Back To Prabhupada, Issue 84, 2025
The six Gosvāmīs are personal associates of Lord Caitanya, and declared by Śrīla Prabhupāda to be the most perfect and elevated devotees:
"The gosvāmīs, disciples of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the most perfect and highly elevated beings"
(Elevation to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, 5)
It has now been claimed by GBC voted-in guru HH Candramauli Swami ("CMS") that his GBC voted-in guru colleague HH Śivarāma Swami ("SRS") is already on this most perfect and highest level of the Gosvāmīs:
CMS thus:
1) describes SRS as being like an "expansion incarnation" of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī;
2) compares SRS's books to being on the level of the ācāryas' books – even praising them as being more suitable for us than the latter.
One of the books by SRS, a "commentary" on Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali ("VKM"), was featured in BTP 80 ("GBC's Support of Sahajiyāism Exposed"), where we documented SRS admitting that the book is his commentary on the most "intimate" affairs of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that in order to even be able to write such intimate gopī literature, one first needs to be perfect, otherwise one is a sahajiyā:
"Without coming to the perfectional stage, if anyone tries to understand the Gopis he becomes a sahajiya."
(Śrīla Prabhupāda, Letter, 14/12/72)
SRS admits that much of this book is just him making stuff up:
Thus, SRS justifies his making stuff up on the basis of his "realisations". But, as just quoted, for such realisations to be correct, he would actually need to be perfect, just like the Gosvāmīs. And thus, if SRS has reached this stage of being perfect, then CMS would be correct that SRS and his writings would be on the level of the Gosvāmīs. But if he has not, then as quoted above, SRS would be a sahajiyā for having even tried to write the book.
In the BTP 80 article mentioned above, we also documented that the GBC has done a 180-degree, contradictory flip-flop by endorsing VKM, even though the GBC itself had earlier prohibited such literature (GBC Resolution 73, 1995). Thus, though the GBC states that –
– by now having endorsed SRS's book, the GBC is certifying that SRS is a perfect "pure devotee" just like the Gosvāmīs, since as quoted above, this is the level one must be on to write such literature. But if SRS is not on this level, then ironically both the GBC and CMS would themselves also be guilty of sahajiyā behaviour, since they are taking the Gosvāmīs to be very cheap, to be imitated by persons who are not on their exalted level:
"That is sahajiya, which means a class of men that take everything very cheap."
(Śrīla Prabhupāda, Letter, 15/6/72)
The BTP 38 article "Documenting the New Sahajiyā Movement" showed that ISKCON is now a sahajiyā movement. The GBC being unable to immediately prove that SRS is indeed on the level of the Gosvāmīs, would further demonstrate this conclusion. So where is their proof?
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Please chant: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Hare,
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare, Hare – and be happy!