I never could figure out whether I was a "fringie" because I stuck around but never joined the movement, or whether it was that I "blooped", seeing that I did in actuality join the movement and lived in a temple for about a year. Either way, it's nice to know that at long last I am considered by Ravindra Svarupa to be a "part of the congregation".

I read Ravindra Svarupa's articles with mixed feelings. Some of the things that he says I expect to be true in certain cases, but none of them applied to me. Like I said in my Vaikuntha articles, I lived in a temple for almost an entire year, in Rocana's temple in Seattle, and during that entire time not once was I ever pressured to accept initiation. Nor was I regarded as anything except a devotee by the other devotees while I lived there. Oh. I suppose that they prayed to Lord Krsna for His special mercy upon me, but not a single one ever came down on me. Instead they respected me, even if they considered my reason for not seeking initiation to be foolish.

Rocana is right in dividing the ISKCON period into a before and after period - a before Srila Prabhupada left the planet and an after he had left period that extends unto this day. Although my reasoning for not seeking initiation from Srila Prabhupada turned out to be foolish, as was revealed to me by Krsna (also recounted in my Vaikuntha articles), my reasons for not seeking initiation after he had left were not so foolish, and extend down to this day. While I knew Srila Prabhupada to be Guru, I also came to know that none of the 11 that I met were qualified. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, just as it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure Ravindra Svarupa or Radhanatha or any of the other ISKCON guru's out.

"Throughout his whole presentation, Ravindra Svarupa makes himself out to be the hero who did everything right. The rest of us were fools for not following his example."

The reason that Rocana das is not finding very much philosophical presentation worthy of comment from those under the ISKCON umbrella, such as Ravindra Svarupa, is simply because the philosophy that Srila Prabhupada presented does not support the way that they are conducting their lives or managing ISKCON. They are not brave enough to come out straightforwardly and say right out that Srila Prabhupada was wrong, so they go about minimizing him. Those who accept him as nothing less than the purveyor of the unvarnished absolute truth can only challenge inferences such as can be drawn from Ravindra Svarupa's latest exercise in self-delusion, which Rocana das happened upon.

Ravindra Svarupa does indeed imply that the devotees who surrendered straightaway to the Krsna consciousness movement were foolish in comparison to himself, and that all others who follow his example and go on with their lives (but who show up to give big donations) are really the ones who are properly situated.

This accomplishes several things. Firstly, it makes him feel that he is wiser than the ones that he implies did not properly understand the philosophy. Secondly, it gives outlet to the envy and malice that he harbors against them. Thirdly, it is obviously aimed at those who support him and the institution.

Of course, he is wrong. Those who gave up their lives to the Krsna consciousness movement, leaving off all of their material attachments, weren't foolish at all. According to the standards that Ravindra Svarupa upholds they were quite mad.

caitanya-candrera krpa hanache inhare
caitanya-candrera'batula' ke rakhite pare?

"Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has fully bestowed His mercy on him. Who can keep home such a madman of Caitanyacandra?"
CC Antya 6.41

Not only were they mad, unlike Ravindra Svarupa and the many Hindus who have come to America to improve their economic standard of life, "like crows seeking garbage to feast upon" according to Srila Prabhupada, they had another thing that Ravindra Svarupa didn't have: the actual thing which prevented him from joining straight away, and which continues to prevent those of the Hindu community that ISKCON so much relies upon for their support from putting their hearts and souls into Krsna consciousness. Not surprisingly that one thing is exactly what Rocana suspected that it was in Ravindra Svarupa's specific case (and in the cases of all and sundry that he refers to now being more intelligent). That one thing is mercy.

"The poor living entity cannot give up his materialistic position on his own; only when granted the special mercy of Krsna can he give it up." - CC Antya 6.193 purport

So according to Srila Prabhupada and the authors of the statements pertaining to those who give up materialistic entanglements and surrender straight away to Krsna's service, those like Rocana das and my sister Subhadra dd were the beneficiaries of Krsna's special mercy. Ravindra Svarupa was evidently not. Rather than admitting this, however, his ego prefers to think of itself as superior so he writes such nonsense, making it seem that others were foolish and that he was and is superior.

I don't buy it. I don't buy it because Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya say that what Ravindra Svarupa is presenting is bull crap.

I assume that Ravindra Svarupa either owns or has access to a copy of Caitanya-caritamrta. Am I also to assume that it was just buried to deeply under his travel journals and the pages of his own biography and those of his cronies to merit the effort to dig it out and open its pages, checking his thoughts and ideas out against the standard against which it must be measured in order for him to truthfully present himself as being a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and a minister of his mission?

The truth is that such men as Ravindra Svarupa are only representative of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya's mission in their own proud contumely which the facts of the matter, evident even to just anyone, to one not even a devotee, is that such claims as those Ravindra Svarupa and others in ISKCON make are transparent lies. They may believe them and obviously wish others to believe them, which is why they minimize the importance of Srila Prabhupada's books. But this is not what Srila Prabhupada intentioned.

Every time I write something that the Sun presents I like to quote guru, sadhu or sastra, or at least refer to something that was said. And if I can't support my conclusions with such valid and supportive evidence I would be foolish to even accept them myself, let alone to parade them before various all and sundry as the absolute truth.

Evidently being in ISKCON today carries the fringe benefit of not having to do that. Ravindra Svarupa refers to a specific and extends it into a generality. A particular letter to him and about him he interprets to apply to everyone then, and for all time. To do this, he has to disregard any data that is contradictive, that does not support his extension of the specific into a generality, and that data consists not only of other specific instructions to others, but also what is written in Srila Prabhupada's books and what is spoken by the Lord Himself! And this guy is able to offer spiritual advisement of good quality to his congregational members? Why isn't anyone in ISKCON coming down on him? Why is it left to people like Rocana (who they consider to be blooped and a fringie like myself) to correct their mis-impression that Ravindra Svarupa knows dog squat, or that he is qualified to advise anyone on spiritual matters?

Anyone who knows that farce of a spiritual guide, ask him a question for me. Am I still considered to be a part of the congregation?