The "Henceforward" Bluff: Admissions

Part Two of a series of essays entitled
The Reality of Guru-Parampara and the Myth of "The Final Order"
by Tridandi Swami Bhaktivedanta Nemi [previously Jnana dasa (ACBSP)]   The following paper is the second in a series of articles examining some serious (indeed fatal) weaknesses in the Ritvik scenario, and pointing out some essential aspects of guru-tattva. It is meant for those who are trying to make sense of the current ISKCON GBC / Ritvik/ Gaudiya Matha polemic.

[Part One   Part Three    Part Four.]

Part 2: Adjustments by IRM

In my previous article I challenged IRM on their misinterpretation of the word "henceforward" in Srila Prabhupada's letter of July 9th. Specifically, they were falsely claiming that the word always and necessarily means 'from now onwards', implying an indefinite period. This false claim fuelled their propaganda that their Ritvik system should be continued after Srila Prabhupada's physical departure, and for the duration of ISKCON.


Having been challenged on their misinformation about the meaning of the word "henceforward", IRM has now backed away to a more conservative position. Therefore we agree fully with JD [abbreviation for Jnanadasa, my previous name] that sometimes, in some circumstances the word could indeed apply for just a limited time period. …. [W]e fully acknowledge that in many instances the word 'henceforward' can mean for a limited time.


As far as I know, this is the first time that they have made such an admission. At any rate, this information is certainly not available in The Final Order (TFO). In other words, IRM was not honest enough to raise this possibility until someone checked their statements and confronted them with the truth. We should note that their new statement, [[We FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE that in MANY INSTANCES…]] flatly contradicts the categorical statement in TFO that "henceforward" has "only one meaning", and only ever means "from now onwards".

 

Having acknowledged the new perspective on the word "henceforward", IRM still goes back to the position stated in TFO: [[We say that: 'There is no example, either in Srila Prabhupada's 86 recorded uses, nor in the entire history of the English language, where the actual word 'henceforward' has ever meant: 'Every time period until the departure of a person who issued the order'.]]


IRM's position here is false. In the first place, Srila Prabhupada himself used the word "henceforward" in precisely the sense that TFO denies, i.e. in instructions that could only be followed during his own physical lifetime, e.g. "Please write to me occasionally and as Gopala is not accustomed to reply promptly I shall henceforward write to you."^[1] "Henceforward write in [the] English language."^[2] "Henceforward you send the checks direct to me, because most probably I am going to close the account in Montreal."^[3] "Henceforth, all money sent to me should be sent directly to me."^[4]



The second reason that IRM's restated position is false is that there is no need for such a tortuous condition as "Every time period until the departure of a person who issued the order". It is enough to show that the word is often used in LIMITED contexts such as a particular person's lifetime. Srila Prabhupada wrote in one letter, "Anyway, rest assured that your son will not be initiated in brahmanahood at least for one year henceforward …"^[5] This and many other statements by Srila Prabhupada obviously invalidate the false claim in TFO that "henceforward" has "only one meaning", and only ever means "from now onwards".



In my previous article, I stated, "In less than ¼ of the instances on FOLIO does the word "henceforward" actually refer to an indefinite period into the future." IRM now responds, [[Maybe so, and the July 9th directive is one such order….]] How do they know that? What divine authority do they have for such an assertion? Here is strong evidence that "the July 9th directive" is NOT "one such order". In 1972, Srila Prabhupada gave an instruction that was almost identical to the July 9th "henceforward" letter. In this case, he used the word "henceforth" (which according to the Oxford Dictionary is synonymous with "henceforward") and made it clear that it was for the LIMITED TIME period that he was not in USA.


[O]nce before I had empowered you to chant the beads on my behalf, so henceforth, as long as I am away from America and Canada, I am requesting all of the temple presidents in that zone of North America and South America to send the beads of the new devotees to you at New Vrindaban. …. Similarly, I have appointed Revatinandana Maharaja in England to chant the beads of the new devotees on European Continent. Otherwise, in other parts of the world, I shall chant them as always.^[6]


What concrete evidence does IRM have that the July 9th letter is NOT for a limited period?


IRM claims, [[…our case does not depend on the word "henceforward". Even if one were to Tipex out the word 'henceforward' from the July 9th directive it would not change anything.]] If this were true, why would they emphasise the word "henceforward" so much? 

The significance of deliberate deception

IRM concludes that all the arguments in my previous article "were dealt with way back in 1996." However, my previous paper made a very significant point, which IRM has not addressed adequately, and which I will now spell out again.



 TFO places a great deal of emphasis on the word "henceforward", and claims that this word can only mean "from now onwards". "On the other 86 occasions that we find on Folio where Srila Prabhupada has used the word 'henceforward', nobody raised even the possibility that the word could mean anything other than 'from now onwards'. 'From now onwards' does not mean 'from now onwards until I depart'. It simply means 'from now onwards'."^[7]



 Now, Krishnakant, the author of TFO, has studied Srila Prabhupada's instructions carefully, and therefore knows that Srila Prabhupada VERY OFTEN used the word to refer to events in the lifetime of a specific personality, e.g. "In case you think your salary insufficient, henceforward it will be doubled."^[8] "You can chant on their beads henceforward"^[9] and "I pray Krishna that you may live henceforward happily as a householder."^[10] Hence, the statement in TFO can only be deliberate deception, as I pointed out in my previous article.


 The deliberate deception is indicated by the indirect wording of the denial in TFO. Instead of writing, "THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY that the word could mean anything other than 'from now onwards'", Krishnakant wrote, "NOBODY RAISED EVEN THE POSSIBILITY that the word could mean anything other than 'from now onwards'". This could mean, "No one has called our bluff so far, but I won't tell a direct lie in case someone calls our bluff in the future." Twice in TFO, Krishnakant uses the word "henceforward" to refer to a limited context, which again suggests that he knew perfectly well what the word actually means.

 
Elsewhere in TFO Krishnakant has written, "There is no example, either in Srila Prabhupada's 86 recorded uses, nor in the entire history of the English language, where the actual word 'henceforward' has ever meant: 'Every time period until the departure of a person who issued the order'".^[11] This must also be deliberate deception, because Krishnakant must know that Srila Prabhupada himself obviously used the word in this sense several times. I pointed this out in my previous article, but IRM is coming back to this position again. This means that they are simply continuing their policy of deliberate deception.


IRM states that there is nothing new in my last paper. That means that they do not think it is significant to point out that they have a policy of deliberate deception. However, according to Srila Prabhupada, this point IS significant. "[L]ying is the most sinful activity. Everyone should be afraid of the sinful reactions to lying, for mother earth cannot even bear the weight of a sinful liar."^[12] The bull of religion has four legs, but only one is left now. That one leg is truthfulness, and it is also being destroyed. "You are now standing on one leg only, which is your truthfulness, and you are somehow or other hobbling along. But quarrel personified [Kali], flourishing by deceit, is also trying to destroy that leg."^[13]


Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura warns us about Kali-chelas, disciples of Kali, who wear tilaka and neck-beads, but who are actually opposed to the principles of devotional service. There is no more sinister Kali-chela than someone who tries to subvert Srila Prabhupada's movement.



Krishnakant has written in TFO that we should not deviate "even a millionth of a hairsbreadth" from the parameters that Srila Prabhupada has given us. Having endorsed such noble sentiments, IRM will naturally want to cooperate in detecting and correcting any deviations, especially those that are considerably more than a millionth of a hairsbreadth.


The next article introduces Srila Prabhupada's principle of accepting direct meanings, and shows that his "henceforward" letter of July 9th DEFINITELY refers to a temporary and provisional arrangement.
 

References:

[1] Letter to Sally: 6 November, 1965; [2] Letter to Mangalaniloy Brahmacari: 11 June, 1966; [3] Letter to Gopala Krishna: 2 February, 1970; [4] Letter to Labangalatika: 14 March, 1970; [5] Letter: 27 May, 1969; [6] Letter to Kirtanananda: 5 January, 1973; [7] TFO, p.6; [8] C.C. Antya 9.106; [9] Letter to Bhagavan: 1 February, 1974; [10] Letter to Janis: 10 December, 1966; [11] TFO, p.11; [12] SB 8.20 Summary; [13] SB 1.17.25


[Continue to Part Three]

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Contemporary Disciples Page

 The Reality of Guru-Parampara and the Myth of "The Final Order"

Part one of a series of essays
by Tridandi Swami Bhaktivedanta Nemi [previously Jnana dasa (ACBSP)]

 

The following paper is the second in a series of articles examining some serious (indeed fatal) weaknesses in the Ritvik scenario, and pointing out some essential aspects of guru-tattva. It is meant for those who are trying to make sense of the current ISKCON GBC / Ritvik/ Gaudiya Matha polemic.

[Part Two   Part Three   Part Four]

Part 1: The "henceforward" bluff

The Ritviks say that there is no further need for living spiritual masters, because Srila Prabhupada has said that everyone should take initiation from him for the next ten thousand years, and all future devotees will be his direct disciples. This directly contradicts everything that Srila Prabhupada has written and taught about disciplic succession. In a gospel called "The Final Order", one of the chief Ritvik prophets acknowledges that the alleged Ritvik system is "totally unique" (i.e. devoid of sastric basis), and then proceeds to explain the Ritvik logic in some detail.   The Ritvik case rests on the letter written by Srila Prabhupada's secretary on July 9^th, 1977. The letter names 11 senior disciples who were to act as Srila Prabhupada's representatives, and then states, "… Temple Presidents may henceforward send recommendation for first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven representatives are nearest their temple." Ritviks say that this word "henceforward" means that, regardless of Srila Prabhupada's physical departure, the system should be continued indefinitely, for the duration of the Krsna consciousness movement.   We can evaluate this theory using simple rules that Srila Prabhupada has given in various places in his books to help us distinguish between truth, illusion, and falsehood. We will concentrate on four of these in particular: ⁽¹⁾ "Tell the truth"; ⁽²⁾ "Take the direct meaning"; ⁽³⁾ "Understand through sastra, not independent logic"; ⁽⁴⁾ "Support and maintain the disciplic succession."   Rule 1 is "Tell the truth": "Satyam. This word means that one should not distort the truth for some personal interest." ⁽¹⁾ The commonsense understanding of the "henceforward" letter is that the system whereby Srila Prabhupada initiated by proxy should continue "for the time being," but obviously not after his physical departure. It clearly does not make sense to say that the word "henceforward" in this letter means "for the next ten thousand years", because it is nonsense to say, "Temple Presidents may for the next ten thousand years send recommendation for first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven representatives are nearest their temple." The "eleven representatives" obviously would not survive for ten thousand years. In fact, two have already passed away and many have already fallen down.


The Ritviks deny this commonsense understanding. The author of Final Order (henceforward referred to as AFO) says, "There is no example, either in Srila Prabhupada's 86 recorded uses, nor in the entire history of the English language, where the actual word 'henceforward' has ever meant: 'Every time period until the departure of a person who issued the order'".⁽²⁾ This statement is quite false, for Srila Prabhupada himself used the word in the limited sense that AFO denies: "Henceforward you send the checks direct to me." ⁽³⁾ "Please write to me occasionally and as Gopala is not accustomed to reply promptly I shall henceforward write to you." ⁽⁴⁾ Srila Prabhupada also uses the word "henceforth" (which is defined as a synonym of "henceforward") in the same way: "Henceforth, all money sent to me should be sent directly to me;" ⁽⁵⁾ "[H]enceforth, as long as I am away from America and Canada…" ⁽⁶⁾



For devotees in general, to deny this use of the word "henceforward" would indicate lack of knowledge. However, AFO claims to have studied Srila Prabhupada's use of the word "henceforward", as well as the use of the word throughout history. In his case, then, it appears to be an astonishing misrepresentation of the truth. He is directly obscuring and denying Srila Prabhupada's own clear use of words. Since he is not following Srila Prabhupada's instruction, "Tell the truth", it would not be safe to belong to a spiritual movement that depends on his teachings. 


In less than ¼ of the instances on FOLIO does the word "henceforward" actually refer to an indefinite period into the future. Six times Srila Prabhupada uses the word "henceforward" to refer specifically to his own duration of life, e.g. "[H]enceforward I am adding the synonyms myself," ⁽⁷⁾ and, "I will be sending further tapes henceforward." ⁽⁸⁾ It is clear that after Srila Prabhupada's physical departure he will not in any normal sense be adding synonyms, or sending tapes.


Srila Prabhupada often used the word "henceforward" to clearly imply a set and limited time-frame. A particularly strong example is, "Anyway, rest assured that your son will not be initiated in brahmanahood at least for one year henceforward …" ⁽⁹⁾ 41 out of about 89 instances of the word (almost half of them) specifically referred to the lifetime of a particular individual: e.g. "In case you think your salary insufficient, henceforward it will be doubled." "You can chant on their beads henceforward" and "I pray Krishna that you may live henceforward happily as a householder." In 15 other instances, the word "henceforward" refers to specific, temporary, practical arrangements in a particular context, especially banking and printing.



Srila Prabhupada uses the word "henceforward" twice in his books to mean "within this section of this book", and it is used in the same sense in the Introduction to the VedaBase. With damning inconsistency, AFO himself uses the word "henceforward" in the same sense in FO: "… the GBC's most recent official handbook on initiation … (to be referred to henceforward as GII)…" ⁽¹⁰⁾ This is in spite of his statement that "henceforward" only implies "for an indefinite period" and has no other meaning.


Srila Prabhupada uses the word "henceforth" (synonymous with "henceforward") in the same way that he uses the word "henceforward". Of 15 instances in FOLIO, only 1 refers to an indefinite period into the future. 8 refer to the lifetime of a particular individual, including 2 referring to Srila Prabhupada himself (e.g.); 4 instances refer to specific practical arrangements in a particular context; and 1 refers to the specific context of a particular document.


SP was precise and correct in his use of the English language, and his use of the word "henceforward" (and its synonym "henceforth") follows the dictionary pattern. The Oxford English Dictionary (full version) defines "henceforward" as "From this time forward; henceforth", and gives several instances of the word being used within a specifically limited context: "THEY WERE FRIENDS HENCEFORWARD AS LONG AS GUIDO'S LIFE LASTED" (emphasis added) and "From henceforward for 1500 verses … we hear nothing more of this second person." This means that the word may be used to mean "within the present context", and specifically "within the lifetime of the person or people involved", as well as "from here on indefinitely". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary illustrates the use of the word "henceforth" with an example that clearly refers to the lifetime of the person concerned: "But that resource would henceforth be denied him."


It is clear that the word "henceforward" may mean "from this time onwards WITHIN THE LIMITED CONTEXT IN WHICH IT IS USED". The idea that it necessarily means "more or less forever" is simply wishful thinking that has grown up in the Ritvik community and has never been checked.


Srila Prabhupada used the word "henceforward" (and its synonym "henceforth") to refer to (a) activities and situations within a limited period of time, (b) temporary practical arrangements, and (c) the lifetime of a particular individual (including himself). This supports the obvious conclusion that the so-called Ritvik arrangement should cease on Srila Prabhupada's departure, or even earlier.


AFO denies that his case depends on the word "henceforward". He says that the "henceforward" letter, being the last written instruction on initiation, supersedes all other letters and teachings. But, as we will see, the actual instruction in the letter is not to develop a new and unprecedented system of disciplic succession that flatly contradicts all of SP's previous instructions. Nor is there any authority for AFO's concocted rule that the last instruction cancels out everything else.

References

(1) BG 16.2, purport; (2) FO, p. 11; (3) Letter to Gopala Krsna: 2 February, 1970; (4) Letter to Sally: 6 November, 1965; (5) Letter to Labangalatika: 14 March, 1970; (6) Letter to Kirtanananda: 5 January, 1973; (7) Letter to: Radhavallabha: 20 October, 1975; (8) Letter to Giriraja: 5 July, 1969; (9) Letter: 27 May, 1969; (10) FO, p.3.

 
[Continue to Part Two]



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