Who Is Representing Srila Prabhupada Now?
The ISKCON living gurus are advising their disciples: You can’t understand Prabhupada’s books or classes, you have to hear from me instead. You can’t understand Prabhupada… So that’s hardly being Prabhupada’s representative.
“Each temple will be an ISKCON property and will be managed by three executive directors. The system of management will continue as it is now and there is no need of any change.” (Srila Prabhupada’s will)
What was the system of management when Srila Prabhupada was physically present? How did the temples run? How did new devotees get trained-up and initiated? How did the system of authority work in ISKCON?
“I am very glad to note that you are seeing that the devotees are maintaining the devotional practices. This is the secret to success.
Therefore I am stressing it. And, if you also stress it and show yourself as an ideal Vaisnava, then you are my representative in fullness. We are not after titles and designations. Lord Caitanya made it a principle that we must teach by personal example. This is what I have tried to do. So if all of you my disciples do this, then the future of our movement will be glorious.” (74-10-31 Letter: Hrdayananda)
Srila Prabhupada’s management system for ISKCON is that he trained-up representatives who would then act on his behalf all over the world as Temple Presidents, GBCs, sannyasis and even regular devotees. In this way, although Srila Prabhupada was only one man, he could simultaneously preach all over the world through his representatives and his books. This is Srila Prabhupada’s management system for ISKCON and it should not have changed.
(“The system of management will continue as it is now and there is no need of any change…”)
“You have done very good by staying in N.Y. under the guidance of Sriman Brahmananda. In your last letter you proposed to come here, but Krishna has given you good counsel that instead of coming here, you have stopped at N.Y. and expended the passage money for temple expenditures. It is very good. IT IS AS GOOD TO SEE BRAHMANANDA BECAUSE HE IS MY REPRESENTATIVE, AND HE CAN INFORM YOU EVERYTHING WHICH I COULD HAVE DONE BY MEETING YOU.
Anyway, please act under the guidance of Brahmananda, so long I am not able to see you, and probably it will be possible to see you in the month of April next, when I am going to N.Y. I thank you once more for your service spirit to Lord Krishna, and I am sure He will bestow upon you more and more service spirit.” (68-02-20 Letter: Robert)
“The thing is discipline can not be observed unless there is obedience. AS YOU ARE OBEDIENT TO ME, YOU SHOULD BE SIMILARLY OBEDIENT TO MY REPRESENTATIVE. Your statement about Brahmananda that he is a wonderful devotee is 100% agreed by me. He is in charge of the New York center, and, therefore, if proper obedience is not given to him it will be impossible for him to manage the affairs of the temple. Under the circumstances, the discrepancies you have observed in the temple may be referred to him, and he is quite reasonable, and will handle the matter with the respective devotees. Please don’t you take any direct actions because it will cause disruption. You are a very talented boy, and I have every confidence in you, so I hope you will do this and oblige. (69-02-07 Letter: Nara-narayana)
In these quotes we find the key to Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental management system for ISKCON. We can see that as early as 1968 Prabhupada had already appointed “representatives of the acarya,” and he is already saying, “it is as good to see my representative as me.”
Srila Prabhupada was training devotees and empowering them to act as his representatives and in this way they got the strength and purity to attract new devotees, to manage the temples and to preach. Srila Prabhupada developed the entire “International Society For Krishna Consciousness” from absolutely nothing to a huge, powerful, revolutionary world-wide spiritual movement in just a few years by using this simple management system. He trained disciples then empowered them to act as his representatives. In turn these devotees attracted new devotees and trained them also to become SRILA PRABHUPADA’S REPRESENTATIVES.
This feeling of being Srila Prabhupada’s representative was all-pervasive in ISKCON. The book distributors were also conscious they were Srila Prabhupada’s representatives. And any devotee who sincerely acted in this way, following the principles and Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, was empowered by Srila Prabhupada, and they could actually act as his representatives with great spiritual strength and potency.
In ISKCON today it’s difficult to find ANYONE who’s acting as Srila Prabhupada’s representative, acting on Srila Prabhupada’s behalf.
The “living gurus” are acting as “little Prabhupada’s” and are advising their disciples: “You can’t understand Prabhupada’s books or classes, you have to hear from me… I have some lecture tapes and books also–hear them instead. You can’t understand Prabhupada…” So that’s hardly being Prabhupada’s representative. And the position of the Temple Presidents is very unclear. In the “zonal acarya” days the TPs were certainly representatives of the “zonal acarya,” not Prabhupada, but what they are now I don’t know. I don’t think they even know themselves! So where’s the authority? We used to obey the Temple President because he was Prabhupada’s representative, but why should devotees obey the TP today? Who’s representative is he now?
We hear so often from ISKCON “everyone needs a living guru.” It’s true, we all need personal guidance and instruction to help us advance in Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada has given us everything in his books, but there are still many things one needs to learn in the association of devotees. That’s why Srila Prabhupada empowered his disciples to become his representatives.
The “living guru” sect claim Srila Prabhupada can no longer accept disciples because he can’t assocate with such disciples physically as ISKCON’s “living gurus” can. However most of Srila Prabhupada’s directly initiated disciples in his physical presence could not get such direct personal guidance from Srila Prabhupada either!
Srila Prabhupada had so many disciples and such a busy schedule, how could he possibly solve each and every personal problem of every one of his disciples? However Srila Prabhupada actually did give direct personal one-to-one guidance and training to all of his disciples THROUGH HIS REPRESENTATIVES. Even if one wrote to Srila Prabhupada personally on such matters he would generally simply refer the devotee to his representative in the area…
“You complain that as a householder it is very difficult. Especially you want to preach. There are examples of great preachers who were householders, such as Bhaktivinode Thakur, although we cannot hope to imitate him. You have not mentioned whether you are attending the activities of the temple and associating with the devotees in Melbourne, and these things are essential. Madhudvisa Swami is my representative in charge of devotional affairs in Australia and if you will discuss the specific situation with him, he will see that you become engaged in work just suitable to your situation as a householder.” (74-04-07 Letter: Raghunatha)
Srila Prabhupada stressed time and time again the best way to associate with the spiritual master is by following his instructions, that personal bodily service to the spiritual master was not as important as following his instructions. It is much more important to go out and distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books than to get his physical association.
Even on philosophical questions it was not very easy for an ordinary devotee to get a personal reply from Srila Prabhupada.
Ordinary devotees generally couldn’t even write to Srila Prabhupada. If every one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples wrote him a letter every month how on earth could he answer them? That’s why he empowered his disciples to act as his representatives, so they could answer the questions on his behalf. That’s also why Srila Prabhupada wrote his books. He put all the questions and answers in the books. And that’s what he would tell his disciples who would write to him with such questions.
“So if you can satisfy them intellectually and answer all their questions, that will be your success. All the answers are there in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and Teachings of Lord Caitanya. You will simply have to study these books to find out the answers. Anyway, I think Japan will be good field in future for spreading our Krishna Consciousness Movement. You are tested devotees; please handle the matter carefully, and Krishna will give you all help.” (69-10-03 Letter: Bali-mardana, Sudama)
“If one simply regularly chants and follows the rules and regulative principles all questions of philosophy will be answered by Krsna from within and all doubt will be cleared also in this way. And the same answers are there again in our books like Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, etc. So please see that all the initiated devotees stick rigidly to their daily chanting and regulative living in devotional service. This is most important.” (70-02-14 Letter: Madhudvisa)
“I am very glad to know that you are reading our literatures and you are very thoughtful about them. I am always happy to answer your questions, but you should practice to get the answers from your husband and try to find them out by reading further in our books. All questions will be clarified if you simply read our books very thoroughly and follow the simple process of devotional service as we have given it to chant regularly and rigidly observe the rules and regulations. This is our principle that the spiritual science becomes revealed to the devotee from within the heart according to the degree of his surrender to Krsna. You are a very hopeful student and intelligent devotee, so you continue to pursue your devotional activities patiently and Krsna will open your path of Krsna consciousness so you will progress more and more.” (70-07-25 Letter: Ekayani)
“So far you being philosophically-minded, that I can see and appreciate, but in future I think you can ask any questions you may have in these matters to one of the Swamis or to your GBC man. I have given them the answers to all such questions, so they can help you. I am an old man now, and my interests are turning to philosophy and translation. If you help me by relieving me from this administrative work, that will free me to give you so many more fine books from Vedic literature and from our own devotional line. So kindly assist me in this way. Actually, if you simply serve in a surrendered attitude, and go on chanting regularly, the answers to everything will come out automatically: “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (X, 10). (72-02-27 Letter: Mohanananda)
“If you read all our books, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and others, you will get all the answers to your questions. Still I shall be very glad to answer besides that.” (74-07-16 Letter: Alfred Ford)
Still, even though Srila Prabhupada could not be physically present with all his disciples, he trained his senior disciples so they became competent in Krishna consciousness then they could act as his representatives. In this way, through his representatives, Srila Prabhupada could preach to the devotees and deal with their day-to-day spiritual and material problems all over the world.
Everyone, including the book distributors on the street, the Temple Presidents and the GBCs were conscious they were acting as Srila Prabhupada’s representatives and the whole movement went on nicely with everyone as godbrothers and Srila Prabhupada in the center.
The Temple President and the other senior devotees in the temple acted as siksa [instructing gurus] and Srila Prabhupada is the diksa [initiating guru]. Of course Srila Prabhupada is the main siksa guru also, but still there are so many things about Krishna consciousness we have to learn from the devotees. I know in my devotional life Srila Prabhupada is my guru, both diksa and siksa, but I had so many other siksa gurus in ISKCON. In fact I would have never even had the opportunity to read Srila Prabhupada’s books if the ISKCON devotees didn’t sell them to me.
Even if I read Srila Prabhupada’s books by myself I cannot imagine how I would have become Krishna conscious.
When I started reading Srila Prabhupada’s books it was more or less out of curiosity. I didn’t really believe people could do these things–get out of bed before 4:00am every morning, chant Hare Krishna for two or three hours every day and give up illicit sex even! It seemed impossible to me. So, just to see if the devotees were really doing these things, I started getting up early and going to the temple to see what was actually happening there. And everyone was chanting Hare Krishna in ecstasy and dancing and having a really wonderful time.
So I started chanting Hare Krishna also… But it’s only because I saw the devotees, other young people just like me, were chanting Hare Krishna and enjoying it. Then it became possible for me also to chant Hare Krishna seriously. It was not just something an old swami from India was talking about in a book, it was something real, something tangible that I could take part in and it was happening in a big house in Mt. Lawley (Perth, Western Australia) just 15 minutes walk from where I was living…
I owe a great debt to so many devotees who are my siksa gurus and without their sincere preaching and real love and concern for me I’m sure Krishna consciousness and Srila Prabhupada would have not been much more to me than an old Indian swami talking about things in a book which were not very practical and which I was unable to do.
Unfortunately almost all the devotees who were my siksa gurus are no longer in ISKCON, most of them became victims of the bogus ISKCON guru system and are now no longer seriously practicing Krishna consciousness. It’s heartbreaking to me to see ISKCON destroyng the lives of so many sincere devotees and Srila Prabhupada’s movement.
So we definitely need guidance and instruction from other devotees, however Srila Prabhupada has ALREADY provided that in ISKCON through his representatives, the Temple Presidents, the GBCs and the sannyasis. There’s absolutely no need for another group of “living gurus” to undermine the authority of Srila Prabhupada’s actual representatives and provide something that was never available to Srila Prabhupada’s disciples in his physical presence!
The whole “living guru” cult is completely bogus. Most of Prabhupada’s disciples had absolutely no opportunity for the physical one-to-one relationship the “living guru” cultists claim is so necessary for spiritual advancement.
The argument “one needs a living guru to get answers to his questions” is completely bogus. What’s wrong with asking the Temple President for the answers to your questions?? What’s wrong with reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and finding the answers?? That’s what devotees did in Srila Prabhupada’s physical presence.
Many devotees question where a person will get his spiritual authority from under the ritvik system. But they have not understood what the ritvik system Srila Prabhupada used himself to initiate his disciples is, otherwise this question would never arise.
The ritvik system IS ISKCON prior to Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure in 1977. All the Prabhupadanugas are saying is exactly what Srila Prabhupada said in his will: “The system of management will continue as it is now and there is no need of any change.”
The whole concept is nothing should have changed. Srila Prabhupada organized everything, including his acceptance and training of new disciples, in such a way that his physical presence was immaterial. He accepted disciples through his representatives and he trained his disciples through his representatives and his books.
Still many say, “but you need a ‘living guru'”. However they don’t seem to realize more than 90% of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples had very little personal association with Srila Prabhupada. Some of Srila Prabhupada’s directly initiated disciples never even saw Srila Prabhupada “living”…
Even if the devotees had the opportunity of living in the same temple as Srila Prabhupada for a week or so, all most of them would do is hear Srila Prabhupada give class and go on with their normal service (book distribution mostly). There was no opportunity to cook hundred-course banquets and spend all day idly chatting with “Guru Maharaja” as tends to happen with ISKCON “gurus” and their disciples today… Srila Prabhupada had his own cook and he was just eating rice, dhal, chapatis, subji, etc.
Simple prasadam… Not hundred-course banquets…
Most devotees do not realize there’s absolutely no place in the management system Srila Prabhupada established for ISKCON for ANY “living gurus” except His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! That does not mean Srila Prabhupada’s disciples cannot take their own disciples, it just means they cannot do it in ISKCON.
The current ISKCON guru system is a complete concoction. To justify themselves ISKCON “gurus” say one needs a “living guru” and they claim Prabhupada is not a living guru.
With the exception of a few devotees in the beginning and some fortunate souls who served Srila Prabhupada as his personal servants, there was very little opportunity for Srila Prabhupada’s disciples to render him ANY physical service. There was also practically no opportunity for most devotees to even have one-to-one talks with Srila Prabhupada or even ask him questions in the class or write him a letter…
The devotees would hear Srila Prabhupada give class and he usually did not even ask for questions. Prabhupada would come into the temple at 7:00 to see the Deity Greeting and the devotees would offer Srila Prabhupada Guru-puja and have kirtan, then Srila Prabhupada would give his Bhagavatam class and ask them to “chant Hare Krishna.” Then there was another kirtan and prasadam and then everyone was out on book distribution for the whole day!
So the so-called “living guru” relationship ISKCON devotees have with their “gurus” was not possible for 99% of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples to have with him.
In Srila Prabhupada’s system the Temple Presidents, the GBC’s, the sannyasis and other senior devotees were expected to be siksa gurus for the devotees. So there was no need for a “living guru” except for Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada fulfilled all the needs of his disciples for training, personal association and answering questions by empowering his representatives, the Temple Presidents and GBC’s to act on his behalf.
So in Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON there is no position in the organizational structure for gurus other than him. That is one of the reasons ISKCON’s “living guru” fiasco has been such a failure. There’s simply nothing for these “living gurus” to do in ISKCON!
Srila Prabhupada divided all the responsibility between the Temple Presidents and the GBC, he did not leave anything for so-called “living gurus” to do… And that’s the problem for the “living gurus” in ISKCON today. There’s no position for them in the structure of ISKCON, they have no authority at all. They don’t even have authority over their disciples! The ultimate authority is with the Temple Presidents and that can only be overridden by a vote of the full GBC with the agreement of the devotees in the temple. So where does that leave the “living gurus” and their disciples?
The result of the “living guru” philosophy has been the destruction of ISKCON. The “living gurus” have tried to usurp and undermine the authority of the Temple Presidents and have stolen millions of dollars from the temples in the name of “guru daksina.” In addition the competition and fighting among the “living gurus” and their disciples has created many factions within ISKCON who all have slightly different versions of the philosophy and all fight over new bhaktas to get them for “Their” guru…
The result is an unmanageable, unworkable organization without any logical philosophy to support its actions. It is COMPLETELY different from the ISKCON Srila Prabhupada established by training his disciples and empowering them to act as HIS representatives. The “living gurus” have turned ISKCON, which Srila Prabhupada created as Vaikuntha into hell…
“Recently when all of the GBC members were with His Divine Grace in Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada indicated that soon He would appoint some of His senior disciples to act as “ritvik–representative of the acarya, for the purpose of performing initiations, both first initiation and second initiation. His Divine Grace has so far given a list of eleven disciples who will act in that capacity…” (Srila Prabhupada’s July 9th. Letter)
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
About the Author
Madhudvisa dasa My first contact with a Hare Krishna was a most merciful Mataji in Oxford Street, London who sold me a "Higher Taste" cook book in 1984 while I was on holidays there. I started seriously reading Srila Prabhupada's books in Australia 1985 and by 1986 Srila Prabhupada had convinced me "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead" and "we should surrender to Krishna." I joined the Hare Krishnas in Perth, Western Australia in 1986. Since then I have been chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, reading and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and preaching as much as I can. That's my life and full-time occupation now really. I like it more than anything I've ever experienced before. Srila Prabhupada's books are so amazing... Even after reading them all many times they're still fresh and new. They are truly transcendental! That's it really. Now I'm just hankering to once again see the world chant Hare Krishna, dance and feast and float away in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement as it did in Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Let the whole world drown in the ecstatic flood of love of Krishna!
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🌹Chaitanya Charitamrita Ad I 12:10
Translation
The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless.
Purport
Here is the opinion of Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. Persons who strictly follow the orders of the spiritual master are useful in executing the will of the Supreme, whereas persons who deviate from the strict order of the spiritual master are useless.🌹
When will someone document Prabhupada’s prescribed Sadhana He has given for all His disciples?
🌹ISKCON means the Sadhana activities given by Prabhupada for everyone.
🌹
The documentation is there, given by Srila Prabhupada personally, in his books, letters, conversations, morning walks, and by all the activities in his personal life. That is the documentation you are looking for. And if people can’t appreciate that why do you think they would appreciate something I may write or you may write better?
They are both right and wrong. Yes you have to hear here the bhagavatam from a bona fide spiritual master. But not from one who is pretending to be be bona fide. A real spiritual master has pure devotion for Krishna Awakened in their heart. hear from them that’s perfect
So keep this paramparä system. This Vyäsa-püjä is paramparä system. Vyäsa-püjä means to accept this paramparä system. Vyäsa. Guru is the representative of Vyäsadeva because he does not change anything. What Vyäsa-püjä… What Vyäsadeva said, your guru also will say the same thing. Not that “So many hundreds of thousands of years have passed away; therefore I will give you a new formula.” No. There is no new formula. The same Vyäsa-püjä, the same philosophy. Simply we have to accept it, then our life will be successful.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Disappearance Day Lecture – December 10, 1976, Hyderabad
Paramahaàsa-gatau: you have to approach a Vaiñëava paramahaàsa and follow his words and instructions; then you get the result.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Çrémad-Bhägavatam 7.9.50 – April 5, 1976, Våndävana
One who has understood Krsna as the supreme controller, the Supreme Person, the supreme maintainer, and everything the supreme, ultimate, then he can become guru. Otherwise, don’t try to become guru. Impersonalists, half-understood, partial-understood, he cannot become guru. This is the Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s formula. Therefore first of all try to understand Krsna. You will understand in such a way that you can refute all others’ argument, all others’ opposition. There are so many opposing elements. Then you are guru. Otherwise you cannot become a guru. Guru is not so teeny thing or trifle thing that everyone becomes Guru Maharaja. No. That is not guru.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 16.8 – January 28, 1975, Tokyo
Where should aspirant Devotees go these days with iskcon being so corrupt?
They should go to Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada has given us so many books, he is living in his books. Take advantage of the personal association and guidance of the best pure devotee of Krishna, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada BY READING HIS BOOKS!!!
https://krishnastore.com/books-srila-prabhupada-om-21_38.html
If anyone hears something philosophy from us, that will help him. But if he purchases one book that may turn his life. So selling books is the best preaching activity.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Sudama — Bombay 25 November, 1972
Hare Krsna Prji!!
I read the whole article and I even agree about the negativism going on in ISKCON, but I read some article of Srila Prabhupada, that he was saying to his disciples, NEVER LEAVE ISKCON. So I believe, instead of completely discarding ISKCON, its better to have little connection with it. We can do all our services like reading books, chanting, etc at home but as per Prabhupada wish, we need to go to temple to offer obeisances to the deities. May be it may not prove beneficial engaging oneself in the temple activities, but we can go to listen the ecstatic kirtan, take darshan of deities and purchase relevant books.
May be today ISKCON is going in NOT SO RIGHT hands, but this what Prabhupada taught us, HAVE FAITH ON KRSNA, DO YOUR DUTIES AND LEAVE REST ON KRSNA. So, instead of having any pros or cons against any person or society, its better to serve Sri Radha Krsna and have faith on God to bring ISKCON again on the right track, where there is only one goal, i.e. ATTAINMENT OF KRSNA, rest issues become absolutely irrelevant!!
Hari Bol !!
Yes. If you can actually purify ISKCON do it. That would be a great service to Srila Prabhupada and the world. But if you do not have the power to purify ISKCON STAY AWAY!!! Otherwise you will be poisoned by them.
But there is no ecstatic kirtan in ISKCON now. Mostly I hear sahajiya songs sung by Bhagavat saptah speakers.
Ask the BBT and BBTI and their alleged representatives this question.
Does the changed Bhagavad Gita As It Is have the same spiritual potency as the original 1972 edition?
Let me know their answer asap.
yes. as long as krsna is mentioned as the supreme personality of godhead.
Hanumän: One thing he’s saying, this gentleman, and I would like to know, is your successor named or your successor will be…
Prabhupäda: My success is always there.
Prabhupäda: These my disciples, they are part and parcel of me. Whole mission is going on with their cooperation. But if he says that “I am equal to my Guru Mahäräja,” then that is offense.
Mr. Malhotra: Suppose guru desires that my disciple should rise higher than me.
Prabhupäda: That means he is in lower stage. That you have to accept first of all.
Mr. Malhotra: Like as a father sees that his children grow.
Prabhupäda: Yes, still father begets father, and a child cannot become father. Father may want to see that the son is equally qualified, but still the father is father, and child is child. That is perpetual. Similarly, a part and parcel of God may be very powerful, but that does not mean that he has become God. Mr. Malhotra: Other traditions, guru disciple, then the disciple becomes guru, then disciple. The gurus may change.
Prabhupäda: They cannot change. If there are change of guru, the disciple acts. He’ll never say that “I have become equal or one with guru.” That is not so.
Mr. Malhotra: I am thinking about this, Swäméjé, that your Guru Mahäräja is preaching through you, and you are preaching through them.
Prabhupäda: Yes.
Mr. Malhotra: So disciple is guru through his disciples.
Prabhupäda: That’s all right. But that does not he has become. He may be representative of guru, representative of God, but it does not mean that he has become God.
Mr. Malhotra: But he becomes guru to his disciples.
Prabhupäda: That’s all right.
Mr. Malhotra: Never equal to his guru.
Prabhupäda: Not equal; representative. Not equal. I send one representative of this man, and he may be very expert, doing very good business, still he cannot be equal with me. He is acting as my representative, that’s another thing. But not that he has become the original proprietor. Mr. Malhotra: But as your disciples, you are taken as guru.
Prabhupada: But they will never say that they have become equal with me: “I have advanced to be my guru.” Never say. Just like this boy, he is offering obeisances. He may be expert in preaching more than me, but he knows that “I am subordinate.” Otherwise, how he shall offer obeisances? He can think, “Oh, now I am so learned. I am so advanced. Why shall I accept him as superior?” No. That continues. Even after my death, after my disappearance, he will offer obeisances to my picture.
Mr. Malhotra: But amongst his disciples he will be worshiped…
Prabhupada: That’s all right, but he remains a disciple of his guru. He will never say that “Now I have become guru, so I don’t care for my guru.” He will never say. Just like I am doing, but I am worshiping my guru still. So I remain subordinate to my guru, always. Even though I have become guru, still I am subordinate to my guru.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room and Car Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra — December 22, 1976, Poona
Reporter (2): What will happen to the movement in the United States when you die?
Prabhupäda: I will never die.
Devotees: Jaya! Hari bol! [laughter]
Prabhupäda: I shall live for my books, and you will utilize.
Reporter (2): Are you training a successor?
Prabhupäda: Yes, my Guru Mahäräja is there. Where is my photo of Guru Mahäräja? I think… Here is.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Press Conference — July 16, 1975, San Francisco
Hanumän: One thing he’s saying, this gentleman, and I would like to know, is your successor named or your successor will be…
Prabhupäda: My success is always there.
Prabhupäda: These my disciples, they are part and parcel of me. Whole mission is going on with their cooperation. But if he says that “I am equal to my Guru Mahäräja,” then that is offense.
Mr. Malhotra: Suppose guru desires that my disciple should rise higher than me.
Prabhupäda: That means he is in lower stage. That you have to accept first of all.
Mr. Malhotra: Like as a father sees that his children grow.
Prabhupäda: Yes, still father begets father, and a child cannot become father. Father may want to see that the son is equally qualified, but still the father is father, and child is child. That is perpetual. Similarly, a part and parcel of God may be very powerful, but that does not mean that he has become God. Mr. Malhotra: Other traditions, guru disciple, then the disciple becomes guru, then disciple. The gurus may change.
Prabhupäda: They cannot change. If there are change of guru, the disciple acts. He’ll never say that “I have become equal or one with guru.” That is not so.
Mr. Malhotra: I am thinking about this, Swäméjé, that your Guru Mahäräja is preaching through you, and you are preaching through them.
Prabhupäda: Yes.
Mr. Malhotra: So disciple is guru through his disciples.
Prabhupäda: That’s all right. But that does not he has become. He may be representative of guru, representative of God, but it does not mean that he has become God.
Mr. Malhotra: But he becomes guru to his disciples.
Prabhupäda: That’s all right.
Mr. Malhotra: Never equal to his guru.
Prabhupäda: Not equal; representative. Not equal. I send one representative of this man, and he may be very expert, doing very good business, still he cannot be equal with me. He is acting as my representative, that’s another thing. But not that he has become the original proprietor. Mr. Malhotra: But as your disciples, you are taken as guru.
Prabhupada: But they will never say that they have become equal with me: “I have advanced to be my guru.” Never say. Just like this boy, he is offering obeisances. He may be expert in preaching more than me, but he knows that “I am subordinate.” Otherwise, how he shall offer obeisances? He can think, “Oh, now I am so learned. I am so advanced. Why shall I accept him as superior?” No. That continues. Even after my death, after my disappearance, he will offer obeisances to my picture.
Mr. Malhotra: But amongst his disciples he will be worshiped…
Prabhupada: That’s all right, but he remains a disciple of his guru. He will never say that “Now I have become guru, so I don’t care for my guru.” He will never say. Just like I am doing, but I am worshiping my guru still. So I remain subordinate to my guru, always. Even though I have become guru, still I am subordinate to my guru.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room and Car Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra — December 22, 1976, Poona
Hare Krsna Prabhu.
I have visited the Leicester temple of Iskcon in the UK & have witnessed the politics being played. The temple president Pradyumna Dasa (Pradip Gajjar) is focused more on fund-raising than preaching. He likes people with wealthy pockets. I know it’s his responsibility to maintain & run the temple and for that he needs money but he ignores people who are from a poor background especially people who were born in India & can’t speak British English or do not have mannerisms of British people. It is disheartening to see him mingling only with a motley group of devotees & not even acknowledging others. A lot of the devotees do not bother to go to the temple for this reason. His inner circle of devotees too ignore the devotees who are not in the group. This petty politics is acting as a big hurdle for spiritual advancement. I don’t know if the GBC knows about this but I am not sure anything would happen if they are aware of this. Pradyumna Dasa was a Bramhachari once but his false ego is so blatantly visible.
During the Kirtan festival of 2016 a kirtaniya from Kolkata was disappointed after singing ecstatic kirtans as he said the following words. “Your president does not have time to even speak to me because maybe I look like a beggar. He only talks to people with deep pockets” This kirtaniya was also laughed at by many devotees because his mannerisms did not resonate with British vibes. But his kirtans were different & ecstatic. The first question to one of the devotees who moved to Leicester a couple of years back by Pradyumna Dasa was “Do you have a car? What do you do? ” The president’s eyes were trying to gauge the financial worth of this newcomer. He was surprised as he thought the president of the temple would ask questions like “How many rounds do you chant? Or are you OK with the Bhakti-Yoga practice or are you struggling?” Whenever there is a drama or a show during an Iskcon festival you would mostly see the president’s children at the forefront. Leicester Iskcon is more like “Pradeep Gajjar & company limited” actually.
I also wanted to know that Prabhupada also asked the devotees to associate with other devotees. How do we do that if we can’t go to the temple?
Hare Krishna Anirudha
Yes. ISKCON is a problem everywhere. It is not likely to improve.
In the Western countries it is not appropriate for ISKCON to run temples for the Indians. That is the problem, it has become a social club for Indians. Not a place for sincere devotees who are actually serious about practicing Krishna consciousness.
The reality is sincere devotees who are actually really interested in becoming Krishna conscious factually are rare, among Indians there are a small number of such sincere seekers of the truth, and also among the people of all other countries there are a small number of sincere seekers of the truth.
So ISKCON should be targeted at these sincere seekers of the truth, regardless of what sort of material body they currently happen to be in.
So the people attending a temple in the UK for example, should mirror the general public of that country. So the majority of the people coming to the temple should be British with everyone else coming also including the Indians but in proportion to the population.
Not that Krishna consciousness is Indian. Not that Krishna is a Hindu, not that ISKCON is for Hindus. Krishna is God and He is for everyone,
This Hinduization of India has destroyed everything in ISKCON and as you point out here even the Hindus, after ejecting all the local people among themselves, fight….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Madhudvisa dasa,
Hare Krishna
Studying the science of self realization and becoming Krsna conscious day by day is itself a progress for a fallen soul like me…however the disturbing issue are the gbc leaders which you point out are making their own theories, editing pabhupada’s books, teaching own philosophy in temple during daily classes of bg and shrimad bhagvatam.
after srila prabhupada left the material body, their was chaos(happens to any institution) even ramchandra’s ayodhya had to sent Sita to exile, Krsna’s yadu dynasty was eliminated after Him(leelas of Lord Himself) and so on..my questions to you are as follow:
1)should we visit the temples or not(or setup deity worship at home)
2)if visiting the temple should we buy materials for worship(Krishna store not always preferable)
3)prabhupada mentioned part of income should be offered to Krsna(how in a world is that possible if we donate money to temple & any of these ill-minded leaders don’t use it for their personal sense gratification?)
basically should we trust the present day iskcon temples or not?
…throughout the history right from satyuga till Chaitanya mahaprabhu’s avatar we understand the importance of living Guru.(no doubt prabhupada’s books are itself a spiritual guidance by disciplinic succession).
Hare Krishna Ganesh
My advice is stay away from the ISKCON temples. Chant Hare Krishna, worship, offer aroti, etc in your own house. And engage all the family members in chanting, honoring Krishna prasadam and read the books with the family members and discuss the philosophy together. And you can regularly invite friends and guests and feed them prasadam, chant Hare Krishna and discuss the philosophy.
If you go to ISKCON there will only be headaches. They have no potency to help you advance spiritually but they are very competent to give you a big headache.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,
Is it good to join ISKCON Bangalore group to practice Krishna consciousness and live like a bramhchari.
Most fallen soul,
Vicky Sharma
Hare Krishna Vicky
I don’t know. I have not visited any ISKCON Bangalore Temples for more than ten years.
I suggest, wherever you are, you get out of bed before 4:00 AM, offer Mangal-Aroti, chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and actually follow the instructions you find Srila Prabhupada giving you as you read his books. Then Prabhupada will guide you through his books and Krishna will guide you from within your heart and you will know what to do.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,
If I start following the routine you have mentioned then how will i survive without earning money. I want to survive on begging alms, but I don’t know how to practice that kind of life style. I need guidance and environment like all those early fortunate souls got when Srila Prabhupada personaly present there(From Materialistic point of view).
So that’s why I want some Society of Pure devotees or atleast company of a one pure devotee . Like when I was illiterate that time i got institutions (schools, college etc.) . Now I want to become a eligible candidate for “Krishna lok ” .So again I need some personal association where i can learn n grow SPIRITUALLY.
Most fallen soul,
Vicky Sharma
You can keep on with your normal life and just add Krishna consciousness. Get up early in the morning before 4:30 AM and chant Hare Krishna and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and worship Krishna in the mornings and evenings and during the day you can go to work and do your business as normal.
All of this is very concerning and extremely disappointing to me, as I am very much into and resonating with the Hari Krishna “path” at this time. I get it all (following the four regulative principles, chanting the maha-mantra, reading the books etc.etc.) I’m very disappointed that an aspiring devotee cannot find a true pure initiating guru now, as per your article. Who to trust?
My question is: if the maha-mantra is supposed to purify us all, why are these initiating gurus not purified by now and, thus, not been able to become bona-fide initiating teachers, after being in the movement for so long? This question causes doubt to raise it’s ugly head within me, concerning the power of the maha-mantra to purify the aspiring devotee and make him/her worthy of initiation etc., and this makes me uncomfortable. There should be plenty of bona-fide initiating teachers available if the maha-mantra is working within them correct? Or am I way making a huge mistake in my assumption here? Your thoughts kind sir? Thank you so much. I really trust your thoughts and judgements.
Glenn Tolbert
Hare Krishna Glenn
Hare Krishna maha-mantra works very well. But the thing is this is the material world and no good people come here to the material world. We are all criminals. The material world is something like a prison. If you go to a prison you can not expect to find good people there. They are all criminals.
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita manusanam sahasresu… “Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (Bhagavad-gita 7.3) So out of many thousands of men only one tries for perfection. So the devotees are trying for perfection, a few of them are, most are not even trying for perfection… And out of the few devotees who are trying for perfection hardly one knows Krishna in truth. So a bona fide spiritual master, one who knows Krishna in truth, is very, very rare. You can not expect that there will be many bona fide spiritual masters.
We have got full access to Srila Prabhupada. He is a bona fide spiritual master for sure. The most important thing about associating with a bona fide spiritual master is to hear from him. So hear from Srila Prabhupada by reading all his books, hear from Srila Prabhupada by listening to all his classes. And put the instructions you find Srila Prabhupada giving you in his books and though his classes into practice in your actual day-to-day life and you will become a pure devotee, a bona fide spiritual master, and will be able to save the world.
But hardly anyone is prepared to submissively hear from a bona fide spiritual master and actually surrender to him and actually follow his instructions… That is why a bona fide spiritual master is such a rare thing…
ISKCON have rejected Srila Prabhupada. The GBC disagree with the essence of practically everything that Srila Prabhupada teaches. So how can you expect anyone who works for the GBC to be a bona fide spiritual master? If anyone was a bona fide spritual master you will not find them anywhere near today’s ISKCON!!!
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you prabhu for thisl very well but also sad article. This moodern karmi ISKCON is no longer the movement that Prabhupada started. I could have beenn mislead by Jayatirtha & Gurudev but something just didnt feel at all right. I even walked out of a class once as I felt that something important was missing. I do have a psychic gift & Krsna has proteted me from the mistake of accepting them as bona fide gurus. As you know they both fell down. I was in a Bhagavad gita class in my home town a few years ago & had my first edition copy on my lap but when someone started reading I said to them that my copy says something quite different from yours so which one are you reading from? It was of course a changed edition! I then said to them but it means something quite different to what is in my edition. Then I realised that BBT had changed Prabhupadas Gita. Thank you so much for all your hard work. You are doing very good service for Prabhupada. I will pray for your protection.Hare Krsna.Linda (Ward)
Sir, then where we shall get the Lord’s geetha
You can get it at:
https://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-with-bonus-dvd-h-krishna-407.html
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada (the only dikhsa guru of ISKCON)
Seeing this current situation of ISKCON my heart really burns, i feel really very bad, Prabhupada built ISKCON with a lot of love, now these bogus gurus have taken control of the institution, and have done all kinds of nonsense, rest is the history.
Do you think there’s a way out to restore ISKCON? or what we are supposed to do in this situation? according to you what a real disciple of Srila Prabhupada is supposed to do in this critical situation? are we supposed to ignore whatever is happening? or is there an organized way to spread the glories of Srila Prabhupada and fight institutional maya? please reply.
Thanks! Haribol.
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Karan
I do not think it is possible to save ISKCON at this time.
ISKCON has gone too far away from Srila Prabhupada’s instructions. They have completely rejected the principle of accepting Srila Prabhupada as the authority. Now the GBC is the authority in ISKCON and they do not accept Prabhupada as their authority. So the link to the disciplic succession is broken. ISKCON is no longer connected to Krishna.
So it is like a branch which is disconnected from a tree.
It may look OK for a while but very soon all the leaves will dry up and it is incapable of producing any fruit because it is no longer connected to the tree.
So ISKCON is useless.
My suggestion is to avoid them completely and just read Srila Prabhupada’s books, follow his instructions seriously and chant Hare Krishna and talk to the people we meet about Krishna and encourage them to read Srila Prabhupada’s original books and in this way gradually the real ISKCON will come up again, Prabhupada’s ISKCON. That is the way. The GBC’s ISKCON is NOT Prabhupada’s ISKCON and that is the problem. So it is useless.
We need to become pure devotees of Krishna ourselves by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and following his instructions and when we are actually pure devotees we will be simply instruments in the hands of Krishna. Then Krishna will guide us how to fight maya.
So the main thing is to become proper devotees ourselves. As soon as we become actual devotees Srila Prabhupada will guide us through his books and Krishna will guide us from within our hearts.
My suggestion is totally avoid the ISKCON devotees and do not visit the ISKCON temples.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji
And I Humbly Bow Down to your Lotus Feet
Will His Divine Grace Sri Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Ji our only Eternal Shelter
Will His Divine Grace Come again to Spread Krishna Consciousness
Humble regards
Kushagra Sharma
Prabhu please accept my obeisances and gratitude for your most wonderful service. one who assists devotees in making advancement by sharing truthfully thier own experience and understanding, in my opinion, is most important. How else do we learn than by the example, not the imitation, of older more experienced, I will not go so far as to say experts, but you catch my drift? what you say about, everything really , so far is just as i remember it being explained to me. I was lucky. At a certain point we must act on faith, the process is perfect. If one wishes to debate points of view on the philosophy that is fine, but within following the process. Of course it’s a help if you’re a Sanskrit scholar, but we are all individuals and as such have our own opinions and experience. You never had to convince me their was an intelligent benevolent individual behind creation, for others this is a fundamental point that must be struggled with daily. Unfortunately government and the distribution of acquired wealth while not normally the realm of bhaktas or monks, fall on our shoulders because this is not a normal kali yuga. In this kali yuga both you and I find ourselves, and it is one in a zillion that Lord Chaitanya has manifest. Well I could go on, there’s somethingood to say on every point your bringing up. I am grateful to have such a sane devoted voice out there today so I can concentrate on my sadhana. Hare Krishna! And be happy.
Hare Krishna Mataji
Yes. Krishna consciousness is not about Sanskrit scholarship or philosophical debates. We never going to benefit by debating with someone else about Krishna consciousness and they are not going to benefit either. That is not the way transcendental knowledge flows. Transcendental knowledge flows from the bona fide spiritual master to the qualified disciple by submissive hearing, surrender and service. That is the only way. We need to hear from, surrender to and serve Srila Prabhupada. That is the secret to success.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Well, where is a document that approves AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja to be initiated spiritual master after the departure of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati? Who authorised Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaj to be initiated Guru? An especially who apointed BHaktivinode Thakur to do so?
There is no document. Srila Prabhupada was ordered by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur to preach Krishna consciousness in the Western countries on their first meeting. But that order was not even directly address to Srila Prabhupada but to the group of Srila Prabhupada and his friends. This same order Srila Bhaktsiddhanta would give to all his disciples who could speak English and were reasonably intelligent. So it was not really a specific order given to Srila Prabhupada alone. It was an open order to any of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s disciples who were prepared to actually really surrender and accept this order as their life and soul. And it happens that Srila Prabhupada was the only disciple of Srila Bhaktsiddhanta who actually avoided the disastrous implosion of the Gaudiya Matha and simply surrendered to Srila Bhaktsiddhanta and made Srila Bhaktsiddhanta’s orders his life and soul.
So it is an open order. Any of Srila Bhaktsiddhanta’s disciples could have accepted it. But it was Prabhupada who did actually surrender to Srila Bhaktsiddhanta and accept the order.
Similarly any of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples could surrender to him and make his orders their life and soul. But the reality is such surrender is very rare. We have seen that from the history. And it is the same history of bogus gurus that plagued the Gaudiya Matha after Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s departure.
But any one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples could actually surrender to Srila Prabhupada and accept the order and become a bona fide spiritual master. But we see so many rascals who do not surrender. Still that does not mean that some sincere disciple of Srila Prabhupada could not surrender to Srila Prabhupada and become a bona fide spiritual master. That is the whole point of Srila Prabhupada’s mission. It is why he has written so many books. So that someone will be able to read them and appreciate them and actually become a pure devotee of Krishna and preach. And ‘preach’ means make disciples. There is no meaning to ‘preach’ without making disciples.
But one has to first become a pure devotee and then preach. Otherwise we have seen the result of conditioned souls artificially imitating the postion of a bona fide spiritual master. It is a disaster. To be a bona fide spiritual master one has to have the qualifications. Otherwise it is a total disaster for everyone involved.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna ,
Prabhu happy to see that you have published original books of srila praphupada in online , i have downloaded few books , Happy to have original books , this was i wanted . my question is Praphupada has given all instructions in his books , lecturers , letters and conversations .could you able to provide the letters of him representing how to run ISKCON because i am upset with this problem in ISKCON regarding disciplinic sucession .I want to ask more things regarding this .
Hari Bol
Hare Krishna
Yes Prabhu. Srila Prabhupada’s letters are available at http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com
You can read them there.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna
all glories to srila prabhupada
plz open a new channel,which spread krishna conscious and prabhupada preachings.which helps the ppl to understand the supreme personality of godhead(KRISHNA).
thnk u
hare krishna
Hare Krsna! So what can we do now to serve Srila Prabhupad and Krsna???!!!Why did the influences of Kali have to take place in ISKCON why??WHY?? Also where can we buy the originals books written by Srila Prabhupad? Isn’t there anyway of telling the innocent devotees at the iskcon temples about how only Srila Prabhupad is only diksha guru for the whole of iskcon? Can we explain the situation to present day temple presidents. So where have all the disciples of Srila Prabhupad gone now? Are there any temples that still follow Srila Prabhupads instruction? Isn’t it possible to go on Sankirtana with all the sincere followers of Srila Prabhupada? All glories to Srila Prabhupad!!! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Ki Jay! Jay Sri Krsna !!!!
Hare Krishna!
You can get Prabhupada’s original books at http://www.KrishnaStore.com and you can read them online at http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com
And if you read Prabhupada’s books all your other questions will be answered.
We have to expect that after the disappearance of the Spiritual Mater there will be chaos and we are seeing that chaos now. It is not a very great surprise.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
please accept my humble obeisances.All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Please Prabhu Madhudvisa das help me, I live in Indonesia and I got Srila Prabhupada books in Indonesian language editions,are those books original or have been changed?how can I get the original Srila Prabhupad books?
I love listen to the Hare Krishna songs by Niranjana maharaj,is it alright if i listen Hare Krishna songs that maybe sung by non pure devotee?
your servant
sadtya
Why not listen to the songs of Srila Prabhupada, you can download them from http://www.Krishna.tv
Prabhupada’s original books are in English. I suggest you get the original English books from http://www.KrishnaStore,com and read them. In any other language they are not Prabhupada’s original books, it is a translation and will not be perfect. They say ‘a blind uncle is better than no uncle at all…’, so of course it is very important to have translations of all of Srila Prabhupada’s books in all the languages of the world, but serious followers of Srila Prabhupada should learn English and take the small trouble in the beginning to read his original books in English.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Help…I’m lost with all this “guru” or “bonafide gurus” thing in ISKCON..I am new and I want to do the right thing for Krishna. Can you please tell me if the Culver City Temple in Los Angeles is a REAL BONAFIDE TEMPLE established by Sri. Prabhupada?? Are they the real deal?
Hare Krishna
Certainly New Dwarka in Los Angeles is established by Srila Prabhupada. But they are part of ISKCON and over the years since Srila Prabhupada left our physical vision they have changed the philosophy in so many ways. So realistically if you go there they will tell you that Prabhupada is dead and gone and you need a living guru and that guru does not have to be a pure devotee or a liberated soul, he only has to be approved by the GBC. And if you listen to them and follow their advice and accept one of their bogus non-liberated gurus then your spiritual life will be destroyed or at least severely damaged…
Actually a bona fide guru has to be a pure devotee of Krishna. If your guru is not a pure devotee of Krishna then there is no way you will ever become a pure devotee of Krishna by following him.
So it will not be good for your spiritual life to hear from them and follow their instructions actually. Because they are not repeating Prabhupada’s instructions — they have changed so many things…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
This are indeed tough times for new bhaktas. Its really confusing and mesmerizing for new devotees who are seeking for a genuine master of the four sampradayas. Well all that we can do is to surrender to the grace of the Lord. “Hari Krpa Hi kevalam”..
We can surrender to Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of Krishna. We can not surrender to the ‘grace of the Lord’. What is this nonsense? You have to find the pure devotee of Krishna, surrender to him and serve him and by the mercy of the pure devotee of Krishna you can get the mercy of Krishna. The mercy of Krishna is not available directly. You have to get it by pleasing the pure devotee of Krishna. That is the only way…
The “living guru” concoction is based only in the material aspect of the guru and they don’t have any knowledge or spiritual realization. They are not livings also because they don’t have any spiritual live; the sadhana bhakti for them is some kind of Maya and they don’t fall in it. Nobody can represent Srila Prabhupada except himself, his books and the completely surrendered disciples to the Acharya (Spiritual Master.)
The today’s “ISKCON” is no more the Movement for Krishna Consciousness that Srila Prabhupada founded. “ISKCON” don’t have money to print books or people to distribute them, the “living gurus” that aren’t Krishna Conscious are selling all the properties of ISKCON and are using the remnants of ISKCON for personal profits.
So the initiations in today’s “ISKCON” should be accepted only in behalf of Srila Prabhupada as always. Is said in the Vedas that in order to dispel the illusion of Maya, the jiva should take shelter at the feet of a genuine guru who is a true Vaisnava. The Vaisnava guru can impart you knowledge by his words and behaviours. This is known as diksa and siksa. If one has previously accepted diksa and siksa from an unqualified guru, he should be initiated and receive instructions again when he meets a genuine guru.
“Learned scholars have determined that a Vaisnava is one who is initiated into a Visnu mantra in accordance with the regulations of sastra, and who is engaged in the worship of Sri Visnu. All others are known as non-Vaisnavas.” (Hari-bhakti-viläsa 1.55)
The padma Purana says: “Initiation into the exclusive chanting of the Krishna mantra is extremely beneficial for the devotee when a bona fide spiritual master initiates him into this mantra, but “Diksa mantras not received from the acaryas in one of the four sampradayas will be fruitless.”
The “living gurus” are not surrendered to any sampradaya, not by the instructions of any guru and not by any spiritual practice.
Hare Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada uvaca:
“The example I have already… Sometimes I give. Just like I speak in the tape recorder. When you play, replay the tape recorder, the same voice will come. But that is not myself. That is my separated energy. With my energy I have spoken something, I have vibrated some sound. That is recorded in the tape. When it is played back, it produces exactly the same sound, but still, it is separated from me. Try to understand.” — Lecture: Bhagavad-gita 7.4 — Vrndavana, August 10, 1974
“Separated energy you’ll understand: just like I am speaking, and my speech is being recorded in the tape recorder. So even I am not here, if you apply the machine, it will exactly speak like me. That is my energy, but now it is separated. It cannot be changed. Suppose I am personally sitting here. If I want to speak something and I can change into another, but that machine cannot change. It will simply produce the sound, what is recorded there. Therefore it is separated energy.” — Lecture: Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.22-26 — San Francisco, March 10, 1967
“Just like I am speaking and it is being recorded. When it will be replayed, you will find that I am speaking, but that speaking is separated. The speaking has come from me, but in the tape record it appears that it is separated. Or it is separated. In one sense it is not separated because originally comes from me, and another sense, it is mechanical going on. So similarly, this material world is also Kṛṣṇa.” — Lecture: Bhagavad-gita 7.6 — Hyderabad, December 11, 1976
“How separated energies? Try to understand what is separated energy. Just like in the tape record, I sing or speak, it is recorded. But when the tape record plays, I do not speak, I do not sing, but it is my energy. It is working. That is separated energy. And when I speak directly, that is not separated energy.” — Lecture: Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 6.151-154 — Gorakhpur, February 14, 1971
“A dog, he cannot go to a guru. That is not possible. But a human being, he must. Abhigacchet. It must. It is not optional, that ‘I may go, or I may not.’ No, you must. That is the injunction. That is the Vedic injunction.” Lecture: Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.2 — Vrndavana, September 6, 1975
“Follow the general course, sādhana-siddhi. The regulative principles you must follow as instructed in the śāstra. Therefore there are so many śāstras. And guru is guide. We must always… Even if you are nitya-siddha or kṛpa-siddha, you should not neglect the general regulative principle. That is very dangerous. Don’t try to do that. We must follow. Nitya. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, God, but He is accepting guru. Who is His guru? He is guru of everyone, but He has also accepted Īśvara Purī as His guru. Kṛṣṇa Himself, He accepted His guru, Sāndīpani Muni, teaching us that without guru you cannot make any advance. Ādau gurvāśrayam. The first business is to accept guru…. Don’t think that ‘I am so advanced. I may not require any guru. I can do without guru.’ That is nonsense. That, not possible. ‘Must.’ … If you are actually serious to understand the transcendental science, spiritual knowledge, oh, you must have guru. … Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is no such single instance throughout the whole Vedic literature. And nowadays, so many rascals, they are becoming guru without any authority. That is not guru. You must be authorized. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rā… [Bg. 4.2]. AS SOON AS THE PARAMPARĀ IS LOST, sa kālena yoga naṣṭo parantapa, IMMEDIATELY FINISHED. THE SPIRITUAL POTENCY FINISHED.” – Lecture : Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.7 — Mayapur, February 27, 1977
The Glories of Chapter One of the
Bhagavad Gita from the Padma Purana
Parvati said “My dear husband, You know all the transcendental truths, and by your mercy I have heard the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Oh Lord, now I long to hear from You the glories of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, which was spoken by Lord Krishna, and by hearing which, one’s devotion to Lord Krishna increases”
Lord Shiva replied “That person, Whose body is the color of a dark rain cloud, whose carrier is the king of birds, Garuda, and Who is lying on Ananta-Sesha, the thousand headed serpent, that Lord Vishnu, Whose glories have no limit, I am always worshipping. My dear Parvati once after Lord Vishnu had killed the demon Mura, He was resting peacefully on Ananta-Sesha, when the bestower of all good fortune of the universe, Sri Lakshmi, respectfully inquired from Him.
“Bhagavan, You are the controller and maintainer of the whole universe, but yet You are sleeping unhappily on this ocean of milk What is the reason?”
Lord Vishnu said, “My dear Lakshmi, I am not sleeping, but I am watching how wonderfully My energy is working. It is by this wonderful energy of Mine, by which I am controlling all things, and yet remain separate. And it is by remembering these divine activities of Mine, that the great devotees and yogis manage to free themselves from the wheel of birth and death, and attain that transcendental nature of Mine, which is eternal and free from all qualities.”
Lakshmi said, “O, controller of all things. You are the goal of the meditation of great yogis. Nothing can go on without You. And yet You are separate. You are the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction of all the material universes. Kindly inform me about the workings of Your wonderful energies, which are so attractive, that even You are lying here, meditating upon them”
Lord Vishnu said, “My dear Lakshmi, the workings of My multi-fold energies, and how to become free from the bonds of birth and death, and attain My eternal Nature, can only be understood by one of pure intelligence, who has an inclination to render service unto Me. This transcendental knowledge is fully explained in the Srimad Bhagavad-gita”
Lakshmi inquired, “My dear Lord, if you yourself are amazed, by the workings of Your energies, and are ever trying to fathom their limit, then how is it possible that the Bhagavad-gita can describe those unlimited energies of Yours, and how to cross over them, and attain the transcendental nature?”
Lord Vishnu said, “I Myself have manifested in the Form of Bhagavad-gita. Please understand that the first five chapters are My five heads, the next ten chapters are My ten Arms, and the Sixteenth Chapter is My stomach. The last two chapters are My lotus-feet. In this way you should understand the transcendental Deity of the Bhagavad-gita. This Bhagavad-gita is the destroyer of all sins. And that intelligent man who daily recites one chapter or even one shloka, one half shloka, or at least one quarter shloka, will attain the same position as Susharma had attained.”
Lakshmi inquired, “Who was Susharma? What class did he belong to? And what destination did he attain?”
Lord Vishnu said, “My dear Lakshmi, Susharma was a very wicked and a most sinful man. Although he was born in a brahmana family, his family had no Vedic knowledge. And he only took pleasure from hurting others. He never engaged in the chanting of My names, in giving charity, or receiving guests. In fact, he never performed any pious activities. For his livelihood he collected leaves, and sold them in the bazaar. He especially enjoyed drinking wine, and eating flesh. In this way he passed his life.
“One day that foolish Susharma had gone to the garden of one sage for collecting leaves, when a snake came and bit him, and he died. After his death he was cast into many hells, where he suffered for a long time. After which he attained the body of a bull. That bull was purchased by a crippled man, who engaged him in his service. For about seven or eight years he was carrying extremely heavy loads. One day that crippled man had piled a very heavy load onto the back of his bull. Very quickly he was forcing that bull along when suddenly the bull fell over and became unconscious. Many persons gathered there, to see what was happening, feeling sorry for that bull. One pious man bestowed upon that bull the results of some of his pious activities. Seeing that, other persons standing there started remembering their pious activities, and offered the results of some of those activities to that bull. In that crowd there was also one prostitute who did not know if she had ever performed any pious activities, but seeing everyone else offering their pious credits to that bull, she also offered the results of any pious activities she might have performed After that, the bull died, and was taken to the abode of Yamaraja, the God of Death.
There, Yamaraja informed him, “You are now free from the reactions of all your previous sinful deeds, due to the pious credits given to you by that prostitute.” Then he took birth in a very high brahmana family. In that birth, he was able to remember his past lives. After many days, he decided to search out that prostitute, who had been the cause of freeing him from his hellish situation.
After he had found and introduced himself to that lady he inquired from her “What were the pious activities performed by you, the fruits of which freed me from my hellish situation?” The prostitute replied to him, “My dear sir, in that cage is one parrot, which recites something everyday. Hearing that recitation, my heart has become completely pure. The results of hearing that recitation I had given to you.” Thereafter they both inquired from that parrot about that recitation. That parrot, remembering his previous life, started to narrate his history. “Previously, I had been a very learned brahmana. But due to my pride, I used to insult other learned persons. I was also extremely jealous. After I died, I was cast into many hells, and after a long time of suffering, I achieved this body of a parrot. Due to my past sinful activities, my mother and father died while I was a baby. One day, while I was lying on the hot sands, with no protection, some rishis saw me, and took me to their ashram, and put me in a cage. At that same place, the children of those rishis were learning the recitation of the First Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Hearing them repeat those Shlokas, I also, started repeating those shloka along with them.
“Shortly after, one thief stole me from that place and sold me to this pious lady.” Lord Vishnu continued, “By reciting the First Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, that parrot had become completely pure. And by hearing that recitation that prostitute also became completely pure. And by receiving some of the pious results of hearing that recitation, Susharma also become completely pure.
After discussing for some time the glories of the first chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Susharma returned to his home, and the three of them individually engaged in reciting the First Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita, and very quickly attained the supreme destination, Vaikuntha.” Anyone who recites, who hears, or studies the First Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, will very easily cross over the ocean of material miseries, and attain the service of the lotus-feet of Lord Krishna.
please accept my heartiest thanks for giving us such a great piece of knowledge . i really will recite bhagwad gita everyday so in order i can gain my lost relationship with lord krishna
Only the authorised representatives (ritviks) are the ones whom we should deal. Since now most of them are fallen and the big guru scam being exposed, people should start following only Srila Prabhupada.
Iskcon Bangalore, being the best example for this.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krsna, all Glories to Srila Prabhupada
I came in touch with Srila Prabhupada’s books in 1997 and on of the first thing which got stuck in my mind was, that Srila Prabhupada stressed, that “vani” the instructions are more important than “vapu” the physical association. One year later when Harikesha Swami left Iskcon leaving many confused devotees in different countries, (I observed it in Germany) I, being a newcomer started to pray to Srila Prabhupada like this: “Srila Prabhupada, I don’t want a cheating guru, I want a guru like you, even if I am not yet qualified for it, but I don’t want to be cheated either. Now 12 years later I can wholeheartedly say, that Srila Prabhupada responded to this prayer, by sending me his disciples or granddisciples when I was in need for guidance, but none of them whom I considered my siksah Gurus had a Guru function in ISKCON. Altough I am living at the moment without any physical devotee association, I feel often very close to him, often I find the answers for my questions in his books. I remember reading somewhere in his books, that he said, that Jesus Christ is the Guru for the Christians, – he is not physically living either, so what is the difficulty to accept Srila Prabhupada as our Guru?
Sincerly
Bhaktin Annette
Hare Krsna!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Read your article (Who Is Representing Srila Prabhupada Now?
July 31, 2009 by madhudvisa-dasa). I have been reading many, many articles over the years. Seems that some how or other Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya are now forcing me out of my hibernation of over twenty-some years. I am slowly communicating again with old godbrothers and godsisters (many whom I have never met face to face).
Now that most of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions are widely known, it is high time to start resurrecting His Divine Grace’s legacy. I still have some energy left to try to repay Srila Prabhupada’s infinite compassion on this tiny jiva.
I would like to hear and see some practical vision for gathering up all the Prabhupadanugas to develop a community somewhere on the planet. If we are all on the same page, what are the impediments to such an vision? Maybe an online istaghosti with ideas of where to begin again.
I have spoken with many persons about Krsna consciousness over the years and when they become interested after hearing about Srila Prabhupada’s plan for rural farm communities, they fall back into their hectic modern lifestyle and become disinterested.
I would much appreciate a response. Thank you for your time.
Your servant in the service Sri Sri Guru and Gouranga,
Karusa Dasa
Hare Krishna Karusa Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhuapda!
As Kali Yuga advances it is more and more difficult to get a group of like minded devotees together and have them all surrender to one vision and work for that.
Such a project really requires a qualified leader and devotees who will accept his leadership. There are so many “leaderless” models of management. But every practical organization or country has to have a leader. Otherwise how can it go on?
Of course Srila Prabhupada is the leader for us. But unfortunately even though Srila Prabhuapda’s instructions are very clear, there are so many different interpretations of them and so many different points of view among the Prabhupadanugas.
You are just now starting, “coming out of hibernation” as you put it. I have been trying to work with the Prabhupadanugas for the past 20 years and in that time have seen many inspiring ideas and projects started but all have, more or less, failed due to the lack of the ability of a group of devotees to work together.
Everybody is the leader of his own group of one person…
That seems to be the current situation.
So it is something of a difficult situation at the moment. ISKCON goes on as they have some sort of structure and some sort of leadership and some sort of authority within the organization. There are many faults with ISKCON but it is going on and they are chanting Hare Krishna and distributing Prabhuapda’s books. They have some system of management which at least works to some degree.
With the exception of ISKCON Bangalore, who have a good and functioning management structure, the Prabhupadanugas have not been able to manage anything really. So before we can do anything there needs to be some vision as to what it is we should be doing and some practical management structure and leadership, other than Srila Prabhuapda. Living leaders are really required… And also people who will follow the living leaders….
So it is an interesting time…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Karusa dasa raises an issue that is at the heart of the Sankirtan Movement, i.e., comming together.
Karusa is being rather humble when he states that he is coming out of “hibernation”. He is a wonderful person with whom to exchange ideas, and based on those exchanges, I decided to write a number of articles for the International Society for Cow Protection (ISCOWP). My latest article is on Swine Flu. I also decided to create a website: http://www.biodynamictheology.com
Madhudvisa Prabhu, I am also writing to express my appreciation for your management of KrishnaStore.com I am benefiting greatly from the Srila Prabhupada DVD collection. With your permission, I would like to mention KrishnaStore.com on my website.
Finally, if in the future you come across any websites that you feel are useful for self-sufficiency agriculture, please forward them to me. I will then include these websites on http://www.biodynamictheology.com. I think it helps to have everything organized in one place. Thank you for your time.
Yours in the service of Krishna.
Chand Prasad, Ph.D.
Hare Krsna,
I thought your site may relieve me of my confusion, but I am quite confused after reading this article as to which is the thing to accept, Srila Prabhupada as direct Guru or his disciples, can you clear confusion through some Quotes from the shastras regarding the two systems?
I have many questions to follow
Thanking you in anticipation for your kind help
Hare Krishna Ravi
You have missed the point.
The point is that the only way you can become liberated from the material world is to surrender to a liberated spiritual master, serve him, enquire from him submissively. Because such a self realized person has seen the truth and he can also instruct you in such a way that you can see the truth.
Most of the disciples openly admit that they are not self-realized souls, so they can not help you see the truth. And if someone is claiming to be a self-realized soul he is probably lying. Because a self-realized soul who understands Krishna is very, very, very rare.
We have the chance of taking advantage of Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of Krishna, a self-realized soul. So my suggestion is that you please take advantage of Srila Prabhupada’s associaiton.
It is not at all confusing.
Krishna instructs us to surrender to and serve His pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada is Krishna’s pure devotee. So please surrender to him and serve him.
Not at all complicated…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my humble obeisances.
There are emerging a number of devotees around the world without spiritual a name and who do not accept the “gurus” of “ISKCON” or the other apasampradayas and is necessary to implement a system to properly initiate on the behalf of Srila Prabhupada.
Another important point is that Srila Prabhupada based his preaching on the phrase “We are not these bodies”. Which means that we do not should look for material complacency of the senses (mind, intelligence and ego) but to awake our spiritual senses, something unknown for us and difficult to understand. Usually devotees conclude that the better is give pleasure to the senses until death and then chant Hare Krishna for liberation, pure materialism.
Bhaktisiddhanta said that “this so called human civilization based on the complacency of the senses must be crushed and on its ashes build a temple.” He said it one hundred years ago in India the cradle of the spirituality in the world and when social conditions were not so deteriorated as today. (Srila Prabhupada in one of his room conversations strongly wished the devotees preach in India).
A society based on the complacency of the senses implies that some enjoy while others suffer. A society of exploiters and exploited, or oppressors and oppressed. This is the basic principle of the immorality and demons infiltrated the Hare Krishna movement in the role of “devotee,” “swamis” and “gurus” exploit the devotees in the interests of their personal complacency. They interpreted the Hare Krishna movement is nothing more than another array of exploiters and exploited to gratification of the senses at the expense of others and at the end we will go to heaven. They understand so blatantly that: “Loving devotional service,” means work for free or selflessly. This free work is not understand neither because is interpreted that nobody gives nothing for nothing and are only interested in eating, having a roof and some other material gain that we can draw from devotees.
Another point is that it’s said that the process is: “Chanting, dancing and eating.” This is interpreted as the sense gratification. Or it’s a spiritual way to gratification or exploitation. Something opposed to the devotion and does not help on the spiritual progress. There is not a line to define where begins the spiritual and ends the material.
If we are ready to begin a program of preach to continue with Srila Prabhupada´s movement is necessary to review the philosophical basis and begin printing some flyers, pamphlets or triplets, to be distributed for free in harinama sankirtan in all languages with the address and telephone number of each group in particular, with a clear message adapted to the time, place and circumstances. The matter is the difference between divine life and demonic. It is said that if one reads Srimad Bhagavatam and not develop love for the devotees will have to spend much time in hell. The idea is to re-establish the statutes of ISKCON based on seven the points: “Unite the devotees, etc.
I hope you be well and static in Krishna consciousness.
Your servant Goura.
The wise men see by the ear.
In our times of ISKCON we had hoped that the GBC would take forward the work of Srila Prabhupada, but eventually with the time everything was forgotten. And in times of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur the sankirtan movement of Sri Chaitannya Mahaprabhu had also fallen into oblivion and only a few babajis stayed as remnants of such supreme work. Usually were meetings in Sri Mayapur Dham between Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Srila Gaura Kisora Das Babaji, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and some other great souls to execute sankirtan and discuss matters extremely transcendental and over the future of the Hare Krishna movement.
When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati left this planet, the Gaudiya Math did not have a resource such as the Internet connected to a network of computers associated with an interactive Web site updated constantly and where comments were taken into account and as a GBC members had everybody the opportunity to access and expose their opinions and free from limitations of time and distance or others barriers, such as for the grace of our dear Lord Krishna we can see today we have the great mercy of having a devotee as Madhudvisa prabhu who is providing us such valuable service to Srila Prabhupada and the sincere vaisnavas and that causes too much envy to the cheaters. Other vaisnavas websites do not have the special features of this site. We can conclude that this Web site is Krishna Himself.
All regional leaders must be united in a single block with Srila Prabhupada to don’t miss the strength of the Acharya. We have an Acharya and our essence of life lies in him. We only need the sincerity and the true desire to work together for Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada said: “The love for me is demonstrated working together.” I believe that in this Web site is in detail the whole information necessary to put forward the movement Hare Krishna for future generations of vaisnavas, we shall all do our bit.
I offer unlimited obeisances to all vaisnavas devotee of the Lord,
Sadhu Sanga Ky Jai!
Hare Krishna.
u said = The ISKCON living gurus are advising their disciples: You can’t understand Prabhupada’s books or classes, you have to hear from me instead. You can’t understand Prabhupada… So that’s hardly being Prabhupada’s representative.
u r a liar
BUT TRUTH IS DIFFERENT
i have heard them always saying read Sirla Prabhupada’ book, chant your rounds, follow 4 regulative priciples
Hare Krishna Kapil
Yes. Today some ISKCON gurus are more-or-less acting as representatives of Srila Prabhuapda, or ritvik gurus. This is however as a result of the failure of the ISKCON gurus who very strongly preached “You can’t understand Prabhupada’s books or classes, you have to hear from me instead.”
Until say fifteen years ago this philosophy, “You can’t understand Prabhupada’s books or classes, you have to hear from me instead,” was 100% accepted and preached by ISKCON gurus. It was considered an offense for a disciple to approach Srila Prabhuapda directly.
So I am not a liar at all, and you should not jump to conclusions.
There are still a number of ISKCON gurus who preach like this. But there are now many ISKCON gurus who consider that they are connecting their disciples with Srila Prabhuapda.
But as Srila Prabhupada said “There is some poison in this ISKCON movement and it has spread practically everywhere.” So that poison in ISKCON is very strong now and no matter what the ISKCON gurus are saying that poison is to minimize Srila Prabhuapda. And that minimization of Srila Prabhupada a thoughtful person can see everywhere in ISKCON.
The leaders in ISKCON have changed practically everything. Today’s ISKCON is almost unrecognizable compared with the ISKCON Srila Prabhuapda established.
Today’s ISKCON is not at all fulfilling the aims and objectives of the ISKCON Srila Prabhupada established. It is a completely different organization with completely different aims and objectives.
There is some sentiment for Prabhuapda in ISKCON for sure, but the mood and activities of ISKCON have completely changed. And not in a good way.
In the 1970’s you could hardly find a person in the western world who had not heard of the Hare Krishna mantra. Now in the western world you can hardly find a person who has even the faintest idea about Krishna. This is something that you can practically experience if you put on a dhoti and kurta and tilak and go out on the streets of any big city and talk to the people. They will have no idea at all what you are. They may think you are a Buddhist.
This is a testament to the failure of the ISKCON movement. The preaching has stopped.
If you travel to ISKCON temples all over the world you will find that they are no longer camps accommodating the soldiers of Krishna’s army who are getting strength and refreshment there to go out onto the streets of all the great cities of the world with mridangas, kartals and book bags in their hands, rather they are empty buildings with a Pujari and a group of Hindus who come on Sundays for a free vegetarian feast. There is no life, there is no preaching, ISKCON is, for all intentional purposes, dead.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
PAMHO AGTGG AGTSP
If you say 15 yrs back no comment. I joined 2 yrs back and i have always listened them best way to understand is read Sirla Prabhupada’s book.
Thanks for answering.
If you are initiated by an Iskcon Guru who was never authorized by Srila Prabhupada to act in this capacity then you will not get Pure Bhakti.
The spiritual master should be worshipped as good as Krsna himself because he is a fully realized PURE soul with PURE LOVE for KRSNA with NO desires for wealth fame or adoration. And no attraction for anything material, nor does he desire any number of followers. So if your are being directed to worship a conditioned soul as a Pure devotee as good as Srila Prabhupada himself then the end result will be..according to scripture= another birth.
pranam prabhuji PLS UPLOAD SCANNED COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL FULL SET OF SRIMAD BHAGVATAM AND MAKE IT AVAIABLE FOR FREE AS I CANT AFFORD IT I THINK IT WILL BENIFIT ALL THE READERS
Hare Krishna Ananya
We have already scanned all of Srila Prabhupada’s books and uploaded free PDF files of these scanned books to http://www.Krishna.org
The free download of Srila Prabhupada’s original Srimad Bhagavatam is at:
https://krishna.org/srimad-bhagavatam-original-edition-pdf-download/
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
thank you prabhji for replying my answer all glories to our gurudev
Hare Krsna Kapil Prabhu.
It is very nice and you are fortunate to find authentic pure devotee to tell you things as they are… and guide you to find your answers in Srila Prabhupada’s books.
I personally know a devotee who got his initiation two years ago (not from Srila Prabhupada) and he is preaching now..”You have to hear from ME, you can not understand Srila Prabhupada’s books”. Can you IMAGINE that?
In this Kali-Yuga the desire for “adoration” and “distinction” as strong as sex desire. And there are many such bogus devotees out there.
Yes. It is a problem. Someone gets a little power from reading Prabhupada’s books then things he is so great and everyone needs to surrender to him… But he forgets he got where he is by reading Prabhupada’s books. So why can’t others make spiritual advancement by reading Prabhupada’s books?
That is why Prabhupada wrote his books. So he could continue preaching through his books. Prabhupada is living in his books. Prabhupada is a living guru, in his books. So we simply have to take advantage of the personal association and instructions of Srila Prabhupada by reading his books.
Anyone who says otherwise is a demon.
Demons are very common. They want to get fame, power, profit and adoration. And this, as you have hinted, is nothing but another, more subtle, representation of the sex desire.
So yes. It is kali yuga. We have to expect that practically everyone will be bogus. It is the age of bogusness…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa