Apr 09, 2022 — CANADA (SUN) — A critical analysis of the Srila Prabhupada-Lilamrta by Satsvarupa das Goswami.
Thus far in this series I have presented a three-part analysis of Lilamrta written by Yasodanandana dasa and a brief summary of my own thoughts on the Mayavada qualities of Lilamrta. Before launching into a detailed chapter-by-chapter analysis, I would like to take this opportunity to present some other material I've already written about the Lilamrta.
The following passages were written between 1996 and 2003, and represent some of my preliminary thoughts on the Lilamrta. While ISKCON presents this book as an 'authorized biography' it is, in fact, unauthorized and a gross minimization of the pure devotee, nitya-siddha Sampradaya Acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
While the following material is out of context and may seem somewhat fragmented to the reader, by posting it I hope to avoid repeating what has already been said, and will refer back to it as I build new ideas upon this foundation.
From Srila Prabhupada's Perfect Plan, written in 1996:
PART VI - SRILA PRABHUPADA'S LILA
Underlying all the controversy currently faced by Srila Prabhupada's devotees is an essential philosophical question: was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada a Nittya-siddha, Maha-Bhagavata, Shaktavesa Avatara? Or was He a Sadhana-siddha Pure Devotee attaining perfection in this lifetime, as the GBC depicted Him shortly after His departure?
Was the early part of Srila Prabhupada's life not really of much significance, except in that He had a pious birth, which allowed Him to come into contact with the nittya-siddha, Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Thakura? Was it only after this meeting that Srila Prabhupada began making spiritual advancement? Did the purification that He underwent culminate in His achievements after He ended up in New York City, and ISKCON began? At what point in His life did Srila Prabhupada attain the status of pure devotee? Although many devotees within the now-existing society claim to accept that Srila Prabhupada is nittya-siddha, how do they answer these questions? Since Srila Prabhupada's departure, what have the existing leaders in the GBC led everyone to believe?
After taking control of the GBC in 1977, the first major project of the zonal acaryas was their commissioning of the "authorized" biography of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, commonly known as the "Lilamrta". A great deal of money was made available by the BBT to send researchers all around the world, taping and transcribing interviews so that Satsvarupa dasa Goswami Maharaja, the GBC's official zonal acarya spokesman, could present his conception of Srila Prabhupada's life.
The Lilamrta certainly describes Srila Prabhupada in terms of one who has achieved perfection through sadhana. Details on the exact statements presented in the Lilamrta that verify this claim may be found in a scholarly research paper currently being prepared by Yasoda nandana dasa.
It is important to note that Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was the primary philosophical spokesman on the zonal acarya take-over theory, which was presented as the official 1978 GBC Position Paper. Satsvarupa has also authored a number of more recent philosophical concoctions justifying the actions of the zonal acaryas. Many devotees set aside their initial doubts about the zonal acarya system simply because Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was in agreement with the actions being taken by the GBC. In fact, he was depicted as the "Krsna das Kaviraj" of ISKCON. It was on the order of Raghunatha dasa Goswami that Krsna dasa Kaviraj wrote the Caitanya-caritamrta, and Srila Prabhupada writes in His concluding words in the first paragraph that he has translated Caitanya-caritamrta in accordance with the authorized order of His spiritual master, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakura Goswami Maharaja. Did Satsvarupa dasa Goswami have authorization from Srila Prabhupada to write His Biography?
There is a critical question that has never been answered by the GBC. Ten years after the inception of the zonal acarya system, they finally admitted that they had allowed a very serious philosophical deviation to infest the entire movement. Yet they have never given an explanation of what the serious misconceptions were, or what the contamination in consciousness was that resulted in the GBC's implementation of a system that was clearly not what Srila Prabhupada authorized.
The zonal acarya system was not changed due to some great realization on the part of the GBC. It was changed because the rank and file devotees demanded that something be done. When we consider Satsvarupa dasa Goswami's position as the author of the Lilamrta, we must ask how someone with so little understanding of the Spiritual Master's plan for the management of His Society, as evidenced by Satsvarupa dasa's support of the zonal acarya system, could be qualified to present a nittya-siddha, maha-bhagavata, Shaktavesa Avatara properly to the human society for the next ten thousand years. Three quarters of a million Lilamrta's have been distributed. How much more might humanity have benefited if the same quantity of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita As It Is had been distributed, instead? How has the misrepresentation of Srila Prabhupada affected the spiritual lives of its readers? Does the following letter indicate that Satsvarupa dasa Goswami realizes that the guru puja offered to Srila Prabhupada is exclusively for a Nittya-Siddha Shaktavesa Avatara? While this letter was written at the tailend of the Big Hoax, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami does not indicate that he philosophically understood what the mistake was.
September 21, 1985
Dear Disciples,
"...I personally do not feel it was wrong to perform the guru-puja in these past eight years. IF THE DIFFERENT WORSHIP SYSTEMS WE INSTITUTED ARE EXCESSIVE, MY ANSWER IS THAT WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PRECEDENT OR SCRIPTURAL RULE THAT SPECIFICALLY TOLD US WHAT TO DO. Specifically regarding the guru puja, we took the precedent of Srila Prabhupada himself who accepted a daily guru puja and considered it an important function. However, as years have gone by, some God brothers have been disturbed by the guru-puja of their guru-Godbrothers, and even more importantly as some of the designate gurus have fallen down from religious life, it has become apparent the daily guru puja is questionable.... I wish my disciples to see it as follows; For eight years we performed this function and there is nothing wrong in doing so, but seeing the evolution of ISKCON with many gurus, and with the need to establish Prabhupada's pre-eminent position we should now cease in this function.... The ceasing of the guru puja does not mean that your spiritual master is not to be worshipped as good as God or that he has become an ordinary man, or that he has misbehaved in some way..."
Signed Satsvarupa das Goswami
In my analysis, the Lilamrta allows the reader to conclude that it is possible for nearly any sincere, strict devotee to achieve the same results as Srila Prabhupada did. Those who were present during the first years after Srila Prabhupada's departure know that we were expected to believe that this especially holds true for the eleven benedicted and rare souls, who were so advanced from a previous birth as to be the first to assist Srila Prabhupada upon His arrival. Many of these so-called acaryas recounted their childhood pastimes for the devotees in the same way that Srila Prabhupada's early years were presented in the Lilamrta. I believe that the Lilamrta, while perhaps sentimentally enlivening, is one of the most subtle, longlasting and extremely dangerous products of the zonal acarya era.
We now have to purify our consciousness of the major misconceptions presented by the Lilamrta, and we must begin by seeing all of Srila Prabhupada's activities, beginning with His appearance, as absolutely prefect. This not only requires an extremely high level of Krsna consciousness, but demands that the disciple be fully absorbed in the preaching mood exhibited by Srila Prabhupada. Suffice to say that at present, no one amongst us is on this level. Still, we must work from this point of truth, and re-examine the way the society is being managed. At the least, we can agree that whatever Srila Prabhupada clearly stated about how His society should be managed must be carried out without question, alteration or attempted improvement.
We must realize that Srila Prabhupada always had a clear plan for how He would spread His Krsna consciousness movement. He informed us that long before He ever arrived in America, He had envisioned the temples, the community projects, the books and book distribution. Srila Prabhupada's fixed and uncompromising determination to strictly keep to His original transcendental plan helped bring about such phenomenal success.
I propose to all my Godbrothers that instead of continuing the endless debates on what the minimum qualifications are for a diksa guru in the Brahma Madhava Gaudiya Sampradaya, perhaps we should be discussing how to re-adjust our perception of Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON, in the light of understanding Srila Prabhupada to be a Nittya-Siddha, Shaktavesa Avatara. I am not an advanced Vaisnava, therefore I am simply expressing a few philosophical ideas to begin the discussion.
To enter into the ISKCON lila requires the same spiritual qualifications required of one who seeks to understand the essence of the rasa lila. The same holds true when we look at Lord Caitanya's lila, especially His Antya lila, when He exhibited so many ecstatic symptoms. It requires a very advanced degree of Krsna consciousness to understand the essential nature of such transcendental ecstasy. This gradual revealing of the essence of the ISKCON lila is the highest taste possible for the true disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Those who are surrendered to purely implement Srila Prabhupada's complete plan, without deviation, do not have to go to any other authority to experience the bliss we all hunger for. There is no higher ecstasy. All other realizations, such as the realization of the rasa lila and the ecstatic symptoms of Lord Caitanya, depends upon the disciple fully realizing Srila Prabhupada's eternal lila. In other words, we have to enter into the ISKCON lila before we are eligible to enter into the rasa lila, just as we must go through Srila Prabhupada to understand any of the previous Acaryas, Caitanya Mahaprahbu, or Lord Sri Krsna.
To view ISKCON with material vision, simply seeing it as a religious institution consisting of so many temples, devotees, etc., is offensive. I believe we must begin to view our spiritual advancement in terms of having our relationship with Srila Prabhupada being gradually revealed, in the context of our service within the eternal ISKCON lila, rather than striving to have our eternal relationship with Krsna revealed by someone other than Srila Prabhupada. This includes the present so-called diksas within the institution, as well as the Gaudiya Matha rasa lila initiators.
Srila Prabhupada's pre-ISKCON pastimes should also be looked upon as absolutely perfect and extraordinary. For example, Srila Prabhupada stayed with his family until his responsibilities there were complete. Is this pastime not inspirational to the vast majority of people living in family units in today's societies? Srila Prabhupada also engaged in business to support his family, while simultaneously translating the Bhagavad-Gita into English, giving lectures, and strictly following the orders of His Spiritual Master, always preparing to fulfill the wish of Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati to preach in the Western countries. Those of us who have attempted to maintain Krsna consciousness, aloof from the temples, should now have a deeper understanding of just how difficult that is.
Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON lila is the culmination of all the predictions of all the Sampradaya's previous Acaryas. Bhaktivinoda Thakura predicted a city at Sri Dhama Mayapura, where Vaisnava's from around the world would congregation-ally chant the Holy Names. Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati envisioned millions of books in thousands of languages being distributed throughout the world. And Caitanya Mahaprahbu predicted that in every town and village, the chanting of the Holy Names will resound.
Through ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada perfectly personified all the essential philosophical principles expounded by the Six Goswamis of Vrindabana. One such principle is that the mercy of the Nittya-siddha Acarya, Srila Prabhupada, is even greater than that of Lord Caitanya, because Srila Prabhupada ventured out to where no other Acarya had previously gone so as to pick up the most fallen, empowering them to spread the message of the sankirtana movement of Caitanya Mahaprahbu throughout the entire planet.
The ISKCON lila, as part of the complete pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, is the part we were privileged to participate in. Participation in the ISKCON lila by sincere devotees will certainly result in limitless ecstasy and profound realizations that cannot be found in any other lila. Those special few, who receive the benediction to actually comprehend the true nature of Srila Prabhupada, are the most fortunate. I am sure His pastimes are continuing on other planets, and our only desire should be to join Srila Prabhupada as His most humble servant. I believe that this is how we have to look at ISKCON. And, I believe that this thread, when honestly followed, leads us to the real root of the problems we currently face.
We, the disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Prabhupada, should endeavor to come to consensus on Who Srila Prabhupada is, and What ISKCON is. Having done so, we could easily convince others that it is far more spiritually beneficial to enter into the ISKCON lila than to try and take shelter of those who appear to be saintly, scholarly, and advanced, but cannot give us the taste of this particular lila. Many of us were given a tiny drop during Srila Prabhupada's presence, and we will never be satisfied until we drink deeply from that nectar again.
From the Dharma Mela Debates between Rocana dasa, Brahma dasa and Audarya lila dasa, 2000-2001:
Brahma dasa chooses to align himself with the branch of the Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya tree that does not recognize the unique "nitya-siddha" symptoms, characteristics, pastimes, and teachings of His Divine Grace Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada which distinguish him from the his Godbrothers and place him in the category he belongs. I can hardly blame Brahma dasa, having been fed the subtle poison woven within the Zonal Acarya's version of Srila Prabhupada's pastimes known as the 'Lilamrita'.
In 1977, the ambitious senior leaders of ISKCON opened themselves up to a contagious influence due to taking instruction from Gaudiya Matha leaders. The ground was fertile due to a mixture of familiarity with Srila Prabhupada and vaulting ambition. The seed of doubt was planted and flowered in their depiction of Srila Prabhupada as a sadhana-siddha rather than a nitya-siddha. I won't get sidetracked down the path of exploring the psychology of the conditioned soul's quest to be God rather than attempting to purely serve God.
For those versed in our philosophy and accepting of the Truth that we can never become God, the next best position is as Brahma dasa stated: "Krsna says that the Acarya is to be seen as "My Very Self". Oh no! Let's not choose to humbly serve the Sampradaya Acarya when we can pretend we are on an equal level. To accomplish this we start with elaborately presenting Srila Prabhupada as a sadhana-siddha with the official verification of his sannyasis Godbrothers.
One of the most dangerous aspects of "taking shelter" of these erudite scholars of Vaisnava literature is that they can spontaneously quote or recite facts and pastimes from sources far beyond the experience of most disciples or followers of Srila Prabhupada. Of course, they seldom quote from Srila Prabhupada's books.
Just see how Brahma dasa has adopted the same style as his Siksa gurus. Rather than going to Srila Prabhupada's books, he points us to a prayer written on the Jaladuta or to a pre-ISKCON Vyasapuja offering. Other's such as Audarya lila dasa give us the Sridhara Swami version of how Srila Prabhupada adopted the title and give credit to Sridhara Swami for declaring Srila Prabhupada as a Shaktavesa, although Sridhara Swami chose to take little or no role in ISKCON, even at Srila Prabhupada's invitation.
Once one's faith in the Sampradaya Acarya has been undermined, the Spiritual landscape takes on a new light. Just as mundane religious scholars who are atheist/agnostic at heart write convincing books depicting Christ in a "human" light, so also the faithless so-called followers present Srila Prabhupada in a demeaning manner although attempting to guise their intention in flattering language. [ ]
So what is the essence of the disagreement? As I see it, Brahma dasa and his associates refuse to acknowledge that Srila Prabhupada is nitya-siddha, although their crowd gives Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati and Bhaktivinode Thakura that status. Brahma dasa claims the ISKCON-ites also think Srila Prabhupada is nitya-siddha. If they mouth this belief at all, it is strictly out of sentiment, as they have put forward the Lilamrita as ISKCON's official version of the Pastimes of Srila Prabhupada. This offensive concoction was born out of the Zonal's quest for undeserved distinction, apparent in the deceptive title, "Lilamrita". This book not only doesn't state that Srila Prabhupada is nitya-siddha, in many places the author goes out of his way to prove just the opposite.
If, in the name of glorifying His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, someone also criticizes him by attributing to him such mundane qualities as destitution, insecurity, vulnerability, directionless-ness, familiar attachment, dependency on anyone and everyone, attainment of knowledge via material experiences, etc., then not only is Srila Prabhupada's spiritual authority brought into question but obviously his status as nitya-siddha is not established.
The Lilamrta mixes quotes by Srila Prabhupada, neophyte disciples, karmis, and Mayavadis. Regarding transcendental literature, His Divine Grace writes:
"He [Krsna das Kaviraja Gosvami] never claims to have written this transcendental literature by carrying out research work...This is the way of describing transcendental literatures, which are never meant for so-called "scholars" or "research workers."
C.C. Madhya 8.312
Brahma dasa challenges me to write the definitive version of Srila Prabhupada's pastimes depicting him as the nitya-siddha. Well, he has zeroed in on my long-term goal, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu willing. If I become sufficiently qualified and empowered I will attempt to do just that. I pray that I am surrounded by a few of Srila Prabhupada followers who have the same unalloyed conviction as I. It may turn out that I'll be as physically old as Krsna das Kaviraja Gosvami before I have the calling and facility, but in my mind it would certainly be the pinnacle of my spiritual endeavors. [ ]
The atheists find fault in the concept of God because they can't imagine a God who could/would create such a miserable place as the one we all exist in, where so many supposedly innocent souls are suffering for no apparent reason. There are some within our own tradition who can't work out in their minds why Lord Sri Krsna is considered an incarnation if he stood by and allowed the Battle of Kuruksetra to take place, or allowed his closest friends to be cheated, persecuted and unfairly exiled. Then there is the whole "dancing with the married gopis in the middle of the night" pastime, which bewilders so many moralists. Many mysterious births, activities and deaths of the incarnations have to be carefully explained by a bonafide guru to a faithful disciple before they begin to make sense. In Srila Prabhupada's case, I certainly don't feel that the degree of plausible explanation supported by sastra has been properly presented, especially by the shadow-ISKCON authorities in their Lilamrita novel. The Gaudiya Matha's faithless depiction of Srila Prabhupada is also tainted and flawed, but is more tolerable and understandable, at least to me.
What bothers me more than anything is the deceptive practice of claiming to be very loyal and loving toward Srila Prabhupada, speaking so many flowery and poetic words that are all for show. Most publicly pontificate on the qualities and glories of Srila Prabhupada only because it's the "thing to do" and it makes them appear so saintly, but in their heart of hearts they don't really believe their own words. In fact, now it has become almost vogue to have a more "human" perspective of Srila Prabhupada. This is something along the lines of the academic's version of Jesus compared to the faithful's New Testament depiction.
Brahma has already dismissed me as far too foolish and unqualified to be respected as the "official" presenter of Srila Prabhupada's pastimes. He's probably right. I'm only sharing with the reader my thoughts on the subject after a great deal of research, thought, discussion and writing. Unquestionably, I could use far more purification, inspiration, association and serious application of the process of Bhakti Yoga. But more and more, I am convinced that I must sort out for myself the apparent mysteries and contradictions surrounding Srila Prabhupada's birth, pastimes and death. Once I'm clear on these issues, the many spiritual alternatives for spending my limited time become more attractive.
From the Sampradaya Acarya paper, 2003:
Undermining Srila Prabhupada's Status as Sampradaya Acarya:
Over the past twenty-five years, many insidiously subtle forces have seriously undermined the conception of Srila Prabhupada as a nitya-siddha, shaktavesa avatara and Sampradaya Acarya. The most serious influences are the spurious preaching against Srila Prabhupada originating from his Gaudiya Matha Godbrothers, the undignified vision of Srila Prabhupada enshrined in the "Lilamrita" by the Zonal Acaryas, and the overall influence of Kali Yuga on neophyte disciples. [ ]
The Zonal Acarya's "Lilamrita" Influence
During the ISKCON lila period, an elite group of senior disciples enjoyed exclusive access to Srila Prabhupada's direct association. This privileged exposure unfortunately resulted in an overly familiar attitude towards the Sampradaya Acarya. In stark contrast, ISKCON's rank and file membership displayed a mood of awe and reverence in relation to Srila Prabhupada.
The historical record shows that within a few months of the Acarya's disappearance, the elite amongst the senior disciples conspired to form the notorious Zonal Acarya fellowship. The first task executed under their calculated plan was to capture the minds and hearts of ISKCON's grassroots followers, which were exclusively reposed in Srila Prabhupada. In order to accomplish this goal, they went about undermining the prevailing "myth" of Srila Prabhupada being a nitya-siddha Sampradaya Acarya. Their diabolical plan called for propaganda that simultaneously elevated the eleven imitator's spiritual image while at the same time deflating the all-pervading exalted conception of Srila Prabhupada. To accomplish this goal, they made absurd claims within their published papers, saying they had received divine benedictions anointing them with instant "kripa-siddha" Acarya status. Next they diverted copious BBT funds towards the creation of the voluminous "Lilamrita", which immortalizes their spurious "human" conception of Srila Prabhupada, degrading his transcendental pastimes into mundane events. Tragically, these intrigues temporarily accomplished the Zonals' desired objectives. Despite Lord Krsna's exposing and deposing most of these infamous Zonal conspirators, the Lilamrita remains unchallenged to this day, carrying on the embodiment of their fallacious conception of Srila Prabhupada.
Having now laid what I hope is a reasonable foundation, in the next segment I will begin a systematic deconstruction of the actual Lilamrta text written by Satsvarupa das Goswami.
