Clear as Mud
BY: JANMASTAMI DAS
Mar 17, WEST VIRGINIA, USA (SUN) — Having read Bhakta Suria's recent speculations as to the meaning of the July 9th Letter, we again find ourselves faced with the lose-lose situation of trying to defend the English language enough to explain it to others who may not be as familiar with it as those mellechas who were born speaking that tongue. Not that the English language bears defending, it does not, but that the disqualification that one cannot be a brahmin if one has even heard the English language certainly should not apply to the followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Still, words have their assigned definitions and functions, and, like it or not, the current word juggling that passes for "understanding English" is not true "understanding".
The point of the letter, which he has chosen to enter as evidence to prove his conclusions, we question the reverse understanding that has been extrapolated from this document. One point that he has claimed is proven, that this letter was a limited use, time sensitive document that expired less than 6 months after it's writing. This point is very far from having been proven by this essay. In fact, the exact opposite point is made, that as of July 9, 1977, in Srila Prabhupada's opinion, no one was qualified to make "their own disciples", and therefore all disciples would be "disciples of His Divine Grace". This was stated three times for emphasis, so even the dullest of the dullards could understand, but it's understanding has become lost in the rush to the glare of the center stage spotlight.
Even as ISKCON admits that the process followed from 1977 through 1986 was not what Srila Prabhupada wanted, that it was not authorized when it was started, still, the same process (or some variation of it) exists today as the model for the society with simply a slightly different cast of characters.
The misunderstanding that this document on succession either "is not clear and to the point" or does not line out a specific set of requirements, incumbent on all those addressed in the letter, is faulty reasoning. It was never intended to be a privileged communication, as Bhakta Suria has said, but it was kept that way (much the same as Srila Prabhupada's personal appeal that all His disciples be brought to India for His Departure), for the same financial and political reasons that have fractured, and continue to fracture, modern day ISKCON. Personal ambitions have taken center stage in ISKCON since 1977, and who denies this is either under-informed or a manipulated individual.
Bhakta Suria has claimed that his three sentence opening paragraph is "what Srila Prabhupada meant to say", had only he been as smart as Suriaji. Only problem with that is that in His 9-sentence letter, Srila Prabhupada said four times (in statements 5,6,7, and 9) that those temple presidents and above involved in the process were "representatives". He also said three more times for emphasis that all disciples were to be "His disciples" (in statements 6,7, and 9). And, not that anybody was listening or would follow the instructions anyway, but Srila Prabhupada specifically mentioned only first and second initiations (since he had earlier in the year ordered the ceasing of sannyasa initiations), and He said that three times in statements 5, 6, and 8. If Bhakta Suria could somehow work that all back into his copy, and keep it all under 9 sentences, we would consider re-reading his later submissions.
