May 17, 2014 — BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK (SUN) — It is has come to my attention (and the attention of many other likeminded devotees) that modern-day ISKCON does not strictly adhere to the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Rather, the leadership within ISKCON has deliberately deviated from Srila Prabhupada's instructions and currently concocts their own teachings in the name of fame, glory and gross opulence.
Those Vaishnava devotees who are loyal to Srila Prabhupada and to ISKCON might be taken aback by the strong message written above. Yet it is time for devotees within ISKCON to acknowledge the unpleasant truth, which is that ISKCON currently caters to a certain demographic that produces the most income: namely, the Hindus.
To begin, Hindus are notably among the most generous donors to ISKCON. ISKCON preaching ministries in India are currently booming, and temples & centers are popping up all across the subcontinent. Moreover, many of the ISKCON congregations in the Western world sport a significant percentage of Hindu members among their ranks.
One might ask in response to these observations: "Well, what's wrong with that? I mean, isn't it good that Hindus are coming to Krishna consciousness and Srila Prabhupada's mission?"
My answer is yes and no. I say this because while it is a blessing that any jiva comes to Krishna consciousness, it is not a blessing when they impose their non-Vedic traditions upon the Krishna conscious principles and practices established by Srila Prabhupada, thus robbing them of any potency to bestow the immeasurable gift of raganuga-bhakti. In an effort to sustain themselves, many ISKCON temples worldwide have turned to the Hindu community for financial support and have thus adulterated Srila Prabhupada's teachings towards this purpose.
For example, while browsing the websites of various ISKCON temples in America, I have stumbled across certain "services" being offered for a fee. Many of these services include but are not limited to: Satyanarayan Katha, Shivalingam Abhishek, Ganesha Puja and even mundane car pujas!
To those devotees who might be new to ISKCON or who are not familiar with the worship standard established by Srila Prabhupada, such practices are outrageous! While on Earth, Srila Prabhupada specifically condemned such karma-kanda (fruitive rituals) practices within ISKCON because the goal of His Krishna-consciousness movement is to spread love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead worldwide rather than to dole out temporary, mundane blessings. Yet if one takes the time to merely search in his/her browser "ISKCON Satyanarayana Puja" or "ISKCON Ganesha Puja", you will quickly see just how prominent these Hindu practices have become in ISKCON for the sake of earning income.
Yet, after all, what could be wrong with the Hinduization of ISKCON? Isn't Krishna consciousness merely just another branch of the Hindu family tree?
No, no and no!
In Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.16.41, Srila Prabhupada notes in the purport that there is a difference between bhagavata-dharma (Krishna-conscious religion) and Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Furthermore, Prabhupada also underlines in the purport of Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.28.21 that to consider oneself Hindu is a temporary, bodily designation like declaring oneself American, British or Indian. We can conclude, therefore, that what we know to be bhagavata-dharma and Hinduism are two completely different things, as the former is eternal while the latter is temporary.
To further stress this point, there any many differences between Krishna consciousness and mainstream Hinduism, though to the outsider and even to devotees, these differences might not be clear. One such difference is that in mainstream Hinduism, all of the devatas are believed to be equally powerful manifestations of Brahman. That means that most Hindus regard worshipping Lord Krishna as just as good as worshipping Lord Shiva or Lord Ganesha. If anyone reading this post has ever read even one of Srila Prabhupada's books, you will note how often Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the supremacy of Lord Krishna (Vishnu) above all other devatas and how He frequently supports this view with scriptural evidence. The purport of Bhagavad-gita 7.22 is just one verse that explains the grave error in believing that Lord Krishna and His incarnations are equal to the devatas.
Another difference is that the hodgepodge of beliefs, rituals and practices we call Hinduism are not entirely Vedic; rather many of them consist of folk traditions that have arisen from many centuries of deviation or just the sheer imaginations of faulty human beings. The puja listed above called Satyanarayan Puja is among one of these Hindu concoctions. While this ritual does worship Lord Vishnu, it was never a part of the original ISKCON worship program as it: (1) asks the Supreme Lord for material benedictions when Gaudiya Vaishnavas should only aspire for unalloyed bhakti (devotion) and (2) because it has no scriptural basis whatsoever.
The reasons mentioned herein are just a few which explain the dangers of compromising our Krishna conscious practices within ISKCON simply for the sake of raking in more funds. Those Vaishnavas who want to see ISKCON continue as Srila Prabhupada intended must speak out against the compromises being made by the leadership. I know from personal experience that it is, in fact, quite difficult to speak up and many devotees like me who do challenge the status quo in ISKCON have been ostracized or labeled a variety of things ranging from "fanatical" to "ubër-conservative" to "intolerant." Yet despite such hardships, it is necessary to undertake them in order to save what little of Srila Prabhupada's original movement is left.
To the Vaishnavas reading this piece, I humbly ask that you carefully study Srila Prabhupada's books and lectures (many of which can be found on the Internet) so that you can identify what is bona fide and what is not. Many Vaishnavas are often lead astray because they are in ignorance of what Srila Prabhupada originally established and tragically much of the leadership in modern ISKCON encourages such ignorance so that none might challenge their questionable (to put it nicely) policies.
To clarify my intentions while writing this article, I in no way intended to bash members of the Hindu faith or community. I merely wished to expose how the current leadership in ISKCON is manipulating and exploiting both Vaishnava devotees and Hindus by changing the standards established by Srila Prabhupada.
If you are Hindu and have read this article, I urge you not to continue going to ISKCON temples/centers in search of karma-kanda "services"; rather, I would implore you to study Srila Prabhupada's books and understand the beauty of Krishna consciousness that you might reap eternal spiritual benefit instead of the temporary benefits which come from karma-yoga and worshipping the various devatas. Realize that while rituals like Shivalingam abhisheka and Ganesh Puja might bestow fleeting boons like a new car, house or job, such material blessings are not the end goal of life and they cannot grant everlasting happiness. Only when our eternal relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is re-established can we relish unending bliss with Him in His eternal kingdom (Vaikuntha-loka).
In conclusion, I would just like to give thanks unto Sri Guru and Gauranga for empowering me to compose this brief exposé. God bless and Haribol.
