Stop ISKCON from becoming an Apasampradaya – Introduction

From Akincana Gocara Website

https://www.akincana.net/2019/10/27/stop-iskcon-from-becoming-an-apasampradaya-introduction/

Introduction

The GBC passed a resolution permitting Female Diksha Gurus (FDG’s) in ISKCON at their annual mid-term meeting on 15 October 2019 at Tirupati, India. From the beginning when this was proposed almost twenty years ago there was heavy opposition to it especially from devotees well versed in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, due to the fact that there was no strong basis in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and sastra for it. Thus this resolution came as an unexpected surprise.
The resolution claimed to be basing its arguments on the Sastric Advisory Committee’s (SAC) 2005 FDG paper.
We recall however that most if not all the points in that paper were thoroughly refuted in another paper commissioned on behalf of the erstwhile IRGB (ISKCON India) in 2009-10, and therefore it had no valid sastra pramana. One wouldn’t expect such a resolution which introduces major changes in ISKCON to have weak sastric pramanas, or rather, no sastra pramana to be passed by an august body such as the GBC, the managerial body of a worldwide spiritual society. In other words, we did not expect them to pass resolutions not in accord with GSS.
We are repeatedly told by the GBC that it is the highest managerial authority and enjoined by it to adhere to its directions and instructions. As Srila Prabhupada himself setup the GBC we are duty bound to follow it. However, Srila Prabhupada also ordered us to follow Guru, Sadhu and Sastra (GSS). What do we do if the GBC abandons the line of GSS? They went against the words from the sadhus, the senior Sri Vaisnavas pandits who expressed concern and anguish when they heard of the move to introduce FDG earlier this year. They went against sastra, which gives guidelines on women’s duties, which Srila Prabhupada repeatedly quoted and spoke about in lectures and books. And concerning the guru, Srila Prabhupada, they only took selective quotes.
We are kali-yuga jivas, spiritually weak, unfortunate and are powerless against maya. The GBC as a spiritual management body is supposed to manage the society and protect it against maya. So what is our fate and that of ISKCON when the GBC itself does not follow sastra?
The authors of the paper commissioned by the erstwhile IRGB, found anomalies in the SAC FDG paper that made them ask; Was the SAC paper fair and unbiased, or was it written from a strictly Western-centric, modernist, feminist; position, with a predetermined conclusion already in place? This lack of transparency on the part of the SAC seriously undermines its credibility.
With so many discrepancies (which will systematically be pointed out) in the SAC’s 2005 FDG paper, how could they pass a resolution based on it? Our hope was that members of the GBC would notice this flaw in the resolution and do something about it, given that it was available in the pubilc domain, but it does not seem like that will happen. So, out of concern for the direction of Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON, we have therefore taken it upon ourselves to begin pointing out the defective arguments in this FDG resolution.
We hope to reproduce parts of the IRGB paper refuting the SAC’s 2005 FDG paper, periodically, on this website thus showing how they also refute all arguments in the latest FDG resolution and, how the resolution therefore effectively renders ISKCON into an apasampradaya, divorced from GSS. We hope to convince the concerned parties to rescind the resolution and save ISKCON from this perilous path.