By Yugala Kisora Dasa
Purnacandra Dasa talks in his book about some unspoken obstacles, or impediments, on the path to bhakti. Some of them, like institutionalism and lack of freedom, may exist in any religious organization, but being subtle and difficult to spot, they are often not discussed. Although not a sociologist, but a practitioner of bhakti-yoga in the International Society for Krishna consciousness (ISKCON) for over 30 years, the author makes relevant philosophical and sociological observations. He speaks mainly to the ISKCON audience, but the principles he discusses apply to any religious institution. Thus the book can be of interest to those Vaishnavas concerned with building a better ISKCON, and especially to those, the author gives tools and practical hints how to bring about changes they want to see.
Purnacandra begins with the philosophical definition of pure devotional service (bhakti) from the Srila Rupa Goswami’s sixteenth-century book on bhakti, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. Srila Rupa Goswami describes pure bhakti as an activity performed favorably intending to please the Lord without any selfish motivation for knowledge (jnana), or any desire for personal enjoyment (karma).
Bhakti awakens in the company of others. To mature and give ripened fruits it should grow freely, without obstructions. As bhakti is free, the practitioner and the surroundings must also be free. Since love requires trust and free will, it cannot be enforced upon anybody. In this atmosphere of freedom, a person can develop feelings of deep affection for the Lord.
However, at times the institution creates an ambience that is just the opposite of trust and freedom. ( 1 ) In an atmosphere of skepticism, suspicion and disbelief in others, bhakti cannot grow. The chapter “Authority and Freedom” discuses how the authority withholding trust and freedom instills uneasiness in subordinates. People may still follow the leader, but not because they love or respect him: they fear the possible consequences of being uncommitted. However, when there is trust and love between the authority (guru) and a subordinate (disciple), genuine surrender takes place. One can be a real authority only when one loves his subordinates. Obviously, many shades of gray lie in-between these two extremes of authority, but the generalization stands that one can rule either by love or by fear.
The path of fear creates an authoritarian mood in the institution. Lacking freedom to reflect on the scriptural knowledge, one follows blindly without genuine understanding of the scripture. Authentic knowledge is acquired only then when a person is free to reflect on the philosophy from different angles of vision. Without this kind of freedom there can be no assimilation of philosophy or absorption in the practice of devotional service. Purnacandra holds that this mood, “brahminical ethos,” is unavailable in many of the ISKCON’s communities. He maintains that this may be one of the many reasons why some devotees leave the society. With the introduction of systematical sastric education, like bhakti-sastri courses, the brahminical ethos in the society can be shaped. Of course, devotion cannot develop only by education, but it includes subtler and deeper levels of learning. Thus one who is actually educated cannot be a blind follower.
The assimilation of philosophy develops gradually. Once developed, it is the source of creative inspiration for the person, allowing him to be truly himself. Situated in a high-quality environment a person develops all good qualities, like honesty, sincerity, tolerance, etc. This kind of social surrounding gives a person a chance to grow and fully develop his or her spiritual potential.
Being one’s self includes all aspects of one’s being. Since emotions are also an integral part of one’s identity, the author talks about them in chapters eight and nine. He shows how various misconceptions in dealings with emotions cause unfriendly and cold dealings in the ISKCON society. Because emotions and feelings arise from the mind and are products of material modes of nature, an aspiring spiritualist strives to control them. But to gain control over emotions does not mean their denial or repression. Very often a neophyte devotee has this conception, but it is a mistaken belief and a false conception of transcendence. Rather, supported with reason, one should learn where to place emotions. Purnacandra is not advocating that one should become an ocean of emotion, easily swept away by every petty sentiment, but in order to be fully alive one should be in touch with them. When applied in devotional service, emotions and feelings become transformed and purified.
This is where the varnasrama system becomes handy. The varnasrama system allows one to act on his or her level of religion, controlling the emotions according to one’s own capacity. Although one’s main identification is Vaishnava, still varnasrama provides for an individual an environment wherein a person can use all his or her talents in devotional service. Generally, varna is more important for the individual then for the institution. It fulfills his social, material, intellectual, and devotional requirements. Yet, introduction of the varnasrama social system can present some difficulties. If the focus is not on the individual and his needs, then another caste system can be created. Rather than creating an all-inclusive social system, it will just divide ISKCON and create disharmony. Alluding to some examples from the recent ISKCON history, the author pleads for caution when introducing the varnasrama system.
So far Purnacandra talked about issues like freedom, the role of emotions, blind following and varnasrama. In the chapter “Liquid Refuse,” he discusses some subtle (liquid) forms of refuse that can create an unpleasant aroma in the organization. Some of these may push devotees into the back rows of society, or even provoke them to leave ISKCON. When an organization becomes bureaucratic and alienated from its members, more concerned with ceremonials than the needs of real people, then that organization cannot do well. Although in this chapter Purnacandra gives examples of this kind of institutional dynamics, still, according to his observations, ISKCON has not now reached that state. Nevertheless, there are some issues, like poor leadership, that trouble the society. Rather than close one’s eyes, one should recognize the problems and their symptoms to improve the current situation.
Leaders of the society give direction to the organization and are responsible for its mood. But if they are out of touch with others and themselves, they can create an atmosphere detrimental to the growth of bhakti. This occurs when a leader lives in his or her self-created dream world, in a bubble, unaware of reality. That phenomenon, when the leader’s main concerns are position and executive status, is called institutionalism. Eventually for him the organization is more important than the people in it. Such a religious leader uses an organization not for spiritual growth, but to fulfill his material desires. Masking outer, external goals as inner ones, he becomes a religious statesman fascinated merely with the ranking within the organization, which is actually just the outward form to facilitate the real substance: devotion to the Lord.
Although ISKCON’s form, with its many temples, farm communes and community projects is magnificent and glorious, still loving devotional service and Srila Prabhupada’s teachings are its substance. To illustrate the relationship between the substance and the form, Purnacandra uses the example of milk and the cup. Milk (substance) can be drunk directly from the cow, but hardly anyone will do this. Rather, one will use a cup (form). The form depends on the substance, which is independent of it. Likewise, Purnacandra pointed out that bhakti stands independent of any organization; however, one needs the other for its storage, protection and distribution. Focusing on the substance the form will flourish too.
When Srila Prabhupada left this world, a large number of his disciples were in their mid- twenties, inexperienced in life and unripe spiritually. Most of them were not fully qualified for the leadership positions they had taken. To please their spiritual master in spreading the “message” worldwide most of them were sincere and honest in their efforts. But because they were spiritually immature, false pride stepped in. Deluded by their high clerical ranking, some of them fell down from elevated institutional positions, damaging not only their spiritual life but harming others as well. Purnacandra mentions this, among the rest, as one of the reasons why the subtle line that divides essential substance from supplemented form remained somewhat vague. At present the majority of ISKCON leaders are mature and spiritually full-grown. Hopefully, they have learned something from the past mistakes. Therefore the time is ripe for ISKCON to develop a culture wherein devotion (bhakti) can flourish and grow freely without obstacles.
Culture is a set of customs and ways of behaving. It affects people’s character, ethos, personality, moral values and principles – their entire being. The thirteenth chapter, entitled “Character and Culture,” discusses how cultural surroundings have an effect on one’s personality. Upon joining ISKCON a person very soon finds out that our “push-button society” and Hollywood culture is not so akin to Vaishnava tradition. Accepting an ISKCON routine, one can virtually throw away his previous way of living over-night, without fully embracing the Vaishnava culture. Thus such a person can find himself in a cultural vacuum, situated in neither of the two worlds. He enthusiastically accepts Vaishnava culture, but gets the wrong idea about the principles behind the rules and regulations. As a result, he behaves somewhat mechanically without any finesse in personal dealings.
To further illustrate the points he makes, Purnacandra ends the book with some examples of Srila Prabhupada’s elegance and style in his personal dealings. Besides that, in the concluding words the reader can examine some appreciations of Srila Prabhupada from various spiritual teachers outside of the Gaudiya Vaishnava denomination.
The Russian publisher, Gauranga Publishing House, presented “Unspoken Obstacles On the Path to Bhakti.” The book portrays how ISKCON passed through various stages in its internal development. Therefore the book can interest sociologists who study new religious movements. To them, it can be exciting to observe how the westerners, who grew up in a completely different social and cultural milieu, accepted the new religious practice. ( 2 ) Although Gaudiya Vaishnavism is not a new religion, but another branch of a very old and flourishing tree, still ISKCON is a fairly recent bud on that aged tree of Vedic or Hindu culture. ( 3 )
I enjoyed reading the book. Finally, I thought, here is a book in which the author has the courage to talk about the issues which everybody in ISKCON wants to discuss, but rarely somebody dares to voice. Purnacandra discusses these issues openly and honestly, without any hidden agenda. In his statements he tries to be as objective as an insider can be, knowing well the difficulty of managing a spiritual society in the material world. He is straightforward and focuses himself on the problem instead of lashing out at individuals. I felt that the book was written with a cool and analytical mind, pointing out some of the “hot potatoes” that trouble the society, along with a concerned heart that wants to see a better and healthier ISKCON: a house in which the whole world can live.
The book is dynamic and vivid, very well-grounded in the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy. Statements made by the author are clearly supported with scriptural references from the writings of Srila Prabhupada. ( 4 ) Furthermore, the author quotes from numerous sociologists, philosophers and various past and present spiritual teachers in the Gaudiya Vaishnava line. This broadminded approach and balanced mixture of personal realization couched in philosophy makes the reading a pleasurable experience. Moreover the author interweaves Srila Prabhupada’s stories and examples to point out a direction for devotees to follow.
Srila Prabhupada is the life and soul of ISKCON, and there is no better model for present and future devotees. Srila Prabhupada once said: “I give them a little power and they immediately start ordering everyone around, ‘do this, do, do this.’ No. First you get them to love you, and then they’ll do whatever you want.” Love is an art, and Srila Prabhupada perfectly mastered this art. However, for the rest of us it will take some time and a lot of patience to become fully adept in the art of loving. But is not that the goal of sadhana-bhakti? ( 5 )
1 “Freedom does not mean a free-for-all in the sense of loose, hedonistic behavior. A healthy balance must be struck in order to succeed, and this should be instilled with the principle of gradually increasing one’s freedom as one matures and develops.” (35)
2 Thomas Hopkins, an authority on Vaishnavism writes: “What became evident was that Bhaktivedanta Swami did, in fact, have a plan which he was gradually implementing – a plan that involved bringing more and more of the authentic tradition over from India and putting it in place in America, or Western, movement. He made his students more and more familiar with the philosophy. This I was expecting. What I did not expect, and what really surprised and pleased me, was the degree to which the ritual tradition was also brought over and put into practice. That’s something that no other movement has succeeded in doing, nor even really tried to do: transporting a traditional Hindu ritual structure into a Hindu religious movement in America.” In Steven J. Gelberg, ed., Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna: Five Distinguished Scholars on the Krsna Movement in the West, New York: Grove Press, 1983.
3 The term Gauda is an ancient name for Bengal, and a Vaishnava is a devotee of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. The Gaudiya-Vaishnava’s are generally known as followers of Caitanaya Mahaprabhu, who rejuvenated the culture of Krsna bhakti in the sixteenth century. Since Krsna and Vishnu are different aspects of the same Supreme Person, devotees of Krsna are also known as Vaishnavas. Gaudiya-Vaishnavism was revived in Bengal in the late nineteenth century by Bhaktivinoda Thakur and his son Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakur, (who organized the Gaudiya Math). The Gaudiya Math consisted of numerous temples and asramas dedicated to preaching the philosophy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One of Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati’s disciples, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada went to the west on his guru’s order, and in America founded the International Society for Krsna consciousness (ISKCON, or the Hare Krsna movement) in New York, in 1966.
4 Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami: “I think this book is substantial and dynamic. It is full of sastric foundation but also personal, well aware of ISKCON history and not afraid to speak honestly.”
5 “When transcendental devotional service, by which love for Krsna is attained, is executed by the senses, it is called sadhana-bhakti, or the regulated discharge of devotional service. Such devotion eternally exists within the heart of every living entity. The awakening of this eternal devotion is the potentiality of devotional service in the practice.”(Caitanaya caritamrta Madhya 22.105)