What is parampara – disciplic succession?
This question cropped repeatedly in a discussion which I had with one of the followers of the self-appointed gurus of ISKCON. This follower was always glorifying the current crop of self- made gurus and even went on to say these “gurus” are indeed the next in the parampara after Srila Prabhupada and that those who do not accept them are displeasing Srila Prabhupada.
I tried my best to explain to him in my own limited impure ways about how the parampara works and how actually by accepting Srila Prabhupada as the spiritual master one is in no way cut off from the parampara as the fanatic disciples of self-made guru claimed.
In a morning walk conversation with disciples, Srila Prabhupada explained when actually parampara breaks.
“…When it was not handed down. Simply understood by speculation. Or if it is not handed down as it is. They might have made some changes. Or they did not hand it down. Suppose I handed it down to you, but if you do not do that, then it is lost. Now the Krishna consciousness movement is going on in my presence. Now after my departure, if you do not do this, then it is lost. If you go on as you are doing now, then it will go on. But if you stop…” (Morning Walk – May 10, 1975, Perth) In this conversation he made it clear parampara breaks when the knowledge given by the spiritual master • Is not handed down • When understood by speculation • Not handed down as it is • When changes are made by the disseminator • And when the disseminator does not follow the instructions Srila Prabhupada is the true representative of Brahma Madhva Gaudiya sampradaya and he is
the current link who brought down the pure teachings of Krishna. He wanted that his disciples continue this parampara by spreading this transcendental science for future generations.
“…Then make them. That is your duty. I am talking to you, and you talk to them. That is parampara system. Alone, I cannot go everywhere. Now you learn and you speak…” (Conversation – Dec 9, 1973, Los Angeles) So it is very important to strictly practice the principles as given by Srila Prabhupada. One should not try to understand his teachings by speculation; instead hear from him in sincere and submissive manner. It is also important for his disciples to hand down the knowledge given by him to others. It is also important that it should be handed down as it is. It is also important that no changes should be made to Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.
The follower of the current self-made ISKCON guru argued with me that how can the parampara continue without another person taking over the baton so to say. He said it is imperative that there should be someone after Srila Prabhupada from whom we take the spiritual knowledge.
He further claimed that these are the sincere disciples who have been authorized. Thus he said these people are indeed next after Srila Prabhupada in parampara and I would be doomed if I did not accept them. We have to accept a bona fide representative he said.
Yes, it is imperative that one receives the knowledge about the science of bhakti from a bona fide representative of the disciplic succession coming all the way from Krishna as Srila Prabhupada has taught us: “…We have to accept perfect knowledge which comes down, as is stated in Bhagavad-gita, by the parampara (disciplic succession). We have to receive knowledge from the proper source in disciplic succession beginning with the supreme spiritual master, the Lord Himself, and handed down to a succession of spiritual masters.” (Bhagavad-gita Preface) “…The first condition of devotional service to the Lord is therefore to be a servant of a pure devotee, and this condition is fulfilled by the statement "reception of the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has also served another pure devotee." That is the way of pure disciplic succession, or devotional parampara.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23) In fact in one of the conversations with an academic in Detroit, Srila Prabhupada even states that his disciples are being trained to be future spiritual masters.
Mohsin Hassan: Now this movement must have structure. Will you please tell us about the structure of the (indistinct) from the hierarchy on the top, and all the way down.
Prabhupada: Yes, it is, this movement is started from Krishna.
Mohsin Hassan: Yes.
Prabhupada: Then, from Krishna, Narada. From Narada, Vyasadeva. From Vyasadeva to Madhvacarya, from Madhvacarya to Isvara Puri, Madhavendra Puri, then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then His disciples, the six Goswamis, then Krishna dasa Kaviraja, then Baladeva Vidyabhushana. So we are taking account very rigidly from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and I am the tenth generation from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Mohsin Hassan: Yeah, the tenth. After you, is it any decision has been made who will take over?
Prabhupada: Yes. All of them will take over. These students, who are initiated from me, all of them will act as I am doing. Just like I have got many Godbrothers, they are all acting. Similarly,
all these disciples which I am making, initiating, they are being trained to become future spiritual masters.
Mohsin Hassan: How many swamis do you initiated, American? I'm speaking just on… Prabhupada: About ten.
Mohsin Hassan: You have ten swamis. And outside of swamis, what's the lower… Prabhupada: Now, they're competent. They can, not only the swamis, even the grihasthas, they are called dasa adhikari, and brahmachari, everyone can, whoever is initiated, he is competent to make disciples. But as a matter of etiquette they do not do so in the presence of their spiritual master. This is the etiquette. Otherwise, they are competent. They can make disciples and spread. They can recruit more members in this. They do, but they are being trained up. Just like here in this meeting, one of my disciples, he is acting as priest. It is not myself; he is acting. So some of my students, they are acting as priests, some of them are swamis, so they are competent to make disciples. (July 8th 1971, Detroit) So does that mean all disciples of Srila Prabhupada who had the great fortune of being initiated by him can initiate immediately after his physical departure and take disciples on their own right as the acharya and continue the parampara? As claimed by these self-made gurus? Definitely not. Yes, all of them were blessed to be initiated by Srila Prabhupada and had the great fortune of being personally guided by him. Srila Prabhupada also wanted all of them to lead the movement as his representatives. Just as a father wants to see his son do more than himself he wanted his disciple to do more than him in a transcendental sense of relationship. But he wanted to empower them to act as siksha gurus not as the next acharyas of the disciplic succession. By spreading the teachings as his representatives, Srila Prabhupada wanted them to bring the prospective disciples to be initiated by him. He wanted them to practice the principles strictly and preach all over the world but not accept disciples, but to bring them to him.
This desire of Srila Prabhupada is revealed in a conversation which he had with the GBC on May 28th 1977.
Satsvarupa: … Then our next question concerns initiations in the future, particularly at that time when you're no longer with us. We want to know how first and second initiation would be conducted.
Prabhupada: Yes. I shall recommend some of you. After this is settled up, I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating acaryas.
Tamal Krishna: Is that called ṛtvik-ācārya?
Prabhupada: Ṛtvik, yes.
Satsvarupa: Then what is the relationship of that person who gives the initiation and the… Prabhupada: He's guru. He's guru.
Satsvarupa: But he does it on your behalf.
Prabhupada: Yes. That is formality. Because in my presence one should not become guru, so on my behalf, on my order… āmāra ājñāya guru hañā [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Be actually guru, but by my order.
Satsvarupa: So they may also be considered your disciples.
Prabhupada: Yes, they are disciples. Why consider? Who?
Tamala Krishna: No, he's asking that these ṛtvik-ācāryas, they're officiating, giving dīkṣā.
Their… The people who they give dīkṣā to, whose disciple are they?
Prabhupada: They're his disciple.
Tamala Krishna: They're his disciple.
Prabhupada: Who is initiating. He is grand disciple.
Satsvarupa: Yes.
Tamala Krishna: That's clear.
Satsvarupa: Then we have a question concern… Prabhupada: When I order, "You become guru," he becomes regular guru. That's all. He becomes disciple of my disciple. That's it… In this conversation it is clear that Srila Prabhupada wanted to set up a system of initiation in which he wanted some of his disciples to act as ritvik – officiating acharya, not the next acharyas in the line of disciplic succession. The self-made gurus have tried their best to distort Srila Prabhupada’s desire in this matter and cheated the devotees and occupied his position by using a misinterpretation to his statements – “They are his disciple, …Who is initiating. He is grand disciple, He is Guru…” However much these self-made gurus try to obfuscate Srila Prabhupada’s intent in this conversation, following facts are direct and obvious: He wanted his disciples only to be officiating acharyas – ritviks He did not want them to be acharyas next in the line of disciplic succession.
These facts are obvious when we read the last statement wherein Srila Prabhupada says, “When I order you become guru, that’s all.” Meaning that this is indeed not an authorization for making anyone guru, one has to wait till Srila Prabhupada orders. Nor did Srila Prabhupada give an authorization to GBC to set up system of successor acharyas. They had to wait till he orders. But they did not. Unfortunately, these self-made gurus use this as “Appointment Tape” and claim that somehow he did intend his disciples to be next in the line and he did hand over the baton to them through this exchange, how much more in illusion can one be! In the first statement Srila Prabhupada made it clear they are officiating acharyas but still they claim they are the next after him!
Srila Prabhupada knew very well that some of his disciples were over ambitious and wanted to be next in line in the parampara and wanted to misuse the institution for their ulterior ends. To prevent this and to make clear his true intention on July 9th 1977, he setup in place within ISKCON a formal system of ritvik initiation wherein new disciples would be initiated as his disciples and his senior disciples, 11 of whom he named to act as his representatives or ritviks.
“…The newly initiated devotees are disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the above eleven senior devotees acting as His representative. After the Temple President receives a letter from these representatives giving the spiritual name or the thread, he can perform the fire yajna in the temple as was being done before. The name of a newly initiated disciple should be sent by the representative who has accepted him or her to Srila Prabhupada, to be included in His Divine Grace’s “Initiated Disciples” book.” (Letter – July 9th 1977)
Thus it is obvious that Srila Prabhupada wanted his disciples to carry on the parampara by teaching as he taught and by practicing as he set the example. He wanted them to be siksha gurus who would spread his teachings by being role models and his true representatives, he did not want them to be the acharyas in their “own” right but he wanted them to be preachers in their “own” right.
But it is very unfortunate that these self-made gurus lost out on Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and claimed to be next in the line after him, distorting his teachings and wreaking havoc in the wonderful movement created by him.
They were empowered to act as siksha gurus, bring more disciples to Srila Prabhupada and spread the Krishna consciousness movement world over. But instead they chose to replace him and tried to accept the position for which they were not authorized. If they had continued to do as they were supposed to, they would have been empowered to spread Krishna consciousness the world over but instead they have reduced ISKCON to mathas of these 90 odd self-made gurus. ISKCON is splintered, broken apart due to inner factions, due to struggle of these 90 odd gurus to protect their own fiefdom. Due to Srila Prabhupada’s forceful instruction of setting up a GBC as the ultimate managing authority and putting in place system of independently administered virtually autonomous centers, ISKCON has not disintegrated into 90 odd mathas.
It has somehow at least externally remained as one unit. Internally because of the cross fighting between these gurus, it has lost the cohesive unit which it was before Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure.
Each center has by force of the successor system current within ISKCON become a matha or joint matha of the guru(s). Srila Prabhupada explained what the real core aspect of the parampara is.
“…There is a gulf of difference between the two qualities of sound, namely prakrita and aprakrita. The physicist can deal only with the prakrita sound, or sound vibrated in the material sky, and therefore we must know that the Vedic sounds recorded in symbolic expressions cannot be understood by anyone within the universe unless and until one is inspired by the vibration of supernatural (aprakrita) sound, which descends in the chain of disciplic succession from the Lord to Brahma, from Brahma to Narada, from Narada to Vyasa and so on. No mundane scholar can translate or reveal the true import of the Vedic mantras (hymns). They cannot be understood unless one is inspired or initiated by the authorized spiritual master. The original spiritual master is the Lord Himself, and the succession comes down through the sources of parampara, as clearly stated in the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. So unless one receives the transcendental knowledge from the authorized parampara, one should be considered useless (viphala matau), even though one may be greatly qualified in the mundane advancements of arts or science.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.4.22) The spiritual knowledge descends in the chain of disciplic succession. It has to be bestowed by the predecessor spiritual master to the disciple. It cannot be claimed by just self-anointing oneself as the successor. One cannot force oneself into this position.
I pray that these self-appointed gurus will come to their senses and give up false claim to the seat of the acharya and play the true role which Srila Prabhupada wanted them to play.
Parampara is already continuing through Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental books. He is speaking to thousands of sincere disciples and is giving shelter to them even now, so the
parampara is already continuing. It is up to us as disciples to strictly follow his teachings and become his true representatives and represent the parampara as per his wish.