Dear leaders of ISKCON,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I write this out of concern for the future of Srila Prabhupda’s movement and from an unbiased standpoint regarding all involved parties in the matter of Lokanath Swami. My intention in writing this, is to be of service and I come with no hate towards any parties.
I would like to mention my background. I was born into Krsna Consciousness and my guru maharaja is HH Sivarama Swami. For the past 12 years I have worked as a psychotherapist & hypnotherapist. Over the years I have specialised in trauma, adolescent mental health and past life regression. I am also the head and clinical lead of a U.K university’s mental health and psychological service for students. So I come from both a Krsna Conscious and psychological perspective.
The recent CPO issue regarding Lokanath Swami and the leaked ICC meeting has concerned me greatly. I am raising the following points for the current leaders of our movement to consider. Perhaps none of what I say is new to you all, however I wanted to share some of my perspectives incase they can provide insight from an angle of a professional that works in the area of safeguarding and mental health, as well as a devotee on the ground level in the community.
Please forgive me for the length of this letter! I know you all are busy individuals but I please ask you to read this so my efforts could potentially be somewhat fruitful.
Honesty and Self-Correction.
The story of Bilvamangal thakura shows that one can be considered a saint after immoral behaviour, but only after true self-reflection and self-correction. Bilvamangal thakura, after recognising he transgressed dharma and became involved with a prostitute, gauged out his own eyes and then engaged in his own bhajan.
Placing himself at a materially disadvantaged position not only showed his humble willingness to take full responsibility of his actions, but it also showed that perfecting one’s devotional life and engaging in Krsna’s service is beyond one’s material or external position. It was this direct and honest response to his misgivings that actually made him a reputable saint, not any external position.
[PADA: Yep, big difference between "gouging out one's own eyes" and "being suspended from initiating for 2 years." There seems to be nothing more than a slap on the wrist for all sorts of deviations going on in the ISKCON society.
Unless of course -- you are objecting to their molester messiah's program. Sulochan said they are a "butt buggery messiah's program" and so -- he had to face severe punishment, indeed he was assassinated. So, a minor slap on the wrist if you are a make pretend messiah, and severe reaction if you criticize the false messiahs.]
The whole community must be honest here and hold up the facts that are true. That Lokanath Swami abused an 11 year old girl and that abuse greatly impacted her. This action on his part was of a paedophilic nature, it was a crime and it was an offence.
The whole community must be honest here and hold up the facts that are true. That Lokanath Swami abused an 11 year old girl and that abuse greatly impacted her. This action on his part was of a paedophilic nature, it was a crime and it was an offence.
[PADA: Yes, it is a crime, it is pedophilia, it is an offense, and therefore -- it cannot be upheld without making ISKCON look compromised with pedophiles in general, and pedophiles even in the guru parampara from Krishna. Of course this has been an image that ISKCON has been steadily creating all along with their illicit sex with men, women and children guru process since 1978.]
My concern is how the matter was dealt with and how such matters continue to be dealt with. From statements by Lokanath Swami and members of the ICC, it seems they are minimising the gravity of the act. There has been deceit and cover up, such as not giving the true reason why he had to delay initiations in the 1990’s to disciples, disciples not knowing of the abuse or the facts of the incident being twisted or minimised. This deception is not vaisnava behaviour.
[PADA: Right, they are saying we cannot admit to this crime now because it will discourage the disciples, but that means the disciples were never informed of the problem in the first place, so they were cheated and deceived. We cannot have cheating and deceit allowed, what to speak of -- at the guru parampara level.]
Unfortunately what we have seen throughout ISKCON is the opposite of honesty and self-correction. It should not be that, “because I am in the position of a saint, what I do should be excused”. That “I will do my few years of exile and take my position again”.
My concern is how the matter was dealt with and how such matters continue to be dealt with. From statements by Lokanath Swami and members of the ICC, it seems they are minimising the gravity of the act. There has been deceit and cover up, such as not giving the true reason why he had to delay initiations in the 1990’s to disciples, disciples not knowing of the abuse or the facts of the incident being twisted or minimised. This deception is not vaisnava behaviour.
[PADA: Right, they are saying we cannot admit to this crime now because it will discourage the disciples, but that means the disciples were never informed of the problem in the first place, so they were cheated and deceived. We cannot have cheating and deceit allowed, what to speak of -- at the guru parampara level.]
Unfortunately what we have seen throughout ISKCON is the opposite of honesty and self-correction. It should not be that, “because I am in the position of a saint, what I do should be excused”. That “I will do my few years of exile and take my position again”.
Or “because I was given the position of a Guru by Srila Prabhupada I have the right to keep the position forever regardless of what I do”. It appears that child abuse amongst leaders is permissible because "the leadership" is more important. However how can a true leader be an abuser? It seems attachment to the external position takes precedence over dharma.
[PADA: External show bottle of false messiahs, what we said all along. More people are catching on, and more and more will as time goes forward. Srila Prabhupada: "You can cheat, but it won't be effective."]
An honest person with integrity, would self-reflect after such a great offences and would themselves see that being a Guru and committing such crimes and immoral acts are incongruent to one another. If one truly wanted to perfect their Krisna Consciousness, one would recognise that the external service and position is not necessary, especially when one becomes disqualified for such role due to their actions and choices. They themselves would step down from the high position, knowing that their behaviour is less than exemplary because as we know - what great men do - common men follow.
[PADA: Good point. If we worship pedophiles, then we will attract pedophiles. Ooops, which is what happened in ISKCON, "you become what you worship."]
Further to my point, we understand that a brahmin is a brahmin by quality, not by birth. This should be the same with the any leadership and Guru position in ISKCON too. I believe that now is a serious call for the standards of Guruship and leadership to be tightened and addressed. With how rapidly information is shared on the internet now, nothing can be hidden for long. It’s time to make the right corrective decisions. A guru can not be an abuser and an abuser can not be a guru.
[PADA: But why are conditioned souls being voted in as gurus in the first place? And then their false gurus are -- suspended, censured, removed etc. That is not what happens with gurus.]
Pedophilia
In my 12 years of work as a psychotherapist, I have met and worked with a range of individuals - both perpetrators and victims of abuse. I can say that no one is all bad, even on the level of their material conditioning and therefore rest assured I have no personal hate towards Lokanath Swami or any other person who has also committed a crime. I do think however the issue of abuse is not understood.
Pedophilia is a sexual perversion, outside the bounds of normal and healthy sex life. No one who does not have an abnormal attraction towards pre-pubescent children would touch the genitals of a child. Such an act will not happen, not even once with someone who does not have this abnormal sexual perversion. Therefore, sexually abusing a child is not a so-called “accidental fall down”, or a "mis-hap", in the way we see with a Guru being attracted to women. It indicates an abnormal sexual perversion and to act on it is harmful.
Psychologically speaking, some pedophiles can lose their attraction to children in time, some pedophiles are attracted to children but do not act on their attraction, but some pedophiles are attracted to children and act on their attraction. The later are the most dangerous and harmful.
The society outside of ISKCON take pedophilia extremely seriously. Last year at my work place a manager of a department was found to have indecent images of children on his personal laptop and was contacting under-aged girls online. He was fired from his job immediately. This was the stance that the organisation I work for took with distant and online grooming, what to speak of physical touch?
[PADA: Correct, even the karmi society removes people who are deviating from posts of authority, whereas in ISKCON we cannot even get a deviating person removed from the post of guru, the highest post in the universe. Rocana's idiot plan to tighten the guru control and regulating committee is foolish, there should be no need to correct the guru with a committee.]
I cannot say if Lokanath Swami is or isn’t a saint at heart and I also can not say if he currently has paedophilic tendencies or is a current abuser. More assessments should have been down over the years to ensure he was safe to be in society and to ensure children are safe. This goes for all other leaders / Guru’s who have abused, regardless if you had kept them as a Guru or not.
I also want to state that I believe there was a flaw in the mental health assessment recorded in 1990’s with the Lokanath Swami case. The professional stated he was not a pedophile, but that he should also stay away from children.
[PADA: External show bottle of false messiahs, what we said all along. More people are catching on, and more and more will as time goes forward. Srila Prabhupada: "You can cheat, but it won't be effective."]
An honest person with integrity, would self-reflect after such a great offences and would themselves see that being a Guru and committing such crimes and immoral acts are incongruent to one another. If one truly wanted to perfect their Krisna Consciousness, one would recognise that the external service and position is not necessary, especially when one becomes disqualified for such role due to their actions and choices. They themselves would step down from the high position, knowing that their behaviour is less than exemplary because as we know - what great men do - common men follow.
[PADA: Good point. If we worship pedophiles, then we will attract pedophiles. Ooops, which is what happened in ISKCON, "you become what you worship."]
Further to my point, we understand that a brahmin is a brahmin by quality, not by birth. This should be the same with the any leadership and Guru position in ISKCON too. I believe that now is a serious call for the standards of Guruship and leadership to be tightened and addressed. With how rapidly information is shared on the internet now, nothing can be hidden for long. It’s time to make the right corrective decisions. A guru can not be an abuser and an abuser can not be a guru.
[PADA: But why are conditioned souls being voted in as gurus in the first place? And then their false gurus are -- suspended, censured, removed etc. That is not what happens with gurus.]
Pedophilia
In my 12 years of work as a psychotherapist, I have met and worked with a range of individuals - both perpetrators and victims of abuse. I can say that no one is all bad, even on the level of their material conditioning and therefore rest assured I have no personal hate towards Lokanath Swami or any other person who has also committed a crime. I do think however the issue of abuse is not understood.
Pedophilia is a sexual perversion, outside the bounds of normal and healthy sex life. No one who does not have an abnormal attraction towards pre-pubescent children would touch the genitals of a child. Such an act will not happen, not even once with someone who does not have this abnormal sexual perversion. Therefore, sexually abusing a child is not a so-called “accidental fall down”, or a "mis-hap", in the way we see with a Guru being attracted to women. It indicates an abnormal sexual perversion and to act on it is harmful.
Psychologically speaking, some pedophiles can lose their attraction to children in time, some pedophiles are attracted to children but do not act on their attraction, but some pedophiles are attracted to children and act on their attraction. The later are the most dangerous and harmful.
The society outside of ISKCON take pedophilia extremely seriously. Last year at my work place a manager of a department was found to have indecent images of children on his personal laptop and was contacting under-aged girls online. He was fired from his job immediately. This was the stance that the organisation I work for took with distant and online grooming, what to speak of physical touch?
[PADA: Correct, even the karmi society removes people who are deviating from posts of authority, whereas in ISKCON we cannot even get a deviating person removed from the post of guru, the highest post in the universe. Rocana's idiot plan to tighten the guru control and regulating committee is foolish, there should be no need to correct the guru with a committee.]
I cannot say if Lokanath Swami is or isn’t a saint at heart and I also can not say if he currently has paedophilic tendencies or is a current abuser. More assessments should have been down over the years to ensure he was safe to be in society and to ensure children are safe. This goes for all other leaders / Guru’s who have abused, regardless if you had kept them as a Guru or not.
I also want to state that I believe there was a flaw in the mental health assessment recorded in 1990’s with the Lokanath Swami case. The professional stated he was not a pedophile, but that he should also stay away from children.
[PADA: Yes, the ICC says we should listen to their expert, and their expert says he needs to stay away from children. That is a sign they know he has pedophile tendencies.]
These two outcomes are completely contradictory and makes no sense. If he was not a pedophile; a. why would he touch an 11 year old girl? Only pedophiles would do this. and b. why should he still stay away from children? By the results of the report, in my opinion, it should have been re-done with another professional, specialising in pedophilia.
Guruship and Abuse
The pertinent question is, should a Guru who abused a child in any way remain as a Guru? The question underlying this is, does a Guru who abused a child really meet the qualifications of a Guru?
A vaisnava is meant to demonstrate qualities such as truthfulness and non-violence. What to speak of a vaisnava in leadership? If a Guru is not meant to even touch an adult woman or even the form of a woman as a doll, then what can be said about a Guru who sought out an innocent 11 year old girl, who by default of her age, did not have the capacity to give consent and touch her genitals for self gratification? By just seeing these facts alone, would disqualify them from being a Guru.
I believe a self-corrective action of stepping down, like Bilvamangal thakura, should have been taken in 1993 when the case was brought about.
The problem now is that many disciples do not want to accept the facts due to the length of time that has passed and some disciples and devotees are now trying to understand the lies, mis-handling, deceit and cover up that occurred after. I have had some disciples of Lokanath Swami approach me for psychological help regarding this as they were not informed of his predatory actions.
Guruship and Abuse
The pertinent question is, should a Guru who abused a child in any way remain as a Guru? The question underlying this is, does a Guru who abused a child really meet the qualifications of a Guru?
A vaisnava is meant to demonstrate qualities such as truthfulness and non-violence. What to speak of a vaisnava in leadership? If a Guru is not meant to even touch an adult woman or even the form of a woman as a doll, then what can be said about a Guru who sought out an innocent 11 year old girl, who by default of her age, did not have the capacity to give consent and touch her genitals for self gratification? By just seeing these facts alone, would disqualify them from being a Guru.
I believe a self-corrective action of stepping down, like Bilvamangal thakura, should have been taken in 1993 when the case was brought about.
The problem now is that many disciples do not want to accept the facts due to the length of time that has passed and some disciples and devotees are now trying to understand the lies, mis-handling, deceit and cover up that occurred after. I have had some disciples of Lokanath Swami approach me for psychological help regarding this as they were not informed of his predatory actions.
They are very disturbed and feel cheated. I have been doing my best to encourage their individual Krsna Conscious practice, but I cannot answer to the GBC’s unfortunate decision making, the lack of insight and the minimisation by Lokanath Swami himself of his crime.
[PADA: Even Lokanath's disciples need psychological counselling, because they are victims of psychological abuse.]
I hope that in the future, there is a standard of being a Guru and that acts of child abuse are disqualifiers, no matter how long they have been in their role of service. I also hope that if someone must step down from their position, there is a clear message and understanding that one’s Krishna Consciousness is never compromised or destroyed, if anything, it is an opportunity to go deeper, just like Bilvamangala thakura and many other examples of great devotees.
I believe a clear, direct public message would help the community at large see the stance the leaders take on the matters of child abuse.
Victims of Abuse in the Society
I want to greatly emphasis here that victims of sexual abuse have to bear the burden of their trauma for the rest of their lives. The dismissal of sexual abuse and the minimisation of it as a “mishap” that occurred 30 years ago, or a “falldown”, not only is insulting to victims but incredibly un-insightful. It really shows the lack of knowledge and awareness of the severity of sexual abuse and mental health.
[PADA: Yes, we know victims who committed suicide, victims who wanted to commit suicide, and victims who still think of suicide even 40 years after the incident. Child abuse has very long lasting results, and so does keeping child molesters in the post of guru. ISKCON will suffer those results for decades if not generations.]
When a child is treated like they are an object to be used for an adult’s gratification, it changes who they feel and perceive themselves to be on an identity level. When we interact with a child, we subtly write on the slate of the child’s mind. We are responsible for creating their samskaras.
Through abuse, in which the child is used like an object, such a degraded self-perception created, becomes the broken foundation to the rest of their life. Many then enter into destructive adult relationships, usually with people who are abusive, because that is what they have been primed to function with.
[PADA: Even Lokanath's disciples need psychological counselling, because they are victims of psychological abuse.]
I hope that in the future, there is a standard of being a Guru and that acts of child abuse are disqualifiers, no matter how long they have been in their role of service. I also hope that if someone must step down from their position, there is a clear message and understanding that one’s Krishna Consciousness is never compromised or destroyed, if anything, it is an opportunity to go deeper, just like Bilvamangala thakura and many other examples of great devotees.
I believe a clear, direct public message would help the community at large see the stance the leaders take on the matters of child abuse.
Victims of Abuse in the Society
I want to greatly emphasis here that victims of sexual abuse have to bear the burden of their trauma for the rest of their lives. The dismissal of sexual abuse and the minimisation of it as a “mishap” that occurred 30 years ago, or a “falldown”, not only is insulting to victims but incredibly un-insightful. It really shows the lack of knowledge and awareness of the severity of sexual abuse and mental health.
[PADA: Yes, we know victims who committed suicide, victims who wanted to commit suicide, and victims who still think of suicide even 40 years after the incident. Child abuse has very long lasting results, and so does keeping child molesters in the post of guru. ISKCON will suffer those results for decades if not generations.]
When a child is treated like they are an object to be used for an adult’s gratification, it changes who they feel and perceive themselves to be on an identity level. When we interact with a child, we subtly write on the slate of the child’s mind. We are responsible for creating their samskaras.
Through abuse, in which the child is used like an object, such a degraded self-perception created, becomes the broken foundation to the rest of their life. Many then enter into destructive adult relationships, usually with people who are abusive, because that is what they have been primed to function with.
They struggle to be financially stable and they struggle with addictions that temporarily remedy the painful memories. When the abuse occurs in a spiritual movement, it completely breaks their faith in Krsna. What could be more damaging than all of this?
[PADA: That is why some victims have told me -- these false gurus are killers of the soul. And some of the ex-victims here eat hamburgers and they hate ISKCON and they think Krishna is a false God. So their faith in Krishna has been totally devastated, and will never recover. Do the leaders not care? Or are they infiltered rakshasas, who want to destroy children, and destroy ISKCON thereby on purpose -- as some suggest?]
Furthermore, it is currently occurring - now. The impact of child abuse is not something that "just' happened 30 years ago or in the past. An abusive act causes an infinite ripple effect and those ripples are still creating a disturbance to victim’s wellbeing and their families.
When victims see their abusers being glorified, honoured as great vaisnavas or leaders, without the correct justice served, without genuine apology and without honest responsibility taken, this is like rubbing salt on an open wound. It triggers their past pain and they are then being abused again by the dismissal of truth and the favouritism of “big devotees” in leadership over “small devotees” with no power. It further dis-empowers them.
[PADA: One victim saw his victimizer being offered great respect in ISKCON Los Angeles, and he went home and hanged himself. Of course Los Angeles ISKCON is the head quarters of the illicit sex with men, women and children, and maybe cats, messiah's project.
[PADA: That is why some victims have told me -- these false gurus are killers of the soul. And some of the ex-victims here eat hamburgers and they hate ISKCON and they think Krishna is a false God. So their faith in Krishna has been totally devastated, and will never recover. Do the leaders not care? Or are they infiltered rakshasas, who want to destroy children, and destroy ISKCON thereby on purpose -- as some suggest?]
Furthermore, it is currently occurring - now. The impact of child abuse is not something that "just' happened 30 years ago or in the past. An abusive act causes an infinite ripple effect and those ripples are still creating a disturbance to victim’s wellbeing and their families.
When victims see their abusers being glorified, honoured as great vaisnavas or leaders, without the correct justice served, without genuine apology and without honest responsibility taken, this is like rubbing salt on an open wound. It triggers their past pain and they are then being abused again by the dismissal of truth and the favouritism of “big devotees” in leadership over “small devotees” with no power. It further dis-empowers them.
[PADA: One victim saw his victimizer being offered great respect in ISKCON Los Angeles, and he went home and hanged himself. Of course Los Angeles ISKCON is the head quarters of the illicit sex with men, women and children, and maybe cats, messiah's project.
As soon as many ISKCON Los Angeles devotees see the founder fathers of their anal reconstructive surgery epidemic of children messiahs step out of their luxury cars, they fall on the ground and fall at the feet of their favorite anal rupturing epidemic messiah's project's leaders.
I saw this myself when I was living there. Then people wonder why victims are committing suicide? Then again we have guys like Badrinarayan swami, who now claims to be de facto another Jesus who can take your sins, because he has been one of the biggest exponents of this illicit sex messiah's project, which causes children to later on spontaneous suicide themselves to get away from him and his process.
Victims cannot stand even being on the same planet with these cretins, and who could blame them? Get me out of here Lord! And this is what we want to have as the standards for a spiritual society called ISKCON? People will see their abusers being worshiped as good as God, and then spontaneously -- kill themselves. That is the society we want for our children, or any children anywhere?]
I implore the members of the GBC and ICC to please take this seriously. We can no longer have a less than zero tolerance to child abuse and devotees in the community need to be valued just as much as leaders. Krsna doesn’t see if one is a “big devotee” or “small devotee”. Krsna see’s the devotion of heart.
I see hypocrisy in the focus of attention on preaching and making new devotees, when once they are “in”, they are at risk of being abused and dismissed without protection. No intelligent person will sign up to this type of society and many have already left. ISKCON may therefore run the risk of not being a community of intellectual spiritualists, but sentimental blind followers. I have seen this happen on a local level. This is not what Srila Prabhupada would have wanted.
For the victims to be properly respected, for GBC members to protect themselves from making errors in judgments and for the CPO professionals to be able to do their job, I ask that all child safeguarding issues be dealt with by the CPO. This is the professional and right thing to do. We all need to know our limits of practice and stay within our lane. Until this is done, I will be advising members of ISKCON who come to me, to go straight to local authorities if there are concerns of any abuse, as the society is not yet prepared or equipped in managing such issues.
Concerns from the Leaked ICC Meeting Video.
There were many concerns I have from the leaked ICC meeting, but I have listed the the most important ones and have given my reasons along side them.
1. The emphasis on Srila Prabhupada’s comment about Lokanath Swami being like Thurka Rama and this as an excuse to therefore dismiss and ignore the severity of his act of child abuse. This is unfortunately the classic use of scriptural statements or “Srila Prabhupada said” to justify a transgression.
2. There was downplaying of the molestation because it was “over the cloth”. According to US law, his act was criminal and could have landed Lokanath Swami in jail. Also, over the cloth or under the cloth, does not mean it was any less harmful to the victim, nor does it mean it was not sexual abuse. He held his hand to her genitals and rubbed her thighs. I ask the leaders to change their perspective for a moment and imagine someone doing that to them. Would they be ok with it?
3. Emphasising that this occurred 30 years ago and therefore implying that it should not matter or be forgotten. I agree that too long of a time has passed, however if an act has occurred and the correct sanction has not been administered then justice naturally is still due. There currently is a case of child abuse in the UK from the 1970’s that is being re-investigated. Six men were imprisoned 20 years after the incidents, so no amount of time that passes matters.
[PADA: That is why one ex-victim told me "this is the Jimmy Savile guru parampara." Same things happened there, many victims were told to not bother because "this happened a long time ago." So what?]
I implore the members of the GBC and ICC to please take this seriously. We can no longer have a less than zero tolerance to child abuse and devotees in the community need to be valued just as much as leaders. Krsna doesn’t see if one is a “big devotee” or “small devotee”. Krsna see’s the devotion of heart.
I see hypocrisy in the focus of attention on preaching and making new devotees, when once they are “in”, they are at risk of being abused and dismissed without protection. No intelligent person will sign up to this type of society and many have already left. ISKCON may therefore run the risk of not being a community of intellectual spiritualists, but sentimental blind followers. I have seen this happen on a local level. This is not what Srila Prabhupada would have wanted.
For the victims to be properly respected, for GBC members to protect themselves from making errors in judgments and for the CPO professionals to be able to do their job, I ask that all child safeguarding issues be dealt with by the CPO. This is the professional and right thing to do. We all need to know our limits of practice and stay within our lane. Until this is done, I will be advising members of ISKCON who come to me, to go straight to local authorities if there are concerns of any abuse, as the society is not yet prepared or equipped in managing such issues.
Concerns from the Leaked ICC Meeting Video.
There were many concerns I have from the leaked ICC meeting, but I have listed the the most important ones and have given my reasons along side them.
1. The emphasis on Srila Prabhupada’s comment about Lokanath Swami being like Thurka Rama and this as an excuse to therefore dismiss and ignore the severity of his act of child abuse. This is unfortunately the classic use of scriptural statements or “Srila Prabhupada said” to justify a transgression.
2. There was downplaying of the molestation because it was “over the cloth”. According to US law, his act was criminal and could have landed Lokanath Swami in jail. Also, over the cloth or under the cloth, does not mean it was any less harmful to the victim, nor does it mean it was not sexual abuse. He held his hand to her genitals and rubbed her thighs. I ask the leaders to change their perspective for a moment and imagine someone doing that to them. Would they be ok with it?
3. Emphasising that this occurred 30 years ago and therefore implying that it should not matter or be forgotten. I agree that too long of a time has passed, however if an act has occurred and the correct sanction has not been administered then justice naturally is still due. There currently is a case of child abuse in the UK from the 1970’s that is being re-investigated. Six men were imprisoned 20 years after the incidents, so no amount of time that passes matters.
[PADA: That is why one ex-victim told me "this is the Jimmy Savile guru parampara." Same things happened there, many victims were told to not bother because "this happened a long time ago." So what?]
I also am concerned by this illogic given that our philosophy explains in detail the law of karma. No one will be able to argue the number of life times that has passed from our previous sinful actions when we are kneeling, alone, in front of Yamaraja. No one.
4. The mentioning of the need to protect “our Indian sannyasi” and the mentioning of the philosophy “coming from India”. I was surprised and disappointed to hear this nationalistic view from leaders of ISKCON.
4. The mentioning of the need to protect “our Indian sannyasi” and the mentioning of the philosophy “coming from India”. I was surprised and disappointed to hear this nationalistic view from leaders of ISKCON.
[PADA: Well hee hee, it is odd that us Western devotees know that Krishna and His acharyas are not a chain of "illicit sex with men, women and children, and maybe cats" while some self-advertised "scholar" people from India write me all sorts of insulting comments because I think Krishna and His acharyas are pure, and thus pure devotees, and not debauchees.]
I refer to the Bhagavad Gita where Krsna states that we are not this body and we are spirit soul to convey the obvious and basic understanding we would expect all leaders to have.
I also refer to Srila Prabhupada’s statements where he says “"I am not an Indian, I'm not an American, I'm not brāhmaṇa, I'm not kṣatriya"—means "I am not this body"—then the consciousness will be ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Brahmā-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). This is wanted. This is success of life. Otherwise, if we remain in darkness of our existence...” lecture on Oct 9th 1976.
I refer to the Bhagavad Gita where Krsna states that we are not this body and we are spirit soul to convey the obvious and basic understanding we would expect all leaders to have.
I also refer to Srila Prabhupada’s statements where he says “"I am not an Indian, I'm not an American, I'm not brāhmaṇa, I'm not kṣatriya"—means "I am not this body"—then the consciousness will be ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Brahmā-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). This is wanted. This is success of life. Otherwise, if we remain in darkness of our existence...” lecture on Oct 9th 1976.
I understand that people may become passionate and they’re attached to Lokanath Swami, whom on other accounts may be gentle and loving. However, I greatly hope that this philosophical error is corrected. Taking a sentimental and nationalistic approach will only cause segregation, polarisation, racism and destruction of the movement that Prabhupada wanted unity and purity in.
5. The potential decision indicated in the meeting, to throw out their connection with ICPO and GBC all together is very concerning.
5. The potential decision indicated in the meeting, to throw out their connection with ICPO and GBC all together is very concerning.
Disconnecting from ICPO is extremely worrying for a few reasons:
1. Due to the high cases of child abuse and trafficking that occurs across India at large.
2. Due to the fact that Vrindavan’s gurukula is moving to a more isolated location, increasing the risk of hidden abuse.
3. Due to the fact that ISKCON’s history of abuse has found by the CPO to be the worse in India.
4. Due to the very perception held, that ICPO is a hindrance. Seeing ICPO as a hindrance rather than a protective function shows huge lack of understanding of child protection. Perhaps these members could be reminded of these above points and the fact that the protection of women and children is a part of our Krsna Conscious practice and philosophy?
The ICC disconnecting from the GBC is a concern mainly due to my view that Srila Prabhupada would not want a fractured leadership. He emphasised unity. I think this would hurt Srila Prabhupada more than it would protect Lokanath Swami.
I am hoping that the fractured issues are resolved, that child abuse is put as a priority, being dealt with by CPO and that the right dharmic decisions are made here onwards.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my lengthy email.
I would also be happy to provide any educational seminars to the leadership on areas of mental health, trauma and the impact of abuse, should you find it necessary or helpful. My intentions here are to be of service and I hope this meets with you well.
Your servant and in the service of Srila Prabhupada
Chaitanya Lila Pankhania dasi
(an experienced psychotherapist who specializes in trauma)
1. Due to the high cases of child abuse and trafficking that occurs across India at large.
2. Due to the fact that Vrindavan’s gurukula is moving to a more isolated location, increasing the risk of hidden abuse.
3. Due to the fact that ISKCON’s history of abuse has found by the CPO to be the worse in India.
4. Due to the very perception held, that ICPO is a hindrance. Seeing ICPO as a hindrance rather than a protective function shows huge lack of understanding of child protection. Perhaps these members could be reminded of these above points and the fact that the protection of women and children is a part of our Krsna Conscious practice and philosophy?
The ICC disconnecting from the GBC is a concern mainly due to my view that Srila Prabhupada would not want a fractured leadership. He emphasised unity. I think this would hurt Srila Prabhupada more than it would protect Lokanath Swami.
I am hoping that the fractured issues are resolved, that child abuse is put as a priority, being dealt with by CPO and that the right dharmic decisions are made here onwards.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my lengthy email.
I would also be happy to provide any educational seminars to the leadership on areas of mental health, trauma and the impact of abuse, should you find it necessary or helpful. My intentions here are to be of service and I hope this meets with you well.
Your servant and in the service of Srila Prabhupada
Chaitanya Lila Pankhania dasi
(an experienced psychotherapist who specializes in trauma)
[PADA: Good, except Sivarama is voted in as guru by the same people who reinstated Bhavananda, so they are all corrupt. This is good, lifting off the band aid from one cut, but we need much more, surgical scalpels to chop off the rotting cancer tumors -- and that is a much bigger surgery required. ys pd]
=======================================
PADA: Yep here we go!
Study the teachings of Lord Krishna.
And you too can worship illicit sex deviants
as His successors!
Ooops!
Looks like there is karma and
it is catching up to these people:
RMD: Right, it is the GBC who told Lokanath Swami in 1993 not to worry and that he should go on with his work as a GBC guru. If they would have removed him in 1993 there would have been no controversy. Now they waited for 30 years to again reinvestigate the case. It seems there is another reason. In the meantime, Lokanath Swami accomplished many new properties, farms, and temples. Is this what the GBC is after, to take control of the properties?
ReplyDeleteBhakti Vikasa Swami recently remarked that he is not registering his farms in India as "ISKCON" because he doesn't trust the GBC to properly manage these farms in case he won't be there anymore. So it seems the GBC has lost control and the gurus don't like to work under the GBC?
On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 5:43 AM Pratyatosa Das ACBSP wrote:
The half dozen or so GBC men who are responsible for failing to remove Lokanath Swami from all leadership positions within ISKCON, in 1993, should lose their leadership positions also. Even worse are the members of the ICC who are currently openly/publicly defying the GBC, the organization that Srila Prabhupada has designated as the "ultimate managing authority within ISKCON." Have these ICC members zero respect for Prabhupada? These rebellious members of the ICC MUST be kicked out of ISKCON! Any GBC man who dares to tolerate this ICC rebelliousness MUST be removed from the GBC! Otherwise, the GBC is doomed, and so is ISKCON! These measures must be implemented, otherwise, for one thing, Lokanath Swami simply becomes yet another scapegoat!