Bhakti Charu Swami’s Original Understanding


IRM

Back To Prabhupada, Issue 19, Spring 2008

Issue 6 of BTP carried an article entitled “The Hoax that Jayapataka Built” in which we showed how one of Srila Prabhupada’s Godbrother’s, HH Sridhara Maharaja, was cynically exploited by the GBC to lend legitimacy to their guru hoax. This was done by HH Jayapataka Swami totally misrepresenting Srila Prabhupada’s instructions on initiation to him:

“Maharaja, when our Srila Prabhupada left, then he has given instruction that for initiating and for carrying on the sampradaya - in the beginning, he appointed eleven devotees, his disciples, to be initiating spiritual masters…”
(Jayapataka Swami/GBC conversation with Sridhara Maharaja, March 1978).

Readers of BTP will know that the above is total mythology. Srila Prabhupada only ever appointed eleven disciples to initiate on his behalf as ritviks (officiating priests), not on their own behalf as initiating spiritual masters. But Sridhara Maharaja was not to know this and for the next couple of years continued to believe the lies he was told by Jayapataka Swami.

By 1980, The Great Guru Hoax, Part 1 was already experiencing some serious problems, and this time Sridhara Maharaja was once again approached for advice, this time by HH Bhakti Charu Swami, along with his Godbother Dhira Krishna Swami. This despite Srila Prabhupada having specifically warned his disciples not to associate closely with his Godbrothers due to their own deviation from the instructions of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta (Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master) over exactly the same issue of initiation (see BTP Special Summary Issue, page 14).

All quotes below are from this discussion with Sridhara Maharaja, held in Navadvipa, India on August 18th, 1980. Firstly, Bhakti Charu Swami relays that one of the 11 guru hoaxers, Ramesvara, had begun to doubt the guru hoax worship system they had concocted, and in the process decided he no longer wished to sit on his huge Vyasasana (elaborate seat of honour which was standard for all the “zonal acaryas”):

Bhakti Charu Swami: “But Ramesvara Maharaja felt that this practice is minimizing Prabhupada’s position. That’s why he removed his own asana and other asanas as well. Now only Srila Prabhupada’s asana is there.”

Then Bhakti Charu Swami explains that two of the other 11 hoaxers, Hansadutta Maharaja and Tamal Krishna Goswami, had been removed from their positions as guru:

Sridhara Maharaja: “Has Hansadutta Maharaja been removed from that temporary or permanently?”
Bhakti Charu Swami: “Maharaja is asking, the removal of Hansadutta Maharaja is temporary or permanent?”
Dhira Krishna Swami: “Of the zone? It’s permanent.”
Bhakti Charu Swami: “Permanent.”
Sridhara Maharaja: “Permanent. Tamal Krsna was permanently removed?”
Dhira Krishna Swami: “From America...”
Bhakti Charu Swami: “Permanently removed.”

The new Jesus Christ

Hansadutta Maharaja had been removed for violations involving illicit sex and other illicit activities, whilst Tamal Krishna Goswami had been removed for claiming that he was the new Jesus Christ, and all of his Godbrothers and other gurus could only reach Srila Prabhupada through worshipping him only:

Bhakti Charu Swami: “Even sannyasa godbrothers, everyone. He was even telling that they cannot worship Srila Prabhupada. That, he was telling that they have to worship Srila Prabhupada through him. In other words, they have to worship him instead of Prabhupada. […] He was telling that he is the way, like Jesus Christ.”

(It was apparently in retaliation at this removal that a few months later Tamal Krishna Goswami spoke the “Topanga Canyon Confessions”, in which he revealed that actually all of the 11 “zonal acaryas” had only been appointed ritviks, and not diksa gurus. Tamal Krishna Goswami’s confession worked, and his removal was revoked, and he revoked his “confessions”. After that the guru hoax continued as before, with the assumption that indeed eleven gurus rather than only ritviks, had been appointed).
Then Bhakti Charu Swami revealed his own doubts, echoing the position espoused by the IRM:

Bhakti Charu Swami: “Actually, one of the questions is that whether Prabhupada really appointed them as guru. Because so far we didn’t find the... enough proof to confirm that...”
Sridhara Maharaja: “What is the basis of the acaryas?”
Bhakti Charu Swami: “That is Prabhupada said that they can be ritviks.”
Sridhara Maharaja: “They can be?”
Bhakti Charu Swami:Ritvik.”
Sridhara Maharaja:Ritvik.”
Bhakti Charu Swami: “Yes, on behalf of Prabhupada they can initiate.”
Sridhara Maharaja: “During his lifetime. During his lifetime these eleven were appointed as his assistant. They could also initiate during his lifetime?”
Bhakti Charu Swami: “No, not during his lifetime. During his lifetime a. . . they can initiate on behalf of Prabhupada. But after Prabhupada left, who will initiate Prabhupada did not clearly mention. This doubt is coming up now.”

So here we see that way back in 1980, Bhakti Charu Swami was saying exactly what BTP is saying today, a position which he is now happy to see branded as heresy by ISKCON’s GBC. That Srila Prabhupada only ever appointed eleven ritviks to initiate on his behalf and that there is no instruction for anyone to initiate “after Srila Prabhupada left” in any different capacity. As the conversation progressed, Bhakti Charu Swami also appears to agree with BTP’s understanding of the May 28th, 1977 conversation (as given in The Final Order), stating that the following line - “Who is initiating…he is grand-disciple” - means:

Bhakti Charu Swami: “Here it sounds that Prabhupada is saying that actually they are Prabhupada’s disciples. Who is initiating? Who is actually initiating? Prabhupada is initiating…”

No evidence was subsequently discovered by Bhakti Charu Swami to change his assertions that only ritviks had been appointed and Srila Prabhupada alone “is initiating”, and that there was now “enough proof” to confirm anything else. But still he continued to support the guru hoax, and later on decided that instead of “Prabhupada is initiating” that now “Bhakti Charu Swami is initiating”, when in 1986 he decided to get a piece of the guru action and join The Great Guru Hoax, Part 2:

“The GBC approves of the following devotees to begin the responsibility of initiating spiritual master after 1 year period and final deliberation. [...] f. Bhakticaru Swami”
(GBC resolution 19, April 4th, 1986)

Even though Bhakti Charu Swami is very happy to claim that ‘Srila Prabhupada is the guru’, he needs to actually begin acting on this platform, and stop being a hypocrite. We therefore urge Bhakti Charu Swami to abandon his current false path, return his disciples to Srila Prabhupada, and embrace the position which he himself once thought was true.


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