We first met Yuga in the 1980’s and were warned by our ISKCON authorities, (rightly so), to keep a safe distance. Yuga Avatar was one of those guys who was always traveling around and would unexpectedly show up at the Sunday feast or some temple function, when it was most difficult for temple authorities to deal with him. His reputation was that of being very aggressive, which I had first hand experience of. Yuga Avatar would try to convince new bhaktas to come on “traveling sankirtan” with him. This, as pointed out by Krsna dasa Prabhu, was nothing more than selling illegally reproduced clothing.
One day the Temple President (at that time) showed me a letter officially banning Yuga Avatar from all Australiasian temples. This was signed by all the local GBC's and all Temple Presidents in Australasia. So, although I was already convinced of Yuga Avatar's dubious nature and activities, it was good to see that I was not alone.
Even though Yuga Avatar talks about “our ISKCON,” does he live in ISKCON? Which temple? Does he give classes, lead kirtan, worship the Deities; is he in anyway a part of the temple or community structure? Which ISKCON authority does Yuga work under today? Maybe one of our local Temple Presidents or GBC could enlighten the Sun’s readers in this regard.
It also appears rather strange that Yuga Avatar writes so much about the importance of having a diksa guru, his being Bhavananda! Does ISKCON accept Bhavananda as a diksa guru? Does Bhavananda accept the position of Yuga’s diksa guru? It’s seems Yuga Avatar lives not in ISKCON, but in a dream.
Other devotee named KRSNA DASA write as follows about him
I had a fair bit of association with Yuga many years ago and can confirm that he has philosophical deviations in the form of a strong appreciation for the Zonal Acarya system. He would always talk about how awesome Bhavananda was (even after he fell down) and how impotent the current batch of gurus are. In fact, he still identifies Bhavananda as his diksa guru.
Actually he was a very controversial personality in the late 90’s in New Zealand. He actively teamed up with the Temple President of Christchurch at the time to do a deal on “paraphernalia sankirtana”. Yuga Avatar supplied us with illegally reproduced T-shirts, for example Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Led Zeppelin. As young devotees we were sent out to sell these illicit and degraded goods to the public - and it was called “sankirtana”.
Yuga later ended up in trouble with the law over copyright breach, so much so, that a formal statement to the effect of “Yuga is not a bona fide member of ISKCON” was issued in the press.
Yuga will no doubt challenge these points I have raised, but if anyone wants clarification or is doubtful of the authenticity of this article, then I urge them to consult the ISKCON management in Australasia.
I feel compelled to write this article as I consider that all advice we have been receiving from Yuga lately should be taken with a grain of salt. Freedom of speech is a good thing, but an awareness of the history of the individual speaking is also important when analyzing their statements.
Devotees, I request you to decide the genuinity of this person who is now constantly posting bad things about ISKCON Bangalore, Akshaya Patra Foundation and Madhu Pandit Dasa.
Note: ISKCON Truth's personal message to Frank Hallenstein (faithful sharing guy) "We are watching you too".