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Re: what happened?

• Subject: Re: what happened?
• From: Rob <krishna@krishna.org>
• Date: Thu Oct 31 19:14:48 1996
• Message-Id: id7011

Dear Rob



Hello. Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obesances. All glories to Srila 

Prabhupada!



I travel a lot. At the moment I'm in Australia, but I was there in New York at 

Ratha-yatra time staying in the Schemorhorn Street Temple in Brooklin and I 

also stayed with Kapindra Swami in Ave. B. I visited many cities in the U.S., 

both ISKCON and ritvik and also the U.K. and Europe. So I am aware of what is 

going on both inside and outside ISKCON.



There are not "book distributers everywhere" in the States as you say. They are 

few and far between. If you ask most people on the streets in the States about 

Krishna they have absolutely no idea at all. They have never heard of Krishna. 

Of course it is not so much like that in N.Y. But I have distributed books in 

many cities and they just havn't heard of Krishna at all... The devotees have 

practically disappeared from the streets since 1977 in most places... There are 

some book distributors there in N.Y. and Hrydananda Maharaja has a party in 

L.A. Of course they are all great souls. Anyone distributing Srila Prabhupada's 

books is not at all an ordinary person. The problem is not the sincerity of the 

devotees. Mostly everyone who comes to Krishna consciusness is a great soul, it 

is an institutional problem. ISKCON has institutainalised the position of guru. 

So many ordinary men are acting as gurus in ISKCON and one can't make spiritual 

advancement if he surrenders to an ordinary man. One has to surrender to 

Krishna's pure devotee, a transparent via-medium. Someone who has actually seen 

Krishna can show you Krishna. The Spiritual Master is not just an ordinary 

devotee. But ISKCON have made so many ordinary devotees "spiritual master". It 

has spoiled the whole thing. Their disciples do not make any spiritual 

advancement.



As for the "temples full of devotees" in the US. Yes. The Brooklin temple was 

full of devotees for the two-week festival. But I went there a couple of weeks 

later and there were only five or six brahmacaries staying in the ashram... 

empty, very empty... And I stayed at the Long Island temple. Such a big, big 

property and only the Indian T.P. and one brahmacary is staying there. How 

about Berkley. Big Big church, 600 unsatisfied devotee familys in the area and 

6 devotees in the temple... It's the same all over the States, all over the 

world. The ISKCON temples are practically empty, many have already closed and 

many more are on the verge of closing. And the mood is not right. I can compare 

what it was like in the past, I can see the way it is going... It is a business 

now. It is becoming a Hindu Temple organization...



You are right that we should concentrate on our own spiritual lives. We have to 

become very fixed-up in Krishna consciousness wherever we are, inside or 

outside the temple -- it should not make any difference. We have to strictly 

follow the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, no meat eating, no 

gambling, no intoxication), chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra 

daily, only eat Krishna prasadam, rise eairly (before 4:00 am) and do practical 

service. Krishna consciousness is not an armchair philosophy. We can't just go 

to the Sunday feast and live an ordinary life during the week. Of course we may 

have a job, be a family man, etc. That doesn't matter. But we have to be 

Krishna conscious in all our activities. We have to organize our lives so we 

can remember Krishna always 24 hours a day. That is Krishna consciousness and 

that is what Srila Prabhupada is teaching us. You may say I am a fanatic. You 

compared me to a Christian street-corner preacher before. Yelling at the top of 

his voice, but no one is listening... So it is a little like that. Srila 

Prabhupada said, "It doesn't matter if anyone comes or not, we will go on 

chanting: Govindam adi purusam tam aham bajami..." So we have to keep 

preaching, we have to try and say something about Krishna. We have to become 

pure devotees ourselves. Only then can we do something for others... 



It is the most valuable thing, Krishna consciousness, and it is also the rarest 

thing. It is only available by the grace of a pure devotee, by somehow or other 

getting the dust from the lotus feet of a pure devotee... So we are trying to 

get the dust from the lotus feet of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 

Prabhupada. I would strongly recommend you to seriously read all Srila 

Prabhupada's books, listen to all his classes, read all his letters and follow 

the instructions he is giving.



As for the Ritvik leaders in the States and elsewhere I know them all and have 

stayed with them all. They are sincere devotees who are trying to reestablish 

the worship of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. What is 

the problem with that? Srila Prabhupada is living still, he is living in his 

books, all his potencies are 100% present in his books... We can still take 

shelter of Srila Prabhupada now. He is not dead and gone as ISKCON would have 

everyone believe...



Anyhow I wish you well in your Krishna consciousness and hope you take shelter 

of the real Jagat-Guru, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 

That will be the perfection of your life. If you surrender to a bogus guru it 

is a great disaster...



Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!





Madhudvisa dasa



>Well, i am unsure of where you are because ISKCON is very prominent now in

>America. Book distributors everywhere and temples that are filled. There is a

>ritvik temple but it is empty. The people who do go there are pretty low

>class (smoking dope (even in the basement while doing construction for their

>temple and the ones who are pretty together generally come for some time and

>then return to ISKCON). I must say that you also say that ISKCON has created

>a mess. Well, those crooked devotees were around in Srila Prabhupadas time

>and how often did he single them out? Not often at all but he did teach by

>example and I think you must be kidding yourself if you think that ISKCON

>leaders don't do that. I mean I am unsure of how much you know of the ritvik

>'leaders' in America but they have a much much worste reputation then the

>ISKCON devotees. Mush worste. So I don't see it as an institutional problem

>(ISKCON) but as a people problem. If everyone put as much emphasis on their

>own spiritual life (defeating envy in our own hearts) then maybe we would see

>a change. 

>

>  

>

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