The concept of a post-samadhi RtVik initiation by Srila Prabhupada was dreamed up as a reaction to the growing pains that ISKCON encountered towards the end of the year 2000 millennia. The concept of ISKCON Zonal was set up after Srila Prabhupada departed as a quick way to meet the demands of those who wanted to become initiated members of the Hare Krishna movement. But the whole concept of accepting a guru is dependent on a personal relationship between the Spiritual Master and the disciple. So it was soon realized that the Zonal concept was poorly conceived because it impinged that essential aspect of the initiation bond. Therefore the Zonal Acharya system was dissolved. After that, the service of accepting disciples was expanded to include more senior devotees but some who accepted that service took on more than they were capable of handling. When they had difficulty maintaining their own spiritual vows a new wave of chaos occurred. This caused a lot of confusion and led some devotees to lose faith in the parampara system. So in an attempt to “Improve” what Krishna gave (Bg. 4.1,2), they imagined that Srila Prabhpada decided to radically change it with the convoluted RtVik-Charade ceremony.
One of the most comprehensive responses to the RtVik mayhem was published in the spring of 1999 called: 100 Deviations of RtVikism. An unknown number of copies of this small 250-page book were printed and distributed during the GaurPurnima festival of that year. It is an excellent book that reveals where the RtVik Bungle came from and how it breaks down under careful scrutiny. Anyone who might consider the cheap, renegade, RtVik-Charade for initiation should first read this book so as not to be disappointed later.
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RtVik Deviations