08/11/98 - 1994

Please Give Us Back Srila Prabhupada's Iskcon

USA (VNN) - An open letter to the GBC, by Somaka Swami

Dear Maharajas and Prabhus
Please accept my most humble dandavat pranams.
All glories to our beloved Srila Prabhupada.

Before starting this letter let me beg forgiveness for any involuntary offences that I may commit by expressing my feelings, it is not my intention to offend, my desire is to see Srila Prabhupada's movement be again the nice house where everyone can live peacefully.

I think most of you know about a letter sent last year to all the devotees that had accepted me as their guru. There I expressed my feeling of not being qualified for occupying such important position as initiating spiritual master, position that is to be occupied only by someone in the mahabhagavata stage, as I realized through Srila Prabhupada's books. In addition to that, for us, followers of His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to accept that position is against Srila Prabhupada's Final Order.

Hopefully you also remember a letter sent several years ago complaining for some problems that were troubling our society.

Considering that my letter to the devotees in some places was not allowed to be distributed by the local GBC secretary and considering that this year my Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada was mysteriously lost in the editors files, I am sending this as an open letter through VNN, it looks like their computer works better that the one of Sriman Dravida Prabhu because they do not loose files so easily.

First of all I wish to inform you and the community of devotees that this is the last time I trouble you GBC's with my letters, because I have no more hope. I am convinced that you will never accept Srila Prabhupada's Final Order, and that you will never give up the mood of pride and dictatorship that caused so many of Srila Prabhupada's disciples to leave the movement.

Personally I am not interested to leave the movement and join some other Vaisnava institution, I am an ISKCON man and will remain so, being so attached to the mood and standards set by Srila Prabhupada. I am also not interested on leaving and becoming the head of a separate group. I am going to seclude myself in Jharikhanda and do service there in the association of some devotees and try to atone from my many sins and offences trough chanting and serving Krishna and His devotees. It is going to be very difficult for me to do that because by nature I have always been a travelling preacher, but I can not be a hypocrite, nor to be a disturbance or to disturb the faith of the devotees. If I go around preaching avoiding hypocrisy I will preach things contrary to your standard laws, becoming a troublemaker and disturbing the faith of many innocent, or -better to say- naive devotees. I have completely lost hope that you will accept so many evident mistakes, and due to my fiery nature if I discuss with you the matter I will become very irritated by so many years of frustration.

After the Mayapur festival one devotee from Italy sent me a letter telling how much her pilgrimage to India inspired her, and mentioned to me that from now and on she will only associate with devotees for Krishna Katha and will not listen to any dissatisfied and critical devotees. I fully agree with this proposition and that is the reason that I am secluding myself, following the principle that you can sacrifice the world to save yourself. I know that if I go on listening to dissatisfied devotees - and there are so many aoround the world - I will end up in total frustration especially contemplating how naive devotees are mislead. The letter above mentioned continued telling how impressed she was from a statement by H.H. Bhakti Caru Maharaja in a Bhagavatam class: "many devotees would like to see a different ISKCON but to make an ISKCON it takes a special person as Srila Prabhupada". I was not present in Mayapur but I guess that at this statement the whole audience of naive devotees had shouted "Jaaaaayyyyy......Hariii Boooool...." and the not so naive may have thought "my God, we are still at this point".

Yes Maharaja I completely agree 1.000.000 % with you that to make an ISKCON it takes a Shaktiavesa Avatara as Srila Prabhupada, I have no doubt about that, but I have a very big hesitancy to believe that the nowadays ISKCON is the same that the one that Srila Prabhupada left upon his departure. I will give you
some evidence of this:

1) Srila Prabhupada stated in his Will that managing should go on as it was, and no changes should be made. So what about the Final Order dictated by Srila Prabhupada in the July 9th 1977 letter? After so many years that the question it is being raised no sound explanation is being given to your modification to that. You have produced so many papers, contradicting each other to try to defeat the Final Order, but The Final Order Still Stands. (I think there is no need to quote the many papers from Krishnakant Prabhu defeating all counter-arguments and soundly establishing that Srila Prabhupada's final order
still stands)

2) In Srila Prabhupada's Will he stated that the trustees for the properties in India are for a lifetime and after nominating them he said that in case of demise the trustee should be replaced provided that the new trustee is selected between "my initiated disciples". Could you kindly explain me how in the next 10000 years (if you do not terminate it before) will ISKCON enact this instruction if we do not follow the Final Order?. Please do not reply with the absurd theory that was presented on Chakra that if one is initiated, he automatically becomes an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada, of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, of Srila Goura Kisora Das Babaji etc.. etc.. According to this theory at the time of initiation one becomes automatically godbrother of is guru, and also godbrother of is paramguru, as well as godbrother of the guru of his paramguru etc.. etc...etc.

3) Srila Prabhupada created ISKCON to produce Brahmanas, and Brahmanas are thinkers, independent thinkers, and not prisoners of a cult. We have now as an ISKCON law the prohibition for associating with Vaisnavas that are not ISKCON members, as well as to read Vaisnava books that are not Srila Prabhupadas books. This extreme is taken with the excuse of a statement by Srila Prabhupada to some neophyte disciples to not associate with his godbrothers to avoid the risk of them becoming confused.

Our commitment and faith to Srila Prabhupada and his movement should be based in a very deep love and gratitude not in bureaucratic laws and prohibitions. I Personally read Srila Prabhupada's books as well as books by other Vaisnavas, and that for no reason makes my faith and commitment to Srila Prabhupada decrease, on the contrary, it makes me realize more and more his greatness and my faith and commitment
increases more and more. Visiting Srila Prabhupada godbrothers causes my appreciation of Srila Prabhupada to increases hundreds of times, and similar result I get by reading.
Looking at today's ISKCON I loose enthusiasm every day, but visiting some of Srila Prabhupada's godbrothers gives me renewed enthusiasm.
This prohibition is offensive to the Vaisnava community at large. It has motivated many devotees to think and speak in an offensive way of so many great vaisnavas and is making us separatist and proud as we think to be the best or unique. This prohibitions convert Srila Prabhupada's movement into a sectarian cult.

You are accusing the Final Order proponents of trying to convert our movement into a Cult or a Church in the Christian taste, but actually you have succeeded in making the movement as such.

4) Each one of the different Christian churches prohibits his followers to visit other churches and to read others sacred books. The Catholic Church, is very bureaucratic, they make new lists of sins and condemn controversial books. They excommunicate members if they oppose the bureaucratic power. The only difference with us is that they came to the inquisition of the heretics 1500 year after Christ. We were much faster, because in only 20 years after Srila Prabhupada entered Samadhi we already reached the excommunication of heretics syndrome.

ON THE FALL DOWN OF THE SOUL

The Christian present Christ as the only savior. Now you are making Srila Prabhupada unique in saying something different from all other Vaisnava Acaryas as on the case of the fall down from Vaikuntha.
This is another case where you are presenting your personal interpretations of Srila Prabhupada's teachings.

There are abundant quotes of Prabhupada's books stating that Vaikuntha is a place from where there is no fall down. Please notice the following:

SB 3.16.26
PURPORT
'The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world, or Vaikuntha planet, for it is the eternal abode.'

SB 5.11.12
PURPORT
'This ordinary living being is of two kinds -- nitya-baddha or
nitya-mukta. One is eternally conditioned and the other eternally
liberated. The eternally liberated living beings, are in the Vaikuntha
jagat, the spiritual world, and they never fall into the material
world.'

SB 3.25.29
PURPORT
'Sometimes it is asked how the living entity falls down from the
spiritual world to the material world. Here is the answer. Unless one
is elevated to the Vaikuntha planets, directly in touch with the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is prone to fall down, either from
the impersonal Brahman realization or from an ecstatic trance of
meditation.'

Madhya-lila 22.14-15
PURPORT
'The living entities are divided into two categories the eternally liberated and eternally conditioned. Those who are ever-liberated never come in contact with maya, the external energy. The ever-conditioned are always under the clutches of the external energy.
This is described in Bhagavad-gita:

daivi hy esa guna-mayi / mama maya duratyaya ...

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome." (Bg. 7.14)

The nitya-baddhas are always conditioned by the external energy, and the nitya-muktas never come in contact with the external energy.'

Krishna Book, Chapter 28: Releasing Nanda Maharaja from the clutches of Varuna (p. 186)
'The mature devotees, who have completely executed Krishna consciousness, are immediately transferred to the universe where Krishna is appearing. In that universe the devotees get their FIRST opportunity to associate with Krishna personally and directly.'

SB 7.1.34
TRANSLATION
'Maharaja Yudhisthira inquired: "What kind of great curse could affect even liberated vishnu-bhaktas, and what sort of person could curse even the Lord's associates? For unflinching devotees of the Lord to fall again to this material world is impossible. I cannot believe this."

PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gita (8.16) the Lord clearly states, mam upetya tu
kaunteya punar janma na vidyate: one who is purified of material
contamination and returns home, back to Godhead, does not return to
this material world. Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gita (4.9) Krishna says:

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna

"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and
activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in
this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." Maharaja
Yudhisthira, therefore, was surprised that a pure devotee could return
to this material world. This is certainly a very important question.'

(Quotations Copyright (C) BBTI)

So how you can wipe out so many conclusive statements of Srila Prabhupada and just focus on some whimsically?. For example, there is a very significant statement regarding Jaya and Vijaya, but if we put it together with others we will see that the meaning is not the one you want to twist. Let us get a try with the first assumption:

"So when I say Yes, there is eternal lila with Krsna, that means on the evidence of Jaya-Vijaya."

SB 7.1.35
TRANSLATION
'The bodies of the inhabitants of Vaikuntha are completely spiritual, having nothing to do with the material body, senses, or life air. Therefore, kindly explain how associates of the Personality of Godhead were cursed to descend in material bodies like ordinary persons.

PURPORT
Therefore it is to be understood that when Jaya and Vijaya descended to this material world, they came because there was something to be done for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise it is a fact
that no one falls from Vaikuntha.'

So the meaning is : there is eternal lila with Krishna, the eternally liberated person never falls down; if there is apparent fall it is to continue the eternal lila by coming to do something for the Lord.

Let us go into another assumption:
"Formerly we were with Krsna in His lila, or sport."
"Because he falls down from Brahmasayujya, he thinks that may be his origin, but he does not remember that before that even he was with Krsna."

Regarding your second question, have the conditioned souls ever seen Krsna? Were they with the Lord before being conditioned by the desire to lord it over material nature?

Yes, the conditioned souls are parts and parcels of the Lord and thus they were with Krsna before being conditioned. Just as the child must have seen his father because the father places the child in the womb of the mother, similarly each soul has seen Krsna or the Supreme Father. But at that time the conditioned souls are resting in the condition called susupti which is exactly like deep sleep without dream, or anesthetized state, therefore they do not remember being with Krsna when they wake up in the material world and become engaged in material affairs. (Srila Prabhupada letter to Jagadish, 1970)

Here again yes, we were with Krishna, yes but in a state called susupti deep sleep.

What about "we were with Krishna in His lila"
Krishna never works, everything is his lila, also the creation is part of his lila; susupti is also included in Krishna and is lila.

Actually it is simple for the simple ones: if the living entities were coming from Krishna's abode then Krishna in Bhagavad gita 8-16 would have said: "but one who RETURNS to my abode will not take birth again" but He says "but one who ATTAINS my abode"

The most astonishing is that you use the Crow-and-Fruit Tale essay to substantiate the falldown from Vaikunta when actually this essay is just to tell us to forget about arguing on this point. Let us examine some excerpt from that essay:

"What is the use of such discussions? So whether you were in the Brahmasayujya or with Krsna in His lila, at the moment you are in neither, so the best policy is to develop your Krsna consciousness and go there, never mind what is your origin." Later, "Just like with a diseased man, it is a waste of time to try to find out how he has become diseased, better to spend time curing the disease." "Material existence is impersonal because my real personality is covered. But we should think that because I am now covered by this clay, I am diseased, and we should think that I must get to business to get myself uncovered, not wonder how I got this way. Now the fruit is there, take it and enjoy, that is your first business. God is not bound by cause. He can change, He is the Cause of all Causes. Now don't waste your time with this "Kaka taliya nyaya," crows and tal-fruit logic."

I am not interested in bringing back the matter if we are coming from Vaikuntha or from Tatastha or if we were eternally in the material world.

My point is that Srila Prabhupada stated clearly: "What is the use of such discussions, this "Kaka taliya nyaya," crows and tal-fruit logic."?

But completely forgetting this instruction from Srila Prabhupada you have wasted so many hours of GBC meetings, printed a book supporting fall down from Vaikuntha, supporting ridiculously the falldown from Krishna-lila with the example of Subal. Devotes that supported non-falldown from Vaikunta, on the base of so many statement from Srila Prabhupada's books were mistreated and ridiculed. Sometimes, out of frustration some devotees went into seclusion or left the movement altogether.

THE HOUSE WHERE EVERYONE WILL LIVE IN PEACE

5) Srila Prabhupada made the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to be a loving society of Vaisnavas, to be the house where everyone will live in peace, but thousands of devotees have left due to mistreatment by very ambitious leaders.

With pride some advertise themselves as associates of Lord Caitanya, so many use titles reserved to mahabhagavatas as this or that pada or deva; in some temples the daily Gurupuja to the ISKCON gurus is making its way back to the temple room, just on the side of Srila Prabhupada in complete defiance of the GBC rule; Santiago temple is one example of that.

Despite of the temples loosing so many devotes and reducing the standard of service to the Deities still there is false propaganda that everything is going well with statements as: "our GBC men are the most fine intellect of the planet" (by the way we need to specify what planet) "many devotes will like to see a different ISKCON but to make ISKCON it takes a special person as Srila Prabhupada".

On the case that we admit mistakes like the recent letter of the chairman of the GBC, in which we read:

"Focused on other priorities, we have neglected our children. We have hurt women. Widows in our society have been particularly neglected".
The chairman forgot to make the slightest mention to the thousands of devotees that left the movement due to mistreatment. And also the most important disservice that you have done to the movement by disobeying Srila Prabhupada Final Order, by putting first the 11 zonal Acaryas in big seats and with grand pomp and veneration, and then by concocting the multiple acarya system, you transformed the original joyous brotherhood family of Srila Prabhupada into a very ambitious, political, diplomatic society. Due to the fact that the gurus alone get so much glorification, worship and facilities, better to keep the other devotees surrendered to their power. So many titles, positions, degrees and facilities were created with the result of a very unpalatable situation of politics, power struggle, diplomacy and concealing in the form of I support you and you support me.

Let us go back to the old system all sitting on the same floor , all taking prasadam together, let us go back to the old family of brotherhood, lets give up the pride of big-brother, let us demostrate to Srila Prabhupada that we can go on serving with great enthusiasm without a need of big titles and positions, let us show to Srila Prabhupada and the whole world that we can love our brothers, let us show that we actually can recognize mistakes and rectify them, not just by making some impersonal resolution but by going to the offended devotees and bowing down to beg forgiveness. In the beginning of the movement some of the devotees in India, by instructions from Srila Prabhupada where hosted and trained by some of his godbrothers but now we have laws prohibiting association with them, this is very ungrateful and is breaking all Vaisnava etiquette.

A LITTLE MORE SHAME

Recently a current ISKCON guru travelled from overseas just to prevent H.H. Narayana Maharaj success in his visit to an island. When H.H. Narayana Maharaja entered the ISKCON temple to take darsan of the Deities, the ISKCON guru remained sitting there without standing or offering any kind of respect to the revered guest and continued his lecture, even accepting a garland without acknowledging the presence of HH Narayana Maharaj, who took seat amongst the crowd and listened patiently the lecture, after which the ISKCON guru only paid attention to him with a feigned courtesy and garlanded him with his own remnants, when approached by the vaisnava.

Is this the way we teach our devotees the proper respect for senior Vaisnavas?
Usually when there is a complaint, the presenter is classified as: frustrated, disgruntled, but actually I am very enthusiastic on my preaching. Moreover, if you allow Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON to return to the original standard as started by Srila Prabhupada I will be 100 times more enthusiastic.

Personally I can go on chanting and serving Srila Prabhupada, preaching the message of Lord Caitanya, but my worry is for those young devotees, still on the naive platform, thinking that everything is perfect, for the day will come when they will open their eyes, and will suffer so much and will became disgruntled.

Personally I made that mistake. I believed in the 11 empowered acaryas, I also became proud and made suffer so many devotees, and now I am suffering the reactions.
I was very much displeased that my offering of Vyasapuja to Srila Prabhupada was lost and unpublished, also because it is an example of how dangerous is to be naive in spiritual life. I take advantage of this open letter to present also openly, my simple offering to Srila Prabhupada, as an end to this letter Falling at the feet of all the Vaisnavas and begging forgiveness for all my offences.

Servant of the servant
Somaka Swami

NOTE.- Find elsewhere on VNN the offering under the title: Lost Offering