The West values passion and the domineering spirit, often taking them as indications of personal strength, but the Vedic perspective views them as weaknesses of heart. To lord it over material nature is considered progressive in the West, especially when efforts impelled by passion succeed. Buddhi-yoga in Kåñëa consciousness cannot be maintained with such an attitude and mentality. Passion leads to increasing the propensity to lord it over, conducive to inextricable entanglement in Nature’s complexities.

Becoming attached to matter and the possession of matter is intrinsic to the modes of passion and binds one to saàsara. All the major problems of material existence are due to the lower modes, but the West only recognizes problems caused by the modes of ignorance, which works to destroy what is, in most cases, unnecessarily created when everything appears to flourish in passion.

All emphases added for your edification and realization.

In the modes of passion, almost everyone puts his or her human adhikära at risk. That is primarily because this mode is subject to degradation in so many ways. This is not the case when a human being is normal, in the modes of goodness. In the modes of passion, almost everyone desires to be or become the greatest personality of the world. When the endlessly mutable and ever-increasing material desires of the modes of passion become frustrated, anger often ensues. That anger is a combination of the lower modes and leads toward its corollaries completely in tamo-guëa.

Western culture is enamored by these lower modes, and all the various names for its systems—such as industrialism, capitalism, liberal democracy, republicanism, nationalism, etc.—appear to be advancement of civilization. In point of fact, they are all based upon exploitation and do not actually represent either spiritual or real material advancement. Only transcendentalists realize this.

Dovetailed . . . To What?

“But sometimes it happens that this philosophy is given a self-interested interpretation. As soon as personal motivation comes in, it is not possible for one to understand our Kåñëa consciousness philosophy.”
-Letter to Éçän, 9-21-70

“The difficulty is sometimes things are interpreted in a manner dovetailing one's own sense gratification. I have got this personal experience in my guru mahäräja's institution. Different godbrothers took the words of guru mahäräja in different interpretations for sense gratification and the whole mission disrupted.”
-Letter to T.K.G., 10-08-69

“Our duty is therefore to be very, very careful. The poison is personal ambition.”
-Letter to Satyabhäma, 11-1-70

It was common preaching in “ISKCON” (post-1978) that engagement in what was claimed to be devotional service was supposed to produce “the best of both worlds.” The eleven pretender mahäbhägavats introduced this, all in their own ways, within their zones. They wanted disciples and followers to be very active in the mode of passion, because the results of such engagement would mean money and increase of the congregation.

However, it is difficult to engage with that kind of attitude and mentality, with that kind of intelligence, and simultaneously not to get tripped up by personal ambition. This principle, in and of itself, is not difficult to acknowledge, as it is, more or less, a self-evident truth. However, for “ISKCON” to survive and thrive, it needed to continuously grow. Personal motivation in the modes of passion, as long as the results were (mostly) surrendered to the “ISKCON” big guns, was (and remains) crucial to keeping the money-makers and active “preachers” in the field engaged. The pitfall to such a mentality was thus conveniently ignored.

All this was established by rationalizing the concept of dovetailing things in Kåñëa consciousness. The idea was that all the devotees, particularly the new disciples with their new béjas (as discussed in Part Three), should work hard for results and thus dovetail whatever was motivating them in that labor of love for the pleasure of the new guru, the initiating guru of the particular zone in which the chela had come to “ISKCON.” Such “dovetailed” personal ambition was generally not discouraged by the “ISKCON” gurus.

Thus, if success was attained (if the pick was big), then all the devotees so engaged in the modes of passion, despite whatever personal considerations or ambitions impelled or compelled them, were said to be achieving success in spiritual life. This was (and remains) the essence of the “ISKCON” dovetail, viz., as long as men and money kept coming in (with some books and magazines going out), then Lord Caitanya’s mission was being successfully promulgated. Fulfillment of the desires propelling such work would become integral to “the best of both worlds.”

There are in-built problems with this kind of philosophy, although it does, at least for a limited time, function progressively (not spiritually) in the Western milieu. It is based on the numbers rationalization, i.e., God is on the side of the biggest guns. As such, the big guns of “ISKCON” believed—or, at least, seemed to believe—that His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda measured success in spiritual life on the basis of social actions and their material results. The numbers game is the Western style, and “ISKCON” adopted it fully after Prabhupäda departed; it would be incorrect to say that the cult was not already heavily into this mentality while they were converting him into a figurehead before he left us.

Can tantra and ghost-busting be dovetailed? Can physical assault and verbal abuse? What about embezzlement and murder? Can moral and sexual deviance, such as pedophilia and homosexuality, be dovetailed into Kåñëa consciousness?

When “ISKCON” leaders vilify, threaten, and abuse devotees—especially the ones criticizing them but still clinging to the institution—can such base energies be considered dovetailed actions? What about the fraudulent pretense of the original great pretenders and other latter-day, reprobate gurus? Can such fraud be dovetailed? As one soon-to-be-voted-in-as-guru said to your author in 1981, “Somebody had to cheat them.”

The rubber-stamped gurus of the late Seventies and early Eighties lusted after control of the institution (created by Çréla Prabhupäda), with all of its structures, amenities, and facilities. They claimed and took hold of everything that their greedy hands could secure. It was smash and grab at its worst. Can this be considered an immaculate example of the dovetail principle?

Rampant child abuse was covered up for a period of time. Can that perversion and cover-up be considered dovetailing heinous behavior in the service of the Lord? What about all the “sannyäsé” falldowns with women? Were any of those men actually sannyäsés? Some of them were also “ISKCON” gurus. When they come back to the institution hat in hand, are they then bona fide?

Of the eleven pretender mahäbhägavats, two of those “sannyäsés” were active homosexuals. Can that be dovetailed into Kåñëa consciousness? What about thuggery . . . “for Kåñëa?” What about scamkértan . . . “for Kåñëa?”

What about all the salaried positions? Especially since His Divine Grace specifically forbade it, can that be rationalized and dovetailed? On the plea that its leaders are engaged in dovetailing their own modes of nature, can such an ethically challenged institution actually be representing the pure line of guru-paramparä?

Are you willing and able, in good conscience, to accept all of these patterns as nothing more than the “growing pains” of a fledgling and sincere effort to dovetail lower propensities in the name of Kåñëa consciousness? Another change, another change, and then another change. Can practically changing the character and style of the whole movement be said to be dovetailing the Western propensity for constant change into Kåñëa consciousness? Do you really believe that to be true? If so, guess again!

Instead, have the stones to admit to yourself that, under the guidance of an errant and vitiated G.B.C., “ISKCON” represents a corrupt operation, a sinister empire possessing but a veneer of saintliness in order to cover up endemic criminality.

Dovetailing individual intelligence with the immeasurably superior intelligence of the Paramätmä is what buddhi-yoga is all about. It is a highly benefic mystic process. Every transcendentalist engaged in it can easily attain, in due course of time, the true conception of the Paramätmä as his or her transcendental Friend, Protector, and Guide. The malefic and perverted manifestations of that, however, is what we are concerned about here.

When dovetailing is not engaged in the right way, then, instead of dovetailing Western propensities into Kåñëa consciousness, the exact opposite transpires. What is that? Superficial engagements in what only appears to be Kåñëa conscious is instead dovetailed into Western culture. Devotees doing this, almost imperceptibly, become expert in individual achievements that the West so much praises and values. Another way of saying the same thing is that these misguided men and women, egged on by bad leaders, empower unauthorized (even if their “ISKCON” guru says they are authorized) desires, ambitions, propensities, and mentalities through rituals, penances, austerities, and other ways and means, that are only apparently part of sädhana-bhakti.

By doing so, those sädhanas are transformed into service of the material, turned into little or nothing more than the semblance or shadow of transcendence. They still have potency even in that transformation, so material results are obtained; this is called dovetailing “Kåñëa” into Maya. It is useless in purifying personal consciousness. Worse yet, at a certain point, the so-called devotees who have immersed themselves in this mentality cannot be helped anymore by anything or anyone:

"Persons who are determined to totally rot in false, material happiness cannot become Kåñëa-minded either by instructions from teachers, by self-realization, or by parliamentary discussions.”
-Çrémad-Bhägavatam , 3.9.17, purport

The numbers game does not represent real Kåñëa consciousness. Material achievements such as big bank balances, opulent worship, big temples, all kinds of unknowledgeable men and women in the congregation (“increasing the family of devotees”), nice vehicles, delicious food, etc., do not, in and of themselves, represent advancement of knowledge and purification of personal consciousness. In “ISKCON,” these impurities increase, and the whole show slips into little more than a diversion:

“We do not want any false pretenders in numbers, but we want a single sincere soul.”
-Letter to Lalét Kumär, 2-2-70

The sincere devotee knows the art of how to dovetail Western things into spiritual achievement. Simply by personal sincerity, his actions will generally be effective, and everything else will then follow automatically. The great pretenders concocted but another warped scheme as how to wrongly employ the principle of the dovetail. Thus, a devolving pattern created a transformed movement in the late Seventies (although its seeds were already there previously). The host culture got over. The modes of passion, over time, usually degrade into the modes of ignorance. We are all seeing that malefic sphere increasing before our very eyes.

The Hindoo Hodge-Podge

“The so-called Hindu religion that is current at the present day is a purely secular affair with a plausible spiritual background improvised by the unscrupulous ingenuity of the propounders of the main philosophical systems of this country, which were primarily intended for bringing the secular arrangement under the sanction of çästric regulations.”
-Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Prabhupäda’s response to Gandhi’s Ten Questions from the Yerwada Jail in Pune, India (Dec. 1932). Published in the Harmonist newspaper on Jan. 7, 1933

“This philosophical hodge-podge exists under the name of the Hindu religion, but the Kåñëa consciousness movement does not approve of it. Indeed, we strongly condemn it. Such worship of demigods and so-called incarnations of God should never be confused with the pure Kåñëa consciousness movement.”
-Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi, 10.11, purport

Succotash: A cheap mixture of green corn kernels, lima beans, and shell beans popular in America during the Great Depression.
-composite dictionary definition

The Hindu religion was not a vehicle that His Divine Grace chose to ride in order to promulgate his movement, either in India or the West. Hinduism is not of divine origination as is Vaiñëavism. Hinduism is also not a unified movement as per its rituals, its interpretation of Vedic scripture, its prominent gods to be worshipped, or its conception of man and his relation to the universe--and what is beyond the cosmic manifestation. Hinduism is the opposite of the message and method of the four lines of guru-paramparä founded by the müla-äcäryas.

Hinduism must be understood, in and of itself, before it can be clearly seen in juxtaposition to Vaiñëavism. Hinduism is a second-order simulacrum of hard-core Mäyäväda, which itself is a first-order simulacrum of Upaniñadic and Vedäntic lines of teaching and culture. Vaiñëavism constitutes the original interpretation of the Vedas (which includes the Upaniñads), the Vedänta, the Itihäsas, and the småti-çästras in conformity with the Vedas.

Hinduism is henotheistic or polytheistic, while Vaiñëavism is ultimately monotheistic, although it recognizes and respects the powers delegated to the officers of the universal government of the Supreme Controller. Like Mäyäväda, Hinduism believes that the ultimate goal is to attain the brahmajyoti (säyujya-mukti). Vaiñëavas, although they admit that säyujya is beyond the universal coverings and beyond saàsära, never accept merging into the unlimited effulgence of God as the goal.

Many wild-card gurus have emerged from Hinduism, and some of them, such as the founder of the Ärya Samäj (and his followers) are virulently anti-Vaiñëava. Such unauthorized men, after attaining limited mystic powers, are able to fool sections of the world with their propaganda; often Hinduism mixes, in a syncretistic manner, with different teachings from disciplines in the Orient, in India, in the Middle East, in Judaism, and, of course, in Christianity. Not all Hindu gurus take this route, of course (the Ärya Samäj certainly does not), but Hinduism still promotes a syncretistic approach. How could it be otherwise? Hinduism means hodge-podge, and it cannot be dovetailed with Kåñëa consciousness.

As stated by Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkur, most of Hinduism was initially motivated by a desire to combine the secular arrangement of India with the teachings and strictures of Vedic authority; to some extent, that has been accomplished. We could be quite specific in connection to this, but such a digression would entail going off on a tangent. Nevertheless, although Hinduism is often highly sentimental, that should not be misinterpreted to mean that it is liberal. Most definitely it is not.

The Hindus--particularly in the East but also, to a somewhat lesser extent, in the West--are clannish, insular, and possess a superiority complex which is not difficult to discern when anyone outside their race(s) and/or sects interacts with them. Most devotees are by now well aware that Hinduism has infiltrated “ISKCON” in a very big way. This infiltration has swelled the coffers, and, in some cases, is the difference between meeting the monthly operating expenses or going under and closing the temple down.

As such, some operations—such as the former Piggot’s Manor in Britain—openly advertise their “ISKCON” ceremonies, rituals, and congregational activities as Hindu. Actually, that is not false advertising, because “ISKCON” is, in essence, a Hindu movement at this time. After all, Hinduism is a third-order simulacrum of the Vedic teaching, process, and culture, and “ISKCON” is a first-order simulacrum of the movement founded by His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda in the mid-Sixties. However, truth in advertising does not necessarily make something spiritually bona fide. Çréla Prabhupäda never wanted his movement to be known as a branch of either the Goudéya Mutt or Hinduism:

“ . . . I am not very interested to establish a Hindu temple. Perhaps you know from the very beginning I never described my movement as Hindu religion.”
-Letter to Mukunda, 6-10-69

There are two dynamics at work within “ISKCON” at this time, and this could produce a major schism, comparable in its effect to the schism with the Goudéya Mutt in the early Eighties. The first dynamic centers on the female dékñä-guru issue. That is an analysis of which would require a separate article; we shall not delve into it in this section at this time.

The second harbinger of schism concerns the dynamic of how to effectively spread their movement in order to eventually secure political power in the West. Superficially, it would appear that the “ISKCON” affiliation with Hinduism is a strong strategy, particularly since it alleviates the economic problem for many of the larger centers. Some wealthy Hindu businessmen also sponsor particular “ISKCON” wild-card gurus, so the influence of these Hindus in the transformed movement cannot be underestimated. The question is whether or not their influence will prove to be helpful to the cult in the long-run.

An argument could be made that this “ISKCON” alliance and affiliation with Hinduism serves as a protective buffer against Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. These three religious monotheisms are much opposed to idol worship, and virtually none of them approves of the Hindu worship of forms. This statement of obvious fact should not be misinterpreted to mean that worship of the form of the Supreme Lord and His Divine Çakti constitutes idol worship, but the subtlety involved in differentiating demigod worship from worship of the Supreme is not something the three prominent organized religions of the world appreciate.

Hinduism has the numbers worldwide to compete with these other religions; indeed, it is bigger (in terms of numbers of followers) than Judaism. If push comes to shove and all hell breaks loose, some kind of alliance between and amongst various religious sects could be but one of the reactions to such a fast-changing and dangerous situation. By affiliating with Hinduism, “ISKCON” could be said to be following an effective survivalist strategy should the Western religions become conjoined inimically against it. There is an argument to be had here, obviously.

The real issue for the Kåñëa consciousness movement, however, is not what is its best survivalist strategy; instead, it is what is its most effective preaching strategy. The sleeping giant is not to be found amongst the narrow-minded, insular, conservative cults and sects of the world. The sleeping giant is instead the liberal religion of liberation theology. It flourishes with an ethic that can and does entice support from the secular Western governments of the liberal democratic world. It is based upon helping the down-trodden, feeding and clothing people, providing shelter, and protect people from the oppression of the plutocratic powers-that-be. The current Pope is somewhat favorable to it, and his previous track record indicates that he took part in it--at least, to some extent.

Hinduism has a general attitude that is opposed to liberation theology. As mentioned previously, Hinduism is highly conservative and insular. Only some Indian gurus invite Westerners into their communities, and then, in most cases, those converts rarely evolve deeper than the fringes. The wild-card gurus who came to America in the Sixties were inclusive, but they were starting their movements from scratch, so it could not have been otherwise.

The Goudéya Mutt, with a few exceptions (and none of them being dedicated to His Divine Grace in any strong way), did not approve of his coming to the West and creating Vaiñëavas from its disenchanted section. Yet, his preaching mission was not insular, and its counter-cultural ethos was distinct from both the Goudéya Mutt and Hinduism. He arranged for massive free food distribution (sanctified foodstuffs, of course), and he invited everyone into his mission who was willing to follow the rules and regulations that he imposed. He did not at all approve Hinduism as helpful to spreading Kåñëa consciousness throughout the world:

“We should not anymore think in terms of Hindu society. . . if we preach the philosophy of Kåñëa consciousness in right earnest, it will be accepted throughout the whole world.”
-Letter to Bankajé, 3-13-70

By so strongly affiliating with Hinduism, “ISKCON” is now ignoring the path that can lead to its long-term results. The best customers of Prabhupäda’s movement were the hippies. Except for some small pockets in India, such as in Goa, the hippies were not well-received by the Hindus. The hippy lifestyle was liberal and permissive. Many hippies from all walks of life, from all three modes, came to Prabhupäda. Most of the pillars of his early Society were from the hippie religion, which was a combination of sahajiyä neo-daraveça, romanticism (from the turn of the Twentieth Century), and idealistic or utopian fragments from the Renaissance era and medieval culture. These underlying sources of origination, combined with the message music of the rock ‘n roll gurus, moved most hippies into a mindset favorable to liberation theology, as long as it was free from institutional or organized religion.

Hippies in the mode of ignorance came to Prabhupäda. Hippies in the passionate mode came to him. Those mostly in the mode of goodness were highly attracted to him, obviously. Paradoxically, the segment of hippies that gravitated toward transcendence mostly joined impersonal or Buddhist cults, if they joined anything at all. Still, in search of knowledge, realization, and enhanced personal power (mystical powers), some of the radicals from that particular sphere also came to Çréla Prabhupäda.

This is how his movement spread for almost all of the years that he was physically manifest, even after he was made into little more than a figurehead by the vitiated G.B.C. (many of whom, ironically, were former hippies as well). Once institutionalism and the rigid totem pole of hierarchy took over, “ISKCON” became transformed into an entity that eventually would look toward the Hindus as its natural allies. It was nothing like that in the formative years, as Hindus only infrequently even visited Prabhupäda’s centers. Hardly any Western Hindus joined his movement.

At this time, there are also Hindu temples ever-increasingly scattered throughout the Western world. They were also, to a much lesser extent, present while Prabhupäda was promulgating his movement forty years ago. There was no attempt made at affiliation whatsoever. His Divine Grace did not consider them viable institutions for liberation from repeated birth and death:

“Regarding the Hindu centers in the foreign countries, none of them are bona fide. There is a similar hodge-podge center in London.”
-Letter to Jaya Patäkä, 4-17-70

“ISKCON” is backing the wrong horse by depending upon Hindu revenue and attendance. Sometimes these “ISKCON” temple facilities are even rented out for the purpose of holding Hindu ceremonials, such as weddings and the like. There have even been instances of “car puja,” which is so ridiculous as to boggle the mind. Yet, money talks and something else walks. To think that “ISKCON” can take and spend all of that money and make so many compromises with the Hindoo and still not be adversely affected is to not recognize the power of association and the stringent laws of karma. The ideals of Kåñëa consciousness have already been heavily dumbed down by institutionalism, and now this growing Hindu influence and money further degrades the cult:

“Our plan is not to sponsor the Hindus . . . we may draw the attention of a section of Hindus, but we cannot really execute our ideals. So, we cannot be very much enthusiastic in this connection.”
-Letter to Yamunä, 5-27-69

Çréla Prabhupäda’s movement was primarily for the benefit of elevating Western man into an advanced, spiritual being. Indeed, his centers in India did not even come into existence for just short of eight years--after he had successfully launched his mission in America, Canada, and Western Europe. Whenever he wrote or spoke of Hinduism, with but few exceptions, he did so in a deprecating manner. He wanted no alliance with it. Even in places like Trinidad (where a significant percentage of the people are transplanted Hindus), the Westerners he was appealing to there were not attracted to either the chained mentality of organized religion or to the sentimentalism of Hinduism:

“Yes, actually this Hindu religion is a dead religion. . . (Westerners) are not much interested in sentimental religions like Hinduism.”
-Letter to Vaikuëöhanätha, 2-4-72

The buddhi-yoga process is to show Kåñëa consciousness as it is, not as others want to see it. The sincere devotee knows the art of how to dovetail Western culture into spiritual achievement. In this process, he does not waste time trying to dovetail Hinduism into Kåñëa consciousness. Any such effort will wind up producing the opposite effect, viz., the so-called Kåñëa movement will be converted into yet another form of Hinduism.

There is probably going to be a schism in “ISKCON” on this issue in due course of time. That is because its liberal/progressive wing will come to the realization that over-dependency upon Hindu money, and the malefic effect it has had on changing the attitude and actions of their peers and friends, is adverse to the best method of spreading their brand effectively to the people. His Divine Grace was not part of Christian liberal theology, of course, yet his mission had far more in common to it—some compatibility in a perfect way—then it had or has with the Hindoo hodge-podge.

The Poison is Personal Ambition

“I do not know why our students, who are supposed to be the leaders of this movement, will fight amongst themselves for supremacy.”
-Letter to Bali Mardan, 5-10-70

“ . . . if there is bad boy, he can turn the whole family into ashes. Similarly, in this institution, if there is a bad disciple, he can burn the whole institution into ashes.”
-Letter to Bali Mardan, 8-25-70

Solara: “What are they doing now?”
Eli: “It can’t be good.”
-The Book of Eli

There was not just one bad disciple but eleven of them. Even before initiating new people, these “zonal äcäryas” were buttressed, assisted, aided, and abetted by other criminal minds in the form of various vassals, enforcers, sycophants, and fanatics. The eleven considered themselves above the law, viz., above the laws of the state, above the laws of karma, and above the laws regulating those supposed to be engaged in vidhi-sädhana bhakti. They took this to the next level in 1978, and it immediately percolated down. That was not at all surprising, of course, because such mentalities and tendencies had already been on display by the leaders (and big collectors) well before the takeover was consummated.

Their trident of temerity had and has three prongs. This çüla kept almost everyone in the movement at bay and docile in the immediate aftermath of the zonal äcärya debacle.

The longer (or middle) spike of the trident was and is the imprimatur of the vitiated G.B.C. Each of the eleven bad boys was a G.B.C. man, and the governing body had authorized their statuses and their zones of control. It had also stated, falsely, that they were appointed by His Divine Grace as initiating gurus. Over the previous years, it had increasingly been emphasized that everyone in the movement had to accept whatever was ruled by the Commission as being non-different from the order of the pure devotee--thus, the order of the Supreme Lord. This indoctrination had successfully pervaded all levels of the Society in the Seventies, and only a few of Çréla Prabhupäda’s initiated disciples were capable of questioning it by the time his mission was massively transformed in 1978.

The other prongs were and are not as prominent or powerful, but were, nevertheless, equally effective. By early 1978, most of Prabhupäda’s initiated disciples were not centering their service attitude on him for his pleasure. Over time, they had come to believe that pleasing the specific leader who sanctioned their service was what produced the best results. They were taught, sometimes subtly, to believe that Çréla Prabhupäda did not even know who they were, what their engagement was, and what they had accomplished. Materially speaking, serving to please their immediate authority in the chain of command appeared to lead to better results. Those with such a mentality faced far less harassment from the leaders than the members who thought and felt differently—and were made uncomfortable because of it.

Basically, the attitude was rooted in the misconception that only the leaders had access to Prabhupäda and were known and approved by him; the rest were workers engaged in seva that had to be passed up the paramparä through only the leaders of the Society. As such, when the eleven pretender mahäbhägavats took control, most of the rank-and-file were already inclined to fall in line. Even if their immediate leader was not one of the eleven, when he kow-towed to the new arrangement—and most of them did, many with fervor and self-serving dedication—then the workers accepted.

The third prong was and is a humiliating mentality inculcated into the congregation (except not in its leaders) which can be summarized as the “simply accept” attitude, a kind of slave mentality. The “inmates of New Våndävan” were especially infected with this anti-intellectual, anti-individualistic, anti-study, no-think, anti-yogic mentality. It was pushed by the leaders in order to control the workers. When the new arrangement came down in 1978, the serfs laboring under the “simply accept” whammy, most of them already in shock since November, accepted it. These psychic slaves no longer even had the capacity to question the arrangement.

In 1978, His Divine Grace was not physically present to give even a tepid or provisional approval to anything. This was the stamp of authority that had previously been used countless times by the Society’s leaders, to their distinct advantages, in the name of spreading Kåñëa consciousness. Prabhupäda had been relegated to little more than a figurehead by the mid-Seventies. During that period, one letter from him to one leader with one line in it indicating he approved of something to some degree could be, and was, used to implement, force through, or keep in place all kinds of questionable behaviors and programs. The leaders would thus use Prabhupäda in this way in order to elicit surrender from their godbrothers, further strengthening the trident of temerity.

However, after the gold rush, this çüla required embellished qualities, because the umbrella was no longer up and the leaders had to stand (or fall) on their own power. As has been shown in so many ways, the “ISKCON” upper echelons does not consist of men who had honed power from the mode of goodness. They could demand respect, and that would work . . . for awhile. They could deceive the rank-and-file about their statuses, and that would work . . . for awhile. They could perfect the art of stringing things out and buying time, and that would buy time . . . for awhile. Still, fix-it-as-you-go will break down in due course. In time, the trident’s effect could become dulled and lessened--unless some improved power was discovered to re-sharpen its prongs.

However, the “ISKCON” leaders--who were not, and are not, self-realized souls on any level (even preliminarily)--could not employ transcendental or spiritual power, because they hardly possessed any of that. They had not honed much power in the mode of goodness, either, because their éçvara-bhäva, used to control all the others in “ISKCON,” was and remains not conducive to sattvic bala.

The shadow of partial mystic powers is neither spiritual nor transcendental, although it is out of the ordinary. The demigods in higher universal regions channel the mode of goodness as their source of strength in order to defeat demoniac forces. Conversely, in what appears to be Prabhupäda’s movement, beyond “pukka” pretenses, has sattva been the operative principle of the “ISKCON” leaders? In order to keep and increase their supremacy, what powers have been, and continue to be, developed? In case you do not recognize it, that’s a rhetorical question.

Within the context of one chief mode of nature for all conditioned souls, as there are eighty-one (3 X 3 X 3 X 3) varieties of miçra-bhakti, so there must also be eighty-one varieties of thinking, speaking, and action in the modes (generating karmic and vikarmic reactions). In the case of a mercantile man, the modes of passion and ignorance are more or less equal, i.e., that combination becomes his chief “mode” of nature. Everyone who comes to the Kåñëa consciousness movement or who, unfortunately, approaches its shadow or semblance (either an imitation school or a wrong school, such as Rittvik), will be under the spell of some combination of these modes.

The Eighteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä unequivocally confirms that all men, by worship of the Supreme Lord, can attain perfection (siddha) in the performance of their duty (sva-dharma). The sva-dharma is determined by the sva-bala, which means it is determined by the modes of nature conditioning the individual. Duty, to a considerable extent, will be different in varëäçrama-dharma as opposed to vidhi-sädhana bhakti, but the principle of dovetailing whatever you are allowed to dovetail remains the same.

Sometimes, the mode of passion is called demoniac and the mode of ignorance diabolical. The mode of goodness being just that, we have the Vedic conception of the good, the bad, and the ugly. The mode of passion is not considered good, although, in the West, just such a misconception is prevalent. Your author once directly experienced this in verbal exchange with a powerful mleccha-vaiçya, the branch manager of a successful small business in South Texas.

Dovetailing boils down to whether or not given statements and/or actions are authorized according to Vedic authority (duties in varëäçrama-dharma) or according to the orders of the spiritual master, the real Äcärya in the true sense of the term. This is action in Kåñëa consciousness according to the principles of vidhi-sädhana bhakti. Both can lead their practitioners to siddha, but, for our purposes, we emphasize the orders of the Äcärya.

Is ISKCON (no quotation marks), in the service of the Founder-Acharya of that branch of the sampradäya, engaged in dovetailing what only appear to be demoniac and/or diabolical actions? Or, instead, is “ISKCON” empowering demoniac modes by watering unwanted creepers with so-called bhakti? Another way of looking at it is to ask whether or not unauthorized activities, impelled by personal ambition, are being strengthened by (technically) following various rules and regulations (austerity) in what, superficially, appears to be vidhi-sädhana bhakti. Either way, something is being dovetailed into something else, but dovetailed into what? And a third way to frame the issue is whether or not “ISKCON” is, in its own peculiar and unique way, following the path of the Goudéya Mutt after the disappearance of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Öhäkur:

“The difficulty is sometimes things are interpreted in a manner dovetailing one's own sense gratification. I have got this personal experience in my guru maharaja's institution. Different godbrothers took the words of guru mahäräja in different interpretations for sense gratification and the whole mission disrupted.”
-Letter to T.K.G., 10-08-69

In the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä, we find an analysis of the divine and demoniac qualities, i.e., qualities in the mode of goodness as juxtaposed to qualities in the lower modes. The first three verses of that chapter detail the divine qualities, numbering twenty-six; they are specified mostly in terms of applications to the four varëas. Of the remaining twenty-one verses of that chapter, twelve of them are devoted to the demoniac qualities, also numbering twenty-six. These qualities are inclusive to both the demoniac (rajo-guëa) and diabolical (tamo-guëa). At the end of this section, in the Appendix, a list of these qualities has been provided.

This issue of the dovetail is at the core here, and it can be rationalized like any other one, with an illusory middle way imagined. Yet, in order to see things clearly, every devotee has to make his or her determination about it. The negative repercussions of coming to the wrong conclusion could be severe. Has what appears to be Çréla Prabhupäda’s international branch remained a bona fide line of disciplic succession after his disappearance?

“They wrongly manufacture their own way of devotional service by open debauchery and mislead others who are simpletons or debauchees like themselves.”
-Çrémad-Bhägavatam , 2.2.18, purport

We shall analyze this further in Part Five, wherein the four current deviant groups will be described in more detail. For now, let us remember that His Divine Grace never guaranteed that his branch of devotional service would automatically fulfill the prediction of the Supreme Personality, Lord Caitanya:

“Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu has forecast that this Hare Kåñëa Mantra will be heard in every nook and cranny of the globe. He is God, so it will happen; that is a fact. So, if we take advantage, then we may take the credit, but, if we do not, someone else will.”
-Letter to Karändhar, 11-4-70

The poison is personal ambition, manifesting itself in many ways. When the eleven pretenders decided to hop on elevated seats and take pompous worship from their godbrothers, godsisters, and foolish newcomers, the die was cast. As Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Prabhupäda said, and which Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swämé Prabhupäda repeated, “There will be a fire.” The bad boys decided to burn down the mission in order to fulfill their strong and audacious desires for power, profit, adoration, and distinction. For a short time, they were allowed to fulfill those desires, and their movement, very briefly, appeared to be a juggernaut. Very early in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä, Çréla Prabhupäda makes the following comment:

“In this Sixteenth Chapter, the Lord explains both the transcendental nature and its attendant qualities and the demoniac nature and its qualities. He also explains the advantages and disadvantages of these qualities.”
-Bhagavad-gétä, 16.1-3, purport

It is not that the demoniac qualities are entirely disadvantageous, otherwise the sentence would have been worded very differently to how it now reads. In terms of the disadvantage of the demoniac qualities, there is one quality that is prominent, however, viz., the benefits demoniac qualities give are temporary and not evolutionary. Things are breaking down in “ISKCON,” and people are catching on as to what that movement really is. As such, do not expect the internecine, fratricidal war to end anytime soon.

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Appendix

NO. SANSKRIT	ENGLISH	CITATIONS
01  dambhaù	pride	16.4, 16.10
02  darpaù	arrogance	16.4, 16.18
03  abhimänaù	conceit	16.4, 16.10
04  krodhaù	anger	16.4, 12, 18, 21
05  päruñyam	harshness	16.4
06  ajïänam	ignorance	16.4, 16.7
07  açaucam	uncleanliness	16.7, 16.10
08  näcäraù	improper behavior	16.7
09  asatyam	untruthfulness	16.7, 16.8
10  nañöätmänaù	lost to oneself	16.9
11  alpa-buddhayaù	meager intelligence	16.9
12  kämaù	lust	16.10, 12, 18, 21
13  mänaù	false prestige	16.10, 16.17
mänänvitaù
14  äçä-päçaù	entanglement in hope	16.12
15  ätma-sambhävitaù	self-complacency	16.17
16  stabdhaù	impudent	16.17
17  dhanänvitaù	absorption in wealth	16.17
18  madänvitaù	absorption in madness	16.17
19  ahaìkäraù	false ego	16.18
20  balam	personal power	16.18
21  dviñataù	enviousness	16.18, 16.19
22  kruran	mischievousness	16.19
23  müòhaù	rascal foolishness	16.20
24  lobhaù	greed	16.21
25  käma-kärataù	whimsy	16.23
26  çästra-vidhim utsåjya	rejecting sastric
	injunction	16.23

Although not specifically listed as a quality, mental speculation is alluded to in 16.8, in terms of a prominent demoniac conception from mental speculation.