EDITORIAL, Dec 28 (VNN) — To all Vaishnava devotees of the Lord, I offer my repeated obeisance's. All glories to Sri Guru and Gouranga.

There seems to be some very gross misunderstandings about the Ritvik philosophy, and how it applies to the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya.

It is undisputed that Srila Prabhupada is a main branch of the tree of bhakti. He came from India ALONE and established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in the west and then worldwide. HE translated eighty volumes into English language and initiated over six thousand disciples. At the time of His departure He knew that the western devotees were sinful creatures who were not above the four defects of the conditioned soul, and therefore to maintain the purity of His branch of this sampradaya, HE instituted the Ritvik system. It was His trusted disciples led by Tamal and supported by Satsvarupa that changed Prabhupad's wishes for the future of ISKCON into their vision, and this was based on the footprint of the Gaudiya Math model, which was also not Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's vision of a future for the Gaudiya Math.

Hansadutta das told Padmagarba that after they had decided to take over ISKCON and institute the Zonal Acharya system, led by Tamal, that Satsvarupa stopped them and said that they had to "get their stories straight". Therefore he wrote down about thirty possible questions that they could expect to be asked when they got back to their respective 'zones'.
He said they hunkered down in a room for three days and grilled each other, asking question after question until they had the same pat answers to defend their Zonal Acharya system.

I believe many of us godbrothers fully expected and hoped that some of our godbrothers at some time in the future were going to attain to the platform of uttama adhikari and maybe take on their own disciples. I was thinking at the time that it would be at least thirty to forty years before any of my godbrothers would attain that platform of pure devotion. At the time, and for the future, ISKCON would remain the initiating institution for disciples of His Divine Grace, or as Satsvarupa clarified directly, that after His departure, there would be a system of Ritvik initiation established. The institution of the Zonal Acharya system was nothing more than a political coup. It was not motivated by a desire to expand Lord Chaitanya's Sankirtan Movement. The foundations of the situation was for profit and power. The 'election' of 150 'other' pure devotees that included a known pedophile/homosexual, was nothing more than the "pay off" for the support of this coup.

Srila Prabhupada alluded to the fact that some of His disciples could not wait to become full gurus, and said as much. He did however place two strong stipulations on such. One was that the disciple should wait until his spiritual master had passed on and secondly, that it be 'outside' of ISKCON.

These two systems can exist simultaneously, as ISKCON and the Gaudiya Math can exist side by side. Both preaching and teaching. ISKCON should be for the worship of Him as Acharya, and propagation of Srila Prabhupad's books.

If one wants to be guru, none can stop them. Let them go get their Math and engage their disciples in the service of Lord Chaitanya. Leave ISKCON alone to Srila Prabhupad's disciples and those who choose the Ritvik system. Talk of killing a Vaishnava is reckless. The 'jokes' published about killing Ritvik's, are no joke. This separatism is dangerous to the perpetrators. Krishna will forgive one who offends Him, but He will not forgive one who offends His devotee. Be careful, you are dealing with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In the Sri Isopanishad, purport of Mantra Twelve, Srila Prabhupada say's (in the original version) "By a false display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acharyas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession. To mislead the people in general, they themselves become so-called acharyas, but they do not even follow the principles of the acharyas. These rouges are the most dangerous elements in human society. Because there is no religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the state. They cannot, however, escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in the Bhagavad Gita (16.19-20) that envious demons in the garb of religious propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest regions of hell. Sri Isopanisad confirms that these pseudoreligionists are heading towards the most obnoxious place in the universe after completion of their spiritual-master business, which they conduct simply for sense gratification."

Funny, it occurred to me the other day just how many of these 'self-appointed' 'gurus', have run off with their favorite pretty disciple, even if she was another man's wife. Start counting, it cut's pretty close to the bone doesn't it?

Your humble servant in the service of Srila Prabhupad,

Kulasekhara das