Only a Radical Approach Can Be Effective
(Solving the Problem Requires First Recognizing It)
Part Four of a Ten-Part Series
by Kailäsa Candra däsa
“Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu has forecast that this Hare Kåñëa mantra will be heard in every nook and cranny of the globe. He is God, so it will happen; that is a fact. . . if we take advantage, then we may take the credit. But if we do not, someone else will.”
Letter to Karandhära, 11-4-70
“One may make a show of devotional service like the präkåta-sahajiyäs, or one may try to support his philosophy by joining some caste or identifying himself with a certain dynasty, claiming a monopoly on spiritual advancement. Thus, with the support of family tradition, one may become a pseudo guru, or so-called spiritual master.”
Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya, 19.160, purport
“We declare him excommunicate and anathema! We cast him into the outer darkness! We judge him damned with the devil and his fallen angels and all the retrobates to eternal fire and everlasting pain!”
Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket
A life dedicated to the advancement of Kåñëa consciousness—both individually and for the benefit of others—is a life well-spent and praiseworthy. A life dedicated to “ISKCON” is a life wasted in the service of that which is not. Lord Caitanya gave us the Hare Kåñëa movement of Kåñëa consciousness, in effect, a most powerful new line of the guru-paramparä, and it was brought to the West by Çréla Prabhupäda. This line of disciplic succession is known as the Brahma-Madhva-Gauòéya Vaiñëava sampradäya. Lord Çré Caitanya’s Hare Kåñëa movement of Kåñëa consciousness is misrepresented by “ISKCON,” a lower modes institution without spiritual authority.
All Emphases Added for Your Edification and Realization
Only the truly initiated disciples of His Divine Grace Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swämé Prabhupäda can together be empowered, through the spiritual principle of unity in diversity, to rectify the present situation, created mostly by “ISKCON.” Such an empowerment of disciples would, once again, rejuvenate some semblance of genuine Kåñëa consciousness in the West. It is high time that an unbreakable alliance–free from the influence of “ISKCON,” Neo-Mutt, and Rittvik (and, in good part, dedicated to exposing those splinter groups)–be consummated in all sincerity and seriousness.
On Historical Accuracy
“Tribulations offered by the Lord to His devotee are different from the tribulations resulting from vicious action.”
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, 1.9.19, purport
“So, I may tell you frankly that I had no desire to accept this sannyäsa. . . but circumstantially I was forced to accept the sannyäsa dress just to become a preacher. You see? That is a long history.”
Platform Lecture on Bhagavad-gétä, 4.39, 8-24-66
“The only thing new is the history you don’t know.”
President Harry Truman
The history of Çréla Prabhupäda is intertwined with the history of his Kåñëa conscious movement, propagated both in India (initially) and later in the West. This history has had its fair share of apparent tribulations connected to it. Some of those were directly related to the management of the spiritual organizations, and some were connected to his personal situation. As per the latter, his wife was not favorable to his devotional endeavors. That was a kind of tribulation for him, and, although it was not the main influence, it appeared to factor into his leaving gåhastha and taking the renounced order of life.
We must study the life, teachings, and actions of Çréla Prabhupäda in the right way, primarily so that we can learn from them. We must also understand that, in any and all of the successes or tribulations he achieved or endured, he was setting a standard, viz., he was not experiencing these things at all in the same way as a conditioned soul—especially, a conditioned soul engaged in vidhi-sädhana-bhakti—would experience them. We must further realize the importance of understanding history connected to him in truth.
Historical accuracy related to His Divine Grace and the Hare Kåñëa movement is paramount. A devotee may think that he or she knows some of these things, and much of what will be written in the historical sections of this series (beginning here in Part Four) is considered common knowledge. But is that actually so? If we accept the history as it is, we are also obliged to understand it within the paradigm of what it was meant and is meant to teach us.
His Divine Grace Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swämé Prabhupäda formed two branches of the Caitanya tree, and, at the time of their founding, both of them were completely bona fide. In terms of success, the continuation of any such line, to a significant degree, is dependent upon the words and actions of the members representing its founder. Along with secondary factors, it is the disciples who keep the branch alive or who fail to do so.
The movements that Prabhupäda founded were both non-different from Lord Caitanya’s Tree of Devotional Service; Çréla Prabhupäda and his movement cannot be considered separate from the movement of Çré Gaurahari. In India, in the first half of the previous century, His Divine Grace, an uttama-adhikäré, founded the Särvabhauma Bhagavat Samäj, which literally translates to mean The International League of Devotees. It came to be known simply as the League of Devotees. Çréla Prabhupäda initiated his first disciple during this period as well. This branch functioned mostly in the Fifties.
It did not remain viable for very long, however, as it did not have many (if any) intensely devoted souls connected to it, working effectively under the founder. The League was established with the aims and objectives suggested by well-known men in the state of Uttara Pradesh, personalities who were influential in that particular region at that time.
Actually, however, the Association was the resultant of Çréla Prabhupäda first being offered a palatial building in order to set up his initial äçrama. This took place in Jhansi, but the donor did not want to sign the property over to an individual. As such, Prabhupäda formed The League of Devotees and soon thereafter requested an elder godbrother, Mädhava Mahäräj, to join him and the League, with Mädhava to be made the President of the Association. This particular godbrother was close to Kuïjadä in West Bengal. These two would not affiliate with Prabhupäda unless the property was first signed over to them, free from any obligation to the League of Devotees. His Divine Grace appropriately rejected that offensive proposal.
The first registered office of the League was located in a spacious building formerly known as Bhäraté Bhawän on Sipri Road in Jhansi, a city infamous for its many dacoits. Potential members interested in its cultural and spiritual activities were urged by the Founder-Secretary, Çréla Prabhupäda, to individually request its mission statement or prospectus, which was available in both Hindi and English, for more details about the institution.
Although not incorporated (as his second movement would be), The League of Devotees was registered under Societies Act No. XXI 1860 with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. In February, 1955, accompanying this registration was a submission of Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations. This Memorandum had been signed by all the members of the organization at a gathering, which then became known as the Association’s inaugural meeting. On December 12, 1955, The League boasted twelve Executive Directors, with Pandit A. C. Bhaktivedänta listed ninth. By this time, it had also received a certificate of tax exemption.
However, the above-mentioned meeting was actually a rejuvenation of the Association, because, by that time, the mission in Jhansi had already folded. Prabhupäda considered Jhansi to be a poor place for his effort, and the walled compound was effectively taken from him as the result of political intrigue. Çréla Prabhupäda had made repeated entreaties for government help in the matter of running the operation, which cost over one thousand rupees per month, but nothing ever came of those requests.
The League of Devotees stood to serve humanity in a noble act of Vaiñëava spirit; it was actively engaged in searching for preaching members, which it pledged to train. The news and views of this Association were published with the Brahma-Madhva-Gauòéya-Vaiñëava-Sampradäya’s interest foremost, especially to protect devotees from the onslaught of man-made laws. It did not have any objection to secular statutes meant for controlling the unauthorized activities of unscrupulous sädhus but was dedicated to protecting the transcendental ideas enunciated by the great Äcäryas connected to Çréla Prabhupäda, who was already one of them.
Eventually, The League of Devotees became little more than a vehicle by which His Divine Grace circulated Back to Godhead, which he had first had printed, and personally distributed, in 1944. In 1956, Prabhupäda now called himself the Founder-Secretary of the League, Goswämé Abhay Charan Bhaktivedänta. Still, it remained a weak organization, especially in terms of its finances. In 1958, Prabhupäda requested a very wealthy Indian businessman, Jugalkishore Birla, to become the president of the League. Later, in March of 1960, in the last correspondence wherein Prabhupäda mentions this organization as an active devotional entity, he requested Dr. Y. G. Naik, a famed Ph.D in New Delhi, to join the League.
The League of Devotees fizzled out, and Prabhupäda walked away from it, just as he had renounced the building and initial äçrama at Jhansi. From one perspective, this could be considered two defeats in a row, but we have to know what he was teaching us by these apparent setbacks. By the early Sixties, His Divine Grace had set his sights set on an overseas mission.
Master and Commander
“But just after his passing away, his leading secretaries made plans, without authority, to occupy the post of äcärya, and they split into two factions over who the next äcärya would be. Consequently, both factions were asära, or useless, because they had no authority, having disobeyed the order of the spiritual master.”
Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi, 12.8, purport
“Çrémad-Bhägavatam also describes how yogés can travel to all the planets in the universe. . . He can then decide whether he wants to go to the abode of Kåñëa in the transcendental Vaikuëöhas from which he will not be required to descend into the material world, or to travel to higher planets in the material universe. The perfect yogé is at liberty to do either.”
Easy Journey to Other Planets
“Every battle is won before it is fought. It is won by choosing the terrain on which the battle is fought.”
Sun Tzu
We must not lose sight of the reasons behind everything Prabhupäda decided to undertake, as well as the results that accrued from his decisions. The reasons are significant, and the results are magnificent. We have lessons to learn from them, applicable even at this (relatively) distant time from when they ensued. His Divine Grace had apparent failures. He was denied permission to attend an important all-expenses-paid seminar and conference in Japan, an opportunity that had come his way at a time when his preaching mission in India had, for all practical purposes, entirely stalled. He was gored by a bull in the dhäma during that period, as well.
As a completely self-realized and God-realized devotee of the Supreme Lord, it is a wonder that such apparently powerful setbacks should have been thrown his way, but they were. We can learn from these tribulations in many ways, but we must also always maintain the transcendental perspective that he was enduring them in order to instruct and encourage us—in a difficult future that he already knew was probably going to transpire. He was also setting the example for us not to be discouraged when we receive token punishment for grievous vikarmic actions related to our past lives or this life.
In 1964, Çréla Prabhupäda took his residence at the Andheri House in Bombay, a colony or boarding establishment meant primarily for employees of a joint public-private enterprise known as the Scindia Steam Navigation Company. Its managing director was an elderly Vaiñëavé, Sumaté Morarjee. He secured that residence for proximity, in order to persuade her to grant him free passage to the United States aboard one of the company’s trade ships. At this time, Prabhupäda alternated his domicile with a residence at the home of a wealthy Sindhi banker in the Churchgate district.
In the first half of 1965, after diligent and repeated efforts, Prabhupäda successfully managed to get Sumaté Morarjee’s authorization and thus secured a free ticket for the journey. He then had to negotiate with the government in order to obtain his P-Form, required for any Indian national before being allowed to travel out of the country. He approached the State Bank of India and one Mr. Bhattachari; this man was not favorable to the proposal, because Prabhupäda had only managed to find sponsorship in America for one month. However, Mr. Bhattachari did not immediately make a decision.
One thing we should note during this trial period is that His Divine Grace never mentions that he made any attempt to secure permission from the leaders of the Gouòiya Mutt. As we clearly now know from his famous purport (quoted above), he rightly considered the Gouòiya Mutt to be useless for the purpose of transcendental achievement. As such, he did not make any important decisions—or any of his decisions, for that matter—based upon first securing the blessings of the Mutt or receiving some kind of non-existent authorization from that divided institution. Çréla Prabhupäda knew what he had to do, and, just as importantly, he knew that any and all asära committees representing the Mutt would only work to impede him. Ostensibly because such setbacks would be removed by receiving the Mutt’s imprimatur on a service that he perfectly knew was his, he never allowed any reversible or irreversible setbacks to influence him to seek anything from the Mutt.
Prabhupäda waited for some time, but no word was forthcoming. After Bhattachari officially denied the permit, Prabhupäda remained both adamant and persistent. Mr. Bhattachari was persuaded by Prabhupäda to move the file up to the Chief Officer of the Foreign Exchange, the top man of the Bank of India, Mr. Rao. However, before the proposed meeting with him took place, Mr. Rao approved the P-Form and personally presented it to Prabhupäda.
From Calcutta, he departed via a sea journey to America on August 13, 1965. He carried on board a metal trunk with some of copies of the first three volumes of his translation and commentary of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, an umbrella, and a bag of cereal. He also had a return ticket issued by the Navigation Company, as well as forty rupees. However, since Indian rupees were not convertible to American dollars, he was actually penniless as far as cash money was concerned once he arrived in the United States.
At a certain point, however, the arrival itself appeared provisional. Despite securing a proprietor’s cabin, the first-class accommodation available on these steamships, when the trade ship reached the Arabian Sea, he suffered a massive heart attack on the thirteenth day of the voyage. He survived. The Atlantic Ocean was unseasonably calm during the rest of the passage, and, after a total of thirty-five days out, the Jaladuta docked at Commonwealth Pier in Boston Harbor on September 17th, just before dawn. The next day, it sailed to New York, and Prabhupäda disembarked in Brooklyn.
Despite the fact that he would endure severe hardships (materially speaking) for about one year in America after his arrival, we should not conclude that this trip was made, so to speak, as a kind of a shot in the dark. His Divine Grace was an accomplished yogé of the highest order. He knew what was going on in America at that particular time, and, just as importantly, as a tri-käla-jïä bhakta, he knew of the developing situation amongst the younger section of Americans, i.e., that it would be ideal for his preaching mission. His best customers were going to be those hippies, although, in 1965, the hippie movement was only in a formative process of transformation relative to its previous incarnation, viz., the beats of the Fifties and early Sixties.
Also, as a fully accomplished yogé, we should not think that Prabhupäda’s access to direct experience in America was limited to his apparent locus standi in India (in his physical body) previous to September, 1965. It is not at all unlikely that he had already traveled to the United States and personally witnessed what was transpiring there, particularly in the liberal metropolitan area in which he would primarily focus his initial mission, New York City.
His Divine Grace was a fully-accomplished Master of the Science of Kåñëa consciousness, which included his possessing all mystic power. Çréla Prabhupäda did not undertake this dangerous journey over three oceans simply to escape India’s unfavorable atmosphere relative to his movement. He was to become the Commander of the Kåñëa consciousness movement in the West, i.e., he already knew that he was The Guru of the Americans. He already knew that the sincere and serious section there was looking for him and, whether consciously or not, crying out for him and him alone.
To believe that he did not know exactly what he was doing–not only practically but mystically, as well–is a subtle kind of offensive mentality in relation to recognizing who he actually was. It is our business to follow in his footsteps in this connection, not to believe that we should undertake something just because we supposedly need to go somewhere to escape some kind of unpleasant situation. He knew why and where he was going, and he knew the spiritual results that he would achieve by traveling there. His transcendental plan was, in one sense, actuated in advance, and we can also imbibe an important lesson by recognizing this principle.
For almost one year in America, he had no fixed residence and could procure little money to eat, sometimes enduring a kind of night starvation. In 1966, local hippies heard of his mission and a few took him seriously. Just previous to this, however, while still in New York City, His Divine Grace considered acting on that return ticket. He would visit Scindia Navigation’s East Coast office and inquire when the Jaladuta was next scheduled for India. Finally, after speaking to the clerk and finding out the next scheduled departure date, he considered that he would stay just one more month and then board the ship–unless the situation changed dramatically.
Which, as we all know, it did.
A Hinge Moment
“Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura says, säkñäd-dharitvena samasta-çästrair uktaù: All the çästras, the Vedic literatures, state that the spiritual master is to be honored as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus, the idea that the spiritual master is as good as God is not bogus. It is stated in the çästras, and, therefore, those who are advanced in spiritual life accept this . . .”
Teachings of Queen Kunté
“. . . Chaitanya Mahäprabhu preached pure monotheism and chased out idolatry. . . He tells us that idolatry is the worship of things and persons that are not God Himself. . . And again, He has several times denounced the worship of a form or image other than the true image of God, after which man was created.”
Çréla Bhaktivinode Öhäkur, Gauränga-lélä-Smaraëa-mangal Stotram
“Oh, how much I love being King!”
Henry II, The Lion in Winter
In the middle of 1966, Prabhupäda formed his second devotional organization, and it was very successful for the most part. Still, in due course, he would also walk away from this one, although that is disputed by those with a vested interest to claim otherwise. Devotional entities are not like established or organized religions; in almost all ways, they are not merely different from religion but exactly opposite. Organized religion is, by definition, mechanical, and it becomes more and more so as its operation marches on. Since the basic nature of the material world is mechanical, a large, organized religion is not so easily destroyed. Another way of putting this is that the world and the religion both share the same chief feature, so the religion is buttressed.
Genuine devotional or occult organizations, however, are not mechanical; they are spiritual and/or devotional. The material world is, by intrinsic design, meant to cover spirituality and devotional service; this is its motive force, i.e., whenever it gets the opportunity, it will destroy spirituality, rather than merely covering it. This is a subtle universal truth, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead rarely interferes with this law.
The League of Devotees was thwarted–dissipated and destroyed in a short span of time. Nevertheless, His Divine Grace made another formative effort at establishing Kåñëa consciousness in the United States. He was not a man easily disappointed, and he also possessed formidable organizational skills. That should not be misinterpreted to mean, however, that he was even slightly inclined to create an organized religion. He came to inaugurate and establish Kåñëa conscious culture in the West, and, in his view, an organized format was required in order to push the mission on in an effective and widespread manner, especially in America.
His initial preaching effort was meant to convert debauched Westerners into Vaiñëava devotees of the Lord, and it was conducted in an intimate setting within the Sixties bohemian counter-culture near Greenwich Village, just as the hippies were becoming prominent in North America. His Divine Grace believed that there was good prospect for forming a world organization within an occidental society deeply afflicted by meaningless material advancement. This international Society was meant to become a medium that could save the West from eventual ruination.
Çréla Prabhupäda lived in the Bowery for some time, and he also accepted a periodic residence given to him by an impersonalist guru. Then, a hinge moment transpired, and Prabhupäda’s situation improved dramatically by the grace of Nitai-Gaura: He settled into an äçrama, with modern amenities, in the Lower East Side, at 26 Second Avenue. In June of 1966, His Divine Grace began negotiations with Bhakta Steve, a registered attorney who was attending lectures and chanting on beads. The purpose of the negotiations was to incorporate Prabhupäda’s vision for his international society.
Just previous to this, he had introduced a somewhat shocking new procedure to his fledgling flock, viz., the worship of himself by his disciples. There is Çästric validity to this process, and one such quotation (of many) verifying that fact is posted at the very beginning of this section (immediately underneath the sub-header). Obviously, this worship of the guru was a psychological adjustment for his initial followers, but they were urged to accept it as integral to the process of their making advancement in bhakti-yoga. They did accept it.
If His Divine Grace had not been personally entitled to this worship, it would have been idolatry, viz., worship of a man as God, despite such a man still being subject to the foibles of what being a human in a material body entails. This is a touchy topic, and there are both scriptural and logical explanations connected to its relevancy, to its definitive starting point, to its optional starting point, and relative to the misuse of the principle, also. Some of these scriptural and logical explanations cannot be divulged to the general public. Nevertheless, such intricacies need not be belabored in the case of Çréla Prabhupäda, who was on the highest plane of uttama-adhikäré. The misuse of guru worship by eleven sahajiyäs, starting in the late Seventies, is a different story.
The devotees of the Lord who practice the process of buddhi-yoga or bhakti-yoga within the regulated and spontaneous science of devotional service all recognize the validity of the worship of the mahä-bhägavat. They all wholeheartedly engage in it, knowing full well that, in such worship, there is no element whatsoever of idolatry. The real spiritual master is to be worshiped as God, because he is as good as God due to his being a confidential servant of God. This worship is how contaminated souls can make their best approach to God. The spiritual master is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. His worship is not idolatry, because idolatry is the worship of things and persons that are not God. The real äcärya, in the true sense of the term, is directly connected to the Supreme.
The worship of men who do not possess the adhikära or eligibility to receive such worship, however, is the worship of persons who are not God, i.e., who are not confidential servants of God, and none of whom can be called a personality of servitor Godhead. Under the auspices of the vitiated G.B.C., that kind of worship is just what was imposed upon everyone in the Society in the late Seventies, and it amounted to a psychological carcinogen that has metastasized ever since—and will continue to do so.
On July 7th, 1966, Çréla Prabhupäda and his devotees finalized the original Constitution for his Society; an initial annual meeting had taken place the previous evening. The founding document for ISKCON was officially entitled CONSTITUTION OF ASSOCIATION. It listed the name of the proposed entity as The International Society for Krishna Consciousness with its headquarters located at the Radhakrishna Temple, 26 Second Avenue, New York City, 10003, USA. The primary objectives were listed, numbering seventeen. There were also secondary objectives spelled out in the document.
Six days later, this Society became a corporation in accordance with statutes pursuant to the Religious Corporation Law in the State of New York. The attorney was well-wisher Steven J. Goldsmith, B.Sc. M.A.B.L. (there is no readily accessible record that Bhakta Steve ever became an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace). There were eleven affirmations listed in the document, with each of them numbered, all employing capital letters in their exposition.
The CONSTITUTION OF ASSOCIATION was neither mentioned, nor was it amended to, the Articles of Incorporation. Nevertheless, its principles were reiterated in the SECOND entry of those corporate Articles, in small-case alphabetical order. Seven such specific purposes or aims were listed. The Articles of Incorporation listed the name of the entity as INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS, INC., under the FIRST entry, and those seven purposes were then declared under the SECOND.
Under the THIRD entry, the document verified that this corporation would have all the powers granted to such organizations in the State, would act according to state law, and would limit its field to purposes that were tax exempt in accordance with the U. S. Internal Revenue code. Under the FOURTH entry, the document confirmed that this corporation was non-profit, that none of its earnings would inure to the benefit of any private person, and that it acted subject to the order of the Supreme Court of New York.
The FIFTH entry stated that the corporation’s operations would be conducted mostly within New York State. The SIXTH entry listed the address of the principal place of worship, and the SEVENTH entry stated that the number of trustees of the Society then totaled nine. Its year had already begun on July 6th, the date of the first annual meeting; only three of those nine trustees were appointed representatives for the first fiscal year, which ran from July-to-July, 1966-67. In the next two annual meetings, three of the others, and then the remaining three, would become, respectively, the new trustees of the Society; with previous trustees no longer holding office.
In entry EIGHT, The Western names and addresses of these nine trustees were listed, in order, as per annual meetings. Some (but not all) of them would become initiated. Of the first batch of trustees, two devotees listed would be also married the following September. The NINTH entry of the original Articles stated that the first annual meeting had taken place on July 6th, at 7 p. m., at the principal place of worship.
The TENTH entry was technical, declaring that everything stated in the previous eight entries was determined at the first annual meeting and in accord with the Religious Corporation Law of the State. The ELEVENTH and final entry stated that the signatories or subscribers to the Articles of Incorporation were adults in good standing with the Society, were members of it and following its regulations. Along with Çréla Prabhupäda, two of his devotees signed this document (as official subscribers) in the presence of Goldsmith, who then notarized it. The document was signed on July 13, 1966.
On Sept. 9th, Prabhupäda formally initiated his first Western disciples; three days later, he performed the above-mentioned wedding ceremony. On September 22nd, His Divine Grace performed his next initiation.
There was no mention whatsoever of any kind of governing body in the Articles of Incorporation. No one in his or her right mind did, could, or would conclude that any such entity was intrinsic to the creation of ISKCON nor was ISKCON a new religion or even an organized religion:
“In this Kåñëa consciousness movement, we are giving people a chance to understand the problems of life and how to solve them. It is not a sectarian movement or a so-called religious movement. It is not a religion. It is an educational and cultural movement.”
Quest for Enlightenment, Chapter Three: “The Spiritual Master”
Çréla Prabhupäda’s movement was not meant to devolve into an organized religion, wherein, as a possible development in the uncertain future, after a brief heyday enjoyed by pretender mahäbhägavats creating havoc (only having that chance at the behest of G.B.C. approval), it would then become an organized religion. It was not meant to degenerate into a corrupt body of bogus gurus receiving “certificates of no-objection” in order to carry out organizational initiations that bind unfortunate newcomers to institutional nescience, offering them scant hope of deliverance from its clutches.
It was not meant to resort to excommunication and anathema, creating the illusory perception that those brave souls who initially defied it have thus been degraded to radioactive outcastes on the path of perdition. It was not meant to foster a form of idolatry, wherein eleven sahajiyäs (with more to come) were worshiped as äcäryas, despite the fact that they were and are, in actuality, the lowest of men–or even asuras in disguise.
You may delude yourself into thinking that all of this is too radical, but only the radical approach can be effective now. Prabhupäda took that approach when he introduced the worship of himself as integral to his disciples making advancement in Kåñëa consciousness. The problems that we have all had to deal with since his disappearance stem from imitation of this principle by unauthorized and ineligible persons; they do not at all stem from his bona fide implementation of the principle in the Sixties and Seventies.
You must be able to recognize this root cause. You must be able to see it. You must be able to feel it. You must be able to see that an ecclesiological paradigm has been put into place now in order to facilitate ecclesiastics in an imitation show of devotional service while, at the same time, they de facto think they have a monopoly on connection and service to the founder and his disciplic branch. Nothing can be even confronted until their root imposition is seen and its evil viscerally felt. Solving the problem first requires recognizing from where it is stemming, what it means, and just how malefic it really is.
When a bogus guru is able to exploit his ill-gotten inside connections to an organized religion (especially one proselytizing itself as being Kåñëa conscious), he enjoys a particular brand of egoistic life much more than any king or emperor ever has in the Western world. Such a “new guru” is not non-different from the Supreme Lord. Such an individual is not a representative of the guru-paramparä. The governing body that allowed him (or still allows him) to thrive also has no connection to the guru-paramparä, just as it has no connection whatsoever to the Society Prabhupäda established in 1966.
His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda was the Founder-Äcärya of an International Society that was absolute and non-different from him. He was the final authority and arbiter of everything related to his disciples and his movement. His down-line authority structure was simple and basic: A temple president was the next authority in the chain representing him, and these temple presidents were in regular contact with Çréla Prabhupäda. From the incorporation of ISKCON in 1966, it would be many years before another authority structure would enter the picture and be superimposed on those presidents.
You have already been given plenty of hints about it.
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