Back To Prabhupada, Issue 75, Vol. 4, 2022
One can act incorrectly due to being in ignorance. In such a situation, one may in error think that one's actions are bona fide. However, to know that something is wrong and to still engage in it is condemned by Srila Prabhupada as being worse:
Srila Prabhupada: "As soon as there is intentional cheating, that you'll have to suffer the effect."
Pusta Krsna: "So someone who is in knowledge and commits sinful activity..."
Srila Prabhupada: "Then he's..."
Pusta Krsna: "...his position is very bad..."
Srila Prabhupada: "Oh, yes, yes."
Pusta Krsna: "...compared to the innocent person, ignorant person."
Srila Prabhupada: "Yes."
(Morning Walk, 3/6/76)
We have noted previously that we run two types of articles in BTP in regard to exposing ISKCON's leaders:
1) One is when we show how they are speaking nonsense which is contradicted by Srila Prabhupada (and frequently also by other ISKCON leaders and themselves).
2) The other is when we show that they actually agree with the IRM's position.
Type 2 articles would be highlighting what Srila Prabhupada condemns as intentional cheating. These articles show that ISKCON's leaders are aware that the philosophy does not support the guru hoax, and yet they still insist on continuing it. Indeed, we have produced a whole BTP issue called ISKCON Leader's Special Issue, wherein we demonstrate that ISKCON leaders agree with the IRM by quoting them putting forward statements which help demonstrate that the guru hoax is, indeed, a hoax.
In BTP 71, we showed how our continuing to accept Srila Prabhupada as the spiritual master was attacked by GBC voted-in guru HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami ("BVKS") as being no different than trying to talk to a rotting corpse from the horror movie "Psycho":
"There is the rtvik sampradaya [...] it reminds me of a Alfred Hitchcock movie [...] it's not a very nice example, but it shows the strange mentality that, there's a man, and you see him talking to his mother [...] at the end of the film you see [...] she's dead. [...] not recognising the fact that Srila Prabhupada has passed away from our mortal vision"
(BVKS Lecture, 8/11/21)
Yet, recently, BVKS himself was "talking" to Srila Prabhupada as follows:
"I'm praying to Srila Prabhupada on this day that if I am deviating, [...] please make it obvious to me. [...] make it clear if, what I'm doing wrong and let me know what, by whatever means, what you want to do, because Srila Prabhupada, he lives forever, he hasn't disappeared, and he can act in ways to make it clear to me, to correct my innumerable faults"
(BVKS Lecture, "How To Always Live With Srila Prabhupada", 20/10/22)
Thus, Srila Prabhupada is accepted, whether by the IRM or BVKS, as:
1) able to act as one's diksa guru even though he is physically absent;
2) still "living" enough to be able to continue to act in one's life;
3) "alive" enough to directly reciprocate with what is asked of him.
Yet, hypocritically and contradictorily, according to BVKS, in the IRM's case, this is the same as trying to talk to a skeleton, whilst in his case, not only does Srila Prabhupada hear such talking, he even responds to it!
"There is a school of thought [...] which posits that Srila Prabhupada is with us in exactly the same way that he was prior to the 14th of November, 1977, especially in the matter of giving initiation, but in that sense he's not, he doesn't personally give initiation in the sense that he used to"
(BVKS Lecture, "How To Always Live With Srila Prabhupada", 20/10/22)
1) As usual, BVKS deliberately cheats about what the IRM's position is, since he is unable to challenge what we actually state. We do not state that Srila Prabhupada is with us in "exactly the same way" post-samadhi; but rather that he is present with us in exactly the same way "spiritually". The clue is in the title "spiritual" master. There is a reason the guru is called the spiritual, rather than material, master: because the absence of his physical body does not affect his ability to function as the spiritual master, as we just saw BVKS admit in the previous section.
2) After Srila Prabhupada issued the July 9th, 1977, directive authorising rtviks to accept disciples on his behalf, the procedure for getting initiated was:
"Temple Presidents may henceforward send recommendation for first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven representatives are nearest their temple. After considering the recommendation, these representatives may accept the devotee as an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupad by giving a spiritual name"
(Srila Prabhupada's July 9th, 1977, Directive)
Thus, to become initiated:
Temple president recommends -> Rtvik accepts with a spiritual name.
That's it.
Srila Prabhupada's physical presence is not required. Hence, if this system was followed today, Srila Prabhupada would be giving initiation in the same way as he gave it after 9/7/77.
Hence, although BVKS claims that Srila Prabhupada is not giving initiation in the same way today, he cannot say why. After all, Srila Prabhupada's rtvik initiation system allowed him to initiate newcomers to ISKCON without even needing to have any contact with them whatsoever, never mind needing to hear from them and respond, which BVKS admits Srila Prabhupada can in any case still do today.
Thus, it does not appear BVKS is in genuine ignorance about Srila Prabhupada's spiritual position and potency, which would be bad enough. Rather, he appears to know his "Psycho" philosophy is wrong and offensive to Srila Prabhupada, but he is still happy to attack Srila Prabhupada with it just to attack the rtvik system which poses a threat to his guru position. Srila Prabhupada explains the fate of someone who takes a forbidden action in knowledge that it is wrong:
"A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, still he acts. [...] Such persons are destined to be condemned by the Supreme"
(Bg., 16.23, purport)
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