Newsletter-62
There has been a report doing the rounds on the Internet of a meeting held in Toronto under the aegis of Bhakti Caru Swami (BCS), between himself, Bhakti Marga Swami and some 'Prabhupada disciples' such as Locanananda Das, Pragosh Das etc. A 'report' of the meeting claims that all those attending expressed support for an 'officiating acarya' system. A tape recording of the proceedings are offered on a website for readers to listen to. Many devotees have expressed enthusiam at this development, thinking that the GBC have suddenly shifted their position, and embraced the 'officiating acarya' or 'ritvik' position (the position whereby 'ritviks', or priests, initiate disciples on behalf of Srila Prabhupada, as per his instructions). We have listened to the whole 1 hour plus recording and transcribed it - it runs to 20 pages. What ACTUALLY happened at the meeting is as follows.
An 'officiating acarya' proposal WAS put forward by devotees such as Locanananda and others to BCS asking for the implementation of the officiating acarya system. However, their description of the officiating acarya system as put to BCS has NOTHING to do with ritvik or what Srila Prabhupada described when he spoke of the officiating acarya system. Rather it was put to BCS as follows:
"Those who are initiating, they must have a qualification as guru, they have to have a qualification, otherwise they should not be giving diksa, they should not be officiating."
"Well, that's performed by an officiating acarya. It's a formality. But you do become the grand disciple of Srila Prabhupada and officially you're the disciple of the person giving diksa..."
(Proposal put forward to Bhakti Caru Swami at the Toronto Meeting)
In other words, we are talking about individuals who must be qualified as Gurus, and the people they give diksa to become their disciples and Srila Prabhupada's grand-disciples.
Now what does this system remind you of?! No wonder BCS was not threatened by a system whereby the key pillars of being like a 'Guru' and having 'disciples' does not change. Once these pillars are established, each of the current Gurus has enough room to manoeuvre and things pretty much can carry on as now. Though even this watered-down version BCS still did not want to commit to publically. Near the end of the meeting, BCS says:
"My point is that at least we can start off by saying these are the devotees who were present and they expressed their concern and these are the points that came up and you can send it out to the different GBC members who you feel will be sympathetic. I mean, maybe everybody won't be sympathetic, and I would also advise that don't send it to everybody because then there can be some kind of move from individuals to kind of...???"
(Bhakti Caru Swami, Toronto Meeting)
Here BCS will only agree to say that the devotees expressed 'concern', but then even this should NOT be sent all GBC members!
Then a proposal is made to write up a document of what happened at the meeting, and a whole bunch of people immediately announce:
"I'll sign, why not."
"I'll sign"
"I'll sign"
"I'll sign"
Conspicuous by his absence in announcing his attention to sign was…BCS! Subsequently no written document which BCS agreed to was ever produced.
The Bhakti Caru Swami Hypocrisy Road-Show Continues
However, in the Toronto meeting referred to above, BCS did get an opportunity to reveal how he is the master of hypocrisy par excellence. We have exposed in previous IRM newsletters how BCS will say one thing which people want to hear, but PRACTICE something completely different. Like re-naming his Vyasa-Puja festival the 'Srila Prabhupada Memorial Festival', but still managing to squeeze in lavish worship for himself in the middle of this so-called 'Srila Prabhupada Memorial Festival'! The following are some more gems that fell out of his mouth at the meeting:
a) "Like some individuals are very open, like Bhakti Marg Maharaja, he is kind of, even, he was telling me yesterday when he gives initiation he tells his disciples that you are actually Prabhupada's disciple and I am taking care of you, trying to help you to become engaged in Srila Prabhupada's mission. Now that's actually the crux of the whole thing, that if everybody understands and make that point clear to their disciples then I think that a lot of our problems will be solved." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
Here BCS states that he agrees with Bhakti Marg Swami that AT INTIATION the disciple must be told that they are actually SRILA PRABHUPADA's disciple. To tell the disciple AT INTIATION that they are Srila Prabhupada's disciples is of course 'hard-core ritvik' and goes much further than even the watered-down 'officiating acarya' proposal which was put to him at the Toronto Meeting! Yet BCS does NOT do this himself, but rather continues to agree with the rest of the GBC that the idea that at initiation the initiate becomes Srila Prabhupada's disciple is a most dangerous, deviant and heretical idea. He also of course continues to relate with 'his disciples' as if they are HIS disciples and NOT Srila Prabhupada's – Guru daksina (monetary offerings meant for the genuine Guru), regular Guru-puja, Vyasa-puja offerings and celebrations etc.
b) "After Harikesa fell down in 1998, in 1999 I proposed that it's obvious that we are going in the wrong direction. Now, when you go wrong, when you know you're going in the wrong direction, what do you do? You stop to find the right way. So for the time-being, let's stop giving initiation and find out what is actually the problem and what is the solution to this problem, whether we can find a solution and until then, let us stop. And then in simple words even my friend were, sort of, er, kind of, er, became rather negative." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
He claims after Harikesa fell down in 1999 he agreed ISKCON's Gurus were going in the wrong direction and they should STOP initiating, and figure out the right thing to do. Of course, BCS himself did NOT stop giving initiation, but rather, by his own words, 'continued going in the wrong direction', something which he continues to do to this very day.
c) "Yes, I agree, to begin with, I think at the beginning I said our main problem was introducing a defective initiation system. And that defective system may have been watered down to some extent but its still prevailing." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
But this 'defective initiation system' which is 'still prevaling', is the very same one which BCS continues to practice with vigour. Just last week, BCS perfomed a whole bunch of initiations at Bhaktivedanta Manor in England.
d) "Like in 1987, although we had a reform, after so many gurus fell down, there was a fifty man committee was formed and there was reform it was not actually, at least my perception is that it was not actually a reform. It was kind of watering down the same misconception and continuing. Like what we did was we appointed some more gurus and opened up the world for anybody to initiate wherever he wanted. Whereas previous to that it was a kind of zonal acarya? So that I think is the main mistake where we started, that took place after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance that has never been properly rectified." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
Here BCS openly admits that the zonal acarya Guru hoax of 1978-1987 was NOT reformed. He admits that the main mistake has never been properly recitified i.e. it is still continuing today. Yet for the last 17 years he has made ZERO attempt to rectify this deviation, and instead he has continued 'going in the wrong direction', vigorously practising and promoting this same 'watered down' misconception. Rather, he HAS been very active in trying to suppress those who have been trying to 'properly recitify' this 'main mistake' - the IRM.
e) "Like I noticed that the first ones to leave the movement were the leading devotees who did not become initiating spiritual masters. Like, er, to name a few, like Acutyananda, Gurukrpa, Gargamuni. Like they were all leading devotees but they didn't become gurus. Many of them were GBCs and then we noticed that those who did not support the gurus, they were systematically driven out of the movement." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
And guess who was one of those who supported the Gurus while they 'systematically' drove these devotees out of the movement? The person who DID support the Gurus and hence did NOT get thrown out? Yes, Bhakti Caru Swami.
f) "And personally I felt that it was becoming fragmented because Prabhupada's position hasn't been properly established. Theoretically we may have established but we haven't practically applied it. Like one of the main things is that we have to understand is that in ISKCON everything belongs to Srila Prabhupada, not only the assets and properties belong to Srila Prabhupada, but even the individuals also belong to Srila Prabhupada. [...] And everything moving and non-moving, as they say, belongs to Srila Prabhupada." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
If everything belongs to Srila Prabhupada, then obviously so do the disciples. Yet BCS is still initiating like crazy trying to scoop up as many disciples as possible for himself. If he truly believed everything belonged to Srila Prabhupada then he would hand all his disciples back to Srila Prabhupada - not be rushing around making more for himself!
g) "But after Prabhupada left, we actually started a philosophy or started an understanding, that now Srila Prabhupada is gone, and now the gurus, mainly the diksa gurus, are the sole responsibility of their disciples. Now, had it been a situation where the institution wasn't there, then probably that could have been the case but generally that was the old traditional understanding in India that the guru leaves the planet and the disciple initiates and then it is that guru's responsibility to guide his disciples. But ISKCON was something very different from that. Like those situations are when an individual opens an ashram, and has a few disciples personally training them and they were in this way responsible for their spiritual life. But when you look at ISKCON, there you can see that it's an institution, it's a worldwide international organization with so many centres, so many devotees, and this structure has been created by Srila Prabhupada." (Bhakti Caru Swami)
Again here BCS is saying the very opposite of what he is doing. The very reason the GBC give for propping up their unauthorised Guru system is that "the guru leaves the planet and the disciple initiates and then it is that guru's responsibility to guide his disciples." The same system BCS practises. BCS is however correct in saying that in ISKCON there was another "structure created by Srila Prabhupada". It was known as the ritvik system and was clearly documented in writing in many places, and is the very system that BCS does NOT follow!
In summary, this has to be one of the most brazen displays of hypocrisy ever witnessed. BCS admits that what is going on in ISKCON today, and hence what he is doing, is WRONG - but he continues to do it anyway.
He admits they should have stopped initiating in 1999 - but HE didn't.
He admits that the correct thing is to say to the disciples they are Srila Prabhupada's disciples, since everything in ISKCON belongs to Srila Prabhupada anyway - but HE doesn't do this.
Rather he carries on initiating, taking more and more worship, daksina and disciples. It seems in today's ISKCON you can say any damn thing and get away with it. You can admit that everything I am doing is wrong, but I am still going to do it anyway, and like all good cults, no one takes a blind bit of notice. In the meantime, Srila Prabhupada's movement continues to disintegrate due to the 'defective' 'main mistake' initiation system that BCS agrees is wrong but still practises anyway, while assisting the supression of the 'everyone is Srila Prabhupada's disciple' system which he agrees is correct.
The master of hypocrisy continues to surpass himself!