Moscow ISKCON Property Fight Continues

A split in ISKCON Moscow.

At the moment, there are two warring clans in Moscow, who are fighting for power, followers and money. This is a long conflict between two ISKCON gurus: Bhakti Vijnana Goswami and Gopal Krishna Goswami, which has now grown into a confrontation between Hindus and Russians.

On the one hand, the Indian diaspora in the old temple on Kuusinena, where the leader is the rich temple president Sadhu Priya Das, who owns two restaurants, Mercedes, apartments. His children study abroad. 

He is the pet favorite of his guru, Gopal Krishna swami. Sadhu Priya has special privileges and instructions from the guru: while everyone shaves their heads as it should be when they give initiation, Sadhu Priya continues to wear his luxurious hairdo. When Gopal Krishna tells everyone that they need to give their children to his gurukula, and not to materialists, to Sadhu Priya he says the exact opposite and etc. 

Sadhu Priya was never in the team and acted independently, and this is forgiven him, because he is an "Indian brahmana." While some "Russian sudra" cannot behave like that, he will be removed from his post. Gopal Krishna, together with his favorite, is developing the Indian diaspora around the world, increasing his influence and trying to take key positions in the government of various countries, including Russia.

And on the other hand, there are the beggars in debt, the local Russian -speaking population in the new temple on Nagornaya. This includes: Doyal Caitanya, Parjanya Maharaja, Akinchina, Vrajagour and Shyam and Naresvara, who are in the shadows, who report to Bhakti Vijnana. They do their best to take power, followers and money from Sadhu Priya.

Sadhu Priya has a choice: share or leave. By virtue of his character, the Indian president will never share his money and resources with anyone, and he is also not going to leave, because Gopal Krishna has big plans. Therefore, the group of "beggars" is left with only one thing - to parasitize on the congregation and so maintain their miserable existence, but this does not suit them, they, of course, want more.

The vacancy for the president of the new temple on Nagornaya remains open. This is a key moment in the struggle for influence. The group that puts its own person in this position will strengthen its position in the Moscow yatra and gain access to economic prosperity. The struggle for the presidency of the new temple has began.

[PADA: Sounds typical. Even some of the Jayapataka people are writing to PADA to complain that the "Western jet set sadhus" are taking much of the money to make fancy apartments and opulent situations, while the farm and cow programs are hardly being funded. And there is also the women's diksha guru issue that has split the Mayapur congregation. 

It seems like the "Hindu-ized" ISKCON folks are in various places tying to pry control from the Western group, and this has been going on in different features for quite some time. A Western devotee friend of mine said he was about the last Western devotee at his temple. And he was having to sleep in various office rooms and even closets as the Hindu-ized managers started to put big new locks on all the doors. They really did not want to tell him to leave, but he gradually had no access to any sleeping facility. Eventually they locked him out of every room. OK they wanted him to go. 

So this type thing is going on in different ways. Anyway, we are glad they are fighting over the stolen bread. Criminals will fight each other after they steal something, what else is new? ys pd]