PRABHUPADA NEWS

Myth: “Ritvik system disrupts guru-disciple relationship and ongoing supervision by guru”

18. April 2026 By Prabhupada News 1 Comment

Anti Ritvik Myths debunked (#41)

Myth: “Ritvik system disrupts guru-disciple relationship, since disciple in ISKCON should serve under supervision of guru to get assignment of service and ongoing corrections”

Truth: Srila Prabhupada has already given essential guidance and delegated practical supervision to his representatives (not to diksa gurus).

1. Service under supervision of guru = Service under supervision of guru’s representative

Srila Prabhupada told that one need to perform devotional service under the guidance of guru, but this is a general principle. In practice, even during physical presence of His Divine Grace, this service in ISKCON was often performed with help and under supervision of his representatives — Srila Prabhupada’s more senior disciples (along with help of books, audio recordings, letters, etc.). Here are some examples:

Satsvarūpa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, there’s also a question of reciprocation. You have so many disciples, thousands, and one devotee was asking me yesterday, “How does… I want to please Śrīla Prabhupāda. How does he know my progress and my service because I’m…, when I’m so far away from him and if I don’t write him?”
Prabhupāda: So his representatives are there, the president, the GBC. They will see.
Mādhavānanda: The representatives.
Jayādvaita: The representative may be there, but what is my personal relationship?
Prabhupāda: Hm? To obey your spiritual master. Whatever he has said, you follow strictly. Follow the regulative principles. Chant sixteen rounds. That’s all. (Morning Walk — April 8, 1975, Māyāpur)

“In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the requirement is that one must be prepared to give up the four pillars of sinful life-illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. In Western countries especially, we first observe whether a potential disciple is prepared to follow the regulative principles. Then he is given the name of a Vaiṣṇava servant and initiated to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, at least sixteen rounds daily. In this way the disciple renders devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master or his representative for at least six months to a year. He is then recommended for a second initiation, during which a sacred thread is offered and the disciple is accepted as a bona fide brāhmaṇa.” (Cc. Madhya 24.330 purport)

“Regarding your proper engagement, you should first discuss that with your GBC and try to work something out together. Regarding your questions. I have already answered the most important question. “How to please Krishna?”—by following all the regulative principle that I have given you, chanting 16 rounds and reading my books scrutinizingly. Everyone must do these things, otherwise they cannot understand Krishna Consciousness.” (SP Letter to: Ādi-kesava — Bombay 16 January, 1975) [Read More…]

Myth: “There is strict sampradaya history of accepting only physically present gurus”

11. April 2026 By Prabhupada News 2 Comments

Anti Ritvik Myths debunked (#40)

Myth: “There is standard, strict method of sampradaya whereby everyone should accept only living, physically present guru”

Truth: There have been a number of non-standard situations in the history of Vaisnava sampradayas, including acceptance of departed acarya.

Maya-ISKCON “guru” Trivikrama Swami said, “In our tradition there’s always been a living guru who gives you the name and gives you the neck beads, and who chants on your beads” (From TKS lecture given at ISKCON Alachua, USA, on 9/4/23)

Another person wrote, “All the acaryas in Guru parampara accepted a LIVING, Manifested Guru and asked him questions and received instructions.”

But there are instances in history when initiation was received from an acarya who had already passed away from physical point of view and in other “non-standard” circumstances that do not fit into the picture of “Guru parampara” that vapuvadis, smarta brahmanas and other apa-sampradayas try to present.

Srila Prabhupada’s followers accept the chain of gurus of Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya which is recorded in several works of recognized Gaudiya Vaisnava saints. ‘Gaura ganoddesa dipika’, written by Sri Kavi-karnapura in 1576 AD, lists the names of the acaryas of our parampara (verses 21-25). Srila Prabhupada mentions this in his purport to Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, 6.40. In the XVIII century, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana also listed the names of the Gaudiya sampradaya acaryas in his ‘Prameya ratnavali’ (1.7). Subsequently, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur presented the same chain of succession (including recent acaryas) in Sanskrit and Bengali in the form of his bhajana ‘Sri Guru parampara’, which he used as a mangalacarana to his commentary on the ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ called ‘Gaudiya-bhashya’ (which took twelve years to publish- from 1923 to 1935 and which Srila Prabhupada used for translating the Bhagavatam into English). The very same chain of acaryas (plus A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as the 32nd link) is published by Srila Prabhupada at the end of his introduction to ‘Bhagavad-gita As It Is’:

The Disciplic Succession

Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (Bhagavad-gītā 4.2). This Bhagavad-gītā As It Is is received through this disciplic succession:

1. Kṛṣṇa 2. Brahmā 3. Nārada 4. Vyāsa 5. Madhva 6. Padmanābha 7. Nṛhari 8. Mādhava 9. Akṣobhya 10. Jaya Tīrtha 11. Jñānasindhu 12. Dayānidhi 13. Vidyānidhi 14. Rājendra 15. Jayadharma 16. Puruṣottama 17. Brahmaṇya Tīrtha 18. Vyāsa Tīrtha 19. Lakṣmīpati 20. Mādhavendra Purī 21. Īśvara Purī, (Nityānanda, Advaita) 22. Lord Caitanya 23. Rūpa, (Svarūpa, Sanātana) 24. Raghunātha, Jīva 25. Kṛṣṇadāsa 26. Narottama 27. Viśvanātha 28. (Baladeva), Jagannātha 29. Bhaktivinoda 30. Gaurakiśora 31. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī 32. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (Bg. As It Is, Introduction)

Therefore, we accept our guru parampara as listed above. So, let’s have a closer look at this list. [Read More…]