VNN Editorial - "Ritvikism" Reprieve & Reconsideration

EDITORIAL

January 19, 1999 VNN2879 See Related VNN Stories

"Ritvikism" Reprieve & Reconsideration

BY MADAN MOHAN DASA

EDITORIAL, Jan 19 (VNN) — Dear VNN readers, Please accept my dandavat pranams. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

Following my earlier posting entitled AN OPEN CHALLENGE TO NEW-AGE "RITVIKISM" I received two significant replies from IRG and PADA.

As a consequence, I downloaded and read through the voluminous 238K "Final Order" presentation of the "ritvik" case to try and gain some insight into the underlying thinking behind "ritvik philosophy". I experienced many mixed emotions, some initial confusion and frankly, I really didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I had been preparing myself for a fight. I was totally unprepared for "The Final Order". It came across to me as such a gift of contradictions, irrelevancies, tenuous extrapolations and hopeless inconsistencies that I was completely disarmed.

I felt like a well-trained and fully-armed S.A.S. front-line combat operative suddenly confronted with a house full of frightened children instead of the brutal gang of terrorists that I had been briefed to expect.

My mind remained in a state of disturbance for two days, while I wrestled with the true nature of what it was I was actually confronting.

As an amateur writer aspiring to serve the Gaudiya Vaishnava community, I like to think that the words of the English language are the tools of my trade, sharpened to perfection on the heart-grindstone of Gaudiya philosophy.

But I am a mere apprentice in the school of my holy master, who is expert not only in language but all the 64 devotional arts.

I am not an artist in my writing, but a mere rat-pack gutter journalist seeking name, fame and sensation through catchy headlines and hard-hitting, punchy articles, a butcher slicing through the corpses of non-Gaudiya philosophies with cold indifference to the feelings of their proponents.

At first, "The Final Order" looked like one more dead body for me to dissect, to trash "ritvikism" conclusively, once and for all, bearing in mind that this represents the supposed "conclusive proof" through the infallible guru/sadhu/sastra system that had been requested in the earlier-posted challenge.

I was set to have a field day.

Firstly, I separated the contents of the massive 238K "Final Order" file into component parts comprising:

3K "Final Order" Letter +

5K Indisputable Facts +

55K Quotations +

175K "Ritvikism" Rhetoric.

The 55K of quotations broke down into:

10K Letters +

10K Lectures +

15K Sastra Quotations +

20K Conversations, Interviews, Morning Walks, etc.

The 15K of sastra quotations reduced to:

1 Verse from Srimad Bhagavatam +

1 Sentence from Teachings of Lord Caitanya +

1 Sentence from Nectar of Devotion +

2 Sentences from The Science of Self Realisation +

8 Verses from Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta +

30 Purports.

Then:

Non-specific material with regard to "ritvikism":

The above 9 verses and 4 sentences are all general references to guru- tattva and the qualities of pure devotees.

And finally:

Specific sastric material related to the subject of "ritvikism":

Only one verse amongst these might possibly be construed as pertinent "evidence";

"Therefore one must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence." (C.c. Antya, concluding words)

Within the 30 purports presented - which mostly describe the eligibility of the diksa-guru - there is only 1 quote that could be construed as pertinent to the subject of "ritvik theory":

"The potency of transcendental sound is never minimised because the vibrator is apparently absent." (S.B. 2.9.8, purport)

So, this was the supposed "conclusive proof" supported and established through the infallible guru/sadhu/sastra system. It all boiled down to one letter and no sastric validation whatsoever to uphold the preferred "ritvikism" philosophy of avoiding all direct sanga and shelter of pure devotees at all times.

It seemed to me that "ritvikism" was attempting to supplant the eternal system of establishing absolute truth through guru/sadhu/sastra with the highly improbable substitute of guru/baddha-jiva/letter.

It occurred to me that if the mayavadis had presented such a "final order" thesis - centred on a letter written a few months before the departure of Sankaracarya - as the sole basis of their philosophy, backed by the tenuous extrapolation of one verse and one purport from sastra, they would have been laughed out of India many centuries before now.

"Ritvikism" suddenly appeared to me to be doing mayavada philosophy a great service in increasing it's credibility massively by comparison to the tenuous interpretations and laboured rationalisations derived from one letter in order to establish a philosophy focused on formal initiation, a subject described as follows by Srila Prabhupada:

"...disciplic succession does not always mean that one
has to be initiated officially. Disciplic succession
means to accept the disciplic conclusion."
(SP Letter to Dinesh, 31/10/69 )

"Initiation is a formality. If you are serious, that is
real initiation. My touch is simply a formality. It is
your determination, that is initiation."
(BTG, Search for the Divine)

"The chanting of Hare Krsna is our main business, that
is real initiation. And as you are all following my
instruction, in that matter, the initiator is already
there." (SP Letter to Tamal Krsna, 19/8/68)

"Well, initiation or no initiation, first thing is
knowledge... knowledge. Initiation is formality. Just
like you go to a school for knowledge, and admission is
formality. That is not very important thing."
(SP Interview, 16/10/76, Chandigarh)

Even overt sahajiyism was beginning to seem somehow sober and respectable to me when considered next to the embarrassingly self-defeating spectacle of "ritvik philosophy".

Wordplays began to buzz around my mind. "The Final Ordure", perhaps?

I was poised for the kill, sword to the throat, ready to finish the beast. But I just couldn't do it. The supposed philosophical opponent had already collapsed to the floor under the weight of it's own burdensome contradictions and inconsistencies.

In the arena of philosophical discussion "ritvikism" is clearly not even a contender. This straw-man philosophy would get the stuffing knocked out of it in the first round of debate by any ten-year-old gurukuli with a basic grasp of Bhagavad-gita.

The challenge questions remained unanswered. To reiterate:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

a) There are no demonstrable benefits to the practitioners of "ritvik philosophy", certainly none apparent in "The Final Order" paper.

b) "Ritvikism" is self-evidently a different philosophy from Gaudiya Vaishnavism and thereby one more obstacle to Krishna-bhakti.

c) There is no foundation in true Gaudiya Vaishnava tattva and siddhanta to validate "ritvikism" through the infallible system of guru/sadhu/sastra.

On the surface of it, an open-and-shut case. But something was bothering me. There's more to this than meets the eye, for sure. I slept on it, chewed through it, weighed it up, couldn't get to grips with the "missing" ingredient and slept on it once again, praying for some guidance and inspiration.

Then I woke up this morning (Friday January 15th 1999) with a very stark realisation.

I hadn't been studying a philosophical thesis. All the time it had been staring me in the face. I was looking at the pain and suffering endured by a now totally divided and dysfunctional community through 21 years of unbearable separation and systematically-orchestrated institutional abuse.

I no longer had the choice between laughing and crying. This was an honestly presented, heartfelt but hopelessly flawed articulation of a whole host of victims who simply want to know and deeply feel the love of their departed Gurudeva, while simultaneously freeing themselves from the grip of their tormentor pseudo-spiritual authorities.

"The Final Order" is not a manifesto for "ritvikism". It is a primal scream, a cry for help from deep within the wounded hearts of a generation of loyal, devoted souls whose dreams for a loving worldwide spiritual community had been cruelly shattered.

The abject dysfunctionality of this shattered community hit home to me when I read:

"In the whole scheme of things ISKCON is undoubtedly the most important Society on the planet."

This does not require philosophical discussion.

This is a case for major pyschotherapy and a high input of loving support from all members of the worldwide Gaudiya Vaishnava community, regardless of institutional loyalties or sectarian considerations.

I suddenly recognised all the classic symptoms of co-dependence, compulsive/addictive behaviour disorders, toxic shame and unhealthy boundaries that all result from mental, emotional, physical or sexual abuse or a combination of some or all these abuses.

I can very easily take up a righteous sword to slash bogus behaviour, apasiddhanta and aparadha to pieces. But I will not raise one finger to strike at fellow devotees who are very clearly suffering, even when their suffering is expressed so inappropriately by lashing out at pure Vaishnavas in their tormented frustration.

I have read - especially from the no-holds-barred, militant PADA camp - toe-curlingly dreadful blasphemies accusing maha-bhagavata Vaishnavas of complicity in acts of sexual deviance and perversion performed by wayward pseudo-gurus hiding behind the shield of "sadhu" respectability.

Even my own Guru Maharaja - an exemplary Vaishnava saint - has not been spared the wrath of IRG and PADA's bitter furore. For me this is unforgivable. Yet my Gurudeva teaches:

"Even if someone criticises your Guru Maharaja, do not criticise them. Speak strongly against bogus activity, apasiddhanta and aparadha, but not against any individual jiva. Otherwise you will make a bridge and all the bad qualities in their hearts will enter into yours and all your good qualities will go to them."

At that point in my ongoing education the reasoning behind not criticising anyone - what to speak of Vaishnavas - became abundantly clear to me.

Conversely, as I understand, when we sincerely praise pure Vaishnavas then the bridge between our hearts and theirs facilitates a flow of their unlimited good qualities to help us make progress in bhakti. The "Jaya-Dvani" prayers (All glories to...!!!) to all the acaryas in our line is just such a link, an essential and powerful part of our daily sadhana practise. Nothing in the Gaudiya process is mere ritual.

I thought back back to the darker times of my life, before I felt the love of my Gurudeva shining into my heart to chase all my pain and loneliness away.

I too was an abuse victim. Nothing that appeared major (bullying, lack of affection & encouragement, etc.), but the scars ran deep and the affects pervaded my entire adult life until I finally acknowledged, identified, addressed the underlying problem and took positive steps to recover my sense of self-respect and well-being.

It's a long process requiring major commitment, but it's always rewarding and never too late to start, at any age.

Practically speaking, we are all victims of abuse - emotional, mental, physical or sexual - on some level. How we face and deal with that reality is a prime test of our character and runs hand in hand with the real awakening of our true spiritual potential.

ISKCON, the post-1977 institution, is a classic story of codependence and dysfunctionality arising from prolonged and protracted abuse. The abusers are also victims, acting out the abuse damage from their own earlier lives by perpetuating the cycle of abuse, inflicting their unresolved pain within adult/child traps similar to their own childhood experiences.

It could be argued that Srila Prabhupada never specifically sanctioned or advised pyschotherapy as a neccessary tool for advancement in bhakti, but considering Sri Rupa Gosvami's advice on acceptance and rejection, it would be both pedantic and churlish to reject the benefits of a process so thoroughly beneficial to all aspects of human health, both physical and spiritual.

We should have no hesitation in taking help wherever we can find it and that applies especially to spiritual guidance. It is a fact that Srila Prabhupada is irreplaceable, but that doesn't preclude the desirability (and necessity) of seeking out the sanga of pure Vaishnavas who understand him better than we ever could in our conditioned states.

It is a simple, straightforward fact of my spiritual life that I didn't understand what Srila Prabhupada's books were really all about until my Gurudeva showed me, with convincing authority and gentle, patient guidance.

"It's all in the books" is a self-evident truth, but we can not afford to ignore the crystal-clear instructions within those books to read other books by our acaryas and to take direct pure, shelter at all times. You all know the quotes.

There is little to be achieved by being selective in which orders we follow, or pedantic in avoiding what has not been specifically sanctioned. If we followed the concept of non-sanctioned activities through it's logical progression we might ask:

When did Srila Prabhupada ever tell any of his disciples to preach or communicate on the Internet? Where is the taped or written evidence?

Common sense and practical yukta-vairagya were among the "trademarks" of our Srila Prabhupada. If we are to be true to him then we must neccessarily imbibe his mood of utilising whatever tools we have at our disposal.

21 years ago pyschotherapy was fringe medicine and the Internet was science fiction. If we are to move forward from the 1965-1977 "good old days" time bubble for which we hanker in our romantic dreams of "how it was", we must surely address the issues of today in the light of today's advantages of experience and insight and the benefits of more liberally available therapies.

"The Road Less Travelled" by Dr.M.Scott-Peck (a pyschotherapist) was a revelation and marked a significant turning-point for me. Even though I was initiated in January '92 it wasn't until perhaps 1995 that I really began to address the underlying causes of the "blocks" in my spiritual life.

I knew beyond any question of a doubt that my Gurudeva is a maha-bhagavata Vaishnava who loves me dearly, sometimes chastising me for my slovenliness, sometimes gently mocking me, often laughing outright at my skinny body or balding head, but never without tangible affection and kindness.

Yet I couldn't bring myself to fully accepting and trusting his love. It pained me deeply, so I looked at the problem, realised I was the problem and took myself to a therapist to try and work it out.

I was fortunate. By my Gurudeva's mercy it took two sessions, about 5 hours of heart-wrenching soul-baring for me to identify the whats, wheres, whens, hows and whys of my dysfunctional emotional wreckage. Then I turned the corner and never really looked back.

I remain shy and reticent before my Gurudeva, but there is a quiet confidence in my heart that he loves me and I love him and everything's going along fine. It may be a little deluded (in terms of my actual level of advancement), but I feel entitled to feel good after a lifetime of feeling bad.

All that pain was a distant memory, buried deep in what now seems a bygone era of darkness and distress. Reading "The Final Order" re-connected me with the pain of my past. Frankly, my own pain was minimal in comparison to this. I didn't want to face my own pain, but it became neccessary for my spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is what "The Road Less Travelled" is all about.

I also read John Bradshaw's "The Family" and "Healing The Shame That Binds You", amongst various other "classics". I've seen enough of these and other self-help or 12-step books on devotees' shelves to know that pyschotherapy and recovery are major factors and issues in the lives of so many other fellow abuse victims within our community.

Ultimately "Chant Hare Krishna and Be Happy" is all the advice we need. Krishna will arrange everything once we start to call his name. It's painfully tragic if, when Sri Krishna is eternally present in the form of Sri Guru, we fail to recognize Him and don't take full advantage of His divine grace.

This reflects a failiure in grasping the basic principles of akhanda (undivided) guru-tattva. The diksa-guru is Krishna's rupa and the siksa-guru is His svarupa. As His internal and external forms are non-different, so too are the manifestations of pure diksa and siksa gurus one and the same Sri Krishna.

I also "miss" the physical presence Srila Prabhupada, even though I never met him. I must admit I can barely contemplate the pain of separation felt by his actual disciples. Separation to me has so far meant the time between seeing my Gurudeva in India during karttika and his next visit to Europe.

I spent only 10 months (Sept.'90 to July '91) living as a supposed brahmacari in an ISKCON temple in Leicester, England. I am eternally grateful to all of Srila Prabhupada's disciples who contributed to making that facility and their sanga available for me at a critical time in my life.

I read Srila Prabhupada's books, deduced that direct sanga of and service to a pure, mahabhagavata Gaudiya Vaishnava guru was essential to progress in Krishna-bhakti (Nectar of Instruction) and prayed for his merciful guidance. "I want a guru like you, in whose hands I can place my eternal soul with the utmost of confidence" was the essence of my prayer.

Within a matter of days, 3 disciples of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja came knocking at the door, told me about their Gurudeva and I understood that Srila Prabhupada had answered my prayer, in no uncertain terms.

Six months later I was initiated in Mathura Math, where Srila Prabhupada accepted the sannyasa order in the same year I was born. I was particularly delighted to take my "spiritual birth" in that sacred tirtha.

Unpleasantly, I had already been given an ultimatum by ISKCON authorities that if I accepted initiation from a pure Vaishnava (whose purity they openly acknowledged) "outside ISKCON" I would no longer be allowed to continue my service as Temple Commander, cleaner, handyman, decorator, bhoga-collector, etc. that I had relished so much in Leicester. (I was the only person living full-time in the temple, fully in charge of myself. Almost.)

Having made a personal commitment in my heart back in the late 80s to serving Srila Prabhupada with my full life energy (on the strength of reading two or three of his small books) it came as an horrific shock to be confronted with the prospect of having to "leave ISKCON" because I wanted to follow Srila Prabhupada's most essential instruction to seek out and accept direct, pure guidance and shelter for my personal journey on the path of Krishna-bhakti.

Needless to say (but I will anyway) I flatly refuse to accept the logic and reasoning behind proposing "The Final Order" as Srila Prabhupada's alleged "cancel-everything-else-I-ever-taught-you-and-just-do-this-instead" desire.

Following the reasonable logic that the later instructions supercede the earlier ones, it stands to reason that the most essential teachings of our abhideya-acarya, Sri Rupa Gosvami's "Nectar of Instruction", first published in 1975 and ordered to be distributed worldwide on the streets by Srila Prabhupada "for everybody" stands out as the definitive, final set of sastric, authoritative directions for true rupanuga Vaishnavas.

"The Final Order" diametrically opposes all instructions in relation to seeking out, serving and taking shelter of pure devotees within Nectar of Instruction.

There are also many later instructions by Srila Prabhupada far more significant than the future formalities of the initiating system within the ISKCON institution.

Srila Prabhupada formed the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust specifically "to bring unity amongst the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, especially the followers of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura" and instructed "We want co-operation". (Room conversation, Vrndavana 10.10.1977).

Now that is a "final order" to be followed with our full energy. No-one loyal to Srila Prabhupada can honestly deny his express wishes in this area. His later orders clearly override his earlier desire to maintain a "respectful distance".

It is well understood that Srila Prabhupada encouraged a degree of "competitiveness" to discourage his own disciples from wandering freely into various Gaudiya Math temples, where they might only create a disturbance with their over-zealous, "ISKCON-is-the-only-way" preaching.

It is recorded that Srila Prabhupada apologised for this preaching tactic in his final days and was assured by Srila Narayan Maharaja that "you have never done anything wrong". These are sensitive matters of preaching strategy and Vaishnava etiquette, not something to be construed as a basis for the perpetuation of sectarian divisions and dogmas.

The subject of diksa initiation is obviously an important issue for every aspiring sadhaka. Clearly it is always advisable for a sadhaka to make a direct connection with pure Vaishnavas wherever and whenever possible. Ritvik initiation is an option, but definitely second best and certainly something to be avoided when the fully qualified guru is no longer present and the representative priests responsible for transmitting true understanding are not themselves clear on basic tattva and siddhanta.

I was fully committed and prepared to give my life to serving the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through the ISKCON institution. The institution rejected me because I understood the instructions of the founder acarya to be more important than the institution which carried but evidently misrepresented his name.

This was my first major test of putting Sri Rupa Gosvami's instructions about "accepting and rejecting" into practise. I had no obvious alternative other than to reject the deviant institution in favour of the bonafide instructions within Srila Prabhupada's books.

It was at the point of "The Final Ultimatum" that I realised a dichotomy had been introduced into ISKCON that had simply not been present during the good old days of Srila Prabhupada's direct leadership and guidance.

During Srila Prabhupada's manifest physical presence the ISKCON institution was, more or less, a true reflection of the ISKCON philosophy, i.e. the pure tenets of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

After his re-entry into nitya-lila the institution's claim to be representative of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy seems to have lost credibility at a truly astonishing rate.

When I read:

"In the whole scheme of things ISKCON is undoubtedly the most important Society on the planet."

I suddenly recognised the tragedy of the grief-ridden blindness to reality that refuses to allow the possibility that the once-great institution has become separated from it's roots by promoting a contrived form of pseudo-spirituality categorically different and in fact diametrically opposed to Gaudiya vaishnava philosophy.

ISKCON philosophy and the ISKCON institution are poles apart.

This is a classic, codependent pyschological sickness scenario, where the perfect, loving father-figure is suddenly replaced by unfit step-parents who perpetuate their own unresolved pain by abusing their positions of authority to inflict similar pain and suffering on their helplessly dependent children.

The vulnerable children - who believe they have no other choice than to accept whatever punishment is inflicted upon them - in their turn begin to accept this as "normal" and develop sick, codependent relationships with their abusers, based on shame and guilt.

They gradually accept in their minds that they "deserve" the pain inflicted upon them, because they have learned to see themselves as intrinsically bad, "rotten to the c ore". This "toxic shame" is the classic root of most pyschological illnesses.

The process of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is one of gradual self-improvement and correction by various heart-cleansing processes, primarily through congregational chanting of the holy names.

It is a symptom of the approach of spiritual maturity when we place ourselves under the bright, cleansing spotlight that is the direct glance of the pure Vaishnava, who can see right into our hearts and direct us individually, according to our unique and specific needs.

It takes no small amount of courage to effectively present oneself before Krishna - Who has appeared in the form of Sri Guru - and say:

"Here I am. This is me, where I'm at, as I am, in my wretched state of conditioned ignorance, begging for mercy at your lotus feet. I have no good qualities, but I have faith that you are guru-tattva, the abode of all purity and perfection. I know you can see right through all my deceit and pretense so I have to admit that it is time for me to stop running away from you and face the truth about myself. Please accept me as I am, and I will try to serve you as best I can. I know It will be a long, long time before I am fit to serve you, so I am simply begging for the unconditional, unlimited mercy of your sacred lotus feet to shower down upon my unworthy head."

It is not easy to say these things, even to God in our prayers, what to speak of stating our true inner feelings out loud before His pure representative.

When a baddha-jiva has met a mahabhagavata Vaishnava, then been cruelly robbed of that priceless association to be subsequently subjected to 21 years of systematic, ritualised abuse by self-elected "pure devotees", the concept of accepting the actual presence of genuine sadhus on the planet is bound to becomes somewhat prejudiced, to say the least.

My brothers and sisters who have fallen victim to ritual abuse in the name of religion are quite entitled to be a little jaded in their opinion of anyone proclaimed as a "pure Vaishnava" when such supposedly saintly figures have often and repeatedly inflicted unspeakable levels of physical, mental and emotional pain upon these unfortunate souls.

Ergo "ritvikism". The hurt children, now a little more grown up, can tell their foster-parents to go take a running jump. They want to re-unite with their real, loving father, whose perfect status nobody can challenge or replace.

Hence the perception of "threats" in the form of pure Vaishnavas "outside" their dysfunctional family. Even the foster-parents in sick codependent relationships with these deeply-damaged children seem somehow more reassuringly familiar than "outsiders", however well-qualified and loving those "non-members" of the immediate family may appear to be.

Personally, I care enough about what I see happening all around the worldwide Gaudiya Vaishnava community that I am prepared to acknowledge the excessive use of abusive language towards even pure Vaishnavas within "ritvik" literature as an unacceptable but nevertheless understandable expression of deeply ingrained cynicism in the context of two decades of having been exposed to the ruthless cruelty of ambitious men clad in saffron posing as "genuine" ISKCON gurus.

I can't condone such blasphemies, but I do want to make space in my heart to accomodate even the most damaged sadhakas in this family. I could easily add to the pain of the "ritviks" by deconstructing their so-called philosophy piece by piece and practically obliterating it out of existence in any credible arena of philosophical Vaishnava debate.

But "ritvikism" is not a philosophy. It is, on closer inspection, a catalogue of all the classic symptoms of ritualised abuse and deserves to be properly acknowledged, identified, addressed and resolved as such.

We are all members of the same family, the sacred Gaura-parivara, and we all have a collective responsibility to acknowledge that a corrupt sytem has arisen more out of our collective apathy and immaturity than the "evil intentions" of any single individuals.

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is no more powerful position in this world than Gaudiya Vaishnava acaraya in terms of ability to command unquestioning worship, loyalty and subservience from hundreds of eager and willing servants ready to indulge evry whim and fulfil every desire. Even some transparently corrupt pretenders get to "lord it" over their trusting followers for a while, before their inevitable fall-downs.

Undoubtedly the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Supreme Lord has His reasons for allowing so many strange pastimes to go on. The main thing for us is that our learning curve grows steeper and our bhakti gets stronger day by day, whatever it is we have to face in our lives.

Yesterday's calamity has all the potential to lead us forward into tomorrow's crowning success, if we read our situations with some wisdom, guidance and insight.

The environment is always friendly. It must be so. Krishna is present in every atom.

It is more than OK to separate ISKCON philosophy from the ISKCON institution. It is essential at this time if we are to exercise proper discretion and positive discrimination in determining our way forward out of the "crisis generation" and into an era of recovery and rehabilitation.

The inability to separate these two quite distinct entities is symptomatic of the sick, codependent relationship bonds formed between abused and abusers, whereby foster-parents using the true father's name to cover their appalling conduct create an artificial dependency through spiritual and emotional desertion in place of the nurturing, loving care they pretend to supply.

Sick, dysfunctional children cannot differentiate between loyalty to the name of their father and loyalty to the foster-parents who abuse them in the alleged capacity of their real father's "true representatives".

These sick, codependent relationships create a cycle of guilt and fear, a burden only increased by the thought of rejecting the father's name, even when that name has been falsely invoked to justify obscene rituals of abuse.

The first steps towards spiritual and emotional recovery for all the "ritvik" proponents out there, whether abusers or abused, must include making clear distinctions between the perfect ISKCON philosophy and the dysfunctional institution which is not fit to carry the sacred ISKCON name.

"The Final Order" is positively schizophrenic in it's alternation between characterisations of "them" as the administrative enemy and "us" as the happily co-operating GBC and "ritviks" working harmoniously side by side to operate an initially parallel system of two contradictory initiation policies, supposedly to become one unified, strictly "ritvik" system.

It ain't gonna happen, kids! Your foster-parents will be the last to even acknowledge any slight imperfections in their parenting abilities, what to speak of conceding power to their foster children by fully embracing a system of family management that totally removes them from their positions behind the controlling reins. They've got their perceived power and - like all demented politicians (and presidents!) up to their eyebrows in scandal and corruption - they'll hang on to the very last.

Is any comfortably-established penthouse swami pseudo-guru going to relinquish his five-star lifestyle and six-figure bank account, his "absolute" power and control over hordes of willing slaves, sycophants and admirers just to indulge what he percieves as a bunch of losers in their timid attempts at gently ousting him from his grossly over-priveleged position?

We're not dealing with reasonable people here. A mafia-style administration has successfully usurped control of ISKCON temples and assets for over 21 years and is not about to move out on the strength of any half-baked pseudo-philosophy etched into cyberspace by what they must undoubtedly recognise as a disorganised rabble of disempowered, codependent abuse victims. They should know. It was they who systematically abused, divided and disempowered all their potential opponents.

It doesn't matter what happens in "official" ISKCON temples and GBC meetings as long as the present administration is in place. None of it has any connection with Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Best to get all the sharks out of the swimming pool before diving back in! Even one is evidently more than a match for all the "ritviks" put together. All the time the "ritviks" continue to "snipe" from the sidelines, the security and "status quo" of the present corrupt administration is guaranteed.

"Outside ISKCON" is a much bigger place than "inside ISKCON". "Inside" is the only arena in which the "official ISKCON administration has any jurisdiction, and indeed the only place where anybody at all takes them even remotely seriously. Still, they can evidently inflict some considerable harm on the lives of many aspiring sadhakas worldwide. Which is sufficient reason to oust the lot of them, as long as they insistently cling on to established patterns of emotional abuse and insidious methods of mind control.

If anyone proposes to reform the ISKCON institution, an effective method would be to first establish a solid, united power-base of co-operative Vaishnavas "outside", fully agreed on the true ISKCON philosophy comprising correct Gaudiya Vaishnava tattva, siddhanta and sadacara clearly established by proper implementation of the infallible guru/sadhu/sastra system of establishing absolute truth.

A fully-prepared "shadow" administration could then step in and remove the presently entrenched but nonetheless spiritually impotent administration wholesale, restoring the status of the institution to it's once glorious reflection of the very philosophy it stands for.

That day is not far off. This will happen, sooner than many might hope for.

The mighty Bhagiratha river of suddha-bhakti flows through this world eternally, her central current ever traceable in India. Srila Prabhupada burst the banks of that river to flood the entire world with transcendental literature and a promise of universal shelter for every conditioned soul within the scope of his unlimited spiritual household.

The flood may have receded somewhat over the last 21 years, but the central current never stopped flowing through the holy dhamas of India for one moment. Those who remained faithful to Srila Prabhupada's instructions - even at the cost of forsaking his once-great institution - have bathed continuously in those holy waters.

Once again the tides of pure sanga and shelter are rising as several mahabhagavata Vaishnavas have taken up the challenge of preaching worldwide, following in Srila Prabhupada's footsteps.

For all those who have dried up in the desert of asat-sanga I can only suggest:

Go and get wet! Dive in! Those crystal-clear waters are waiting for you!

Once again ISKCON will be able to offer true shelter and guidance to all conditioned souls, having shaken off all immature notions of sectarianism. After 21 years the worldwide Gaudiya Vaishnava community may yet come of age.

No longer will we bound by any narrow, sectarian, institutional considerations. We are adults and we can take shelter wherever we find it, by the grace of Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Srila Prabhupada certainly left nothing to chance. When he co-founded the Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti in 1943 with Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja, his dear friend, siksa-guru and sannyasa guru-to-be, he demonstrated his tri-kala-jnana mystic potency to see all future events and helped to ensure that the integrity of the Gaudiya siddhanta and tattva would be preserved intact through the glorious preaching of the now 40+ Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti centres of excellence throughout Northern India.

If his ISKCON institution failed to preserve the integrity of his teachings, which it most evidently has, he clearly demonstrated absolute confidence in the ability of his sannyasa-guru to maintain and protect the line, as well as training pure Vaishnavas of the very highest calibre to perpetuate all future preaching well through and beyond the time of his own departure.

The jaded "ritvik" view would have us believe there are no pure Vaishnavas on the planet - a central tenet of "ritvik philosophy". It has been proposed - and hopefully argued somewhat convincingly - that the "ritvik" stance is a symptomatic reaction to protracted ritual abuse rather than any kind of coherent philosophy and thereby does not represent either a sastrically validated or a balanced perspective on the true nature of current events.

Nor does "ritvik" philosophy consider the meaning of "omnipresent" with regard to the nature of our dear Lord Gauranga, Who is the personification of all existence. To propose the introduction of a 9,500-year "break" following a 500-year unbroken succession of bhagavata-guru acaryas in the Gaudiya line is an absurdity.

Especially now, the time when all technology has peaked to such a degree that Vaishnavas can make full use of the Internet to distribute the pure message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to every computer terminal on the planet.

Are we really supposed to embrace the notion of an absentee Supreme Lord, no current manifestation of pure guru-tattva at this wildly exciting but deeply troubled phase of unprecedented spiritual searching and turbulent human and planetary transformation?

Or does the picture of a sick group of abused and confused individuals lashing out in utter frustration and confusion at Mahaprabhu's nearest and dearest offer a more plausible explanation for some outrageous breaches of Vaishnava etiquette and so many bizarre interpretations of Gaudiya siddhanta?

Anyone genuinely wishing to know Srila Prabhupada better would not hesitate to grasp eagerly at the opportunity of meeting and speaking with his closest friend and foremost siksa disciple and representative, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja.

Srila Prabhupada wrote twice a month, in his own hand - mostly in Bengali, sometimes in Hindi - to Srila Narayan Maharaja throughout his entire 12 years of preaching worldwide, revealing an intimacy of friendship not seen in any other letters to anybody else.

Of the remaining 17 letters (approx. 300 were entrusted to ISKCON archives, where they mysteriously burst into flames), sufficient indication is there to prove the unique quality of this friendship and the absolute trust and loving exchanges that evidently occurred between them.

The request for Srila Narayan Maharaja to put Srila Prabhupada into samadhi confirmed the prominent status of his most loyal ally and disciple. This is a ceremony that can only be properly performed by an intimate associate, familiar with all the appropriate protocols of placing an eternal Vrajavasi's body to rest with all due correctness and etiquette. It is no mere ritual.

Srila Narayan Maharaja also performed the similar ceremony for Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja in 1968. Srila Prabhupada responded to the departure of his beloved friend and sannyasa-guru by sending instructions to not only observe this disappearance day but also to hang a picture of the "lion-acarya" in every ISKCON temple around the world. Like so many other direct orders, this was also completely ignored by his myopic followers.

These events are important keys to understanding the "silent partnerships" of both Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja and Srila Narayan Maharaja and their largely unknown but vastly significant contribution to helping Srila Prabhupada in his preaching and maintaining the absolutely perfect integrity of true Gaudiya siddhanta and tattva to be re-established outside India long after the tragic demise of the corrupt worldwide ISKCON institution.

It comes accross to me as an honest, self-deprecating appeal in the conclusion to "The Final Order", whereby the "ritvik" proponents own up to their disorganisation, philosophical inconsistencies, abusive literatures and the various other problems that pervade their sincere attempts at reformation of the institution they cling with such dysfunctional desperation.

I detect the first steps towards recovery in those honest acknowledgements. I firmly believe that with a true Vaishnava spirit of surrender and trusting dependency on the ever-manifest mercy of Sri Guru, the painful lessons of tragic personal histories will act as catalysts for abused individuals to seek out and find truth, justice and the Gaudiya Vaishnava way. They obviously had some major karmic burdens to plough through, but I firmly believe they will pull through to achieve ultimate success.

My Guru Maharaja treats all ISKCON members as his own dear children, offering all due respects to the true seniors and ever-attentive loving shelter and guidance to everyone who approaches him with honesty and sincerity.

I can't expect and wouldn't even suggest that any determined "ritvik" proponents should immediately run to the shelter of the pure lotus feet of Srila Narayan Maharaja. They are entitled to their wariness and cynicism, however misplaced that appears to be in several particular cases.

Left to my own natural, animal-like inclinations I would have torn "ritvikism" to shreds and derived no small satisfaction from that pleasurable task. But I am aspiring to represent my Gurudeva and his mood.

He is ever-loving and forgiving, the personification of suddha-bhakti, yet fierce like a lion in defence of our sublime Gaudiya siddhanta and tattva. He has reached through to my heart and touched my soul.

If I have managed to present any kind of of useful, helpful insight or inspiration in the course of this rambling dissertation, then all credit must go to my Gurudeva, without whose grace I am merely an empty vessel.

If I have caused offence or distress to any individual jiva I accept full responsibility on my own head and apologise for that.

I'll request only one thing of my brother and sister "ritviks". It's my Gurudeva's 78th birthday tomorrow, Sunday 17th January. Please stop blaspheming him. And all other Vaishnavas for that matter, for your own sakes, at least.

There is much vital, positive service to be done. Our cleansing needs to start at home, before we can even consider being effective in the preaching field. Help is always at hand for those who are prepared to take the responsibility of asking for and accepting direct, pure guidance.

I've said my piece, for now.

All responses and (polite) comments are welcome.

Your servant aspiring for the service of Sri Guru and Gauranga,

Madan Mohan dasa.

Please send any correspondence to me at:

106650.1421@compuserve.com

* * * 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)

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