(
Hinduism:
ISKCON)
Before the death of Srila Prabhupada in 1977, hundreds of his disciples had
received intiation from him through ritvik priests, ritual
gurus who chanted on disciples' beads (japa-mala) and
performed the fire ceremony on Prabhupada's behalf when he was too weak to
travel. Yet, he remained his disciples' diksha-guru, or
"initiating" guru. After his death the official position was that
Prabhupada appointed eleven men(*) ritvik-gurus on Prabhupada's
behalf while he was living, and that after his passing they were allowed to
initiate disciples of their own, hence becoming diksha, or
"initiating" gurus. Some of the GBC, in particular Rameshvara
Swami, felt that this position was untenable, removed vyasasanas
from their temples, and forbad their disciples to worhsip them on the basis as
Prabhupada. However a broad interpretation of the following passage, whilst
seemingly against the ritvik situation, leads me to believe that
diksha and ritvik are merely two sides of the same coin. It
is not what kind of a guru one is that is the problem, merely the
expression thereof:
"Anyone following the order of Lord Chaitanya under the
guidance of His bona fide representative, can become a spiritual master
and I wish that in my absence all my disciples become bona fide
spiritual masters to spread Krishna consciosuness throughout the whole
world."Prabhupada to a disciple, courtesy
of
the Bhaktivedanta Archives
(*) the Governing Body Commission