Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

Hari bol, Mataji All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All the nonsense started in 1978 and for those who continued to participate beyond this time, I imagine the pain of realization must be acute. First, one should sincerely take shelter of the lotus feet of His Divine Grace. Pray to him and request guidance. Everything that each spirit soul has done for Srila Prabhupada is a permanent asset. Superficially, dishonest persons may try to usurp the benefits of your service but this all their illusion. The Krishna Consciousness movement will go on within and without Iskcon. Many are finding much more peaceful associations outside the formal Iskcon structure. Iskcon may collapse, may become purified, or continue to stagger along into the future. Only time will tell. Are you continuing to read Prabhupadas books? Have you read Upadesamrita (Nectar of Instruction) lately? Rupa Goswami and Srila Prabhupada give many clear instructions therein.

Vaisnavi dd, I think I can understand how you feel. Sadness following disillusionement is overwhealming. The nonsense started from the very beginning, but Srila Prabhupada would deal with it. And just as he dealt with it then, he can deal with it now in your personal life, if you let him. Take shelter of Srila Prabhupadas instructions. And dont expect much from conditioned souls, even if they pose themselves to be perfect. And if you think you cannot take it anymore, remember that Krsna knows exactly what is happening to you, actually He arranged it for you, and He surely knows your limits. So even if it looks as it is beyond the limit, it is not, it is just right on the limit, to take you through as fast as possible.

Nice and honest question. Its a personal one and should be answered to oneself. But as with any group of people be it Catholic Church or any other sect, you will find problems. Just as your personal life can be in similar turmoil, if you maintain the conviction that the process itself is more important then apparent setbacks, you will pass the test.

At the same time there is a difference between internal criticism (I have problems and I will deal with them) and external (this guy is completely off...), first one is welcome, second one is often useless.

[quote][cite] Vaisnavi DD:[/cite]If one feels depressed and disillusioned by all the terrible things that have gone on in ISKCON: murders, cover-ups, cheating gurus, child abuse, money scams, power-crazed leaders, banning & shunning members who want to hear from old gurus outside ISKCON... how can you reconcile? How can one understand all this? I understand you should chant, but how can you recover from the deep sadness what happened to Prabhupadas movement when you gave your life to it? What if you just cant take any more...[/quote]

These are legitimate questions any sane person would have. There is no short answer to these questions. Ultimately it is all about immature and impure people finding themselves in a situation that allowed them to express their faults to the fullest. Do not believe these problems in ISKCON started in 1978. That is a total lie. Srila Prabhupada faced these issues from the very beginning, when Kirtanananda turned against him shortly after receiving initiation. Many of his leaders did not wanted to FOLLOW Prabhupada, they wanted to BE Prabhupada. After 1977 it got a lot worse - actually, it was like a replay of the Lord of the Flies book. But I believe things are improving gradually and the worst is definitely behind us.

Krsna consciousness is much, much bigger than Iskcon. There were many times when I was ashamed of being a member of Iskcon, but I was never ashamed of being a devotee of Krsna. Try to remember that when you feel bad about these things. Our primary association is with Vaishnavism, not with personality cultism and power trips that were (and still are to some extent) common in Iskcon. Dont let your mind trick you into rejecting Vaishnavism because of Iskcons problems.

exactly. rejecting vaisnavism would mean rejecting krsna, and where that leads to we can see everywhere. thats why we had to come here in the first place.

im afraid its due to our karma that we were born into this apparently messed up situation and not as associates of one of the great acaryas 500 years or so ago.

this isnt meant as an excuse for those who do the messing up; after getting here we have our free will and can decide how to use the facilities we find: go with the flow and mess it up further, or make an effort and try to make it better. but that we got here first of all, that isnt anybodys fault but our own. and, as giri-nayaka said, probably just the limit that we can and have to accept at this point.

if i want to find an excuse for those who make mistakes, i just have to imagine myself in their position. trying to be honest, i usually come to the conclusion that things would, most probably, be a lot worse if i had had much to do with creating them.

Hare Krishna Mataji,

Krishna has allowed such great sorrow to enter your heart for a particular reason. What could that reason be? What could He want you use this sorrow for? Search out the answer to this question.

I meditate on the intolerable sorrow tolerated by the Pandava brothers at the injustices they received and destruction of their family dynasty, which occurred within the very sight of Bhagavan Shri Krishna Himself! How can it be possible?!?! Is Krishna a liar when He says "jnatva mam santim rcchati: Knowing Me one achieves peace." (Gita 5.29) I know now that the shanti Krishna speaks about is not the shanti we imagine. Where was the shanti in the lives of the Pandavas? Of Prahalad Maharaja? Of Srila Prabhupada?

If your situation is, as you say, that you just cant take anymore, it may be better that you leave the dynamics that fuel your sorrow. Do you feel that association which stimulates your sorrow is beneficial to you?

Like Yudhishtira Maharaj and the Pandavas, you may never recover from the deep sadness you feel. Like us, they could not reconcile the terrible events that had occurred with the devoted and impeccable character of their lineage. Yudhishtira Maharaj, the embodiment of dharma, upon being granted a place in heaven saw Duryodhana there and said, If this rascal is here in heaven, I want no place here." His sorrow and anger was carried to the very end. But that sadness may be a great jewel which can inspire and motivate you forward in your attachment to the sravanam and kirtanam of Bhagavan Shri Krishnas nama, rupa, guna and lila.

Mataji, there are decisions you must make on how you choose to internally process and use your sorrow. Otherwise it will sit and percolate and eat away your body, mind and soul. Please dont chew on your sorrow. Utilise your pain for a beneficial purpose. One path is the path to destruction and madness, and the other is the path to liberation. The choice is yours. Either way is painful and apparently hopeless but you must take the steps if you can. The shanti Krishna speaks about in Gita 5.29 is the shanti of fixed and steady devotion to Him despite the worst of worst circumstances. The situation of the Pandavas is not far different than ours - murders, treachery, deceit, political divisions, dysfunctional leaders, banning and exiling members - yet they maintained their integrity and devotion at all times, despite having doubts and extreme sorrow. This is our path to follow, however difficult it will be. If we can fight our way through this, then we can face just about anything and be confident our devotion and integrity remain in tact.

One practical suggestion would be for you to study the activities of the great mothers, Kunti, Gandhari, Draupadi and Mother Sita. Study their lives by reading the Bhagavatam, Mahabharata and Ramayana and pay particular attention to their times of great difficulty, sorrow and depression. Note how they express themselves, how they deal with it and how they act. I guarantee you will find comfort, guidance and wisdom in their example.