New Age Crisis
from His Grace Nikhilananda dasa
posted July 24, 2003

In my work of trying to help in a number of Iskcon crises (ritviks, fall downs, abuses, sahajiyaism, guru issues etc.) I have had to delve deeply into investigating and analyzing the conflicts, through very detailed, time-consuming research and the processing of tons of available data and information. At the bottom of virtually every problem I personally discovered the acceptance of New Age as the original root. This philosophical deviation has taken away some of the all-auspicious effects of the process of bhakti and caused problem after problem.

The spiritual process is all-auspicious, practical and beneficial in every way. Deficiencies and crises are caused by mixing the process with strong impurities. The spiritual process is of course so healthy that it can compensate for our deficiencies and our last unwanted attachments, so we can follow a natural step by step process. But even the tolerant side of the process of bhakti will only work if our foundation is bona-fide and no substantial impurities or fundamental deviations are accepted. Only then are we "rightly situated" as Bhagavad-gita says (9.30 ). In spite of abominable deficiencies (duracarah) one is not actually deviating (ananya bhak) in the process of bhakti (bhajate), because of determination (vyavasitah). One must therefore be rightly situated, no matter on what level bhakti is practiced. To be "rightly situated" the fundamental issue is what we accept as guideline and authority in our lives as devotees.

This is an extremely important point, it is the basis of everything else the basis of our success or complete failure, individually and as a movement. Unfortunately, in discussing the problems we often get lost in details, externals, structures and impulsive likes and dislikes. Chiseling at external structures (although needed) is only like spreading make-up over the disease. Srila Prabhupada represents the pure teachings of the Sri Madhvacarya Gaudiya sampradaya and he has taught us to base our lives on vijnana or scientific spiritual understanding. Vijnana also means that it is practical and that it is auspicious. Now, in examining the question of what is genuine vijnana we have to study what are our sources for vijnana. Srila Prabhupada mentioned : A) sastra (as received through Vaisnava parampara), B) sadhu (the devotee following shastra and Vaisnava parampara) and C) guru (the teacher following the Vaisnava parampara). Thus there is a set of three genuine standard sources of advice from where we accept guide lines and knowledge. Let us mark at this place that of all three accepted sources of guidance not one of them is outside of the Vaisnava parampara!

The accepting or taking serious of so called authorities from the New Age scene has infiltrated our decisions and thinking with the thinking of lunatics, cheaters, rascals, Indian tantrics, UFO "experts", shamans, pendulum swingers, doomsday prophets, haunted individuals… the whole arsenal of the mental asylum of the material world. Greedy New Age esoterics are actually criminal and have no authority from any point of view they are not advanced Vaishnavas in parampara, nor are they bona-fide mystic yogis as they existed in other ages, nor do they represent healthy common sense. Research shows that they lie, cheat and trick. At best, they are just in illusion. People may be honored within ISKCON circles as more or less important sources of advice, who are not fixed in bona-fide vijnana, simply because "someone said " that they have divine powers, super natural knowledge or simply because they tell fantastic predictions mixed with something that was possibly in some scripture.

The results of this are disaster, confusion and the influence of tamasic stocks of ideas and visions. Visions provide the entire direction in a person's life. Tamas produces misery and pain. It is my opinion that our duty as leaders of Srila Prabhupada's movement, is to go straight to the root by eradicating the New Age disaster through vigorous preaching to the devotees, public warnings and through programs of re-education. I propose that we cast away all hesitation, false diplomacy and fear and introduce a massive re-education program for the ISKCON devotees at large. For many years this deviant influence of the New Age scene has been quietly tolerated, which has caused a considerable number of devotees to lose their ability to distinguish between that which is genuine and that which is blind acceptance of hype and superstition. It is time to stop watering down Krsna consciousness, NOW!

Devotees should be trained to avoid New Age authorities, doomsday prophets and quacks. Insanity and health damage through esoterics and tantrics are a documentable reality. Some devotees quote and support New Age so-called authorities, "You know, I don't really believe it all but there are so many doomsday predictions, perhaps we should adjust our plans." And so on. Why should it be repeated? Trust in genuine authority. Actual appreciation of Prabhupada's books is becoming lost. It is sad but true that many devotees are replacing Srimad Bhagavatam with New Age madness. People talk all kinds of nonsense and consequently understanding what is a guru and respect for guru and Vaisnava is lost. Some say, "It's all the same. Today we hear from Vaisnava…tomorrow from Aura Magica. Some of her predictions must be true, so many praise her. Its not all that bad, some of the New Age stuff may be true. A trillion flies cannot be wrong, stool might be nice after all."

Some devotees have written books on UFO motherships, while others are running to the so-called New Age authorities for advice on mental health and the future of the world. Exorcists and Ufo-ologists are respected as experts and five cent "healing stones" are sold to devotees at $20 a piece. By devotees giving credit (authority) to New Age prophets, there is no more Vaisnava standard or Vedic authority-simply anarchy and opening the door to the wildest experiments. Constant struggling for power under the pretense of varnasrama or whatever, groups create their own deviant cults and obtain followers because, "someone said it was true."

We have just seen a devotee in Berlin who after practicing a pure brahminical and preacher's life for 12 years has now, inspired by the example of his ex guru started to take LSD and claims that he is having divine lilas with his master. For the last two months he has been stuck on a psylocybine trip, telling everyone that he is Lord Brahma and ISKCON devotes are demons. His wife weeps and is a broken person, it gives pain to my heart to see all this. And he is not the only one losing his mind. Others will take some more time, they start by publishing New Age messages of the coming varnashrama age where everyone can do any nonsense and be a devotee. They publish songs of simply follow the flow from your heart chakra and give up all rules. The New Age in ISKCON is flourishing and we are responsible.

Srila Prabhupada designated the so-called gurus and prophets in the West as cheaters and rascals, with refreshingly straightforward integrity. The one honest and fearless moon among so many tiny stars. Nowadays some ISKCON devotees call anyone who does not share their enthusiasm for the New Age cult a negative and merciless offender. In this way the influence of those who stand up for Prabhupada is daily diminished and the New Age "authorities'" influence becomes stronger. Devotees are stamped as demons and demons are respected as saints. Heads is tail and tail becomes head and ISKCON is eaten up by the bogus cult movements.

Why are so many captivated by the New Age prophets? Because they manipulate and play on the deepest emotions of people. They address people's subconscious fears and yearnings. They offer fast and magical solutions. They supply opium for our constantly suppressed and hurt egos in this material world, by supplying thousands of fantastic dreams of success, changes, wealth and power. They promise paradise on earth, in this material world. They promise world leadership and grandeur. The old and ever effective formula of the cheaters and demagogues who ask for nothing but our money, our lives and our tiny, little souls. The mind is manipulated through the two essential functions of our thinking ability; fear and desire. But it is we who are to blame because we provide the nourishing ground for ever new cult leaders and New Age excesses, by tolerating the cultivation of fundamentally irrational ideals and hallucinatory visions in our movement. We host the New Age ideas for diplomatic reasons and because of a fascination with the "paranormal." Instead of becoming critical and mature adults fixed firmly in shastra and common sense, we accept manipulation by childish New Age nonsense and everything sensationally mysterious which "someone said". No wonder then that so many deviate from Prabhupada, so many lose their taste in genuine spirituality. We have to speak out. Let us save Prabhupada's movement. Let us kick out the dirt of the New Age TODAY - there may not be a tomorrow for ISKCON, without profound reform at the foundation of our thinking. Tamasi ma Jyotir gamah! Away from the sickness, away from New Age esoteric ignorance into the light of sanity, a healthy life as Caitanya brought. This gives us a life, a new and fresh. Miracle done His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada ki jai !

I am ignorant and fallen. Please forgive the straightforward style of my letter and any deficiency on my behalf. Begging to remain,

Your servant of the servant,
Nikhilananda Dasa

This article originally published in The Legacy Goes On, Vaisnava Society vol. 2