Response to Kesava Krsna dasa
BY: ROCANA DASA
Sep 26, CANADA (SUN) — In his last rebuttal article entitled "Clarification", Kesava Krsna dasa states that my approach to argument is "Not very nice at all." This is the summary of all the negative things Kesava Krsna had to say about me in his attempt to paint a picture of me as being a person who is “continually criticizing” and has an " all-too-keen readiness to lash out". Of course, one could say that he himself does the very same thing. As is so often the case, his whole reply focuses on criticisms of me personally, and didn’t address any of the philosophical issues I brought up in my rebuttal to his original article, Them 'N All". Could this methodology be something he learned in ISKCON? Something his authorities have been teaching him? Has he been directly instructed that this is the way you deal with challengers? It’s a very interesting study.
As he’s a regular contributor to Dandavats, his presentations are somewhat scholarly in comparison to other articles you find there. The fact that he is actually ready to respond at all to my challenges, which he depicts as criticism, is greatly appreciated. But rather than get into a personal slugfest, I would prefer that he prove to me that what I’m saying is wrong, either sastrically, factually, historically. In the absence of a bona fide rebuttal, I can only conclude that my points are correct.
When one lives in an environment such as modern ISKCON, you may be shocked by anyone who would dare do what I’m doing, which is just telling the truth. Because it’s truth they don’t want to look at, and that they’ve been rewriting and glossing over for many years, we typically get this kind of response. It’s almost like Communist rhetoric against the introduction of some foreign concept. The idea that news means bad news, or that critical commentary means personal slander, is simply a mood cultivated to suppress freedom of speech and thought.
Of course, the Sampradaya Sun is also full of good news content, and many positive and enthusiastic articles about the achievements of ISKCON. I bring up past history such as the Zonal Acarya system and the Gopi Bhava Club because when these 'phases' actually transpired, no one in the institution could talk about it. The impact of these asiddhantic movements, however, has been captured in the minds of many thousands of individuals, and it’s never really been told the way it needs to be. There’s been no philosophical analysis from the participants and GBC, nor any collective purport by the authorities who participated in these philosophical deviations. Until such analysis is forthcoming, we are duty-bound to continue to confront the issue. There is simply no other choice.
What drove the ISKCON leaders to take these actions? What was in their minds? We want to learn something from these experiences, and the only ones that can really teach us are the people who actually participated, whether it’s the GBC, the sannyasis and gurus, or others in the movement.
Let's also not forget that the Gopi Bhava Club was the gasoline that fed the B.V. Narayana machine. The Narayana Maharaja phenomenon has drained ISKCON of many talented people, and they’ve been far more fundamentally critical of ISKCON than I ever have. They’ve drained ISKCON of so many human resources that it’s incalculable. And where did Narayana Maharaja get his big boost? What was the catalyst for his success today? It was the fact that so many big ISKCON leaders were personally involved in B.V. Narayana’s concept of Krsna Consciousness, and were backing him up - even pushing to have him installed as the succession Acarya after Srila Prabhupada. In fact, some of the articles that I read on the Dandavats website speak volumes in terms of how renounced the individuals were who were involved in the Narayana phenomenon, and the degree to which they still carry that mood. It was actually very reluctantly that they gave up the ideas planted in their minds by Narayana Maharaja.
Now Kesava Krsna dasa may say that I'm hard on these people, especially on his guru #3, HH Giriraja Swami, but you have to understand that I’m in a much different set of circumstances than he is, being a Srila Prabhupada disciple and knowing these people very well over a long period of time, from before Srila Prabhupada even departed. I watched them very carefully as the Zonal Acarya era unfolded, and observed how things came to a crescendo during the so-called reform period. I know who participated in reforming the Zonal Acarya system (to the degree that it is reformed), and I can tell you honestly and factually that Giriraj Swami was not among the reform group.
I can also say for a fact that those at the top, including Kesava Krsna dasa's guru, knew years in advance that Jayatirtha was falling down with drugs. Likewise, those in Bhagavan’s zone who were at the top with him, such as HH Indrayumna Swami, knew that he was going off long before he left. In both cases no one said a thing to all the disciples and candidates for initiation of these gurus, never warned them, never told them hey, this isn’t a good idea. Instead they actually encouraged these deviant gurus to continue initiating disciples. For all I know, Kesava Krsna himself could well have been in the group of devotees that got initiated by Jayatirtha while he was at the height of his nonsense activities. And let's not forget that this was done in full knowledge of the other GBC’s. There’s a whole story behind this and I’m just giving the Readers Digest version here, but it illustrates the fact that these people were either foolish or complicit, or they just succumbed to the whole idea that it’s actually the best thing for Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON -- to cover-up the fall downs of the leaders is the proper thing to do, and it's what would please Srila Prabhupada. Sorry, but I’m not convinced. I don’t buy into that whole idea, even though for years I admit that I had to do the same thing, and it ate me up inside. Call it what you like -- therapy or myopic tendencies, or ingrained psychological disdain of ISKCON -- but it’s really none of those things. I can honestly say that it's my desire to see ISKCON deal with its past philosophical deviations in order that the errors may never be made again. This is necessary for the philosophical well being of Srila Prabhupada's spiritual mission.
In my study of the preaching methods of the Sampradaya Acaryas, the most obvious principle found repeatedly in their instructions is that they do not hesitate to tell the truth about what is going on. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was not “nice” to the caste Goswamis, and he put his life at risk in order to publicly challenge them. Srila Prabhupada was not “nice” to the Mayavadis, or to practically anyone who minimized Krsna Consciousness or was preaching a watered down version of the absolute truth.
So I hear Srila Prabhupada, and while I know better than to try and imitate him, I can only conclude that if the sannyasis and big leaders of Srila Prabhupada's movement are not preaching in the way Srila Prabhupada taught us to preach, then we cannot succeed. I hear the lectures and read the writings of today's spiritual leaders, and it’s just astounding how melba toast they are when it comes to critical analysis. Sure, everyone’s heavy about the four regs and chanting 16 rounds, but other than that, there's not much heavy preaching going on like we saw in Srila Prabhupada’s era. Nor do I see much deep philosophical writing. So in the mood of philosophical journalism, I offer what I can here at the Sampradaya Sun. While my mood may not be pleasing to Kesava Krsna dasa, this is my nature. And as stated in the Bhagavad-Gita, what will repression accomplish?
