Sinners in Saffron and Perverts on the Path
The Journey Home can be rightly called the GBC’s great minimization of the genuine guru, ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. As we have seen throughout our ongoing series, a preponderance of the so-called “yogis” that Radhanatha props up in his puerile attempt at self-adulation were simply lusty dogs in the dress of yogis.
Big Brother? Radhanatha’s talks are available for eternity from ISKCON Desire Tree
One selling point of the modern perversion that is billed as yoga is that it enhances sexual enjoyment. Whether that is true or not, we don’t care to know because the process of physical exercises nowadays sold wholesale as yoga is tailored to the gross shudra class of men. In big cities all over the world, including those in India, storefront yoga is marketed to extravagant sense gratifiers who have a doggish mentality and who are void of higher consciousness. Many of the so-called “gurus” who are glorified in Radhanatha’s The Journey Home should better have been locked up behind bars for sexual crimes instead of living like kings off the disciples they exploited.
Straight Outta Yogaville
The Sampradaya Sun has received a heart-rending letter from a distressed devotee of ISKCON whose friend’s son was an unfortunate victim of the malevolent practices of a Mayavadi camp founded by Swami Satchitananda. As we have seen in Part 22 of this series, the ringleader of this “yoga society”—whose glories are sung in The Journey Home—was accused by many women of being addicted to forced oral sex twice a day.
The devotee’s letter to the Sun describes the “nightmare” endured by the son of an ISKCON congregation member at Yogaville. From the letter we learn that this unwitting victim of so-called “yoga” was forced to witness and participate in acts of sexual perversion. The letter concludes “Sympathizers of these types of demons are poisoning Srila Prabhupada's movement.” Are those sympathizers the same personalities who are broadly smiling on the GBC? It appears that a body that would support such vile minimization of Shrila Prabhupada as The Journey Home, now sold in over a dozen different languages at ISKCON centers, has little responsibility for the movement or the members they are avowed to protect.
What Would Bhaktivinoda Do?
Perhaps the GBC members have forgotten the example of Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Rather than writing books glorifying such demons, he locked behind bars one such Mayavadi scoundrel named Bishikishan. Shrila Prabhupada writes about this episode right in his Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, chapter 31 “Description of the Rasa Dance.” Our suggestion to the GBC—whose members apparently have not read these words for any number of years now—is that they find a way to put down their cherished copies of The Journey Home, and commence studying the instructions of the genuine Vaishnava acharya once again. And here are Shrila Prabhupada’s very words:
“We have many experiences in the past of Māyāvādī rascals deluding their followers by posing themselves as Krishna in order to enjoy rāsa-līlā. In many instances they were checked by the government, arrested and punished. In Orissa, Ṭhākur Bhaktivinode also punished a so-called incarnation of Viṣṇu, who was imitating rāsa-līlā with young girls. There were many complaints against him. At that time, Bhaktivinode Ṭhākur was magistrate, and the government deputed him to deal with that rascal, and he punished him very severely. The rāsa-līlā dance cannot be imitated by anyone. Śukadeva Gosvāmī warns that one should not even think of imitating it. He specifically mentions that if, out of foolishness, one tries to imitate Krishna's rāsa dance, he will be killed, just like a person who wants to imitate Lord Śiva's drinking of an ocean of poison. Lord Śiva drank an ocean of poison and kept it within his throat. The poison made his throat turn blue; and therefore Lord Śiva is called Nīlakaṇṭa. But if any ordinary person tries to imitate Lord Śiva by drinking poison or smoking gañja, he is sure to be vanquished and will die within a very short time. Lord Śrī Krishna's dealing with the gopīs was under special circumstances.”
Shrila Prabhupada told the complete story of this Mayavadi devil Bishikishan during a lecture at Gorakhpur on February 13, 1971: “One blind man is leading many other blind men.” And that is the position. We have got manufactured so many incarnation. Still, there are so many, this mother, that father, this, that, so many. You know prac ... Yes. All incarnation. All incarnation, they have congested together and spoiling the brain of the poor people. Every day—incarnation! And there are many rascals. He says that “I am Krishna’s incarnation, and rasa-līlā.” You know? Yes. This rascaldom is going on, rasa-līlā. And people are so fool that they send their wife and their daughter for performing rasa-līlā. Things are going on like that.
Om Vishnupada Shrila Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
“You know the Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s life? A similar rasa-līlā was going on. You know that story? Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was magistrate, and one person in Orissa, he declared himself that “I am Viṣṇu,” and in the village he was enticing young women and girls to dance at night. And some of them protested, and they lodged complaint to the government that "This person is doing like that." And the government commissioner, he knew that Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Kedāranātha Datta was a very elevated, religious man, and he was magistrate. So the commissioner entrusted the inquiry to Kedāranātha Datta at that time. So Kedāranātha Datta, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, took the matter and went to inquire at that, in the village of Orissa, with some constables in plain dress.
“So when he went there... He had some yogic power, so immediately he could say, “Oh, your name is Kedarnatha Datta. I know you are very good man, but don’t be after me. You will not be happy. And I shall elevate you to become the king of this country. Don't be after me.”
“Now, if anyone ... He was Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a strong devotee. If any other person would have been addressed like that, he would be immediately puzzled: "How this man is talking about me, that I am Kedāranātha Datta, I am magistrate and...?" So he would not do anything. But Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was so strong, he said, "Yes. Thank you very much, that I shall become king. So why don't you go to Jagannātha Purī and stay there? That is a nice pilgrimage, and you can stay there. Many holy men go there. Why you are in this village?" He wanted to drive him away from that village.
“Oh, what is that Jagannātha? That is wood. I am Viṣṇu.” As soon as he said, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura became fire. “Oh, this rascal is like that.” He immediately ordered, “Arrest him. Arrest him.” And he showed some fiery spark coming from his jāta. So the constables were hesitating to arrest him, but Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura ordered, “Yes, immediately arrest him. Handcuff.”
So he took him away, arrested. And as soon as he returned home, all the members of his family were in fever, high degree fever, and Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura himself was in fever. He made some trick, yogic trick. So his wife began to cry: "Oh, you have arrested one great yogi. He is Viṣṇu, and therefore we are now going to die. We are now ...” (laughter)
“So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura: ‘Yes, you die. All die. Still, what I have done is all right.’ Then when there is date for appearance in the court, in the court the man was brought, and yogi. You see? And Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura asked... Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was suffering still in fever. Still, he attended the court and asked the constables that “Cut his jāta.”
Haṁsadūta: What is jāta?
Prabhupāda: Jāta is hair. Hair. Jāta. So no barber was available. (laughter) Because they knew that Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, after arresting, he is suffering from fever. Whole family is lying down in fever. So nobody came forward to cut his jāta. So Bhaktivinoda: "All right, bring one scissor. I shall cut.” So he personally cut, and personally cut, and that man became very thin immediately after cutting his jata. He had some power in the jāta.
“And he ordered six months' imprisonment. And in the prison he managed to take some poison and died. So devotees are so strong. They can know what is what. You see? He was not puzzled that ‘He is Viṣṇu and this...’ No. So we should learn from the Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s treatment that this jugglery or this so-called power is not, no good for advancement in spiritual life.
“You have to follow the regulative principles as enjoined in the śāstra. Yaḥ śāstra vidhim utsṛjya. If you do not follow the injunction of the śāstra, then there is no possibility of attaining perfection. Na siddhiṁ sāvapnoti.
Do Not Mix with Hodge Podge
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
So our business is to accept a bona fide spiritual master, being guided by him, to follow the rules and regulations. Then advancement is sure. There is no doubt about it. And if we become hodgepodge and mix with hodgepodge and do hodgepodge, there is no progress. Na siddhim. It is clearly said by Krishna,
“There is no question of perfection,” na sukham, “neither happiness,” na parāṁ gatim, “and what to speak of being promoted to the spiritual world? There is no...” Therefore vaidhi-bhakti, as it is enunciated in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Nectar of Devotion, by the Gosvāmīs, we shall try to follow as far as possible. Be sincere and hard-working. Then the success is sure. Not to be bewildered, misled by the so-called avatāra, incarnation. You see? The so-called avatāras, they are simply rascals. Especially in Bengal, every day there is an avatāra. (laughter) …
Prabhupāda: Now state is secular; therefore this is the condition. Formerly the kings and the executive heads were very responsible to protect religion. That is the duty of the king, to protect. Just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja, when he was on tour. As soon as he saw that one man is trying to kill a cow, immediately he became fire: “Oh, in my kingdom there is killing of cow? Who are you? I shall immediately kill you.” You know this? The kings were taking. The kings were so responsible. But here they have declared... The so-called kings, they are themselves debauch, and they do not know what is religion. Therefore, in the Kali-yuga there is no other alternative than to chant peacefully, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare... There is no protection. And what does the executive heads, the presidents or secretaries? They simply manipulate some votes, third-class men.