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“. . . and I say straight that Kirtanananda is wrong and you are right when you say that the movement will come to nothing if I am not satisfied with your actions.” Letter to Damodar, 10-13-67 from Calcutta (emphasis added)
“There are schools, for instance, or systems, which, although they do not formulate it in this way, are actually based on false personality and on struggle against conscience. Such work must certainly produce wrong results. At first it will create a certain kind of strength, but it will make the development of higher consciousness an impossibility.” – Ouspensky
“The vision of ‘Christ’
That thou dost see
Is my vision’s
Greatest Enemy.”
– Wm. Blake (adapted)
You say that the fabricated so-called “ISKCON” movement is still pushing on strong and growing despite so many deviations that supposedly have now come and gone. I say that you are completely deluded in this assessment. You say that the neo-Gaudiya Mutt is still, somehow or other, representing Srila Prabhupada in such a way that its devotees will soon be joining him in the spiritual world. I say that you need to check your premises. You say that the rittviks are a bona fide group and are bringing so many devotees to Krishna consciousness who otherwise would not join, and I say that the rittvik apasiddhanta is nothing more than baked-over “Christianity” with a quasi-Eastern veneer covering it.
There can be no unity where there is compromise. The many and various factions have developed over the years, and they are working at cross-purposes. The result of this bad turn of events is that what was supposed to the Hare Krishna movement of Krishna consciousness is being driven straight into the crapper. We must develop a healthy negative attitude toward this inauspicious momentum. Wallowing in a hope against hope for “unity” is not helpful to development of Krishna Consciousness at this time. Only when the leaders of the various factions become sincere (honest), serious, more knowledgeable, and more fortunate will they wake up and realize that the only way out of this death-dance is to return to square one.
His Divine Grace never actually cooperated with his godbrothers to any significant extent whatsoever. When he established his mission in Jhansi in the Fifties, it was not called the Gaudiya Mutt. When he established his Western mission in the Sixties, it was also not called the Gaudiya Mutt. He met with Swami Sacchidananda, who visited him in the hospital, but he did not unify with him. He met with Yogi Bhajan, also:
Yogi Bhajan: We have decided that this is the time for everybody to get together, to get their scene together, to merge together.
Prabhupada: They’ll never. You may call all conferences, hundreds and thousands, but they’ll never. Because there is no common platform. Godless.
Yogi Bhajan: That is what we are trying to provide.
Prabhupada: You are trying; that is nice. But it will never be successful. You can write it down.
Room Conversation on June 7, 1975 in Honolulu
If you say that there are specific reasons why the Krishna Consciousness movement is continuing to fragment and, slowly but surely, disintegrate, I would agree with you that there are a great many reasons. We must boil them all down to the root reason would be my suggestion. What was the driving force of the movement when it was bona fide?
If you say that the Hinduization of “ISKCON” is polluting it and watering it down, I would agree that this is one of the reasons. Hinduism has nothing to do with genuine Krishna Consciousness. Hinduism, when it takes over a conscious system, turns it into a machine. On the whole, the Hindus love formalism and institutionalization; machine is the end of the line.
But the Hinduization of “ISKCON” is not the root reason for the problems. The Hindu Hodgepodge and its many “tannery experts” need to be removed from the equation, but almost all of them will leave the scene if Krishna Consciousness is practiced in earnest once again.
If you say that offenses to Srila Prabhupada caused all of this, I would agree; that is getting closer to the root:
Letter to: TO ALL ISKCON CENTERS
URGENT ! URGENT !
PLEASE READ AT ONCE !
“. . . It is my unhappy duty to notify you of a most disturbing situation that has developed regarding Srila Prabhupada’s condition. Below are excerpts (that) refer to conversations in Vrindavana on October 25, 1977.
Scene: Prabhupada’s room.
Prabhupada: So everyone has left?
Upendra: Yes
Prabhupada: I feel very unhappy when no one is here. They are avoiding me. They do not want to come. . . Why not all of you? You cannot all do kirtan?
****
Scene: Prabhupada’s room, some time later. Prabhupada has stopped eating all solid foods and is not even taking medicines. It is evident that His Divine Grace is discouraged.
Prabhupada: Now I have become poisonous. Everyone is avoiding me. Things are deteriorating. What is to be done. What is the use? Everything is frustrated.” (emphases added)
Memo from Ramesvara to all centers, undated.
His Divine Grace left us less than three weeks later.
I am not going to get into the poison issue in this column at this time. Obviously, the abovementioned memo clearly shows that things were going haywire in the final weeks. It was offensive to beg Srila Prabhupada to stay and then-when he agreed and ate a full plate of prasadam for the first time in months-to skip out of the dhama back to the zones of control, overlordship, and enjoyment. It was offensive not to inform his devotees that Prabhupada ordered every one of them to come to see him for the last time. It was offensive not to take him on parikram when he ordered it. So, this is getting closer.
There are many reasons why the movement has degenerated. For one, bad association with the Gaudiya Mutt. Overemphasis on accumulating piles upon piles of money . . . err, “laxmi.” The tyranny of the formalists, i.e., considering hierarchical status in the institution (form) to automatically mean a more advanced status than other rank-and-file devotees who served and studied intensely–but had no such managerial interest. Tyranny of the Formalists actually means Tyranny of the Weak.
The creation of personality cults, even while Prabhupada was still with us, was (is) a reason why everything has degraded. Another was the over-glorification of “results,” exemplified by the over-glorification of women who dovetailed their sexual charisma on the pick. Another one was the anti-intellectual mood that pervaded the movement (especially as it was on its descending octave) practically everywhere.
All of these-and quite a few more-were reasons why the movement is in such bad shape (and getting worse!) at this time. However, in the mood of tattva-jnanartha-darsanam I would like to present what I consider to be the root reason there is almost no organized Krishna Consciousness movement-genuine Krishna Consciousness movement-at the present time. It is a bit subtle.
Almost all of the devotees-and I am speaking only about genuinely initiated disciples who are still living-have lost contact with Conscience.
This emotional feeling of Truth, coming from the higher intelligence of Supersoul and verified by Prabhupada’s words and books, has been almost totally shut down at this time.
As such, powerful men demonstrate how they are supposedly bona fide in terms of sheer audacity. The Supersoul is apohanam for them; they consider avidya to be vidya. They have lost the higher discriminatory power and purity that brought them their opportunities way back when. They are now acetanah; they have no Conscience anymore.
Because they do not have Conscience–or even mundane conscience or shame–they are capable of almost any outrageous act in order to solidify and increase their upadhi. When Krishna Consciousness was spreading like wildfire, it was because devotees actually believed that they could genuinely become self-realized. They actually realized that they were not at all, in their present states, prepared for death; they wanted to reach the stage where they were prepared for it. They felt this emotionally, and this drove them to serve the real spiritual master in austerity and with great intensity.
This has been lost. Now everyone thinks that just going through the motions and staying in good standing with the cult of their choice will automatically protect them at the time of death. They are in forgetfulness of the real situation. The Source of Conscience, Paramatma, is trying to remind everyone that things are not moving in the right direction. All of these problems and setbacks are gross indicators that the persons implicated in these ongoing disasters are not right with the universe, not right with the Lord, and not right with His Divine Grace.
People remain dishonest when they think that there will be no negative ramifications or repercussions for engaging in unauthorized association, unauthorized philosophy, unauthorized process, and a warping of the historical record. However, if people (“devotees”) return to square one and realize just how unprepared they are for death, and if they realize that the movement of their choice is not helping them in this predicament, then maybe . . . just maybe . . . they might be able to get back in touch with Conscience again.
The movement of Krishna Consciousness, as a strong and internationally organized confederation, is dying a slow but almost sure death. Its members-as well as those less fortunate persons who push the reactionary spinoffs from it-are also spiritually dying, individually. They think that by niyamagraha (the dry stool side) they can avoid this; they think that everyone else not participating in their unauthorized and fabricated cult is no longer engaged and is on a path leading to darkness. But these kinds of overconfident rationalizations are not coming from Paramatma. Your cult will not save you at the time of death.
The Schofield Kid: “Well, they had it comin’.”
Will Munny: “We all got it comin’, kid.”
– Unforgiven, 1992
Hoping that this meets you in good health, I remain . . .
Waiting for the Sun,
KAILASA CANDRA DASA