Help! I told the ISKCON Temple President about Prabhupada!!
July 30, 2011 by Madhudvisa dasa
Filed under ISKCON, Prabhupada, Preaching, Temples
Hare Krishna.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
ALL GLORIES TO SRILA PRABHUPADA.
I am very thankful to u for sending the emails.
I am suffering with a big problem.
My sister out of ignorance told everything about PRABHUPADA to the temple president.
They’re not allowing her to enter the temple.
They’re not allowing anyone to guide her even spiritually.
Nobody is talking with her in the temple.
She is crying. I don’t know how to guide her?
Please help me? How to solve this problem.
your humble servant.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Unfortunately this is what ISKCON does to anyone who is developing any love at all for Srila Prabhupada. They will not tolerate it. They are afraid that this love of Prabhupada and the resulting love for Krishna that comes from attachment to Srila Prabhupada will “contaminate” the temple. They only want love of the GBC and love of the GBC appointed bogus gurus. It may sound a little harsh but that is the fact unfortunately. If you love Prabhupada and they find out you are out of ISKCON immediately. This has happened not just to your sister but to thousands and thousands of sincere followers of Srila Prabhupada all over the world.
I think Prabhu this is Krishna’s arrangement and Krishna’s mercy. Such envious so-called devotees have no ability to give your sister any worthwhile guidance anyhow. At some point we have to accept the reality that although ISKCON have made a very successful business out of Prabhupada, and they will always say “Prabhupada, Prabhupada, Prabhupada…” They do not want you to surrender to Prabhupada. They want you to surrender to someone else…
There is actually an urgent need to create some real sadhu-sanga for the followers and disciples of Srila Prabhupada separately from ISKCON. ISKCON may have a big temple but they will not tolerate any love for Prabhupada so what is the use of going there? It is actually damaging to our spiritual lives to go to ISKCON temples and hear from these people.
It happened to me also. Many, many, many years ago. From reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and following his instructions I became very attached and developed a real personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada and as soon as ISKCON detected this they banned me from all ISKCON temples world-wide. I was–like your sister–very upset, feeling that these are Prabhupada’s temples and as a disciple or son of Srila Prabhupada I had a right to practice Krishna consciousness in Prabhupada’s temples.
But gradually I came to realize that being thrown out of ISKCON was Srila Prabhupada’s and Krishna’s great mercy upon me. The atmosphere in ISKCON is so offensive to Prabhupada and Prabhupada’s disciples that it is actually completely poisonous. If you stay within the association of the ISKCON devotees you will get poisoned for sure. We develop the qualities of the people we associate with. Just look how they are treating your sister, and this not an isolated incident. This is standard practice in every ISKCON temple all over the world. As soon as anyone looks like they are developing any love for Srila Prabhupada the “devotees” will immediately drive that person out of the temple. Because love for Prabhupada is not what ISKCON is about these days. They have a different purpose, a different agenda…
At some point we, as followers of Srila Prabhupada, have to come together and realize that ISKCON is no longer Prabhupada’s movement and that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness established by Srila Prabhupada no longer exists. And we have to reestablish it.
All ISKCON have is a few buildings, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He possesses everything, so if we can organize on behalf of Srila Prabhupada to provide centers, big or small, it does not matter, where followers of Srila Prabhupada can come and together glorify, worship and hear from Srila Prabhupada and have kirtan and sadhu sanga without the fear that the temple authorities may discover their love for Prabhupada and ban them from the temple Krishna will provide us with whatever money, buildings and manpower is necessary to do this…
We have to realize that we are not alone. Every sincere soul who has somehow come into contact with Srila Prabhupada, very often by reading his books, has a very strong love for Prabhupada. And anyone who has read Prabhupada’s books can understand what are the qualities of a pure devotee of Krishna and can detect these qualities are no longer being manifest in ISKCON.
So I think we should create a world-wide organization of the followers and disciples of Srila Prabhupada. I can suggest the name “International Hare Krishna Community,” IHKC, and Krishna consciousness is a local thing. Srila Prabhupada very much stressed that managing and running a temple or a preaching center should be done by the local devotees. Prabhupada said the GBC were not supposed to be dictating what would go on in the temples. It should be local devotees managing. Some guidelines have to be there.
And as it develops the “Temple Presidents” or whatever you want to call them from nearby centers can come together for sadhu-sanga and for planning preaching on a national or international scale.
We don’t need this whole top-heavy centralized management system that ISKCON have introduced at all… Everything can be kept simple and local.
This is my feeling. And I would like to hear from devotees around the world who are seriously interested in making an international society of the followers and disciples of Srila Prabhupada a reality… If we work together for Srila Prabhupada anything is possible. Srila Prabhupada’s final request was “You love for me will be shown by how you cooperate together.” So far the devotees have not followed this request of Srila Prabhupada and cooperated together to push Srila Prabhupada’s and Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement all over the world. But we can cooperate together and do it for Prabhupada and if we can somehow manage this I am sure that Prabhupada will shower us with unlimited blessings.
So please post your thoughts in the comments.
I am not interested in hearing from people who are not prepared to do practical work in this regard. Krishna consciousness means devotional service. And service means we have to be prepared to surrender some of our valuable time, energy and money in the service of Srila Prabhupada.
So we need practical devotees–workers not philosophers–who can organize preaching, cook bhoga and offer it to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and distribute, lead kirtans, preach, and who are really dedicated to Srila Prabhupada and who strictly follow the four regulative principles and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and read Prabhupada’s books and listen to Prabhupada’s classes and who have some real feeling and realization for the great gift that Srila Prabhupada has given us and who want to share this gift of Krishna consciousness with others.
If we can organize this for Prabhupada the face of the world can change. These are dark times and Prabhupada is the only hope to save the word. Somebody has to organize on behalf of Prabhupada so please let me know your practical ideas…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
I was very moved by your last letter regarding a new Prabhupada based comunity. I am in 100% !!
I have also been kicked out of my fathers home because I am trying to love and serve him more than anyone else!
So since 1998 I have been serving Prabhupada as my Gurudeva. In 2005 I open a nice temple for him here in istanbul Turkey.
I am ready with time, energy and money, everything is set up here, the shell is ready I just need other like minded devotees to join me here.
I invite all like minded devotees to come here and help me please Srila PRabhupada.
Let me know what i need to do to help us all get better organised to please Prabhupada more with more service and I am in
Hare Krsna
Ys Balarama das
All glories to SRila Prabhupada
Hare Krishna Balarama Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I am so happy to hear from you again Prabhu and I know you are pioneering the preaching there among the Muslims. I think you already have a few devotees there and this is basically all you need.
We just have to be pure ourselves, strictly following the four regulative principles and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and reading Prabhupada’s books and when we speak only speaking the things we have heard from Srila Prabhupada. No speculation. Our speaking will be effective. Krishna will use us as instruments if we actually surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow his instructions.
Even if you can get a few devotees together and establish the standard program Srila Prabhupada established. Everyone rises early in the morning before 4:00 AM, takes bath and together you perform the Mangal-Aroti ceremony. It can be in front of a photo of Srila Prabhupada and the Panca-Tattiva. Or if you have Deities, in front of the Deities. And everyone chants at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, and after the japa period there is the Deity greeting and Srimad-Bhagavatam class and my recommendation for the Bhagavatam class is that we have to hear from Srila Prabhupada on a regular basis. Otherwise we are completely lost. And at the same time we also need to explain the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. That is sravanam [hearing Prabhupada] and kritanam [explaining to others what we have heard from Srila Prabhuapda]. Both things are required. So my suggestion is we should alternate, one day Srila Prabhupada will give the Bhagavatam class and the next day, presuming there is someone in the temple who is qualified, he can give the Bhagavatam class. But it is useless for someone to try and give the Bhagavatam class if they have not even read the Bhagavatam. We see this so much in ISKCON. People who have never read practically anything from Prabhupada’s Bhagavatam sit up on the Vyassasana and speak a mixture of things they have heard other devotees speak in the Bhagavatam class and their own speculations and “realizations” and opinions… It is completely bogus and completely useless.
So until we learn the process and the science of reciting the Bhagavatam we should not try to do it. We should hear from Prabhupada, how he is speaking on the Bhagavatam, and learn how to do it. And we should not try and speak on the Bhagavatam unless we have read it, and we are reading it on a regular basis. Only a person Bhagavata actually can speak on the book Bhagavata. So we have to become person Bhagavata…
So anyhow, if we actually do the standard things that Srila Prabhupada is is instructing us to do [strictly follow the four regulative principles, chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, rise before 4:00 AM in the morning, every morning and offer Mangal-Aroti and chant our rounds and hear the Bhagavatam..] And if we develop a real taste for chanting Hare Krishna… This is the real test actually to see if we have made any spiritual advancement at all. “Do I enjoy chanting Hare Krishna?” “Is chanting Hare Krishna the most wonderful thing in my life?” It should be. If we are following Srila Prabhupada actually it will be. And if is not we have to start looking into “What am I doing wrong?” “Why don’t I have any taste for chanting Hare Krishna?” If that is the case that has to be fixed. It is useless to try and preach if we ourselves do not find chanting Hare Krishna to be the most wonderful experience in our lives. If we have not taste ourselves for chanting Hare Krishna we should not try to preach to others. We have to find out what is the problem and fix the problem…
So I am sorry for the long answer Prabhu. But it is not that we have to import devotees from outside to preach. We have to follow in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps. He went to New York City alone. With a small drum and sat under a tree an chanted Hare Krishna and when some people gathered he had a kirtan and invited them back to hear him speak on the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. And he would offer a piece of fruit to Krishna and cut it up and distribute prasadam. This program was incredibly powerful. Because Srila Prabhupada was completely pure. So it requires one pure person only. From that everything will come. You could import hundreds of devotees into Turkey but if they are not pure it will have no effect in the long run.
We just have to become ourselves pure and then we will be able to convince at least a small percentage of the local people to take to Krishna consciousness. And that will be the real success… In your case if you can get a small group of Muslims there to seriously take to Krishna consciousness and shave them up and dress them up in dhotis and send them out of sankirtan. It will be wonderful!
And it is possible also. Anything is possible for Krishna, it is requiring our surrender and purity only.
All glories to your service!
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Balarama Prabhu and Madhudvisa Dasa prabhu, I am also in favour of a separate entity where we can keep everything simple not as complicated and behind the scene as in ISKON.I am not criticizing ISKON but I am not satisfy in the way they operate. I personally very strongly push your idea to develop IHKM. kindly guide me for further steps.
hare krishna madhudvisa,
i want to ask how can i do complete 12 hours krishna consciouness, as i am married and have three childrens. With doing current job how is it possible.
Hare Krishna!
You don’t have to do 12 hours of Krishna consciousness. Actually we should do 24 hours of Krishna consciousness–always remember Krishna, never forget Krishna–but what we have to do is chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, which takes about 2 hours or a bit more, and follow the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication). They are the initiation vows we make. Then we can add more and more Krishna conscious activities as much as possible. Absolute minimum is finding 2 hours out of 24 hours in the day to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra and I think everyone can do that…
Hare Krishna
Madhudvisa Prabhu.
AGTSP
I am identifying completely with your program and it is something that I recommend to all prabhupadanugas to join and work together for Srila Prabhupada in this way. “A single rod can be broken easily but not many.” We all know Madhudvisa Prabhu had worked hard for decades, and that he has the blessings of Srila Prabhupada to print and distribute his books. Regarding the name of the organization I believe that that the word movement is less closed than community, and the word Hare is more hermetic than consciousness, so I suggest you can call it: “Movement for Krishna Consciousness, Founder Acharya His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. And to it can be added: joined to the International Hare Krishna community, since people tend to accept more easily something national than international.
In my humble opinion to begin can be printed pamphlets for distribution in mass and call so the Prabhupadanugas closest to the community. Of course the program must be the one established by Srila Prabhupada without variation. I think the conversation would be more comfortable via email. I wish every success to this program and ask the Lord Krishna for His blessings.
Sincerely,
your servant
Gourasundara Das.
Hare Krishna Gourasundara Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
My ideas in this posting are more idealistic than realistic I fear. There has not been much response from anyone practically wanting to do anything and a lot of response from devotees who are very attached to ISKCON and do not want to do anything separate from that. So it is an ideal, but maybe its time has not yet come. Maybe ISKCON will change, who knows.
But one thing we have to all do individually is chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and strictly follow the four regulative principles and read Prabhupada’s books and keep ourselves engaged in serving Srila Prabhupada and Krishna 24 hours a day. Otherwise we will just drift back into maya and not be of any help at all in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.
The solution to all the problems of kali-yuga is sankirtan-yajna. And if we can get many men together and perform sankirtan then that is wonderful. But if we can not then we can also perform the sankirtan ourselves. And we can go out on the street and preach to the people and distribute Prabhupada’s books to them and ask them to chant Hare Krishna. And this is the solution. Chanting Hare Krishna and getting others to chant Hare Krishna.
So that is what I am doing and that is the practical program actually and if we all try this, chanting Hare Krishna ourselves and getting others to chant Hare Krishna, then everything will be successful in the ultimate issue.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
I appriciate your attempts to do something to improve the situation. Similar despair was felt by Prabhupada after the departure of Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja and he wrote a poem, where he expressed his frustration and anger. While reading this poem I was very much amazed that exactly same thing happened again, after his own departure.
Prabhuji, right now I am unable to help you and do something practical. Practical programs can be effective only when it is performed by the one who has Krishna, or who can give Krishna. Right now I can only suggest a mean, or means how to get Krishna. This kind of preaching is not so effective and not enough to establish a society. So, we have to follow your advice to read Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna. And one day Prabhupda will make a pure devotees out of us. Then we will be able to implement all kinds of practical programs under Krishna’s guidance.
As far as ISKCON is concerned there is no need to rely on and have a hope in it.
Your servant,
Ahinsra das
PAMHO. AGTSP!
I am currently attempting to start a preaching center here in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Ky area. There once was a strong program here, but it was destroyed by the Zonal GBC for this state.
I encourage anyone interested in helping to please contact me and see if we can cooperate in fulfilling Prabhupada’s desires and spread KC once more here.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Your proposition is a very nice policy to demonstrate how difficult is to work with god brothers and how useful will be the ritvik movement of god brothers. This is the same problem of Iskcon today; they are bunches of chiefs but without indians. The people attached to Iskcon, makes me remember the analogy of the monkey attached to its death son even thought its bad smell.
Srila Prabhupada said that the rubber stamped guru will be not effective; it means that accordingly with the elevation of the guru there will be effectiveness. Palena prarisiate the answer is the proof, or in words of Christ: “By their results you will know them.” The Channakya pandit´s maxims 5-5 says: “He who speaks out plainly cannot be a deceiver.”
So, we need ideas to be effective in preaching. Srila Prabhupada always critiqued his god brothers because their lack of idea for preaching and Srila Prabhupada at last asked his god brothers: “Please send me some people.” But only echoes were the answer. The history would have been different with Srila Prabhupada and an army of god brothers. Then Srila Prabhupada some way of another saved the situation.
If some one knows some thing better than this, tell me please where it is, to go there.
Best regards.
hari Bol, I am seeking to surrender to Shrila Prabhupada 100% as well. I have taken nama hatta initiation from ISKCON and am seeking to fully follow Prabhupada. Any help you may give will be most welcome.
Your servant,
J
Hare Krishna J
The answer is always the same, you have to actually follow the basic things that Prabhupada orders his disciples to follow. You really need to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, follow the four regulative principles, rise early and offer Mangal Aroti, only eat Krishna prasadam and constantly read Srila Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna…
Most people do not even follow the basic four regulative principles or chant 16 rounds a day and wonder why Krishna consciousness is not working very well for them… Actually it is not easy at least in the beginning. We are attached to sleeping and intoxication and sex and we don’t want to give these things up and we don’t have the patience to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day… So then we can’t make advancement in Krishna consciousness. So we have to surrender to these things and strictly follow them and somehow please Srila Prabhupada, for that is the real key to making advancement in spiritual life, to please Krishna’s pure devotee. That is the secret to success…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
your comments are very inspirational do you go out and distribute Srila Prabhpada books?
Yes. But these days mainly I am distributing Prabhupada’s books online at http://www.KrishnaStore.com, we are the largest online distributor of Prabhupada’s books by far.