Sankarsana prabhu wrote:

> Srila Prabhupada called himself the "Founder-Acharya" of ISKCON,
> not the Acharya of the ISKCON because he wanted that there should
> be many Acharyas within ISKCON. He directly ordered us to become acharyas
> within ISKCON. We humbly request Krishna Priya Mataji to stop presenting
> all of her concocted gibberish. It's time to put this ritvik nonsense
> to rest once and for all.

Thank you, Sankarsana prabhu, for those words. I would like to second that
and add that the ritvik nonsense was put to rest already long time ago. As
Jayadvaita Swami said in one post here, the ritvik idea was a dead horse
right from the beginning. It has never been alive.

Let's not forget how the ritvik idea was conceived. It was conceived from a
combination of anger and envy. I recall sometime in the mid-80s when
Nityananda and Rupa Vilasa sent out their challenging horse to the GBC in
the form of the magazine Vedic Village Review. Nityananda was angry at the
GBC because they had demanded that he take responsibility for his part in
the Robyn George case and pay the court costs, which was only reasonable
because he had been hiding the girl (who at that time was a minor) and had
been having sex with her.

So, greatly angry at the GBC, Nityananda (with the help of Rupa Vilasa)
conceived of the ritvik idea to turn all devotees against ISKCON and the
GBC. I guess they thought that most grand-disciples would cheer at the idea
of becoming Prabhupada disciples over night.

Later on Nityanda went to jail, as the petty criminal he was, and his whole
Vedic Village project crumbled. After Nityananda came out of jail he
continued his crusade against the GBC by inventing the poison rumors. That's
right, the very same person who invented the ritvik idea invented the poison
rumors. Any devotee should be able to see a pattern emerge here.

Anyway, the challenging horse in the form of ritvikvada was quickly slain in
a magazine put out by the GBC in response. Since then ritvikvada has been
refuted in countless papers, articles and debates, and I know of no devotees
in ISKCON who actually think the idea has any merit. The only place
ritvikvada is alive is on the net, and the only reason it keeps rearing its
head is because people like K. Kant and the IRM keep adding fuel to the
dying flame.

So that's where ritvikvada comes from. It is nothing but Kali at work. On
the one hand (in TFO), they pretend to be the true followers of Prabhupada,
and with the other hand (as the IRM) they circulate a magazine called BTP,
in which are listed all the faults and shortcomings of leading Prabhupada
disciples. Now, is that doing Srila Prabhupada a favor? Can you imagine what
Srila Prabhupada would have said to a group of disciples who came before him
claiming to be his real and true followers, and then proudly presented him
with a magazine like Back To Prabhupada? His anger would have disintegrated
them on the spot. There is just no doubt about it. And they claim to be the
true followers of Prabhupada, I mean, please, is this a real conspiracy or
am I just imagining something?

Another thing is that I have as much claim to be a Prabhupada disciple as
anyone. Prabhupada was the first devotee I met. He convinced me of Krishna
consciousness. He saved me. He was the first one I knew as my eternal guru
after having read SOS. But I was completely clueless about what and who he
was. When I went to the temple the first time in 1982 I seriously thought
that Prabhupada'd be sitting waiting for me in an obscure house in
Copenhagen. That's how dazed and clueless I was. I remember feeling somehow
betrayed when the devotees in the temple smilingly told me I was too late.

I had definitely surrendered to Prabhupada in the heart, but how would I
have known him if it weren't for his disciples. How would I know Srila
Prabhupada if it weren't for Prabhupada Lilamrita, Servant of the Servant,
and all the other accounts and biographies written by his disciples? How
would I know Prabhupada's books if hadn't been for his disciples in the BBT?

How would his teachings in the form of his books, classes, conversations
etc. and all the videos and everything else about Srila Prabhupada be
recorded and preserved for future generations if not for the work of his
disciples? Srila Prabhupada's whole program of ISKCON was launched by his
disciples. It it weren't for them Prabhupada could not have done what he
did. That's one thing that shows just how much we owe these devotees; and
then we have to hear someone KK Desai point out al their faults. Who the
hell is he? What did he ever do for Prabhupada? What's his qualification to
judge these great souls, whatever their faults may be? And why must we only
hear of the ones who so called failed, or fell down, or showed
short-comings? What of the big silent, solid mass of ISKCON devotees who go
on day after day, year after year, with giving their lives to Prabhupada's
mission? What about all the gurus, sannyasis, and grihasthas who didn't fall
down, who didn't deviate, and who continues to this day to provide wonderful
examples and inspirations for the devotees. Don't they figure into the
equation of Srila Pranhupada's legacy?

Obviously none of us would have been here if it weren't for Prabhupada's
disciples of whom many gave their whole lives to his mission and continue to
do so to this day. Seen in this light it must be concluded that the ritviks
deliberately seek to undermine the faith in Srila Prabhupada's direct
disciples, for by doing so, they also undermine the faith in Srila
Prabhupada. How can you have faith in an acharya who was unable to produce
even one single disciple qualified to carry on the disciplic succession?

Personally I think that modern ritviks simply don't want to surrender to a
guru, and therefore they use ritvikvada as an excuse to avoid that. That's
why they spread the propaganda that only the supermost, excellent,
radiating, self-illuminating, topmost maha-bhagavat devotee can become guru.
Clearly, after Prabhupada left, such a devotee is not around anymore and so
they don't have to listen to anyone. But it is all propaganda, for nowhere
do we find this view of the guru collaborated in Srila Prabhupada's
teachings.

So I agree completely with Sankarsana Prabhu, it's about time we put and end
to this ritvik nonsense, because that's all it is. It is actually demonic,
so let's recognize it for what it is and be off with it.

Hare Krishna.

ys. jdd