The Fall Down of Any Mission

Regardless of its material or spiritual nature, any mission initated by a Founder is doomed to fail for the same reason: it becomes depersonalised.

As Srila Prabhupada pointed out, without a leader, no missionary activity can take place. With Krsna as the Supreme Leader, anybody following in His footsteps, according to the instructions of the last acharya and his predecessors, automatically becomes a leader according to his capacity as well.

How does one stop being a leader? By losing the attention of large crowds of followers? Hardly. History has taught us that the number of followers can only speed up the falldowns of their leaders along with their own falldown as well. Even some can get cheated for a long time and many for a short time. Finally, the falldown of the leader along with his wast number of foolish followers is ensured when personal understanding turns into a personal cult. 

Personal cult is by nature impersonal, as nobody of the followers really cares or knows about the nature of their idealised leader. Such a leader and such followership were rejected by Srila Prabhupada, who always insisted on testing others and being tested oneself by dint of strict evidence and the character and conduct of the leader in question.

Krsna Consciousness is not for sentimental, blindfolded “relligionists.”
It is for those who, by activating their faculty of intelligence, try to understand the essence and true nature of things they evidently can perceive and things they cannot perceive by their present limited senses.

Everything is personal; even lies and cruelty are always finaly of personal nature, having their personal source.
So does the truth. In Vedic understanding, even each single cloud floating in the sky is a person; even its body may be very temporary. And so naturally, a leader must be perceived personally, be personally tangible, and be personally responsible to those he is addressing. No amount of internet communication can replace a truly personal contact, and so it is not amazing that Srila Prabhupada's success was based on such a personal association. To the last breath he spent in his body, he demanded and comanded personal exchanges, travelling, and again travelling, gradually destroying his body in the process of traveling. Even when finally forced to lay down on his deathbed, he called for his disciples to surround him and be personally present. Contrary to some of the previous acharyas, he didn't choose seclusion for the last period of his life amongst us, but he wanted even more intensified personal exchange. 
He literally gave himself to us, and so it wasn't difficult for us to give ourselves to him. His humility comanded our humility, his enthusiasm to still preach the message of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu comanded our enthusiasm, and his personal presence evoked our personal approach to others. There is no way for those who truly understood the personal essence of Srila Prabhupada's preaching to become mayavadis, impersonalists.

In absence of such understanding, the original personally based spiritual institution turns into a hollow organisation based on bureaucracy, demand for blind acceptance of rules the leaders themselves don't follow, and the “retreat” from any public presence that may expose and challenge our inherent impersonalism is the norm.

Initiation becomes a mere religious ritual, followed by the exchange of some monetary reward and monotone recitation of something one doesn't follow oneself.
Krsna Consciousness becomes a mere academic study procedure, with its preachers enjoying the highest grade of privacy and anonymity.
Dogmatic leaders issue dogmatic rules and regulations that suppress any personal initiative, while money-orientated individuals privatise amongst themselves what used to be God's property. Such thiefs of the property of the Founder Acharya are increasing in numbers as Kali Yuga proceeds.
Consequently, living in an impersonal society already, even potential spiritual seekers are not attracted to such institutions, as they see no difference between the lives of those who don't care for them and the lives of those who claim to be spiritually advanced.

Of course, most devotees today live in the form of grhasta asrama, an asrama that demands certain types of privacy. Srila Prabhupadas life wasn't different in this regard; even though there was not one day he didn't remember the instruction of his spiritual master... and finally fulfilled it to the fullest extent.

But those who claim to be leaders, regardless of their asrama, have to pay the price of total loss of their privacy while dedicating their lives to those they promised to take care of. The atmosphere of empty promises only increases the wast numbers of those who, disappointed, are bereft of any hope to receive some personal attention.

Like irresponsible men who impregnate any women they meet and then leave her behind with “her” child, such irresponsible gurus initiate a large number of disciples only to leave them then behind, uncared for and confused, to be tormented by maya in various ways.
True, some get initiated only for social purposes, hoping never to see their guru again. But these may be exceptions. Most initiates hope to receive the same type of personal care that Srila Prabhupada's disciples received. They may be disappointed.

How can I dare to write such words? Because while travelling, I mostly meet such abandoned souls who cling to the Holy Name and recognise Srila Prabhupada as their only avior. Lonely desperate disciples who at best clinch to Srila Prabhupada's books and his everlasting loving care or at worst entirely gave up any hope to have a contact with their present guru. The meaning of a discipline is to strictly follow the rules ordained by the guru. But that discipline is not once installed and automatically maintained; it needs, in times of maya's attacks, to be personally rejuvenated and personaly reconfirmed.

It is also for this reason that sastra recommends for these Kali yuga days, besides avoiding sannyas asrama and not to follow the urge to accept many disciples. The result of such an “initiation frenzy” is always catatrophic as more and more unqualified disciples get initiated by increasingly unqualified gurus who, if not instantly then gradually, diviate from the original instruction of the Founder Acharya. We find today the glorification of Srila Prabhupada and the constant memory of his words and deeds being minimised by a class of leaders who can for hours present themselves in light of their own pseudo-spiritual self-glorification, overpowered by the search for distinction and fame. Once again, personal cult prevails, leading only to a higher level of impersonalism. Leaders become mere pictures on the wall, and the mission turns into some introverted “feeling inside” meditation while the public goes empty-handed.

As public Harinama and book distribution were our “daily bread,” now we see spiritual dignitaries inviting us to well-paid “retreat” concerts where the Holy Name becomes an intriguing musical experience and not an impetus to actually engage ourselves actively in the mission of the Lord.

Gurus become well-paid entertainers, serving the sensual needs of the public, and Krsna Consciousness becomes an “exotic spice,” added to our daily diet. Maybe the piety of individual “relligionists” can be in this way increased, but the selfishness and introverted spirit instaled here lead only to gradual implosion of the whole mission altogether, which becomes at best some domestic affair only.

Sannyasis living like mega-grhastas, enjoying luxury hardly any grhasta may see, grhastas struggling mostly unattended and alone with their occasionally desperate wives and selfish offspring, finally seeking personal friendship and association in circles of non-devotees, such is the scenery of the Kali Yuga days.

Home-made gurus, never quoting their guru, or not even having one, are rampant, introducing “something new” or even worse, changing the priorities established by the Founder Acharya, finding no time not to deacently maintain their bodies. Such narcists profess then as the preachers of “new Krishna consciousness.”

Meanwhile, those who are deacently embarased, often exiled in the absence of any guardian protectors, retreat in hope that one day they may find inspiration in the association of those who still try to sincerely put into action what the Srila Prabhupadas plan was for a world-wide movement based on supreme personalism, as ordained by the Supreme Person, Krsna. The more personal involvement prevails, the more inspiration can be disseminated. With the internet being only an informative source (as we know, not every information may be real or true), finally only those who become personally involved may achieve some change in the lives of others, inspiring them to walk the same path they do, the path back home back to Godhead.

The more we understand Krishna to be a person and his pure devotee to be a person, the more our spiritual life is secured.

Real personalists may not be many, but to find them is the most envigorating and inspiring task of life.