Whatever Happened to the Hare krsna Movement?

May Lord Nrsimhadev Protect Us All! What About the Hare Krsna Movement? Part Two By Jagannatha Prakasa (John of AllFaith) © 01.24.2009 So the question is: Who is the One God? Is there a Supreme Personality of Godhead Who is the Source of all? The Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) is an incredibly diverse religion. It teaches that although God is utterly transcendent, the One (Ek) may best be thought of in one of three primary forms (Trimurti): AsBrahma: God the Creator As Vishnu/Narayana: God the Sustainer As Siva/Rudra/Mahadeva: God the Transformer/Destroyer. As taught by the ancient Vedic Scriptures and pundits. Hindus honor all three forms but often lean toward one more than the others. Vaisnavas worship the One God primarily as Lord Vishnu and His avatars and expansions. "Gaudiya Vaisnavas" embrace the form of Vaisnavism preached by Lord Caitanya ("Chaytanya") Mahaprabhu. He is generally accepted as an avatar or incarnation of Sri Krsna. He lived in Bengal (1486 - 1534) and is celebrated in the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta written by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami. The best English translation and commentary on this work is that of my Guru Maharaja, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami (Srila Prabhupada). It is available here: http://vedabase.net/cc Lord Caitanya was a "combined incarnation" of Sri Krsna and His Consort Srimati Radharani. He taught that the highest Way to God is through bhakti yoga (devotion) to Sri Krsna. Sri Krsna was born in Bengal sometime prior to circa 5561 B.C.E. according to Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Gaudiya Vaisnavas, including the Hare Krsna Movement, believe that the original and highest God is Sri Krsna and that even Lord Visnu ("Vishnu") manifests from Him. Sri Krsna performed many wonderful pasttimes before our current age began and spoke the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, the creme of all literature. His life is chronicled in many places including the Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam, also translated by Srila Prabhupada. Sri Krsna is the "Supreme Personality of Godhead." The principle method of worshiping Lord Sri Krsna is the chanting of His Holy Names as a mantra: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Such chanting is referred as Mantra Yoga: 'man' = mind 'tra' == to free yoga = to link Mantra Yoga is therefore the technique of 'linking' [with God] by 'freeing the mind' from material miseries through repetition of the sacred sound vibrations of God's Names. This is accomplished by calling on God and requesting His mercy: 'Hare' is the Name of God that directly invokes the energy of the Lord 'Krsna' is the Name of God Who alone is the Possessor of every quality in the universe and beyond (i.e. in material -- saguna -- and spiritual -- nirguna realities). Sri Krsna possesses all qualities in unlimited quantity and the Maha Mantra seeks to glorify Him as such. 'Rama' is the Name of God that means He is the Reservoir of Pleasure and by chanting this Name one enters into this pleasure and joy in divinely spiritual communion. There are of course many other mantras but this is the "maha" (or highest) mantra of them all according to the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Through the master-disciple relationship (known as parampara) this knowledge is passed down through the generations. The principle scripture of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas is the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. The parampara through which the Hare Krsna Movement descended is as follows: The International Society for Krsna Consciousness (ISKCON: the Hare Krsna Movement) lays claim to its legitimacy through Srila Prabhupada, who descended from a long succession of spiritual teachers and disciples (parampara). There are four major disciplic successions (sampradayas): Rudra-Sampradaya: of Vallabhacharya Lakshmi-Sampradaya: of Ramanuja Kumara-Sampradaya: of Nimbarka And the Brahma/Madhva Sampradaya: of Madhvacharya (as Dvaita or Dualism) and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (who taught "Achintya Bheda Abheda" -- "inconceivable oneness and difference." I believe Achintya Bheda Abheda and Achintya Bheda Abheda Tattva are two of the most profound philosophical realizations of all time. I discuss them here in some depth.) Srila Prabhupada belonged to the Brahma/Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya that traces its origins back to Lord Krsna Himself about 5000 years ago. Srila Prabhupada was the final authorized spiritual master of his branch because, as I discuss below, the movement he founded to carry on his teachings betrayed him. There are many other Gaudiya Matha sects besides ISKCON but Srila Prabhupada did not authorize his followers to take part in any of them. Srila Prabhupada's original ISKCON Movement and his Gurudeva's Gaudiya Matha belonged to the branch of Vaisnavism founded by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the 16th century. Following are the most prominent acaryas (masters) in Srila Prabhupada's lineage since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu The Six Goswamis of Vrindavana Srila Rupa Goswami Srila Sanatana Goswami Gopal Bhatta Goswami Ragunatha dasa Goswami Ragunatha Batta Goswami Jiva Goswami Krsnadasa Kaviraj Goswami Narottama Dasa Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Bhaktivinoda Thakura Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura And A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada No authorized guru exists in ISKCON to carry on this line from this point. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a disciple of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the son of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in the lineage coming down from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As Stephen Knapp describes it here: "Srila Prabhupada came to America in 1965 on the steamship Jaladuta with little money, a pair of hand cymbals, and a small trunk of his books, without knowing anyone. With enormous odds, Srila Prabhupada thought, "I am an old man, I cannot do very much. But what I can do, let me do in this New York City, which is the biggest of all cities in the world." He maintained himself by selling just enough books to get by, and staying here and there. Prabhupada wrote, “Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion. Absorbed in material life they think themselves very happy and satisfied. Therefore they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vasudeva. I do not know how they will be able to understand it.” Humbly considering himself to be the most insignificant servant of his spiritual master, Prabhupada pushed on with great determination to try to do just some little thing before the time he would die..." "...Srila Prabhupada left this world in 1977, he wrote 51 volumes of books with translations in 28 languages, especially Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, so anyone can take advantage of this knowledge. He established 108 temples in most major cities around the world, and touched so many people who can also teach this philosophy that this genuine spiritual knowledge will continue to spread and be available for the next 10,000 years, throughout the length of this Golden Age in Kali-yuga...." Without ANY reservation or hesitation I strongly recommend Srila Prabhupada's books etc. In my opinion His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami was one of the holiest and most enlightened saints to ever live on this planet. We were not worthy of his presence or his wisdom. He brought a spiritually transcendent message of Light into the darkened West that could have saved us, but instead his efforts were betrayed by his own disciples. The world is a darker place because of it. Part Three Coming soon or read it all at my http://www.srijagannatha.com/hinduism/prabhupada.html!