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EDITORIAL July 9, 1999 VNN4259 Comment on this story They've Lost The Plot BY MADHUDVISA DASA EDITORIAL, Jul 9 (VNN) — The GBC say "The Bound CAN rescue the bound. Why not?" "The conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself--he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, THE RESCUER MUST BE LIBERATED." [Bg. 7.14] But they've lost the plot! "One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari--Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a spiritual master." [NoI 5] Yet they go on shouting in defiance: "The guru doesn't have to be a pure devotee!" They've completely lost the plot! "He is not pure devotee of Krsna. How he can do? Krsna-sakti vina nahe nama pracara: ÎWITHOUT BEING EMPOWERED BY KRSNA NOBODY CAN TURN A PERSON TO BECOME A DEVOTEE OF KRSNA.' Artificially, you cannot make. He may make show of gold manufacturing, but he cannot make a devotee of Krsna. That is not possible." [750203mw.haw] They've lost the plot! Although Srila Prabhupada clearly instructs us "ONE NEED NOT READ MANY BOOKS ON DIFFERENT SUBJECT MATTERS" the BBT assure us he really meant to say: "The ability to read many books on different subject matters is intelligence, another opulence!" [Bg. 10.34] They've CHANGED the plot! Can't they remember Prabhupada advised us not to read too many books? "One should not be very enthusiastic about reading various types of books--Practically, if one very carefully reads Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Teachings of Lord Caitanya and this Nectar of Devotion, that will give him sufficient knowledge to understand the science of Krsna consciousness. ONE NEED NOT TAKE THE TROUBLE OF READING OTHER BOOKS." [Nectar of Devotion Chapter 7] And "Nectar Of Devotion" is supposed to be the law-book for ISKCON. They've lost the plot! We seem to have forgotten about the billions of conditioned souls in the human form on this planet just waiting for Lord Caitanya's mercy in the form of Srila Prabhupada's books. Hardly ANY of them have read ANY of Srila Prabhupada's books. Nowadays most of them have NEVER seen a Hari-Nama sankirtana party or even heard the Hare Krishna maha-mantra! We've been arguing so much since 1977 that we've almost completely forgotten about printing and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and going out on Hari-nama sankirtana. What about all the people who haven't read any of Srila Prabhupada's books? Does anyone care about them? Why not go out on book distribution? Books are the basis! We have completely lost the plot! "If just .01% of the world's population becomes Krsna Conscious, the whole situation on the earth will change. Just see what has happened. I STARTED ALONE IN 1966 AND IN JUST SEVEN YEARS NOW WE ARE THREE THOUSAND, AND IT IS GROWING MORE AND MORE." [72-05-02] ISKCON may claim to have more than three thousand devotees now [but you won't find them at Mangal-Aroti or out on book distribution and Hari-Nama sankirtana!]. Are those devotees making anything like the impact on the world Srila Prabhupada's three thousand disciples did in 1972? Hardly! Why have we stopped trying to make the world Krishna conscious? Purity is the FORCE! What happened to the plot? Krishna consciousness is an unlimited ocean of transcendental bliss, but somehow we have lost the bliss. "Spiritual taste cannot be forgotten; it goes on increasing. Anandambudhi-vardhanam. This taste is always increasing, it is an ocean of transcendental bliss, an ocean that is always increasing." [PoP 1] We have lost the plot. They want to introduce so many other books but don't even seriously read Prabhupada's books. "In my books the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness is explained FULLY so if there is anything which you do not understand, then you simply have to READ AGAIN AND AGAIN. By reading daily the knowledge will be revealed to you and by this process your spiritual life will develop. [74-11-22] But they don't like to read Prabhupada's books, what to speak of reading them again and again. They've lost the plot! They say: "We have already read Prabhupada's books. We want something NEW!" But Prabhupada's books are always new! "There is NOTHING NEW. Nityah sasvato 'yam puranah. Very old, but still, it is ETERNAL AND FRESH. This is spiritual matter. You read Bhagavad-gita. It was spoken four hundred millions of years ago, and then again, five thousand years ago. Still, if you read Bhagavad-gita daily, you will find it fresh. YOU WILL NEVER FIND IT OLD." [741204SB.BOM] Prabhupada doesn't want us to read other books: "There is no need by any of my disciples to read any books besides my books--in fact, such reading may be detrimental to their advancement in Krishna consciousness. All reading of outside books should be stopped immediately. It is simply another botheration. If my students cannot even read my own books THOROUGHLY, why they should read others? You are right to stop such reading." [72-01-20] Although the BBT know well Srila Prabhupada wants them to print and distribute HIS books, when someone says "Why not publish lots of new books by lots of new authors instead of those boring old ones by Prabhupada?" One of the editors nods and says: "Why Not?" He's definitely lost the plot! Has it slipped their minds that not everyone can write Vaisnava literature? "Transcendental literature that strictly follows the Vedic principles and the conclusion of the Puranas and pancaratrika-vidhi can be written only by a pure devotee." [Adi 8.39] Where have they found so many pure devotees? There is something VERY SPECIAL about Srila Prabhupada's books! The BBT no longer seem to be capable of recognizing this point. They have completely lost the plot. If we want to understand the plot we have to become pure devotees by surrendering to Srila Prabhupada and following the process of saddhana-bhakti he is teaching. Then we can preach EXACTLY the same thing to the world. There is no other way. Prabhupada has given us everything in his books. Why not just read them and repeat the transcendental messages we find in them for the benefit of everyone who hears us and ourselves as well? Amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa. Yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa... Some will disagree, of course. But what can I say? It's not my fault. Prabhupada said it. I did not! Why not become pure devotees and reestablish the plot! Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Your servant Madhudvisa dasa About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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