September 19, 2024: On this date in history 1 year ago, the author receives a message from a reader:
Hello! I’m enthusiastically reading your book "Eleven Naked Emperors." I love your factual journalistic approach and I think this is an important history book for ISKCON! I lived through it but having all the pieces put together gives some much needed perspective and sense of order to it all.
I think that this book is very much a gift to members of Iskcon to document the changes in power structure that have lead to today's version of Iskcon which is important to clarify. The compassionate inspiring culture of the Society during the time Prabhupada and his first pioneers has changed much over the years. this book explains how and why.
Shakuntala Zakheim
Co-author of "Practical Yoga: Restoring the Body, Mind and Spirit,"
Owner, Zakheim Art Conservation, and daughter of Naranarayana dasa, ACBSP and Niscintya devi dasi, ACBSP Los Angeles.
For more about this topic, see “Eleven Naked Emperors.”
PADA: I know -- Henry is a controversial subject. For starters he keeps saying that Srila Prabhupada had always said Kirtanananda is a pure devotee, and maybe the other 11 were pure too. Ummm nope. When we joined we heard that Kirtanananda: had been chastised for numerous deviations; had stolen Prabhupada's Gita manuscript; was part of a motley crew known as "The Mott Street Boys (a homosexual household -- like Umapati and Hayagriva)"; was rejected for going to "his old (homosexual) friends" in NYC rather than go to London; is a crazy man who should be sent back to Bellevue and etc.
The guy had an attitude problem with Prabhupada, clearly. And when he came back to the temple after stealing the manuscript, some devotees were actually spitting on him in disgust, thinking he was a renegade from Prabhupada's authority. At least some of us knew some of this early on.
I would say the much more senior people to me -- like Satsvarupa, Hansadutta, Bhagavan, Rupanuga, Brahmananda, Gargamuni and others -- must have known much more, way more, than any of us. They were more involved. They should have raised red flags way before I had to. Instead, it looks like they jumped on the "Kirtanananda is a pure devotee" band wagon, when they should have been the first line of defense guard rails from such deviations.
When I passed through New Vrndavana in 1980 -- Jadurani had just been beaten up -- and Kirtanananda was driving around in a jeep with a little kid in his lap -- which gave me serious "homo and pedo" vibes. I was thinking "WTF," and no one was complaining, or taking that little kid out of there?
Same thing in 1986 -- CBS news reporters told me later KS was likely a homosexual and probably a pedophile when they saw how KS was covered with the hands of these little boys while sitting on a big Vyasa seat. OK no one should have considered this guy as a pure devotee in my opinion because -- I never did. Like ever.
And thus the CBS news people saw straight through him in an instant, and told me "he is in pedophile heaven." Sorry, none of these 11 people were ever seen as pure by people like me in any way, shape or form. And that is because Srila Prabhupada trained us not to be fooled by such foolish conditioned souls posing as messiahs.
What really happened is that people were misguided and fooled into thinking these 11 are pure. I was not fooled, and there is no reason to think Srila Prabhupada was ever fooled either, especially when he made so many negative comments like "will the GBC spoil it" "don't make it a stool society" and ok - they are giving me poison and etc.
That being said there is a lot of good historical writings in Henry's books, and it helped crack the case / open the doors / and name names on some of the crimes going on there. My main problem is, no one else has wrote a superior history of New Vrdavana, and so they are just upset and criticizing while not fixing the problem themselves.
Same thing with PADA, we have an army of critics and detractors. Are they making a better record of the history of all this? Nope.
Srila Prabhupada also said many encouraging things: Ramesvara is the only intelligent devotee I have. So when he was later on dating a young female disciple, and causing mayhem generally, he was a pure devotee? And -- Jayatirtha is my tirtha. So we should worship some guy who is having affairs and he is offering LSD to the shalagram?
Sorry! All sorts of encouraging things were said, because that is what a senior does to encourage the juniors. When my toddler is handing me one of my shoes, thinking they were doing a great job, I might say "this is wonderful." That does not mean the toddler is doing a great job factually.
Encouragement is not an absolute endorsement, and a mature person should know that. But that is what happened, well prabhu you are criticizing "Srila Prabhupada's sacred tirtha" -- "His Divine Grace Srila Jayatirtha Tirthapada Maharaja." Ummm, nope, he is not our tirtha. And since his brain is intoxicated and in the toilet, that means he needs to be removed from ISKCON, not worshiped in ISKCON. Instead, I was removed and he stayed.
The encouragement was used as an absolute endorsement, that never works even in the karmi world. "You are doing a good job Joe," does not mean Joe is now equal to Jesus. Not how this works.
ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com
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KSD:
On Religion, Atheism, and Human Ways of Knowing
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KSD:
On Religion, Atheism, and Human Ways of Knowing
In recent conversations I’ve heard the sentiment that the world would be better off if all religion disappeared. I understand where this comes from—especially when religious language is weaponized to justify violence or exclusion. In times of such suffering, it is natural to feel anger and grief, and to wish away the ideologies that seem to fuel injustice.
PADA: Yep, more than a few ex-ISKCON people, especially ex-children, say to me that it would be better if ISKCON no longer existed. "Shut it down!" Some say it would have been better if it never existed in the first place.
Yep. I get that sentiment, the mis-guided form of ISKCON has caused a lot of pain and grief to many folks. And no doubt Krishna, and / or His religion, or what is alleged to be His religion, looks bad -- if not sinister -- if not Satanic to a number of folks.
At this point -- even I have to say -- the religion is mainly only saving a few people here and there, connecting some folks to Krishna in various cases and examples, but the mass growth of temples and making many devotees movement idea has dwindled and has not evolved, indeed it is almost disintegrated wholesale. Worse, the Krishna religion is being morphed into a sort of Hindu-ized / demigod worship / Hindu cultural hall program that Srila Prabhupada says is "mayavada" and "Hindu Hodge podge."
But I’d like to respond in a spirit of both solidarity and reflection, because I think this issue is more complex than it first appears.
Some have said that wishing away religion is not the same as wishing away religious people. But for many, religion is not a detachable add-on; it is bound up with identity, values, family, community, and one’s very way of perceiving reality. To wish away that part of a person is functionally equivalent to saying, “you may exist, but only if you believe as I do.”
That strips people of their agency to live according to the convictions that make them who they are. Religion is not just an external ideology—it is often a person’s deepest orientation toward the world.
Others have argued that even if religion disappeared, people would simply recreate it for control, tribalism, or to explain the inexplicable. I agree that religions would re-emerge, but not merely for those reductive reasons. Religion is an expression of deep human capacities: our drive to seek meaning, to experience awe, to articulate moral visions, to weave symbols into shared life, and to connect ourselves to something larger than our own egos.
These capacities are as inherent to humanity as art, language, or love. To reduce religion to social control is to ignore the many ways it has inspired compassion movements, nonviolence, art, philosophy, and care for the marginalized. Yes, religion has been misused—but so too have nationalism, economic theory, and even science. The problem is not religion per se, but the human tendency to weaponize belief.
PADA: Weaponize belief. Oh boy pilgrims, that says a lot right there.
Some respond that in today’s world we have ethics enshrined in law and science to explain what was once attributed to gods. That’s true to a point. Science is a powerful way of knowing, but by definition it restricts itself to empirical data. That methodological boundary is what makes it so reliable, but it also means science is silent on dimensions of truth beyond the measurable.
Philosophy, for its part, is tethered to rational analysis. Both are indispensable, yet neither alone exhausts the range of human knowing. Religion offers another mode—an epistemic lens that engages experiential, symbolic, contemplative, and communal forms of data. It is not simply “inventing a supernatural being to plug gaps in knowledge,” but cultivating wisdom, meaning, and orientation in ways that cannot be reduced to empirical or rational frameworks.
If we recognize humanity as epistemically complex, then religion has a rightful place alongside science and philosophy, not as a competitor but as a complement.
It’s also been said that to defend religion in this way makes one sound like an “apologist, not a scholar.” But in the humanities, defending what one believes to be true is not a red flag; it is part of scholarship itself.
A philosopher who defends democracy or ethical veganism is doing precisely what scholars are called to do: making reasoned arguments for a position while engaging opposing views. To advocate is not to excuse flaws blindly—it is to argue for the enduring value of something that has shaped human history and consciousness. And I don’t say this lightly.
I have over two decades of academic training in religious studies, hold both a Master’s and a PhD in the field, teach as a professor, and have published nearly 30 works in the discipline. My commitment is to clarity, fairness, and critical engagement, even when I defend the legitimacy of religion as a dimension of human life.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the emotional heart of this conversation. When people see religion invoked to justify violence, as in Gaza, it is deeply upsetting. The pain is real. The outrage is real. And the longing for justice is real.
It’s possible to hold that grief and anger while also recognizing that religion, for billions of people, is not a weapon but a source of comfort, hope, and moral courage. We don’t have to imagine a world without religion to pursue peace; what we need is a world where beliefs—religious or otherwise—are lived out in ways that promote compassion, freedom, and human flourishing rather than division or domination.
So when I hear “religion must go,” I hear not neutrality but the dismissal of some of the most deeply human capacities we share. Religion will evolve, just as it always has, but the impulse that gives rise to it is part of who we are. To wish it away is to wish away part of humanity itself. The harder, but more fruitful, task is to discern the life-giving expressions of religion from the destructive ones, and to nurture the former while resisting the latter. That, I believe, is a more realistic and respectful path forward.
PADA: Good writing! When honesty, good character, religion, morality, serving God etc. is done properly, it causes elevation of the society. When a society worships deviants such as homosexuals and pedophiles, and bans, beats, molests, sues and kills Vaishnavas, that will cause that society to deteriorate and go to hell -- in a hand basket -- and in the fast lane.
Yep. I have an atheist lady friend -- and she says the problems that exist in the Krishna religion society would never exist in her atheist's society. "We do not tolerate child abuse under any circumstances. Zero tolerance. We also know we are -- our brother's keeper.
"We will not pull our kids out of an abusive school and let thousands of other kids fall into that horrific situation. In sum, we atheists have a higher standard of honesty, caring, ethical and moral standard than the Krishnas ever could."
I cannot argue with this lady. So when ISKCON began to promote homosexual pedophiles as its acharyas, and started to ban, beat, sue, and assassinate "doubters" -- and mass molest children -- it was the sum total of -- irreligion.
And yep, it was WAY worse than the atheists, who are always kind and friendly with me as a class. Because they have a higher platform than false religions. ys pd
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DATE: 19 September 2025
Re: HELL IS WAITING
Dear Prabhus, The great devotees at Justice for Prabhupada
(justiceforsrilaprabhupada@gmail.com) sent out this poem that was written by a wounded Gurukuli, who is righteously angry.
We came with flowers in our hands,
You burned them.
We called you “Prabhu,”
You spit silence in return.
We bowed at your feet,
While your hands—
They wandered where no child should ever feel
A pain that doesn’t heal.
You chanted japa.
We wept in the corners.
You danced in kīrtan,
We bled behind the altars.
You told us, “This is Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.”
You told us, “Endure. Don’t shame the mission.”
But what mission protects monsters
And crushes a child’s vision?
We screamed in whispers
Because no one listened to loud cries.
You were too busy decorating crowns
While another child inside quietly dies.
Do you remember the boy who forgot how to speak?
The girl who flinched at her guru’s feet?
The one who never came back from gurukula —
Who learned that God lived in nightmares, not pūjā?
Your necks wear tulasī,
But your hearts are stone.
Your mouths say “mercy,”
But your homes? Hell alone.
Do you think you’re saved?
You’re not.
You are going to hell.
And no, not in some far-off time —
Now. This breath. This karma. This curse.
Because every child you broke
Is crying to Nṛsiṁhadeva, and He heard us first.
Śrīla Prabhupāda never said:
“Let the children be raped in My name.”
He never taught you how to smile
While covering their shame.
You think you serve him?
He has turned his eyes.
He watches the orphans of your sins
And mourns your disguise.
You are not gurus.
You are not saints.
You are predators in cloth,
And cowards in restraint.
Every mantra you chant is choked by their tears.
Every bhoga you offer, rejected by their fears.
Every temple you build stands on their bones.
And your legacy?
Ashes. Screams. Stones.
We were children.
We trusted.
And now we speak.
Your time is ending.
Your names will rot.
You are not devotees.
You are demons in dhoti.
Hell is coming for you dear predators
⸻
To the abused — You are not forgotten. To the protectors of abuse — Your kingdom is collapsing. To the world — If you stay silent, you’r nextYour A.I.S.F. Team
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