We have heard and read about the violent abuse of our children and
subsequent cover-up within ISKCON on the level of individuals and the
collective Institution as a whole. In this essay I would like to focus
on the collective cover-ups. The Abuse and its Cover Up is only one
topic; however the same principle can be applied to a wide arrays of
issues, topics and discussions that are currently taking place within
the movement.
Bearing in mind the
psychological immaturity of ISKCON as a group, we shall be examining
aspects of both crimes in ISKCON, the abuse itself and their cover-ups.
The two crimes are quite interwoven. Although the COVER-UPS may
seem less atrocious than the atrocities, they are the other side of the
same coin. How is it that so many individuals could have participated in
such monstrous evil, without any of them being conscience-stricken as
to be compelled to stop the abuse or come forward, to speak up and deal
with the serious situation in a mature and responsible manner?
The cover-up was/is a gigantic lie.
As with any lie, the primary motive of the cover-up was/is fear. The
individuals who committed the crimes - who had sexually molested and/or
violently physically and/or emotionally abused the children - obviously
had reason to fear their actions and the repercussions that will be
implemented if their abuse of children is ever found out.
What about the large number of
"senior" devotees holding responsible positions, like Braja Bihari,
Bhurijana, Sesa, Radhanatha Swami, Matsya Avatara, Bhadrinarayana, etc.,
who knew about the violent abuse yet neither said nor did anything
(besides protect the abusers) about such rather demoniac, dark and evil
acts? What did they have to fear?
Their public (whitewash)
statements are only a form of justification, e.g., "We did not know”;
"We did nothing wrong”; "We were only protecting the good name of Srila
Prabhupada and this movement”; "We are devotees so we have to forgive
them”; "We were under great pressure”; and "We did what we thought is
best for us, the elite… oops… we meant… ISKCON”.
Of course this sounds very
naïve and innocent, but in reality it is all a meticulously planned
façade which hides their true intent.
The real issue was/is twofold;
primarily, fear was brought upon them by the systematically applied
pressure from their good old jolly ‘abuser friends’ and their supporters
as a cohesive group that they themselves were/are an integral part of.
Their secondary fear was the fear of loosing their status/position
(their piece of the pie) within this elite group, who has hijacked the
movement, as explained to us in detail by Govinda prabhu in his letters
entitled, "Shadow ISKCON Or True ISKCON? Take Your Pick" and "Form vs. Substance".
Anyone who understands the
nature of group pressure will realize that for a member of an
Institution such as ISKCON to report a crime would/will require great
courage. The conscious and systematic misuse of the philosophy of "don’t
rock the boat” and "leave it up to Krsna”, etc. are deeply pervasive.
In a group dynamic, whoever
rocks the boat by speaking up against a criminal act by another member
will be labeled a "demon”, "offender”, "squealer”, or "rat.” That will
surely lead to their excommunication or at the very least, to being
ostracized by the particular group. For a regular person this does not
seem like a horrible fate. If you get kicked out of one group, you can
just join another.
In ISKCON it is complicated by
the fact that Srila Prabhupada has given us the ultimate form of Krsna
Consciousness and we have dedicated our lives to serving him in his
movement. However, through the misuse of philosophy by these power elites,
we have been nicely indoctrinated that we must never question or
"criticize” ISKCON and its "exalted ones” (and their friends), for if
you do so, well, we all know what that means…
Your spiritual life as you know
it is finished. They make you believe that you will destroy your
devotional creeper, committing Vaisnava aparadha by criticizing this 'shadow' movement and its members, which will definitely lead to your spiritual suicide.
He who is noble and truthful
will remain noble and truthful in all times places and circumstances. A
‘fair weather friend’ may not be so truthful and noble when the chips
are down. The thoroughly honest and good are they, who in times of
pressure and great stress, do not desert their truthfulness, honesty,
integrity, maturity and sensitivity.
If individuals are truly ‘good’ then they possess the capacity to uphold the truth and the ability to remain noble. They don’t "regress”
under pressure to a state of denial, where they hide from painful
thoughts and the negative repercussions from whatever they are facing,
and take a subservient role to the group and conform to its expected
norms.
A noble and truthful person can
tolerate whatever they face no matter how agonizing it may be, and
retain their integrity and purity of purpose.
When a person enters into a
group they automatically assume a role within that group. All groups
have certain ‘pecking orders’. That is, leaders and followers. In some
groups the leaders are voted-in, others take the position or they assume
the position due to their natural qualities. The rest fall into place
behind the appointed leader.
What happens next is rather
strange. The followers automatically assume a subservient role and all
of a sudden lose their independent intelligence. They adopt a herd
mentality as willing participants. This group dynamic is present in all
spheres of human and animal life. This herd mentality is especially
dangerous when the leaders lead their followers into danger.
The members of the herd sensing
danger and confusion begin to regress as they try to come to terms with
their plight. Most go into a state of shock, denial, and become silent
(the head goes into the sand).
This creates a serious problem,
especially in ISKCON, which is supposed to be a Braminical Movement
based on Brahminical culture. A Brahman is by definition a spiritual
leader (head) of society. In other words, each member of ISKCON is meant
to be a spiritual leader/preacher and as a whole, the movement is here
to provide spiritual guidance to humanity at large. When individuals
cease to think for themselves, due to their leaders disallowing
independent thought, they lose their ability to discriminate in the
process and become unable to perform brahminically.
The situation of regression
into a herd mentality in ISKCON is far worse because the leaders were
not elected by the general devotees, nor were they afforded the position
due to their qualities (adhikara). They assumed the position by
assertion and self-proclamation.
They formed the ISKCON elite,
clothed in the sannyasi garb, symbol of authority, and/or in the
position of ‘guru’ or GBC, which creates an illusion of control that
their followers believe is what qualifies them as advanced souls and
leaders. Obedience and blind following is the number one pre-requisite
for a disciple. The dependency of the rank and file devotees on his
leaders is not simply encouraged - it is demanded and mandated.
This group organism functions
as a single unhealthy entity with a Collective Consciousness. In
ISKCON’s case, this organism is like a parasite. Rather than serving,
it in fact feeds on Srila Prabhupada’s body (original ISKCON). This
entity can be said to possess a ‘willful ignorance’ or a determination
with an unscrupulous plan to break from their original/true purpose.
The most primal attribute of a
group or individual is pride. The pride of the Shadow ISKCON-ites is
wonderful to witness. This Shadow ISKCON believes that they are the only
true representatives of Srila Prabhupada and they want everyone else to
believe this as well. They want us to believe that they have the most
intimate understanding of the ‘Absolute Truth’; hence their decisions
are irrevocably unquestionable.
If someone within the group
develops the strength to question the actions of the elite leadership,
the elite initiates a defensive action that is termed ‘enemy creation’
-- hatred of the individuals/groups that are raising the questions and
are consequently branded as ‘out group.’ In this way the ‘Us vs. Them’
mentality comes into play.
Cliques begin to form within
the group. People take sides. Those who do not belong and/or
unquestionably follow the elite group "clique” are despised as being
inferior, troublemakers, offenders, demons, etc.
If one is to study the sociological structure of ISKCON one will find that besides the elite group,
there are large numbers of unhealthy subgroups/cliques within the
institution. These subgroups attempt to copy the elite group with the
same delusional and narcissistic superiority complex. (Chowpatty temple,
Hungarian farm, etc.)
(Note: the true ISKCON is the
actual body of devotees, most of whom are not followers of the elite
group [shadow ISKCON] or the subgroups. These devotees may also be
branded as fringies, and so on. Even though they no longer participate
in the unhealthy shadow ISKCON, they remain loyal and true to Srila
Prabhupada and his teachings.)
It is common knowledge that the
best way to cement group cohesiveness is to stir the group’s hatred of
an external enemy. The external enemies in this case are former gurukula
students and other devotees as such, who dare to speak up and ask that
the individuals responsible for the abuses and their protectors be dealt
with appropriately. The outspoken are labeled as demons, for in the
eyes of the power elite, those who question them are attacking Srila
Prabhupada directly and want to destroy the movement. Hence,
deficiencies and shortcomings within the elite group/clique can be easily and painlessly downplayed, overlooked and neglected by focusing on the ‘sins’ of the out-group.
From this it should be obvious that the parasitic elite group/clique
is the one likely to behave most demonically. An exposure of their
failure wounds their pride, and it is the wounded animal that is the
most dangerous and vicious.
In the healthy organism,
failure will be stimulus to critical self-examination. However, as a
demoniac individual cannot tolerate self-criticism, it is in time of
failure that he or she inevitably lashes out, one way or other.
Similarly it is so with unhealthy groups. Failure of the group and the
stimulation of group self-criticism poses to damage the group’s pride
and threatens its cohesiveness, which is unacceptable for the ISKCON
elite group leadership. It undermines their DIVINITY, which is the
foundation for their total and unquestionable control.
Group leaders in all places and times have therefore routinely bolstered group cohesiveness in times of their failure
by whipping the group’s hatred for the "enemy.” ISKCON is no
exception. To this day, former gurukula students and other devotees who
bring important and vital issues to the attention of our "leaders” in
the attempt to address the problems responsibly are getting labeled as
"enemies.” These critical offenders are being unceremoniously ignored,
expelled, ostracized and demonized.
The problems and issues however, are still here and will remain here till the ‘elite’
leaders of ISKCON acknowledge the existing problems and muster
sufficient courage and integrity to deal with them in an appropriate,
mature and responsible manner.
Their attempt to cover-up, suppress and ignore vital issues and their stubborn unwillingness to deal with them by remaining silent
or by maintaining utopia of "There are no problems”, or thinking ”We
are perfect and so are our decisions”, will only lead to a prolonged
painful ordeal for everyone.
The followers, on the other
hand, have two choices. One is to be misled by this corrupt leadership
and suffer the consequences of their own fearfulness and indifference by
sharing (karma) a percentage of institutional transgressions. The other
choice is to stand up and assert themselves.
The followers that are not
being directly affected by the abuse/maltreatment may believe that these
are not their problems, and that they themselves are immune to any
negative consequence of their ignorance and/or indifference. Sadly this
is not true, as everyone involved will suffer the consequences one way
or the other, at least to some extent. The onus is on everyone to act
in a truthful and noble manner (brahminically) by speaking up against
these corrupt individuals/leaders.
Braja Bihari das, among many,
is a perfect example of a malignant, parasitic leader, a constituent of
ISKCON's shadow administration who, by his very stealthy activities,
threatens the true ISKCON host (Srila Prabhupada's body) - and everyone
(leaders and followers) lets him get away with his nefarious schemes.
Despite the documented evidence
and exposure of the role he played in abetting and protecting the
violent abusers in ISKCON, he is not willing to own up to his role in
this unpalatable fiasco. He refuses to be held accountable and like a
true coward, chooses to hide behind his powerful elite friends (Gopal
Bhatta's) and his false claims of naivety.
He claims that all these years,
during all the cover-ups that he was involved with, that he was naive
about the true nature of the child abusers, which is why he supported
them. However this is not the case. For example, we have Dhanurdhara and
Gauri dasa, both of whom were directly involved in the very same school
during the time Braja Bihari held a senior position. Braja Bihari had
either adjudicated or advised on their original cases and was fully
aware of the documented evidence of their violence and abuse. So his
claims of naivety are smokescreens to cover his crimes and to
bewilder/con the blind followers.
He knows full well his guilt, and so do the other elite megalomaniac members of shadow ISKCON. Yet he hides away from being held accountable.
Of course, he waits hiding
behind his parasitic buddies and his silence in hopes that the storm
will blow over and everything will be forgotten. But not everyone is a
blind follower and so many devotees have diagnosed the type of parasite
that he is. Hence he will eventually be held accountable for his sins
and will be duly punished, as will be his fellow equivocators and the
likes of them. Let us not forget that those who deny and try to forget the past are condemned to repeat it!!!
Personally, I have no axe to
grind against Braja Bihari dasa or anyone. However, the sanctity and
survival of Srila Prabhupada's true ISKCON movement is at stake. All
that glitters is not gold!!! Everything is NOT O.K.!!! There are
issues to be addressed on many fronts. We hope and pray that the
exposure and the eradication of our individual and collective anarthas
will ultimately benefit everyone involved, notwithstanding the
concomitant embarrassment and discomfiture.
Om tat sat
Madhava dasa
