"Ritvikites" inability to work together

Nimai Pandit dasa

“the Ritvikites' inability to work together, their splintering into multiple groups, demonstrates that they have no solution to ISKCON's troubles.”

-  HH Bhakti Vikas Swami on Sampradaya Sun January 19, 2013

For decades, we Prabhupadanugas, instead of having the better understanding regarding Guru-tattva, have not been able to work together. There are constant dissensions, disagreements, arguments, public criticizing each other for small things,----we are an uninspiring laughing stock for most devotees worldwide as HH is pointing out above. One can point a finger at him saying“oh, he is pretending to be a Guru and what not”, but the fact remains that what he is saying is correct.

As Srila Prabhupada says: “So we have to all cooperate amongst ourselves, otherwise what will people think if we ourselves fight with one another? (In Letter to PatitaUddharana, 12 December, 1974)

The hour of the need is to FIRST bring the Prabhupadanugas together so that the devotees actually feel more inspired, hope, good guidance and taste in the process of KC.

Unfortunately for the Krishna Consciousness Movement and Prabhupadanugas in particular, we have tried and tried but we have had strong disagreements on even small things.

I have been in meetings 10+ years back where even whole day we had discussed on 1 common name for the Worldwide Society of Prabhupadanugas---with practically no agreement. There are many regional groups of Prabhupadanugas without working together, without much coordinating together, instead many times sniping at each other.

WHERE IS THE WORLDWIDE SOCIETY OF DEVOTEES REPRESENTING SRILA PRABHUPADA THAT HE TALKS ABOUT IN HIS BOOKS?

Srila Prabhupada’s society also was to provide equal level and senior level association (see SB 4.8.34)to the leaders, who in their own regions would be seniors and Siksha gurus.Without this equal and senior association among them,the tendency among many leaders among the Prabhupadanugas, including mine,is that anarthascome up and that results in stunted growth of preaching, which is quite visible worldwide if we are honest with ourselves. One worldwide organizational platform can help us be protected by providing the organizational induced association, the devotee association which is Lord Caitanya’s method to guard against anarthas, the bijas of karma, jnana, yoga.(seeCc. Madhya 19.157p)

We have seen too many devotees falling away, too many devotees suffering without good like minded association, new devotees not able to advance smoothly and not able to feel the inspiration and the taste of good association, of participating in large festivals with fellow devotees ----- we want to assist Srila Prabhupada in bringing this about, like many many other devotees around the world do too.

What is the SOLUTION to bring this about?

We are proposing that we come together on the organizational platform given by Srila Prabhupada, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. (Or ISKCON, Inc.).It seems likely that this is the only name ISKCON, which we CAN all agree upon. It seems likely that the Direction of Management, written on the letterhead of  ISKCON, Inc. is the only management method that we CAN all agree upon. As we are seeing it happen in many parts of the world.

More one can read in these articles –

1. Advantages of being part of a Worldwide Society
 http://prabhupadanugas.blogspot.in/2013/01/advantages-of-being-part-of-worldwide.html

2. Why Affiliate with ISKCON, Inc.?
 http://prabhupadanugas.blogspot.in/2013/01/why-affiliate-to-iskcon-inc.html

We are also traveling and holding Prabhupadanuga festivals to discuss in istagoshtis and receive direct feedback and listen respectfully on how better to work this out.

Our humble plea to all Prabhupadanugas, is - If not ISKCON, Inc., then please propose another solution for all of us, another organizational platform that can convince all Prabhupadanugas to come together and we will follow you in it.

We need your constant association, and all need each others. After taking care of our divisions, we need to provide an example to all. We owe this to Srila Prabhupada.

But this regional groupism ought not to continue

We end with HH BhaktiVikas Swami again to be inspired by him – “the Ritvikites' inability to work together, their splintering into multiple groups, demonstrates that they have no solution to ISKCON's troubles.”

As Srila Prabhupada says: “So we have to all cooperate amongst ourselves, otherwise what will people think if we ourselves fight with one another?

(Srila Prabhupada in Letter to PatitaUddharana, 12 December, 1974)

Please write what is your proposed solution ?What are your views ?