4 leading Vaisnava Gurus

[Guest guest]

Hi Das, nice to read your posting. So you first distribuited Sridhar Maharaja's

tapes in the west, they were very controversial and at that time used to be

confiscated and destroyed cos of being from "one of Prabhupada's enemies". A

sanyass, brahmachary in ISCKON and took sanyassa from our guru Sridhar Maharaja,

lived with me for 40 days in 1984 and told me the news.

 

I met the ISCKON temple president of Mexico City in 1981 where i lived for 6

months, and in 1982 he sent me to England the transcription of some of those

tapes. At that point i wrote to Sridhar Maharaja requesting (begging) him for

spiritual initiation.

 

He knew that such initiation was going to cause me troubles cos i was married to

a British lady initiated by Prabhupada in 1972 when she was 16 years old.

 

Nevertheless, i insisted and by 1983 i gave permission to her of going in a 2

months holiday to live with our 3 children in the temples and do a service to

her Guru Prabhupada.

 

Some devotees took advantage of that situation and told her that i was going on

the wrong path. Prabhupada departed this planet in 1977 and some of his

disciples took power and advantage of that.

 

I have a lot of respect for ISCKON because it is a creation of Srila Prabhupada.

I have read Prabhupada's books 3 times and i have been a vedic astrologer to

Isckon devotees in France and UK since 1976, previous to that i had been a

westen astrologer for 6 years. I have lived in ISCKON ashrams on and off since

1973, france, Amsterdam, Uk and visits to barcelona, Rome, and Switzerland. I

met (saw) Prabhupada in France in 1973,74, 75 and 76 and i know what i am

talking about.

 

Every institution has good and bad elements because people are attracted to

either power, money, position, knowledge or whatever. Some good elements "fall"

sometimes in either few months or few years.

 

It is a very bad karma to use and abuse knowledge, either a doctor, lawyer or

devotee. Most of devotees are sincere and they are searching for service to God

but we have to be alert to the actions of the bad elements which are using and

abusing their position.

 

The robes do not make a monk, is the saying, and i agree with that. As an

astrologer i have seen so many sincere souls wanting to advance spiritually, and

i have a lot of respect for that but i never allow any bad element to take

advantage of my good nature.

 

My wife at that time (1983) was told that the only way to save her marriage was

for me to shave my head and "surrender" to one of her godbrothers (she was told

that in a session together with another 2 ladies that were told the same

"advice" by the so call guru). That guy and his close secretary (her advisers)

were both sanyass and both latter on left ISCKON in rare circumstances.

 

I was not the only one under those circumstances of divorce, they were at least

100+ couples.

 

I did a reading to a lady and told me that in the 60's anybody in saffron

clothes was venerated and respected. In the 70's doubts started to infiltrate

the mind and by the 80's it was too clear.

 

My wife wanted to serve Prabhupada, and her belief system was shattered by some

stupid and inmature rules. At the time i only showed her his horoscope and

predicted his dismissal correctly, but i did not tell anybody else. I just left

ISCKON for few years until the bad elements left in disgrace. I did not want to

cause troubles to the institution, i knew that eventually karma was going to do

its job.

 

Eventually i divorce in 1985 soon after my formal initiation, and now my ex does

not want to hear anything about spiritual matters cos her belief system is

broken. My children were affected indirectly and they do not talk about

spiritual matters even if their early education was spiritual.

 

Sridhar Maharaja wrote to me that if i could no make it to India, i could get

initiated in his ashram in London. He sent me the beads and name to London in

May 1985 on the day of installation of the Deities in London and the publication

of his Bhagavad-Gita. It was an eclipse of the moon and Lord Narasimha

appearance day. Jai.

 

I repeat, there are many sincere devotees living in ISCKON and outside, and they

are wonderful, but beware of bad elements in every institution otherwise you can

get burned.

 

Yours in the service of the Lord.

Natabara das