A Crisis in Contemporary ISKCON

By Satya Govinda das, 4.5 2015

Intoxication: A Crisis in Contemporary ISKCON

Recently, I got into a rather heated debate on Facebook with a long time ISKCON devotee who made a post advocating the consumption of gañja (hemp) on the basis of Lord Śiva using it in Puranic accounts along with its appearance in Ayurvedic texts.

Most devotees in ISKCON know, however, that Founder-Acārya Srīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda established four major regulative principles (which are compulsory for all devotees without exception) namely: no meat-eating, no illicit sex, no gambling and no intoxication.

Unfortunately, the regulation against intoxication has become "optional" in the minds of too many devotees. Such individuals declare that this rule (along with others) can be altered according to kāla (time), deśa (place) and pātra (circumstance). Srīla Prabhupāda was so adverse to any forms of intoxication that he forbade "light intoxicants" like coffee, tea and chocolate as these contain caffeine (an addictive stimulant). If anyone considers himself/herself a sincere student of bhakti-yoga as presented by Srīla Prabhupāda, then they will understand that use of intoxicants (whether "soft" or "hard") is strictly prohibited for all ISKCON devotees.

In the Bhaktivedānta purport of Bhagāvad-Gita As It Is (3.24), Srīla Prabhupāda writes:

"We should always consider the position of the īśvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the īśvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Śiva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many pseudo devotees of Lord Śiva who want to indulge in smoking gañja (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Śiva they are calling death very near."

Moreover, in the Bhaktivedānta purport of Srimad-Bhagavatam (8.7.42), Srīla Prabhupāda states once again:

"One should not try to imitate Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva can do whatever he likes, but those who try to imitate Lord Śiva by smoking gañja and other poisonous things will certainly be killed because of such activities."

Finally, in Ch. 33 of Kṛṣṇa, Srīla Prabhupāda writes:

"Lord Śiva drank an ocean of poison and kept it within his throat. The poison made his throat turn blue, and therefore Lord Śiva is called Nīlakaṇṭha. But if any ordinary person tries to imitate Lord Śiva by drinking poison or smoking gañjā, he is sure to be vanquished and will die within a very short time."

After having examined these three commentaries given by Srīla Prabhupāda, we can understand that ganja is not a healthy substance according to guru, sadhu, shastra and that in fact, it is detrimental to our well-being. Nowhere in his books or in his commentaries does Srīla Prabhupāda give justifications for intoxication. For those who read this and still cling to the idea that smoking hemp is, somehow or another, proper for Śaivaites, it is important to understand that Lord Śiva is the predominating deity of tamo-guna (the mode of ignorance). Although he is uttāma-vaiṣṇava (the utmost Vaiṣṇava), Lord Śiva's role in Kali-yuga is to appear as a Māyāvāda scholar (Śripāda Shaṅkaracārya) for the purposes known to the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Lord Śri Kṛṣṇa). Furthermore, Srīla Prabhupāda states that "devotees of Lord Śiva will be sac-chāstra-paripanthinaḥ, which means 'opposed to the conclusion of śāstra, or scripture.'" This is according the Bhaktivedānta purport found in SB 4.2.28.

So in conclusion, we must understand that there is a reason why Srīla Prabhupāda established regulative principles for ISKCON devotees. Many modern members of ISKCON feel that the four regulations are too strict yet we do not have the liberty to cherry-pick according to our materialistically driven whims. Only by sincerely studying and implementing all of the tenets of bhakti-yoga as taught by His Divine Grace Srīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda in his original books like Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhāgāvātam, Nectar of Devotion and Nectar of Instruction can we come to the highest realization of love of Godhead.