ISKCON

Founder Ācārya Course

Student Handbook
Third Edition, July 2023

International Society For Kṛṣṇa Consciousness

Founder–Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Broad aims:
1. To deepen our understanding of Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s position as ISKCON’s Founder
Ācārya.

2. To deepen our foundational relationship with

Śrīla Prabhupāda as his instructed followers.

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 ISKCON FOUNDER - ĀCĀRYA COURSE

Lesson No. Lesson Name Page

No.
Lesson 1 The Spiritual Masters 4

Lesson 2 The Founder – Ācārya Principle 8

Lesson 3 Our Founder – Ācārya Śrīla Prabhupāda 12

Lesson 4 His ISKCON Branch 13

Lesson 5 Finding Our Mission Requires Purification 14

Lesson 6 To Love is to Cooperate 15

Lesson 7 Illusory Prabhupāda 18

Lesson 8 Your Śrīla Prabhupāda 21

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 LESSON 1: THE SPIRITUAL MASTERS

In this first lesson we’ll examine how all genuine gurus are one and yet different from each
other, and especially from Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person.
“Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī uses the plural here to indicate the disciplic succession.
He offers obeisances not to his spiritual master alone but to the whole paramparā, the chain of
disciplic succession beginning with Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.”

vande gurūn īśa–bhaktān īśam īśāvatārakān

tat–prakāśāṁś ca tac–chaktīḥ kṛṣṇa–caitanya–saṁjñakam

‘I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters, the devotees of the Lord, the
Lord’s incarnations, His plenary portions, His energies and the primeval Lord Himself, Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Caitanya’.
Śrī Caitanya–Caritāmṛta Ādi–līlā 1.1

WHAT IS A GURU? Guru is a representative or manifestation of Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality

of Godhead.

ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān navamanyeta karhicit

na martya–buddhyāsūyeta sarva–deva–mayo guruḥ
‘One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should
not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.’
Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam 11.17.27

Even if we know what a guru is, do we know why we need a guru?

WHY DO WE NEED A GURU?

Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa for instruction just before the Kurukṣetra War.

To learn almost anything, we need a teacher (even to tie our shoes!), yet when it comes to
studying the highest science, “the spiritual science of the self”, we often naively think we can be
our own guru.
Bhagavad–gītā 2.7 wherein Arjuna surrenders to Kṛṣṇa for instruction. Read translation and
first para of purport.
Once we understand why we need a guru, it is important we connect with a genuine guru
to whom we can surrender. In one sense, of course, all genuine gurus are the same. Let’s see how.

HOW IS THE GURU ONE?

The original guru of all, Lord Kṛṣṇa.
All genuine gurus are one because they deliver the same message in disciplic succession
from Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Although one in message with Kṛṣṇa, all true gurus also differ. How?

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 Purport Śrī Caitanya–caritāmṛta Ādi–līlā 1.47: Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī states that
the instructing spiritual master is a bona fide representative of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself teaches
us as the instructing spiritual master from within and without. From within He teaches as
Paramātmā, our constant companion, and from without He teaches from the Bhagavad–gītā as
the instructing spiritual master. There are two kinds of instructing spiritual masters. One is the
liberated person fully absorbed in meditation in devotional service, and the other is he who
invokes the disciple’s spiritual consciousness by means of relevant instructions. Thus, the
instructions in the science of devotion are differentiated in terms of the objective and subjective
ways of understanding. The ācārya in the true sense of the term, who is authorized to deliver
Kṛṣṇa, enriches the disciple with full spiritual knowledge and thus awakens him to the activities of
devotional service.
When by learning from the self–realized spiritual master one actually engages himself in the
service of Lord Viṣṇu, functional devotional service begins. The procedures of this devotional
service are known as abhidheya, or actions one is dutybound to perform. Our only shelter is the
Supreme Lord, and one who teaches how to approach Kṛṣṇa is the functioning form of the
Personality of Godhead. There is no difference between the shelter–giving Supreme Lord and the
initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If one foolishly discriminates between them, he
commits an offense in the discharge of devotional service.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī is the ideal spiritual master, for he delivers one the shelter of the
lotus feet of Madana–mohana. Even though one may be unable to travel on the field of Vṛndāvana
due to forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can get an
adequate opportunity to stay in Vṛndāvana and derive all spiritual benefits by the mercy of
Sanātana Gosvāmī. Śrī Govindajī acts exactly like the śikṣā–guru (instructing spiritual master) by
teaching Arjuna the Bhagavad–gītā. He is the original preceptor, for He gives us instructions and
an opportunity to serve Him. The initiating spiritual master is a personal manifestation of Śrīla
Madana–mohana vigraha, whereas the instructing spiritual master is a personal representative of
Śrīla Govindadeva vigraha. Both deities are worshiped at Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Gopīnātha is the
ultimate attraction in spiritual realization.

HOW IS THE GURU DIFFERENT?

Lord Kṛṣṇa enlightens our sampradāya’s primeval guru, Lord Brahmā, with the sounds of His
celebrated flute.

By role: Although initiating and instructing spiritual masters are “equal and identical
manifestations of Kṛṣṇa,” they have “different dealings.” In his Shri Kṛṣṇa Bhajanāmrta, text
48, Śrīla Narahari Sarkāra states: “A disciple may hear some instructions from another
advanced Vaiṣṇava, but after gaining that good instruction he must bring it and present it
to his own spiritual master. He should hear the same teachings gained from his [own]
spiritual master with appropriate instructions.”

By qualification: “This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement directly receives instructions from

the Supreme Personality of Godhead via persons who are strictly following His instructions.
Although a follower may not be a liberated person, if he follows the supreme, liberated
Personality of Godhead, his actions are naturally liberated from the contamination of the
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 material nature. Lord Caitanya therefore says, “By My order you may become a spiritual
master.” One can immediately become a spiritual master by having full faith in the
transcendental words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by following His
instructions.”
Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam 4.18.5 purport

By commitment: Note the progression from introducing to initiating to instructing. As Lord

Kṛṣṇa tells Sudāmā Brāhmana: “My dear friend, he who gives a person his physical birth is
his first spiritual master, and he who initiates him as a twice–born brāhmaṇa and engages
him in religious duties is indeed more directly his spiritual master. But the person who
bestows transcendental knowledge upon the members of all the spiritual orders of society
is one’s ultimate spiritual master. Indeed, he is as good as My own self.”
Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam 10.80.32
Indeed, whichever guru—śikṣā or dīkṣā—commits to guiding us the most guidance
naturally becomes more prominent in our lives.

Having examined the oneness and difference among gurus, we’re ready to look at
how all true gurus are different manifestations of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

ALL GENUINE GURUS ARE DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS OF KṚṢṆA’S MERCY/

Śrīla Nārada Muni arrives to instruct Śrīla Vyāsadeva.

“A devotee must have only one initiating spiritual master because in the scriptures
acceptance of more than one is always forbidden. There is no limit, however, to the number of
instructing spiritual masters one may accept. Generally, a spiritual master who constantly instructs
a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on.”
Śrī Caitanya–caritāmṛta Ādi–līlā 1.35 purport

THE TRANSFERENCE OF KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE ESSENCE OF INITIATION &

INSTRUCTION/
Vāsudeva, Devakī & Kṛṣṇa in Kaṁsa’s prison.

“We should note carefully that the Lord was transferred to Devakī not by the ordinary way
for a human being, but by dīkṣā, initiation. Thus, the importance of initiation is mentioned here.
Unless one is initiated by the right person, who always carries within his heart the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one cannot acquire the power to carry the Supreme Godhead within the
core of one’s own heart.”
Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam 10.2.18 purport

If gurus are one & different, how much more so are gurus & God. With empowered genius,
Śrīla Prabhupāda was able to introduce this spiritual truth even to raw recruits.

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HOW DID ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA INTRODUCE THE ONENESS & DIFFERENCE OF GURU & GOD?
“On Janmāṣṭamī Day, 1966, Śrīla Prabhupāda announced on the eve of the first initiations:
Initiation means that the spiritual master accepts the student and agrees to take charge, and the
student accepts the spiritual master and agrees to worship him as God.” He paused. No one spoke.
“Any questions?” And when there were none, he got up and walked out. …” The students were
stunned. Later, one asked Śrīla Prabhupāda for clarification:
“Does what you told us this morning,” Howard asked, “mean we are supposed to accept the
spiritual master to be God?”
“That means he is due the same respect as God, being God’s representative,” Prabhupāda replied
calmly.
“Then he is not God?”
“No,” Prabhupāda said
Śrīla Prabhupāda–līlāmṛta Vol. 2, Planting the Seed

All Vaiṣṇava guru/disciple relationships thrive under the shelter of the founder–ācārya, the
foundational spiritual master of a disciplic branch. In the next lesson, we’ll examine the origin and
development of the founder–ācārya principle, with a focus on our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line.

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 LESSON 2: THE FOUNDER–ĀCĀRYA PRINCIPLE
In the first lesson, we looked at the guru principle—what a guru is, why we need a guru, how
the guru is one, how gurus are different, and how all gurus are different manifestations of Kṛṣṇa’s
mercy. In this lesson we’ll look at the “Founder–Ācārya,” (FA) the foundational spiritual master of
all gurus & disciples in his line.

THE FOUNDER–ĀCĀRYA PRINCIPLE:

To found:
To give a basis or firm support to.
To ground in (a subject of instruction).
To set up or establish for the first time (an institution, etc.) with provision for its
perpetual existence.
Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press

List below ways Śrīla Prabhupāda functions as ISKCON's Founder–Ācārya: –

Śrīla Prabhupāda has a unique relationship with every ISKCON devotee.

As the Founder–Ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness (ISKCON) and
the pre–eminent teacher and ultimate authority within our society, Śrīla Prabhupāda has a unique
relationship with every ISKCON devotee.
303. GBC Statement on the Position of Śrīla Prabhupāda (March 2013)

Śrīla Vyāsadeva instructs Śrīla Madhvācārya, the founder–ācārya of his disciplic line.

Although Śrīla Madhvācārya accepted dīkṣā and sannyasa from one Acyuta Prekṣa Swāmī,
since Madhvā received the most śikṣā from Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
Ṭhākura listed Madhvā as Vyāsa’s disciple in the Brahmā–Madhva–Gauḍīya sampradaya. Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura called his list the “Bhāgavata–paramparā,” a line of Bhāgavata
instructors.
Following Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, our Śrīla Prabhupāda noted in two early
letters: “Disciplic succession does not mean one has to be directly a disciple of a particular
person…”
(Letter to Kīrtanānanda, Los Angeles, 25 Jan 1969)

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 Rather: “Disciplic succession means to accept the disciplic conclusion.”
(Letter to Dinesh, Tittenhurst, 31 October 1969)

The Bhāgavata–paramparā includes both the “Book Bhāgavata” and the “Devotee
Bhāgavata,” an ācārya who teaches the book by his personal example: “The ācārya–sampradāya
is strictly bona fide. Therefore, one must accept the ācārya–sampradāya; otherwise, one's
endeavour will be futile.”
(Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam 10.2.31 purport)

As we will see in this lesson, it is from the ācārya–sampradāya culture—a culture of

exemplars––that the Founder–Ācārya principle emerges in our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line. Let us
explore the origin & evolution of “Founder–Ācārya.”

THE SIX GOSWĀMĪS FOUNDED THE VIṢVA– VAIṢṆAVA–RĀJA–SABHĀ

The Six Goswāmis of Vṛndāvana sharing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Within a dozen years after the disappearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in 1534 C.E, His
chief disciples, the Six Goswāmīs, founded an organized sanga, an association, in His name.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura identified the “Viśva–Vaiṣṇava–Rāja” as Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu, the “King of the world’s devotees,” and the “Sabhā” as the gathering, or assembly,
of those who worship Him. The Sabhā thus planted the organizational seed for “the founder–
ācārya.”
Next, we will examine a philosophical seed.

GURUS AND GREAT ĀCĀRYAS

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī writing:

In 1552 Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī finished writing his Bhakti–Rasāmṛta–Sindhu wherein he

distinguished gurus from great ācāryas, a distinction made clearer by Śrīla Prabhupāda in his
Bhakti–Rasāmṛta–Sindhu summary study, The Nectar of Devotion.
Corroborating reference: “…in our mental activities we should always try to think of Kṛṣṇa
and try to plan how to please Him, following in the footsteps of the great ācāryas and the personal
spiritual master.” (Nectar of Devotion, Introduction, p. xxi) This guru/great–ācārya distinction sowed a
philosophical seed for “the founder–ācārya.”

LITERARY SEEDS OF “FOUNDER–ĀCĀRYA”

Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura:

More than 300 years after the planting of the organizational, philosophical, and cultural
seeds of “founder–ācārya,” Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura planted the phrase’s literary seeds in his
Harināma Cintāmani, in Bengali.
While planting those seeds, Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura made an implicit connection
between the prehistorical originators of the four Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas and the historical ācāryas
uniquely empowered to represent them in our Kali age.
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 Now we will see when and how all those seeds, sown over four centuries, fructified as the
English–Sanskrit compound, “founder–ācārya.”

FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE ENGLISH–SANSKRIT PHRASE “FOUNDER– ĀCĀRYA”/

Premier issue of The Harmonist, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s English reincarnation of
Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura’s Bengali Sajjana–toṣanī.

THE FOUR FOUNDER– ĀCĀRYAS & THEIR PREHISTORICAL TEACHERS

The four Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas’ prehistorical originators and, below, their historical founder–
ācārya representatives for our Kali age.
The philosophy connected with each founder–ācārya identifies a particular aspect of the
relationship between the Lord and His energies.
In his visionary work, Śrī Navadvīpa–dhāma–mahātmya (NDM), Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura
describes how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared to each of the four Vaiṣṇava founder– ācāryas,
foretelling His advent and mission. “From Madhva, the Lord said, He would accept his complete
defeat of the Māyāvāda philosophy and his service to the Deity of Kṛṣṇa. From Rāmānuja the Lord
would accept the concept of bhakti unpolluted by karma and jñāna, as well as service to the
devotees. From Viśnusvāmī’s teachings He would accept the sentiment of exclusive dependence
on Kṛṣṇa, plus the path of rāga–bhakti. And from Nimbārka the Lord would embrace the necessity
of taking shelter of Rādha and the high esteem for the gopīs’ love of Kṛṣṇa.”
(Śrī Navadvīpa–dhāma–mahātmya 73)

Each philosophy of the four Vaiṣṇava founder–ācāryas, sounds incomplete. The philosophy
of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, “reconciles, harmonizes, and perfects” the four founder–
ācārya philosophies by presenting acintya–bhedābheda–tattva, the inconceivable, simultaneous
oneness and difference of the Lord and His energies.

FOUNDER–ACĀRYĀS ARE THE FOUNDATIONAL SPIRITUAL MASTERS FOR EVERYONE IN THEIR

DISCIPLIC LINES
Śrīla Rāmānujācārya & Śrīla Madhvācārya
Providing the core identity and foundational relationship for all generations of their
followers, Śrīla Rāmānujācārya and Śrīla Madhvācārya are outstanding examples of the
preeminent position of the founder–ācārya in the guru–paramparā.
For example, in the Rāmānuja branch of the Śrī (Laksmi) Sampradāya, serious followers still
introduce themselves thus: “Adiyān, Rāmānuja Dāsan” “I am your servant, the servant of
Rāmānuja.” It is his mahā–granthas, his great books, that they study, his murti they worship, and
his mission they execute. Firmly grounded in Rāmānuja as their foundational spiritual master, in
2017 the Rāmānujis celebrated their founder–ācārya’s millennial, the one thousandth anniversary
of his appearance in 1017 C.E.
For ISKCON we may note with profit how the Rāmānujis and Madhvas have survived and
thrived over the centuries by honoring their founder–ācārya as their foundational relationship and
core identity.

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 In our Gauḍīya–sampradāya, Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura’s Harināma Cintāmani offers
conclusive statements about the unique position of the founder–ācārya.

ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVINODE’S HARINĀMA CINTĀMANI SEEDS IN FULL BLOOM

Among a sampradaya’s gurus, note the pivotal position of the founder–ācārya. For his
followers, the founder–ācārya, “the topmost crown jewel of the spiritual masters,” is the
touchstone upon which his followers test all teachers and teachings.
Transition: Having looked at the origin, characteristics, and historical development of the founder–
ācārya principle, we are now ready to examine how our Śrīla Prabhupāda emerged as the founder–
ācārya of a fresh branch of the Gauḍīya–Vaiṣṇava–sampradāya, ISKCON.
Despite non–cooperation from, and differences with, his godbrothers, later that year Śrīla
Prabhupāda made the following observation in a letter to the president of his New York City
temple: “Even amongst our God–brothers we have misunderstanding but none of us is astray from
the service of Kṛṣṇa. My Guru Maharaja ordered us to execute his mission combinedly.
Unfortunately, we are now separated. But none of us have stopped preaching Kṛṣṇa
Consciousness. Even if there was misunderstanding amongst the God–brothers of my Guru
Maharaja none of them deviated from the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa.”
(Letter to Brahmānanda, 18 November 1967)

Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted us to be respectful to his godbrothers, everlastingly our seniors,

and at the same time not seek guidance from those who had fragmented his Guru Maharaja’s
mission. By dint of his absolute surrender to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s order, Śrīla
Prabhupāda was being uniquely empowered to communicate Lord Caitanya’s mission worldwide,
to all who strictly followed his teachings.

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 LESSON 3: OUR FOUNDER–ĀCĀRYA ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA

FROM “SWĀMIJI” TO “PRABHUPĀDA”

After ISKCON’s first brāhmin initiation in Boston in the spring of 1968, Govinda dāsi recalls
how “Swāmiji” became “Śrīla Prabhupāda”: All along everyone knew him as Swāmiji. This is up
until May of 1968. So Goursundar [my husband] decided he wanted to call me Govindaji, and so
he asked Prabhupāda and Prabhupāda said, “No, actually ‘ji’ is a third–class form of address. It’s
better not to call her ‘Govindaji.’” So, I piped up, I was sitting right in front of him, and I said, “Well,
if it’s a third–class form of address, why are we calling you ‘ji’? Why are we calling you ‘Swāmiji’?
And he said, “It’s not very important.” I said, “Oh, no, it’s very important. If it’s a third–class form
of address, then we don’t want to call you that. So, I told all the devotees. Some of the devotees
didn’t like it because it’s kind of is a tongue twister, “Prabhupāda,” and “Swāmiji” kind of flows
more easily. But we gradually started calling him “Śrīla Prabhupāda” from that time.
(From Following Śrīla Prabhupāda, DVD 01, Remembrances, May 1968, Boston)

The stage was now set for Śrīla Prabhupāda to formally identify himself in relation to his
ISKCON mission.

ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA FORMALLY IDENTIFIES HIS POSITION

On the day Śrīla Prabhupāda formed a Governing Body to manage ISKCON, he also formally
identified his pivotal position in the mission as its “founder–ācārya.”. Determined that ISKCON not
suffer the fate of his Guru Maharaja’s mission, Śrīla Prabhupāda began training Governing Body
Commissioners (GBCs) to manage the Society after his departure. And if something should happen
to ISKCON, the next day he separately incorporated his publishing house, The Bhaktivedānta Book
Trust, so Kṛṣṇa consciousness would continue to spread.

Four years later, chronic neglect of his absolute authority compelled Śrīla Prabhupāda to
draft an amendment to his earlier management document, reasserting his supreme position in
ISKCON in the strongest terms. Neglect of his position had appeared in documents, letterheads,
publications, on buildings, and in defiant actions—like the unauthorized sale of a temple, whose
president vanished with the proceeds. One measure of our understanding and appreciation of
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s position today is how we present him on our websites and social media, official
or otherwise.

Transition: Having deepened our understanding of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s relationship with all of us
as our founder–ācārya (sambandha), we are now ready to enter the abhidheya phase of our
seminar: how to act on our understanding by deepening our service to his mission.

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 LESSON 4: HIS ISKCON BRANCH

Ten years later, in 1976, while celebrating New York City’s first Rathayatra, Śrīla Prabhupāda
compared ISKCON’s appearance at 26 Second Avenue to Lord Boar’s advent from Brahmā’s
nostril––from tiny to titanic in no time.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s plan behind ISKCON’s rapid expansion had seven purposes.

1. To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people
in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life, and to achieve
real unity and peace in the world.

2. To propagate a consciousness of Kṛṣṇa as He is revealed in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad

Bhagavatam.

3. To bring the members of the society together with each other and nearer to Krsna, and thus
to develop the idea within the members and humanity at large that each soul is part and parcel of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

4. To teach and encourage the sankirtan movement, congregational chanting of the holy name
of God, and to reveal the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

5. To erect for the members, and the society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes,
dedicated to the Personality of Godhead.

6. To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simple and more natural
way of life.

7. With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute
periodicals, magazines, books, and other writings.

In March 1966, before Śrīla Prabhupāda moved from the Bowery to the Lower East Side,
Śrīla Prabhupāda was consulting an attorney about incorporating the “International Society for
Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.” When friends suggested Śrīla Prabhupāda use the more familiar term “God
consciousness,” Śrīla Prabhupāda replied that “God” was too vague, and that he had come to
reveal Kṛṣṇa as “the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Śrīla Prabhupāda’s rendering of Śrīla Rūpa
Gosvāmī’s phrase, “Kṛṣṇa–Bhakti–Rasa–Bhavitā Matih,” (Padyāvali 14) "to be absorbed in the
mellow taste of executing devotional service to Kṛṣṇa."

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 LESSON 5: FINDING OUR MISSION REQUIRES PURIFICATION
A waterfall’s journey. As water seeks its own level, so we all seek our true self.

In his Śrī Kṛṣṇa Samhita, Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura concludes that before settling our
occupational duty, we need to purify our nature. In his Varṇāśrama Compendium, Vol. 1, Chapter
30, “Determining One’s Varṇa,” HH Śivarāma Swāmi points out that by seriously and sincerely
following the devotional life Śrīla Prabhupāda has given us, we can purify our nature in three ways

By rites of passage: qualifying oneself, for example, for 1st & 2nd initiation and firmly
committing oneself either to the path of celibacy or to the path of responsible marriage.

By education & training: immersing oneself in, and allowing oneself to be transformed by,
systematic scriptural study (e.g., a Bhakti–Śastri degree program). Also, readily accepting
counsellor supervision.

By devotional practices: regularly participating in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s full morning program,

either at the temple or in one’s home. Prabhupāda’s early–morning program for us includes
the five most purifying practices outlined in Nectar of Devotion: chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa,
worshiping the Deities, associating with devotees, staying in a sacred place, and studying
Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam.

Along with purifying our nature, to settle our varṇa, our mission in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
mission, we need to consult with senior devotees.

FINDING OUR MISSION REQUIRES CONSULTATION

In his conclusion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Samhita, Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura also describes a collective
process for determining one’s varṇa, or calling, involving family elders, the family priest or ācārya,
and village leaders. This senior well–wishers focused on the person’s nature, especially the
qualities that dominated the individual’s personality and behaviour, as well as the person’s
attraction to a particular work. The main takeaway for us is that our varṇa should be ascertained
in consultation with senior devotees who have known us for some time.

Above all, we must remember that Śrīla Prabhupāda, as our founder–ācārya, remains our
foundational inspiration and guide for finding our mission in his mission.

As we pledge our shared allegiance to, and draw our deepest inspiration from, our founder–
ācārya, all of us will receive the help we need to find our natural place serving Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
mission, and following his example, come to execute that mission solely for the pleasure of the
Lord.

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 LESSON 6: TO LOVE IS TO COOPERATE
This image of Śrīla Prabhupāda, surrounded by a diversity of leaders, is a powerful reminder
that cooperating to serve our founder– ācārya’s mission is how the Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement will survive the ravages of time and take Lord Caitanya’s mission to every town and
village.

TO LOVE IS TO SERVE
Śrutakīrti massages Śrīla Prabhupāda at Bhaktivedanta Manor, summer 1973

Soon after joining Śrīla Prabhupāda as his servant, Śrutakīrti lamented he lacked the intense
love for His Divine Grace the devotees displayed at airport receptions. Concerned about his new
servant, Śrīla Prabhupāda asked Śrutakīrti if he liked serving him. “Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda,”
Śrutakīrti replied, “I like serving you very much.” [Scroll in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s reply & ask Students
to read]

More challenging than serving alone is serving cooperatively with the Lord’s devotees, many
of whom may be quite different from us.

TO SERVE COOPERTIVELY IS THE TEST OF LOVE

Determined that ISKCON not repeat the break–up of the Gauḍīya Mission after Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s disappearance, Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly advised his
disciples to cooperate, perhaps most famously at the time of making his final will.

As recorded in Śrīla Prabhupāda–līlāmṛta and Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Goswamī’s Diary, on May 17,
1977, Śrīla Prabhupāda returned to Vrndāvana to prepare to leave this world. After Śrīla
Prabhupāda reconfirmed, he wanted all GBCs to come witness his final will, Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Goswamī
replied he was sure they would all come because they loved Śrīla Prabhupāda so much.

On May 23 Śrīla Prabhupāda signed his will & and echoed his earlier statement about his
disciples’ love for him.

Śrīla Prabhupāda made statements about cooperation being the measure of our devotion
throughout his preaching pastimes, not just at the end. For example:

“When you do something in cooperation with the Lord, that is called bhakti.”
(Lecture, Seattle, 9 October 1968)

“The test of our actual dedication and sincerity to serve the Spiritual Master will be in this
mutual cooperative spirit to push on this Movement and not make factions and deviate.”
(Letter to Babhru dasa, 9 Dec 1973)

To discover some keys to cooperation, let’s enter into a “Prabhupāda dialectic.” If Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s point, his thesis, is that we must cooperate, what is his antithesis, his counterpoint?

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BUT DON’T EXPECT UTOPIA
The first challenge to cooperation is our own everlasting individuality.

In this connection, in a 1972 letter to GBC member Atreya Ṛśī, Śrīla Prabhupāda advised him
about conflict, telling him not to expect utopia, even in a spiritual movement like ISKCON.

“…It is not so much that because there may be some faults in our godbrothers and
godsisters, or because there may be some mismanagement or lack of cooperation, that this is due
to being impersonalists, no. It is the nature of the living condition to always have some fault. Even
in the Spiritual World there is some fault and envy…But it is not the same as material fault or
material envy, it is transcendental because it is all based on Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes when one Gopī
would serve Kṛṣṇa very nicely, the others would say, ‘Oh, she has done so nicely, now let me do
better for pleasing Kṛṣṇa.’ That is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice. So, we shall not
expect that anywhere there is any Utopia. Rather, that is impersonalism.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s well–known desire that we cooperate to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness to

every town and village was more than a farewell request as he was preparing to leave this world;
it was a theme he voiced continually during his twelve years of nonstop preaching round the globe.

Yet in spite of Prabhupāda’s mandate that we work together, cooperation can be hard to
find in the Age of Quarrel, where non–cooperation too often prevails. In this key lesson on
cooperation, we’ll see up close why cooperation can be so elusive as well as what we can do to
foster it.

So, if there is sometimes slight disagreements between devotees, it is not due to

impersonalism, but it is because they are persons, and such disagreements should not be taken
very seriously.”

FIND UNITY IN DIVERSITY

The first step to finding transcendent unity amid our often-dizzying diversity is trusting we
all share the same goal: pure devotional service to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu’s mission. Trust (or mistrust) comes from experience. Only with trust can we move
forward together, and sometimes “agree to disagree.”

In a 1973 letter to Kīrtanananda Maharaja, Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals the secret to finding
unity in diversity. First Śrīla Prabhupāda describes the challenge. “Material nature means
dissension and disagreement, especially in this Kali yuga. But, for this Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement its success will depend on agreement, even though there are varieties of engagements.
In the material world there are varieties, but there is no agreement. In the spiritual world there
are varieties, but there is agreement. That is the difference.”

Note that Śrīla Prabhupāda makes “unity in diversity” our Society’s perennial quest.

“But, if we fight on account of diversity, then it is simply the material platform. Please try to
maintain the philosophy of unity in diversity. That will make our movement successful.”
(Letter to Kīrtanananda, 18 October 1973)
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 In Śrī Caitanya–caritāmṛta Madhya 9.360 Śrīla Prabhupāda observes that the philosophical
basis of “unity in diversity” is acintya–bhedābheda–tattva, the inconceivable and simultaneous
oneness and difference of the Lord and His energies. Those energies are one in their desire to
please Him and different by pleasing Him in different ways.

“Unity in diversity” may sound good in principle, but how do we find it in practice, especially
in the Age of Kali, the Age of Disunity?

UNITE AROUND PRINCIPLES, DIVERSIFY THE DETAILS

Śrīla Prabhupāda walks with disciples at Bhaktivedānta Manor

To pursue unity in diversity, we need to identify and agree on timeless, universal principles
whose applications will vary according to the details of “time, candidate, and country.” Śrīla
Prabhupāda explains:

“It is not necessary that the rules and regulations followed in India be exactly the
same as those in Europe, America and other Western countries…We should not follow
regulative principles without an effect, nor should we fail to accept the regulative principles.
What is required is a special technique according to country, time and candidate.” (Śrī
Caitanya–caritāmṛta Madhya 23.105 purport) Śrīla Prabhupāda’s complete surrender to
the mission of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura & Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
empowered him with that “special technique” to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness around the
world. To help us learn that technique, Śrīla Prabhupāda continues to explain.

Even advanced Vaiṣṇava sometimes disagree about what are timeless, absolute principles
and what are relative, adjustable details. Here is another anecdote from Śrutakīrti:

“We arrived in Manila, Philippines, on October 11, 1972…Just before lunch on the
12th, I was massaging Śrīla Prabhupāda in his hotel room...While I was rubbing the mustard
oil on his back, Śrīla Prabhupāda said: ‘My god–brothers criticize me, that I have allowed
women to live in our temples. This is not done in India…But I have become successful
because I made this adjustment…’ “He then became quiet…Finally…he said, ‘it requires a
little intelligence and a lot of heart, where we live with the Lord.’

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 LESSON 7: ILLUSORY PRABHUPĀDA

“PRABHUPĀDA IS GOD”

How Śrīla Prabhupāda introduced the oneness & difference of God & guru on ISKCON’s first
Janmāṣṭamī Day in September 1966. Only four Janmāṣṭamī later, in August 1970, four newly
deputed sannyāsī disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda were preaching that Prabhupāda was God.
Mortified at how they had been misled to minimize Śrīla Prabhupāda’s position, the sannyāsīs
then overcompensated by saying Śrīla Prabhupāda was Kṛṣṇa. To uproot this impersonal weed in
the heart of his movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda expelled the sannyāsīs from ISKCON until they
rectified themselves.

“ISKCON IS PRABHUPĀDA”

Since Śrīla Prabhupāda has called us the limbs of his body, that means his unique spirit is
our life and soul.

While ISKCON is certainly Śrīla Prabhupāda’s energy, as its creator Śrīla Prabhupāda retains
his own identity. As Śrīla Prabhupāda once explained to a group of UK university students:
“Suppose if I say, ‘I am everything in this, my institution,’ does it mean I have lost my personality?
No, no... If somebody says that ‘Bhaktivedānta Swāmi is everything,’ does it mean I have lost my
personality? That is material understanding.”
(Room Conversation with three college students, London, 15 July 1973)

“ISKCON IS Prabhupāda” is fictional because it is incomplete. As the founder–ācārya, Śrīla

Prabhupāda is the life and soul of ISKCON, yet everything in ISKCON doesn’t equal Prabhupāda.
Oneness without difference is impersonal and incomplete.

“THE GBC IS PRABHUPĀDA”

Śrīla Prabhupāda walks with ISKCON leaders in Mayapur

In an official GBC position paper defining “ultimate managing authority,” the GBC identified
its oneness with, and difference from, Śrīla Prabhupāda: “When we use the word ‘authority’ in the
context of the managerial structure, we do not mean an absolute, infallible authority—such as the
authority of scripture—but the mandate to organize the preaching movement so that it is aligned
with the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda.”

Although Śrīla Prabhupāda didn’t have faith in any one GBC member, following the vision
of SBT and SBST, Śrīla Prabhupāda did have faith in the GBC Body, provided they acted
cooperatively to carry out his instructions. Here’s how Śrīla Prabhupāda put it to Tamāl Kṛṣṇa
Mahārāja as recorded in Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Goswamī’s Diary: “In the middle of the night, Śrīla
Prabhupāda called for me. He could not sleep; thinking of the will had kept him up. ‘Amongst the
G.B.C., have you selected one after me who will succeed?’ I replied that we felt that we should

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manage together as a group, that none of us was more qualified than the others. ‘Yes, each of you
can be ācārya of your zone.’
(Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Goswamī’s Diary, 27 June ‘77)

Although it was Śrīla Prabhupāda himself who gave us the “zonal–ācārya system,” the
“zonal–ācārya nightmare” that followed after his disappearance was evidence, we did not really
understand the crucial distinction between an “ācārya” and a “founder–ācārya.” During that dark
night of ISKCON’s soul, competing “ācāryas” were threatening the integrity of the entire Hare
Kṛṣṇa movement. Only when all individual GBC acaryas again heeded Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mandate
to work cooperatively with his GBC Body did ISKCON start the long recovery process that continues
to this day.

“The GBC IS Prabhupāda” is fictional because, again, it is incomplete. Although ISKCON’s

“ultimate managing authority” is the GBC, the GBC doesn’t replace ISKCON’s founder–ācārya,
whose infallible vāni remains the supreme authority for all ISKCON members. Oneness with
difference equals truth.

The next fiction is a leftover from the “zonal–ācārya nightmare.”

“PRABHUPĀDA IS THE GURU ONLY OF HIS INITIATED DISCIPLES”

Five months after the GBC passed this resolution, on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Vyāsa–Pujā
morning in Māyāpur, a senior devotee gently confronted a local brahmacārī for not observing the
Vyāsa–Pujā fast. The brahmacārī’s reply: “You say that because Śrīla Prabhupāda is your guru; he’s
not my guru.” Obviously, no one had informed the brahmacārī about the founder– ācārya
resolution passed just a few months earlier, in Māyāpur, where he was serving.

Since 1994 the GBC has passed several founder–ācārya resolutions. Here’s one from 2013:
“Śrīla Prabhupāda, as the Founder–ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, is
the pre–eminent śikṣā–guru for all members of ISKCON. All members of ISKCON, for all
generations, are encouraged to seek shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda. All members of ISKCON are
entitled and encouraged to have a personal relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda through his books,
teachings, service, and his ISKCON society.”

We don’t need more legislation about our Founder–ācārya’s position, we need more
education, as the following sentimental fictions about Śrīla Prabhupāda will now remind us.

ILLUSORY PRABHUPĀDA

In My Glorious Master, Bhūrijana Prabhu describes how, isolated in Hong Kong in the early
1970s, he and his wife gradually started neglecting Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions while imagining
they were still following Śrīla Prabhupāda. When Śrīla Prabhupāda visited them in person, they
received a mercifully rude awakening.

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How can we avoid having an illusory Prabhupāda?
By regularly hearing and studying Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words and by serving with devotees
who are serious & sincere about strictly following his life, teachings, mood & mission.

DĪKṢĀ–GURU–FOREVER PRABHUPĀDA

“I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedānta, so
that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing
the title of Bhaktivedānta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples
will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program.”
(Letter to Hansaduta 3 January 1969)

“So, you, every one of you, can become guru. You may say that ‘I am not interested to
become a guru,’ but Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that if you are not interested, that is not very
good. You should be interested. You must be guru. That is success of your life.”
(Room Conversation, Teheran, 13 March 1975)

“It is not that you have become a student and you'll remain student. No. One day you shall
also become guru and make more students, more students, more. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's
mission, not that perpetually...Yes, one should remain perpetually a student, but he has to act as
guru. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
(Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Disappearance Day Lecture, 10 December 1976, Hyderabad)

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 LESSON 8: YOUR ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA
Before we look at some ways to access and nourish our personal relationship with Śrīla
Prabhupāda, let us consider how our founder–ācārya is for everyone

Now we will look at how Śrīla Prabhupāda is for everyone.

Fully surrendered to, and empowered by, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura & the
previous ācāryas, our Śrīla Prabhupāda was able to present Kṛṣṇa consciousness with universal
appeal.

GLOBAL PREACHER

“Regarding your invitation that I attend the Rathayātrā festival in San Francisco, on July 7th,
it is possible that I may attend depending on when I finish my European tour. I am due to arrive in
Rome on May 23, then after a week, Geneva, then Paris and possibly Stockholm, Germany and
England. If there is time I can fly directly from Europe to Los Angeles and go to the festival, then
as you suggest, go to Australia Rathayātrā via Hawaii. This is known as jet–age parivrājakācārya.”
(Letter to Jayatirtha, 5 May 1974)

One critic of Prabhupāda’s opined that if Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted Kṛṣṇa

consciousness in the Western countries, why didn't He go there Himself? To which Prabhupāda
shot back: "So he left the credit for me! He loves His devotee more than Himself.”
(Transcendental Diary, Vol. 1, 4 Jan 1976)

If Śrīla Prabhupāda is for everyone, he is certainly for everyone in his ISKCON

The first & foremost way we can all connect with Śrīla Prabhupāda is by becoming keen
students of his spoken and written word. Regular, attentive hearing from our Founder–ācārya —
especially while serving with his serious & sincere followers––grounds us in the foundational
relationship that will sustain and enrich all others.

Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasized that helping the spiritual master serve Kṛṣṇa’s mission is the
best way to become dear to the Lord. “In conclusion, if a disciple is very serious to execute the
mission of the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality of
Godhead by…. This is the only secret of success in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vṛndāvana while at the same time engaging
in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the principle of following the words of the spiritual
master, he will see the Supreme Lord without difficulty.”
(Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam 4.28.51 purport)

Śrīla Prabhupāda: “My Guru Mahārāj used to say that ‘Don't try to see God. You work in
such a way that God will see you.’”
(Bhagavad–gītā Lecture, 8.14–15, New York City, 16 Nov 1966)

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BUT NO JUMPING, PLEASE

In the early 1970s, as more devotees started to visit India, some were fascinated by Gauḍīya
Matha books available in English, especially those of Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura & Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, so they asked Śrīla Prabhupāda if they could read them. Śrīla
Prabhupāda was not happy

Since during his brief time with us, Śrīla Prabhupāda was the only bona fide guru we knew,
we didn’t deeply understand his unique position as our founder–ācārya. After Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
disappearance, ISKCON’s new gurus sometimes confused following him with imitating him, and
the consequences were devastating. Over time we have come to realize that a prime duty of our
śikṣā–and dīkṣā–gurus is to deepen, enhance, and enrich our foundational relationship with Śrīla
Prabhupāda. If “no jumping over” means no neglecting one’s “immediate, next ācārya,” how much
more does that apply to Śrīla Prabhupāda, our foundational ācārya, from whom we derive our
core identity and through whom we see all teachers and teachings.

As we get to know ourselves in relation to Śrīla Prabhupāda, with a cool head we will be
able to aspire for śikṣā & dīkṣā gurus who can help us make our best contribution to his mission.

The more deeply we connect with Śrīla Prabhupāda, the more responsibility we have to pass
on his unique legacy to others.

ISKCON in The Future:

What can be done to ensure that Śrīla Prabhupāda remains ISKCON’s Founder Ācārya and
pre–eminent śikṣā–guru in the future? Write your thoughts in the box below: –

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