Ramadevi: ISKCON's Child Protection Office Imbroglio

[PADA: Mother Ramadevi has passed away from cancer some time ago. This was her attempt to wrangle with the child abuse issue:]

The followings are some excerpts from an article Mother Ramadevi wrote a while back in defense of Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaj:

While Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami has no part to play in the SMIS or Bhaktivedanta National School, he is naturally influential in the two schools he is guiding – Bhaktivedanta Academy and Sri Anasuya Vidy Mandala.

And: I would like to know what these indications / indicators are which you have not mentioned. I was part of the CPT here for several years and acted along with Hari Sauri Prabhu in an advisory capacity. If there is anything we have missed I would like to know what it is.

[PADA: Well you folks missed the whole point. We cannot teach our little ISKCON children to worship an illicit sex with men, women and children guru parampara -- as they are promoting in ISKCON Mayapur right now. Nor should we teach little children to bow down to pedophiles in samadhis in the dham, etc. 

If you adults want to promote worship of pedophiles and sexual predators to other adults, it is your choice. However to teach little children to worship sexual predators, pedophiles, drunks, and criminals etc. as their "chain of gurus from God" and messiahs from God etc. -- is MOST sinful. 

And according to my legal advice friend -- it is illegally corrupting the morals of minors. And it is fraud, because ISKCON's constitution does not state that the aim and object is to have the followers promote a pedophile guru lineage for the children of said society. 

So what have you missed? 

You missed that it is morally bankrupt, and probably illegal, to teach little children to worship a "chain of gurus from God" that contains pedophiles, sexual predators, drunks and deviants. Hari Sauri has been one of the biggest bucket boys of the pedophile messiah's club, and he still is. He has always been licking the jack boots of anyone who promotes his worship of illicit sex with men, women and children messiah's program. And he has opposed those of us who tried to rectify his child devastating process.]  

And: You are making a grave accusation against Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami without any solid foundation. By doing this you offend a senior Vaisnava and disturb his disciples and students.

[PADA: There are various victims who already testified that he is a cruel person who has mistreated children. There is a solid foundation to the claim that he has been part of the post-1978 ISKCON children abuse process.]

The following is a paragraph from the official CPO report on Bhaktividyapurna Swami:

"Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja won’t serve in any capacity that is directly connected with children until January 1, 2002. After that time he may serve in a non-managerial and non-administrative capacity connected with children -- if the ISKCON Education Ministry agrees that he may do so. Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja may not at any time assume a managerial or administrative role in ISKCON, and especially not in connection with children. . .(Emphasis added)"

A few things come to mind in reading the above, the first is that in “guiding” two schools, which combined, include about 60 children, in Mayapur, Maharaj is in breach of the sanctions the CPO imposed on him. I also wonder whether the ISKCON Education Ministry has indeed sanctioned his current involvement in the Mayapur Gurukulas. If the answer is affirmative, I am then curious to know who the individuals that endorsed this are, and their reasoning in support of this decision.

[PADA: Right, the Child Protection Office (CPO) is pretty much a toothless body. They might make a ruling about an abuser, but then some other leaders sneak that person into other areas of ISKCON with little regard for the CPO decision.]

Finally I would like to address the differentiation between the wording of the CPO sanction and the intent of the verdict. As is the case with too many CPO verdicts, the wording can be described as “unclear” at best. I don’t doubt that with some fancy word jugglery, some may be able to argue, that strictly or literally speaking, Maharaj’s current involvement with children is not in breach of the adjudication. However, I do not believe that anybody can successfully argue that his current involvement is respectful to Maharaj’s victims, just, appropriate, or compliant with the spirit and intent of the CPO ruling.

In an article, written by Dhira Govinda prabhu (former CPO Director) he states, that the child abuse that has taken place in the Mayapur gurukula is the most severe in the history of ISKCON.

I regard Bhaktividyapurna Maharaj, who, for several years, served in the capacity of headmaster, as the individual, who more than anyone else is both directly and indirectly responsible for a significant amount of the deplorable abuse that has been inflicted to children in the Mayapur Gurukula.

In the history of education, both in ISKCON and outside, corporal punishment has been an unfortunate, but relatively common reality. There are two elements in the actions of Bhaktividya Purna Swami, however, that place him unequivocally in the league of the more severe offenders.

The first is his deliberate negligence of the ongoing sexual abuse that was perpetrated to the children placed under his care in the Mayapur Gurukula. The second is the uncommon and exceptional brutality of the corporal punishments he personally inflicted on his victims.

Statistically a significant number (about 30%) of sexually abused children, in turn go on to abuse younger children. This is exactly what took place in the Mayapur Gurukula, many young children were raped by teachers and students alike, under the supervision and knowledge of Bhaktividyapurna Swami. The boys that had been sexually abused went on to violate the children of the younger age group in turn, in this manner newcomers were “initiated” in this diabolical cycle.

I do not know what Maharaj’s current opinion of these dark events is, but in the past he has made statements to the effect of “That it was not a very serious thing, after all it’s human nature and it comes and goes like the seasons”.

The fact that Maharaj did not do what was necessary to protect these boys, even after knowing that they were being sexually abused is inexcusable. Although I am not in a position to evaluate the far reaching repercussions of the legacy Maharaj’s deliberate negligence leaves to ISKCON and to the world, it is safe to assume that it is one of untold pain and ongoing abuse.

The trauma these men experienced, as boys, when they were subjected to Maharaj’s unforgiving beatings are unspeakable. The inhumane canings Maharaj inflicted to his victims, often leaving them in a state of shock, by the sheer force of his strikes is still fresh in their memory. Mature men have confided to me that still to this day their hearts are troubled by the ridicule and public humiliation that Bhaktividyapurna Maharaj subjected them to decades ago.

I recently met a Gurukuli friend of mine who related the following account.

On a festival day a group of Gurukula boys had managed to steal the entire Mahaprasad offering. After eating to their fill, the boys, probably hyper on the sugar overdose, began to play with the leftover Mahaprasad, throwing it around in a disrespectful manner.

When Maharaj came to know about the incident, he became enraged and ordered them to line up outside his hut; there were about 30 boys. He began caning them one at the time. Some of the boys, knowing what was coming, in apprehension urinated themselves while standing in line waiting their turn. Fortunately for some, by the time Maharaj had beaten about half of the boys, being fatigued, he stopped the caning and dismissed the group.

Maharaj had a collection of sticks. Before inflicting his punishments, he would take his time, with a frightening smile he would pick one and ask his soon to be victims if that was the stick of his choice, he would then pass onto the next stick in his collection to repeat his cruel performance.

The following is an account of one of a former mayapur gurukuli:

He (Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami) is notorious for his expertise in lacerating the skin off the back of the children with one single hit of his special bendy bamboo cane. He would get the boys to kneel forward and hold their ankles with their hands, so as to form an arch of some sort with their body. He would then hit the boys on the back, causing the tip of the stick to whip around striking their chest. 

Many boys recall that he preceded his beatings with a sadistic ritual intended to increase the fear of his victims. He would smile and wiggle his eyebrows gleefully while bending the cane full circle and making whipping sounds with his mouth. Several boys suffered shock after those canings.

The father of a prospective student questioned Bhaktividyapurna Swami about the sexual abuse that was said to be taking place in the Mayapur Gurukula at the time. Bhaktividyapurna Swami gave him what I call the “Kirtanananda stance on sex”. He said something to the effect of, “sex, whether it is between you and your wife, not intended for procreating, or between a teacher and a boy is illicit: It is all sex”. As if morally and karmically they are on the same level. This is from a man whose job is to protect and guide the children.

Why has he not acknowledged his mistakes and offered an apology? If he does not feel he has done anything wrong, I am compelled to question his motives and qualifications. Today Bhaktividyapurna Maharaj is an authorized initiating Guru, Sannyas and still runs his own Gurukula in Mayapur specialized in “training brahmanas.”

Eventually Jayapataka Maharaj himself disposed of Maharaj’s collection of torture instruments.

The nature of some blunders is so severe to come to be beyond redemption. I regard Maharaj’s actions to be just that, not in the Christian sense of eternal damnation; but certainly in the sense that his current involvement with children is indefensible, as well as reason for serious concern. Especially when we take into account that Bhaktividyapurna Swami is yet to make reasonably adequate public acknowledgments or apologies, not to mention appropriate amends to his victims.

In ISKCON we are often warned of the danger of committing offenses towards senior vaisnavas such as Maharaj. This is something that as aspiring devotees we naturally ought to pay special attention to, and while I am aware that I am far from having found an adequate balance, I feel it is also appropriate to point out that the enormity and nature of the offenses Maharaj committed to young and defenceless vaisnavas are considerably more disturbing, of greater concern and consequence; and they are yet to be addressed.

While I can imagine that this article is likely to offend the sensitivity of some, I am of the opinion that if as a society we had the willingness, maturity and the integrity to adequately address the improprieties of our members but especially of our leadership, there would be no need to resort to addressing these unpleasant topics in public. The sad truth is that there are not many individuals that can honestly say that they have found amongst authorities in ISKCON the firm willingness to coherently and transparently address misconduct, and offer the necessary shelter to victims. Unfortunately this comes to be especially true when the perpetrator enjoys the friendship and protection of the leadership.

To the best of my knowledge, Bhaktividyapurna Swami’s crimes are at least as severe as Dhanurdhara Swami’s. Yet for reasons that defy logic, justice and common sense, Dhanurdhara Swami has come to be branded as the personification of the worst child abuse that has taken place in the history of ISKCON, he is not allowed to initiate disciples or hold any positions of authority in our movement…ever. While in stark contrast we have Bhaktividyapurna Swami who is running two schools and initiating disciples.

Not many know that over the years when he was the principle, Dhanurdhara Swami made considerable efforts to remove paedophiles from the Vrindavana Gurukula. In at least one occasion he went to great lengths to remove one particular individual that had been re-employed in another Gurukula. In comparison whatever attempts Bhaktividyapurna Swami made in this regard were woefully inadequate and significantly less effective than Dhanurdhara Swami’s. 

In addition to this, Dhanurdhara Swami’s later endeavours towards amends, rectification, apologies and genuine remorse have been far more tangible and have therefore shown more sincerity than those of Bhaktividyapurna Swami. If we then also take into account that the abuse that occurred in Mayapur is more severe than what took place in Vrindavana, we must conclude that Bhaktividyapurna Swami’s transgressions are more severe.

The remarkable difference in the way the CPO handled these two, landmark cases in the history of ISKCON is not so much due to the nature of the crimes committed, for while in some regards they are actually quite similar, in other ways Bhaktividyapurna’s wrongdoings are far more serious. In my opinion this is not due to an excessive punishment meted out to Dhanurdhara Swami either, but rather in the efforts made by their respective victims to campaign for justice. 

It so happens that amongst Dhanurdhara Swami’s victims there is a much higher count of vocal western students, who tirelessly fought a campaign that lasted over a decade to obtain some justice, whereas most of Bhaktividyapurna Swami’s victims were more introverted Indian boys who have long since disappeared in the oblivion of time.

The grossly disproportionate inequality in the treatment that has been reserved to these two men hints to a lack of integrity, and suggests that CPO policies are not operated in respect of ethics, impartiality and objective justice itself; but rather it would seem that the CPO takes into too much account political pressures, recommendations, conveniences, status and acquaintances. It indicates that if the CPO is to survive, it is in desperate need of radical reforms.

It is important to emphasize that in the CPO files for Bhaktividyapurna Swami, Maharaj’s own admissions and the testimonies of his victims offer detailed accounts of his negligence and misconduct. Nothing that I mention here is news.

PADA: Yep, according to a report, Dhanurdar was strutting around Los Angeles temple and devotees were offering him obeisances. And then one of the victims went home a hung himself in his family’s garage. Ys pd

LS Devi: What a piece of shit!

MD Devi: Was discussed a long time ago. The Sampradaya Sun - Independent Vaisnava News - Editorials - December 2006

******* Dasi: I read many years ago, if I remember right, that Ramadevi originally wanted to report child abuse. But she was threatened with rejection of her visa / deportation from Mayapur, and suddenly she became very nice to Maharaja and started defending him...

DBD: I saw the video that came out exposing his school in Mayapur and him. It probably came out over 10 years ago. Mayaypur ISKCON and gurukula are notorious. I hear Mayapur is run by gundha devotees. I have no desire to visit there. Last time I was there I think was 1981. I got the shit beat out of me many times in Mayapur by the Bhavananda monster in 1976. I almost died there of pneumonia.

L Dasi: These men must be sadistic psychopaths and must be reported to all authorities outside of ISKCON!

T D Dasi: Uhghh! 

[PADA: Ramadevi and Hari Sauri were supposedly equal parts of a child protection team in Mayapur. Well nope, half of that team is Hari Sauri, chief bucket boy / boot licker of the pedophile messiahs project, that buries his pedophile messiahs in samadhis in the dham. His pedophile messiah's club is what he has supported most of his adult life. 

Ramadevi was simply added as a sort of nice looking window dressing. See! We have a woman on the child defense team! But she could not overtake the pedophile messiahs club over there -- on her own. And I believe, she got terminal cancer as a result of all the stress of trying to work hand in glove with the worship of pedophiles process. It is amazing that people like Ramadevi ask "what am I missing here"? 

You are missing (!) the fact that illicit sex with men, women and children deviants are not, were not, could not have been -- God's guru parampara and / or acharyas / successors. Nor could such a group of perverts "2/3 show of hands" vote in more messiahs. The whole thing is a rotten piece of manure top to bottom and needs to be cleaned out of the sacred dham. 

How did you guess? Sanat / Mukunda / Prahlad (Paul Coats UK) / HKC Jaipur folks were quoting Hari Sauri's writings to attack me. Why is it is always the same thing? We need to cite the boot lickers of the pedophile messiah's club as our authority? And then we ask "what am I missing"? 

Why are they always attracted to encouraging, enabling -- if not citing from -- the pedophile messiah's club cheer leaders -- it is what people ask me -- all the time! Missing -- what? Hari Sauri said me and Sulochana are sahajiyas -- to demonize us -- and get us killed. And it worked. Sulochana was assassinated. These are the people we need to cite from now? AFTER we all know Sulochana was killed by this odious lot? We make those complicit in the murders of dissenters to pedophile guru clubs our hero writers / shiksha gurus / spokespersons? 

You are missing something? Well yup, a moral compass. Someone is licking the boots of the pedophile messiah's club and then they wonder, what am I missing? You are missing the entire goal of human life, which is to avoid promoting the worship of pedophile guru programs, especially violent ones that assassinate dissenters. 

Anyone who does so, does so at their peril. 

The Sri Isopanisad says -- false gurus would have been better off to not ever even heard of the Vedas, because they will go to lower hells than the ordinary man. And so will their apologists, entourage, boot lickers, defenders, hand maidens, cheer leaders, enablers, etc. One woman just wrote to tell PADA "the supporters and cover ups are just about as bad as the perps, because one cannot operate without the other" -- well yep. She gets it, why can't others? "They are compromised," that is what Sulochana always said. 

ys pd]