Taking My Kids Out of ISKCON (by Nitai)

Nitai: Why is the street begging of women and children in the Krishna Church an accepted status?

Moving next to Krishna valley when my two daughters were 2 and 4 I was happy with the possibility of a vegetarian kindergarten, but I never wanted to enroll them in the school ... because I knew that they were taking the children out to beg for money for a  "sankirtan hour" in the village. They would be trained to beg for a house-to-house donation in the first grade. 

The ISKCON leaders are already trying to program the children as money collectors even at this small age ... that this is "the Krishna mission" ... and this is the main goal of life. Of course, the one who brings in the most money will be the most appreciated by temple authorities. 

This picture was always in the background of my worst nightmares ... of my own girls getting sent out for book distributing and fundraising as "service" for years. They are out on the street, parking lots, door to door, as I did in my early twenties. I hated this ... but it had to be done, or I am not welcome anymore.

That's why I'm moving out of here now ... so that I can give my kids some normal schooling ... and they can grow both materially and spiritually in the direction they feel will make them happy by their own choices.

I used to bring lots of yoga folks to the community of Krishna church, most of these people were then sent out to collect money within the first few weeks ... on Saturdays. Of course, this cannot be done to people with healthy self-esteem ... to beg on the street for a little recognition. Most of them later turned their back on these pressures of the church. Some people wanted to grow and only tried to get an official inauguration one day ... but they hated it too.

I have a lot of ex-Krishna lady friends who have horror stories during their fundraising days. Many have been molested, spit on, beaten, and even a few ladies were raped right off the street, or at the houses while begging. Of course, no one will take these stories to the public ... and it makes sense, to protect the church and its leaders. 

But when these exploited women are insulted because they turned their back on the church, it's disgusting. Guaranteed to raise money better with a new set of victims ... the young girls and cute kids ... but this is hard exploitation for the victims.

I have nightmares seeing my girls on the streets abjugated day by day for money. That's why I go far away from this place. After thirty years, the Krishna church should consider all these sinful things against the people they exploit. How long this has gone on against women and children? 

Of course, at this time, the answer is that they volunteer and go out. Yes, but what kind of manipulation and pressing do they have to get before they say ... "I am a volunteer"? I know because I had the same pressures 25 years ago. If I wanted to live in ashram, I had to go outside and collect money.

Women and children should always exist in a protected environment, not only in yoga programs being protected, but also in Western culture generally. Every good feeling person should let their daughters live without worries. It's not that sending them to all kinds of places day by day, usually alone, we can feel they are safe. They are not safe. They are not protected. 

Two women generally go out -- but then split up -- because when two ring the door at one place -- they split the same donations. So they are more or less encouraged to go alone out for collecting, to get more money.

In every other religion, the believers go out at least two together. They compensate for two preachers going door to door together, even the men must be in pairs together. Not here, not here. Because that's double the money. So the safety of the collectors is not considered, the money collecting is.

In these years, believers who go through these things are getting crazy psychological injuries, and they feel they were victimized. There are even some who committed suicide. You can hear this from those lucky believers who did this and managed to come out of this.

This needs to be stopped for women and children to be sent out unprotected!
Namaste! 

[PADA: Wow, yes we reported on this type thing all along for decades. And some foolish people still have the insufficient brains to tell me, it has all been rectified and changed. This does not happen anymore. NOPE! Told ya! ys pd]