Back To Prabhupada, Issue 39, Spring 2013
n page 6 we addressed the long-standing myth that Srila Prabhupada had sanctioned non-liberated diksa gurus. Through a detailed analysis, this myth was thoroughly debunked. Another much repeated myth is the idea that Srila Prabhupada authorised the representational (rtvik) system of initiation only because he was ill. An example of this myth is the following recent GBC statement:
"It is documented that on July 7, 1977, Srila Prabhupada discussed how devotees who had been waiting for initiation could be initiated during his illness. At that time, Srila Prabhupada named specific senior disciples who would initiate on his behalf during his illness. Two days later, the July 9 letter was written to inform devotees about the July 7 conversation and these instructions of Srila Prabhupada."
(GBC letter to Bangalore devotees, 9/3/2013)
Below we provide a detailed analysis which thoroughly debunks this myth. The quotes in the shaded boxes are from the July 7th, 1977 room conversation, with all emphases added.
Tamala Krsna: "We're receiving a number of letters now, and these are people who want to get initiated. So up until now, since your becoming ill, we asked them to wait. [...] I mean, one thing is that it's said that the spiritual master takes on the ... You know, he takes on the ... He has to cleanse the disciple by ... So we don't want that you should have to ... Your health is not so good, so that should not be ... That's why we've been asking everybody to wait [...] Some devotees are writing you now for second initiation, and I'm writing them to wait a while because you're not well."
Tamala Krsna states:
a) All initiations have been stopped due to the concern of Tamala Krsna and other devotees over Srila Prabhupada's health ("we don't want that you should have to").
b) This concern of theirs is that after the spiritual master takes disciples he has to cleanse them spiritÂually and Srila Prabhupada's health may be adversely affected by this task ("that's why we've been asking everybody to wait").
Tamala Krsna: "We're receiving a number of letters now, and these are people who want to get initiated. So up until now, since your becoming ill, we asked them to wait."
Srila Prabhupada: "The local, mean, senior sannyasis can do that."
Tamala Krsna: "[...] So should that process be resumed, or should we...? I mean, one thing is that it's said that the spiritual master takes on the [...] That's why we've been asking everybody to wait. I just want to know if we should continue to wait some more time."
Srila Prabhupada: "No, the senior sannyasis..."
Having heard the health concern for why the initiations were stopped, Srila Prabhupada immediately rejects it and asks that initiations be resumed. He wants to continue initiating, and thus does not accept that his health will not be able to take the effects of continuing to accept disciples.
Tamala Krsna: "That's what we were doing ... I mean, formerly we were ... the local GBC, sannyasis, were chanting on their beads, and they were writing to Your Divine Grace, and you were giving a spiritual name. [...] I just want to know if we should continue to wait some more time."
Srila Prabhupada: "No, the senior sannyasis [...]"
Tamala Krsna: "So supposing someone is in America, should they simply write directly to Kirtanananda or Satsvarupa?"
Srila Prabhupada: "Nearby."
Up until this time, as explained above, the initiation system had been largely devolved to the senior sannyasis, with Srila Prabhupada only giving a spiritual name. Srila Prabhupada states that the senior sannyasis can resume the initiation system, and now give the spiritual name as well.
1. The issue of health was only relevant to why the leaders had stopped initiations.
2. Even then the health issue was not Srila Prabhupada's physical capacity to continue initiating, but the health effects from spiritually "cleansing" future disciples.
3. These health concerns were rejected and Srila Prabhupada askÂed that initiations be resumed.
Thus, the July 7th conversation does not document, as the GBC falsely claimed, that the rtvik system was set up by Srila Prabhupada only to initiate devotees "during his illness". Further, the July 9th directive, which sets out the rtvik system of initiating on Srila Prabhupada's behalf, makes zero mention that the system was set up only for during Srila Prabhupada's illness. Indeed, it makes no mention of Srila Prabhupada's illness at all. Rather, it only states that the system is for all initiations generally -- "for the purpose of performing initiations, both first initiation and second initiation". Ironically, here the GBC are defeated by their own statement. They claimed that "the July 9 letter was written to inform devotees about the July 7 conversation and these instructions of Srila Prabhupada." Since the July 9th directive makes no mention of the illness theory, they have to accept, by their own reasoning, that the July 7th conversation does not either!
Over 3 months later, Srila Prabhupada was unable to perform a fire yajna for someone who had travelled all the way from New York to Mayapur to be personally initiated by Srila Prabhupada, and in response Srila Prabhupada states:
"So, deputies, Jayapataka's name was there? [...] So I depute him to do this at Mayapur, and you may go with him. I stop for the time being. [...] And if by Krsna's grace I recover from this condition, then I shall begin again, or I may not be pressed in this condition to initiate. It is not good."
(Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation, 18/10/1977)
The "stopping" here cannot refer to the representational (rtvik) system of initiation, since:
a) The representational system of initiation had already been running for over 3 months and had never been stopped.
b) Srila Prabhupada asks one of the rtviks, Jayapataka, to perform the initiation on his behalf.
So the stopping and beginning again refer only to Srila Prabhupada physically performing initiation ceremonies himself, with initiations on his behalf continuing normally.
Hence, it is not that the representational initiation system was set up because of Srila Prabhupada's illness. Rather, the leaders had stopped the initiations because of their concern for Srila Prabhupada's health, and Srila Prabhupada rejected this health concern and simply asked that initiations be immediately resumed.
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