Srila Prabhupada's fundamental instructions Srila Prabhupada:
"This is the function of the GBC, to see that one may not be taken
away by maya. The GBC should all be the instructor gurus. I am
the initiator guru, and you should be the instructor guru by
teaching what I am teaching and doing what I am doing. This is not
a title, but you must actually come to this platform. This is what
I want." (to Madhudvisa 4 Aug, 1975) Srila
Prabhupada: "I am the Spiritual Master of this institution,
and ALL the members of the Society, they're supposed to be
MY disciples. They follow the rules and regulations which
I ask them to follow, and they are INITIATED BY ME spiritually"
- (Srila Prabhupada Radio Interview, 12 March 1968, San Francisco)
Srila Prabhupada: "I wish that each and every
branch shall keep their separate identity and cooperate keeping
the acharya in the center. On this principle we can open any
number of branches all over the world. The Rama Krishna mission
works on this principle and thus as an organization they have done
wonderfully." (letter 11th Feb. 1967) Srila Prabhupada: Don't be allured by cheap disciples. Go on steadfastly to render service first. If you immediately become guru, then the service activities will be stopped; and as there are so many cheap gurus and cheap disciples, without any substantial knowledge, and manufacturing new sampradayas, and with service activities stopped, and all spiritual progress choked up. (SPL (VI 1987) 68.8.17) Srila Prabhupada:
We haven't got to manufacture. To manufacture ideas is troublesome.
Why should we take the trouble? And as soon as you want to manufacture
something to my...., that is DANGEROUS. ...That you are singing
every day, "what our guru has said, that is our life and soul."
...As soon as this POISON will come -suppress guru and I become
Brahman- everything FINISHED. Spiritual life is finished. Gaudiya
Matha finished, ...VIOLATED the orders of Guru Maharaja. As soon as this poison will come—"Suppress guru and I become Brahman"—everything finished. Spiritual life is finished. Gaudiya Matha finished, that..., violated the orders of Guru Maharaja." [April 20, 1977, Bombay] "In this verse,
the royal road to hell is described. The
demoniac want to make a show of
religion and advancement in spiritual science, although
they do not follow the principles. They
are always arrogant
or proud in possessing some type of education or so much
wealth. They desire to be worshiped by others, and demand respectability,
although they do not command respect. Over trifles they become very
angry and speak harshly, not gently. They
do not know what should be done and what should not be done. They
do everything whimsically, according to their own desire, and
they do not recognize any authority. These demoniac
qualities are taken on by them from the beginning of their bodies
in the wombs of their mothers, and as they grow they manifest all
these inauspicious qualities."[Bg 16.4 : PURPORT]
Bombay,
4 January, 1973 Srila Prabhupāda: Yes. You are not guru, you are goru. Goru means cow. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. You are not guru. You are speaking against Kṛṣṇa so you are not guru. Guru is Arjuna. Because a confidential instruction is given to Arjuna, so we accept Arjuna as guru. Or one who is following Arjuna, he is guru. Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]. You accept Kṛṣṇa as paraṁ brahma. You want to become paraṁ brahma. You are cheating people. You do not say Kṛṣṇa is paraṁ brahma, but you are replacing Him. Then you are cheater, you are not guru. (Room conversation—12/26/76, Bombay)
"From now on unless I order you do
something change or in addition, go on with the usual standard way.
You manufacture ideas and then I have to waste my time. I
have given you everything already, there is no need for you to add anything
or change anything. Why you are asking these things? Who
has given you such freedom? Pujari should operate entirely under the
supervision of temple president and GBC, not independently. The
greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create
our own process for worshiping the deities.
So don't ask any more new questions, whatever is going on, follow
it just to the exact standard as I have given you, that's all."
Wednesday, June
3, 1970 "You are all helping me in the execution of my mission so please do not try to do anything beyond the jurisdiction of my instructions. My will I have already disclosed to you all that each and every one of you should chant the Mahamantra regularly in sixteen rounds, follow the four regulative principles, chant Hare Krsna mantra on the streets, try to distribute our books and literature, and specifically in San Francisco you should observe the annual Ratha Yatra festival very gorgeously. I can assure you that if you follow my instruction as above mentioned there is no doubt about it that through me my spiritual Master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura will be pleased, and through His mercy Lord Nityananda will be pleased. In this way Lord Caitanya and ultimately Radha Krsna will be pleased, and thus your life will be successful."
8 November 1975
Srila Prabhupada
has asked me to write to you to make it very explicit
Your servant,
Bombay My Dear Puri Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. I am in due receipt of your letter dated on November 24, 1970. Perhaps you are my only Godbrother who has appreciated my humble service to the cause of Guru Gauranga. All my other Godbrothers are very much envious, as I can understand from their behavior. In your letter
dated November 10, 1970, you have written to say that I should inaugurate
the installation ceremony. So I am very much obliged to you for your
kind invitation, and my program will be as follows: Tomorrow I am going
to Indore; from Indore I shall come to Surat. From there I shall go So far as Mayapur is concerned, I do not think I shall be able to attend the Gaura Jayanti celebrations at there. The reason is that I have no place on my own, and certainly there will be too much crowd during the occasion. Therefore, I want to avoid this occasion. Sometimes after we may visit. I shall go to your place from Vrndavana or from Allahabad, and we have to arrange in that way. We are thirty men and women all together. Whether you want us all to visit? Perhaps if we go from Vrindaban we shall have to take advantages of the Grand Trunk Express. Of course there is sufficient time now, and I shall be in regular correspondence with you on my tour, but I accept to visit all the places mentioned by you when I go by that side. Hope this will meet you in good health. Yours affectionately, ------------ Selections from "Lilamrita" Srila Prabhupada's most acute controversy in Madras was not with smarta-brahmanas, Mayavadis, or Saivites, but with some of his own Godbrothers. Although some of them acknowledged Srila Prabhupada's incomparable preaching in the West on behalf of their spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, others were envious. One envious Godbrother wrote to Srila Prabhupada in Madras. Reverend Swamiji, I listened to your discourse on Bhakti at Rajiswari Kalayana Mandapam on the 12th instant. I am filled with doubts on the following: Your disciples dance with Hare Krishna mantram, (I) are they really God-intoxicated as Lord Chaitanya (II) Have you Swamiji really got free of your ego? If so, why you said, "I challenge," and why are words like "I" and "my" always on your lips? (III) Why do you use a cushion unlike a real yogi-Did Lord Chaitanya use cushions? (IV) Why do you wear ring and a wrist gold watch? Are you not free from material attachment? (V) Did you visit Lord Chaitanya Krishna Temple at Gaudiya Math? If not, why not-The purest Vaishnava cult is indwelling there with pious Swamijis with Lord Krishna dwelling therein. Melodious sound from your throat is absent but a jarceing [sic] undivine comes out. Is there any divinity in your person? I doubt. One disgusted on hearing your speech. Although Srila Prabhupada was surprised and hurt by the extreme virulence of such a letter, he was accustomed to his Godbrothers' slights and insults. He forbade his disciples, however, to get involved in fights with his Godbrothers. Rather, they should simply avoid them. He said that persons who criticize the spreading of the Krsna consciousness movement were useless and that he would push on: "The dogs may bark, but the caravan will pass." In contrast to the venomous letter came a letter from Tridandi Svami B.V. Puri Maharaja, another of Srila Prabhupada's Godbrothers. Puri Maharaja, as Prabhupada called him, had a small asrama in Visakhapatnam, on the Bay of Bengal between Madras and Calcutta. Hearing that Prabhupada was going next to Calcutta, Puri Maharaja invited him to visit. "With innumerable Satsanga Dandabats at Thy lotus feet, I beg to acknowledge the kind letter... The citizens of Visakhapatnam are very anxious to have the darshan of your holiness... We are exceedingly glad and eager to hear Sankirtana and the divine message from your holy lips. I hope the Sankirtana movement at Madras is attracting thousands of citizens. Again, with dandabats
to all the Vaishnavas, Puri Maharaja's asrama was a simple single-story building of about eight rooms. When he offered Prabhupada a room next to his own, Prabhupada was pleased, accepting it as an expression of friendship. Prabhupada relaxed with his Godbrothers, Puri Maharaja and Ananda Brahmacari, speaking with them in Bengali. Puri Maharaja said he appreciated Prabhupada's work and his Western disciples. Prabhupada's disciples had already seen formal exchanges of obeisances between Prabhupada and his Godbrothers, as when in Bombay they had seen Prabhupada get off his vyasasana and offer dandavats to his Godbrothers. But in Visakhapatnam they saw more intimate dealings. They saw for the first time Srila Prabhupada living comfortably, at ease, in the same quarters as his Godbrothers. And they didn't feel themselves being treated condescendingly or superficially, or being regarded as oddities. Through Prabhupada's guidance they began to learn more of the essential friendly and humble exchanges between Vaisnavas. In the late afternoon, a contingent of Gaudiya Vaisnavas led by Puri Maharaja came to pay their respects: Asrama Maharaja, Ananda Prabhu and many devotees from Vishakhapatnam and Rajahmundry. They talked and sang for Srila Prabhupada, and even massaged his body. Prabhupada begged forgiveness from them for any offenses he may have committed and called himself maha-patita. They immediately corrected him by saying Prabhupada was maha-patita-pavana. Asrama Maharaja: You are the eternal ruler. You will rule over us, chastise us, guide us. Prabhupada: Forgive all my offenses. I became proud with my opulence. Prabhupada's Godbrothers: No, you never became proud. When you started preaching, opulence and success followed you. This is the blessing of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krsna. There can't be any question of offense.
Prabhupada's
Godbrothers AVOID THEM! [Gaudiya Matha]
My Godbrothers have no life for preaching work. All are satisfied with a place for residence in the name of a temple, they engage disciples to get foodstuff by transcendental devices and eat and sleep. They have no idea or brain how to broacast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (02-13-04) Tirupati 28 April, 1974 Washington D.C. My dear Rupanuga Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 17, from Washington D.C. and I have very carefully noted the contents. Regarding Mayapur, as you have begun this program should be regularly followed once a year: meet in Mayapur and chalk out activities for the year. Then, next year meet and see how far things are being done and if necessary make changes for responsible GBC and presidents etc. The meeting is very valuable and must be carried out regularly every year. But one thing is that at Mayapur last time most of the time was spent discussing but no program was made firm for the year. For example, our Tamala Krishna Goswami never proposed to go to the USA at the meeting but now he has decided to go back to the U.S.A. Of course you can go back, but if the matter is discussed at the meeting, then a GBC vote could be taken and they could have selected a replacement. Now this replacement I have to bother. It is not difficult for me, but why wasn't their discussion of the meeting. Now Karandhara has written asking to come back and I have called him to come to Bombay and if possible he can be engaged as GBC for India. You are right about Sridhara Maharaja's genuineness. But in my opinion he is the best of the lot. He is my old friend, at least he executes the regulative principles of devotional service. I do not wish to discuss about activities of my Godbrothers but it is a fact they have no life for preaching work. All are satisfied with a place for residence in the name of a temple, they engage disciples to get foodstuff by transcendental devices and eat and sleep. They have no idea or brain how to broacast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. My Guru Maharaja used to lament many times for this reason and he thought if one man at least had understood the principle of preaching then his mission would achieve success. In the latter days of my Guru Maharaja he was very disgusted. Actually, he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. Still he requested his disciples to form a strong Governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya Math. But Sridhara Maharaja is responsible for disobeying this order of Guru Maharaja, and he and others who are already dead unnecessarily thought that there must be one acarya. If Guru Maharaja could have seen someone who was qualified at that time to be acarya he would have mentioned. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. His idea was acarya was not to be nominated amongst the governing body. He said openly you make a GBC and conduct the mission. So his idea was amongst the members of GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected. So Sridhara Maharaja and his two associate gentlemen unauthorizedly selected one acarya and later it proved a failure. The result is now everyone is claiming to be acarya even though they may be kanistha adhikari with no ability to preach. In some of the camps the acarya is being changed three times a year. Therefore we may not commit the same mistake in our ISKCON camp. Actually amongst my Godbrothers no one is qualified to become acarya. So it is better not to mix with my Godbrothers very intimately because instead of inspiring our students and disciples they may sometimes pollute them. This attempt was made previously by them, especially Madhava Maharaja and Tirtha Maharaja and Bon Maharaja but somehow or other I saved the situation. This is going on. We shall be very careful about them and not mix with them. This is my instruction to you all. They cannot help us in our movement, but they are very competent to harm our natural progress. So we must be very careful about them. Our students who are making this political program must be fixed in one point that human society unless divided into the four classes and divisions is animal society. Among the animals there is no intelligence for self realization or how to make life successful. In human life intelligence is better than animals therefore they should know what is the aim of life and to educate human society there is the whole Vedic literature, of which the Bhagavad gita is the quintessence. The Supreme Personality of Godhead orders that there must be four division in human society, a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th class, like that, and the 1st must be ideal. If the whole society is full of rogues, thieves, drunkards, cheaters and demons, where is there question of decent government. There must be division so the lower class men may aspire to be second class men. So far we are concerned we are trying to train first class men. How much great responsibility we have to follow regulative principles, chant the beads, live with personal character etc. Regulative principles means to especially execute devotional service in terms of the revealed scriptures under the direction of the spiritual master. By fulfilling the regulative principles you come to the platform of spontaneous love for Krsna. Spontaneous love for Krsna is there already but is covered by the influence of Maya. The regulative principles are a device how to overcome the influence of maya and come to the platform of spontaneous love of Krsna. If we want to exist as first class men in society all our students must be induced to following the regulative principles. One shouldn't think artificially he has come to the spontaneous platform. That is sahajiyaism. The GBC must be vigilant by following the regulative principles and teach by ideal character the presidents of the centers, and the presidents by their ideal character must teach the others then automatically all members of the whole institution will be ideal to the human society. Then we can dictate to administrators or sometimes take hold of the administration. In the absence of competent leaders we may take the post. But we must be very careful in the flow of the political movement we may not forget our ideal life. For example, Parasaram was a Brahmin but when he found the ksatriyas were mismanaging he killed them twenty one times and some of them fled to European countries. This is the history. So far we are concerned we shall keep ourselves in ideal brahminical position and if need be if no ksatriya or Vaisya is here we can take up their work as emergency. Our business is to create ideal ksatriyas and vaisyas but beyond that our real business is to keep ourselves as ideal Brahmins. If we are not ideal we cannot create others as ideal. Training is required for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes of social constitution. Persons who are not fit for being advanced by training are sudras or less than that. At the present moment in the world state, there are sudras and less than that. There are no ideal brahmanas or ksatriyas. But these four divisions are imperative. So our business is to keep fit as brahmanas and to train others to be ideal ksatriyas and vaisyas for advancing the whole society. As Krsna says in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: Tamala Krsna Goswami is going to Los Angeles and I shall give him instruction to join Madhudvisa Swami, Bali Mardan and Jayatirtha and reform the deficiencies. As soon as there is a little deficiency we must repair it or it will create a big hole and the ship will drown. So I have said keep fit. I saw this Vrindaban Candra and Prajapati as a little sentimental without thoroughly understanding. Without following the regulative principles advancement is doubtful, and one may fall at any moment. As for drugs, not just one party, but everyone was involved. Our process is to reform. Everyone is under the clutches of maya. If we follow the regulative principles we can get out and come to spontaneous love. A diseased man is always under the clutches of disease. But if he follows the prescribed orders given by the __ __ he can be cured. Now, how to reform? If we ask him to go away the whole society will be finished. In the hospital many patients are there and the attempt is made to cure them, not to tell them to go away or to kill them. They try their best to cure them. If they tell them to get out of the hospital or if they kill them, that is easy. Initiation should be given as a future hope, but we should be careful about the second initiation. As recommended by the president or GBC they should only do so when they are quite confident of a man. Otherwise, he should not be recommended. If you follow this principle it will be successful. Every day I am getting request for second initiation, but I do not know. The responsibility goes to the presidents who pick them. Unless they are thoroughly convinced second initiation should not be given. In the beginning we may be a little lenient. But if someone falls down after being initiated he should not be credited with second initiation. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS.sdg Original Story URL: http://iskcon.krishna.org/Letters/2000/08/L00027.html Dear readers of this Letter. Pamho agt Srila Prabhupada. There is one very
interesting point regarding the letter from Srila Prabhupada
to Rupanuga from 28th April 1974 in relationship to Sridhara
Maharaja. This seeming contradiction lodged within my mind, and did not surface until many years later at a time when I was visiting Alachua with Jitarati and my wife Lokadrsti. Jitarati wanted to meet with Rupanuga so I took the opportunity to accompany him. During our discussions with him "this seeming contradiction" that had been stored up for many years in my mind resurfaced. So I took the opportunity and asked Rupanuga to kindly clear up my confusion. Rupanuga said that In early 1974 he visited the Asrama of Sridhar Maharaj. He spent some time there and his realizations were very clear and strong about what was going on there. He stated that Sridhar Maharaja was trying to attract devotees away from Srila Prabhupada and Iskcon and over to himself. After crossing the Ganges and returning to the Iskcon Mayapura centre this fact was transmitted to Srila Prabhupada by mail. Now for me the mystery was unraveled. Without insight into what Rupanuga had personally observed at Sridhar Maharaj's asrama and without knowing what he had conveyed to Srila Prabhupada by mail one would be excused thinking that when Srila Prabhupada said in his response to RUPANUGA "You are right about Sridhara Maharaj's genuineness" that he meant that Sridhara Maharaja was genuine. This of course
is not the case. Rupanuga had made it clear to Srila Prabhupada that
Sridhara Mahararaj was going against vaisnava etiquete and he was not
acting as a genuine well wisher of Srila Prabhupada or Iskcon. Thus
one can understand that when Prabhupada said "you are right about
Sridhar Maharaja's genuineness" he was referring to the
lack of it. "Srila Prabhupada said "He's genuine
and the best of the lot" (many ex Iskcon Sridhar followers would
say) This very unfortunate misunderstanding is one of the main reasons
so many Iskcon devotees went over to Sridhara Maharaj's camp. ----------- Srila Prabhupada: "I am the Initiator" WHY have this bogus Iskcon opportunist gurus conditioned souls voted in by fake GBC DENIED Srila Prabhupada as the INITIATOR even though he says VERY clearly: Srila Prabhupada Letter to Madhudvisa, August 4, 1975: "Regarding Sydney, that the President has left, if one does not follow the regulative principles, then he will leave. That is a fact. Has somebody else been elected? This is the function of the GBC, to see that one may not be taken away by maya. The GBC should all be the instructor gurus. I AM in the INITIATOR GURU, and you should be the instructor guru by teaching what I am teaching and doing what I am doing. This is not a title, but you must actually come to this platform. This I want." Srila Prabhupada's 07-09-77, Letter to All G.B.C., All Temple Presidents In the past Temple Presidents have written to Srila Prabhupada recommending a particular devotee's initiation. Now that Srila Prabhupada has named these representatives, Temple Presidents may henceforward send recommendation for first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven representatives are nearest their temple. After considering the recommendation, these representatives may accept the devotee as an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupad by giving a spiritual name, or in the case of second initiation, by chanting on the Gayatri thread, just as Srila Prabhupada has done. The newly initiated devotees are disciples of his divine grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupad, the above eleven senior devotees acting as His representative. After the Temple President receives a letter from these representatives giving the spiritual name or the thread, he can perform the fire yajna in the temple as was being done before. The name of a newly initiated disciple should be sent by the representative who has accepted him or her to Srila Prabhupada, to be included in His Divine Grace's "Initiated Disciples" book. (SRILA PRABHUPADA'S SIGNATURE APPEARS IN THE ORIGINAL) 7) HOW are these conditioned soul opportunist gurus VOTED IN by fake GBC the Current Link? Please see below. Srila Prabhupada and his words are on the transcendental platform, therefore his purports to the SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM is the CURRENT LINK. AS LONG AS WE HAVE PRABHUPADA'S PURPORTS TO THE SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM HE WILL BE OUR CURRENT LINK**THE REAL** MESSAGE OF SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM ARE***HIS PURPORTS***.
"As already stated, Brahma is the original spiritual master for the universe, and since he was initiated by the Lord Himself, the MESSAGE OF SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM IS COMING DOWN BY DISCIPLIC SUCCESSION, and in order to receive THE REAL MESSAGE OF SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM one should approach THE CURRENT LINK, or spiritual master, in the chain of disciplic succession." Conditioned soul "gurus" manufactured by fake GBC are not ACARYA and consequently can NOT initiate.
REGARDING ACCEPTING INITIATION from the spiritual master, in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Seventeenth Chapter, verse 27, it is stated by Lord Krsna, "My dear Uddhava, the spiritual master must be accepted not only as My representative, but as My very self. He must never be considered on the same level with an ordinary human being. One should never be envious of the spiritual master, as one may be envious of an ordinary man. The spiritual master should always be seen as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by serving the spiritual master one is able to serve all the demigods." Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.7.15 Purport - Indra Offends His Spiritual Master, Brhaspati: "By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement." A disciple should never be a hypocrite or be unfaithful to his spiritual master. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.17.27), THE SPIRITUAL MASTER IS ALSO CALLED ACARYA. Acaryam mam vijaniyan: the Supreme Personality of Godhead says that one should respect the spiritual master, accepting him as the Lord Himself. Navamanyeta karhicit: one should not disrespect the acarya at any time. Na martya-buddhyasuyeta: one should never think the acarya an ordinary person. Familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, but one should be very careful in one's dealings with the acarya. Agadha-dhisanam dvijam: the acarya is a perfect brahmana and has unlimited intelligence in guiding the activities of his disciple.
To All G.B.C., and Temple Presidents Dear Maharajas and Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet. Recently when all of the GBC members were with His Divine Grace in Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada indicated that soon He would appoint some of His senior disciples to act as ritvik - representative of the acarya, for the purpose of performing initiations, both first initiation and second initiation. His Divine Grace has so far given a list of eleven disciples who will act in that capacity:His Holiness Kirtanananda Swami His Holiness Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami His Holiness Jayapataka Swami His Holiness Tamala Krsna Gosvami His Holiness Hrdayananda Gosvami His Holiness Bhavananda Gosvami His Holiness Hamsaduta Swami His Holiness Ramesvara Swami His Holiness Harikesa Swami His Grace Bhagavan dasa Adhikari His Grace Jayatirtha dasa AdhikariIn the past Temple Presidents have written to Srila Prabhupada recommending a particular devotee's initiation. Now that Srila Prabhupada has named these representatives, Temple Presidents may henceforward send recommendation for first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven representatives are nearest their temple. After considering the recommendation, these representatives may accept the devotee as an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada by giving a spiritual name, or in the case of second initiation, by chanting on the Gayatri thread, just as Srila Prabhupada has done. The newly initiated devotees are disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, the above eleven senior devotees acting as His representative. After the Temple President receives a letter from these representatives giving the spiritual name or the thread, he can perform the fire yajna in the temple as was being done before. The name of a newly initiated disciple should be sent by the representative who has acceted him or her to Srila Prabhupada, to be included in His Divine Grace's "Initiated Disciples" book.
“GBC does
not mean to control a center. GBC means to see that the activities of
a center go on nicely. I do not know why Tamala is exercising his
absolute authority. That is not the business of GBC. The president,
treasurer and secretary are responsible for managing the center. GBC
is to see that things are going nicely but not to exert absolute authority.
That is not in the power of GBC. Tamala should not do like that. (Letter
to: Giriraja — London 12 August, 1971) The GBC men cannot impose anything on the men of a center without consulting all of the GBC members first. A GBC member cannot go beyond the jurisdiction of his power. We are in the experimental stage but in the next meeting of the GBC members they should form a constitution how the GBC members manage the whole affair. But it is a fact that the local president is not under the control of the GBC. Yes, for improvement of situations such as this I must be informed of everything.” (Letter to: Giriraja — London 12 August, 1971) The seven purposes of ISKCON laid out by our Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada during the incorporation of ISKCON in 1966: a) To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all peoples in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. b) To propagate a consciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam. c) To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus to develop the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna). d) To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy names of God as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. e) To erect for the members and for society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the personality of Krishna. f) To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life. g) With a view towards achieving the aforementioned Purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.
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