Dear brothers and sisters,

I am only writing these words because of my love for you. My name isAtulananda das. I was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in Buenos Aires,Argentina, in 1973. I remained in ISKCON until 1984, at which time I had toleave; victim to the politics of my spiritual brothers, i.e. zonal gurus andGBC members. This was after having opened a temple in Argentina and five inChile, my country, with the help of other spiritual brothers, whom, at thepresent time, due to so much abuse, are no longer active in their service.For seven years I had to tolerate the painful decadence of the mission createdby my beloved Gurudeva.

I was also witness to the pride of the GBC membersand gurus, their abuses, politics and evident contradictions of siddhanta.They said that they they were the genuine representatives of SrilaPrabhupada's movement and that they wanted to protect it. The truth is thatI, together with many of my spiritual brothers, saw Srila Prabhupada beingrepresented less and less everyday. At the time, I thought a lot about thefact that I had been initiated by a pure devotee of the Lord, by someone freeof all desires for pratistha, kanaka and kamini. I was not initiated by agroup of GBC's, or gurus whose behavior he would have never accepted. I alsoremembered two things in particular that Srila Prabhupada had told us. Onewas that when Gurudeva leaves, chaos comes. This, of course, became evidentas soon as he left. The second was that we should go to Srila SriddharMaharaj if we had any problems. Everyday, this would run through my mind, andI felt the need to follow these words as if they were my only hope. It wasthe supersoul screaming in my heart: Don't forget the advice your Guru hasleft for you!

"Forty blind men will all fall into the pond," Srila Prabhupada had oncecommented, "but if at least one can see it will be easy for him to save them."In this way, following the divine instructions of Gurudeva, I went to takerefuge at the lotus feet of a true 'tattva-darsin,' his beloved spiritualbrother, Srila Sriddhar Maharaj. Of course, as happened with many others, bydoing this I became a demon and traitor of Prabhupada in the eyes of those whowanted to keep me under the dry and vast yolk of their speculations andpolitical interests.

Gurudeva said, "Go to him if there are any problems," but many thought, 'if Ijust keep following the instructions of my Guru without going to another one,then I will give greater pleasure to my Gurudeva.' In this way theyspeculated. Gurudeva asks for a glass of water but they think that it isbetter to bring him some milk (tainted by the venom of their anarthas). Haveyou seen that one of the laws in ISKCON is that no one can take refuge in aguru that is outside of their institution? If he is a Guru, than how can onenot take refuge in him? This is the deviated doctrine of the 'eka-guru-vada,'rejected by Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta who considered it an offense to otherVaisnavas present who can illuminate us. Please read what Srila Prabhupadawrites in the Srimad Bhagavatam about the 'maryada vyatikrama' offense; thatof stepping over superior Vaisnavas. Prabhupada explains this offense in theconversations between Vidura and Maitreya.

 Do you really think that Srila Prabhupada brought us something so simple thatwe can continue to cultivating it on our own? What does Gurudeva mean when hespeaks of chaos? If we are going to find the solutions to our problems amongthe purports of his books, why do we not read where it says that we can haveunlimited siksa gurus and that we can only study the Srimad Bhagavatam at thefeet of a self-realized soul? I do not really wish to elaborate too muchhere. After all, this is only one article among the hundreds in yourarchives. Yet, maybe, my simple realization and message might touch someone'sheart.

Please know, brothers and sisters, that I now look at this chaos from theoutside. I watch as the wave uncovers day by day and how no one is able tokeep quiet for long about their deep dissatisfactions. Yet the cause of thischaos in simple. It is the disobedience of the advice of our Guru orParamaguru. In a letter by Srila Prabhupada he states: "I consider SriddharMaharaj my siksa guru, imagine the benefit you could have in his association."This is the advice given by Srila Prabhupada. Neverthe less, the GBC only wentto Sriddhar Maharaj for formal consultation. They did not see him as a siksaguru. Rather, they considered him a threat to the the power that they wantedto boast: a power by which they scarred off many simple and genuine devoteeswhose only goal was to satisfy Prabhupada.

I, myself, in 1981, went with a committee of devotees headed by HridayanandaMaharaj to visit Sriddhar Maharaj. At the time, I was part of HridayanandaMaharaj's Sanskrit team, which is why he had asked me to accompany him.Hridayananda Maharaj told me that Srila Prabhupada had said that thetranslations of the Srimad Bhagavatam should be reviewed by Sriddhar Maharaj.Thus, for the first time, I was able to see and witness this greatMahabhagavata as he helped us enrich the purports that Hridayananda Maharajhad written. But, of course, the visit turned out to be useless (so as not tosay offensive) because the commentaries of our well-wisher ended up on theediting floor. This is only one example among thousands. Sriddhar Maharajsaid it is the war of the three 'd's: diplomacy, dollars and despotism, instead of devotion, dedication and divinity. ISCKON has become superficial,political and ritualistic. And now, once again, we are witness to theconsequences of Vaisnava aparadha.

Not long ago Aniruddha Prabhu wrote a beautiful letter to VNN. His advise, ingeneral, is good and precise. He is sorry that ISKCON did not listen humblyto the siksa that Srila Prabhupada gave us. He says, however, that in spiteof being very unsatisfied with his diksa, he has not wanted to reinitiate soas to show his loyalty to ISKCON. This is a common way of thinking for many.But this way of thinking is not going to make Srila Prabhupada happy. Do youthink he wanted to create a society of frustrated and unsatisfied brahmanasthat had no faith in their gurus? A society without trustworthy leaders,where the participants live among political manouvers of untrustworty leadersand gurus? I consider this to be an insult to Srila Prabhupada. If ISKCON isno longer in the Vaisnava siddhanta, if there are only kanishtha adhikaris inISKCON that do not appreciate other Vaisnavas, I assure you that SrilaPrabhupada would be the first one to get out of ISKCON which so many onlymuse over doing today. Did my Gurudeva come to establish buildings ofsiddhanta? Did my Gurudeva come to accept an institution like this one wherethe guru is not trusted or respected? Would he be a part of an institutionwhere hypocrisy reins? On the other hand, was my Gurudeva someone who did notlove any of his spiritual brothers? I do not believe this story.

When I took refuge in Sriddhar Maharaj and read his wise and nectarianinstructions, I felt more appreciation for Srila Prabhupada. I thought,'Prabhupada is a genius. He did not only show me the Supreme Lord but alsoHis devotee.' Since Prabhupada was a pure devotee, he could recognize anotherpure devotee others were not able to recognize. (Neither did I recognize this,but by following the advise of Prabhupada I was eternally benefited.) My dearbrothers and sisters, at this time of confusion I recommend that you takerefuge in the Vaisnavas who are truly more advanced than we. This is theadvise of Srila Prabhupada.

I have also read various letters by the ritviks, but they too are falling inthe same grave error as the authorities of ISKCON. They do not respect otherelder Vaisnavas and do not ask for their advise with humility. They can notbe happy because they do not have anyone they can trust. They say that thenecessity of a living guru is a speculation. Yet, to live without guru andwithout sadhu sanga is a definate curse. As Srila Sriddhar Maharaj explains,to live without a guru means that whatever you look upon you can not trust.While they say that there is no one like Srila Prabhupada, I say it is anoffense to compare elder Vaisnavas; that whichever Vaisnava is superior to uswill be a great help to us. In the same way that we have to always separateourselves from Maya and accept Krsna, so we must always leave asad-sanga andaccept sad-sanga, sadhu-sanga. Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta said that truesadhu-sanga is to associate with an elder devotee.

The proposal of the ritviks is unnatural, apasiddhanta, and bogus. We shouldpray to Krsna that he bless us with His eternal presence in the form ofGurudeva, just as Prabhupada taught us. Besides, Prabhupada wanted us to forma society of brahmanas, that is to say, of gurus: of saviors. If we have toaccept that none of Srila Prabhupada's disciples can become a guru, this meansthat his mission was a failure. I certainly don't believe this to be true.In the same way, to think that Srila Prabhupada was the only genuine discipleof Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta is an aberration and very offensive to themission of our paramaguru and our spiritual uncles, as well as something thatour Prabhupada would have never tolerated hearing.

Before Srila Prabhupada left, he asked his spiritual brothers to preachthroughout the world. Do you think he did this as an act of diplomacy? Onlya diplomat could see it that way. Today the supposed followers of SrilaPrabhupada close their doors to these brothers of our guru. Srila Prabhupadabrought us something practical and alive; not something dead or stagnant. Itis not that there are no longer any Vaisnavas in the in the world. Prabhupadawanted his disciples to continue with the preaching and to become responsiblespiritual leaders. Sriddhar Maharaj said that a small capitalist needs thesupport of a great capitalist. In this way, an inferior Vaisnava, takingrefuge in a superior Vaisnava can begin a relief mission. This was the ideafor ISKCON but the gurus began to believe that there was no one above them.Thus, the small capitalists thought themselves to be great and now they arebroke.

I repeat, Srila Prabhupada's instruction was so clear, and those who did notfollow it are now having problems. It seems absurd to me that the "faithfulfollowers" of Prabhupada are the ones with problems!

A devotee who does not accept other Vaisnavas is a kanistha. The leaders ofISKCON want to force Krsna to appear in their institution and subjectPrabhupada to chair in their malevolent meetings. It is as absurd as thinkingthat Jesus Christ only walks in the gardens of the Vatican.

Brothers and sisters. I ask you to be true brahmanas and to reject thereligion of terror. Brahmana means broad-minded, said Prabhupada. AndSriddhar Maharaj said that Krsna's movements are not foreseeable: they are notsquare. He moves in a zigzag way and you should know how to follow Him andrecognize His grace wherever it manifests. O Vaisnavas! Now we also have theWorld Vaisnava Association so that you can know about other Vaisnavas and thatthe world does not begin and end in your ISKCON. Do not fear, Prabhupada willnot become angry with you if you leave to look for the truth and search forpurity at the feet of superior Vaisnavas.

In 1984 I returned to Chile to rekindle the preaching we had begun in 1977(that was later destroyed by the politics of my 'guardians'). This time, thepreaching was reinitiated under the united inspiration of Srila Prabhupada andSriddhar Maharaj, as well as my spiritual brother Paramadvaiti Swami. Today,we have ten temples in Chile, two agricultural communities and five sannyasis,all of whom are preaching in a homonious and beautiful way. Colombia isanother success with more than twenty temples, seven sannyasis, agriculturalcommunities, and so on. I believe the contribution of Paramadvaiti Swami andother spiritual brothers is definitely a concrete offering to the mission ofour Srila Prabhupada, in addition to the many other projects in South America,Europe and India that I have not mentioned here. Tripurari Maharaj, NrsimhaMaharaj, Siddhasvarupananda Prabhu, and many others who followed SrilaPrabhupada's instructions are now preaching and opening temples (while ISKCONcloses theirs) giving true relief to all who approach. This is a cleardemonstration that Srila Sriddhar Maharaj greatly inspired us to serve SrilaPrabhupada. Today, hundreds of devotees are being inspired to do the sameunder Srila Narayan Maharaj and other Vaisnavas.

By the grace of the Vaisnavas I have also visited other countries likeArgentina, Peru and Bolivia, trying to fulfill Prabhupada's desire that hisdisciples be responsible, and that they preach this beautiful cause in a broadmanner. This is my service to Srila Prabhupada, this is my offering to myGurudeva, and of course, more temples will need to be opened in the future.Before, however, when I was in what you call ISKCON, I could hardly even giveone class a week, and I lived in a boiler of envy and politics.

The 23rd of September will be the Vyasapuja of Srila Bhakti Promode PuriMaharaj who will be turning 101 years old. He is doing the tapasya ofremaining on this Earth and blessing all the Vaisnavas that visit him inJagannath Puri with his prema. Formerlly, he was in charge of PrabhupadaBhaktisiddhanta publications and was the headman of his Brhad-mridanga. Hepublished hundreds of articles and installed more than eighty deities of SriSri Gouranga and Radha Krsna. Recently he has published The Heart of Krsnawhere he advises us against Vaisnava aparadha. He is also the founder andpresident of the World Vaisnava Association. Sri Bhaktivaibhav Puri Maharaj,at his advanced age, is travelling to the occident to preach, as is NarayanMaharaj, both of whom have Srila Prabhupada in their hearts. Oh surrendered souls! How can you think that Sri Krsna is going to leave youwithout the comforting of His pure devotees? Without Vaisnava sanga it isimpossible to overcome the perplexities of Maya. We need guru and sadhu, evenmore than sastra. In ancient times books did not even exist. One should lookfor the self-realized sage, without whom access to the sastra would beimpossible.

The pure message of Srila Prabhupada can not be understood without approachinga more advanced soul. There is something very mystical about this, but SriKrsna does not reveal himself to those who do not crave the company of Hisdevotees. "In Krsnaloka," said Srila Sriddhar Maharaj, "we will be in theland of gurus. There," he says, "it will not be necessary to have a head,only hands will be necessary. There, we will have to walk on our heads." Srila Prabhupada did not want to leave us in a vast world - Christian style -with only one savior and all the rest condemned. He showed many gurus to us,the entire parampara, and in this way he left us a great family that we cantake refuge in. In the same way Prabhupada left sixty-four temples in Indiaand many inspired disciples with is saintly example. All Glories to theGaudiya Math! The triumphant movement initiated by our param guru, SrilaPrabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta, the lion among the givers of refuge! You shouldleave the "mental prison" that the institution has created to safeguard itselffrom its terrible mistakes. With good common sense and an objective and amplementality, you should search for this truth that Srila Prabhupada brought usto make us surrendered, loving, happy and free devotees.

By addressing this letter to you, I have not wanted to hurt or offend anyonein this moment of confusion. I have only wanted to remember the effulgentinstruction that Srila Prabhupada left us. I fall at the feet of all theVaisnavas who have come under the universal and loving banner of Sri CaitanyaMahaprabhu.

Vaisnavanudasanudas