Ravanari Das: Gaudiya Math means preaching the parampara message of the Gaudiya sampradaya

“How the Gaudiya Math was Destroyed”

BY: RAVANARI DAS

USA (SUN) — Scandals have rocked every government, religious body or social club, and undeniably that includes ISKCON. Even in the Bhagavat we find many scandals. Of this Srila Prabhupada said in a lecture spoken on 1 Nov. 1976 in Vrindavana:

“Here, everywhere you’ll find duhkhalayam ashaashvatam. Just like I was reading last night that Brihashpati’s wife is kidnapped by Chandra. The Brihashpati is the spiritual master of the demigods, and his wife was kidnapped by Chandra. He is also one of the demigods. Just see: the sex and lusty desires are so strong, even in the higher planetary system. And that is the cause. That is the cause. Here it is said, lingam vyapohet kushalo ‘ham-aakhyam. This false ego is the cause of our miserable condition in this material world.

Material world is miserable, duhkhalayam ashaashvatam [B.G. 8.15], this material world. One ant is living, say for one day, and I am living for hundred years, and Brahmaa is living for millions of years. That does not mean any one of us is free is from the miserable condition of this material world. Nobody. Therefore this material world is called duhkhalayam ashaashvatam.”

But in Gaudiya Math the first scandal was so early after the disappearance of the Founder-Acharya that the entire organization was absolutely demolished. As a result, the various swamis retreated, each to his own math, where he hung his own shingle on the door reading “Acharya.”

Since the introduction of this system of domicile acharya, now brahmacharis gathered round to enjoy eating and sleeping and the cohesive parent organization ceased to exist. This was factually the situation in the Keshavaji Gaudiya Math headed by Narayana Maharaja before ISKCON devotees defected to that side. Narayana Maharaja learned the tricks of ISKCON and then took credit for them as his own ideas, while presenting his own novel views of the sastras and never crediting Srila Prabhupada. Thus one after another, the once-Gaudiya Maths came to resemble mere saffron hostels visited mostly by old widows.

Therefore it is a fallacy that ISKCON devotees or anyone else can join the Gaudiya Math, because since the disappearance of the Founder-Acharya there has been no Gaudiya Math. Actually, Gaudiya Math means preaching the parampara message of the Gaudiya sampradaya as taught by Srila Prabhupada because only Srila Prabhupada of all his Godbrothers followed the will of the founder of Gaudiya Math. By his example and accomplishments, Srila Prabhupada has been shown to be the Sampradaya Acarya of Gaudiya Math. “Old wine in new bottles”, Prabhupada once quipped.

We cannot ignore the many, many horrible scandals that have rocked ISKCON. Even today as we write, we find that a drunken, uninitiated guest of ISKCON in Brazil has murdered in cold blood a nice, fixed-up lady disciple named Jaya Devaki devi dasi. The murderer has been arrested and Hridayananda das has sent out the following letter of condolence:

Dear Devotees,

Jaya Srila Prabhupada. As all of you know, I was profoundly shocked and saddened about the news of our dear Jaya Devaki. In moments such as these, it is only our knowledge of Krishna and of His divine plan to save us all, which gives us the strength to deal with such a great loss.

Chandramukha Swami, Gaura Hari Prabhu and Lilaraja Prabhu have eloquently described Jaya Devaki’s excellent and admirable qualities. Our only consolation is our infallible knowledge of the infinite love Krishna has for Jaya Devaki, and of the thousands of arrangements He is already making for the perfect and eternal happiness of this much loved devotee.

In tragedies such as these we appreciate more than ever the value of a devotee. I suggest that in the places where Jaya Devaki performed so much service, the devotees commemorate in a permanent way all that she has done for Shrila Prabhupada’s mission and thus for the wellbeing of the world.

With best wishes,
Hridayananda das Goswami

What has separated ISKCON from the Gaudiya Math is that it has stuck to the principle of keeping a strong (sort of) Governing Body Committee. Therefore in the face of so many scandals involving lusty swamis or perverse Zonals, the organization has held together and has grown. For this the GBC deserves some share of credit.

The following account details the destruction the Gaudiya Math. It has been taken from A Transcendental Diary by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu, Vol. II, 1 Jun. 1976, available on the Vedabase.

“We then talked about the breakup of marriages, which seems endemic to the West. But Prabhupada revealed via a somewhat scandalous anecdote that even in his time in India it was not unheard of. ‘One of my Gaudiya Math Godbrothers, big, he became the head of this Bhag Bazaar Gaudiya Math. So his wife was debauched, and she was bringing new paramour, and the child protested. The boy, he was ten years or twelve years old, he could understand: ‘Who is this man?’ So he protested and said, ‘I shall tell all these things to my father.’ And he was killed.’

“Surprised, Pusta Krishna asked, ‘The boy was killed?’
‘By the mother,’ Prabhupada affirmed.
‘She murdered him?’ I asked, a little shocked.

‘Yes. Killed means given poison. And the father, that is, my Godbrother, seeing this, he also took poison. This is the end of Gaudiya Matha scandal. He was also one of the trustees. This [Bhakti Vilas]Tirtha Maharaja was a trustee, and another Godbrother [BR Shridhar Maharaja] and this man [Vasudeva]. In the beginning, they were made trustees.

‘In the beginning, [Shrila Bhaktisiddhata Saraswati] Prabhupada was to undergo surgical operation. So he was a little nervous, that ‘I may die.’ So he made a scrap paper, that ‘In case I die, these three disciples will be trustees of the Gaudiya Matha Institute.’ That’s all. So one of the so-called trustees was this Vasudeva. So he died, his end was like this. His wife was a regular prostitute, and she killed her child, and on this shock, he took poison and died. Naturally, he became shocked, that ‘This is my family life—the wife is prostitute and son is killed. What is the value of my life?’ This was his spiritual realization.

‘Just see. And he was made the chief, and one of the supporter was Shridhara Maharaja. Guru Maharaja did not make him chief. But after his passing away, some of our Godbrothers voted him chief.’

‘Prabhupada has on occasion mentioned incidents from the troubled past of the Gaudiya Matha, especially the power struggle that took place after the disappearance of his Guru Maharaja, and he confirmed Pusta Krishna’s understanding that this Vasudeva had also been debauched, despite his high standing. “Am I mistaken? You had told me once, I’m not certain. Maybe I made a mistake. You said that Vasudeva, it was known fact that he was homosex?”

“Yes. He was homosex and sex, everything.”

* * *

What is important, therefore, is not the fact that scandals have rocked both organizations. They are expected. As a huge worldwide organization, ISKCON has suffered far more scandals than the Gaudiya Math or its successor maths. The difference is whether or not the leaders remain faithful to the order of the predecessor Acarya. Because the first scandal that rocked the Gaudiya Math involved three self-appointed “leaders”, it successfully rang the death knell of the organization. Had they established a Governing Body Committee, they might have weathered the storm. But as they placed all the power on one frail backbone, when that spine was broken the weight of the organization came tumbling down.

Today, ISKCON still has a GBC, though its governing members individually and collectively have been guilty of a huge number of bad decisions and terrible Vaishnava aprardhas. Still, “a blind uncle is better than no uncle.”

History has already noted that if it wasn’t for a lone householder disciple called Shri “Abhoy Babu” De, the world today would be a bleaker place. There would be no Gaudiya Vaishnavism except in a few holy tirtha-bhumis in India. Let’s face facts, none of the others had the guts to spread Krishna Consciousness. The ones who went abroad were flatterers of the rich and open admirers of Mayavadi swamis who resided in comfortable uptown ashrams. They would have to come fishing in Prabhupada’s camp, which began from the time Hrishikeshananda was baited by Bon Maharaja in 1967, and continues to this day.

Without Srila Prabhupada there simply would be no understanding anywhere of a true conception of religion. Yet today, the Hare Krishna mahamantra is chanted all over the world and Sanatana-dharma has taken root in virtually every country in the world.