Back To Prabhupada, Issue 50, Winter 2015/16
elcome to Issue 50 of Back To Prabhupada (BTP).
Maybe due to some transcendental coincidence, the 50th issue of BTP has appeared at the same time as the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON! In light of this ISKCON anniversary, most of the articles in this issue are dedicated to reviewing ‘ISKCON at 50'. In this Editorial, we will briefly review the other anniversary, ‘BTP at 50'.
Each issue of BTP continues to document how ISKCON is deviating. Does this continued deviation by ISKCON mean that no one in ISKCON is listening to BTP, and therefore BTP has actually failed to achieve anything? Let us examine the facts:
1) ISKCON consists of devotees. Take them away and you have not ISKCON, but an empty shell. In terms of educating devotees – both inside and outside of the official ISKCON – to stop deviating, BTP has been very successful. We have received thousands of testimonies from devotees attesting to this fact, many of which we have printed in our issues. And such testimonies continue to come in daily.
2) Even in terms of the deviation of ISKCON's leadership and their official policies, BTP has had a huge effect. We have continued to document how – in addition to deviating – ISKCON's leadership is also progressively agreeing with the IRM, at least philosophically, if not yet in practice. And this has culminated recently in their landmark acceptance of Srila Prabhupada's Founder-Acarya and diksa guru position, in their "foundational" Founder-Acarya book. Indeed, we have just published a BTP "Special ISKCON Leaders Issue" which shows that ISKCON's leaders have offered *16* different proofs that Srila Prabhupada is the diksa guru of ISKCON! Free copies are available on request – write to: irm@iskconirm.com.
Additionally, we know that BTP is "listened" to by noting the powerful effect it has to cause direct and immediate change. Just a few examples:
a) We were the first ones to publicly broadcast the pornographic passages in a book by "guru" Satsvarupa. Shortly thereafter, the book was withdrawn.
b) We had highlighted the plan of ISKCON San Diego to build demigod shrines in a new temple. Subsequently, this plan for demigod worship was withdrawn.
c) We raise an issue, and others follow our lead and also start raising the same issues. For example, we have highlighted ISKCON guru HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami doing this, and page 7 of this issue provides another instance of this.
We have also documented BTP being featured in academic publications, as well as its success being noted by ISKCON's leadership. In summary, we can note that BTP has now become a household name throughout the Vaisnava world. And its mission has also become well-known. An ISKCON temple president paid us the greatest compliment by describing our mission as follows:
"ISKCON does not validate the publishers of the Back to Prabhupada (BTP) magazine and the contents therein. These publishers are part of the ritvik group. [...] The difference between the ritviks and ISKCON is that the ritviks want Srila Prabhupada alone in the centre, but ISKCON want Srila Prabhupada with his followers in the centre."
(Svarupa Damodara Dasa, President, ISKCON Chatsworth, South Africa, Letter, 13/4/08, emphases added)
Please note that though there is a lot of talk from ISKCON about putting "Srila Prabhupada in the centre", it is admitted here that only BTP is doing this. Because if many others are in the centre with Srila Prabhupada, then this "centre" becomes so crowded as to be meaningless as a centre of dedicated focus for one person.
We do not advertise, and yet the reputation of BTP is so strong that we continue to get new subscribers every day simply by word of mouth. Indeed, BTP is now distributed in over 100 countries, with our special issues printed in over 10 languages. And this reach only continues to grow. There is still a lot more to be done, and a lot more will be done.
Here's to another 50 issues!
Thank you and Hare Krishna.
In Srila Prabhupada's service,
Krishnakant
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