Philosophy in ISKCON

Q.1	In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna Himself says that He is 'aum', and in His impersonal feature He is Brahman. Why does ISKCON not give due regards to aum and impersonal Brahman, "nir vishesha shunya vadi"? [Editor's Note: This is part of the pranama mantra for Srila Prabhupada describing his mission to defeat the impersonalists]. Also, we have to be humbler than the grass, so why develop a superiority complex over other modes of worship of His potencies, which are He Himself (how can His potencies, lower or higher, be different from Him)?
Ans.	Krishna says that He is the basis of the impersonal Brahman [Bg 14.27]. The brahmajyoti is the effulgence of His transcendental body and 'aum' is a sound representation of Himself. Vaishnavas never disrespect or disregard the Brahman feature or the omkara, rather they extol them, seeing them as identical to the Supreme, just as we also find in Srila Prabhupada's books. (Cf. purports to Bg. 7.8, 8.13, 9.17 etc) However, a Vaishnava certainly takes objection to the impersonalist theory which maintains that the form of Krishna is a product of material transformation and that the Absolute Truth is the undifferentiated impersonal Brahman only (nirvishesha) or that in the ultimate issue there is no God and that everything is a void (shunya vadi). This is blasphemous to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and therefore a devotee cannot tolerate such an idea, and for the same reason Srila Prabhupada soundly defeated such ideas. Regarding the second part of the question, the Supreme Lord and His energies are in one sense non-different, but there is certainly a difference between the energies and the Energetic, Who is the source and controller of all the energies? Everything in existence is ultimately an energy of the Supreme Lord, but as stated in Sri Ishopanishad, (Mantra 13) different results are obtained by worship of the Absolute Energetic and worship of the various energies. Therefore, Vaishnava devotees consider the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all the energies, to be the ultimate object of worship and devotion. Making such discrimination is not out of pride or to minimize the position of another, but just to see things in the proper perspective.

Q.2	I understand that it's blasphemous to say that Lord Vishnu is different from Lord Krishna. Then, how is it that a lot of ISKCON devotees say that they want to go only to Goloka Vrindavan and not to Vaikuntha? Even when Srila Prabhupada was asked to describe his spiritual master, he replied, 'What can I say, he was a Vaikuntha man.'
Ans.	In very advanced stages of devotion, a devotee becomes exclusively attached to a particular feature of the Supreme Lord. For example, Sri Hanumanji is such a staunch devotee of Lord Rama that although he respects Lord Narayana or adores the devotion of the gopis towards Krishna , his only worshipful lord and master is Lord Rama. Such exclusive attachment to the form of Krishna , Rama or any other form naturally develops in a very advanced stage of devotion. Lord Caitanya taught that the highest object of worship is that of svayam bhagavan Krishna in His Vrindavan feature, which is full of sweetness, and so naturally His devotees follow in His footsteps and aspire for unalloyed devotion to the form of Krishna .. But while cultivating such an attachment, we should also understand that all of the forms of the Supreme Lord are equally worthy of our devotion and worship and are beyond any mundane discrimination. Even in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, we find that the Lord was very pleased and encouraged to experience the exclusive devotion of some devotees of Lord Ramachandra and of Lord Narasimha. Thus a devotee's mood of attachment to Krishna does not to minimize Vaikuntha; rather, it increases one's own attachment to the Vrindavana feature of the Lord's pastimes.

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Q.3	My question is related to Lord Shiva. He is considered to be the topmost Vaishnava. When a devotee or Vaishnava sannyasi comes, we are eager to take their association but we don't go to Shiva temples to take his association. Similarly we observe fasting till noon on appearance and disappearance days of acharyas. But we don't do such a thing on Shivaratri (the festival marking Lord Shiva drinking poison). Why is this so?
Ans.	Vaishnavas are not prohibited or discouraged from visiting Lord Shiva's temples. In fact, Lord Caitanya visited many Shiva temples during His tour of South India , where He chanted Hare Krishna mahamantra and danced in great ecstasy before the Deity. But unfortunately, there are hardly any bona fide temples of Lord Shiva today where worship is performed with the mood and understanding that he is the topmost devotee of Lord Krishna. Therefore, devotees generally do not make it a point to visit such temples, although they don't specifically avoid them either. The best way to honor Lord Shiva, in any case, is to chant Krishna's holy names and glories, just as Lord Siva instructed the Pracetas to do, and to dedicate our lives to the worship of Krishna . This would be most pleasing to Lord Shiva, and in this way automatically we will receive his blessings. Even in our temples, therefore, devotees celebrate Shivaratri by chanting in sankirtan and discussing the glories and the grea! t devotion of Lord Shiva as described in Srimad Bhagavatam and offering a feast in his honor.