Summer 2007

Some leaders in ISKCON have proposed that the IRM and ISKCON should simply "agree to disagree" and go their separate ways. In particular, they take offence that we are "targeting their members" and "their programs" etc. We should not "disturb their preaching" and try to "steal their people" they say. Why can't we just leave them alone, and just do our own separate preaching?

Such a question, however, simply begs the question as to WHO the ISKCON movement belongs to. If, in fact, we are indeed dealing with members and programs that rightly belong to the current leadership of ISKCON, then such a request is indeed reasonable. The reality, however, is painfully different. Let us begin with some undisputed facts:

1. People are primarily attracted to ISKCON because of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and Srila Prabhupada himself, and participate in its programs only because they were introduced by Srila Prabhupada

2. Therefore, everything which goes on today in the name of Krishna consciousness (whether it be Deity worship, festivals, prasadam distribution, preaching, Harinama sankirtan etc.) was all given to us solely by Srila Prabhupada. Whilst he was physically present on the planet, Srila Prabhupada allowed us to take part in these programs on his behalf, since the sole aim of engaging in these programs was to bring people to Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet as his disciples. Thus, they would be given a chance to perform devotional service to Lord Krishna through His bona fide, authorised and empowered representative.

3. And there was to be no change to this program after Srila Prabhupada's physical departure, but today these programs are now performed not to bring everyone to Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet as happened previously, but to the feet of one of ISKCON's 70 impostor gurus.
Therefore, everything ISKCON possesses, its members, its functions, its assets etc, all belong to Srila Prabhupada. No Srila Prabhupada, no ISKCON. Given these facts, let us now re-visit the original request made of the IRM by some ISKCON leaders. The request now actually becomes:

"Can you stop targeting Srila Prabhupada's festivals and Srila Prabhupada's devotees, and leave us alone to steal them for ourselves?"

In other words, the request gets turned completely on its head. Those who have actually usurped Srila Prabhupada's assets are asking us to not take them back for Srila Prabhupada, on the plea that we are stealing from them! The issue basically, therefore, is not whether or not we have a "right" to preach at ISKCON functions and to ISKCON people, but whether people in ISKCON have a right to know whether or not, in fact, they are following Srila Prabhupada.

So are we going to go away and leave the usurpers to continue cheating in the name of Srila Prabhupada unchallenged, thus handing them what they want on a plate? Not a chance! The GBC may continue their tactics of intimidation, banning and even physical violence, but they cannot defeat the truth, and they can certainly never defeat Srila Prabhupada! The GBC's attempt to "kill guru and become guru", or enjoying the spiritual master's property without the spiritual master, is just another attempt at having the kingdom of God without God - and we all know where such a foolish and futile attempt ends:

"'You people, you want kingdom of God without God.' That is our policy-Ravana's policy. Ravana's policy was kingdom of God without God. […] What was the result? That everything became vanquished. Whole Ravana's kingdom with his family, with his everything, finished."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, May 24th, 1969)

And this is exactly what is happening. We have already chronicled ISKCON's own leaders stating how the movement is disintegrating. .....

“I also have my own views on the application of varnasrama-dharma, for I too have thought about the subject, but I assure you, that whatever I speak or write will not go uncontested by someone else in ISKCON. Nevertheless, I will venture here to propose the major reasons why ISKCON is having such a difficult time coming to grips with this matter. The first and foremost is that ISKCON - I put it starkly - has no brain.”
(ISKCON and Varnasrama Dharma: A Mission Unfulfilled, GBC Chairman and voted-in guru Ravindra Svarupa Das, January 29th, 1999, emphasis added)

“And now the GBC has become very, very weak. The principal reason for this has been the fall-down of spiritual masters and the decay of spiritual authority in general. This applies to sannyasis, gurus and the GBC. There has been a big overlap of these three categories, and they are all in disrepute. The renounced order of life has come to be called the denounced order of life - we hear that all the time. People are very dubious about gurus - everyone is wondering when the next one is going to fall. And the GBC seems to be floundering and cannot do anything about it. There is a feeling that we do not know where our vision is going to come from.”
(GBC Chairman and voted-in guru Ravindra Svarupa Das, ISKCON Communications Journal #81, January/June 2000).

“Therefore the question remains: What, then, will we do? How will we deal with our polarized and disintegrating society? […]
If we ask why ISKCON now finds itself in such an impossible position, we can only conclude that is must be due to the continuing reactions to our own sins and offenses. Thus, the GBC (and ISKCON) still needs to atone for its sins and its offenses, acknowledged and unacknowledged […]
So I have been baffled and in much distress. […]
Of course, now our offenses and sins against our children are foremost in mind, but these are just part of a larger pattern of offenses, ultimately to Prabhupada.”
(GBC Chairman and voted-in guru Ravindra Svarupa Das, Letter posted on GBC conference, May 2000)

“They wanted to create artificially somebody acarya and everything failed. [...] So better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Maharaja. That is perfection. And as soon as he learns the Guru Maharaja is dead, “Now I am so advanced that I can kill my guru and I become guru.” Then he’s finished.”
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, August 16th, 1976, emphases added)

And now it seems that even ISKCON's leaders themselves are disintegrating, for HH Sacinandana Swami, a voted-in GBC guru, has recently announced that he will be temporarily "retiring" from active guru duties due to ill-health, and that this breakdown seems to be affecting more and more of his colleagues:

So we should not allow materialistic Ravanas to use Srila Prabhupada's name to steal Srila Prabhupada's assets. JOIN THE IRM AND GIVE ISKCON BACK TO SRILA PRABHUPADA.