamic influences. Names of places and things often get dumbed down over time. Here is one example of that: The important city in Uttara Pradesh known as Varanasi is more often referred to as Benares. This is obviously a dumbed down or vulgar version of a four-syllable proper name for that sacred city to its three-syllable version.

Kali-yuga is always about such degradation. There is the Indus River in far northern India. On the north side of that river, the people are mostly Muslim or Islamic. South of that river, the people are mostly Vedic. The Muslims thus demarcated them, those on the south side, as Hindus by adding the aspirate to the beginning of the Indus River. From one perspective, it is a recent development, but in terms of civilizations in Kali-yuga, it is a name from antiquity.

In essence, Hinduism is a third order simulacrum of strict Çaìkära Mäyäväda. It is also a conglomerate of many different cults, factions, and belief systems that have their origins in the subcontinent. The Mäyäväda element is present in it to a significant extent, and many Hindus would consider the major Mäyäväda centers in the four corners of India not just part of Hinduism but integral to it. However, all Hindus would consider the Vedas revelation as intrinsic to Hinduism.

Such is ultimately the case. Most Hindus would emphasize the root value of Vedic literature and the processes inculcated in them. This would include the twenty dharma çästras, although how many of these lines are still extant is hard to quantify. It could be that none of them are.

This is because the Vedic literature is complex and painstaking. It is ultra-extensive, and its demands for regulative activity are very strict in almost all cases. Hinduism itself, with some rare exceptions, is not like that nor are its teachings. Only superficially is it in accord with the Vedic revelation. This is particularly the case as far as the Vaiñëava faith is concerned, which is accurately promulgated—by a close and strict reading of the Vedic literature—as the cream of the Vedas.

According to calculation and interpretation (and that is what we should most be interested in), Vaiñëavism is certainly part of the Vedic revelation, but it is not actually a part of Hinduism. Only some Hindus acknowledge and realize this, however. Jainism and Buddhism have no connection whatsoever to Hinduism for many reasons. They are voidists, whereas Hinduism believes in the Supreme Brahman, also known as brahma-nirväëa, beyond the void or nirväëa.

Buddhists do not accept the existence of the ätma or eternal spirit self, wheres its eternal existence is essential to Hinduism. The Buddhist and Jain lines do not at all acknowledge, what to speak of depend upon, the Vedic literature; indeed, one of the chief Buddhist tenets postulates that the writers of the Vedic literature were all conditioned souls, mundane men who could not produce anything transcendental.

The three Abrahamic religions are also not included as being part of Hinduism. The Hindus, with a very few handful of exceptions, put great emphasis on Deity worship. This is condemned by one of the Abrahamic religions in particular, and the other two do not engage in it. They have icons or statues only.

They have statues but no formal Deity worship per se. Christianity rightly sees itself different from Hinduism, and hardly anyone would dispute this. The belief in reincarnation and saàsära is integral to Hinduism, but the monotheism of Christianity postulates only one human lifetime followed by either heaven or hell . . . or limbo, in some cases.

Worship of Lord Viñëu as the Supreme Controller or Parameçvara is known as Vaiñëavism. This is not at all the same as Hinduism. There is an essential difference. Versions of a loose concept of Vaiñëavism fit into the Hindu pantheon, but not actual Vaiñëavism. It is as separate from Hinduism, ultimately, as are the monotheistic religions of the Abrahamic variety, along with Buddhism, Jainism, Shinto, and animism.

Sometimes, Hinduism is considered pantheistic, but that is not really the case. Despite its all-inclusiveness with cults that emphasize Deity worship—the exception to that all-inclusiveness being, as just mentioned, Vaiñëavism—Hinduism is essentially henotheistic. You may wrongly conclude that Vaiñëavism is monotheistic. Most definitely, that is a misconception, but it is not henotheistic, either.

Vaiñëavism is linked the universal and transcendental realities of Absolute Philosophy, which encompasses both. Its ontological and even its etymological substance is absolute. When it appears to not be (as in, anything connected to the temporary, material universe), it is completely integrated, in the right way, with the Eternal Absolute Truth. As such, to claim that Vaiñëavism is simply another interesting theological philosophy is entirely a misguided concept. Vaiñëavism is the culmination of all philosophy. It is the culmination of all revealed text.

Most importantly, it can be known through revelation, although, as aforementioned, logic and intelligent philosophy can be helpful in the beginning stages. Vaiñëavism is panentheistic. It is not pantheistic. It does not wrongly claim that everything is God, or that the universe is God. These are major misconceptions, and genuine Vaiñëava philosophy rejects them, although, in the very beginning of spiritual life, they can be temporarily helpful stepping stones.

Similarly, genuine revealed text completely rejects henotheism, although—superficially, at least—it appears to be a match with Hinduism’s various emphases on henotheism. Panentheism means that the demigods (and there are thirty-three million of them in a hierarchy of delegated powers) are all godly. They thus are like the Supreme God, but ultimately only to a limited extent (especially, the lower demigods). Henotheism expounds something very different from that.

It does not recognize Parameçvara. Although Lord Visnu is sometimes described as a demigod (deva-deva or the chief demigod), He is not ultimately that despite controlling one of the primary modes. He controls the mode of goodness. Simultaneously, He is also the Parameçvara or the Supreme Personality and Controller of all the other demigods.

The term Panentheism contains this absolute concept. He is within everything and controls everything but He is not, Himself, everything, because everything is also different from Him. As such, despite all the Deity worship that pervades Hinduism, the pantheism and henotheism within it, must be overcome. Those concepts are wrong, and anything espousing them is mistaken knowledge.

TATTVAMASI

Panentheism is the right philosophy and the right way to understand the ontological existence of all that is. This right Vaiñëava philosophy also incorporates the absolute concept of parinämaväda, which opposes the vivarta-väda of Mäyäväda philosophy, which pervades all of Hinduism. As such, the conclusion must be that Vaiñëavism is not the same as Hinduism. Vaiñëavas are not Hindus.

The demarcation between these two is just as immovable as the demarcation between Vaiñëavas and Christians, Vaiñëavas and Buddhists, and Vaiñëavas and Talmudists, what to speak of Vaiñëavas and Islamicists, the latter being inimical to both Hindus and Vaiñëavas, especially due to the Deity worship that is integral to both.

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swämi Prabhupäda was not very favorable to Hinduism. Here are five of many more quotes he either spoke or wrote about Hinduism:

“So far my writings, avoid publishing them in hodge-podge journals. These so-called Hindus are generally impersonalists, and we do not want to have anything to do with them.”7

My guru mahäräja every step condemned this Ramakrishna Mission and Vivekananda. He said frankly that if there are any impediments for our movement . . . He said frankly: Hodge-podge. Gandhi’s also hodge-podge. He was a politician, and in politics he mixed some spiritual ideas, hodge-podge. And this Vivekananda was also politician.”8

“Regarding the Hindu community: Don’t expect anything very wonderful from them . . . you cannot expect any cultural contribution. So you will tactfully deal with them, and whenever possible, vehemently protest against their foolish ideas. . . Best thing will be to avoid them as far as possible. I am concerned to preach this gospel amongst the Europeans and Americans, and I am not at all interested to preach amongst the Indians, because they have now become hodge-podge, due to so many years of subjugation by foreigners and having lost their own culture.”9

“Regarding the Hindu centers in the foreign countries, none of them are bona fide. There is a similar hodge-podge center in London. Actually, Hindus and non-Hindus, everyone is at the present moment out of touch of the real science of spiritual knowledge. Everyone is going under some religious badge only, so it is very difficult to deal with them unless they are very much serious to understand the science of God.”10

“Other than the bona fide Vaiñëava functions, we cannot divert our devotees’ attention to such participation in so-called religious functions. This has spoiled Hindu religion into a hodge podge pseudo-religion.”11

If you claim to be a devotee in Prabhupäda’s branch of the Gauòéya sampradäya, do you really need anything more than these five summary quotations? His Divine Grace never wanted his men to consider themselves Hindus nor did he ever encourage any Hindu line, center, or publication. This fact was lost in the fog of internecine war, particularly in the Nineties, when The Second Transformation of “ISKCON” was floundering financially and was thus forced to rely upon Hindoo revenue for its sustenance and to keep from cratering.

The Hindoo-Hodgepodge, as we have pointed out repeatedly in past articles, videos, and audio podcasts, constitutes The Third Transformation in the degradation of descending octaves that has been (and continues to be) “ISKCON” since the zonal äcäryas were imposed upon everyone. Those eleven rascals were all sahajiyäs.

There are thirteen classic sahajiyä groups as given to us by Bhaktivinode through the pure agency of Prabhupäda:

“So, there are thirteen pseudo-pretenders belonging to the Caitanya-sampradäya. They are called first Äula, Bäula, Karttäbhajä, Neòä, Daraveña, Säìi, Sakhébheké, Gauräìga-nagaré, Cüòädhäré, Ativäòé, and Smärta, Jäta-gosäïi. Like that, thirteen.”12

If I described these thirteen, it would take many hours. As such, I don’t describe all them, but three must be briefly mentioned. They are italicized in bold in the excerpt. How that ties into the theme of this presentation requires a prequel, and it will center upon the hippie religion of the Sixties and some of the Seventies.

The most important sahajiyä movement is jäta-gosäïi, but it cannot be expected that the classic version of this is operative at this time. It is current in both “ISKCON” and Neo-Mutt, although, during the zonal äcärya epoch, daraveña was more prevalent than jäta-gosäïi. As far as Rittvik is concerned, it is linked to karttäbhajä. Rittvik is neo-karttäbhajä, but this discussion of these comparative religions—deviations all—merits a separate podcast to explore the whole thing threadbare.

There are preliminaries about sahajiyäism that all the listeners and readers must first know, and then we shall dig more deeply into this apa-sampradäya and how “ISKCON” is particularly linked to it. However, for now, let us consider the hippies. His Divine Grace spoke about them quite a bit. He had a lot of dealings with them, as history proves.

Prabhupäda recruited most of his early leaders of his ISKCON movement from the hippie class: “Actually, the hippies are our best customers. Almost all of our important disciples are recruited from that group, and you are also from that group.”13

In two letters to his disciples, Prabhupäda specifically called the hippies his best clients. He also considered them immediate candidates for Kåñëa consciousness. He said that there is “great potency of recruiting Krishna consciousness devotees from them.”14 He said that they were frustrated and wanted something sublime. He even went so far as to provisionally infer that their philosophy was nice:

“Of course, the hippy philosophy is nice in the sense that they have been disgusted with the materialistic way of life. Therefore, they want to renounce this stereotyped way of life.”15

He believed that most hippies were after peace of mind. This is known as ätmäräma in Sanskrit, although few if any hippies used that term. He also acknowledged that hippies wanted to transcend matter, and that their indulgence in drugs was mostly for that purpose:

“There are some movements like the Beatles or hippies, among the younger generation, by realizing the negation of matter. Their attempt is to forget matter by some hallucination or mental concoction, with the help of some deluding matter. So, their attempt is nice, but there is no guide.”16

Yet, as he clearly states here, the hippies had no guide. He was willing to be their guide. He wanted them to accept him as their leader . . . and some of them did, of course. He even went so far as to say: “Actually, all these hippies should join us.”17 He added this, as well:

“I wish that the whole group known as the hippies may take advantage of this movement, and make their life very successful.”18

These are the positives about the hippies—only some of the hippies, of course—and their relationship to Prabhupäda’s branch of the Hare Kåñëa movement specifically and the Caitanya sampradäya, generally. These positives are significant. At the same time, Prabhupäda made many statements about the hippies that were either quite negative or exceedingly so. This side of the coin is to also be investigated:

“What is this “Road Show” and “Yoga Village?” It will be another hippie edition. Gradually the Krishna Consciousness idea will evaporate: Another change, another change, every day another change. Stop all this! Simply have kértana, nothing else. Don’t manufacture ideas.”19

This excerpt is particularly poignant, because that so-called Road Show was all about enjoying, entertaining, via musical concoctions meant to attract the mundane mind. It was loaded with concoctions and led by a devotee who was very emotional and demonstrative—not necessarily charismatic—but certainly not very intelligent. He was an active homosexual even after initiation and died of AIDS.

Notice how Prabhupäda throws shade on the hippies into the mix. In other words, this particular leader (and, yes, he came to Prabhupäda from the hippie community in the early years) was displaying latent hippie tendencies in his traveling road show.

It is important to know that Prabhupäda did not consider the hippies to be very intelligent. He also believed them not to be interested in spiritual science. They were—or many of them–advancing a philosophy of mediocre substance, and he compared their ideas to Communism, which he abhorred. Sometimes, he would specifically differentiate them from college students in general, what to speak of the intelligent class of man he was trying to recruit and convert to Kåñëa consciousness:

“The future of the Western world is very dark. By such unrestricted association of young boys and girls, is gradually turning them to be victims of the hippy and communist philosophy. So far I have considered, it is very difficult to turn the peoples’ face toward spiritual advancement.”20

We shall spend more time discussing this factor in the presentation, but he also considered the hippies to be following a concocted religion:

“Regarding the hippie religion; we must distinguish ourselves from the hippies.”21

On the other hand, Prabhupäda believed that, in some Western universities, the entire student body had become converted into hippies. He acknowledged that most of (if not all of them) were feeling very keenly the frustration of material life. He instructed his disciples to recruit them as a duty, feeling very sympathetic with them. He wanted his disciples to bring them to Kåñëa consciousness. Prabhupäda knew that this could make those hippies perfect in due course, which was the most essential part of his mission to the West.

It could be considered really successful if he created a perfect disciple. That is what he deemed necessary to make his movement successful. Yet, he also considered hippies to be very degraded and some of them even diabolical due to demoniac association. He considered them to be “a great danger” to civilization in general. He considered them to be—to some extent—under the influence of witches and warlocks:

“So this is going on. ‘For want of bathing the population of this age will appear like Pisacas’—hippies. Everything is given in Vedas exactly.”22

“The hippies are not bad souls, because soul is part and parcel of Krishna. So in fact, everyone is good, because everyone is spirit soul. But by demoniac association they have been misled.” 23

“I have requested him to help this movement, and that help will save your country from great danger by turning hippies into happies.”24

Piçäca-loka is the planet of witches and warlocks, pathological principalities. These are very powerful. It is located very close to Earth. During the hippie epoch, it had not total but significant influence. Such a hippie religion would certainly be influenced by not only that element, but, a bit later, also by an apa-sampradäya of the sahajiyä variety. This is the essence of what we are explaining here.

The ISKCON movement was supposed to be about education in spirit science in order to turn hippies (and those who came who were not, the minority report) into self-realized äcäryas. However, it did not work out. It turned out just the opposite. The zonal takeover was engineered, in a kind of corporate smash and grab, by eleven sahajiyäs, all of whom were former hippies. They proved to be imitators and pretenders, but they used many subtle means to implement their imposition. Those subtle Machiavellian tactics were easy and natural for them to employ, because everyone in the movement was under their thumb.

Although one or two of them appeared to be so, they were not truly learned men in spiritual science. They were not spiritual masters, but they were masters in cult manipulation, in which they had many years of training. They did not train the devotees under them in spiritual science to become true äcäryas; instead, they trained them to be, if effect, lap dogs, sycophants, enforcers and chelas.

They were—and some of them still are—a great danger to the spiritual and devotional movement which they have now murdered through not only their imposition but the transformations they seeded (after their sway over the majority of devotees was broken). All of this went down because their real faces were covered for many years until the opportunity for them to complete the takeover finally presented itself.

We are at the fag end of a third transformation. However, in one sense, “ISKCON” is actually a Hindoo movement. When sahajiyäs degrade a genuine spiritual movement into something else, that new manifestation fits right in with Hinduism, almost seamlessly. Why did those former(?) hippies degrade so easily into sahajiyäism. We get a strong hint from His Divine Grace as to the reason:

“But one thing is, we are observing here in Europe, many, many hippies have become so disgusted with material life, but they are also now so much degraded that they will not hear our philosophy, simply mocking. So our devotees may become very much learned to remove their doubts and become very much fixed up in Krishna Consciousness, but so far preaching to the general public, especially the hippie class, it is better not to preach very much philosophy . . .”25

The hippies of the Sixties and the first-half of the Seventies were, with few exceptions, not learned people. They had lost all interest in compulsory education, had willingly become degraded, and were—again, with a handful of exceptions—simply interested to enjoy life in a kind of nihilistic, absurdist, and hedonistic fashion. They complemented that with rock message music, which indicated that they were after real knowledge and the removal of contradictions. However, that only applied to some of them, and those few constituted a minority.

The colossal hoax known as the fabricated, so-called “ISKCON” confederation is a pseudo-spiritual scam. It was the mother ship of all deviations that ensued after it and, in no small part, because of it. The eleven great pretender mahäbhägavats were all former hippies. With their ability to dominate the governing body and impose a completely new and unauthorized system of so-called devotional service in the name of the Founder-Äcärya and his institution, they did just that.

This gave them unprecedented, massive, short-term enjoyment but at the cost of murdering the movement. It was sahajiyäism, and it led to further sahajiyäism; it proliferated two other sahajiyä movements that are unacceptable to the real guru-paramparä. That branch of the Caitanya Tree is what Prabhupäda perfectly represented, but now we experience the worst of times due to all of this flotsam of Hinduism and sahajiyäism coming from the back of the stone boat of “ISKCON.”

SAD EVA SAUMYA

ENDNOTES

1 Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

2 Kailäsa Candra däsa, Beyond Institutional Gurus, Initiations, and Party Men

3 Letter to leading secretary, 4-28-74

4 Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.23.1, purport

5 Çrémad-Bhägavatam 4.2.2, purport

6 ÇréÉçopaniñad, Mantra Eleven, translation by Kailäsa Candra däsa

7 Letter to Bombay temple president, 7-22-72

8 Room conversation, 8-2-76

9 Letter to London temple president, 9-28-68, emphasis added

10 Letter to senior disciple, 4-17-70

11 Letter to leading secretary in India, 4-27-74

12 Festival platform lecture in Los Angeles, 2-7-69

13 Letter to senior disciple, 7-13-69

14 Ibid.

15 Letter to Bombay president, 7-21-69

16 Letter to Mario Windisch, 2-25-68

17 Letter to leading secretary, 11-25-71

18 Letter to senior disciple, 8-22-68

19 Letter to an original governing body commissioner, 11-5-72

20 Op. cit.

21 Letter to a personal secretary, 10-17-69, emphasis added

22 Letter to leading secretary, 7-27-73

23 Letter to an original governing body commissioner, 12-18-70

24 Letter to an American temple president, 12-3-71

25 Letter to an original governing body commissioner, 7-29-72