Caitanya dasa, India: Dear devotees, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. As you may have guessed from the title, I have finally come to that point that I always felt I would eventually come to — leaving the ISKCON institution. In case you are wondering, I am the same “Caitanya dasa” that used to maintain a blog titled “Hare Krishna Diary, Sankirtan Diary”, which unintentionally created a large controversy last year in May 2008, due to some of my writings which appeared on that blog.
I would like to explain a few of the reasons I have decided to leave ISKCON. I will first explain the social, cultural, and personal reasons, and then lastly I will explain the spiritual reasons.
The first reason is a philosophical reason. As many of you are aware, last year in 2008, the GBC tried to pass a resolution (GBC Resolution 311) to add footnotes or annotations into Srila Prabhupada’s books, effectively changing the meaning behind many of Srila Prabhupada’s purports. Most devotees felt that the GBC was minimizing or rejecting Srila Prabhupada’s authority by doing this, and it was met with such a large public outcry that the GBC very quickly rescinded the 311 Resolution to change Srila Prabhupada’s books. I was the creator of a petition to rescind the resolution, and the response was enormous. The petition received over 800 signatures within only two weeks.
Please read some of the comments written by devotees on the petition. Many devotees were very, very angry and upset by the GBC’s decision to change Srila Prabhupada’s books, and many of them threatened to leave ISKCON if the GBC dared to change Srila Prabhupada’s divine books.
The next reason is a cultural one. About two months ago, Hrdayananda Maharaja gave his public blessings and support to a homosexual male devotee couple to get married. I found this to be so completely absurd that I could not believe it at first. That Hrdayananda Maharaja could even think something like this calls into question his very qualification to act as a spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada never, ever supported anything like this, and he never encouraged homosexuality or gay marriage. Hrdayananda Maharaja has been publicly supporting the idea of gay marriage/monogamy for the past few years. The GBC has of yet made no public condemnation of Hrdayananda Maharaja for this (Hrdayananda Maharaja is also a GBC, in case you didn’t know), and thus I come to the conclusion that the GBC supports such ideas as gay marriage. Silence means consent.
The next reason is a philosophical/organizational reason. Many devotees have a problem with the current authority structure in ISKCON. In short, we believe that ISKCON’s culture of absolute control and blind following is not conducive to spiritual advancement. I will give an explicit personal example of this.
One of my first bhakta leaders was a follower of this tyrannical policy of “just surrender”, absolute control, and blind following. We were simply supposed to follow his every order, no matter how absurd, and if we didn’t, we would get severely chastised for being an “independent demon”, “anti-authority”, etc. On a few occasions, he even threatened to inflict physical violence on me if I didn’t “surrender to his authority”.
Even though at that point, any sane or rational person would have called the police, being a blind, naïve, and “surrendered” bhakta, I continued to blindly accept and follow his authority. Sometimes though, I would become so frustrated that I would become almost suicidal, telling myself “I would rather die than remain a part of this ISKCON”. I feel that one of the reasons that ISKCON cannot attract normal and intelligent people to join this movement is due to this culture of blindly following authority, no matter how wrong or abusive the authority happens to be.
The next reason is a social/cultural reason. I see the degrading influence of feminism (aka “women’s liberation” or “equal rights”) to be increasing within ISKCON. The “ISKCON Women’s Ministry” has been promoting feminist policies for over a decade now. Aside from being a very socially destructive policy, feminism is clearly against Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. Simply search for “equal rights” in the Vedabase and you can see for yourself how strongly Srila Prabhupada was against the idea of “equal rights”. Those devotees who are promoting feminism are actually rejecting Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. It is also an interesting observation to note that most of the people promoting and supporting feminism are western devotees — thus suggesting that the source of this problem is their own western conditioning. Generally, you never see Indian devotees promoting feminism.
The latest manifestation of feminism in ISKCON is the GBC’s latest decision to acknowledge and even accept the idea of “female diksa gurus”, something which Srila Prabhupada himself never established (this idea would also be unthinkable to anyone coming from a traditional Vedic background). I will not get into a lengthy discussion on this issue of feminism at present, because that is not the intention of this letter to do so. I will simply request you to read a few links that I feel strongly prove that ISKCON is indeed being contaminated by feminism.
Feminists Want to Change Prabhupada’s Books
Feminists Openly Blasphemy Srila Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada was Blasphemied, and the GBC Remained Silent
Feminist Theories and their Effect on ISKCON
Feminists Violently Disrupt the Vrindavan Kartik Festival
A Philosophical Refutation of ISKCON GBC’s 2000 “Women in ISKCON” Resolution
Notes from a Think Tank (a very detailed exposition of feminism) (Word)
Madhusudani Radha (Maria Ekstrand), Editor of Chakra.org , blasphemies Lord Rama (Word)
Debate about feminism in ISKCON on Dandavats.com
Another reason that I have chosen to disassociate myself from the ISKCON institution is because I, and many others, feel that ISKCON has become compromised, or “watered down” from following Srila Prabhupada’s teachings purely and strictly. I will give one such example out of the many “compromises” and deviations in ISKCON. Remember the “Govinda’s Movie Theater” in Sydney, Australia? It is run by a couple of Prabhupada disciples. They were showing a movie called “Sex in the City” at the Govinda’s Movie Theater. It isn’t very difficult to realize that it is probably NOT very pleasing to Srila Prabhupada to show such pornography at an ISKCON center (the Govinda’s Movie Theater address is listed in the ISKCON.com website directory.
One particularly disturbing trend in ISKCON, which is also supported and encouraged by the leadership, is the acceptance of western education, especially secular university education. A few prominent sannyasi leaders have gone to secular universities, even though Srila Prabhupada very strongly called the modern academic institutions “slaughterhouses”.
In many ways, ISKCON has become so watered down that you can’t even quote a statement from Srila Prabhupada without someone freaking out. As the previous examples illustrate (feminism, GBC changing Srila Prabhupada’s books, homosexuality and gay marriage), even the ISKCON leadership, the GBC, encourage and support these deviations. The mood of strictly following Srila Prabhupada “as it is” has been lost to a great degree. Instead of following Srila Prabhupada absolutely, “as it is”, many devotees simply follow what they want to follow, and they reject whatever they don’t want to follow. What it actually comes down to is a lack of faith in Srila Prabhupada’s absolute purity and position. I find such an offensive and disrespectful attitude towards Srila Prabhupada too hard to tolerate, and thus I have no choice but to simply remove myself from an organization that tolerates such an offensive attitude. If you love somebody, it is very difficult to tolerate blasphemy of them.
Of course, there are some noble devotees within ISKCON who are trying to defend Srila Prabhupada and his teachings from this attitude of compromise, but after long consideration, I feel that in the long run, they won’t be successful maintaining Srila Prabhupada’s pure teachings and standards within the ISKCON institution. After all, history shows that once something degrades, it is extremely difficult to bring it back up to it’s original pure position.
Finally, the real reason, the main reason that I am leaving ISKCON is for spiritual reasons. This human lifetime is simply too short to waste being absorbed in political or institutional affairs, rather than in Krishna consciousness. When I really think about it, I honestly do not feel that I have made much real advancement in Krishna consciousness. How much attraction have I actually developed for Krishna? How much love or affection have I actually developed for Krishna? Sometimes I feel that instead of developing Krishna consciousness, I have been cultivating political or institutional consciousness. And I simply cannot bear to waste any more time in that direction. Krishna is so beautiful and sweet that I am bewildered as to how I could have wasted even a moment absorbed in mundane political/institutional affairs.
This human life is so short — I am only 24 years old, and I could die in 40 years, or in 4 years, or in 4 days, or even in 4 minutes. And at the end of my life, will I want to experience the great disappointment of having missed attaining Krishna and His association simply because I have wasted so much time being absorbed in political/institutional consciousness instead of Krishna consciousness? The only thing that matters at the time of death is how much Krishna consciousness we have developed.
When I look at myself, I do not feel that I have developed any real Vaisnava qualities. Instead of developing compassion, I have developed bitterness and anger. Instead of developing love, I have developed envy and hate. Instead of developing humility, I have developed pride and intolerance. Narottama dasa Thakura’s famous words of humility actually apply to me:
Ki mora duhkhera katha, janama gonainu vrtha
Dhik dhik narottama dasa
“This is the sad story of my life. I have spent my life uselessly absorbed in distressful topics. What a shameless life I, Narottama dasa, have led.”
I do not want to waste my human form of life. I desperately want to become a humble, sincere, and serious Vaisnava. In my own case, I feel that remaining a member of ISKCON will not be conducive towards that goal.
Many devotees both inside and outside of ISKCON feel that ISKCON is seriously lacking in care and compassion — towards it’s own members and towards the society at large. There is such a great pressure put on making new members, collecting money, building temples, that if we are not careful, we may even miss the entire point — which is to develop love for Krishna. Ultimately, bhakti means love — love for others and love for Krishna.
Basically, I do not feel that my spiritual desires are going to be fulfilled in ISKCON. So it is because of this main reason, as well as the other above stated reasons, that I can no longer conscientiously consider myself to be a member of the ISKCON institution.
I will be maintaining a small blog where I will share my own personal realizations and how my spiritual life is going: HareKrishnaDiary.Blogspot.com.
I will end with a prayer:
Vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca
Krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
Patitanam pavanebhyo
Vaisnavebhyo namo namah
das,
Caitanya dasa
March 12 2009
I think it was Mark Twain who once said “I don’t want to be a part of an organization that would have me as a member” Although he was famous as a satirical writer, still there is some truth in this statement. Also it seems that many of the good devotees have already left ISKCON rather than be a part of the corruption that is destroying Srila Prabhupada’s mission. It is interesting to note that Srila Prabhupada himself did not ever live in the Gaudia Math temples. He remained outside the society, in household life, rather than be a part of the politics and greed that had infected the society after Srila Bhaktisiddanta’s departure. But he took the instructions of his spiritual master to heart, and became the perfect disciple. So can you. The instructions are there in Srila Prabhupada’s books, and Srila Prabhupada is the only real association you need, to advance spiritually. Good luck to you. Hare Krsna!
Dear Caitanya Das,
PLease accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Shrila Prabhupada. I can feel your pain. I’m often the same. But you know ISKCON IS VAST! And despite what the GBC think, they really aren’t ISKCON. Wherever there are good hearted devotees of the Lord there you will find, guru, Gauranga and Krishna and ALL the sat, cit and ananda of the spiritual world.
There are MANY good souls inside ISKCON. But they aren’t going to get into politics and condemning policies of the GBC etc coz they know there’s just no point. They just continiue on nicely with their service and sadhana and their association is pretty exstatic. They are mums and dads and brahmacaris and sannyasis and teenagers, “blooped”, never “blooped”, just about to “bloop”, 1 reg guys and girls – 4 regs. So many sweetie-pies. Just associate with them. There is nonsense EVERYWHERE. No one can stop it especially in Kali Yuga.
Prabhupada said don’t expect utopia in this materially world including in his society. It certainly WAS NOT PERFECT when he was here. Have you heard of the nonsense that went on that he and other devotees had to deal with? Real mental stuff and REAL mental cases! This is the material world man!! Honestly! Its a damned mess. Quite disheartening I know – especially when you see this stuff in a “spiritual” society. And you just don’t jave to take it too seriously. Plus its another great reason to get out of this material hell-hole.
I think we need not be naive but rather need to be quite realistic. There always have been, are right now, and always will be varying degrees of practice of bhakti. Ranging from pure all the way down to totally motivated with hardly a tinge of bhakti left. And then you’ll have sub-religious principles. The trick, as Bhaktivinod Thakur writes, is to find that group of devotees who are like you and support you and with whom you are comfortable. Then you can advance “inside” or “outside” ISKCON. Whatever does that mean anyway. Was Prabhupada inside or outside the Gaudiya Math? Sure, as one of the good ladies above has written, he never lived in their bricks and mortar premises but wasn’t Bhaktissidhanta’s vani and Gauravani inside his heart!? And isn’t this the main point. As Shrila Rupa Gosvami has instructed us, “Accept things favorable for and, reject things unfavorable for devotional service”.
ISKCON and Prabhupada are in our hearts OR NOT whether we appear to be “inside” or “outside” according to our absorption in guru’s order to be Krishna conscious. Bhaktivinod Thakur also wrote that one of the keys to advancement is to associate with more advanced vaishnavas who are peaceful. You’ll find them I’m sure. Krishna never cheats a sincere soul.
May I humbly suggest you read Hari Bahakti Vilas. I think that’s the book wherein Bhaktivinod explains in great detail all about association on different levels.
I just wanted to say lastly that although it may be somewhat traumatic for you now, many devotees have gone through what you are experiencing – realising that ISKCON is very flawed. Its a shock at first. But then you begin to realise, “hey, nothing can disturb my relationship with Prabhupada and Gauranga and Krishna”. So good luck wherever you are. May our dear Prabhupada and our dear sweet Patita Pavana, Sacisuta Gaura Hari and Nityananda Ram bless you more and more with Their love and mercy.
Your servant,
Kirtan das.
Kirtan das says ; ” There are MANY good souls inside ISKCON. But they aren’t going to get into politics and condemning policies of the GBC etc coz they know there’s just no point. They just continiue on nicely with their service and sadhana and their association is pretty exstatic. ”
One may wonder why these good souls are there inside the contaminated Iskcon Institution without getting into politics and condemning policies of the GBC because they know there is just no point ?
Then, why are they there inside the contaminated Iskcon institution ?
Why are they ( good souls inside Iskcon ) not able to continue on nicely with their service and sadhana by following the foot steps of Srila Prabhupada as He did without involving himself with the Gaudiya Maths ?
Certainly, Iskcon and Srila Prabhupada are in the heart of those who SELFLESSLY follow in absorption the ORDER of Srila Prabhupada in order to cultivate KC.
Only in this way, nothing can disturb ones’ relationship with Srila Prabhupada, Shri Gauranga and Krishna.
Hari BOL. OM TAT SAT.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Well said Amar puri prabhu,
Yes silent means consent ,doing what service —-if Srila Prabhupada’s movement his Iskcon is hijacked and you are doing sincere service —this is a contradiction itself ,how can one allow iskcon men blasphme a pure devotee Srila Prabhupada and you sit on your fat ass —apparantely doing sincere service —Silence is conset of First degree —-death —just see in the great assembly when mother Draupadi was being stripped naked —she went to all the great so seniors—The blind Drstastra ,Bhisma ji,Dronaacharya and others but they Fell –Silence .sorry sentimental is one thing but this statement of Kirtan is not accepted —-as Lord Krishna chastised Arjuna —you fool —–you talk of big big philosophy ,yet you do not know that this is already arranged —the body is temporary —therefore why lament for these guys.
Well Said Amar Puri —-devotees like you can change heart of other while devotees like Krtan spoil the progress of many.
Good points Amar Puri, checkmate.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
In the wise words of Edmund Burke…….
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.