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EDITORIAL January 10, 1999 VNN2819 See Related VNN Stories Open Challenge To New-Age "Ritvikism" BY MADAN MOHAN DASA EDITORIAL, Jan 10 (VNN) — Dear VNN readers, Please accept my dandavat pranams. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga! The following invitation aims to enable many bewildered aspirants on the path of Krishna consciousness to discover the true origin, supposed value and underlying motivation of the "ritvik alternative" to the eternally perfect philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (which requires no additions, subtractions or modifications whatsoever) from the "ritviks" themselves. Nothing has so far emerged to establish "ritvikism" as anything but an eloquently-presented and highly efficient system of trapping conditioned souls in the miserable cycle of repeated birth and death by denying the direct, pure sanga and shelter which constitute - according to the conclusions of all Gaudiya acaryas - the single only means of becoming free from Mayadevi's fortress and achieving life's ultimate goal of Krishna-prema. Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the only true path to pure Krishna-prema, also the foremost means of releasing conditioned souls from illusory suffering and is, therefore, the greatest good in this world. Whatever opposes, distorts, denies or obstructs the one process of Gaudiya Vaishnavism assists only in bottle-necking trapped jivas in an increasingly dangerous environment and thereby, undoubtedly, constitutes the greatest evil in this world. The Gaudiya philosophy is crystal-clear - to sincere sadhakas - as the unique and infallible science of entering Sri Krishna's eternal pastimes in His topmost abode through the direct shelter and guidance of Sri Guru, His own direct expansion and intimate associate. There is no known credible or even slightly plausible "variation" or "alternative" to Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Anything else is inimical to Krishna-bhakti. Disturbingly for us, the very worst type of enemies in this world invariably manifest in the guise of friends. "Ritvik philosophy" appears to be at the very top of the league of New Age "alternative" philosophies, all of which emphasise do-as-you-please independence from any guru or guidance whatsoever (apart from New Age "alternative" philosophy, of course). Ostensibly, the only apparent "advantages" of "ritvik philosophy" is that insincere aspirants can claim all the "glory" of having a pure Vaishnava guru, while having none of the responsibility of standing accountable before him. It is to me a pretentious, imaginary, coward's alternative to facing the beautiful - but unavoidably honest and sometimes painful - responsibility of a genuinely active disciple-guru relationship that alone can actually bring about the changes needed for individual sadhakas to make advancement. Personally, I would prefer to be heavily chastised by my Gurudeva than looked upon benignly from a photograph without knowing what my guru is really thinking or, more importantly to me, what he wants me to do. That direct input is the primary, most essential aspect of spiritual life. No pure, direct sanga means no possibility of advancement in bhakti. "Ritvik" asat-sanga means all danger of utterly destroying the bhakti creeper through complicity in Vaishnava-aparadha. Nonetheless, that's my personal perspective, reflected in what I have understood from my own pure, maha-bhagavata guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja, who is so perfect in his understanding, practise and gentle, loving personal guidance, yet so much feared by all opponents to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, most notable of whom are - you guessed it - the "ritviks". This is an open invitation to all "ritviks" to come forward and validate their philosophy and show the courage to fully express and explain their reasons for devising, practising and propagating what appears to be an entirely misguided philosophy, in the divinely-illuminated arena of honest Vaishnava discussion. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * THE CHALLENGE: To All Proponents, Practitioners and Supporters of "ritvik philosophy", Can anyone prove conclusively - through the infallible guru/sadhu/sastra system of establishing absolute truth - that the currently fashionable "ritvik philosophy" (which supposedly leads to the attainment of Krishna-prema by connecting aspiring sadhakas to pure but departed Gaudiya Vaishnava gurus - through various less-qualified intermediaries), a) Confers any actual, spiritual benefits on the practitioners, b) Is not simply a deviant philosophy impeding progress on the path of Krishna-bhakti, or c) Has any foundation whatsoever in true Gaudiya Vaishnava tattva and siddhanta? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (N.B. The terms "guru" and "sadhu" in this context specifically refer to recognised, maha-bhagavata Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees. Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is herein acknowledged as jagad-guru, whose presentation of sastra is impeccable and fully authoritative. Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja (Srila Prabhupada's first and foremost siksa disciple, closest friend and exemplary representative), Srila Gour Govinda Swami (Srila Prabhupada's most illustrious formally-initiated disciple) and Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev Gosvami (Srila Prabhupada's own siksa-guru) are cited here as fully-qualified sadhus. The term"sastra" refers to all bona-fide Gaudiya Vaishnava literature and commentaries. Evidence from pure Vaishnavas not mentioned here and other relevant, credible and verifiable sources is also welcomed.) To the best of this author's knowledge none of the above-mentioned exemplary Vaishnavas have ever advocated or supported the viability of "ritvik" connection to departed gurus, or have ever encouraged the avoidance of pure, direct sanga and guidance. However, today's numerous "ritvik" proponents appear to remain resolute in their New Age "no guru" philosophy and are therefore invited to share what must presumably be accepted by them as compelling evidence to validate what Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees percieve as the untenable "ritvik philosophy". Please respond - including the phrase 'Irrefutable Ritvik Evidence' in the subject line - to RADHA-KRISHNA PREMA magazine at: 106650.1421@compuserve.com All serious responses will be forwarded to the VNN newsdesk, unless otherwise requested. Thanking you in anticipation, on behalf of all at RKP, for your eagerly-awaited "ritvik validations". Your servant, Madan Mohan dasa. * * * RADHA-KRISHNA PREMA * * * A Magazine for the Worldwide Gaudiya Vaishnava Community is now online at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/2469/RKP.htm (in association with the Temple of Understanding website) See Related VNN Stories | Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9901/ET10-2819.html
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