ISKCON India: Molester Guru's Program's Last Stand?

PADA: Yep JD you are right. Your local temple has a "Western GBC guru" who initiates Hindus, who mostly have no real idea what Srila Prabhupada is teaching.  Starting with, he wanted to have Westerners as ISKCON's residents in the West. And the guru sets up an opulent life for himself, while a number of former ISKCON residents there live like poor paupers. It is now a guru business. And now, you are right, it looks like India is "the last stand" for the molester's acharya program. (See letter below).]

Jagadananda dasa: I just went yesterday to the ISKCON temple in Montreal for Nityananda Trayodasi. Not a single brahmachari is living there. The lecture on Nitai Chand was given by a young -- unitiated devotee -- who had spent a couple of years as a brahmachari living there before, but he now lives outside. 

The program was only kept alive by a group of young Indian bodied men and women who did the kirtan quite nicely. They are mostly the children of the older Indian householder devotees who have kept the temple going for the past 20 years. They also provided the prasada which was very good -- Gujarati style.

These kids were brought up doing kirtan and coming to the temple. They were vibrant. Of old-timers [Parabhupada devotees]? I don't think I saw more than one or two. 

Lord Nitai Prabhu, if you don't mind, please send a few brahmacaris to ISKCON Montreal.

*** Yes, see the video #50yearsISKCON. It has clearly turned into a Hindu cultural hall business. Western people simply are not interested in their bogus gurus. #50yearsISKCON: A Special movie "HAPPINESS ON 2ND AVENUE."

Jagadananda Das: Of course the virus has been a factor in worsening an already difficult situation. People are discouraged from going to the temple and then they lose the habit. But absence of full time trainees is certainly a problem.

[PADA: Yes, this problem has been noted in many other ISKCON temples. They are basically empty shells, with few Western participants. And the temple only comes to life -- to some extent -- on Sunday when a few Hindus show up once a week for the Sunday program. 

ISKCON has largely become a "Hindu cultural hall business," according to lots of people. And we have heard complaints of -- Hindu car poojas, weddings, baby ceremonies, bogus demigod worship, Bhagavat satpa's -- bogus preachers being invited in -- to lecture, even Hindu funerals, going on in ISKCON. 

Meanwhile, how can the temples survive without full time training programs? The problem is, hardly no one wants to be trained to worship their homosexual and pedophile guru lineage program. Now they are talking about training people -- using teachers from India -- on Zoom classes. Really?] 

I suppose you could say that I am a part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution. Those people who give me dirty looks or avoid me when I come to the temple were also NOT there. So clearly they are also part of the problem.

[PADA: Yes, what happened to all the former ISKCON people who used to hang out at the temples, to give us "Prabhupada devotees" the vulture's stares and "death glares" and dirty looks, if not threats to ban, beat, sue and kill us? They cleared out the temples of Western people, then left themselves. 

A number of victims told me that, these guys destroyed other's lives, made sure pedophiles were running rampant, destroyed the temples, then they just left their giant poop pile behind -- and have made no effort to fix the giant mess they made. 

One devotee told me, "Puranjan do not go to ISKCON temples, there is a huge group of poison snakes, spiders, and unknown sources of deadly venom waiting for you there. They will kill you." Even the Los Angeles police told me, "Don't you know, these people want to kill you"? OK so they got rid of all of us, and now what? They are also gone. So they emptied out ISKCON, but could not live in their own poop pile themselves, so they left it behind too.] 

But I have already said what I think the solution is many times before. Open the doors. Invite people like Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Maharaj or Prabhupad Nityagopal Goswami who come occasionally to Montreal to speak at the temple and to bring their followers there. There are devotees of various disciplic lines in this town who do not have any real association or a central place where they can gather and meet. And the ISKCON temple does have a lot going for it -- beautiful deities, half a century of continued existence, whereas others are splintered and only depend on occasional programs for spiritual association.

It is time to think about this and stop the segregation.

There may be problems that could arise from such a mutually advantageous arrangement -- people with political agendas or fanatical viewpoints and so on, but the situation is in my view very dangerously close to the terminal point and something really should be done. At least some leadership needs to be there. 

[PADA: Yep. ISKCON is suffering from terminal spiritual illness, if not a material terminal non-functioning melt down. The question being raised now -- is its death immediate or -- how long will it drag out for? ISKCON is already promoting other gurus and program for years and years now, i.e. Sridhara Maharaja, Narayan Mahara, BV and BP Puri, Fakir Mohan, Babajis and the result is, thousands and thousands of people were siphoned out of ISKCON. They are opening their own independent programs now, and they no longer have any connection to ISKCON. 

And now they have more and more Hindu-ized things going on in ISKCON, which is essentially siphoning off the program to the Hindus. Many ISKCON properties are now legally signed over to various Hindus on the managerial boards, and so it is sort of dissolving more and more. And so now we might have to simply hand off the program to whomever, to avoid having an empty building.]

 SRD: Pita prabhu from Atlanta once said during 70s, indians would peep into glass windows and observe the temple hall filled with Americans. Today it's just opposite. Handful of Americans only, if that. In Atlanta there are a few more where Balabadra prabhu regularly does harinam in downtown on weekends.

Iskcon temples with Gujarati cooks are heaven with Indian dishes. However in San Jose the feast was always continental under able guidance of Vaishesika prabhu who has got a new place now. It is all Indians there too in ISKCON Silicon Valley. They are not attracting Westerners for decades now, and they have no plan to. 

Bhakti center in NY had a lot of brahmacaris, but as of today -- they have turned it over to "inspirational speakers" like Jay Shetty, Ghanashyam or rasanath das etc. Heard Bhakti vikas swami has a few disciples who live in Atlanta, but in very small groups.

BS DASI: What if Krishna prefers to send householders? Brahmacari life is not well supported in Western culture, it is not even part of the culture, beside Christian monasteries. Many people got screwed for life by their brahmacari experience.

PADA: Of course now there are many people wondering, can ISKCON be fixed, at all? Or will devotees have to simply form their own grass roots alliances and forget the whole thing? ys pd

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----- Forwarded message -----

SD: 
Sent: Tuesday, 15 February 2022, 16:02:15 GMT
Subject: Lokanath Swami's Child Sexual Abuse Case

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

A friend of mine wrote on FB about her recent experience in an ISKCON temple of bringing her 4 year old daughter to the temple and having to see a photo of a child molester prominently displayed on the altar. In the comments she mentioned "our society has lost hundreds of second generation devotees because of this" and that hit me.

I remember as teenagers standing outside of the Detroit temple with this same friend listening to our gurukuli brother confide the horrific abuse he suffered in gurukula, and I cried. I still cry thinking about it.

Around the same time, I remember a devotee visiting from Philadelphia and glorifying Dhanurdhara and my friend let him know real quick that Dhanurdhara caused a lot of suffering to his students and to please not glorify him around her. I was more sheltered, so it was eye opening for me.

A few months after that, I went to Vrindavan to study Bhakti Shastri and a boy about my age, 17, was at the place I was staying, and he was showing me and a friend photos of boys' limbs and bodies being badly bruised & marked and he said "Dhanurdhara did this." These and more stories have stayed with me.

I now have kids of my own who are in an ISKCON school. I serve on an ISKCON Child Protection Team. ISKCON has been my family for the last 40+ years and I want to see the children protected as they should have been for my peers, for my gurukuli brothers and sisters whose lives were forever harmed at the hands of so-called spiritual authorities.

This is a video of child molester Lokanath Swami initiating a child at the Alachua ISKCON temple (largest ISKCON community in North America) in 2019, while the community cheered him on. In the video, Lokanath says to the temple president Mukhya before she made a speech, “You demanded that I come.”

https://lokanath.net/lokanath-swami-initiates-child-in-alachua

In Mukhya’s speech, she praises the female initiate for being “chaste” while she is getting initiated by a self-admitted child molester.

Mukhya says to the child initiate (12:02), “You’ll be a good example for your brother, and for all your friends at school. This is something that everyone in our gurukula will see is happening and say, I want this for my life also."

In 1993, CAP Behavior Associates evaluated Lokanath and "strongly suggested" that he never be alone with a woman or child - not because he was a sannyasi, these were professionals, unaffiliated with ISKCON - but because of what he might do to the woman or child. (Portion of that psychiatric report at the bottom:

https://lokanath.net/gbcs-untruthful-account-of-incident-february-1999 )

In 1990, the same year Lokanath sexually abused a child, the ISKCON GBC resolved:

"e) Any confirmed child abuser may never again serve in association with children in any ISKCON project. The Board will also make available to all ISKCON educational projects and temples the names of all accused, admitted, confirmed or convicted child abusers."

https://gbc.iskcon.org/1990

Except… Lokanath’s name was never added to the list of abusers. Badrinarayan said in 1998, “I just cannot see listing his name along with all the other offenders.” https://lokanath.net/emails-showing-gbc-members-blocked-cpo-investigation-of-lokanath-in-1998

After the GBC was done investigating Lokanath in 1993, his name was never added to the list of abusers that the ISKCON Child Protection Office keeps, even though he was a confirmed child abuser. For the last 24 years, the GBC has been blocking their own ISKCON Child Protection Office from handling the Lokanath case.

Per the GBC Resolution above, Lokanath falls into the category of “confirmed child abuser serving in association with children.” Not just serving, but giving spiritual guidance to a child, formally accepting the child as his disciple. The GBC resolved that confirmed child abusers can not serve with children. So how is it that Lokanath is initiating a child? ISKCON leaders are endorsing behavior that goes exactly opposite of what they have written into their Resolutions. ISKCON leadership is endorsing a self-admitted child molester as an initiating guru.

From the same 1990 GBC Resolution, "The Board will also make available to all ISKCON educational projects and temples the names of all accused, admitted, confirmed or convicted child abusers." Lokanath falls under the "admitted" category, as he has admitted to GBC members, other ISKCON leaders, the Child Protection Office, some of his disciples, and various other devotees that he sexually abused a child. This is Lokanath’s letter of admission from 2010:

https://lokanath.net/lokanath-swami-child-molestation-admission-letter-2010

In another GBC Resolution, from 2018 (the year before Lokanath initiated a child in Alachua):

“No person, who has been determined to have engaged in severe maltreatment of children, will be allowed to remain active in a position of authority or trust within ISKCON, this includes activities such as leading kirtan, giving class, speaking publicly at any ISKCON event or representing ISKCON in official capacities.”

https://lokanath.net/why-were-the-gbc-resolutions-not-followed-with-lokanath-swami

Lokanath sexually abused a child which is considered severe maltreatment of a child. According to this GBC Resolution, he should not have any authority or trust in ISKCON as a leader - no leading kirtan, no giving class, and no speaking publicly at any ISKCON event.

If the GBC had followed through with their promise to Lokanath’s victim in 1994 - that Lokanath would never have held a prominent position in ISKCON again - we would not be here right now.

In 2010, Lokanath’s victim wrote:

“I hated him when I had to see him in public. And to see that this was his punishment? Being given articles to write in BTG, being given accolades as a guru, getting all the priveleges of a sannyasi-- this was what his punishment was??” https://lokanath.net/satyas-statements-july-2010

The GBC did not keep their promise and have lied to the victim, compounding the abuse for 30 years.

At the same time in 2019 that Lokanath was touring North America, New Jersey expanded its statute of limitations for civil sexual assault cases, making it possible for Lokanath to be sued for sexual assault against a child.

Lokanath initiated a child as his disciple, while open to being sued for sexual assault against a child. https://njcasa.org/find-help/civil-statue-of-limitations/

The original video was titled “Lokanath Swami’s Youngest Disciple Ever!” and had over 2,400 views before it was changed to Private on February 1, 2022.

The Panel appointed by the GBC to look at the Lokanath case is preparing to present its report and recommendations to the GBC Executive Committee. We hope, pray, and encourage ISKCON leaders to finally do what should have been done nearly a quarter century earlier: turn Lokanath's child molestation case over to the ISKCON Child Protection Office.

Your servant,
SD