Historical Account of the Greatest Shame of the Present ISKCON-GBC Members
BY: SADHUDASA ANUDASA
Nov 22, 2011 — SRIDHAM MAYAPUR, WEST BENGAL (SUN) — A DEMONStration ("Exposition of demoniac traits") that proves the Mayavada contents of the ISKCON-GBC PRESS publication of 1996 entitled 'Our Constitutional Position'.
PART ONE
Philosophical Sabotage of Srila Prabhupada's Legacy
First of all, I need to congratulate all the Vaishnavas, and aspirant Vaishnavas as well, who contribute to this site pointing out the faults they find on Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON-GBC members. Without a trace of doubt, they are the REAL friends of each one of them. Any sincere GBC member that reads the commentaries posted on this site by concerned Vaishnavas and aspirant Vaishnavas, surely will agree with me that they are the best friends one could ever find.
For reasons of simplicity we are not quoting here the many references by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on this regard. However, we humbly suggest that aspirant Vaishnavas contributing to find the present ISKCON-GBC's faults —which surely are NOT few— please remember that they are also aspirin Vaishnavas, and that a chance for redemption is implicit in their service.
Although the author of this article praises the brahminical identity of this site —and of many of its contributors as well— sometimes also observes some radical tendencies regarding the radical demand of humility from “fallen souls” —who may have been in the position of GBC’s or sannyasa. This radical demand is observed in the apparent forgetfulness that humility is exclusively developed by chanting the Holy Names IN ASSOCIATION OF ADVANCED VAISHNAVAS. Therefore, if somebody —whoever one may be— is radically shunned away from continuing contributing to this site according to one’s capacity, the implicit assistance that such aspirant Vaishnava would receive from this site’s August Audience of Vaishnavas becomes inaccessible as a medium for redemption in itself. Of course, this doesn’t imply that members of this August Audience respond to articles submitted by such aspirant Vaishnavas with constructive criticism based in the teachings of sri guru-vaishnava-shastra. Since sri guru, vaishnava and shastra are our real and eternal friends, if one quotes them one continues to make spiritual friendship by remaining their contact, and thus favors others by inviting them also into the fold of one’s dearest spiritual friends.
What follows is an Open Letter sent on 31st October 2009 to the main author of “Our Constitutional Position” and the propounders of the Goloka-patanavada theory (the falling down from the personal engagement with Sri Krishna in Krishnaloka):
(Emphasis in color added)
31st OCTOBER 2009
HH Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, HG Gopiparanadhana Dasa, HH Jayadvaita Swami, HG Ravindra Svarupa Dasa, HH Shivarama Swami, HG Virabahu Dasa, HH Guru Prasad Swami, HG Drutakarma Dasa, and HG Dravida Dasa.
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Twenty years are about to pass since the ISKCON GBC resolution No.87 of March 4, 1990 meant “to establish wherefrom the jiva manifests and falls down.”
Please find enclosed a proposal to the ISKCON GBC named: CREATING THE ISKCON JIVA-TATTVA RESEARCH COMMITTEE.
The purpose of this letter is to ask you to kindly sponsor this proposal.
The purpose of the proposal is thoroughly detailed in the eighteen pages enclosed document, which if approved by an ISKCON GBC resolution will read:
“THAT to definitively prove and establish an unambiguous philosophical conclusion (siddhanta) on Jiva-tattva, thoroughly based on the books and teachings of ISKCON Founder-acharya HDG Srila Prabhupada―which will definitively lead to a permanent homogeneous adherence from all ISKCON members and from all other Vaishnava sampradayas―, the ambiguous ISKCON GBC-PRESS publication of 1996 entitled “Our Original Position,” be reviewed against the unambiguous conclusions found in Sadhu Dasa’s publication Tatastha-Shakti-Tattva of February 1991, by an ISKCON GBC approved Jiva-tattva Research Committee.”
Either through personal meetings or exchange of letter, we have discussed the Jiva-tattva siddhanta with practically every one of you, with the exception of HH Shivarama Swami. On a separated proposal we also submitting the details for conforming an ISKCON-GBC approved Jiva-tattva Research Committee. On such proposal we have humbly requested that all of you participate on this Committee.
During our personal lengthy conversations regarding Jiva-tattva with HH Hridayananda Dasa Goswami as the main author of “Our Original Position,” and Virabahu Dasa as the GBC Chairman and responsible to write a paper on Resolution No.87/1990, they have ambiguously changed their opinions regarding the Jiva-tattva siddhanta. Also HH Tamala Krishna Goswami, who was the main author of the proposal ending on Resolution No.87/1990, informed us three years later that he also had changed his opinions regarding the Jiva-tattva siddhanta ―on his case meaning that he had concluded that the jivas do NOT fall from Krishnaloka or Vaikunthaloka.
Therefore our intention is that, as the proposal’s documents state:
“THAT HDG Srila Prabhupada is a broadly recognized shakti-avesha-avatara, thus he is never to be blamed for our ambiguous interpretations of his unambiguous transcendental teachings. To let our intellect becoming affected by our ambiguous mind suggesting that His Divine Grace could have explained things relating to Jiva-tattva in “better ways,” amounts to foolishly try to enforce on the Absolute our conditioning ambiguity. As aspirant Vaishnavas we should intelligently correct our faults, thus furthering realizations. We make spiritual progress by faithfully accepting that our acharyas always leave service for us to perform, provided we extinguish our false ego as nitya-baddha-tatastha-jivas.”
Throughout the total length of the nineteen years since we personally submitted the research and compilation of Tatastha-Shakti-Tattva to the NA ISKCON-GBC gathered at Los Angeles in 1991, it has been my intention to seriously co-operate with all of you. Although I’m a fallen jiva, full of frailties and some times lacking tolerance, I have waited until now for a solution to the painful ambiguity of the “Our Original Position” conclusions.
Although holding strong evidences against the “Our Original Position” conclusions, I vowed myself to tirelessly try solving differences within the inner circle of our ISKCON family, and this proposal stands for my sincere intentions to solve the ambiguous conclusions that still surround the Jiva issue amongst ourselves.
Although I’m one of the three original founders behind the first impartial Vaishnava forum online (VNN – Vaishnava News Network), I never used it to express my particular differences regarding the ambiguous conclusions of the ISKCON GBC-PRESS publication “Our Original Position.” The findings on Tatastha-Shakti-Tattva meant to be consider by the Jiva-tattva Research Committee of 1990, although it never occurred. If there is no interest in clarifying the ambiguity already expressed by some of you, and blatantly exposed on the “Our Original Position” conclusions, for the sake of Srila Prabhupada’s mission, I’ll take the issue to public domain at any possible scale.
Please, don’t consider this as an arrogant or irreverent challenging threat. It is actually a decision based in seeing for so long the dichotomy of interpretation of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, which proves hindering his spiritual mission. The obvious reasons are briefly detailed on the enclosed proposal.
Most of you have been always conclusive about the tatastha-jiva’s fall down from the direct engagement with the Lord in Krishnaloka or the Vaikuntha planets, since you are the exclusive propounders of the Goloka-patanavada theory ― as we chose to identify it. It may be that some of you may have changed your views in recent years, which we don’t know at this moment.
I do know that while visiting for few days HH Hridayananda Das Goswami at his mother’s house on Beverly Hills, in few words he told me that he actually understands how the transformation of Krishna’s energies (parinama-vada) works, and how the jivas manifest activities far distant from Krishnaloka, to then literally state that: “I never have said that the jiva falls from Goloka.” This event occurred on January 1990, few months before Divine Providence arranged for me to meet HH Jayadwaita Swami, HH Prahladananda Swami and HH Vishwambhar Swami on a train to Kolkata, who kindly invited me to participate at the ISKCON Mayapur Gaura-purnima festival, which I gladly accepted. I spent the whole festival in the same apartment with dear god brothers as HH Prahladananda Swami and HH Guru Prasada Swami.
You should know that I have extensively discussed the Jiva-tattva siddhanta since 1982 with HG Virabahu Dasa at the LA Spanish BBT, were I was publishing a quarterly magazine for the Spanish community. Since then he has ambiguously changed his views repeatedly.
I also have a direct experience with the late HH Tamala Krishna Goswami, when in 1993 at Vrindavana’s Krishna Balarama Mandir approached me ―while he was accompanied by his long associated and dear god brother HH Shivarama Swami― to tell me literally that “I want to let you know that I have changed my views regarding Jiva-tattva.” His statement was related to my respectful exposure on Tatastha-Shakti-Tattva, about his fallacious presentation on Jiva-tattva while offering the famous course on Brahma-samhita at the Vrindavana Institute for Higher Education, on Nov-Dec of 1989.
I am respectfully proposing to the ISKCON-GBC the approval of a ten member Jiva-tattva Research Committee, which besides all of you also includes my fallen-self. Most of you are learned Sanskrit scholars or PhDs, thus there shouldn’t be any hindrance to accept establishing an unambiguous conclusion on Jiva-tattva, for the sake of uniformity amongst all ISKCON members that think ambiguously.
I don’t know the personal opinion of HH Shivarama Swami on Jiva-tattva, but somehow I’m also suggesting his participation as a Committee Member. The only god brother, whom apparently has not yet politically corrected his view regarding the jiva’s never falling from the direct company with the Lord from Krishnaloka, appears to be HH Guru Prasada Swami.
I have made this an “Open Letter,” and posted it on our Prabhupada Disciples Conference for obvious reasons. I need to make other god brothers/sisters aware of this proposal. Some may not rely upon the importance of this subject and therefore may not be inclined to even read it. Others though, who already complain about the ambiguity of ISKCON’s siddhanta on Jiva-tattva, or that are becoming more aware of Srila Prabhupada’s statement below, unambiguously will declare that there is no reason for this resolution to be sponsored by any of you, as respected ISKCON GBC members.
I beg to remain your servant, in Srila Prabhupada and the Vaishnavas’ seva,
PURPORTS BY HDG SRILA PRABHUPADA IN SUPPORT OF THE JIVA'S IDENTITY:
Cc. Adi 7.120: “The Mayavada philosophy is so degraded that it has taken the insignificant living entities to be the Lord, the Supreme Truth, thus covering the glory and supremacy of the Absolute Truth with monism.”
PURPORT: “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura comments in this connection that in all Vedic scriptures the jiva-tattva, the truth of the living entities, is mentioned to be one of the energies of the Lord. If one does not accept the
living entity to be a minute, infinitesimal spark of the Supreme but equates the jiva-tattva with the Supreme Brahman or Supreme Personality of Godhead, it must be understood that his entire philosophy is based on a misunderstanding.”Cc Adi 7.121: “The Supreme Brahman is the Absolute Truth, and the energies that have emanated from Him and are existing separately, such as the living entities and the cosmic manifestation, are also truths. This is an example of transformation, which is called vikara or parinama. To give another example of vikara, milk is a truth, but the same milk may be transformed into yogurt. Thus yogurt is a transformation of milk, although the ingredients of yogurt and milk are the same.”
Cc Adi 7.122: “According to Shankaracarya, by accepting the theory of the transformation of the energy of the Lord, one creates an illusion by indirectly accepting that the Absolute Truth is transformed.”
PURPORT: “
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura comments that if one does not clearly understand the meaning of parinama-vada, or transformation of energy, one is
sure to misunderstand the truth regarding this material cosmic manifestation and the living entities.”Cc Adi 7.123: “Transformation of energy [parinama] is a proven fact. It is the false bodily conception of the self that is an illusion.”
PURPORT: “The jiva, or living entity, is a spiritual spark who is part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, he thinks the body to be the self,
and that misunderstanding is called vivarta, or acceptance of untruth to be truth.”
Excerpts from Prakrita-Rasa Shata-Dushini by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada:
siddhanta vihina hoile krishne citta lage na
sambandha-hinera kabhu abhidheya haya na
“Without knowledge of transcendental truth (siddhanta), no one’s heart can ever be spiritually attuned with Lord Krishna. If one lacks knowledge of his relationship with Krishna (sambandha), then the proper execution of devotional service in relationship to Him (abhidheya) is impossible.”
sambandha-vihina jana prayojana paya na
ku-siddhanta vyasta jana krishna-seva kore na
“One who lacks knowledge of sambandha, the relationship between Krishna and the living entities, can never attain prayojana, the supreme goal of life. One who is distracted by bogus philosophical conclusions about devotional service (ku-siddhanta) is not performing actual devotional service to Sri Krishna.”
siddhanta-alasa jana anartha to’ chade na
jade krishna bhrama kori’ krishna-seva kore na
