Hare Krsna-below we have given two completely different approaches to worship of the Deity form of the Lord. The first and correct one is Srila Prabhupadas. The second and last one is taken from Iskcons deity worship website. See for yourself, how critical is the disease of concoction that has entered that institution. It is very unfortunate that they disobey the Acarya Srila Prabhupada, and this is just one but a very major example of disobedience and how just this alone, will destroy all that Srila Prabhupada gave to us.
The good news is that most of the worlds devotees don’t live within an iskcon temple, so they can follow the proper procedures on their own.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
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Srila Prabhupadas system for offering bhoga to the Lord
16 June, 1969 New Vrindaban Letter to Arundhati
“Regarding your question about offering Prasadam, whatever is offered to the Deity actually it goes through the Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master offers to Lord Caitanya, and Lord Caitanya offers it to Krishna. Then Radha Krishna eats, or Jagannatha eats, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu eats, then the Spiritual Master eats, and it becomes Mahaprasadam. So when you offer something, you think like that and chant the Gayatri mantra, and then everything is complete.At last, ring the bell, take out the plate and wipe the place where the plate was kept.”
Srila Prabhupada’s system for offering arati
Letter to Himavati, Los Angeles, 1 April 1970
Regarding taking Lord Jagannatha to your next center, that will not be very good because you already do not have enough devotees to engage in Arcana. Unless there is a Deity worshipper available, we may worship Panca-tattva and Guru. That can be done by all initiated students whether they are once or twice initiated. Before an altar with pictures of Lord Caitanya, Pancatattva and Acaryas, everyone can offer Aratrik and Bhoga.
Yes, it is nice that you are worshiping Lord Caitanya along with Radha Krsna. That is alright. Lord Caitanya should be placed to the right side of Krsna. There is nothing special for His worship, but you may continue as you are doing now. The order of worshiping is first Spiritual Master, and then Lord Caitanya, then Radha Krsna (as in the mantras or Bunde aham prayer).
Your confidence to do whatever you are instructed by the Spiritual Master is very encouraging. Yes, this is the method of the Vedic injunction, staunch faith in Spiritual Master and Krsna makes one perfect in spiritual understanding.
lecture, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.10, Los Angeles, Jun 23, 1975
Therefore our first duty is to worship Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We keep the Deity. In the first we offer our obeisances to Caitanya Mahaprabhu along with His associate, and then, Guru-Gauranga, then we offer Radha-Krishna or Jagannatha.
lecture, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.2, London, Aug 10, 1971
We begin from our first disciplic succession. Vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavamsh cha. Vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam. “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my guru, spiritual master.” Vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavamsh cha. And then, his guru, his guru, his guru, they’re all Vaishnavas. Vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavamsh cha. Sri-rupam. Then we offer respect to Sri Rupa Gosvami. Rupa Gosvami. Vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau. All the Gosvamis, six Gosvamins. Vande rupa-sanatana… Sagraja. Sa agraja. Agraja means elder brother. Sanatana Gosvami was the elder brother of Rupa Gosvami, and Rupa Gosvami accepted him as his spiritual master. Sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam. Associated by Raghunatha. There are two Raghunathas: Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami. Sa-jivam, with Jiva Gosvami. This is the process. Vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavamsh cha sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivam. Then we go to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s status: sadvaitam savadhutam. That is also… First of all, Advaita Gosañi, then Nityananda Mahaprabhu, Prabhu. Mahaprabhu is applicable only to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Others, all prabhus.Ekale ishvara krishna ara saba bhritya [Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 5.142]. Krishna, and He has got innumerable servants. Krishna is Mahaprabhu, and all others, they are prabhus. And the spiritual master who has got many prabhus to abide by his order, he is addressed as Prabhupada. This is the system. So sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krishna-chaitanya-devam. After offering all these obeisances to Gosvamis, to guru, and Advaita, Nityananda, then you come to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Then Sri Radha. Not Krishna directly. Sri-radha-krishna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-vishakhanvitamsh cha. Radha-Krishna means they are always associated by thegopis, of whom Lalita-Vishakha are the chief out of the ashta-sakhis
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Iskcons method of how to worship the Lord-taken from their website on deity worship
Offering Procedure for arotik
While standing on an asana and ringing a bell, present the incense first to your spiritual master by waving it in three or four graceful circles, and then present it to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya in the same manner.
Then, with the consciousness that you are offering it on behalf of your spiritual master and with the blessings of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya, offer it with the full number of circles (listed below) to the main deity.
After offering the incense to the main deity, offer it as prasada to the Lord’s associates in descending order, and to the guru-param- para—senior to junior.
Some Conclusions–Anybody who can read english can see there is a huge difference between how Srila Prabhupada taught us to offer bhoga and arotik than what goes on in Iskcon these days. Prabhupada taught us that nobody goes directly to God or Krsna, no, we have to go thru His param para, from guru all the way up the param para until you get to
Radha Krsna Themselves. But for some strange reasons Iskcon has decided to do things their own way in deliberate defiance of Srila Prabhupada. Recently I was in a long email exchange with an old Prabhupada disciple just over this same issue and asked him why this discrepancy? After beating around the bush for a long time, he finally said these “details” are only “minutia” which means not really that important. The sad irony is that this devotee was pujari for a long time and then he did things according to Srila Prabhupadas orders. Today, he is in association with some iskcon temple, so he has lost his remembrance of what he was doing thousands of times previously.Here is what Srila Prabhupada says about this very same point of how to worship the Deity form of the Lord.
Radha Krsna Themselves. But for some strange reasons Iskcon has decided to do things their own way in deliberate defiance of Srila Prabhupada. Recently I was in a long email exchange with an old Prabhupada disciple just over this same issue and asked him why this discrepancy? After beating around the bush for a long time, he finally said these “details” are only “minutia” which means not really that important. The sad irony is that this devotee was pujari for a long time and then he did things according to Srila Prabhupadas orders. Today, he is in association with some iskcon temple, so he has lost his remembrance of what he was doing thousands of times previously.Here is what Srila Prabhupada says about this very same point of how to worship the Deity form of the Lord.
Jan 4 1973 letter…. The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own process for worshiping the deities. So don’t ask any more new questions, whatever is going on, follow it just to the exact standard as I have given you, that’s all.
LA July 13 1971—Prabhupāda:Unless one is prepared that “I am accepting somebody as my spiritual master. I mustacceptwhateverhesays,” if there is any doubt, that “I cannot accepthis words verbatim,” then one should not accepthim as spiritual master. That is hypocrisy
SB 4.22.31-When one deviates from his original consciousness, he loses the capacity to remember his previous position or recognize his present one. When remembrance is lost, all knowledge acquired is based on a false foundation. When this occurs, learned scholars consider that the soul is lost.