The 13 apasampradayas

The first part of my book Traps in our path back to Godhead, describing the 13 apasampradayas that almost destroyed the sankirtana movement in the past.

When someone starts a diet or starts doing exercise, the first day is relatively easy. The problem is to continue long term. As soon as we try to do something that demands sacrifices, especially for a long period, many obstacles, distractions, temptations, and difficulties appear, testing our determination. In our spiritual life, it’s not different.

As Srila Prabhupada puts it, to try to follow spiritual life seriously means to declare war against Maya. When one declares war against a strong adversary, he shouldn’t expect that the opponent will stay still and not react.

It’s very common to see devotees who are enthusiastic in the beginning but have problems later due to a lack of deep philosophical understanding. Some succumb to material desires or mental speculation, others get burned out, and some lose their faith in the teachings and gradually stop following them. Some try to find shortcuts on the spiritual path and get attracted to different groups with concocted philosophies and practices, some get involved with Vaishnava aparadha due to bad association, others get too much involved with mental speculation or materialistic views, etc.

To be able to navigate through the difficulties we must have not only determination but also a good deal of maturity. The goal of this small book is to offer some philosophical basis about common traps in our spiritual development, so we can understand the pitfalls and thus be able to avoid them.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that spiritual progress should be based on three components: Sambandha, Abhidheya, and Prayojana. Abhidheya is our spiritual practice and Prayojana is the goal we aim to achieve with this practice, but to understand what should be our practice and what is the goal we need to first cultivate Sambandha, or philosophical understanding. Without this proper understanding, it’s difficult to understand where and how we should go.

When there is no Sambandha, or practice doesn’t have a very solid basis and tends to crumble over time. Our spiritual practice then becomes lax and our spiritual health decays.

Keeping our focus is essential not only for our own spiritual life but also for the success of our whole movement. A group is only as strong as the sum of its parts. If our devotees are individually weak, the movement as a whole will also be weak. If we lose focus, our movement can fragment and degenerate into a bunch of un-bonafide sects. It happened in the past and can happen again if we are not careful. Krsna is in control, but He respects our free will.

Chapter 1: A historical perspective

In the past, Vedic knowledge used to be orally transmitted. The reason that was possible was that people had such good memories and honest dispositions that they would be able to properly understand and transmit it to the next generations without change. Nowadays this is almost impossible. People misunderstand and change things.

That’s the reason all the recent acaryas emphasized the production of books. Once the knowledge is written, everyone who receives it will get the same message. Some may still misunderstand, but the ones who are sincere will get the knowledge as it is.

This is one of the reasons why Srila Prabhupada wrote so many books, and why studying these books is so important for our spiritual development. It’s through his books that we have access to the pure teachings that are the basis of Vaishnava philosophy, which allows us not only to follow spiritual life seriously but also to distinguish right and wrong and not fall into the different traps that may appear on our path of devotional service.

There is no such thing as “all paths are equal”. Different paths lead to different results. Because of our conditioned nature, we have the tendency to lower our spiritual standards and mix the philosophy of Krsna consciousness with other concepts and philosophies. Once one starts to get off course, the result is uncertain. We can understand the danger by studying the history of our own movement.

We all know that Lord Caitanya appeared in the Bengal region five hundred years ago to inaugurate the sankirtana movement. He traveled around India and with the assistance of His numerous associates and devotees, inundating the sub-continent with love of Godhead.

We can see that the start of our movement at the time of Mahaprabhu is in many aspects similar to the movement started by Srila Prabhupada. Initially, there was rapid growth, propitiated by the direct example of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His personal associates. Thanks to their efforts, the sankirtan movement spread very quickly in Bengal and other parts, and many other groups adopted the Vaishnava philosophy.

However, after the departure of Mahaprabhu and His main associates, there was a lot of confusion. There were a lot of people chanting Hare Krsna, but not many of them had a very clear philosophical understanding. As a result, many different groups, with different understanding and different practices started to appear.

Lord Caitanya entrusted to His most confidential servants, the six Goswamis, the mission of writing books about the Vaishnava philosophy, excavating the holy places in Vrindavana, and giving continuity to the movement He inaugurated. They did this by writing many books, explaining the proper philosophy of Krsna Consciousness, and sending Srila Narottama Thakura, accompanied by Srila Syamananda Prabhu and Srinivasa Acarya to preach it in Bengal. From them, a succession of acaryas led by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura appeared, preserving the original teachings.

The problem was that outside the parampara, everything started to degenerate quickly. The pure sankirtana movement inaugurated by The Lord began to degenerate into numerous apasampradayas, that started to grow uncontrollably, suffocating the original movement.

By the time Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura appeared, the reputation of Vaishnavism was almost destroyed. Many took Vaishnavism as some kind of sex religion due to the practices of many of these un-bonafide sects. There was a lot of sentiment, but not much philosophy, and these led to all kinds of degraded practices carried in the name of devotion to Krsna.

As conditioned souls, we have the tendency to cling to their material conceptions and try to project them into Krsna’s Lila, up to the point of using the dealings of Krsna with the gopis and other pastimes as an excuse to exercise our material propensities. When this tendency is not checked, it can lead to the appearance of different un-bonafide sects with all kinds of strange practices, just like it happened in the past.

In other words, instead of giving up our material misconceptions and propensities, we try to create a philosophy that suits it, so we can have an illusion of cultivating pure devotion without having to change our perspectives. Instead of changing ourselves to fit into the teachings, we try to change the teachings to fit our material conditioning.

Understanding how this process works is quite important not only for our personal spiritual development but for the future of our movement since we are now living in a similar situation. The movement Srila Prabhupada started passed through a phase of rapid growth, but now, after the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada and most of his leading disciples, we are entering a dangerous phase, where the lack of a proper philosophical understanding by many is leading to the appearances of philosophies and practices that are substantially different than what was originally taught. If we are not careful, our movement can degenerate into a group of different sects, with their own concocted practices and philosophy, becoming again some kind of sex religion.

What are apasampradayas?

A sampradaya is a school, a tradition or line of devotional service, practices, and principles that are transmitted from generation to generation through disciplic succession (“sam” means “connected to” and “pradaya” means “source”).

An apasampradaya is a corrupted sampradaya, a broken link in the chain, or a non-bonafide school that lost connection with the parampara. An apasampradaya may have some degree of philosophy and spiritual practice, but at the same time mixes it with perversions and deviations. One example that can be given is that when we mix milk with poison, it will still have some nutritional value, but it will at the same time contain other components that may put one’s life in danger.

As mentioned in the Sri Isopanisad (mantra 9), there is knowledge, there is ignorance and there is corrupted knowledge, and such corrupted knowledge is actually more dangerous than the simple absence of knowledge.

"Utpata, simply disturbance. Yata mat tata patha: “I can manufacture my own way.” This rascaldom has been condemned by Srila Rupa Gosvami. He says that harer bhaktih… You will find many so-called bhaktas crying, falling down on the ground. But immediately after, he is smoking bidi. So why this is going on? Because they do not follow the injunction of Srila Rupa Gosvami. Chanting, dancing very loudly, and after the performance is finished—I have seen it—”Can you give me a bidi?” You see? “My throat is now dried up.” So this is utpata. Srila Rupa Gosvami has described this kind of so-called devotional attitude is simply disturbance. They imitate. Imitate. Therefore Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has condemned. There are so many apa-sampradaya going on in the name of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s devotee. Who are they? Aula, baula, kartabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani, sahajiya, sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani. Then ativadi, cudadhari, gauranga-nagari, tota kahe ei tara sanga nahi kori: Tota Babaji, he says, “I do not associate with these classes of men.” So after disappearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, so many apa-sampradaya sprang up. So we should be very much careful that… Sampradaya means who are carefully following the Vedic principle." (Srila Prabhupada, lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.3, Mayapur, 27 March 1975)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura identified thirteen different movements claiming to have inherited the mission initiated by Lord Caitanya, despite not nurturing true Vaishnava qualities. They are called aula, baula, kartabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani, sahajiya, sakhi bheki, smarta, jata-gosani, ativadi, cudadhari, and gauranga-nagari. Understanding these movements can give us some insight on the different ways one can go astray, and valuable understanding of the stumbling blocks that may appear in our own spiritual path.

These groups are described in detail in the Book “Apasampradayas, deviation of the disciplic succession” by HH Suhotra Swami. My idea here is not to repeat his words but to just give a summary and proceed in connecting these different groups with tendencies most of us have, tendencies that can grow into challenges in our spiritual progress.

Saki-Bheki, Chuda Dhari, Gauranga Nagari (Prakrta-sahajiyas)

One of the most well-known groups by devotees is the prakrta-sahajiyas, mentioned often by Srila Prabhupada. We hear a lot about “sahajiyas” in his books, but often we may fail to understand what exactly a sahajiya is.

We may think that sahajiyas are just some sect in India, but actually, we all have a sahajiya inside of us, ready to come out at the first opportunity. There are different groups that form the historical sahajiya communities described by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, but we should keep in mind that these are just the terminal symptoms of a disease that we all carry inside of us. We may not get down to the stage of dressing in saris and pretending to be gopis, but this doesn’t mean the disease may not affect us at a certain point.

I will try to first describe the historical sahajiyas and later in the book enter into details of how this tendency can manifest in our lives.

The word “prakrta” means materialist, and “sahajiya” means someone who takes the spiritual process as something cheap. There are different types of prakrta-sahajiyas, but they all have something in common: trying to find ways to practice spiritual life without following the proper process. In other words, they take spiritual life as something cheap. They try to attain the result while at the same time kicking the stair that leads to it.

One may like to hear about rasa-lila and other very confidential and esoteric subjects, but not be equally inclined to get rid of his bad habits and follow a regulated spiritual life. Such behavior can be justified on the basis of “love” and “spontaneous devotion”, giving the idea that rules and regulations are for neophytes. When one thinks that he is already on a transcendental platform, above rules and regulations, the doors to all kinds of questionable activities and behavior are opened. The result is often illicit sex, intoxication, and other problems.

Prabhupada mentioned in a few conversations about devotees in Vrindavana posing as sadhus or babajis while at the same time secretly having illicit relationships cultivating other questionable habits. Unfortunately even today this is more common than we would like to believe.

Sahajiyas often want to be elevated to the level of sakhis and gopis, but they don't want to follow the proper devotional process. The process for us to become purified of all anarthas and contaminations and from this platform gradually develop love for Krsna, a process that continues up to the point we can directly join Krsna pastimes. This requires one to approach the spiritual process with all respect and gravity and seriously practice under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master. Without this, the tendency is that one will start confusing genuine spiritual emotions with material lust.

One on this path will be very eager to hear about the pastimes of Radha and Krsna because they remind them of ordinary dealings between men and women. Instead of becoming purified, however, such hearing will just increase their attraction to the opposite sex, leading to illicit connections and an enjoying mood. Instead of curing one’s selfishness and arrogance, such a practice will end up increasing it.

Another common symptom is that although one may have a great interest in Krsna’s confidential pastimes with the gopis, he will not have the same eagerness for hearing Krsna’s other lilas, like Krsna killing demons of Krsna speaking the Bhagavad-Gita in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, considering them something external or for neophytes. As a result, their spiritual practice becomes progressively sentimental, without the checks and balances of a proper understanding of Vaishnava philosophy.

“Vaishnava, devotees of Lord Krsna, use the term prakrta-sahajiya to refer to persons who imitate the signs of prema, pure love for God, while still addicted to the low-class pleasures of illicit sex and intoxication. The sahajiyas imagine that they feel the divine emotions of Krsna and His dearest devotee, Srimati Radharani. Yet they don't understand that before we can savor the pleasure shared by Radha and Krsna, we must rid ourselves of lustful desires for sensual pleasure.

The word sahaja means "easy." A prakrta-sahajiya wants the bliss of spiritual life without the struggle to attain it. And the word prakrta means "materialistic." Because the sahajiyas forgo the standard disciplines of bhakti-yoga, the divine love they apparently show never gets beyond material lust. The prakrta-sahajiyas mistake lust -the disease of the soul- for spiritual advancement. So instead of curing lust, they wind up cultivating it.” (Deviant Vaisnava Sects, Suhotra Swami)

The sahajiya community includes groups like the sakhi-bheki (where the men dress in saris and use make-up in an attempt to imitate the gopis and attract Krsna) and cudadhari (where they dress like Krsna and try to imitate His pastimes with the first group). The sakhi-bheki think that by dressing like gopis they can attract Krsna, and similarly, the cudadhari think that by dressing like Krsna they can attract Radharani.

Their philosophy is thus not based on love but on envy. Instead of aspiring to serve the gopis or serving Krsna, they aspire to become the gopis or become Krsna Himself. Their approach to spiritual life is thus completely inverted: instead of aspiring to be a servant, one aspires to become the enjoyer. A sakhi-bheki can dress like Lalita Sakhi, for example, and imagine that he became one with Lalita. Their philosophy is thus also contaminated by mayavada.

Another sect, prominent in Bengal, is the Gauranga-Nagari. Externally they appear to be regular Vaishnavas, using tilaka, doing kirtana, following a vegetarian diet, etc. There is, however, a notable sahajiya contamination in their philosophy. They are not interested in Lord Caitanya’s mood as a devotee. Instead, they try to impose the mood of Krsna, as an enjoyer on Mahaprabhu, and see themselves as enjoyed by Him. They try to depict Mahaprabhu as a debaucher who had affairs with different consorts and support their philosophy with invented stories. This offensive way of worship comes from material lust and is condemned by our acaryas.

The problem is that this philosophy is quite popular in parts of India, and many books have been published over the centuries. Many inexperienced devotees get in contact with such books, and not being able to distinguish them from bonafide books published by our acaryas, become confused by the stories and the philosophy depicted in them.

After the mayavadis, the sahajiyas are probably the most criticized group in Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures, and conversations. This was his way to alert us to the potential danger, since this tendency of taking spiritual life cheaply, to mistake material sentiment for spiritual bhava, to impose our mundane lust into spiritual rasa and so on tend to be extremely common. He explains that spiritual life is a straight path, just like a road that has grass and secondary roads on both sides. To the one side, there is Mayavada, and to the other side the different variations of the sahajiya philosophy. Only one who is capable of continuing to go straight, avoiding both sides will be able to reach the goal.

The Mayavadi wants to get free of the material world, but he doesn't want to serve Krsna. On the contrary, he is envious of Krsna and this wants to destroy his personal existence. “I'm Krsna, you are Krsna, everyone is Krsna” means that actually there is no Krsna.

The sahajiya wants to get access to the bliss of the spiritual platform without going through the process of curing his material disease. He takes spiritual life as something cheap and wants to get personal enjoyment instead of wanting to please Krsna. A devotee sees Krsna as the center while a sahajiya sees himself as the center. As a result, he wants to bring all his contaminations with him and project them into Krsna Lila. The sahajiya sees lust, envy, etc. in the pastimes of Krsna and because of this, he is not able to ascend to the spiritual platform.

Srila Prabhupada used to say that Krsna Consciousness is a scientific process. Nowadays the word “scientific” is often misused, but originally scientific means a process that is reproducible. Someone does a certain experience and documents the necessary steps and the results, in a way that anyone, in any part of the world, can replicate the experiment, following the same steps and achieving the same results. Krsna Consciousness is based on a process that is described in detail and is reproducible: anyone who properly follows the process will achieve the same result.

The problem is that we often want to achieve the result without executing the necessary steps that lead to such a result, and thus we end up being baffled. If one wants to become an engineer, he just needs to enroll in an engineering course. After studying for a few years under the proper teachers he will become a qualified engineer. If instead, he spends his time associating with drunkards in a bar, the result will be different.

Similarly, we may have the desire to develop love for Krsna and participate in His pastimes, but we must understand that this is only possible after we get rid of all the contaminations that surround our true selves. The danger is precisely when we want to find a shortcut to get Krsna without first getting rid of our lust. Following such a shortcut will invariably bring us to some variation of the sahajiya philosophy.

We may also be attracted to some un-bonafide leader due to sentiment, not being able to distinguish real love for Krsna from cheap imitation. In Kali-Yuga there are many false religious orders that are initiated by people who want to attract followers. Some may be just plain dishonest, some may be deluded themselves while others may think they are speaking to Krsna or Balarama due to diseases like schizophrenia, and sometimes innocent folks may be attracted to them on a sentimental basis.

Sahajiyism is like a cancer that tends to appear in the Vaishnava society at different times and in different forms. What makes it dangerous is that it can start as something very subtle, and grow into more gross contaminations. It’s a formidable trap for the aspiring transcendentalist. Our defense against this is to properly understand and study the Vaishnava philosophy as explained by our past acaryas.

Caste goswamis

Another common problem is when the idea of hereditariety, the transference of privileges to one's descendants, becomes prominent. This leads us to the caste goswamis (or jata-gosany), groups that are still prominent in India.

We know that in other eras, the son of a great person would also normally become great because all the purificatory processes would be rigidly followed. Still, even at those times, there would be exceptions, like Drona and Ashwathama, or King Anga and Venu, for example. In Kali-yuga, there is no such rigid observation of purificatory processes, therefore frequently the son of an advanced devotee is just an ordinary fellow. Therefore, the injunction is: "In Kali-yuga everybody is sudra". Until the son can prove himself to be qualified, he can't be accepted as a great devotee just because he has a great father.

Actually, one of the greatest problems in Kali-yuga is that in this era demons can take advantage of the lack of proper purificatory processes during the conception to take birth in exalted families and thus create havoc. As Srila Prabhupada mentioned in his purport to SB 4.21.40:

"At present, in the Age of Kali, it is very difficult to render service to the brahmana-kula, or the brahmana class. The difficulty, according to the Varaha Purana, is that demons, taking advantage of Kali-yuga, have taken birth in brahmana families. Raksasah kalim asritya jayante brahma-yonisu (Varaha Purana). In other words, in this age there are many so-called caste brahmanas and caste gosvamis who, taking advantage of the sastra and of the innocence of people in general, claim to be brahmanas and Vaisnavas by hereditary right. One will not derive any benefit by rendering service to such false brahmana-kulas." (SB 4.21.40 purport)

There are many clans of caste goswamis, both in Bengal and in Vrindavana. Most of the traditional families had a connection with some exalted Vaishnava in the past (usually through initiation), but over the centuries most of them degenerated into a caste of hereditary gurus who made a living by exerting a monopoly in the control of temples and initiation of members of lower castes. Even though frequently immersed in bad habits and worldly behavior, caste goswamis would claim to be renounced goswamis.

Even today, sometimes sentimental devotees may become attracted to members of the jata-gosany class just because they claim to have seminal descendance from some important acarya. It's interesting to note, in connection with this, that the high priest of the demons is Sukracharya, whose name means, literally, “seminal guru” or someone who declares the birth connection as the only way to transmit powerful positions to future generations. This makes it clear to understand where this idea comes from.

In any case, their claim of seminal descendance is usually false, as their connection with previous acaryas is usually through initiation, and not through family ties. In other words, in most cases, these families are not descendants of the claimed acaryas, but descendants of disciples.

One group in Bengal, for example, claims to be descendants of Lord Nityananda, but their connection with him is through a disciple of his son, Sri Virabadra Prabhu, as proved by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Similarly, many families of caste Goswamis in Vrindavana are descendants of disciples of the six goswamis who were entrusted with the maintenance of the temples established by them. At the time, the region was under muslin rule, and the only way to establish temples was to register them as private property. In this way, disciples entrusted with the maintenance of the temples were also made the legal owners, and such ownership, combined with the duty of maintaining the temples was passed to their descendants.

Over time, however, many of these descendants started to treat the temples just like a business or family property, taking advantage of the great sums donated by visitors. There were thus many cases of caste goswamis who would pose as spiritual authorities and would exert control over the local population while immersed in very questionable habits.

In any case, even if seminal descendance is present, this doesn’t mean much. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati explains how the families of even incarnations of Krsna may become degraded over time. The central point, according to him, is that the son of Krsna is not Krsna, but a Vaishnava, therefore from the third generation there is no difference from a regular Vaishnava family. The sons of even a pure devotee are not always pure devotees, consequently, the lines initiated by powerful Vaishnavas continue through disciplic succession to their confidential followers, and not through seminal descendance.

“We may go on bragging that we are born in the seminal dynasty of a Vaisnava and we may exhibit lifeless limbs of devotional service, but unless we have firm faith in the service of Hari we will simply cheat ourselves and become enemies of society.
Acyuta-gotra is never a saukra gotra, or -seminal family, therefore Vaisnava vamsa does not refer only to the seminal dynasty. The spiritual Vaisnavas who belong to the Acyuta-gotra, or family of Krsna, entrust their respective authority only to their most confidential servants. The unqualified descendants can never claim to be successors just because they were born in that family. Even if they achieve such a position, they are unable to protect it. These facts are similarly applicable to the dynasties of Lord Visnu as well. Specifically, the Lord and His devotees appear in different dynasties at different times, and there are no obstacles for nondevotees and demons to take birth in such families. The son of Lord Visnu is not Lord Visnu, but a Vaisnava. So from the third generation there is no difference between the descendants of Visnu and the descendants of the Vaisnavas.” (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Sajjana tosani, Vol. 19, Part 7/8)

The main point is that advanced devotees may take birth in caste goswami families, just like they may take birth in any other family, but such Vaishnavas should be respected by their spiritual realizations and achievements and not by their seminal descendance.

“It is said, phalena pariciyate: one is recognized by the result of his actions. In Vaisnava society there are many types of Vaisnavas. Some of them are called gosvamis, some are called svamis, some are prabhus, and some are prabhupada. One is not recognized, however, simply by such a name. A spiritual master is recognized as an actual guru when it is seen that he has changed the character of his disciples. Haridasa Thakura actually changed the character of the professional prostitute. People greatly appreciated this, and therefore they all offered obeisances to Haridasa Thakura and glorified him.” (CC Antya 3.143 purport)

Although there was not yet a case of someone trying to implement hereditary guruship in our society, we may be tempted by more subtle jata-gosani deviations, like, for example, using a temple or a deity as means of livelihood, or trying to maintain privileges or titles even when though one is not maintaining the proper standards demanded by such position. In other words, to use spiritual life as a means to attain and maintain privileges.

In one sense, the jata-gosanis are the starting point for the other apasampradayas, for they were at a certain point the established tradition. Because of their degradation, people started to rebel and demand change, leading to the rise of other groups, which instead of improving the situation, just resulted in increasingly degraded practices. This is also a warning for us. If we don’t keep high standards in our movement, people are going to flock to other groups, which are also not necessarily going to provide any real improvement. Human tendency is towards degradation, and this is even more prominent in Kali-yuga. Different acaryas and Krsna Himself in His different incarnations come periodically to elevate the standards, but outside of this, human concoctions never introduce anything better. Just like we had our dose of problems in our movement in previous decades, other movements that appeared in this period had theirs.

Caste brahmanas

Another apasampradaya based on the concept of hereditariety is the smarta brahmanas. The defying characteristic of the smarta philosophy is a misapplication of the principles of the sastras. They try to follow the rituals, rules, and regulations given in the scriptures but leave aside the devotional aspects.

The injunction of the scriptures is that we should always remember Krsna, and never forget Him. To this end, we have so many rules and regulations that help us to keep pure in consciousness and thus be able to maintain our minds fixed in Krsna, which is the ultimate goal of all injunctions of the scriptures.

The smarta brahmanas invert the logic, remembering all the rules and regulations, but forgetting Krsna. Smartas are generally bogged down in an inveterate fruitive mentality: their sole goal is to get material piety and fame. Generally, smartas have a greater propensity to worship demigods, especially Durga devi, but even if they adopt devotional practices, like chanting the maha-mantra, visiting the holy places, or fasting on Ekadasi, their idea is usually to just increase their material piety and sense of self-accomplishment. They just take all these as fruitive activities.

The smartas are a much older community, but according to Suhotra Maharaja, many smartas adopted Vaishnava dress and habits starting from the 16th century, after Raja Narasimha surrendered to Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura.

This is a very interesting pastime. In the course of his preaching, Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura converted and initiated a number of illustrious members of the smarta community, including Ganga Narayana Chakravarti, Jagannatha Acharya, and other well-known brahmanas. The smartas considered Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura a sudra because he took birth in a kayastha family, therefore the fact that he was giving initiation to brahmanas of the community created a great stir. At some point, a large fraction went to complain to Raja Narasingha, the local king. With his support, they enlisted Sri Rupa Narayana, a famous digvijay, and proceeded to Kheturi, with the intention of somehow exposing Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura as a fraud.

On the way, they stopped at a small town called Kumara Pura to rest. Coming to know about the plot, Sri Ramakrishna Bhattacharya and Sri Ganga Narayana Cakravarti disguised themselves, one as a seller of clay pots and the other as a seller of betel nuts. In this way, they set up shops within the local market and waited. When some of the disciples of the panditas went to buy provisions in the market, they met the two Vaishnavas who, speaking perfect Sanskrit, engaged them in a debate. Gradually, the teachers got involved, and soon Raja Narasingha himself arrived with the digvijay. In the presence of the king, the two Vaishnavas soundly defeated Sri Rupa Narayana and all other members of the group.

Surprised that a pan-walla and a potter could defeat such great pandits, the king inquired about their identities. Showing great humility, they answered that they were humble disciples of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura. Turning to the digvijay, the king exclaimed: If two of Narottama’s ordinary disciples can defeat you in debate, there is no need of going to see him! Later, Durga Devi herself appeared to the king and Rupa Narayana and ordered both to go to Narottama and beg forgiveness for their offenses. Surrendering, both became initiated disciples of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura. From this point on, an increasing number of smartas adopted Vaishnava habits, mixing Vaishnavism with smarta values.

Another famous clash between Vaishnavas and smartas happened in 1911, when a group composed of many of the most illustrious members of the smarta community was fully defeated by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who proved that Vaishnavas are superior to ordinary brahmanas and that anybody can be elevated to a pure platform by executing devotional service, regardless of birth or social position. The arguments given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati on this occasion can be found in detail in the book “Brahmana and Vaisnava”.

He starts by quoting different passages from the sastra that glorify the exalted position of the Brahmana, basically exhausting all the arguments that could be used by the smartas. He then expertly changes the subject and starts explaining why the Vaishnava is even more exalted than ordinary brahmanas, describes the wrong concepts and practices adopted by the smarta community, and explains how even the ones born in lower families can be elevated to the topmost platform by receiving spiritual initiation and practicing under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master, again quoting extensive scriptural evidence. By the end of his lecture, the smartas could not put forward any plausible argument.

The smartas illustrate our tendency to take devotional service as a means to nurture our materialistic tendencies, using it as a fruitive endeavor to improve our existence in this material world, achieving fame, opulence, and prestige or, on the other side, to become ritualistic, taking the rules and regulations as everything, forgetting that they are just means to achieve the real goal, which is love for Krsna. If we chant the maha-mantra, fast on Ekadasi, or do different services with any other goal than to please Krsna and develop our love for Him, we may be already deviating in this way.

The smarta tendency can be also noted when we take the rules and regulations from different scriptures too literally, without adjusting to time and circumstance according to the teachings left by our previous acaryas, especially Srila Prabhupada. The smarta philosophy is also based on the Vedas, but it is a very orthodox, rigid, one-sided interpretation that fails to examine different higher aspects also mentioned in the scriptures. It is also based on a sense of superiority and entitlement, where one's ego grows as a result of his practice, instead of the opposite. These are also traps we need to learn to avoid.

Ativadi: too great

Another apasampradaya mentioned by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is the ativadi. This sect was started by a man called Jagannatha dasa at the time of Mahaprabhu. Initially, he was a follower of Haridasa Thakura, but later he broke his connection with him and started spreading his own ideas. He created his own version of the Srimad-Bhagavatam with five new chapters that he wrote himself, told his followers to chant the second part of the maha-mantra before the first, and so on.

Once, he arrogantly directly approached Lord Caitanya, wanting to recite his version of the Bhagavatam, bypassing Swarupa Damodara and other associates who would screen visitors. To avoid him, Lord Caitanya said, "A fallen soul like Me is not worthy enough to hear the Bhagavatam composed by an author like you”.

Jagannatha dasa then declared that Lord Caitanya was Krsna and he was Radharani, to which The Lord replied: "Sir, you have become too great (ativadi). An insignificant and fallen soul like Me can have nothing to do with you”. Blinded by his ego, Jagannatha dasa took the chastisement of the Lord as praise and continued spreading his ideas. Later he was imprisoned by Prataparudra Maharaja for indecent behavior in connection with his dealings with women, but his sect continued.

The ativadi became prominent in Orissa because of the popularity of the translations of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-Gita in the Oriya language written by Jagannatha dasa amongst the lower classes. The ativadi claim to be Vaishnavas but they are actually opposed to Vaishnava principles. While worshiping Lord Jagannatha, they accept the mayavada conclusion that God is ultimately impersonal and that they will merge into Him when liberated. They mix loosely with women, use intoxicants like ganja and opium, exploit their influence for political means, and so on. They claim to have a better understanding of the scriptures than Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. Some are ascetics that start claiming to be incarnations after gaining a little mystical power.

We can see that these are traces common in many un-bonafide groups. A charismatic leader appears, claiming to have higher realizations, or even direct contact with Krsna, Radharani, Balarama, or other divinity, and followers are attracted to the idea of being connected with such an exalted person. This gives rise to pride: they start to consider other Vaishnavas as neophytes who are just doing sadhana and see themselves as more elevated. The charismatic leader uses this to promote himself and attract more followers, and thus the sect grows until some scandal leads to its demise.

When Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was serving as deputy magistrate in Jagannatha Puri, in the early 1870s, he had to deal with many disturbances caused by followers of the ativadi sect, which were very numerous in Orissa at that time. There was a lot of political agitation and even cases of false proclaimed incarnations, that were exploiting their followers. In his autobiography, he wrote:

“This atibari group is secretive and extends throughout Bengal as do the Bauls. This sect has many forged books wherein it is written that Chaitanya will reappear. In this group there are some wicked people who imitate Sri Chaitanya, Brahma, Baladeva, or Krishna. One person, known as Bisakishan, a scoundrel who had obtained a little yogic power, was celebrated as Mahavishnu Himself. He had started to establish a Temple at Chatira Krosa within the jungle near Saradaipur with the help of his followers.”

The ascetic Bisakisen was a dramatic example. While claiming to be an incarnation of Maha-Vishnu, he was using his mystic powers to impress his followers and seduce married ladies. He even tried to kill Bhaktivinoda Thakura using his powers after he was imprisoned by his order. In a dramatic event, after the yogi was sentenced, a British medical officer had the idea of cutting his hair, having read that yogis often store their power in the hair. This made Bisakisen lose his powers and collapse, which finally convinced his followers that he was not an incarnation of God. Falling into disgrace, he eventually killed himself by drinking poison while in prison.

The ativadi illustrates our tendency to become proud, thus contaminating our devotional service. Everyone in this material world is proud, even a dog or hog is proud of his position. This is just another symptom of our material fever. As soon as we get a little bit of learning, or seniority, or any other small opulence, our material fever may return if we are not careful. If we start to cultivate pride instead of humility and meekness, we may end up being evicted from the association of true Vaishnavas. We may then find our sanga amongst similarly arrogant persons, start to criticize sincere devotees, and thus open our path to complete ruination.

Kartabaja: blind followers

In our Vaishnava philosophy, we see the guru as representative of Krsna, and thus worthy of the same respect and worship as Krsna Himself. Not only the guru is the bonafide representative and recipient of Krsna’s mercy, but he conveys the same message given by the Lord, transmitted through disciplic succession, and teaches us by his exemplary behavior. In other words, we accept the guru as good as God, but not as God.

At the same time, we understand the guru in the context of his godbrothers and other senior vaishnavas, and thus our respect to the guru doesn’t prevent us from also respecting other vaishnavas. Lord Caitanya Himself gave the example by offering respects to Ramachandra Puri, because he was a godbrother of His spiritual master.

The kartabhaja, on the other hand, proclaims that the guru is God incarnated. For them, nobody is worshipable except the guru. If they chant the name “Krsna”, it is because they believe that their guru is Krsna, an idea derived from mayavada philosophy. Even if the guru performs immoral acts, still his activities are seen as divine.

A similar idea was propagated inside ISKCON for a short period, culminating in the incident of 1970 in the Janmastami festival of New Vrindavana. A small group of sannyasis were propagating that Srila Prabhupada was actually Krsna Himself and that he had left for India because they themselves and the other disciples failed to recognize it. This new philosophy was refuted by members of the newly formed GBC with quotes from the books. Srila Prabhupada was in Japan at the time and became very disturbed by the news of the incident, explaining that this is mayavada philosophy.

“Coughing intermittently and speaking with physical discomfort, Prabhupada explained the Mayavadis' dangerous misconceptions. The impersonalists held a cheap, mundane view of the guru, the guru's worship, and the guru's instructions. If one says that the guru is God and God is not a person, then it follows logically that the guru has no eternal personal relationship with his disciples. Ultimately the disciple will become equal to the guru, or in other words he will realize that he, too, is God.

Arguing from the Vedic scripture, Prabhupada refuted the Mayavadis' claims. The individual souls, he said, are Krsna's eternal servants, and this master-servant relationship is eternal. Service to Krsna, therefore, is spiritual activity. Only by serving the guru, however, can a disciple fully revive his eternal relationship with Krsna. The Vedic literature gives paramount importance to serving the spiritual master. He is the representative of God, the direct, manifest link to God. No one can approach God but through him. Lord Krsna says, "Those who are directly My devotees are actually not My devotees. But those who are devotees of My servant (the spiritual master) are factually My devotees."

For hours Prabhupada drilled his disciples. He would pose a Mayavada argument, then ask his disciples to defeat it. If they failed, he would defeat it himself. He stressed that the relationship between the spiritual master and disciple was eternal-not because the guru was Krsna, but because he was the confidential servant of Krsna, eternally. A bona fide spiritual master never says that he is Krsna or that Krsna is impersonal.” (Srila Prabhupada lilamrta, vol. 4, ch. 31)

Sometimes, followers of a genuine spiritual master can be fanatic and pushy, but a genuine guru can gradually correct them and help them to become more mature. If however such blind followers have the misfortune of getting in contact with a bogus guru, they can be easily exploited. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Srila Prabhupada mentions that both absurd enquiries and blind following are condemned. A disciple must be respectful, but at the same time have enough critical sense to distinguish a real guru or religious leader from a farce.

Bauls and others

Another source of apasampradayas and apasidhantas is syncretism: the mixing of Vaishnava philosophy with other philosophies and practices, like Buddhism, mayavada, tantric practices, etc. Five of the other apasampradayas enumerated by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura fall into this category.

The neda-nidi, for example, practice a mixture of tantric Buddhism and Vaishnavism. It started when Sri Virabadra Prabhu (the son of Lord Nityananda) converted a group of tantric Buddhists to Vaishnavism. As in other tantric lines, these Buddhists had the idea of using sex as a way to achieve transcendence, and in the name of this would engage in sex with multiple partners.

Sri Virabadra Prabhu convinced them to chant the maha-mantra and adopt general Vaishnava habits, and to stop their promiscuous sexual activities he got them married. Soon, however, many started to fall down into their old practices, concocting a mixture of impersonal philosophy, tantric sex, and Vaishnavism, leading to the appearance of the neda-nidi sect.

The most disturbing example, however, is the bauls, who follow a mixture of tantra, mayavada, sufism, and sahajiyism. The bauls can be divided into four sub-groups: aula, baula, sani, and daravesa. The first are householders, the second are wandering artists that chant enigmatic songs in Bengali and play popular instruments, while the third and fourth are mendicants. It is interesting to note that Srila Prabhupada translated the word daravesa as “hippie” (CC Madhya 20.70), summarizing their appearance and behavior.

They have roots in the sahajayana community, a much older line that mixes tantric yoga and Buddhist philosophy. The bauls appeared from the mixing with Islamic mysticism and other influences. Over the centuries, they assimilated and perverted different aspects of Vaishnava culture, giving birth to the final concoction. Another mutation is that they abandoned their ritualist roots and adopted tantric sex as their main practice. Their idea is that one can awaken his inner bliss through the bodily union of male and female. This fixation on the material body and the acceptance of material lust as spiritual rasa is a trace similar to other sahajiya groups, but in the bauls, the degradation reaches an extreme.

Different from the neda-nidi, who restrict their tantric practices to the wife, the bauls use “sadikas” which are frequently exchanged, and their sadhana includes the most disgusting practices, going up to the consumption of human stool and urine.

With the excuse of practicing a spiritual process, they live an unregulated lifestyle of drugs, illicit sex, and degradation. While they don’t present themselves as Vaishnavas, they claim to represent the true spirit of Mahaprabhu’s movement and enjoy a certain degree of influence over the general public, including in the West, where a few of them became famous artists.

These last examples can be taken as a warning about another common tendency: to keep our previous concocted ideas and mix them with Vaishnavism, instead of giving them up and fully embracing the process of Krsna consciousness given to us by Srila Prabhupada. In other words, we have the tendency of changing Krsna consciousness to fit our mentality, instead of changing our mentality to fit Krsna consciousness. This can lead to the appearance of many speculations that can often be quite dangerous.