Gurukula Victim Testimony / BVKS Follow Up 07 21

BHIMA KARMA SARAGRAHI

Kicking Out The Abuser

Pranamami - my hearty respects to you all.

May my sharing here be a beneficial service to all those that take the time to read this and hear me in doing so.

A friend asked me to share this story about an encounter I had with one of my former Gurukula Boarding school teachers, which took place back in 1997, when I resided at ISKCON Brooklyn Temple.

This former Gurukula teacher's name was Gopinatha Dasa. Gopinath is tall and thickly fleshed man, with a pock-scarred face, possessed of a prominent brow, which shades his more deeply set eyes. Even in my memories of those past times, stands and walks with a slumped and slackened posture, which might be interpreted as one of dejection, defeat, shame or sadness, being hidden in the darkened cavity of his heart area.

He beat and molested numerous of us boys, who attended the New Vrindavana boarding school, so-called Gurukula. In due course, when some complaints filtered through to the powers that be, such as Kirtanananda Swami and the Temple President, Kuladri, he was taken out of that service. In its stead, he was given the service as the pujari-priest of Radha-Vrindavana-Chandra (the main Radha-Krsna Murti Svarupas / "dieties" worshipped in New Vrindavana). 

Some suggest this was done to give him something which would offer him opportunity for purification, whilst keeping him at a safe distance from us boys, who seemed to present to him as a form of temptation. After some years of this service, he was awarded sannyasa initiation by Kirtanananda Swami. That Gopinatha Dasa was then named "Radha-Vrindavana-Chandra Swami".

Herein, I give an individual account (there are many other accounts, from other of my Gurukula student family), to exemplify his character and the social ‘atmosphere’, which is implied by its having occured ~

One day, a new student came to the Gurukula-boarding school, which we called "Nandagrama".

At that time our boarding school was housed at the "old Nandagrama" lushly pastoral property, past Nebergal's pig farm, which is accessed through the road adjacent to, what is now the Meberg house in New Vrindavana, the West Virginia ISKCON outpost.

So the new student who came that day and I struck up a friendship. He was elder to me (I may have been 4 or 5 years of age at the time), which was even more exciting, so I was really absorbed in meeting my new friend and showing him around and playing, during our noon recess. We arrived back from recess / break-time 10 minutes late.

When I found my way, hurriedly, through the empty halls to the classroom, Gopinatha decided to punish me, for my transgression. He resolved, reasoning out loud to the classroom full of my peers, that I should receive 10 whips of his stick - one for every minute I was late.

In front of the class, he whipped me with the "switch", a tree branch, that would "whip" through the air when it was swung. These "switches" were picked by us, the students, for him. He had us find and select the best potential "switches" for him to use on us, during some of our regular, leisurely strolls through the surrounding roads and paths.

He had me expose my bottom to the skin, for him to lash. After some ado of convincing and forcing me to do so, he lashed me with the switch. Each lash stung and gave deep cutting pain which sent my body to the ground bracing in constriction to the floor. He demanded and waited for me to get up and repeat the submissive "ready" posture, to receive the rest of my painful and demeaning punishment. After a couple such lashes, I couldn't control my bracing and shrieking in pain, so he just continued to whip me, while I writhed in pain, screaming out, convulsing on the ground.

This is the Gopinatha's character, illustrated in the episode of his role as my academic teacher at that time. Please understand, that this is an example of a common, almost daily occurrence, which was "normalized" for us students. This type of callus violent punishment was presented as acceptable, common and correct, within our culture and part of a larger definition of our role as students in the "Gurukula" boarding school. 

There were numerous exceptional punishments, which were much worse, such as paddling. As well, beatings, which were simply outbursts of unmitigated anger, rage and cruelty, to which we were subject, with no protection and for which they had no culpability, were sadly expected and normal to this life, which I knew as my only reality. Smacking, kicking, twisting, punching, pushing were commonplace ways of expressing their terrible emotions, which we were apparently to be haplessly subject to in our subordinance to their authority. 

The freedom of their willfully violent characters had them resorting to strange punishments such as putting some of us in engaged washing machines, tied to posts as dogs while encouraging contempt and mockery, broken noses from direct punches, broken arms from being hurled, gashed legs from being thrown down paths we were reluctant to trod - these are just some small examples our young child realities were faced with in the name of “Gurukula”.

In the years later, following some of our initial "Gurukula Reunions", I learned that he had sexually molested some of my friends, in addition to his common cruelty, which can be likened to a bag of mustard seeds in number.

At the time, perhaps 1997, I was residing in the ISKCON Brooklyn Temple, as a brahmacari monk. He appeared one Sunday, for the weekly "Sunday Feast" program, where the public was provided an experience of kirtana, a lecture on ISKCON's representation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and then a feast of Prasada foodstuffs.

He casually asked me in his typically effeminately intoned speech, "Oh, Bhima-Karma! How's your mother?".

My state of being became suddenly one of shock, dejection and confusion. As I observed myself in a separated internal vision, I watched, much to my dismay, as I casually responded to him, "She's fine. She's living in Oregon now."

PADA: This is a question I get regularly from media folks, "why didn't the parents report all of this to the police? Rather, it looks like most parents served and encouraged the leaders who made all this abuse happen. And thereby these parents enabled all this abuse. 

"And then after the abuse was exposed -- most of these parents just wandered off to live in isolation away from ISKCON, but not helping anyone else understand the problem. That means it was a set up, and now many more children would be allowed to fall into the abuse cycle and system. 

"And many children did become further victims due to the collective silence of these parents. And the one parent who did make noise, Sulochana, was the enemy of ISKCON for putting his foot down on mass child abuse." Umm, yep.

After he made some small-talk response, firming the casual mood he had successfully elicited from me, I went downstairs and sat in the wooden bench near the payphone, which used to be there for public use. At the time, I was undergoing a healing process under the council of my counselor and mentor, a Lady, who was a mental-health professional associated with the ISKCON devotees there, who took on the responsibility to assist me in my healing process.

Thanks to some of the newly forming resources from that time spent developing some healthy responses, I sat there for a couple minutes. I reflected on my state of shock and noticed that I felt just like that boy full of submission, which was the face of the un-processed fear, shock and horror which his presence recalled to my current state of being. As I observed this, my brows began to furrow and my lips wrinkle in discerning indignation, anger and disgust. I wasn't going to allow this!

A determination firmed in me and I walked back up to the gift shop, where he was cheerfully examining the colorful Indian goods on display.

I gestured to him to come outside the gift shop entrance for a moment. "If you want to come here and resolve the past with me, I am here for that." I said, struggling to maintain the composure I had found. "You can even call me in the middle of the night for such a sincere conversation. BUT! If you are coming here to behave as though those past events never occurred and act like its all ok, I am not going to tolerate it."

For a moment, his eyes observed the emotional intensity expressing through my eyes, face and body posture. Quickly he initiated a "smoothing" tactic by casually walking toward a book table in the hall, while saying, "Bhima-Karma, don't be upset". He seemed to be hoping I would let go of my resolve, by his casual deflating deflection.

For a moment, I was again confused and struggling with the taut constriction of my nerves, barely containing my immature emotions, unprocessed from a decade ago, when I had endured an entire childhood career of flagrantly violent abuse and neglect, sloppily rationalized with ISKCON's representation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and any specific vedik philosophical anecdotes they had managed to incorporate, to bolster their justification and right to abuse us.

I pressed on and made my feet walk me over to where he had gone, hiding in fear, by perusing the books on the table, outside the temple hall full of the attending Sunday Feast congregation of mostly Indians, whose money funded the continuance of ISKCON's crippled masquerade.

"Unless you are here to resolve this, you should leave." I pushed on. “This is Krsna’s temple, it's open for everyone, it's not for you to kick me out of here.” he said, in a renewed appeal to his base technique of crudely rationalized appeal to vedik, ISKCON and commonly accepted authority.

“You have abused your privilege”, I retorted with a growing confidence. “You need to leave, now!”, I insisted, as I stepped imposingly into his physical space. “Stop this!” He pleaded in his effeminate plead, still holding to his set position of innocence and utter ignorance of the horrible, voluminous cesspool of abuse, he had yet to even acknowledge.

Realizing, he would not respond to my reasoned will, and already prepared with a plan of action, I took his left arm in mine from behind and firmly grabbed the back of his neck with my right hand, just as I had learned to control a poisonous snake, when I was a young boy in Gurukula, I bent him down forward as I forcefully lead him back toward the front door.

Some of the visiting congregation, led by one of Kirtananda’s Indian Sannyasis, who was speaking that day, took notice of my violent behavior, which disrupted their participation in the day’s program. They grouped together and followed behind me, as I drug “RVC Swami”, stumbling, toward the door.

“What is this?” and other exclamations were heard, as those people complained to me.

I kicked the lock-hinge on the door and pushed him through the two entrance doors. When I managed to shove him to the initial step-up from the street, I threw him as I released my grip. He fell to the ground muttering grievous objections in his shameful humiliation, to which he had submitted, knowing, at least on an instinctual level, the reason for his punishment.

“Who do you think you are?” the saffron-clad Swami demanded. “What gives you the right to do this?” The Swami stood there, with his oversized bead-bag, expectant of some explanation and simultaneous recognition of his authority.
By then, my lips were quivering, with the rest of my body and my eyes, alight with the outrage, pain and inner emotional cries, which had fueled me reluctantly, this far, in service to my heart’s Dharmik demands for justice.

In my profound state, I clutched for words to express the yell that wanted to speak what I had to say, which was not any concept, which had no words, but which simply wanted to directly show the deep emotions of shock, horror, dismay, despair, rage and broken-hearted anguish that I and my fellow brothers and sisters, who attended these boarding schools, masqueraded as “Gurukulas”, carry as our “service” and sacrifice toward ISKCON’s sham, masquerading as the spiritual movement their Guru, Srila Prabhupada, had given them to develop.
Rudra is the name of Shiva, which has some translations as “cry, horrible, dreadful, terrible, roar and howl”.

“While you were all busy chanting on your fucking beads, he was busy beating us and fucking us up the ass!” I cried out. “What are you going to do about it?” I challenged, with wild eyes and trembling facial expressions, dancing like fire.
Their eyes opened wide and their brows lifted high, in shock and disbelief, the Swami and the grouped followers behind him, gradually looked back and forth at each other, perhaps for some resolute clarity for a response. The Swami and all of them, together, turned around and went back inside to conclude their Sunday Feast program.

PADA: Yep, you guys all wandering around with big bead bags, while we were being beaten and f*cked up the a**. What is the point of chanting to "engage in Krishna's service," when your most important original "service to God" is to make sure the children in your camp are safe from abuse? Then we wonder why these children have rejected the religion? And then Sanat / Mukunda / Prahlad / Pancali / HKC Jaipur type guys came out saying, they wanted these children victims "to die in a blood bath in Dallas" -- which convinced even more people -- these folks really are a child abuse worship cult.

A friend came to comfort me and help me talk about it.

To this day, not a single person among them came to me and asked me for an explanation or inquired into my welfare or expressed any curiosity about the events or the story they implied.

I have heard that “RVC Swami” / Gopinatha Dasa still resides in some Hrishikesha Temple, where Kirtanananda is still honored and holds a position of high rank and spiritual honor, within their ranks. I hope this story serves as an honest glimpse into the underlying thread of the perspective and emotional experience myself and my generation of people who lived in ISKCON during the 70’s and 80’s, carry, in the larger, confluent tapestry, of which it is an integral and foundational part.

I now live in between the UK and Vrindavana India, developing the tradition of Sacred Rhythm associated with the Mridanga drum and music traditions of sankriti Vaisnava culture, associated with Vraja-Krsna-Bhakti and ancient Vedik Rasika-Dharma.

…again, pranamami (my respects) to you all and my best wishes for our mutual benefit in this wonderful mysterious dramatic unfolding divine play we are finding ourselves in, as players of the all-attractive divine absolute person, Gopi-Jana-Vallabha, Sri Krsna! Jaya Sri Krsna!

PADA: Yep, and his story is the same as thousands of others same story. Then people wonder why PADA is being so arrogant as to say, this is a problem. That is because their hearts have been so stone like, they have not been able to even know what a problem is -- for their society's children -- which has been and still is a problem. Lack of recognition of the problem makes it continue.

Then -- the leaders and / or parents move away from ISKCON, and never say anything to anyone, or call the cops or notify the next wave of parents, so the next wave of victims is set up for exploiting. 

PADA also just now finds out about another younger woman -- who looks sort of like the lady you would meet running the town library -- and her friends call her "a lioness protector of children," just because she made some public complaints. 

Where were her parents? Where were the leaders who were in charge of her welfare? Where were they then, and where are they now? Ummm seemingly, vanished into thin air -- both then and now, leaving the children at the tender mercies of the beating and raping process then, and not coming out to help their situation then or now. 

No amount of therapy is going to fix one's well being after being abandoned as a child, it is causing permanent problems, made worse by the "conspiracy of silence," both then and now. And that is what needs to be fixed. Gaura Govinda maharaja said he could not help molesting victims, but rather instead we need to cry for Krishna. 

No we need to first cry for these children, otherwise Krishna will not be too impressed with our crying for getting Him. We are not going to get Him without caring for His parts and parcels beforehand. An uncaring person will never attain Krishna, nor will that person even get much respect from the ordinary common Joe six pack people, who do care for children more than the devotee class.

ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com

AND HERE ARE THE ISKCON LEADER'S FOLLOW UP TO THESE COMPLAINTS:

BHAKTI VIKASA SWAMI

“This all happened many years ago, and see what he has done in the meantime. Anyone who wants to blame Bhakti Vidya Purna swami should go and see what he has done in Mayapur . . . Bhakti Vidya-purna Swami has developed that gurukula and he has done something wonderful.

We might also consider one statement of Krsna’s in the Bhagavad-gita (9.30): api cet su-duracaro, bhajate mam ananya-bhak / sadhur eva sa mantavyah, samyag vyavasito hi sah. Even if one commits abominable activities, if his resolution is to serve Me only, such a person, Krsna says, must be considered a sadhu. Do we want to edit this out of Bhagavad-gita? Is there some crime which is unforgivable?” (2016)

"Anyone who actually cares for children would be delighted to recognize the extraordinary good that Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami has done, rather than trying to drag him down by citing mistakes (even severe mistakes) that he has made." (2017)

PADA: Yep, orchestrated beating and raping of small children is "glorious service" to these guys. No wonder the children victims are so disgusted with this lot. And so is Lord Yamaraja. And for that matter, so is the general public when they hear about the divine leela activities of these so-called pure devotees of God. Many people think these guys are going to see Yamaraja, and I am among them.