Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
M. Lilasuka dd from the CPO in North America forwarded me a link to this Vedic Inquirer Advancing Child Protection. After reading many of the recent posts, I decided to join the group and submit the following:
Recently I've read and heard so many examples of senior devotees in ISKCON- GBCs, sannyasis and gurus, who knew very well of so much of the abuse, but chose to remain silent, and in some cases even supported the abusers and molesters, quoting “api cet sudaracaro”.
Srila Prabhupada wanted leaders in his movement to be acaryas - teachers by example. It seems many of the leaders we have now -- have gone down a dangerous path. Yes they are leaders, but leading people to the darkest regions of hellish life [and taking children with them].
Desiring to maintain friendly and peaceful relationships with the devotees I have not wanted to say anything, but I have one experience I would like to share with this group. In my service, traveling and doing the Ratha-Yatras, & Hare Krishna Festivals of India in North America, I've been bringing young men, mostly second generation devotees, on the tour every year since about 1980. During the summer Festival Tour I get to know all the young men on the tour, as we travel in close quarters, we all serve together, take prasadam together, and in order to keep the program running smoothly we do our best to maintain close friendly relationships.
Two of the young men on the tour in 1995, Nandu (Yasomatinanda Prabhu's son) and Gopal, stayed with us in Prabhupada Village (Sandy Ridge, North Carolina) to help me repair and rebuild the exhibits. Our goal was to get all the exhibits in first class condition for the Centennial Year - 1996, Srila Prabhupada's 100th year.
During the 1995 tour getting to know Nandu and Gopal (who were both in the Vrindavan Gurukula--Krishna Balaram Mandir for years) I heard so many complaints and allegations about Dhanurdhara Swami. They were both angry with Dhanurdhara Swami. The complaints were mostly from what they experienced in gurukula, but also from as recent as the 1995 summer tour when we were in New York and Dhanurdhara Swami invited Nandu to go to a preaching program with him a few days before the New York Ratha-yatra. We'll skip the details as they are not appropriate for most listeners.
At the end of the 1995 tour, in October when we were back in Prabhupada Village, Sridhar Swami (Srila Prabhupada's disciple, now deceased) was visiting. I went on several japa walks with Sridhar Swami when he was in Prabhupada Village. These are sensitive subjects and not comfortable to speak about, but I asked Maharaj, “Some of the boys traveling with me are complaining and making several allegations against the sannyasi who runs the gurukula they went to. What should I do?” Maharaj replied, 'What sannyasi'? I told him, “Dhanadhara Maharaj.” Sridhar Swami said “Dhanurdhara Maharaj, I know him well, he is straight as an arrow, completely Krishna conscious, and very austere...”
I went on to tell him, “I do not know Dhanurdhara Swami at all; what I do know is these young men with me are telling me many things about him, that he’s beating some of the boys in the ashram, and being visited late at night by a female in white sari...” I also asked Sridhar Swami if there was still a Sannyasi Committee who would at least look into some of these allegations. “I am hearing from young men. What am I supposed to do when I hear complaints like this?” He told me to contact Murli Vadaka Prabhu, who was supposed to be in charge of things like this.
I called Murli who was in charge of the gurukula ashram in Alachua at the time, and he said I should send the boys to get interviewed by Bir Krishna Maharaj who is right here in North Carolina, just a couple hours from Prabhupada Village. Murli also explained that there was a Mataji, I think her name was Mother Yasoda devi dasi, in Bir Krishna Maharaja's temple who is a professional who deals with these things regularly in her job.
I spoke with Bir Krishna Maharaj and set up an appointment to bring Nandu and Gopal to him to get interviewed. When I approached Nandu and Gopal and said we have an interview set up so they can go tell all they know about Dhanurdhara to the GBC in charge of these things, both of them said, “No way, we both have younger brothers who were in the Vrindavan Gurukula...” They were afraid that if they spoke about Dhanurdhara Swami to the authorities, they thought their brothers would get beaten and tortured.
I tried to convince them to go to the authorities and tell the truth about Dhanurdhara, then the authorities could do the needful and remove him from his position of abusing so many boys. At least try to go through the proper channels to get justice. Nandu and Gopal finally agreed.
They went to Hillsborough and met for a full day, giving their testimony, giving all the details. When Nandu and Gopal returned to Prabhupada Village the next day, they appeared to be peaceful, like they 'got a heavy load off their back'. I asked them what happened. They said Maharaj interviewed them and they told Maharaj everything they knew about Dhanurdhara Swami. We went back to work on the exhibits and preparing all Festival of India's equipment--getting ready for the Centennial Celebrations coming in 1996.
About a week later, I called Bir Krishna Maharaj just to follow up. I asked him, “I'm checking in to see if you are moving the boys allegations on to the Sannyasa Committee, or what is the process?” Bir Krishna Maharaj in less than 2 minutes told me: “After closely analyzing my interview with Nandu and Gopal I've concluded that they were young arrogant boys and Dhanurdhara Swami was the authority in the gurukula. We all know that young boys do not like authorities, and so I am dismissing their whole testimony as 99% fabrication. It is not going past me, it's done. Thanks for calling.”
I was alarmed. I really could not believe that he would not at least turn it over to the Sannyasa Committee. I felt guilty, and I did not want to tell Nandu and Gopal what the Swami said to me. Prabhupada Village, at that time in 1995, was a young community, started in 1992, so I did not want to have any friction or problems with Bir Krishna Gosvami (BKG), whose temple is just 80 miles southeast of Prabhupada Village. BKG was, and still is, the GBC for North Carolina. I was already hearing from a few devotees that BKG was saying some negative things about Prabhupada Village and myself.
I was thinking at the time that perhaps the Swami is just too busy, or something else distracting him so he could not follow up on this testimony from two young men who spent years in the Vrindavan Gurukula. Now, after hearing of so many devotees in exalted positions covering up, hiding, looking the other way, pretending not to see, and even supporting known abusers, I no longer think Bir Krishna Gosvami was distracted or too busy.
There is a very real and disturbing pattern here that has caused many devotees to lose faith in the system- especially faith in gurus and sannyasis who are supposed to be avowedly truthful. Who can have faith in a GBC, a guru, or a sannyasi that says everything is ok while he pretends not to know about serious criminal activities like abusing underage boys and girls- especially while in the sannyasa ashram, or intentionally hiding and covering up others in the renounced order who deviate and do not even follow the basic 4 regulative principles that every new bhakta is required to follow before even getting first initiation.
I really do not like to think about these things. I always had faith that somehow Srila Prabhupada and Mahaprabhu would keep Their ISKCON movement on track, but there seems to be an extremely dangerous pattern here - Covering up, hiding criminal activity, and exploiting their so-called exalted positions, etc. Criminals & cheaters should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law; only then will abusers, predators, and pretenders see that they cannot live in Srila Prabhupada's movement.
I'm now reading a newly published book, “Srila Prabhupada's Hidden Glories”. Chapter 122 is titled, “Abuse of Men, Women, and Children”, and gives some examples of how so many leaders in Srila Prabhupada's movement have neglected to give protection to devotees that they were supposed to be responsible for. GBCs are supposed to be setting ideal examples for the rest of the society.
Most of them have failed by not following even basic principles that Srila Prabhupada instructed ALL of the devotees to follow. Some may follow very nicely and preach very nicely, but why is it that they did not stop abuse that the full GBC body was aware of? The whole GBC body were given reports from the Child Protection Office (CPO) about Bhakti Vidya Purna (BVP) and others-why was nothing done?
Even though the CPOs have presented so many reports, the GBCs swept most of it under the rug. How could BVP have lasted so long in Mayapur after so many reports were presented to the full GBC body? Why do others in the renounced order of life, sannyasa, tolerate behavior like BVP? His actions are making a laughing stock of the sannyasa order. What honest man will want to join or support Srila Prabhupada's mission when criminals are given shelter and supported by the leaders?
Your servant,
Madhuha dasa
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