ISKCON GBC Lokanath Committee / No Committee for "Sex with Cats" Guru?

[PADA: Appears that the North America GBC / GBC Executive Committee is moving ahead without the input of the India ICC, who has been invited to participate (but hasn't committed to). It is amazing to me that the guru is supposedly: the sum total of the demigods, he only speaks as Krishna dictates, he is the mercy incarnation of Krishna and therefore -- he has to be subject to a committee to see if he is authorized -- after touching a young girl -- or not. 

Meanwhile, a letter has recently surfaced (see below) complaining to Jayapataka swami that after Kirtanananda was bashed on the head -- he was constantly pleasuring himself, and he was -- attempting to have sex with anything around him -- including evidently -- attempting to have sex with his cat. And he was constantly drinking alcohol etc. We also know he was alone with a bunch of boys in his cottage / motorhome etc. all the time and etc. 

And this letter of complaint was squashed by Jayapataka and the India leader folks at the time. And Jayapataka told Kirtanananda to TAKE LEGAL ACTION to silence the persons forwarding this complaint -- so the GBC could defend their evidently sex with cats-pada acharya. And that means, a number of ISKCON leaders are made aware of these kinds of issues -- but no committee is ever made to investigate? Or at best some show bottle is made.

Worse! Just the opposite has happened, the ISKCON India folks buried their sex with cats-pada acharya in a samadhi in the dham.

It seems a little odd that the same people who have a parampara of "Krishna's acharyas" who are having -- illicit sex with men, women, children and -- maybe cats -- are now in charge of examining another wayward acharya? Wait, same people that buried their  -- sex with everything around him -- also maybe cats -- in a samadhi in India, are supporting another deviant acharya? A burial orchestrated by the India leaders ilk guys? How is this the standard for Krishna's successors? Or what? 

What is the need of a big committee to examine if the acharya is "not too much deviating," or "is way too much deviating," when acharyas -- are never deviating? And evidently, sex with cats is not enough of a deviation for some of these India scholars ilk people too? Rather that deviant too is buried in a samadhi.

And thus evidently, sex with cats is not considered as -- deviating too far? Give that guy a samadhi! And wait!, these ICC guys are supposed to be our scholarly seniors? Sheesh and Bee-jeepers pilgrims! ys pd]

Today, the GBC Executive Committee released a statement regarding a recent GBC decision on how to proceed with the controversy regarding Lokanath Swami. 

From the GBC Executive Committee

July 21, 2021

Dear ISKCON Devotees and Friends,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We write to inform the global ISKCON society regarding a recent decision of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC).

The GBC has been discussing the history and status of the Lokanath Swami issue for many weeks, both in our plenary sessions and among a smaller group of devotees assisting the GBC Executive Committee.  As many of you know, this issue has drawn global attention within our society and evoked strong—and often contradictory—feelings among devotees around the world.

Among many issues, the GBC is also weighing whether our own past investigations, actions, and decisions regarding this problem were sufficient, appropriate, and what should be improved in the future.

Therefore, on July 14th, the GBC voted to establish a special Panel of senior devotees with expertise in both child protection and legal principles, to review the matter in its entirety and return a report with recommendations to the GBC. Two of these three Panel members are attorneys, and two of the three are former Directors of the ISKCON Child Protection Office. All three are respected individuals of the highest integrity.

The resolution reads:

A Panel composed of Tamohara Das, Navin Shyama Das, and Champakalata Devi Dasi, shall assess and evaluate the matter regarding Lokanath Swami based on a mandate drawn up by General Counsel and present its Report within 60 days of the Resolution.   When the panel concludes its deliberations it will present its recommendations/report to the GBC Body, who will decide the way forward from there.”

The ISKCON India leadership has also been invited to nominate two devotees for inclusion in the panel.

We are aware that within the ISKCON society, there is heated debate whether or not the Lokanath Swami’s case should go to the Child Protection Office. Our current CPO Director agrees with the need for the above-described Panel, and he advocates that afterward the case should be sent to the CPO. Other respected voices argue that this case was reviewed by a special investigative process in the past, prior to the existence of the CPO, and sufficient remedial steps and restrictions were put in place, and thus no further review is required.

The GBC decided that a skilled and experienced Panel must first clarify the broader issues involved, including the facts and history of the case, and then recommend what the next step will be.  

We recognize that this is a very contentious issue, with strong convictions on all sides of the matter. The GBC is dedicated to moving forward in a sober, just, and thorough manner. We ask for all parties’ patience while the Panel completes its task.

Thank you,

GBC Executive Committee

Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Chair

Banu Swami

Revati Ramana das

The following are the Scope and Terms of Reference for the abovementioned special Panel

SCOPE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR PANEL

IN RESPECT OF REVIEW INTO LOKANATH SWAMI’S (‘LNS') MATTER:

1. Reports to: The GBC

2. Purpose: The Review Panel shall inquire into, make findings, report and make recommendations concerning the following:

• To establish a shared baseline of facts and evidence regarding this case.

• After establishing the shared baseline, then assess and review the facts and evaluate the evidence of the case.

• Assess and review the manner in which the previous investigation and adjudication of this case were handled by the GBC, including but not limited, to whether the GBC erred, or otherwise, in such handling and, accordingly, make recommendations on the appropriate action that could be taken.

• Assess and review the sanctions on LNS, including, but not limited, to the extent these sanctions were complied with by LNS, and the basis of sanctions, taking into consideration expert legal opinions and principled decision making. This will include, but not be limited, to examining the issue of double jeopardy.

• Present its findings and make recommendations on the above to the GBC.

3. Conclusion:

To submit a report to the GBC within sixty (60) days from the convening of the Panel.

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Henry Doktorski: This post is specifically for my Krishna friends, or others who are interested in the history of New Vrindaban and ISKCON.

Following are two extremely important letters which I discovered some fifteen years ago in Swami Bhaktipada's personal correspondence, but have not shared until now. Both letters will appear in the soon-to-be-published "Gold, Guns and God," Vol. 4: "Deviations in the Dhama."

The first letter is from Bhaktipada's housemaid to Jayapataka Swami. She explains that she wrote letters the previous month (December 1985) to all the zonal acharyas in a desperate attempt to help her spiritual master, Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada recover his sense control. Bhaktipada had recently returned home to New Vrindaban from the hospital after suffering a severe head injury which put him in a coma for ten days and in the hospital intensive care critical list for three weeks.

The housemaid wrote to all the zonal acharyas because she discovered that Bhaktipada had lost all his inhibitions because of his head injury and was engaging in sex with himself (and with his cat, she claimed) daily, even hourly. He was also drinking large quantities of alcohol to help ease the intense pain in his head.

Jayapataka, and the other zonal acharyas, apparently ignored the first letter, but Jayapataka wrote to Bhaktipada after receiving the housemaid's second letter and suggested that Bhaktipada take "legal steps" to silence the woman.

As it turned out, she had already been told to leave New Vrindaban some months earlier, and she moved back to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. These letters are important, because they reveal the extent of Bhaktipada's brain damage and his loss of control, and also the steps which the zonal acharyas took to make sure that none of the "eleven pure devotees" were slandered, despite legitimate reports of their illicit activities.