Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

Why should this be a beginning of the end? GBC saw it could not overexercise its authority given by Srila Prabhupada. So now it knows it must turn to ordinary devotees. Perhaps, this is the beginning of a new era?

Either way, authority of GBC will remain unshaken at least in Russia. Very much due to iron curtain of language. Barely any devotees are/were aware of the issue. Mother Russia is a big country and it will house GBC in case it loses its job. We Russians still have a great deal of trust to GBC.

yes but in Russia you are still living in the 80s. I mean that what is happening there now, happened in the US and other countries 20 something years ago.

...lets hope so.

You got the point, abhiram! Late 80s indeed.

ISKCON in the SU from 1972 (when SP first came to Moscow) just until when Western gurus streamed into Russia in the early 90s, was like ISKCON in the US from 1966 until 1977. When we lived with Prabhupada, we had no problems except for KGB. When we got gurus we got more than just KGB.

I asked chairman of executive council for Russian ISKCON and he said no one had asked any local opinion on 311. As for common devotees, barely anyone knew/knows about 311. So the question of GBCs authority is not here. I wish people here had more awareness, but it seems they dont. I myself do not believe in GBC (to my regret) and I wish this were beginning of something for GBC. For the sake of Prabhupadas mission.

I guess they are isolated also because many russians dont speak english.

and btw, why do ukrainians hate russians so much? i met 2 this week that only speak bad things about them.

Jivo jivasya jivanam, perhaps? This is a typical behavior to start to criticize to establish your importance, by saying that the other is bad. Another possibility is that we Russians are indeed too bad.

If you go into history of Russia, you realize that power moved from Kiev (Kiev Russia era) to Moscow (Moscowian era). Political power and culture were once in Kiev, and Moscow was small. Russia started in Kiev, Kiev was our capital city. And then think about Russian empire times. Important, but smaller in number, Ukranian nation lost importance. And then think about Stalins era, with all its grand genocide plan. Stalin himself was not Russian and he hated all major nations in the SU and pursued to create a "Soviet nation". No wonder they hate us, no one said sorry so far. Neither to the Ukranians, nor to the 3 Baltic nations, nor to the Polish people.

This is a shame that Russia fell apart into 2 coutries. I have some Ukranian friends here, everybody likes Ukranians. I love the way they speak and Ukranians are always nice and lively.

going back to the original topic...

are we living now in a special era without the DOM that will be remembered as the zonal acarya days???

I get an image of uncapable organization. But I still believe GBC will somehow survive, as it did many times before.