TRADITIONAL VAISNAVISM vs RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
PROBLEMS OF THE HARE KRSNA MOVEMENT IN THE WEST
BEING CHEATED
PHONINESS IN RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
HEARING SCRIPTURE IN ORGANIZATIONS



TRADITIONAL VAISNAVISM vs RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS


You broadcast so many great preaching videos. Thanks. How come you don't do this within a larger organization?

You're very welcome; it is my duty to share the wealth of spiritual knowledge and the blessings of self-realization I have been given by my spiritual master and Krsna with everyone who has a sincere desire for spiritual growth. I want all my disciples and students to grow spiritually strong, become Master Teachers themselves, and give this Esoteric Teaching to suffering humanity all over the world.

The spiritual organizations that were supposed to carry this teaching on to the next generation have failed, overcome by a self-created burden of politics, greed and criminal activities. They have not even kept the trust and faith of Srila Prabhupada's original Western disciples, what to speak of the next generation of disciples or the intelligent members of the public. As a result, there are thousands of disaffected disciples with faith in the Vedic teachings, scattered all over the world without any affiliation or association. This is a sad tragedy, but it is also an opportunity to revive the original Upanisadic form of Vaisnava association, which is not an impersonal, political ecclesiastical hierarchy, but direct personal relationship with an authentic lineage of self-realized souls.

My direct personal instructions from Srila Prabhupada emphasize that he knew that ISKCON and other organizations had become corrupt. In fact, he expected this would happen due to the interaction of human frailty and the opportunities for material gain, power and exploitation in religious organizations. Real transcendental consciousness is far too radical to compromise or reconcile with the distortions and deviations endemic to religious organizations. As my param-guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur clearly pointed out, external organization of the natural spiritual impulse is irreconcilably incompatible with the esoteric process of initiation which is the recondite essence of the Esoteric Teaching.

Religious organizations that claim to represent the Vedic Esoteric Teaching are actually in fundamental disagreement with the original Upanisadic principle of personal association with, service to and instruction from an authentic self-realized soul originally given by Krsna:


Instead they herd masses of people through a mass-produced corporate process that actually distances them from the atmosphere of self-realization tasted in the personal aura of a realized soul. They deliberately keep their congregation trapped in karmic existence to work for the benefit of the organization and the aggrandizement its leaders. No wonder both the leaders and followers of such organizations are full of anxiety and negativity, and neither attain self-realization for themselves nor influence others to pursue it.

As we become more successful, we can expect attacks by representatives of the failing dinosaurs of religious organizations. The so-called religious leaders who blaspheme and slander the actual Master Teachers do so mainly because they fear losing their highly profitable professional position within the carefully structured religious organizations they manage. They imagine that the self-realized souls suffer from the same material attachments to power and prestige that keeps them trapped, and project their own insecurities and impurities on them. They do not realize that people in general are not stupid; people can clearly recognize their nonsense as merely vicious slander. The dirt they throw comes from their own minds and hearts. It does not affect the stainless pure devotees who are far beyond such low, contaminated consciousness.

By leveraging Internet technology to eliminate the profiteering middlemen of ecclesiastical organizations and the crushing load of maintaining huge buildings and other infrastructure, we maximize the actual association with self-realized souls and the spiritual gain therefrom.




What is the advantage of belonging to a living esoteric school instead of a religious or ecclesiastical organization?

There is a strong tendency in the fallible human mind towards materialism and impersonalism. As a result, esoteric teachings of all kinds tend to deteriorate over time.

This is especially true of the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas, because it was never designed to be propagated through the kind of religious organizations we have in Western culture. Confidential Vedic knowledge is passed down via an intimate direct personal relationship between a spiritual Master Teacher and a sincere student.

By presenting sincere inquiries and service personally to Kṛṣṇa's representative the spiritual master, the student is connected to Kṛṣṇa through the parampara. The disciplic succession goes all the way back to Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa Himself in an unbroken line. But sometimes due to the influence of maya, illusion, the chain appears to be broken:

Notice Kṛṣṇa says that the original science only appears to be lost. In reality, it has merely gone underground, like a river passing through a desert, and when suitable conditions manifest, it rises again into public view. Kṛṣṇa is not an irresponsible creator; there is always a way for His sincere children to contact Him, receive His Absolute Truth and get out of this terrible material world.


So Kṛṣṇa always makes some arrangement for His sincere devotees.

I have disassociated myself not only from ISKCON—Srila Prabhupada's preaching organization—but from all other Vaisnava sangas as well. They are all built on a model similar to ISKCON, and thus suffer from similar ills. Mainly they have become deviated from hearing and chanting about the glories of the Supreme Lord as revealed in the Vedas, and instead have become mired in external ritualistic observances, endless political discussions and irreconcilable fighting.

Of course, this deviation immediately leads to loss of preaching potency. Who wants to join a community that is always fighting and bickering, even over the smallest matters? Where leaders revered as gurus are jailed for racketeering, murder and child abuse? The market research surveys I performed indicated that as a result of their misbehavior, the public has completely lost confidence, not only in ISKCON and similar organizations, but even in the Holy Name of Krsna.

Therefore I made the firm determination to proceed independently, no matter what the difficulties, because it was the right thing to do. By Kṛṣṇa's grace our mission is turning out nicely, therefore I can understand that He was pleased by my decision.

It is worthwhile noting that not only did Srila Prabhupada divorce himself from his own guru's preaching organization, the Gaudiya Math, for similar reasons; but also, Prabhupada's own guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta wrote a strongly-worded essay bitterly opposed to organized religion. Why, then, did he go on to found and expand the Gaudiya Math, and why did Srila Prabhupada found an even bigger organization along the same lines?

The only answer that makes any sense is that it had to be done to fulfill Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's desire that the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa would be glorified all over the world, in every town and village.


In the present demoniac materialistic society, until very recently a large organization was required for propagating any kind of teaching on a wide scale. Fortunately, Kṛṣṇa has now manifested the Internet, allowing even a small team with limited resources to have a wide-ranging influence by the power of electronic media. The Internet is changing society faster than any organization can keep up with or control, because now anyone can publish and communicate their ideas worldwide. Needless to say, we are taking full advantage.

What we stand for is a return to the original form of intimate, personal guru-disciple relationship, where a student has the possibility to pose meaningful personal questions to a fully self-realized soul, and get appropriate, authorized guidance from the Vedic scriptures without political consequences or social backlash. That way, people can grow spiritually in any location or in any condition of life. There is no need to join an oppressive organization or follow the herd in any way. Real spiritual life means complete freedom of the soul to worship God according to his individual nature. Vedic spiritual instruction is meant to facilitate that unfettered development of transcendental consciousness.

The trend in Western society today is toward politicization of everything, and the unethical use of legal tactics and propaganda to incapacitate and derail any movement deemed threatening to the status quo. Of course, technology is exacerbating that trend. We propose using technology to do the opposite: to free people from political and social oppression by forming a decentralized, virtual spiritual community based on Vedic Absolute Truth. Without expensive buildings, preaching territories or many disciples to fight over, hopefully the political types will not see anything worth bothering us about.

We have had several incidents where a sociopathic, political-minded person caused some disruption on these forums. Their negative impact was immediately visible in the forum statistics. I got rid of them as fast as I could, and my commitment is to maintain the same standard, to keep this a safe space for spiritual communication.

I am not interested in name, fame, wealth or power, but to see people connecting with the Esoteric Teaching in its original form: the Vedic scriptures. My job, as I see it, is to get you interested in reading the original texts, and help you out when there is any confusion or misunderstanding. After all, I have already got the greatest benefit that human life can bestow: a lifetime of devotional service to a pure devotee, and eternal love of Godhead. What benefit can material trinkets offer?

So the advantage of belonging to a living esoteric school, instead of a religious or ecclesiastical organization, is that you have a chance to contact the real wisdom of the Esoteric Teaching directly. In a way, my work is just sales talk, to get you to read and study the original Vedic literature like Sri Isopanisad, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya-caritamrta.

I wish my Godbrothers well, but given their history of ignoring good advice and neglecting the actual spiritual benefit of their disciples and the public, I am sorry to say I do not foresee a happy future for them. Like Srila Prabhupada, I am following my personal authorization and confidential instructions direct from my guru; but in my case, small is beautiful. I am into quality not quantity, because the essence of this mission is that everything is based on a personal relationship.

When there are enough students, we just may take the entire school private; stop all public preaching and make the whole site password-protected. That way there will never be too many students, and each individual can always get the personal attention they need. That is the real Vedic esoteric mysticism.




Is transcendental love possible in a religious organization?

Everyone needs love. We are all searching for love. The problem is that real love is eternal, unconditional and perfect; but everything in this material world is temporary, conditional and imperfect. So our search for love in this world is very frustrating. We get excited when we find a person or situation that seems to promise fulfillment of our search for love, but then sooner or later we find that we have been cheated. Again.

How many times does this have to happen before we start to question the wisdom of searching for love in the material world? Before we start searching for alternatives? Before we finally seriously consider love of God?

The problem is, there are so many phony sources of information about God. Ordinary religion, even Vedic religious organizations cannot give us the keys to love of God. This is because they are ontologically deficient; actually they cannot hold this pure spiritual love in the context of a material organization.

Of course, they all say that "Our organization is spiritual." But all organizations are actually material, because they are made by human beings. Not only that, organizations are abstractions; they are simply collections of agreements between people. Organizations are simply illusory, and God is Absolute Reality; so how can they connect us with God or help us find real love?

The solution is to connect with a person, an individual human being who has realized his own loving relationship with God. Kṛṣṇa says:


He does not advise us to approach a religious organization, inquire from a book or render service unto a church. He directs us to approach a self-realized spiritual Master Teacher for all the purposes of spiritual life.

We are not going to find such a self-realized individual in a religious institution. No organization can accommodate an authentic self-realized soul. There is nothing that such an organization can offer a self-realized soul. He will always be found in an independent position, outside of all organizations and other restrictions.

There was a temporary need to establish organizations to propagate the Esoteric Teaching in Western society. But now that the Esoteric Teaching has passed into the hearts and minds of thousands of people in the West, that need has passed. It is time for the Esoteric Teaching to revert to its original form, as described in the Vedic scriptures.


Again, the Upanisad advises us to approach an individual, not an organization.


The 'great vow' is the vow of celibacy, because material sex life is the shackle of material existence. In other words, we should vow not to seek the cheap, temporary love and romance of this imperfect material world, but to attain the eternal, perfect and unconditional love of God. Only this transcendental love can fully satisfy the soul.

My own experience in this regard is instructive. I found the love relationships of this material world to be very unsatisfying. The people of this world seemed selfish, small-minded and venal. They had very few of the good qualities I sought in a love partner. Worst of all, the more they got to know me, the more they feared, disliked and disrespected me.

My aim in life since a very early age had always been to make direct personal contact with God. This inspired me to search for a self-realized spiritual teacher who could show me how to attain my aim. It did not take long to discover that my search would be long and arduous. Nevertheless I did not give up my quest.

After many years I did find a self-realized soul—my spiritual Master Teacher Srila Prabhupāda—and became his disciple. After several years of struggle in his organization, I managed to make personal contact with him. His personal blessings, service and confidential instructions are the direct cause of any success I may have had in self-realization.

When Srila Prabhupada entered the spiritual world, on his instruction I left that organization and continued to progress independently. It took 25 years of further effort to attain my goal. When I retired from business, I went to the island of Kaua'i, camped out in the jungle, and chanted my guru-given mantra day and night for six months. At that time, in January 2002, Lord Kṛṣṇa personally appeared to me and gave me His blessing.


The appearance of the Lord to the aspiring devotee signals the devotee's perfection in self-realization. Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of stories of pure devotees who were favored by the appearance of the Lord in His original transcendental form. When Kṛṣṇa appears He recognizes the devotee and accepts his service. This most auspicious event signifies the end of the devotee's material conditioned existence and the beginning of his eternal spiritual life in the Lord's transcendental abode.

I have to say that since this important event, my life has completely changed. Whereas before I was searching, now I have found what I was looking for. I was always unsatisfied, yearning and depressed. Now the Lord's personal presence in my consciousness and life is a source of strength, confidence and immense satisfaction. I was lacking, and now I am full. I was hungry and thirsty, and now I am satisfied.

But to get to this stage, I had to go completely beyond the mundane mind and material identity. In other words, I had to lose my mind. This is something very confidential that you will not find directly stated in any book. Before you can assume your original spiritual identity, you have to give up your false material identity. Just like before you can accept a bag of jewels, you have to put down your bag of heavy rocks.

One's identity is the most fundamental concept in the mind. When you give up your material identity to accept your spiritual identity, there is a very scary moment when you have no identity, no mind at all. This is an interval of complete confusion and vulnerability. In material existence, the mind acts as a protective mechanism, remembering previous times when we were hurt, so we can avoid similar incidents in the future. To approach Kṛṣṇa, we have to set all that aside and come naked, without memory or reason, to be given our real identity, like the young gopis whose clothes Kṛṣṇa playfully stole.

One must go through this process in a completely secluded, isolated, confidential and sacred place, where it is safe to lose one's mind. Most people are not courageous enough, not secure enough, not trusting enough of Kṛṣṇa to do this. They cannot let go of the false ego because they would totally lose their direction in life and become like little children, as Jesus advised us to do. But they are afraid because they feel they would be exploited.

So it cannot happen. The big religious leaders can never approach this state, because they are afraid to lose their positions. That is why actual self-realized souls are not found in religious institutions. They are found in wild places, the places your mother told you not to go, where the rules and conventions of society are suspended in favor of a higher law, the laws or transcendental love.

But we find that finally when we let go of everything, Kṛṣṇa saves us. He comes and appears before us, gives us our original identity and His fabulous transcendental love. Then we are complete. Then we are lacking nothing, needful of nothing. His powerful love and affection are all we need.

Actually no words can describe these things to those who have not experienced them; and for those who have experienced, no words are necessary. The Holy Name contains all this, and even more wonders of which it is impossible to speak. Please come and embrace the Esoteric Teaching, chant the Holy Name without offense, and you will experience for yourself all these wonderful things and more.




So a religious organization won't give the environment needed to change our identity? I had an experience where I felt my body was disappearing while meditating but decided to stay who I was because I did not feel I had the power or confidence to change completely.

All real change means change of identity. In material life our identity is always changing from a baby to a child, to an adolescent, to an adult, etc. by force of time. This is our ordinary identity. But by various spiritual methods we can realize more subtle aspects of reality, and these are also changes in identity.

For example, the experience you told sounds like prana-realization, or understanding the life energy that flows through us. That is a step on the way to complete self-realization. But because there was no consciousness of Kṛṣṇa, you could not let go completely, because who will catch or receive you? You had no idea where you were going, so the release of your ordinary identity remained incomplete.

When walking, we cannot lift the back foot until we have planted the front foot. Similarly we cannot let go of our existing sense of identity until we have established a new one.


When we want to transfer our identity from the gross body to the spiritual platform, first we must establish that identity by intense chanting over a significant period of time. We must have confidence that Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual world are real, and that if we give up our existing identity, He will be there to receive us and give us a new identity.


Kṛṣṇa is already giving memory and supplying our mental functions. So of course He will reconstitute our identity and mental operations on the spiritual platform. But from our point of view, we must have complete confidence that He will help us before we will be able to give up the material identity completely. Just like if someone is going to jump out of a plane, they must have complete confidence that their parachute is reliable.

In my case, before I could give up the idea that I could find perfect love in this material world, I had to establish confidence that Kṛṣṇa's love was real and would satisfy me. Actually this is impossible to do without transferring to the spiritual platform. So there always comes a moment of discontinuity where you must jump, based on faith alone. But that faith is established in many little incidents of trusting Kṛṣṇa, and seeing our trust confirmed.

That is another reason why religious organizations are dangerous. They will cultivate our faith so they can receive our service, then at some point they will cheat us, and whatever faith we have cultivated will be destroyed. Because they claim to represent Kṛṣṇa, we can lose our faith in Him, and that is a tragedy.




Why is the organized religion model so prominent amongst spiritual groups? How should we approach spiritual life?

In Western culture, all we know or are socialized to understand is the religious model of spiritual life. In that model, the individual is subservient to a group or organization that determines the philosophy and theology, selects and promotes certain individuals as spiritual leaders and teachers according to political and administrative criteria, and claims to act as an advocate and intermediary between the individual and God.

Unfortunately what this model of spiritual life actually does is simply cheat people, because actual spiritual truth or self-realization is completely radical, individual, personal, spontaneous and transcendental. Spiritual truth and self-realization cannot be legislated by any bureaucratic committee of human beings, no matter how qualified they may be in terms of material knowledge and political leadership skills. Just like love between people cannot be legislated, but has to arise spontaneously to be genuine, love of God cannot be organized or negotiated by some political process, or it loses its authenticity and becomes merely hollow ritual and pretentious, hypocritical posturing. 

Yet people are conditioned by society to give up their natural autonomy and self-determination, and accept the rulings of so-called authorities, for two reasons: first, the ruling classes want and demand this so they can exploit the masses for their own enrichment and sense gratification; and second, people are lazy and want to avoid the hard labor of maintaining their intellectual, emotional, spiritual and social integrity. So the religious model has remained very popular all over this benighted world, despite is grave flaws and serious drawbacks.

Just like people give up their responsibility and self-determination with respect to their health to doctors, who then over-prescribe, over-treat and exploit them financially, they also surrender to phony religious organizations who exploit them spiritually. The social contract goes like this: "I surrender my individual spiritual integrity and self-responsibility to your organization, in return for social recognition as a genuine follower. You will pretend to lead me to enlightenment, and in exchange, I will pretend to follow you." The organizations extract the price of deviating one's natural impulse to serve God, and apply that energy to the benefit of the organization and its leaders, maintaining them in opulent style. But it is just a play of the cheaters and the cheated. When the follower finally notices that he is being cheated and dares to speak up about it, an established political protocol goes into effect, demonizing the disaffected follower and drumming him out of the organization with as little disturbance as possible to the status quo. That is the real story of organized religion.

The Esoteric Teaching is a completely different thing; it is not based on an organization—which of course is actually just an abstraction based on words—but on transcendental personal relationships between spiritual beings. The sincere spiritual aspirant approaches a self-realized Master Teacher, an initiate in the disciplic lineage from Kṛṣṇa Himself, renders service and submits inquiries on spiritual life. In return, the guru shows the disciple the secrets of spiritual progress and bestows blessings that lead to tangible spiritual advancement. This ancient system of the Esoteric Teaching is known as Upanisad: one should approach a self-realized spiritual Master Teacher, sit down and hear extensively.
Perfect self-realization is gained not through one's own efforts at mental speculation, but by receiving the guru’s favor:


Thus we hear from Vedic authority:

The spiritual Master Teacher is the earthly representative of the Lord because he has surrendered his body, mind and soul at the lotus feet of the Lord. Therefore the Lord acts through the bona fide guru in the esoteric lineage of disciplic succession to confer enlightenment and self-realization upon the fortunate disciple:


This process of transcendental education can take lifetimes, or it can occur very quickly if one actually takes complete shelter of a bona fide spiritual master.


Despite their propaganda claims, no religious organization can give connection with an authentic self-realized soul because no one who has actually realized God will remain within such a suffocatingly pretentious, egregiously phony, exploitive social context. The corporate organizations that claim to represent the Esoteric Teaching actually use it as a cover for illicit business and various immoral activities. This is not just my opinion, but the perceptive observations of our predecessor gurus and my own personal experience as well. No one can attain complete self-realization within such an organization.

So by association with a religious organization, we can at most gain a very preliminary, external view of the Vedic Esoteric Teaching. Srila Prabhupada called this "licking the outside of the bottle":


The real nectar can only be tasted by opening the bottle—in other words, by constant association with an authentic self-realized soul. This association can be by vapuh, the physical form, or by vani, instructions. Of these two, association by vani is better because it does not depend on physical proximity. The great majority of my association with my spiritual master Srila Prabhupada was through his transcendental instructions in his books and recordings.

'Opening the bottle' means to extract the real essence from the external forms of Vedic culture. The 'honey' in this metaphor is rasa-tattva: the transcendental knowledge and consciousness of spontaneous love of God. This can only be understood in the intimate association of a self-realized soul. Simply studying books about it in the context of a religious organization is like licking the outside of the honey jar. The map is not the territory; the symbol is not the reality it represents. Scriptural knowledge about God, ceremonial observances and ritualistic worship are only symbols and abstractions; they are not the same as actually knowing, realizing and loving God.

An organization is an abstraction, a symbol; so an organization can only give abstract, symbolic knowledge about God; it is constitutionally unable to deliver God Himself, because God is neither an abstraction nor a symbol but the Absolute Realty. Politicians in the guise of religious leaders may be very expert in organizing temples, recruiting congregational members and managing religious functions, but we have seen that even after many years, this kind of association does not produce the intended or advertised result of pure love of Godhead. Instead, such religious organizations are actually mundane, and the proof is that they tend to deteriorate with time, just as is happening in ISKCON and so many other external religious approaches to Vedic culture.



Could you expand on how you are different from these organizations?

Our aim is to provide an environment where people can actually attain self-realization. As you know, most devotees are stuck on the idea that an organization can provide their spiritual needs, and the guru just needs to officially approve and bless them with initiation, then moves on to the next center, the next preaching engagement.

We don't accept this institutional vision of Krsna consciousness, because it is not what Krsna teaches in Bhagavad-gita and especially in the Uddhava-gita in the 11th Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and as Lord Caitanya in Caitanya-caritamrta. The institutional program is a beginning, but it is not producing completely self-realized souls. Devotee association, performance of regulative principles, temple worship, scriptural knowledge and even initiation are just the beginning. According to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15, the science of devotional service proceeds in a natural progression of stages:

So the religious organizations are fine for the beginning stages of spiritual life, based on vaidhi-bhakti or following regulative principles, but they cannot provide the proper atmosphere for the higher stages, which are based on spontaneous love, raganuga-bhakti.


Lord Jesus Christ said, "Unless you become as little children, you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven." [Matthew 18.3] One cannot remain innocent or pure if he accepts the association of ambitious, politically-minded people always scheming and plotting their next words and actions. Even if they superficially dress and act like devotees, their hearts are full of desires for material advancement. That kind of association has to be given up, and we have to find a higher level of association to progress to the more exalted levels of devotional service and self-realization.

I searched for this level of association for many years, making the rounds of all the Vaisnava organizations. But I reluctantly had to conclude that the structure of the organizations themselves do not permit advancement beyond a certain point, and that if I wanted to go higher, I would have to go within my own heart and rely on my own personal connection with my spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. So I just went into the jungle and chanted until the Lord appeared to me.

Even after that, there were more stages of self-realization to go through. Bhakti-yoga is eternal, ever-increasing and unlimited. But the event of Kṛṣṇa-darshan is a great milestone. To approach this important goal requires conditions that no spiritual organization can provide: complete privacy, no external responsibilities, a pure and natural environment, and a very simple, austere lifestyle.

The real standard of chanting in the Gaudiya sampradaya is 64 rounds a day. Srila Prabhupada compromised with his neophyte disciples and set it at 16 rounds, which they still considered a lot. Some Vaisnava organizations allow disciples to chant as few as 4 rounds! 16 rounds is just a warm-up, and 4 rounds isn't even enough to wake up. How is anyone going to attain self-realization like that?

But even 64 rounds is just the external view. What is going on internally? There is a very delicate psychological process where the devotee lets go of the false material identity and realizes his eternal spiritual identity in relation with the Lord. This requires very careful guidance according to transcendental ontological principles. Only a self-realized soul can provide that; an institutional guru giving official initiation without intimate personal guidance is not enough to bring the disciple to the highest stages of self-realization.

We have to stop compromising, and restore the original standards and process of Vaisnava practices.



So how does one become a genuine Spiritual Master if not through a religious organization?


So the test of whether one is able to become a real spiritual master is if he can remain independent and still maintain his devotional service, indeed influence others to take up this philosophy and lifestyle. Srila Prabhupada showed the example of remaining independent of Guadiya Math. He challenged his Godbrothers to follow Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's actual instructions, and because of this they hated him. Instead they tried to follow their own ideas, and as a result they fell down.

The exact same thing is happening with my Godbrothers. They tried everything to discourage me, because I found fault with their cheating mentality. Now after many scandalous things have out about the real history of ISKCON, we see that this criticism was correct. The child abuse scandals and other problems in ISKCON were a direct result of their failing to follow Srila Prabhupada's management instructions. There were so many 'big devotees', but as soon as they left ISKCON they became ordinary rascals again. Their devotional service was just on the mental platform, and so they could not maintain it without the social pressure of the organization.

My students and disciples will be in a position to accomplish far more in their lives than I was ever able to do. We are just preparing the platform, building a foundation, establishing the correct ontology. In the future, others will carry on this work very successfully, because instead of trying to do something 'big' we have concentrated on maintaining the original quality of the realization.



In religious organizations, the members copy each other like monkeys. Can this be advantageous at all?

Of course this can be dangerous. For example, contemplate this experiment:

Start with a cage containing five monkeys.  Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.  Before long, one of the monkeys will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.  As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result, that all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.  Pretty soon, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairs.  Now, put away the cold water.  Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.  The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs.  To his suprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.  After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one.  The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.  The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm!  Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, and then the fifth.  Everytime the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.  Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water.  Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know, that's the way it's always been done around here!

But on the other hand, if one monkey joins a group of devotee monkeys and begins to imitate them without knowing why, then he gradually becomes elevated in spiritual consciousness.

"Those eligible for elevation to the transcendental position are mentioned in this verse. For those who are sinful, atheistic, foolish and deceitful, it is very difficult to transcend the duality of desire and hate. Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously and have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. This elevation is possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees who can deliver one from delusion." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.28 Purport]

The danger here is if somehow one monkey becomes the leader without attaining complete self-realization and figuring out how the process works, he will invariably introduce devations into the process based on his sensory misconceptions. For example, in ISKCON and other similar religious organizations they have changed the process of disciplic succession by spiritual realization to one based on political considerations; because of this the whole society is gradually failing.

The interesting thing is that as long as the head monkey is actually self-realized, the process of association works. As soon as that one thing is changed, the whole thing is a failure. Please keep this in mind for the future when I am no longer with you. You have to be patient and wait for Kṛṣṇa to reveal another authentic self-realized soul to be your leader. It may take years. It's going to be very tempting to nominate someone who looks good, who speaks well, who has other leadership qualities to be head monkey. You have to resist this temptation, because the moment you fall for it, you go out of the domain of an esoteric school and create an ordinary religion.



Are you iconoclasts?

We are not iconoclasts. Here is the definition of Iconoclasm from Wikipedia:

There is a danger that we will be labeled 'iconoclasts' by other devotees, organizational revisionists, or by future historians of religion. Iconoclast is generally consider a pejorative label or negative judgment because of its connotation of destroying something valuable, as in the original Byzantine iconoclasts destroying so much irreplaceable religious and other ancient art.

We take a position against the corporate religious organizations, not because we want to destroy them, but to reform them and revive the original forms of Vaisnavism. In traditional Vaisnava culture, the administrative organizations that naturally grew up around temples were always subsidiary to the esoteric schools that defined the disciplic lineage. For example in South India and Jagannath Puri today, temples are managed by local government officials, while the personal process of individual esoteric spiritual education that leads to enlightenment and self-realization occurs almost exclusively in the private ashrams, kutirs and guru-kulas of the self-realized souls.

There simply is no precedent in traditional Vedic society for religious organizations like the Gaudiya Math and ISKCON. They are temporary measures designed to penetrate Western society to introduce and propagate the Vedic Esoteric Teaching worldwide in the present materialistic culture. In Vedic terms, such organizations are naimittika-dharma (temporary religious principles), not sanatana-dharma (eternal or universal religious principles). They are an expression of the needs of the time and social situation, not the Absolute Truth.

The predecessor of these Vaisnava religious organizations was the Nama-hatta (marketplace of the Holy Name), a preaching program invented by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. But Nama-hatta was kind of a spiritual joke, a good-humored parody of the British East India Company that Bhaktivinod used for propagating Vedic culture in India and Bangladesh. In contrast, both Gaudiya Math and ISKCON are deadly serious: infighting has resulted in principals of both organizations being convicted of serious criminal offenses, even murder, to enforce their religious beliefs and policies.

We do not accept such misanthropic activity as Vaisnavism, because it is plainly a manifestation of the material desires and greed of the organization's administrators.


Any so-called religious organization that displays the example of ostensible renunciants enjoying great political power and material opulence presents a misleading example to the people in general. Our intention is to separate the corporate administration of the temples and other institutions from the esoteric process of personal spiritual instruction and initiation that has always been the heart of the Vedic system, and restore their proper relationship.


Krsna does not say, 'The supreme science was received by serving a corporate religious organization"; His conclusive instruction is:


The Vedas do not say anything about oxymoronic 'religious organizations'; actually, no organization can be religious because an organization is an abstraction, but religion is a function of the living entity or spirit soul. Spiritual education and advancement are personal and individual, and based on transcendental relationships between a self-realized soul and his students or disciples.

This viewpoint, although affirmed on every page of the Vedic esoteric scriptures, makes us iconoclasts in the eyes of the iconophiles: the neophytes who worship organizations instead of transcendental individuals. The problem is that all organizations, being man-made, are material. They have a beginning, a middle and an end in time. They go through the seven stages of material manifestation: conception, gestation, birth, growth, production of byproducts, diminution and death. Worse, they are abstractions: an organization is simply a collection of agreements and polices. It literally exists only on paper. It is a fictitious, synthetic entity. An abstraction can only provide abstractions; it cannot do any of the things needed to actually propagate spiritual truth. Only self-realized people can do that.

We actually stand not for the iconoclasm of destroying religious organizations, but for the traditional view of making these organizations secondary and subservient to actual self-realized souls. When maintaining an organization becomes an end in itself, especially when that end is misused to justify abuses and offenses against devotees, then the organization has outlived its usefulness. Instead of an asset to the Esoteric Teaching, it becomes a detriment. Public opinion turns against such corrupt organizations, which are then falsely identified with the Esoteric Teaching itself. This cannot be allowed to happen, because it puts insurmountable difficulties in the path of progressive spiritual advancement of the people in general. This is diametrically opposite to the desire of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

So we are not iconoclasts, but we want to stop the false worship of abstractions and organizations, and re-introduce the service of the Lord and the authentic self-realized souls. This devotional service is the actual essence of Vaisnavism, not the perpetuation of false names and forms of religious organizations.




Could you comment on the "Organized Religion" essay by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.

To understand this wonderful essay you should read Chapter 6 in Krsna book: Pūtanā Killed.

Here is the essay by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur:

Sri Krishna manifests His eternal birth, the pure cognitive essence of the serving soul who is located above all mundane limitations. King Kamsa [the demon king who wanted to kill Lord Krishna] is the typical empiricist, ever on the lookout for the appearance of the truth for the purpose of suppressing Him before He has time to develop. This is no exaggeration of the real connotation of the consistent empiric position. The materialist has a natural repugnance for the transcendent. He is disposed to link that faith in the incomprehensible is the parent of dogmatism and hypocrisy in the guise of religion. He is also equally under the delusion that there is no real dividing line between the material and the spiritual. He is strengthened in his delusion by the interpretation of scriptures by persons who are like-minded with himself. This includes all the lexicographic interpreters.

The lexicographical interpretation is upheld by Kamsa as the real scientific explanation of the scriptures, and is perfectly in keeping with his dread of and aversion for the transcendental. These lexicographical interpreters are employed by Kamsa in putting down the first suspected appearance of any genuine faith in the transcendental. King Kamsa knows very well that if the faith in the transcendental is once allowed to grow it is sure to upset all his empiric prospects.

There is historical ground for such misgivings. Accordingly if the empiric domination is to be preserved in tact it would be necessary not to lose a moment to put down the transcendental heresy the instant it threatens to make its appearance in earnest. King Kamsa, acting on this traditional fear, is never slow to take the scientific precaution of deputing empiric teachers of the scriptures, backed by the resources of dictionary and grammar and all empiric subtleties to put down, by the show of specious arguments based on hypothetical principles, the true interpretation of the eternal religion revealed by the scriptures.

Kamsa is strongly persuaded that faith in the transcendental can be effectively put down by empiricism if prompt and decisive measures are adopted at the very outset. He attributes the failure of atheism in the past to the neglect of the adoption of such measures before the theistic fallacy has had time to spread among the fanatical masses.

But Kamsa is found to count without his host. When Krishna is born, He is found to be able to upset all sinister designs against those who are apprized by Himself of His advent. The apparently causeless faith displayed by persons irrespective of age, sex and condition may confound all rabid empiricists who are on principle adverse to the Absolute Truth Whose appearance is utterly incompatible with the domination of empiricism.

But no adverse efforts of the empiricists whose rule seems till then to be perfectly well-established over the minds of the deluded souls of this world can dissuade any person from exclusively following the Truth when He actually manifests His birth in the pure cognitive essence of the soul.

Putana [the demoness who tried to kill Krishna] is the slayer of all infants. The baby, when he or she comes out of the mother's womb, falls at once into the hands of the pseudo-teachers of religion. These teachers are successful in forestalling the attempts of the good preceptor whose help is never sought by the atheists of this world at the baptism of their babies. This is ensured by the arrangements of all established churches of the world. They have been successful only in supplying watchful Putanas for effecting the spiritual destruction of persons from the moment of their birth with cooperation of their worldly parents. No human contrivance can prevent these Putanas from obtaining possession of their pulpits. This is due to the general prevalence of atheistic disposition in the people of this world.

The church that has the best chance of survival in this damned world is that of atheism under the convenient guise of theism. The churches have always proved the staunchest upholders of the grossest form of worldliness from which even the worst of non-ecclesiastical criminals are found to recoil.

It is not from any deliberate opposition to the ordained clergy that these observations are made. The original purpose of the established churches of the world may not always be objectionable. But no stable religious arrangement for instructing the masses has yet been successful. The Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in pursuance of the teachings of the scriptures enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion. It does not follow that the mechanical adoption of the unconventional life by any person will make him a fit teacher of religion. Regulation is necessary for controlling the inherent worldliness of conditioned souls.

But no mechanical regulation has any value, even for such a purpose. The bona-fide teacher of religion is neither any product of, nor the favourer of, any mechanical system. In his hands no system has likewise the chance of denigrating into a lifeless arrangement. The mere pursuit of fixed doctrines and fixed liturgies cannot hold a person to the true spirit of doctrine or liturgy.

The idea of an organized church in an intelligible form, indeed, marks the close of the living spiritual movement. The great ecclesiastical establishments are the dikes and dams to retain the current that cannot be held by any such contrivances. They, indeed, indicate a desire on the part of the masses to exploit a spiritual movement for their own purpose. They also unmistakably indicate the end of the absolute and unconventional guidance of the bona-fide spiritual teacher. The people of this world understand preventive systems, they have no idea at all of the unprevented positive eternal life. Neither can there be any earthy contrivance for the permanent preservation of the life eternal on this mundane plane on the popular scale.

Those are, therefore, greatly mistaken who are disposed to look forward to the amelioration of the worldly state in any worldly sense from the worldly success of any really spiritual movement. It is these worldly expectants who become the patrons of the mischievous race of the pseudo-teachers of religion, the Putanas, whose congenial function is to stifle the theistic disposition at the very moment of its suspected appearance. But the theistic disposition can never be stifled by the efforts of those Putanas. The Putanas have power only over the atheist. It is a thankless but salutary task which they perform for the benefit of their unwilling victims.

But as soon as theistic disposition proper makes its appearance in the pure cognitive essence of the awakened soul, the Putanas are decisively silenced at the very earliest stage of their encounter with the new-born Krishna. The would-be slayer of herself slain. This is the reward of the negative services that the Putanas unwittingly render to the cause of theism by strangling all hypocritical demonstrations against their own hypocrisy.

But Putana does not at all like to receive her reward in only form which involves the total destruction of her wrong personality. King Kamsa also does not like to lose the services of the most trusted of his agents. The effective silencing of the whole race of pseudo-teachers of religion is the first clear indication of the appearance of the Absolute on the mundane plane. The bona-fide teacher of the Absolute, heralds the Advent of Krishna by his uncompromising campaign against the pseudo-teachers of religion.

In every so-called Vaisnava organization I investigated, I found evidence of illegal business dealings and unethical fund-raising activities. When I attempted to bring these issues to light, I was blacklisted and a vicious political campaign of black propaganda and slander was created to destroy my credibility as a spiritual teacher. Of course, that would be a little harder to do now that we have such a large body of high-quality preaching work online, but I don't expect these issues to go away anytime soon.

Putana is still on the loose even today, so we should all guard against the infiltration of illusion in the name of so-called religion.

My parents took me to a religious organization when I was younger. I don't feel like they intended to expose me to demoniac influence. Are all organized religions that bad?

Our parents don't intend to expose us to the demoniac influence of ordinary religion, but they just don't know anything better. I suppose materialistic religion is better than no religion at all, but still, a so-called human civilization built on meat-eating and other violent, exploitive cruelties is really no civilization at all. As Srila Prabhupada points out, it is simply polished animal life.

Now when such people approach the devotional service of the Lord, naturally they are going to bring their previous conditioning into it. Again, they mean well, but they just can't help themselves. Nevertheless, we have found such people's association to be very problematic. A devotee is a person who does not create anxiety for anyone:


Yet time and time again we have been put into difficulty and anxiety by so-called devotees. Our conclusion after studying the scriptures for a long time is that actually these are not devotees, but demons in disguise;. These are the Putanas that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta describes so vividly in his essay. At best they are extremely neophyte devotees who have no understanding of the actual Vedic philosophy, but they have become polluted by the real demons who occupy big positions in religious organizations.

These rascals introduce the demonic political competitive mood into associations that should help people concentrate on worship and devotional service to God. They make it impossible for sincere, truthful people to live in peace. We have seen these rascals destroy ISKCON, and we have a lot of insider information on how they operate.

So-called religious organizations always have similar problems, because they attract the kind of exploitive, demoniac persons who like to lord it over others. The best way of dealing with them is simply to withdraw our support from organizations that claim to act as a representative of God. After all, in Bhagavad-gita Krsna does not recommend that we surrender to or serve any religious organization, only the self-realized soul and Himself.



So which religious organization do you think will be superior in years to come?

"Discretion is the better part of valor." In Mahabharata, Bhisma tells Yudisthira that he should never participate in an unrighteous fight. There is a long list of what constitutes an adharmic battle, and one of them is "when neither party is entirely in the right."

No one really wins a lawsuit except the lawyers; similarly, no one ever really wins a battle for sectarian succession. Especially the public is the big loser, because as a religious institution is carved into ever-smaller schisms by squabbling clerics, it loses its authority and ability to educate the public in spiritual values.

People want peace and security. Indeed, it is a requirement for real spiritual life. The demons delight in creating chaos and confusion, because it keeps the pious from their religious duties. They are against the program of the Supreme Lord, which is simply to benefit everyone with transcendental knowledge.

So if we can simply offer a haven from the strife and confusion of the world, we are doing a good service. If we can also offer transcendental knowledge of the Absolute Truth, then we are doing the best service. I am privileged to have been engaged in this kind of service for most of my adult life.








PROBLEMS OF THE HARE KRSNA MOVEMENT IN THE WEST


What is one of the greatest difficulties in Krsna consciousness?

One of the greatest difficulties in Krsna consciousness is understanding how the religious organizations have distorted the image and history of Srila Prabhupada. They want to paint themselves as the enablers of his enormous success, when in reality, he achieved his success despite the often disastrous bumblings of his so-called 'prominent disciples.'

The proof of this is that since Srila Prabhupada's disappearance, nothing they have done has increased; it has only decreased. Yet they insist on being considered on an equal platform with Srila Prabhupada. All their projects rely on outside funding, much of it the result of illegal or semi-legal cheating business. They keep all their management statistics secret, and do not dare expose themselves to scrutiny because it would quickly reveal how incompetent they really are.

The list of Srila Prabhupada's instructions that they have not implemented, implemented badly or implemented in name only, while the actual reality is something Prabhupada would never have approved of, is impressive: actually effective book distribution and media preaching, Gurukulas that help instead of exploit children, self-sufficient farm communities, spiritual universities for training qualified brahmanas, an executive body elected by the Temple Presidents, a Society based on love and trust, real sannyasis—the list goes on and on.

It took me over 20 years to understand this philosophy properly, mostly because it is very complex and elevated, but in part because the leaders put so many obstacles in the way of really studying Prabhupada's books. I had to fight against them to have the time to read his books thoroughly, and got labeled as a misfit as a result. Then once I understood properly, it took another long span of time to implement the instructions and realize the result. Finally, trying to preach has been a long uphill road because most devotees can't imagine Krsna consciousness outside of a religious organization and the associated politics. Frankly, I can't imagine authentic Krsna consciousness within a religious organization run by politics. No organization is big enough to contain the scope of Krsna consciousness.

The reasons why this is so are very similar to the reasons why any intelligent, creative, responsible and motivated person finds it difficult to work within any organization: in general, organizations are designed to defeat individual initiative and channel people's energy toward maintaining the organization rather than benefiting themselves. That's how organizations work, therefore people who are actually intelligent usually find themselves at odds with them and get labeled as misfits.

So welcome to the misfits' club, hope you enjoy your stay.




Why are most Vaisnava groups religious organizations?

The devotees who worked so hard to establish the Krsna consciousness movement in the West dearly loved Srila Prabhupada, but they certainly did not understand him or the ontological position of the exalted devotional philosophy and way of life he was presenting.

In Srila Prabhupada's own simile, they were "licking the outside of the bottle": approaching an esoteric spiritual process as if were a different, exotic but still ordinary religion. As Srila Prabhupada explains in his brilliant Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is:


Similarly, if we simply change our religious designation from Christianity to New Age to Hare Krsna or the Esoteric Teaching, we are missing the most important point: this Vedic Esoteric Teaching is not a religion, but something else entirely, something far more profound and powerful. It is actually a system of serving and pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The difference between religion and sanatana-dharma is like the difference between a map and the road it represents. A religion is an abstraction, a symbol, and sanatana-dharma is actual spiritual life.

By a religion I specifically mean an organized corporate body or fictitious entity having certain legal rights, that professes and teaches a particular set of spiritual beliefs, theology, philosophy and practices. This is fundamentally different from the spiritual process given in the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas.

Religions generally have a material agenda different from and often in conflict with the spiritual process they ostensibly promote. Religion objectifies itself and the spiritual living entities, treating them as material objects to be controlled and exploited, while simultaneously telling them that they are helping them spiritually. Actually this religious doublethink is a form of corporate insanity, because it creates an abstraction—a religious designation—and then acts as if this abstraction were a real object.

We should be very clear that a fictitious corporate entity is not a real object. For example, if you go up in an airplane or view photos taken of the earth from a satellite, you will not see lines dividing one nation from another. Nation-states are abstractions: simply social agreements to hold certain property in common and administer social issues according to certain agreed-upon policies. They are semantic entities, not concrete objects.

Similarly, religions and other corporate entities are abstractions, simply arrangements of words and symbols, agreements and interpretations thereof. To accept them as real entities is a form of insanity. The cause, nature and cure for this semantic disease of objectification is discussed in great detail in Korzybski's foundational work on General Semantics, Science and Sanity. I strongly recommend that all my sincere students read and study this important book carefully, because it contains the clue to eliminating religious objectification and thus avoiding the problems experienced in ISKCON and the other Vaisnava organizations in the West.

The same principle is expressed in a different way in Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur's powerful essay, Organized Religion:


The Western Vedic religious organizations are simply empty shells of liturgy and other practices. While based on the Vedic model, such external mechanical formulas are not the same process given in the exalted codes of the Upanisads and Vedanta, the poetic stanzas of the Vedas and the esoteric narrations of the Bhagavatam, because their focus is not to alter our consciousness but our external activities. We have to be very intelligent and astute to notice this; all religious formulas are just indications of an inner state, fingers pointing at the moon. They are words about self-realization; they are not self-realization itself, but simply indications of it.

Therein lies the subtle distinction between religion and esoteric self-realization, between a churchy, materialistic pseudo-Vedic social cult and an authentic Vedic esoteric school. If those of you who want to teach the Esoteric Teaching learn nothing else from me, I beg you on bended knees to please understand this most important point very, very well.




What are the underlying causes of the devolution of the Hare Krsna movement in the West?

According to my analysis, the culprit of the problems in Western Vaisnavism is three semantic aberrations common to Western thinking: objectification, identification and elementalism.

• Objectification is when people think and behave as if an abstraction or symbol is a real tangible object. The perfect example is a corporation, which is nothing but a collection of business agreements. Yet in our crazy society, a corporation has all the rights of a person—actually more rights, because it shields the real persons who operate from the legal consequences of their actions. And of course, nation-states and the politics they engender are other great examples of the craziness of objectification.
• Identification is a special case of objectification, where a person thinks that he himself has become an abstraction or symbol. The prime example is the conditioned soul's identification with his body. At least the body is a real object; but people also identify with the designations, relations and possessions of the body, even though these are only abstractions or symbols. Once a person is deluded by bodily identification, then where is the limit of extended identification based on the bodily designations?
  
• Elementalism means that just because something can be named, we accept that it is a separate object with independent existence, even though it is actually a structural feature of a process, and cannot exist separate from that process. The best example of elementalism is consciousness. Material scientists think they can isolate consciousness; put it in a test tube and study it as if it were a material element or substance like salt. This is why materialistic studies of consciousness have not made any advancement: they are based on the assumption that consciousness can be treated as an objective material object instead of one of the symptoms of the living entity, and that it has objective existence instead of being unmanifest and subjective. Therefore all their experiments fail because they are trying to measure something that has no separate independent existence.
  

Basically, the breakthrough that Korzybski achieved in developing General Semantics and documented in Science and Sanity is that he understood what Einstein had done in the field of physics, and generalized it to meaning and communication on a broader scale.

How did Einstein revolutionize physics without ever setting foot in a physics laboratory? He saw that there were certain assumptions that were basic to all physical theories, and he questioned whether those assumptions were really true. He performed detailed Gedankenexperimenten (thought-experiments) where he proved that the Newtonian-Cartesian structural assumption, that there exists one uniform universal coordinate system, is not necessarily true.

All observations and measurements are made within a system of coordinates. Scientists had debated for centuries where to locate the origin or zero-point of the assumed universal coordinate system. At first it was natural to assume a local coordinate system based on the observer. As scientific observations expanded and knowledge grew, the center was made the center of the earth. Then it was moved to the center of the sun. Astronomers now routinely make observations and measurements based on the center of the galaxy. But where is the center or zero-point of our coordinate system really located?

Einstein proposed that there is a local coordinate system for each observer—actually, for each conscious living entity, although of course he didn't dare use such 'unscientific' language—and that such coordinate systems have properties relative to one another (hence the name of his theory: Relativity). This was revolutionary because before Einstein, scientists had just assumed a universal coordinate system, universal distance, time, etc. Einstein showed that this assumption was not necessarily true because of the relative motion and time of different local coordinate systems, and subsequent physical experiments based on his Gedankenexperimenten have shown his thinking to be correct. The deeper implication of Einstein's work is that the conscious observer spirit soul is absolute, a concept that finds much fuller expression in the Quantum-Mechanical notion of the collapse of the infinite possibilities of the Universal Wave Function into a concrete reality by the influence of the conscious observer.

Similarly, Korzybski proved that meaning is also relative to an individual observer's semantic system or ontology, and that ontological inaccuracies and semantic aberrations prevent proper communication and understanding. He attempted to define an ontological and semantic system free from these aberrations, and he succeeded to a large extent. Subsequent work in fields like Neurolinguistic Programming are based on Korzybski's pioneering research. Of course as soon as we understand all these truths, when we read the Vedic literatures we find that they are already contained as basic assumptions in Vedic thought and the Sanskrit language. It seems that as our knowledge expands, we find that the Vedas have always been cognizant of our proud new realizations. The Vedas really are all-cognizant, perfect knowledge, free from all defects.

However, our own ontology and semantic system is riddled with defects. Consequently we tend to misunderstand the truths of the Vedas and misconstrue the Vedic process according to our own semantic aberrations. We tend to think that the Vedic process is a religion, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is an abstraction, and that the self-realized soul is an ordinary person. Therefore we think and behave in inappropriate ways, and fall down from the spiritual platform of consciousness again and again. Let us look at some of the specific aberrations that cause this failure to attain a stable state of self-realization.

How do the semantic aberrations discussed here affect our devotional service?

• Objectification: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), or any other religious organization, is an abstraction: just a set of agreements. But we tend to think and act as if it is a real object with independent objective existence.
  
• Identification: We tend to accept the bodily designations like "I am a Hare Krsna" or "I am an ISKCON devotee" as a real identity, instead of our actual spiritual identity.
  
• Elementalism: We imbue designations like "Krsna consciousness" with false independent existence, instead of properly considering them to be symptoms of engaging in the process of devotional service.
  

These are all typical semantic aberrations due to thinking about spiritual subjects with a materialistic language, logic and ontology. They result in misunderstanding the exalted process of devotional service, thinking it to be like other materialistic religions instead of the actual intrinsic nature of the living entity. We also tend to think that pure devotees like Srila Prabhupada is prone to similar states of objectification, identification and elementalism, and describe and treat them accordingly. These mistakes lead to offenses which cause us to fall from spiritual consciousness into material consciousness.

The mechanism is simple: we are trying to perceive spiritual objects with a material ontology, therefore we do not perceive the original spiritual objects, but their material reflections or shadows. It is just like there is a bird flying in the air, but instead of looking up into the air and seeing the balloon, we look down on the ground and see its shadow. We may try to grasp the shadow, thinking that it is the balloon, but the shadow has no real substance; therefore our attempt to grasp the shadow is a failure.

Similarly, if we try to apprehend Krsna consciousness, the Esoteric Teaching or self-realization with a material ontology, logic and language, we can at most observe only a shadow of the real thing, and our attempts to grasp it will be frustrated. The ontological truth is that we can only perceive something that has meaning in our ontology, that has a definition in our semantic system. Without a spiritual ontology based on the authentic Vedic Esoteric Teaching, all we will be able to perceive is its shadow or reflection in the material energy. We will miss the real thing and see only an abstraction. This is why,


The conditioned soul is awake in the night of material consciousness; therefore to him, spiritual awakening looks like a dream. The self-realized soul, awake in the light of spiritual realization, sees clearly that the conditioned soul is dreaming in the temporary designations of material existence.

From my point of view, the neophyte devotees mistake the symptoms of spiritual life for the cause. They see the preaching organization as the means for spiritual advancement, when actually it is the result. They turn everything around because they are looking with a material ontology. Love of Godhead or self-realization is not the result of performing pious activities; rather, pious activities are the result of love of Godhead.

The soul, out of his free will and existential choice, makes the ontological commitment that "I am an eternal spiritual being in an eternal service relationship with the Supreme Lord," and because of that determination, so many symptoms like performance of devotional service, preaching, ecstatic chanting and so on, arise. Self-realized souls understand this, and therefore it is very difficult to communicate the Absolute Truth to those who think they are the effect of matter.

The troubles that have crippled the Vaisnava organizations in the West are all the result of seeing the Esoteric Teaching with a materialistic ontology, then trying to preach on that platform. With typical Western passion and efficiency, the Vaisnava organizations have been working hard to spread a mere shadow of Krsna consciousness instead of the real thing. Of course, this is a lie, and therefore they fall down from the brahminical platform to the level of ordinary religion, and all the evils and ills of religion make their inauspicious appearance in the association of devotees.




Is the view that ISKCON is Prabhupada's body an example of these semantic aberrations?

The ISKCON preachers and managers are fond of saying that "ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada's body," and use this to justify so many of their decisions and activities. But if it really were, then ISKCON would have the same spiritual qualities as Srila Prabhupada. Most of us have experienced that ISKCON has cheated many devotees out of their service engagement due to exploitive management practices. Is this cheating mentality a quality of Srila Prabhupada?

If not, then how is it possible that ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada's body? Perhaps at one time, when ISKCON was still following Srila Prabhupada's standards and practices, it might have been an extension or embodiment of his values. But even then we have the clear instructions in Srila Prabhupada's Direction of Management document that the GBC secretaries should be elected periodically by the Temple Presidents. Yet the GBC rejected this instruction and incredibly, elected themselves! In the process they destroyed the balance of power between the GBC and Temple Presidents that Srila Prabhupada so carefully designed and expressed in the DOM, and we know how since then there has been a history of the GBC oppressing and manipulating the Temple Presidents, despite the fact that they have no legal authority over the temples whatsoever.

There are so many points of discrepancy between Srila Prabhupada's instructions and personal spiritual values and the way ISKCON has been managed and run, even while Srila Prabhupada was present. All religious organizations are like that: the Christians are not Christlike; the Buddhists are not Buddhistic; the Hare Krsna devotees for the most part are not Bhaktivedantas. The managers are trying to say that ISKCON is a transcendental society, but unlike the founder-acarya, it exhibits so many typically material qualities. So how can they say it is Srila Prabhupada's body? That is not right. That is because all religious organizations are based on a lie.

What then is transcendental in this world? It is when an object that is apparently material exhibits the qualities of a transcendental entity. Can we say that Srila Prabhupada's books are transcendental? Yes, because although they are material objects, they exhibit transcendental qualities like faultlessness, Absolute Truth, and many other spiritual qualities. Can we say that Krsna's temple is transcendental? Yes, because only worship of Krsna goes on there, and Krsna transcendental name, form and pastimes are glorified there.

But can we say that an organization that manages the temple or prints the books is transcendental? No, because an organization is not a real entity, but an abstraction. How can an abstraction be transcendental? It doesn't really exist in the first place, even in a material sense. To objectify this abstraction and claim that it is real is bad enough; to also claim that it is transcendental is an outright lie and fraud. Less intelligent people may accept this lie as truth, but then when they are cheated by the people who profit from this lie, they also learn the truth: that no organization can be transcendental, because organizations are simply agreements between and among people to act in certain ways, and have no inherent existence in themselves.

Organizations, even religious organizations are simply consequences of the actions of real entities, not real entities themselves. Before the Gaudiya Math, there is no history of corporate organizations in Vaisnavism. And after ISKCON, there do not need to be any more such illusory corrupt organizations. We have learned our lesson the hard way; now let us put it into action by reviving the original Upanisadic form of Vaisnavism, where spiritual aspirants come to study and serve under the direct personal guidance of a realized soul.

I don't want to belabor the point too much, because it is better to be aware of the broad principles of objectification, identification and elementalism than invest too much in analyzing particular instances of them. But one good example can't hurt, and this is a particularly relevant example. Thanks for your understanding of this subtle yet very important point.



If one understands this does it mean they are very advanced?

There are many devotees who know that ISKCON is fallen but understanding the actual problem is more difficult. This understanding does not mean that one is a self-realized soul; actually anyone with good intelligence can understand if they know General Semantics. The real test of a self-realized soul is if they have love for Krsna:


And what does a self-realized soul do?


So we are just trying to convince everyone to give up this mundane conception of life and worship Krsna by devotional service in ecstatic love.






BEING CHEATED


I got burned by a religious organization. Are you different?

Your story is so typical of all those who get involved with big religious organizations. If one is sincere then eventually there will be a conflict between the individual and the church politics.

The organization will always decide against the individual. Sort of like the odds in every casino favor the house. It's designed that way because organizations, like people, put their own self-reservation before the needs of their members. The organizations try to put on an attractive face. But just beneath the surface, you will find the same nasty politics is there in ISKCON, in other Vaiṣṇava organizations, in so-called 'hinduism' (whatever that is), in the churches and even in the temples of science and materialism.

We try to be different. Whenever possible, the rules should adapt to the needs of the individuals, not the other way around. Yes, we have certain standard ways of doing things, but really all we insist on is that one is respectful and sincere. Given that, we can find a way to accommodate anyone. The difference is that we understand the difference between regulated and spontaneous devotional service, and we know how to give space and energy to spontaneous love of God.

This is why it is important to approach a self-realized soul for spiritual teaching, and not an organization. No organization will support the kind of personal transcendental quest that results in actual self-realization. Instead they will will be pushing you to collect your quota of donations and to propagate whatever political agenda is current.

Actually approaching Kṛṣṇa means that we must be completely relieved of material duties, at least for some time. If someone has to work day and night to maintain some religious organization, they will never have the freedom to actually sit down and chant the Holy Name very nicely.

This is the actual purpose of the retired and renounced orders of life, vanaprastha and sannyasa, in Vedic society. It means that we get to give up all material activities, and have no responsibility other than to perform the esoteric process of self-realization. And at some point we have to renounce everything, go alone into the woods and chant until we realize God.



I got badly abused in TMO. Why are leaders in religious organizations exploitive? I found my spiritual life affected greatly and performed some questionable acts. Will I get over the pain inflicted and be able to advance in spiritual life and help others?

In every spiritual movement, as soon as it grows beyond a certain size, the exploitive type of individual is attracted. Such self-motivated people abuse the social trust created by the spiritual atmosphere to advance their own self-interest. Because they are not bound by any principles save what they perceive will get them ahead, they have a temporary advantage over those of who feel constrained by spiritual principles to be truthful, loving and kind. So they create confusion and obscure the love and trust necessary for a peaceful spiritual life with their lies. However, just like the materialistic misleaders of humanity at large, the phony spiritual leaders dig their own graves in the long run. The same people who did wrong to you in the name of their own advancement in the TMO are now stuck with the inflexible bureaucracy they created. They cannot evolve and change with the times, and so they will be left behind as social needs and conditions change. This is inevitable for any organization, but especially those where the really intelligent and spiritual people have been overwhelmed by the political minded and less ethical. I don't think it would do much good to recount my own misadventures and abuses at the hands of Srila Prabhupada's other disciples, except to mention that they happened, and also left scars.

Time does indeed heal all wounds, but sometimes one just has to go off and do something else for awhile. I did, and also went through a period when my conduct was less than exemplary. So I can't find fault with you. It might even help you to get away from where you are completely for a time. Finally, though, you will want to come home to your spiritual family, however you perceive that. If you don't like what is going on in the TM family, you can have a hand in creating an alternative around the Esoteric Teaching. The future is pretty much what we decide to make it, IMHO. I am wary of creating a big organization, because I know pretty much how it will play out, and I don't want to go there. I am much more inclined to create a virtual online community with independent, autonomous local study groups. That will be enough hassle without ashrams and temples and farms, oh my!

Thus my emphasis on viewing the Esoteric Teaching as a process of ontological adjustment, rather than a basis for community-building. ISKCON's communities, especially in the West, are pretty much a failure. I'm not sure whether that is just a result of simple misunderstanding and ineptitude, some interference by outside agencies, or some combination of both. Anyway, we are very far from the ideal that Prabhupada set in his books and teachings. Far be it from me to try to meddle with that mess. However, if people change their ontological views, and consequently their consciousness, to be in harmony with Vyasadeva's commentary on his own Vedanta-sutra, that will have the desired effect indirectly. So that is my strategy. Hopefully my approach of open-source spirituality will allow us to have a relatively peaceful old age, instead of trying to out-compete a bunch of unruly students for control of a big religious organization. Who needs it? We will have enough on our hands just trying to survive, the way things are going.

The government's response to the changes they themselves have created in the world situation is to clamp down control. As usual, they will just create a much bigger set of problems than the one they have. Any time you try to go against the natural order and upset nature's balance, there will be hell to pay. But why are they trying to make their own people the bad guys? Why not just 'fess up and face the music? Rascals. No one wants to be responsible. So we have to show the example. The deepest issue in all this is people's persistent inability to perceive the distinction between spirit and matter. Nothing in this material world can really affect spirit. Sure, life in this material world has its ups and downs, and too much hardship can ruin our spiritual life. But in the long run, the clouds come and go but the sky ( akasa) remains the same. So take the time and space to heal yourself, but know also that our time is limited and there is much to accomplish. I trust you to work out the balance you need in your life. Forcing people never really works. They pretty much do what they intend to do over the long haul. Your sincerity to advance means you are protected and guided by Kṛṣṇa's love. Remain in contact with Kṛṣṇa, and He will bring you through. Remember you always have a friend in my humble self, and you can always reach out when you have a doubt. Like Srila Prabhupada, I am ever your well-wisher.

I have been cheated by so many religious organizations I am thinking of just becoming a recluse. So many people are pretenders. Is being a recluse OK?


We should definitely avoid the association of both the cheaters and the cheated. However, we should not go into self-imposed isolation, but associate with pure devotees of the Lord. This association can be in person or by means of books, videos and other media. Many people became disciples of my spiritual master Srila Prabhupada without ever meeting him in person. Srila Prabhupada writes about his spiritual master:


We do not accept the association of rascals, but we give them our association to engage them in spiritual truth. In other words, we do not associate with them on their terms, but on our terms. We do not deviate from our spiritual principles, and we insist on playing the role of spiritual teacher to those who are in a fallen condition. We try to encourage them to come to the spiritual platform by giving good advice from the Esoteric Teaching. This is the secret of the art of preaching spiritual life.

It is difficult to be a gentle, learned and loving person in this crass material world. The vicious material competition and politics are there even in so-called religious groups. Almost no one in this world is actually interested in spiritual life, being content with the mere appearances of external religious observances and designations. However, such a superficial process can never actually cleanse the soul of the sinful desire-seed of material existence:


So-called religious activities are actually useless, because they do not cleanse the seed of material desire from the core of the heart. People who perform these activities may pretend to be very pious by speaking on monistic philosophy, but they are just bluffing. Their actual aim is to accumulate some pious karma to increase their material acquisition and enjoyment. But this material process only keeps them entrapped in the material world to receive the karmic results of their so-called religious activities.

Real spiritual life is based on the advanced understanding of Vedanta philosophy—not the false monistic misinterpretation of Vedanta, recently invented and popularized by Sankaracarya, but the original and eternal understanding of Vedanta as explained by the original author of Vedanta-sutra, Srila Vyasadeva, in his Srimad-Bhagavatam. Therefore the most important requirement of authentic spiritual life is to study the original Vedic literatures written by Vyasadeva: Sri Isopanisad, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. These transcendental literatures, containing the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas, give the real conclusion of Vedanta and the secret to attaining eternal felicity and happiness.



I feel it is better not to associate too much with those in religious organizations like ISKCON, even if they are on a similar path. Too many people being cheated. What do you think?

I agree with your assessment. I dearly wish it wasn't the case, but in my experience and the experience of thousands of other devotees, to associate with ISKCON is to be gradually drawn into a Machiavellian labyrinth of disinformation, where nothing and no one are ever quite what they seem to be. I speak for over 95% of my Godbrothers, intelligent disciples of Srila Prabhupada, who found that despite their desire to associate with devotees, they could not tolerate the abuses endemic in ISKCON, especially among its power elite. I mean, what intelligent person really wants to become a serf in a feudal theocracy without justice, rights or recourse?

An important part of our mission is to bring the Vedic bhakti tradition into the 21st century. That means a flat, decentralized, loosely associated group with the central interest of providing authentic Vedic spiritual education to a broad audience, leveraging the power of electronic media and sharing open-sourced information resources. For example, anyone is free to start their own preaching mission using our material, which is all released under a very liberal Creative Commons license. In fact, we encourage it. The exact details of how it is done will naturally vary according to specific time and circumstance; that's exactly why creative license is important.

For example, we have attracted a lot of attention online with our 2012: Matrix Singularity promotional campaign. Someone may object that this prediction is not directly mentioned in the Vedic literature; but our whole point is that it is OK to think creatively about, and with, the Vedic spiritual wisdom. Once we understand transcendental logic, we can reason as much as we like with the Vedic wisdom, and always reach correct spiritual conclusions. If we do this then we find many wonderful surprises lurking between the lines, such as Transontology.

No orthodox organization likes thoughtful people, especially creative people who like to think outside the box. Yet that is precisely what the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas invites us to do by providing the most advanced known ontological framework for philosophical speculation. As long as we do not try to change the fundamental Absolute Truth, we are free to invent newer and newer ways of serving and pleasing Krsna. Don't you think He gets bored with the same old rituals and musty prayers?







PHONINESS IN RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS


I have found in my experience that there is often negative communication in religious organizations. Would you agree?

Yes. Actually we discuss this extensively in our darshan on the dangers of sociopathic communication.

Another devotee, Gaurahari Prabhu added some interesting and insightful comments on this subject. Here they are:

Climbing out of the hole of sectarianism


Politics and diplomacy are an emotional plague. We avoid them because we have seen their corrosive socio-pathological effects on communities that we have been involved in. The Gaudiya community has become so politicized that every statement and act, in addition to its real meaning, acquires some political significance. So all honest and straightforward dealings are lost because everyone is afraid of being sincere, and speaks only buzzword-compliant diplomatic junk speech, carefully crafted to be politically neutral. Then what is the difference between us devotees and the materialists?

gṛheṣu kūṭa-dharmeṣu
duḥkha-tantreṣv atandritaḥ
kurvan duḥkha-pratīkāraṁ
sukhavan manyate gṛhī

"The attached householder remains in his family life, which is full of diplomacy and politics. Always spreading miseries and controlled by acts of sense gratification, he acts just to counteract the reactions of all his miseries, and if he can successfully counteract such miseries, he thinks that he is happy." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.30.9]

When a religious community thus becomes politicized, it loses its transcendental quality of truthfulness; then no one can speak honestly from the heart because they know that whatever they say or do can, and probably will, be used against them politically. But what does Rūpa Gosvāmī say?

dadāti pratigṛhṇāti
guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva
ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam

"Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another." [Śrī Upadeśāmṛta, 4]

If we cannot reveal our hearts in confidence without fear of political reprisal, then the love and trust among the members of the community are lost, and all relationships turn into phony play-acting in the name of "Vaiṣṇava etiquette." So everyone becomes an actor playing someone they call themselves, but what they say has nothing to do with what they really feel. Nobody can be happy in such a stiff, formal atmosphere of pseudo-esoteric kabuki. That is why we praise sincerity and excoriate phoniness in this community, so that it remains a safe place to express one's spiritual feelings.

This safety to be honest and open is very precious to us. For no one can attain complete self-realization unless they hit emotional rock-bottom and offer everything to Kṛṣṇa unconditionally without reservation. You cannot be honest with Kṛṣṇa if you are playing a role; you cannot even be honest with yourself. So first you have to give up this phony posturing, and come out and share your real feelings. This is not possible in a religious organization. It would be very dangerous for us to accept someone's close association who also uses these sociopathic styles of communication.




I suffer from the kind of formal Vaisnava communication described above due to association with a Vaisnava organization. How can I overcome it?

Here is a reply from one of my students:




Seems there are many people in organizations who put on tulasi beads and call themselves devotees. Could you comment on this?

Devotional service is not a material thing that you can put on your body and then say, "See? I am a devotee." That is only external. Just like if you go to the ISKCON temples, you will see so many people with perfect tilaka, perfect dhoti and sari. But if you ask them to explain this philosophy, then you will hear some real nonsense, because they have not realized it.


We follow Krsna's opinion, not the opinion of neophyte external devotees. Actual devotional service is internal. For example, when Arjuna asks Krsna about the self-realized soul, he asks about external features:


But Krsna answers not from the external platform or even the mental platform, but on the internal spiritual platform:


Our real spiritual life is on the internal platform, the ontological platform of consciousness. Externals are useful only as long as they remind us of this real fact. Otherwise they can become distractions from our real spiritual life.







HEARING SCRIPTURE IN ORGANIZATIONS


Are there other problems with presenting the Esoteric Teaching in the context of a religious organization?

A student writes:

A third-class devotee, therefore, has to receive the instructions of devotional service from the authoritative sources of Bhāgavata. The number one Bhāgavata is the established personality of devotee, and the other Bhāgavatam is the message of Godhead. The third-class devotee therefore has to go to the personality of devotee in order to learn the instructions of devotional service. Such a personality of devotee is not a professional man who earns his livelihood by the business of Bhāgavatam. Such a devotee must be a representative of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, like Sūta Gosvāmī, and must preach the cult of devotional service for the all-around benefit of all people. A neophyte devotee has very little taste for hearing from the authorities. Such a neophyte devotee makes a show of hearing from the professional man to satisfy his senses. This sort of hearing and chanting has spoiled the whole thing, so one should be very careful about the faulty process. The holy messages of Godhead, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-gītā or in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are undoubtedly transcendental subjects, but even though they are so, such transcendental matters are not to be received from the professional man, who spoils them as the serpent spoils milk simply by the touch of his tongue.

A sincere devotee must, therefore, be prepared to hear the Vedic literature like the Upaniṣads, Vedānta and other literatures left by the previous authorities or Gosvāmīs, for the benefit of his progress. Without hearing such literatures, one cannot make actual progress. And without hearing and following the instructions, the show of devotional service becomes worthless and therefore a sort of disturbance in the path of devotional service. Unless, therefore, devotional service is established on the principles of śruti, smṛti, purāṇa or pañcarātra authorities, the make-show of devotional service should at once be rejected. An unauthorized devotee should never be recognized as a pure devotee. By assimilation of such messages from the Vedic literatures, one can see the all-pervading localized aspect of the Personality of Godhead within his own self constantly. This is called samādhi. [Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.12 Purport]

While this may or may not be true of many sincere preachers within ISKCON, it is clear that its structure as a corporate entity literally makes it a profession to be a preacher within that structure. There is dependence on the organization and hence subservience to it. This is obvious, and it would also have been obvious to Prabhupada who has in many books repeatedly instructed that nobody should make a living by professionally reciting the Bhagavatam, and likewise nobody should make a show of listening to these professional recitations for sense gratification. Like Prabhupada has said, this has "spoiled the whole thing". There are so many distractions, so much drama and politics within a setup like that. The Absolute Truth shies away from all of this and it is very hard to find it there. This whole world is full of so many upsetting distractions, not just ISKCON. How to just push everything aside and dive into the Absolute?

This is an interesting point, and deserves some exploration. In India there is a tradition of sapta-bhagavata, where a householder will engage a brahmana to recite the Srimad-Bhagavatam in seven days, just as the original Bhagavatam was recited by Sukadeva Gosvami to Maharaja Pakiksit in the seven days before his death. However, in recent times this has become merely a business proposition, with a whole profession grown up around it. Therefore Srila Prabhupada warns us not to hear from the professional reciters:


So the point is that one should hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from one who is in the renounced order like Sukadeva Gosvami. Sukadeva did not need, nor did he request some donation from Maharaja Pariksit. In fact, before hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, Maharaja Praiksit had divested himself of all material possessions; so both the original hearer and the speaker of Srimad-Bhagavatam were akincana-gocara, or devoid of all material attachments and possessions. This is the correct atmosphere and mood in which to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Maharaja Pariksit's mood in hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is exemplary. He prayed to Sri Sukadeva Gosvami:


In other words, the purpose of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is to fix one's mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead at the time of death. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam contains the essence of the transcendental ontology of the Vedas. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas.


One should go carefully through the first nine Cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which explain the ontological categories of the spiritual existence, before hearing the Tenth Canto, which narrates the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, the actual substance of spiritual life. There are many instances in Srimad-Bhagavatam where Maharaja Pariksit inquires from Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore, one should not only hear, but understand the subject matter through relevant inquiries to a self-realized soul.

Understanding and realizing Srimad-Bhagavatam, then, is only possible for one who is in the mood of approaching death. Sannyasa or the renounced order of spiritual life is considered civil death; one dies to materialistic family life and is reborn for a spiritual life of pure devotional service. This consciousness is actual liberation while still in the material body.

But if, out of a lack of authentic transcendental realization, we make sannyasa into a professional occupation, where one receives a salary and other benefits, is burdened with administration of an ecclesiastical society, and must carefully observe complex political protocols to maintain one's position, then the sannyasa-ashram loses its status as the abode of the paramahamsas, or swanlike liberated souls, and becomes merely a material organizational status, like a corporate management position.

In today's Vaisnava organizations, sannyasa has become merely a corporate political position. The sannyasis of one organization cannot visit or preach in the temples of other organizations, nor can they beg alms from their members without causing great political turmoil. The sannyasis become the general managers of great temples and have to inspire and even make arrangements to maintain thousands of disciples. What kind of paramahamsa, what kind of liberation is this?

Srila Prabhupada had to perform so much management out of necessity, because his disciples were simply incompetent. Being contaminated by material ignorance and passion, they would have ruined everything even before Srila Prabhupada left the planet, had His Divine Grace not intervened. Now bereft of his direct guidance, they are proceeding full speed to stop the preaching, change the Vedic scriptures, drive the senior disciples out of ISKCON and completely alienate the public. Their sole concern seems to be that their nice accommodations and other benefits are maintained. They are more concerned that their frequent-flyer and credit-card accounts are in order than that their disciples attain self-realization.

Should we hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, the crest jewel of the Vedic literature, from such as ersatz paramahamsa? Of course not. This is exactly why I eschewed the false organizational sannyasa and just informally took the Babaji order, independent of any organization. Now I can preach all over the world without restriction, and give the real purport of Srimad-Bhagavatam without any foolish political considerations.






Fortunately not all institutions and all sanyasis are like this. So we can not say if ISKCON have problems with purity that all others have also. I have so many good experiences in my devotional life here in Gaudiya math and there are many pure devotees. I was last year in Croatia participating in seven days Bhagavad Saptaha, given by the very nice sanyasi disciple of Srila BV Puri Maharaj, Srila BS Sridhar Maharaj. I don't want to argue against Srila Prabhupada but I feel it was a good experience.

You do not provide any scriptural quotations or even links to back up your arguments. Therefore whatever you have said is merely your own personal opinion, so it does not carry much weight. You are advocating persons and practices that our Guru Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada advised us strongly against. Do you want to argue against the instructions of our Srila Prabhupada? That is not very welcome.


It was Srila Prabhupada and no one else who followed Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's instructions to preach in English and satisfied Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's desire to preach the Holy Name of Krsna all over the world. Once Srila Prabhupada published authorized translations of the real Vedic literature and showed how to preach internationally, his neophyte Godbrothers created many imitation preaching programs. They refused to assist him when he was struggling to establish his mission, but now that he is gone they want to jump on the bandwagon and get some cheap sentimental followers, a day late and a dollar short. As noted above, they are basically professional reciters, imitators, businessmen. And their preaching is not very good quality. The proof is that your post reads exactly like a neophyte devotee who has very little understanding of the actual philosophy of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada writes in his Srimad-Bhagavatam:

The four material purposes of the Vedas—dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa—are not the ultimate goal of life, because they are temporary:


The practice of Bhāgavata-saptāha cannot lead to pure devotional service because it is mixed with such fruitive activities. People come for a few days and hear, then they return to their material activities. But when Maharaja Pariksit heard Srimad-Bhagavatam, he did not return to his household affairs. Anyone who sincerely hears Srimad-Bhagavatam must accept the renounced order of life. The sages of Naimisaranya had given up all material occupational duties and were prepared to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam continuously for 1,000 years.

No one can realize Srimad-Bhagavatam in seven days unless they are as qualified as Maharaja Pariksit. There must be enough time to digest this great ontological spiritual literature and understand its meaning deep in the heart. There must also be sufficient time to make relevant inquiries from a self-realized soul to resolve one's doubts and misunderstandings. None of this is possible in a mere seven days.

So Srila Prabhupada prohibited Bhāgavata-saptāha for his disciples, and we follow this rule strictly. He also advised us not to associate with his Godbrothers, and we can understand that there are very good reasons for this. In the present case, for example, the great Srimad-Bhagavatam is being made a plaything for materially attached people. This is not the actual purpose of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and to hear it in such a rushed manner in an atmosphere of materialistic religiosity is offensive. No one can understand this great literature in such compromised conditions.

Neophyte devotees have very little knowledge of the scriptures. They think, "Other churches or religious organizations are not very good, but the Supreme Absolute Truth is present only in my church or temple." Their faith is based only on sentiment, not conclusive knowledge and analysis of the scriptures. Therefore they are unsteady and often fall down.


You have not presented any evidence according to sastra that your guru or others you claim to be uttama-adhikaris are actually so. Instead your mode of presentation clearly identifies you as a neophyte devotee as described above. As a neophyte devotee, you may think that your guru or temple is very nice, but Srila Prabhupada who is much more experienced, has already advised us not to associate with them. Now the proof is that they are indulging in unauthorized Bhāgavata-saptāha readings, dealing like businessmen instead of discussing Srimad-Bhagavatam properly in the purified association of renunciants, as described in Srimad-Bhagavatam itself.

After being instructed by Srila Prabhupada to leave ISKCON because of its deviations, I investigated many other so-called Vaisnava organizations. In each and every case I found the same nonsense that was contaminating ISKCON going on behind the scenes of these organizations. Illicit business, politics, exploitation of devotees, and artificially lowering the standard of pure devotional service just to attract cheap followers is going on in every religious organization. It is a disease of such organizations, because they are material, and they require substantial material resources for their maintenance. Actual renunciation is not possible in such a materially polluted atmosphere.

We have a small ashram in India so that men who are detached from fruitive activities can hear and discuss Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Vaisnava literatures in an association of complete purity and without any time pressure. There are no expensive temple buildings or opulent living arrangements. That level of renunciation is the actual requirement for realizing Srimad-Bhagavatam and realizing pure devotional service.

You say that you do not want to argue against Srila Prabhupada, but then you present so many statements glorifying people and practices that he warned his disciples against. Because you are a neophyte devotee, you do not have much knowledge or realization of the scriptures. Therefore many things that you may think are very nice, are actually not approved by guru, sastra and sadhu. The difference between dharma, religiosity, and pure devotional service is mostly lost on neophyte devotees.


Household life and the association of women is rejected by the pure devotees because their only objective is to hear and relish narrations of transcendental subjects in relation to Krsna. But we observe in various devotee associations that even if they accept the order of sannyasa, they remain attached to name, fame, prestige, politics, power and high-sounding titles. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur writes in his Sri Bhaktyaloka, Chapter 2:


We observe these symptoms in the so-called renunciants of the Western Vaisnava organizations. This is natural because such associations are, at best, in pursuit of dharma or religiosity, instead of pure devotional service. This is a deep philosophical point discussed between Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Ramananda Raya. When Lord Caitanya asked Ramanansa about religious principles, at first Ramanada described varnasrama-dharma and karma-yoga.


Lord Caitanya even rejected the practices of renunciation, empirical knowledge, philosophical speculation and yogic mystical power. He was not satisfied until Ramanada quoted the following sloka from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.3, spoken by Lord Brahma:


However we see that so-called Vaisnava renuncaints accept the association of householders and others who are attached to material activities, and perform unauthorized imitation recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam in seven days. This is exactly what is meant by anartha, or unwanted activities. Until one comes to the stage of anartha-nivrtti, or purification from unwanted things, there is no hope of even steadiness, what to speak of pure devotional service, or the uttama-adhikari stage.

So we see that most devotional associations support the first three stages of sraddha, sadhu-sangah and bhajana-kriya. But they do not rise to the standard of anartha-nivrtti because of the attachment to the desire for fame. Consequently they preach and do so many unauthorized things for cheap popularity, such as bhagavat-saptaha, that are actually against the principles of our lineage. Their branches of the tree of Lord Caitanya are gradually drying up and losing the sweet taste of prema-bhakti because of deviating from the strict principles of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.


So the leaders of religious movements must be extremely careful not to introduce practices that deviate from the orders of their spiritual master. But we see that, driven by the desire for fame and prestige, they lower themselves from the platform of pure devotional service to the platform of religiosity to acquire cheap followers. This is going on in every so-called Vaisnava association that we have seen or heard of all over the world. We have tried our best over the years to cooperate with our various Godbrothers, but we cannot bring ourselves to lower the standard taught by our Guru Maharaja, and this results in irreconcilable conflicts with the so-called 'big leaders.' Consequently they blaspheme and demonize us to prevent us from acquiring any influence over their followers and exposing their devations. That is alright, because our instructions from Srila Prabhupada are to accept a limited number of disciples of the highest quality only, the better to carry on this lineage in the original form without deviation from the Vedic principles.

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