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EDITORIAL February 19, 1999 VNN3098 See Related VNN Stories GBC Report On Chakra BY VYSWAMBHARA DASA EDITORIAL, Feb 19 (VNN) — Kalindi-dhama, 02.14.99 - To all the sincere followers of Srila Prabhupada, His Holiness Vipramukhya Svami reports on Chakra that the GBC, the GBC deputies and other senior devotees meeting in Mayapura-Dhama and concerned with the fate of Srila Prabhupada's beloved ISKCON have honed in on what are felt to be major areas of concern to the Krsna consciousness movement. These include the following: 1. Guru reform. 2. Facilitating and caring for devotees. 3. Training and Education. 4. The function of the GBC, including a constitution. Also mentioned are strong undercurrents obsessing over the so-called ÔRitvik' interpretation, the mistreatment of women, children, etc., the failure of the daivi-varnasrama social organization. An impartial observer could comment, "As soon as one sits down to write a constitution he is immediately confronted with, ÔWhat was the uniting factor of the founder-acarya's concept of a society that could achieve Unity in Diversity. Then, once the Unity part of the equation is agreed upon, it is in itself a guarantee that the diversity factor will naturally emerge to the satisfaction of everyone. The unique diversity of each spirit soul is ever more manifested, not extinguished, by the purification process of properly practiced Vaidhi-Bhakti." "Srila Rupa Gosvami's principles for progressive humanity are being incarnated into the international community under the auspices of ISKCON. The idea for ISKCON originated in the heart and mind of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura who first envisioned of a modernized society to help grow the sankirtana movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Feeling unable to complete his mission, the Thakura called upon his illustrious son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to continue the work. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati boldly snatched Sri Bhakti from the teinted hands of the impersonalists philosophers of His day. As Sri Nrsingha Guru the acarya rethought and reorganized the entire sankirtna movement and gave it its international destination. He taught true krsna-sambamdha-vijnana. Then came the incredible exploits of Srila Prabhupada. The Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya emerges, in ISKCON, as the most revolutionaryt transformation of humanity ever attempted." "It would be a great shame if Srila Prabhupada's concept for society were not respected, thus redividing the devotees and losing the advantage of focus on the accomplishment of a well-defined plan, mission and strategy for winning. To reconcile the devotees and create agreement on the main objectives and direction of the movement is the most urgent task to be performed and the only possible guarantee that all things were being done exactly as Srila Prabhupada wanted them done. Everyone should agree to a constitution. If the devotees can come to a consensus on how to proceed from now on, then everyone who is sincere will volutarily want to participate to make ISKCON successful. But a theocratic society can only be successful if it adheres to well-known standards of purity. ISKCON is to incarnate sankirtana in the form of an alternative Society. And all societies whether they be theocratic or secular have to deal with the realities of social sruggle. The way a society is destined to work originates in the mind of the founding-fathers. If we accept that Srila Prabhupada perfectky incarnated the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya then we must accept his concept of a society and the instructions thereof to be our only guide in the development of ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada taught us all how to be of this world while ever busy spreading the glories of the holy name to everyone. Maya devi is a most formidable ennemy and can only be overcome in our lives by following the instructions of Sri Guru. However, the success of an army does not depend so much on the prowess of the individual soldier but more on all soldiers being obedient to the orders coming down from the commander-in-chief. When there is no campaign the soldiers become listless and trouble and dispute begin to show amongst them. But when the army is on the move, the soldiers are excited and confident of victory in as much as they have trust and loyalty to the commander-in-chief and are ready to die for him. The mature leaders of ISKCON should honestly ponder on the question of why things are as they are and why everyone is clamoring for reform. Simply put, it is not sufficient now for the leadership to keep a stiff upper lip pretending to themselves that somehow or other everything will miraculously turn out all right. The Vaisnavas of the world are again divided, the Society's best managers and leaders have fallen down or semi-retired from their duties. The leaders are overburdened with self-created problems. When things are not properly organized naturally leadership becomes impossible and leading in such a vacuum an unpleasant and heavy burden. One of the most unrecognized damage incurred by the movement in the 1987 Ôrevolution' was the loss of faith in the leadership of ISKCON. Unless the people is solidly in support of its government the society falls into disarray muh as an army can be beheaded by the removal or impeachment of its commander-in-chief. The very disatisfied devotees now think that the rhetoric of ISKCON is but blowing wind. They have now classified ISKCON in the same folder as the Gaudiya Matha institution. But whether one believes or disbelieves in the ability of ISKCON to establish itself as at least a viable alternative-style society or, eventually, as a replacement society for the materialistic society, is a matter of choice or vision. One way or another the existing Vaisnava community has the absolute collective duty to establish the master-plan of ISKCON to the very best of their collective ability. We, as immediate successors of His Divine Grace will most likely not live to see ISKCON in its full bloom 4,000 years from now. All that is in our power to do is to transmit what has been received from Srila Prabhupada in the form of a functionning social theocracy, without deviation, interpretation or addition. If the present Vaisnavas fail to do this, there will not be a Brave New World in which the masses are calling upon the Lord by the chanting of His Names. A roasted seed cannot produce a plant. ISKCON is the seed-form of the incarnation of Srila Prabhupada's Vani, empowered to grow into a powerful limb of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's tree of love of Godhead. Let us hope the present internal bickering amongst the devotees will not destroy the vitality of Srila Prabhupada's beloved institution. There is an emerging agreement discernible in the sampradaya whose last three bonafide representatives have focused more and more on what can only be called collective-acaryaship. By the arrangement of the Supreme Will this fundamental change of perception on how to build a sankirtana society after the desire of Srila Rupa Gosvami is in historical congruence with the devolution of power in the world away from the hands of the one towards its balanced distribution to the many, each responsible and accountable. Those who are sincerely desirous to see Srila Prabhupada institution succeed should carefully study how education by the society about duties, responsabilities, activities, socializing, raising a family, becoming renounced, occupying posts of public trust, etc., can be encapsulated in a binding constitution. Some devotees see the project of writing a constitution as a daunting task, a utopian endeavor, a quixotic chase... it is none of those when we come to realize that Srila Prabhupada has actually given very clear instructions on everything, withour exception. The task then becomes more one putting those instructions into a workable format for social progression. A society in crisis is not an hopeless situation, it is an urgent reminder, a goading to action. A crisis is like a sea storm threatening to capsize a ship. The storm can suddenly die down and the boat ply the calm sea. But while the storm is threatening the ship every sailor has to give of his best under the direction of the captain who knows best what has to be done. Since Srila Prabhupada is universally acclaimed by all the Vaisnavas and denigrated only by the most vile offenders of this world, why not do as he said 30 years ago and make a constitution. GBC Committees have been looking at making a constitution for ISKCON for years with no significant results. A constitution was even proposed to the GBC during Srila Prabhupada's centennial efforts. And ISKCON is in possession of a thikening Law Book that is proving itself unenforceable at this time. Yet, when one actually sits down to write a constitution that mirrors Srila Prabhupada's instructions, he is automatically called upon to define, for example, the duties and function of the guru in ISKCON. The Ritvik theory is obviously false, a misguided attempt at correcting the misuse of the position of guru in ISKCON. But in order to properly situate the function of guru within ISKCON has to see how the spirutual masters function within the greater context of the daivi-varnasrama social organization. The constitution will automatically protect, preserve, and glorify the disciplic succession and simultaneously expose those who would declare the parampara childless. Hari Vilasa prabhu is right when he protests that 1987 should be revisited. But the writing of an ISKCON Constitution will automatically not only revisit 1987, and 1977, and what is now going on in ISKCON, but more that, it will also propose a new collective interpretation of Srila Prabhupada's legacy, a more legitimate one, less oliarchic or individualistic, and more broad-based, truly collective. If the GBC is desirous of profound reform it should concentrate all its energies and resources to, write a public constitution on the internet in the next few months, simultaneously arrange for a truly representative Constitutional Convention to meet in Mayapura-Dhama in 2,000 where 50-60 senior devotees can vote by 2/3 majority on the final version of an ISKCON Constitution. It is of tantamount importance also that all the various recognized constitutuencies of ISKCON be represented at said convention by being allowed to select their own delegates. The GBC has to be represented, the gurus also, the varnas and asramas and the various congregations, even the so-called hostile ones. As long as debate over the constitution is done with due process and deliberation and only qrguments supported by quotes from Srila Prabhupada are entertained then there is no danger of the process degenerating into a dispute. If it has the support of a majority of the devotees an ISKCON Constitution would endow Srila Prabhupada's institution with the tool needed to incrementally address the other symptomatic problems of the Krsna consciousness movement such as above: The guru issue, the function and duties of the GBC, the balance of power between the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial in a theocratic organization, the reorganization of the educational system of the daivi-varnasrama, etc., all these issues are automatically addressed by a properly written constitution. A constitution arrived at by due process has already proved to be very successful recipe in the case of certain other religious groups or secular affiliations. Even the nations of the world mark their birth from the day of the inauguration of their constitution. The case for ISKCON is unique in that it can actually present perfect knowledge to the world. The kind of knowledge that can make association with the Vaisnavas in an actual respectful social environment . The essence of the debate now is either confrontation at some point by powerful individuals such as was recently seen or a reconciliation by coming to agreement as Srila Prabhupada wanted. An ISKCON Constitution would also be an historical first. Such as magnification of the sampradaya achieved by collective-acaryaship is what Srila Prabhupada described as the mark of true acaryaship, "... That is acarya, not that chewing the chewed, somebody has written something. so he is also writing the same thing. No, if he at all writes, it will be something which beautifies, glorifies or magifies the former ideas. That is the way." (Feb. 1970, L.A.) His Divine Grace has asked that the senior devotees of the movement achieve Unity in Diversity much in the same manner as a Constitutional Convention would function. The reinterpretation of Srila Prabhupada's legacy should not be seen as an indictment of what has happened in the past twenty year since Srila Prabhupada's Vapu disappearance. There is always according to sastras a cloud of confusion amongst the disciples soon after the departure of a great acarya. Revisiting Srila Prabhupada in detail and collectively is not the same as the heavy accusotory rhetoric of some, as individuals all we are being cheated of the mercy of our founder-acarya because collectively we have failed to understand his legacy. No individual should be rejected from ISKCON unless he refuses to acknowledge the authority of Srila Prabhupada. But accepting his authority means accepting to follow his instructions. Out of reverence for Srila Prabhupada the sincere devotees will all understand the sacrifice of duty on behalf of a greater cause, regardless of whether one is a GBC member, guru, sannyasi, temple president, etc. A constitution usually marks the beginning of the agreements that will guide a pledging social group in their efforts to establish a prosperous society. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, and the entire sampradaya that followed in Their footsteps have proclaimed that in Krsna Consciousness, "Better remain an ever fool before the Spiritual Master. But if a disciple is actually a fool it reflects on the Spiritual Master. To think of becoming a fool is the real qualification for a bona-fide disciple. As soon as one thinks that he has become the wiser man than the spiritual master one is surely doomed. We should remain an everlastingly fool before the Spiritual Master. Not artificially but feelingly and then we can make progress. Even my Spiritual Master, a great scholar, remained a so-called fool before His Spiritual Master, an illeterate village fellow. So in the absolute world the fool is also the master and the master is also a fool in reciprocal exchange of dealings. Lord Caitanya also accepted Himself a great fool before His Spiritual Mater and all of us must follow the transcendental process." (Dec. 14, 1967) We should know for certain under the present circumstances that the solutions to the many problems of ISKCON is certainly found in the instructions of Srila Prabhupada. Making an enforceable constitution is the very best way of glorifiying Srila Prabhupada because it makes certain that his instructions are applied without whimsical interpretations or cheap undignified lip-service. If the constitution has to describe everyone's role in society why spend time discussing seperately the issues of the GBC, the guru in ISKCON and the educational process of daivi-varnasrama,etc.? The need to stucture society is an evidence. But the making of a constitution is not a whimsical affair as was misconstrued recently on Chakra where a devotee opined that the constitution was an evolving process to be yearly revised. An ISKCON Constitution is not of that kind. The ISKCON Constitution is nothing but the permanent Vani incarnation of the founder-acarya , nothing need ever be adjusted about it, "We do not have to manufacture anything new. We are getting perfect knowledge from Krsna through the disciplic succession, so our position is firm..." (Dec.31, 1975) In fact, it could easily be argued that a major destructive force that has so divided the Society in the last 20 years is the constant changes made to try to adapt ISKCON to the changing times and project outwardly a manufactured progress while neglecting the fundamentals that would make the Society grow in maturity rather than in numbers and outward accompliskments. Without a strong social structure to sustain it the movement will become more and more top heavy. Already the dissatisfaction of the devotees is beginning to reach the pitch of 1987. The changing interpretation of things such as the sacredness guru-tattva, the GBC mandate and all that follows is due to mental speculation because the paradigms proposed and practiced are not exactly in line with Srila Prabhupada's instructions. therefore the Society is now struggling under a heavy burden, no matter what the experts in positive spin may say. In the end, if the net result is dissension amongst the devotees then it is like understanding that a tree is bad because it produces bad fruits. The constitution, if truly arrived at by having at least fifty senior Vaisnavas voting each article by a 2/3 majority will go a long to clarify the issues that are now troubling so many devotees. Simply stated the mandate of the Constitutional Convention is: To put down in a document form the way the founder-acarya wanted his ISKCON to be governed, and give the whole enforceability as fundamental law, an educative law, a law that promotes the ways of Vaidhi-Bhakti, how the devotees are to behave with one another. Strong loyalty to ISKCON will then be the natural outcome, "individual and spontaneous and voluntary" The constitution is perfect, barely amendable, in that it represents the Vani of the parampara as modernized by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Our collective effort at perfecting its dictates in our daily lives and social interactions will be the proof that his teachings have not gone in vain.. The task of building a society after Srila Prabhupada's cherished desire begins, as with any great endeavor, with the clear explanation of the strategy of the campaign, the master-plan. It is becoming more and more urgent that Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON be clearly defined and everyone be assigned his or her proper duties and that the normal educational institutions be organized by the GBC. It is understood from Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta that each successive link in the disciplic succession brings further and further refinement to the sampradaya, honing it, as it were, in preparation for its monumental task of transforming Kali Yuga. We should not consider it likely that any future Maha-Bhagawata, appearing within the ranks of ISKCON will in any manner, shape or form wish to alter Srila Prabhupada's strategy for a Krsna conscious society. It much more likely that pure devotees would want to demonstrate exemplary behaviour to everyone by accepting His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada as jagad-guru and his ISKCON society the perfect house in which everyone can indeed live. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura determines that Vaidhi-Bhakti is nothing less than the Will of Krsna or God. Out of pure love for Krsna, the ragatmika pure devotee of the Lord molds his life according to the precepts of Sri Vaidhi-Bhakti twin-sister of Sri Raganuga-Bhakti. This deference of the older sister towards Sri Vaidhi is in order that the pure devotee's own exemplary behaviour may encourage other less fortunate souls in the ways of purification by the practice of Bhakti. Pure devotees of the future may wish to recognize Srila Prabhupada as the authority of reference in all matters concerning ISKCON and choose voluntarity to serve the ISKCON institution faithfully and encourage any followers of theirs to do likewise. Alternately, some advanced Vaisnavas may choose to found their own institutions in pursuance of the order of Sri Guru. Both choices are respectable. It would then remain for the discretionary intelligence of each individual to decide what is more pleasing to the Spiritual Master, working together co-operatively in ISKCON or setting one's own shop in the market place of the Holy Name. No one however can take shelter of ISKCON and simultaneously declare himself independent of the commands of the founder-acarya. What those commands are for each member whatever position or situation he or she may find themselves occupying are the sacred duty of life and should be carried out honestly. In all important matters of society the instructions transmitted by Srila Prabhupada vary very little from the guiding principles of most succeessful theocratic organizations. Srila Prabhupada's plan to achieve an actual society with proper government and proper social organization should be accepted as the external manifestation of Sri Vaidhi-Bhakti, as modernized under his care. Creating a workable and self-perpetuating ISKCON is like giving life to his books and the best glorification of his lotus feet. Faithfully carrying out his instructions in our daily lives is true true dedication to Maha Siksa Guru's desire, he who is the common spiritual father and eternal well-wisher of all." The observer might then conclude that it is a mystery why anyone would want to oppose a collective interpretation of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada is the commander-in-chief of ISKCON, permanently by common agreement. Are the devotees now ready to show his greatness to the world by showing how he can still influence and command us even in the absence of his visible presence? This conception of Srila Prabhupada as founder-acarya for all does not sit well with the impersonalistic view which prefers to stress the individual greatness of each acarya , the diversity part of Srila Prabhupada's famous Unity in Diversity formula. The greatness of the individual is a guaranteed and acceptable Vaisnava concept, but the individual must all achieve the oness of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's concept of "simultaneously one and different from Krsna". Even the Gaudiya Matha institution now stresses the right and duty of every Vaisnava to be guru and therefore absolute in the eyes of his disciples. What is missing from such a scheme of spiritual feodalism is the lack of the force of the many standing together in sankirtana, reenforcing one another, "... But if we fight on account of diversity, then it is simply the material platform. Please try to maintain the philosophy of unity in diversity, and remember Aesop's fable of the father of the many children with the bundle of sticks. When the father asked the children to break the bundle of sticks wrapped in the bag, none of them could do it. But when they removed the sticks from the bag, and tried one-by-one, the sticks were easily broken. So this is the strength of unity. If we are bunched up we can never be broken, but when divided, the we can become broken very easily." (Oct. 18, 1973) In the service of Srila Prabhupada, Vyswambhara dasa P.S.: Is there a devotee who could email a copy of Direction of Management dated July 28, 1970. My e-mail address is: kalindi@rocler.qc.ca See Related VNN Stories | Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9902/ET19-3098.html
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