Kailasa Candra Dasa Explained

Background:
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Kailasa Candra Dasa
Religion:Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Alias:Jerould Kiel Goodwin, Mark Goodwin, Jacob Joseph Jay
Initiation:Harinama diksha, 1972
Brahmana diksha, 1974
Birth Date:9 January 1951
Birth Place:United States
Predecessor:A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Kailasa Candra Dasa (; born 9 January 1951), also known as J. K. Goodwin, is an American Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher, sidereal astrologer and author with a small number of students.[1] [2] In 1972, he joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Madison, Wisconsin. After the passing of ISKCON founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he opposed ISKCON's "zonal acharyas", beginning in 1978 and 1979.[3] [4] [5] He is co-founder of the Vaishnava Foundation, a nonprofit organization incorporated under the name Metamorphosis League for Monastic Studies.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] He works out of the United States. He continues to oppose what he sees as the deviations that emerged within ISKCON after the demise of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.[15] [16] [17] [18]

Biography

Born in early 1951, he was immediately put up for adoption and raised in Glenview, Illinois, as well as Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. His conservative, middle-class foster parents, Robert and Gladys Barber, named him Kevin R. Barber. As a child, he suffered from health problems (i.e. severe asthma and undiagnosed autism) and bullying from classmates. Raised Catholic, he embraced Darwinism and atheism in high school. He became sports editor of The Daily Cardinal, while majoring in journalism at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, in the early 1970s.[19] Experiencing an increase in psycho-physical distress, a waning interest in materialism, and a deepening commitment to “Truth or Bust”, he dropped out of college in November 1971. At that time, he became a vegetarian and began studying occult science. In late 1971, he distanced himself from his family. This was after experiencing domestic violence from his angered step-father. The welder, employed in Defense Department shipbuilding, disapproved of his step-son's opposition to the Vietnam War.[20]

Reading Be Here Now (book) and encountering Rudra dās in Madison, Wisconsin led Kevin to the Hare Krishna movement, which he joined in February, 1972. In September 1972, he received Harer Nama diksha initiation from his guru, A. C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda at the rural ISKCON compound just outside Moundsville, West Virginia. The spiritual name bestowed on him, Kailāsa Candra dāsa (hereinafter, Kailāsa), identified him as a dāsa/servant of Lord Shiva, The Eminence of Kailāsa, the greatest Vaishnava.[21] In the 1970s, Kailāsa ran Midwest college preaching programs throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.[22] In 1973, Kailāsa's skill and dedication were formally recognized: His guru sent a congratulatory letter to the Evanston, Illinois temple president for the success of its college preaching campaign. It was also in 1973 that Kailāsa became one of the first devotees to distribute Krishna Consciousness publications at O’Hare Airport. Kailāsa secured Brahminical initiation from, and private darshan with, his spiritual master in July, 1974; this was while serving at the Evanston temple. Kailāsa relocated to the Honolulu temple in the spring of 1975. Here he was able to accompany his spiritual master on morning walks and perform percussion accompaniment at guru-pūjas. He helped organize a dialogue between Srila Prabhupāda and Yogi Bhajan. Later, he was appointed temple president of the movement's rural ashram near Mauna Kea.[23] [24] [25]

He traveled throughout Europe propagating Krishna Consciousness in mid-1976. During 1977, he made his first of three pilgrimages to India. After the disappearance of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, A. C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda, in November 1977, through controversial circumstances, Kailāsa became alarmed by the movement's trajectory. He was ordered by the Southern U.S. zone governing commissioner of ISKCON to sell drug paraphernalia in 1978 as a fund-raising initiative. This, along with other deviations from his spiritual master's guiding principles, led him to sever connections with the “ISKCON” establishment in the summer of 1978. He was one of the early reformers entering the battle against the "ISKCON" zonal acharyas in Vrindaban, India, in 1978 and 1979.[26] [27] Asked by a leader of that reform group, Kailāsa was the devotee who compiled a lengthy position paper against the zonal acharya system.[28] He was one of the first members to be ostracized from the now changed "ISKCON" movement.[29] A 1979 resolution statement issued by the new “ISKCON” Governing Body Commission warned all "ISKCON" centers about Kailasa's activities.[30]

In the late spring of 1985, Kailāsa was contacted by Sulocana Dāsa,[31] who was in need of an editor for his tracts that were meant to be combined into an eventual book. Kailasa traveled with him throughout America, in his godbrother's converted van, during the summer and early autumn of that year, finalizing the edited work. At the behest of one of the “ISKCON” zonals, Kailāsa's friend, Sulochan Dāsa, was assassinated in Los Angeles in May 1986, while in his van.[32] [33]

In January, 1988, Kailāsa co-founded The Vaishnava Foundation. The foundation was first formed as an unincorporated association in Lake County, CA, in December 1986. It was later incorporated, in Sacramento, California on Jan. 20, 1988. Due to its established history, The Vaishnava Foundation has been listed in academic encyclopedias of world religions and American religions.[34] [35] Kailāsa is the author of over one hundred articles, published on the Vaishnava Foundation's websites, along with more than thirty video presentations.[36] In July 2023, Kailasa appeared in an interview by Nathan Hartley from The Hare Krishna Project.[37]

Philosophy / Thought

In Western Vaishnava circles, Kailāsa is known as a staunch critic of the corruption that emerged after his spiritual master's departure. In the following quote, he depicts the importance of exposing such deviations:

Based in no small measure upon deductions rooted in Srila Prabhupāda’s teachings, this document will work to concentrate the mind. The big lies will be broken down. Once you are awakened from their intoxicating influence, the dismantling of the bogus philosophies underpinning them will inexorably proceed via the domino effect. The psychic shackles will fall off, and you will experience a natural freedom of mind and intelligence conducive to the development of genuine Krishna consciousness.[38]
Kailāsa's ministry emphasizes the threats of congregationalism, institutionalism, party-spirit factionalism and truth-diluting “unity” collaborations to the Krishna consciousness movement and the need to discriminate between bhakti-driven by sentimentality and authentic sadhana founded upon the shastra of previous spiritual masters.[39] [40] His critiques have led to harsh criticisms from some Gaudiya circles, including “ISKCON Truth”, ISKCON Revival Movement, et al.[41] [42]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Doktorski, Henry. Killing for Krishna: The Danger of Deranged Devotion. January 8, 2018. 978-1544607276. USA. 320.
  2. Web site: BIOGRAPHY. The VAISHNAVA FOUNDATION. July 18, 2019.
  3. Book: Doktorski, Henry. Killing for Krishna: The Danger of Deranged Devotion. January 8, 2018. 978-1544607276. USA. 34.
  4. Web site: Sampradaya Sun . Oct 13, 2017 . Because I Never Factually Heard . June 28, 2019 . Sampradaya Sun.
  5. MONSTER HOTEL- KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS or how I learned to stop worrying and love the new world order. Bhumi. Vraja. 129. Academia.edu. July 18, 2019.
  6. Cumulative list of organizations described in section 170 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Revised to October 31, 1988)Publisher/Author: United States
  7. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, “Hinduism”, encyclopedia.com https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/eastern-religions/hinduism/hinduism#BY [retrieved September 17, 2022]
  8. Web site: METEMORPHOSIS LEAGUE FOR MONASTIC STUDIES: THE VAISHNAVA FOUNDATION, INC. . July 7, 2019 . Ca-registry.
  9. Web site: Corporate ISKCON - Part 39. Sampradaya Sun. July 18, 2019.
  10. Web site: Who We Are. Bhaktivedanta Climate Change Collaboration Group. July 19, 2019.
  11. Web site: Johanson . Eric . About Us . The Krishnaites.
  12. Book: Constance Jones, James D. Ryan . Encyclopedia of Hinduism . Facts on File . 2006 . 0-8160-5458-4 . Google Books . 287–288 . English.
  13. Web site: Metamorphosis League for Monastic Studies . Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Encyclopedia of World Religions)by Constance A. Jones (Author), James D. Ryan (Author); FACTS ON FILE (November 1, 2007)
  14. J. Gordon Melton (editor-in-chief), Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions; Gale: 8th edition (February 13, 2009)
  15. Book: Doktorski, Henry. Killing for Krishna: The Danger of Deranged Devotion. January 8, 2018. 978-1544607276. 65. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform .
  16. Web site: Who's on the Menu at the Hodge Podge Buffet?. Sampradaya Sun. June 26, 2019.
  17. Web site: Krishnakant . March 4, 2008 . Kailasa Candra's Ritvik Concoction . Iskcon Revival Movement.
  18. Web site: Kailasa Chandra dasa . The Book Bhagavat: A Competent Remedy . 2022-03-11 . VAISHNAVA NEWS.
  19. Web site: September 27, 1974 . Student publication of the university of wisconsin-milwaukee . THE UWM POST.
  20. Web site: Kailasa Candra dasa. Amazon.com Author Biography.
  21. Web site: Srila Prabhupada Disciple Database. Krishna. June 27, 2019.
  22. B. BARR . PATRICK . October 11, 1974 . Noise Prompts Soglin to Close Mall Festival . Wisconsin State Journal.
  23. Kailāsa Candra dāsa, “Beyond Institutional Gurus, Initiations, And Party Men”, Appendix 1, 2019: Vaishnava Foundation
  24. News: Eastern sects offer alternative to Christianity. Sheppard. Robert. November 9, 1973. THE DAILY ILLINI. June 27, 2019.
  25. News: Love Feast: Feeding the corporeal body. May 10, 1974. THE DAILY ILLINI. June 27, 2019.
  26. Cumulative list of organizations described in section 170 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Revised to October 31, 1988) Publisher/Author: United States
  27. Web site: Sampradaya Sun . Challenging the Zonal Acarya System . June 28, 2019 . Sampradaya Sun.
  28. Doktorski, Henry (January 8, 2018). Killing for Krishna: The Danger of Deranged Devotion. USA. p. 320. ISBN 978-1544607276.
  29. News: History of Diksa Guru in ISKCON 1978-2014. The Hare Krishna Movement . 14 April 2016.
  30. Web site: GBC resolution 1979. Official website of the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON. July 13, 2019.
  31. Web site: The Saga of Sulochan. by Hrishikesh dasa (Henry Doktorski) [retrieved September 17, 2022]
  32. Book: Doktorski, Henry. Killing for Krishna: The Danger of Deranged Devotion. January 8, 2018. 978-1544607276. 318, 319. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform .
  33. Nori J. Muster, Betrayal of the Spirit, Univ. of Illonois Press, 1997
  34. Constance A. Jones & James D. Ryan, Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Encyclopedia of World Religion series); Facts on File: 2007, pp. 287-288
  35. J. Gordon Melton (editor-in-chief), Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions; Gale: 8th edition (February 13, 2009)
  36. Web site: The VAISHNAVA FOUNDATION. June 28, 2019.
  37. Web site: The Hare Krishna Project . Nathan Hartley . July 5, 2023 . The Hare Krishnas In Britain - E65 – "Its time to return to square one" . . July 11, 2023.
  38. Web site: Everywhere the Followers Make the Whole Thing Bungled. The Vaishnava Foundation. June 26, 2019.
  39. http://biodynamictheology.com/review_of_gold_guns_and_god--volume_2 | Chand Prasad, Ph.D. “Review of Gold, Guns and God: Volume 2--A Pioneer Community by Henry Doktorski”; ISKCON History Series
  40. Web site: Iskcon GBC Gaudiya Math. harekrsna.org PADA NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE - 2007 [retrieved September 17, 2022]
  41. Web site: Kailasa Candra's Ritvik Concoction. ISKCONirm.com [retrieved September 17, 2022]
  42. “The Vaishnava Foundation” website https://www.therealexplanation.org/ [retrievied Oct. 1, 2022]
  43. Web site: ISKCON GBC – Blacklist Index. ISKCONtruth.com [retrieved September 17, 2022</ref> The Vaishnava Foundation aims to promote Krishna consciousness in the pristine form presented by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda and to prophetically expose and oppose deviations in the Krishna consciousness movement which have arisen since his disappearance. The [[motto]] displayed on the homepage of The Vaishnava Foundation declares: "The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all." Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.2[42]

    Bibliography

    Publications

    Books

    • Book: Goodwin, J. K. . Reclaiming the Lost Tarot: Knowledge of Its Hidden Sequence in Human Life . 29 October 2009 . 978-1449564087 . Author.
    • Book: Goodwin, J. K. . Advanced Primer of Sidereal Astrology . 19 June 2009 . 978-1448608690 . Author.
    • Book: Goodwin, J. K. . Messages From Nostradamus Revealed . 12 July 2009 . 978-1448617920 . Author.
    • Book: Goodwin, J. K. . Buddhi-yoga and System Ouspensky: A Commentary on His Essential Teachings . 12 July 2009 . 978-1448608874 . Author.
    • Book: Bhaktivinoda Thakur . Kailasa Candra dasa . 14 July 2011 . The awakening of truth: Awakened intelligence in absolute truth . 978-1463733513 . Kailasa Candra dasa. . Translation of Book: Bhaktivinoda Thakur . Kailasa Candra dasa . Tattva-viveka . Sanskrit.
    • Book: Kailasa Candra dasa . Beyond Institutional Gurus, Initiations, And Party Men . 2019 . 978-1696849661 . Vaishnava Foundation / Kala Parusha Publications.

    Editing work

    External links

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