Reply to Murali Krishna Swami

Regarding the statement shown by Murali Krishna Swami, wherein Gour Govinda Maharaj says Srila Prabhupada instructed him to become a diksha guru, I would like to offer the following comments:

“You have to accept disciples and train them. You should have your own men, your own disciples. Otherwise how can you manage?” He (Srila Prabhupada) told me that." - Gour Govinda Maharaj

First, there are over half a dozen current ISKCON gurus who make these same claims, that Srila Prabhupada secretly instructed them to become diksha gurus. Off the top of my head, Jayapataka Swami, Radha Govinda Swami and Gour Govinda Swami are some of the main people who have made these claims. Oddly in all cases there is no recorded evidence to back up the claim. Srila Prabhupada apparently has given ISKCON its most important instruction on continued management in a secret unrecorded whisper with no witnesses.

Srila Prabhupada himself has several times said, "if it's not there in writting, then do not believe what 'Prabhupada Said'." So taking his own direct advice, we would have to generally not value such statements as evidence of any sort. But for the sake of argument, let us study this latest claim logically and see if it makes any sense.

One must assume the language being spoken between Srila Prabhupada and Gour Govinda Maharaj would be either Hindi or Bengali, and in both cases the word that would have been used for "disciples" would have been "sishya". In common usage this word does not at all convey the idea of a diksha guru, but rather of assistants or students working under someone. This word is universally found in all languages of India, and it conveys the same meaning in all languages. Certainly the word _can_ be used to indicate a diksha disciple, but the common usage would indicate an assistant or student under a leader as opposed to a diksha disciple. Keeping this in mind, let us see Srila Prabhupada's words again:

“You have to accept disciples and train them. You should have your own men, your own disciples. Otherwise how can you manage?” He (Srila Prabhupada) told me that." - Gour Govinda Maharaj

Srila Prabhupada's use of the phrase "you should have your own men, otherwise how can you manage" make it abundantly clear that he is speaking of management and physical work. The sishyas that he wants Gour Govinda Maharaj to have are obviously just regular devotees who will work under him and help him develop the Bhubaneshwar project that Prabhupada entrusted to him.

What is the actual reason one should become diksha guru? Is it simply to lessen the work load? "Become diksha guru, because there is a lot of physical work to get done and no people to work." Is that the instruction Srila Prabhupada was giving to Gour Govinda Maharaj? Obviously not. One become diksha guru only to deliver pure devotion to conditioned souls, not to make the management of a temple project easier. Thus it becomes obvious that Srila Prabhupada's use of the word "sishya" was in the common indian usage, refering to assistants working and studying under Gour Govinda Maharaj, but in no way implied he should become a diksha guru.

At the time that this whisper was secretly spoken by Srila Prabhupada to Gour Govinda Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada was the only undisputed Acharya in ISKCON, without anyone even considering the need for a replacement. Does this above claim make any logical sense? That Srila Prabhupada at this time, in a secret whisper while passing by Gour Govinda Maharaj, told him to become the next Acharya in such unclear language? And this is the absolute proof that is offered to the worldwide devotee community. I do not doubt that such a statement may have been made by Srila Prabhupada, but the interpretation that it refers to becoming the next acharya and diksha guru is a huge stretch from the direct interpretation and self evident meaning.

"You should have your own men, otherwise how can you manage."

Further Gour Govinda Maharaj states:

"I was not allowed (by the GBC) to accept disciples at that time and some devotees felt disappointed and left and went to the Gaudiya Math and accepted a spiritual master from there."

I would further offer, if his prospective disciples were so whimsical as to immediately leave him and take initiation from the Gaudiya Matha, then he obviously had not inspired them or trained them properly. Was the reason he became a diksha guru simply to stop people from leaving him and going to the Gaudiya Math? Obviously it is not clear, but the argument that he presents here does not appear to be very strong and convincing.