Krishnakant, editor Back To Prabhupada, IRM: As usual the article below has been first published in the IRM’s official magazine Back To Prabhupada. BTP is being distributed for free to ISKCON devotees and people interested in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings worldwide. If you would like to receive BTP as well, simply send us your full name and street address via yahoo or the following email address: irm@iskconirm. com.
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“The evidence continues: Letters issued on behalf of Srila Prabhupada”
Supporters of the ISKCON Guru hoax claim that the representational initiation system instituted by Srila Prabhupada on July 9th 1977, whereby he would initiate all future eligible members of the institution via the use of priests (ritviks) acting on his behalf, was only set up as a temporary measure.
In the first issue we reproduced the original directive, signed by Srila Prabhupada, where there is no mention that the ritvik system was just a temporary measure for ISKCON. The only indication of the directive’s duration is the word ‘henceforward’, which simply means ‘from now onwards’.
It is interesting to note that at around the time of the July 9th directive, several other letters concerning the ritvik system were issued by Srila Prabhupada’s leading disciples whilst acting in an offcial capacity on his behalf, and not one of them gave any hint that the ritvik system was only a temporary, stop gap measure.
Below is a transcribed conversation between Srila Prabhupada and his Secretary Tamala Krsna Maharaja wherein he is dictating a letter to one of his selected ritvik initiators, Hamsadutta Das:
Tamala Krsna Maharaja: Upendra and I could see it for the last… [break]
Srila Prabhupada: “And nobody is going to disturb you there. Make your own field and continue to become ritvik and act on my charge. People are becoming sympathetic there. The place is very nice.” (Room Conversation, July 19th,1977)
Above Srila Prabhupada says: “continue to become ritvik”. He does not say “continue to become ritvik until I depart, and then become an initiating Guru”; nor does he say “continue to become ritvik for the time being only.” He just says “continue”. This same word ends up in the final letter:
“Now you have a very good field. Now organize it and it will be a great credit. No one will disturb you there. Make your own field and continue to become ritvik and act on my behalf.” ( July 31st 1977)
Although Hamsadutta was one of the original eleven Guru hoaxers, he has since capitulated, admitting he was only ever authorised to act as a ritvik. A similar letter was sent by Srila Prabhupada’s secretary to Kirtanananda Maharaja (another of the original deviators) on July 11th 1977:
“A letter has been sent to all the Temple Presidents and GBC which you should be receiving soon describing the process for initiation to be followed in the future. Srila Prabhupada has appointed thus far eleven representatives who will initiate new devotees on His behalf.
You can wait for this letter to arrive (the original has been sent to Ramesvara Maharaja for duplicating) and then all of the persons whom you recommended in your previous letters can be initiated.”
Above we see the ritvik system described as: “..the process for initiation to be followed in the future.”
It does not say “the process for initiation to be followed for now”, nor “for the time being”, nor “until the ritviks turn into diksa Gurus.”
We also have no words in any letter or document of that time that give any notion that the ritvik system was just a short term measure. There is no statement from Srila Prabhupada that even hints that this system was to terminate on his departure.
Rather, as we saw in the last issue, Srila Prabhupada’s Last Will and Testament stated that whatever was running in ISKCON at the time of Srila Prabhupada’s departure “will continue as it is now” and “there is no need of any change”.
So we have the following words being used by Srila Prabhupada and his most senior men in relation to the applicability of the newly instituted ritvik system of initiation:
“continue”, “future”, “no need of any change”
Hence the convergence of all the evidence says just one thing: the ritvik system should still be running within ISKCON.
Hare Krsna.
The other day i was walking through my local park and i saw a young small boy in the drivers side of his dad’s car.His dad was exercising the dog and keeping his eye on the son. The young boy was holding the steering wheel and making car noises as if he were driving the car for real. He could not reach the foot pedals and had to stand on the seat to see out of the windscreen. The young boy was enjoying himself so much pretending to drive and imitating the real driver , his dad.
I sat down to marvel at this scene, probably repeated the world over. The young boy had still years to grow before he could realistically contemplate driving the car and then there was the whole scenario of actually learning to drive.
Is this not the actual position we have in Iskcon regarding the Guru issue. Srila Prabhupada is the father and has left His car whilst the disciples are playing around in the car pretending to be the father.The disciples are just having fun pretending to drive the car whilst in reality they actually have no idea apart from imitation. They make the same noise and hold the steering wheel but they are going nowhere fast. And the passengers in the car are going nowhere with them.The pretenders in the front in the driving seat and the pretenders in the back supporting the child like driver with their noises too.
The disciples in Iskcon who have attempted to follow in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps have had to imitate Him on all levels but the car has not moved an inch. Because they are self disqualified, naturally by their qualification and activities,and because they were never authorised to drive the car, because the ignition keys were taken by the father for safetys sake so the child like disciples could not drive the car, then the whole attempt was doomed to failure before it even begun after 1977. The seeds of failure to attempts to replace Srila Prabhupada were sown way before they took control in 1978 at Mayapura. No matter how many times the philosophy has been altered to suite the Gurus activities and no matter where in the world this has been applied, it simply does not work because it cannot.
How many children do you see driving their dad’s car around town?
How do the present day Gurus administer Diksa? They cant because they are just not able to. What do they do then? They just act as representatives by conducting initiation ceremonies and handing out names and threads. Some dont even do that. How do they get away with the pretence? They let Srila Prabhupada do all the real Diksa through His Iskcon, His worship and His Books and they just collect the money.
And here we have the sum and substance of the whole collective idea behind the role of the Guru in present day iskcon, we have child like persons standing on the drivers seat of the car whilst the real driver is out and has left the car to the exploits of the children.
Iskcon is not just a complete mess but its going nowhere like this. Frankly there are many Vaisnavas whom consider it all to be a massive joke and Iskcon is just a laughing stock, just as we laugh when we see small children trying to drive a car. Its harder than you think and many of the child like Gurus who have pretended for years just could not stand the pressure and became depressed and morose or indulged in the grossest of activities for their senses.
Just stick to Srila Prabhupadas teachings and Books He is the only one who can save you from the material world because He is a Devotee of Krsna and He is liberated from the material energy.