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-WHEREAS
1)...in UK (for instance) the ISKCON Managing
Council or its sub-committee (presumably understandably
acting in a controlling reactive protective mood after so
many of its own past UK local initiating guru falldowns)
has set up initiation standards and procedures without
even inviting input from all the ISKCON Diksa Gurus who
initiate disciples in the UK thus making unrealistic
standards and procedures which foster bad feelings both
from aspiring candidates and from frustrated (castrated?)
visiting and resident gurus,
2)...frustrated aspiring well-trained disciples
waiting for a full 1 year (filling up sankirtan truck
loads of weekly hour-by-hour minute-by-minute sadhana
sheets and constantly lobbying the Temple Council
committee for a favour) before their being allowed to even
aspire for an ISKCON guru (without hardly a glimpse
of the light of 1st initiation down the far distant end of
the dark ISKCON tunnel), are getting gladly syphoned off
even by telephone to other more personal and friendly
family mood groups like Narayan Maharaja and otherwise
into Maya's open arms ,
3)...the GBC authority credibility is being
undermined because ISKCON's published Law Book Initiation
standards are being openly flouted as they are being
either made locally more restrictive and discouraging (as
in the case of UK standards), or being adjusted according
to time and circumstances by unaccountable GBC Gurus or
ISKCON gurus "out of GBC range" of GBC spies,
4)...there is a now an ISKCON subculture commaradie
of apologetic grumbling ISKCON Diksa Gurus which sees the
present ISKCON establishment's initiation standards as an
over-centralised, bureaucratic, unenforceable,
unrealistic, discouraging, and counterproductive set up,
5)...Srila Prabhupada's famous much-quoted "Better
to boil the milk now very vigorously" (Letter to:
Hamsaduta -- Los Angeles 22 June, 1972) and "In the
beginning we have done for working. Now we should be very
cautious." (GBC Meets with Srila Prabhupada -- May 28,
1977, Vrndavana) are generally being missquoted out of
context by some initiation control freak devotees.. ie It
is not at all clear that that by "boil the milk" Srila
Prabhupada is really advocating that ISKCON should
institute even more daunting initiation standards, (on
face value it refers to better "training")
6).." especially in the early days pioneering
situations Srila Prabhupada personally expressed his
compassion and love for us fallen souls and forged bonds
of love with us by "risking" giving so called "cheap
initiations" as SP Lilamrta tells,
7).. even within an established GBC national Zone
there are many local small "early days" pioneering
situations in cities and towns where there is no
established ISKCON centre nearby where a small devotee
community's devotional momentum and faith in ISKCON is
being nurtured by a particular ISKCON spiritual master(s)
and whereas the standards prevailing in the larger
congregations of the more well-established and multiguru-ed
institutionalised temples are obviously inappropriate in
the context of the smaller budding pioneering community, (ie
Brighton, UK is a budding pioneering devotee community in
the UK and Bhaktivedanta Manor is huge ruling devotee
community with many gurus visiting),
8)..a ISKCON spiritual master who has forged a
personal close bond of love with an aspiring disciple by
directly or indirectly helping him get the mercy,
knowledge and practice of Krishna consciousness wants to
give initiation before that person becomes disillusioned
with the more impersonal cold-shouldering
institutionalised aspects and defects of big big ISKCON,
9)... ISKCON Gurus need the ISKCON institution to
preach within and be guided by and the ISKCON institution
needs the ISKCON Gurus to initiate new disciples or else
it is impotent,
10)..to inspire love and trust in any congregation
there should be a win-win flexible mood of balance of love
and trust between ISKCON Manager Siksa Gurus and ISKCON
Diksa Gurus,
11).... if ISKCON instituted kamsa-blanket
centralised initiation standards are imposed on a zone by
its big established temples then budding devotional
communities will prefer to develop legally outside of
ISKCON's legal jurisdiction creating the disunity and
fragmentation of ISKCON, (as in Brighton ,UK)
12)....initiation standards in one continent and
culture may have to be different in another (ie USA and
Africa)
13).... the well established ISKCON Siksa manager
bureaucracts are not always themselves above criticism or
exemplary in their getting and spending at ISKCON expencs
and are often distrusted by the average young
anti-establishment ISKCON congregational bhaktas who
therefore feel reticent to place their trust
wholeheartedly in any ISKCON Guru thus impeding the flow
of Lord Chaitanya's mercy worldwide,
13)... GBC manager siksa gurus may sometimes become
so engrossed in bureaucratic management concerns that they
cannot see the wood for the trees and inadvertantly
dishonour our Founder Acharya Srila Prabhupada so that the
honour of our ISKCON Diksa gurus is reduced and the spread
of Lord Chaitanya's mercy is impeded so there is a need
for them to hear from their locally initiating diksa gurus
in a suitable forum (ie:- In 1972 Srila Prabhupada
installed Lord Jagannath Deities in Amsterdam the capital
of Holland but some of the GBC siksa gurus of Benelux are
still averse to offering honour to Srila Prabhupada by
admitting the obvious honourable necessity of returning
Them to Amsterdam as soon as possible)
14)....THERE IS MAHA NEED FOR COLLABORATION BETWEEN
ISKCON DIKSA AND SIKSA MANAGING GURUS AND THEIR BONDING IN
MORE LOVE AND TRUST FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA'S SERVICE,
.
15).... .THERE IS A NEED TO EXPAND THE PREACHING (
NOT RESTRICT) IN EVERY TOWN AND VILLAGE OF EVERY NATION OF
THE WORLD (even UK) AND WE SHOULD GIVE OUR ISKCON DIKSA
GURUS A CHANCE TO DO THEIR THING.....
16)....I personally have a niyamaagraha trait and
try and go strictly by the ISKCON Lawbook and the
prevailing local initiation standards for fear of getting
censored and defrocked so I really want a more flexible
straightjacket to live in as a dreaded naughty-boy ISKCON
Initiating guru,
I HEREBY PROPOSE THAT
1).... the ISKCON GBC revoke the present
centralised initiation standards in the ISKCON Law Book
and just give new GENERAL GUIDELINES for Zonal ISKCON
Initiation Standards Committee's (IISC) to follow. The
guidelines can site Srila Prabhupada's basic standards and
give examples of his flexibility in different situations
all the time honouring Srila Prabhupada's lenient mood of
compassion to take risks to deliver the fallen souls.
2).... in every Zone an IISC consisting of that
zones ISKCON siksa and resident and visiting ISKCON diksa
Gurus will be convened.
3).... the Zonal IISC will then thrash out and come
up with their diksa standards according to their own
particular time and circumstance for a) established
congregations, b) pioneering congregations and
c) emergency situations .(ie: such and such an
uninitiated sincere devotee is chanting her last on her
deathbed and is begging her beloved diksa guru for
initiation).
4).... the IISC will figure out and establish a
system of honourable accountability so that the diksa
gurus are constrained somewhat from initiating all and
sundry "cheaply" in pioneering areas without honouring the
standards set up by the IISC.
__________________________
OK. Thats it. Time for a radio programme and harinam in
Congo. Gauranga!
Thank you
Your Humble Servant,
Mahavishnu Swami
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