Destruction by Design From Krishna-loka to Yogaville
The personalities sitting on the GBC are supposedly the deputed leading representatives of Shrila Prabhupada’s movement. The job of the GBC is to represent the sampradaya as it is, without changes, without concoctions, without manufacturing anything. The postman does not open the letter and re-write the message. He simply hands the sealed envelope over to the address. If somebody has changed your cheerful missive from “Your ever well-wisher” to “Go to Hell” then something is terribly wrong with the postal service. But that is exactly what influence of The Journey Home is doing to the Hare Krishna Movement.
The sacred duty of the GBC as the Founder-Acharya intended is summarized in this prayer to the worshipful Grand Guru Maharaja of the Hare Krishna Movement, His Divine Grace Shrila (108) Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakura:
namas te gaura-vani-sri-murtaye dina-tarine
rupanuga-viruddhapasiddhanta-dhvanta-harine
namah–obeisances; te–unto you; gaura-vani–teachings of Lord Caitanya; sri-murtaye–unto the personified; dina–(of) the fallen; tarine–unto the deliverer; rupa-anuga–the philosophy which follows the teachings of Srila Rupa Gosvami; viruddha–against; apasiddhanta–(of) unauthorized statements; dhvanta–the darkness; harine–unto you who are removing.
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the personified teachings of Lord Caitanya. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. You do not tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Srila Rupa Gosvami.”
The Hare Krishna Movement is not the sole property of the GBC—their job is to enact the orders of the spiritual master as they were given and without change. They are not spoiled princes whose sole duty is to dally in the kingdom. ISKCON was not created to prop up a body of pampered princes who live the high life at the expense of the other members, and change the sacred sampradayic teachings according to their little whims and fancies. To be true to their posts, they must—exactly as stated in the prayer above—never “tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Srila Rupa Gosvami.” Without following parampara, there is no question of a GBC. Rather due to Mayavadic influences it has become a social nuisance.
The sole purpose of the GBC is to serve and keep the Guru-parampara as it is.
The fact that the GBC not only allows but promotes the Mayvadic rubbish of the American Swami’s The Journey Home shows that they are in total violation of the parampara, their deviations are displeasing to the previous acharyas and they are leading ISKCON into a colossal train wreck.
One of the many, many foolish Mayavadis glorified by Radhanatha in The Journey Home is the watered-down “Yogiraja” Swami Satchidananda (whose all-knowing grinning countenance appears between pages 110 and 111 in The Journey Home. The website for his Yogaville Retreat gives a few of his less-than-memorable, pseudo-wise quotes. From the Yogaville website https://www.yogaville.org/ we find lines that have been constructed by this shrewd Indian poser to dupe his gullible Western followers into giving money and free work to their assumed “master.” Swami Satchidananda’s asenine and philosophically-free aphorisms read like the nectar drops of many self-glorifying GBC’s who imitate Radhanath’s self-satisfied and banal platitudes, including Swamis Romapada and Sachinandan. (To review ISKCON’s Mayavadi GBC’s and their saccharine saying, see Part Fifteen of this series.)
Here is some of Swami Satchidananda’s New Agey “yoga wisdom” from his website (hold down your lunch):
“Always remember … immortal Self I am. In all conditions I am Knowledge Bliss Absolute.”
“A sincere prayer that comes from a faithful heart can perform miracles.”
“The dedicated only enjoy Supreme Peace. Therefore live only to serve.”
In imitation of Shrila Prabhupada’s work, Swami Satchidananda established his Yogaville next door to New Vrindavana in Virginia (https://www.yogaville.org/) on 800 acres of land that was donated by singer Carole King. As we shall see later in this article, ISKCON is in danger of becoming more like Yogaville than the actual spiritual communities as envisioned by His Divine Grace AC Bhaktevadanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya,
One female follower—read: victim—of Swami Satchidananda has written:
“You may have heard Swami Satchidanda as a spiritual teacher who taught obedience, poverty and celibacy. However, for his victims, Swami Satchidananda was simply a cult leader who left behind a legacy of personal pain. Like many cult figures, Satchidananda drew followers through his personal charisma. IYI and Yogaville were largely defined by his personality. Swami Satchidananda taught obedience by asking his followers to kiss his feet and bow before him while sitting on a throne while forcing others into performing sexual favors. Is this really a Holy Man and a celibate Saint? Or was the Swami really a scandalous guru who used his authority to deceive and abuse his followers?”
You can feel this victim’s deep pain and the deception she had to bear from the very bogus yogi who is featured in The Journey Home and who taught “divinity and enlightenment through service (to him)” here: https://culteducation.com/group/1243-yogaville/26480-swami-satchidananda-integral-yoga-institute-yogaville-a-survivor-s-story.html :
There are many, many online testimonials regarding the Swami’s peccadilloes such as this one from http://www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/satchidananda.html:
“Another follower, nineteen-year-old Sylvia Shapiro, accompanied the swami on a worldwide trip. ‘In Manila, he turned [his twice-daily massages from me] into oral sex,” Ms. Shapiro said. (Associated Press, 1991).’”
It was rumored that this Swami gave sannyasa to married men so that he could have their wives to himself. Yes, America was one big desire tree for this lusty Indian lout. It is said that a group of his swamis actually confronted him that since they were serious about sannyasa, why couldn’t he keep his vows?
So the unanswered question remains, “What is the picture of a fellatio-addicted imitation Indian holy man doing in a book that has pictures of the current acharyas of the Gaudiya sampradaya as well as of the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna? Has anyone on the GBC noticed—or are they too busy writing their own tales of their fantabulous grandeur?
“The man is forced to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman …”
Since maybe a dozen ladies came forward to testify about the dirty dealings of Swami Sachidananda, there is little doubt as to the veracity of their statements. Sachidananda died in in 2002 at the age of 87. The GBC should be reminded that according to the Shrimad-Bhagavatam (5.26-8, 9, 12, 15, 20) there are very serious and lengthy repercussions for cheating the innocent in the name of the cloth.
“My dear King, a person who appropriates another’s legitimate wife, children or money is arrested at the time of death by the fierce Yamadūtas, who bind him with the rope of time and forcibly throw him into the hellish planet known as Tāmisra. On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by the Yamadūtas, who beat and rebuke him. He is starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus the wrathful assistants of Yamarāja cause him severe suffering, and sometimes he faints from their chastisement.” (8)
“The destination of a person who slyly cheats another man and enjoys his wife and children is the hell known as Andhatāmisra. There his condition is exactly like that of a tree being chopped at its roots. Even before reaching Andhatāmisra, the sinful living being is subjected to various extreme miseries. These afflictions are so severe that he loses his intelligence and sight. It is for this reason that learned sages call this hell Andhatāmisra.” (9)
“Punishment in the hell called Mahāraurava is compulsory for a person who maintains his own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment him and eat his flesh.” (12)
“If a person deviates from the path of the Vedas in the absence of an emergency, the servants of Yamarāja put him into the hell called Asi-patravana, where they beat him with whips. When he runs hither and thither, fleeing from the extreme pain, on all sides he runs into palm trees with leaves like sharpened swords. Thus injured all over his body and fainting at every step, he cries out, “Oh, what shall I do now! How shall I be saved!” This is how one suffers who deviates from the accepted religious principles.” (15)
“A man or woman who indulges in sexual intercourse with an unworthy member of the opposite sex is punished after death by the assistants of Yamarāja in the hell known as Taptasūrmi. There such men and women are beaten with whips. The man is forced to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman, and the woman is forced to embrace a similar form of a man. Such is the punishment for illicit sex.” (20)
Although most of what this corrupted Swami “taught” was mere Mayavadic concoction, we are certain that now that he is in the hands of Yamaraja’s dutas, that he has learned the truth of one of his banal precepts as seen here:
Massage time at Yogaville
As far as ISKCON turning itself into a New Yogaville, we have already seen in Part Twenty-one of this series how under Radhanatha’s leadership this is becoming a reality. And a few more hints of things to come can be discerned from this article https://iskconnews.org/construction-drawings-begin-for-major-new-columbus-temple,6920/ written by good old Madhava Smullen on that bastion of divine propaganda, ISKCON News. Concerning the planned ISKCON Center for Columbus, Ohio, the article states, “Meanwhile the yoga studio, bhakti lounge and farm to table café are designed to attract a primarily Western audience, and interest is already building amongst locals.”
Well, Duh! Isn’t Columbus, Ohio in the West? So what is this compromising talk of “attracting a primarily Western audience” all about? This Movement was started in the West and that, too, with no corny Mayavadic, New Agey compromises.
There was no yoga studio or bhakti lounge at 26 2nd Avenue or any subsequent temple that was founded under Shrila Prabhupada’s watchful eyes. In the entire plans for Hare Krishna Land or the spiritual city at Mayapur, no plans of a yoga studio or bhakti lounge were ever considered. It would have been unthinkable.
Asleep at the controls? ISKCON’s deputed GBC body is leading a Movement they are supposed to protect towards an inevitable and disastrous train wreck.
Truth be told, yoga studios are cash cows for milking the gullible public and keeping them in ignorance just as Yogaville and Govardhan Eco-village do to this day. But what is a bhakti lounge? Bhakti means activity that is aimed at pleasing the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna. So how is the Lord pleased by lazy folks lounging all over the temple property when there is service to be performed? This article shows how much ISKCON is turning into a New Yogaville thanks to the Mayavadic effects of The Journey Home and a dull-witted, sleeping and Mayavadic GBC.
If this infectious Journey Home disease is not forcibly ripped out of ISKCON’s leadership very soon, then every Token Tapasvi, Mystic Maharaja and Sadhu Hopeful sitting on the GBC will scribe their own tomes of self-glorification that their vaporous disciples will be expected to hawk at ISKCON’s New Age Yoga Retreats and Gurukuli Fashion Shows.
The passengers on the ISKCON train should get off at the next station because otherwise the train wreck is a-coming and it ain’t none too purty when you offend the Lord’s pure devotee.
END OF PART ONE