Guest guest Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 Newsletter of the Iskcon Revival Movement (IRM) Issue 60 1. IRM Expands Into Russia 2. Bangalore Tops World Book Distribution (Again!) 3. Bhakti Caru Swami Criticises Srila Prabhupada's Household Life 4. Vice President of India Visits ISKCON Bangalore 5. Zonal Acarya Watch: Prabhupada Imitation Fever Continues Unabated 6. Rolling Stones Get Satisfaction 7. IRM News Briefs 1. IRM Expands Into Russia The IRM's world preaching mission has opened yet another chapter with it now firmly established in Russia. The IRM's preaching in Russia has taken shape in a short time following the translation of "The Final Order" into Russian about 2 years ago. Since then, hundreds of Russian copies of "The Final Order" have been distributed all over Russia and the former Soviet republics and neighbouring countries. Consequently, IRM sympathisers are now to be found all the way from Latvia in the west to Siberia in the east, with IRM devotees also in Moldova, Armenia and many major cities in Russia. In Moscow itself there are two established Nama Hatta groups, with one of them having defected wholesale from the ISKCON Moscow temple. Indeed, the impact of the IRM's preaching can be seen from the results of a debate which was held on "Hari-Katha", which is supposed to be the most popular Vaisnava website in Russia. There, one of the Russian IRM devotees debated followers of the GBC, following which a poll was conducted amongst the many website visitors who had observed the debate. The results were as follows: 48% - The IRM is good, I approve 21% - I disapprove of the IRM 17% - Need More Information 9% - Neutral 5% - Don't Know This means that only 1 in 5 members of the audience had formed a negative impression about the IRM following the debate. The Russian IRM has also established its Russian website, which is a Russian translation of the major papers and newsletters on the regular IRM website. It can be located at: www.joinirm.ru All this activity has now culminated with the opening of the first full-time temple in Russia, opened in Bryansk, a city south of Moscow. Premises has been acquired specifically for use as a temple and there are daily morning and evening programs, along with a large ‘Love Feast’ at the weekend. The temple is run according to Srila Prabhupada's system with a President, Secretary and Treasurer. Naturally, the next move will be to open up a temple in Moscow itself, followed by temples in the other major cities. The preaching in Russia is headed by Lila Manjari Dasi, who was formerly a senior member of the ISKCON Moscow temple, and who has also given lectures on Ayurveda to many ISKCON temples in Russia. She is one of the first practitioners of Ayurveda in Russia, having already published 6 books on the subject. In addition, there is also a translation and mailing department which has been set up, staffed by devotees who translate the IRM papers into Russian and mail them out to temples and devotees all over the region. The new Russian Revolution is here! 2. Bangalore Tops World Book Distribution (Again!) ISKCON Bangalore again topped the world book distribution figures for ISKCON. After having finished first in 2001, it again took top honours for 2002, and this time with an even higher margin. For 2002, ISKCON Bangalore distributed over 500,000 books and magazines. The next highest score was less than half this, and was obtained by ISKCON Mayapura, which distributed 240,952 books and magazines. However, the powers that be have seen to it that this news will not become official, because last November, having seen that ISKCON Bangalore had topped the World Sankirtan Newsletter for every single month that year, they suddenly sent us the following letter: Mayapur (AT) aol (DOT) com [Mayapur (AT) aol (DOT) com]Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 2:12 AMmurali (AT) iskconbangalore (DOT) orgSubject: Re: Points Scores for the month of September - 2002Prabhu,Thanks for sending in your scores.It seems that everyone has given up hope that your temple would remain inISKCON. Since you have gone to such trouble to separate yourself from ISKCONit is no longer necessary to send in your scores until you rejoin ISKCON.ys, Mayapur Sasi dasaISKCON's World Sankirtan Newsletter This letter of course made no sense since nothing had suddenly happened to prompt its release, apart from the fact that they could no longer endure the humiliation of an IRM temple coming top month after month, and the rest of ISKCON reading this fact. Our reply to this letter, given below, makes this fact clear: Dear Mayapur Sasi Prabhu,Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.Please note the following:1) There is currently a court case going on in which both the plaintiff(ISKCON Karnataka) and the defendant (ISKCON Bombay) agree that ISKCONBangalore is very much part of ISKCON. The only dispute is over whichgoverning body controls ISKCON Bangalore. The trial for this case began inJune, is currently taking place, and will continue for sometime. Judgementsgiven so far at the lower court, High Court and Supreme Court have allaccepted that ISKCON Bangalore is a part of ISKCON.2) Thus your statement below is:* Contrary to the facts as established by a court of law; * Contrary to the sworn stand taken by the GBC representatives in court, whohave never asserted we have left ISKCON, but actually claim we are very muchpart of ISKCON. That indeed is their whole case!; * Sub-judice, since the matter is currently at trial.3) Hence your statement is a very good piece of evidence for us to use toprove that the GBC's case in court is contradictory and sub-judice, sincethey are now taking a stand contrary to what they have stated in court.4) Since, however, we have not left ISKCON we of course are happy tocontribute to the ISKCON sankirtan newsletter.If I do not hear from you, or if you continue to decline our scores, then wewill be more than happy to introduce your e-mail in court.Thank you.Your servant,Satya Gaura Chandra Das,Sankirtan Department,ISKCON Bangalore The fact was that there was no reason on November 7, 2002, well over 1 year after litigation had begun, for Mayapur Sasi to suddenly decide to exclude ISKCON Bangalore's scores.The GBC had not 'given up hope', for they are currently vigorously continuing to pursue litigation. They just couldn't face up to the naked truth that a supposedly 'deviant' temple is setting the example for all other temples in ISKCON. Hence if you can't fight the truth, then just hide it from the public. And that's exactly what they decided to do! 3. Bhakti Caru Swami Criticises Srila Prabhupada's Household Life The catalogue of offences against Srila Prabhupada by our GBC continues. Now Bhakti Caru Swami (BCS), who loves to paint himself as someone who is always promoting Srila Prabhupada, has launched an attack on grhastas (householders), sparing not even Srila Prabhupada, who was also married before he came to preach in the West. In preaching to a devotee, we are told BCS said the following: --------------------------- "In certain circumstances, Srila Prabhupada sometimes spoke very openly about brahmacarya. Nobody criticized him for that. Similarly, Guru Maharaja, following Srila Prabhupada's footsteps and example, spoke to a devotee yesterday about brahmacarya.He told him, "Don't think of women. Actually, when a man thinks of woman, he becomes weak."He added, "To get involved with a woman is completely useless. You can ask any mature woman, and they'll also tell you that, because they KNOW that when men become involved with women, it makes them weak. At the same time," he continued, "we are not supposed to run away from them. We have to confront them. We must respect them, otherwise that is another attachment. They are spirit souls in a certain body, and they are, in spite of themselves, playing a certain function, namely that of attracting men."He said "the grihastha asram is not practical for dynamic preaching. Look at Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Thakura. And look at Srila Prabhupada: He became involved in preaching after he got out of householder life."(Text PAMHO 6457480, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 04:32 +0200, Candrasekhar Acarya (das) BCS) -------------------------- Firstly, we can see that this anti-women/anti-family bashing from ISKCON sannyasis is still alive and well in today's supposedly 'reformed' and 'family/women/children'-friendly ISKCON. Just more evidence that the 'Zonal Acarya' bogus Guru culture is still running ISKCON. But more to the point we see that Srila Prabhupada directly contradicts BCS' offensive speculations against both marriage and himself: “I want that some ideal families of Krishna Consciousness should be established in your country, so that people can see that our movement is not one sided or dry. So we do not want dry renouncers. Krishna Himself married so many wives as a Ksatriya. Caitanya Mahaprabhu although He was to take sannyas at the age of 24 years, still He married twice within 20 years. Lord Nityananda Prabhu also married. Advaita Prabhu and Srivas Prabhu, they were also householders. So to become married is NO impediment for advancement in Krishna Consciousness. One should be vigilant only that he is not diverting from Krishna Consciousness. One has to follow the footprints of the great Acaryas then everything is all right. I was also a married man – my family is still existing. So you should always remember that marriage is NOT impediment.” (SPL Madhusudan, 10 March 1969) “They (women) have also come to Krishna, we cannot reject them. Therefore I have advised my students to get themselves married. I was householder, my Guru Maharaja was life-long brahmacari. But we are doing the SAME work of preaching Krishna Consciousness, so what is the difference, grhastha and brahmacari?” (SPL Danavir, 17 December 1972) Here, Srila Prabhupada is clearly saying that marriage is NO impediment to preaching, despite BCS' speculations to the contrary. But of course, even more offensive is BCS' brazen criticism that Srila Prabhupada only “become involved in preaching after he got out of household life”. That means that Srila Prabhupada, according to BCS, did NO PREACHING before he left his family. That is, he was simply some ordinary grhasta completely wrapped up in his family affairs, who had to wait until be became an old man before he could “become involved in preaching”. BCS may take pleasure in criticising and putting Srila Prabhupada down like this, but thankfully the truth is somewhat different, as told to us by Srila Prabhupada himself: Srila Prabhupada’s Practical Example of Preaching IN Household Life: "So during my householder life I was printing this paper and almost distributing free, and some of them were paying me subscription, and some of them not. But I was trying my best at my cost." (SPL Rayarama 68-06-12)"I was publishing that BTG paper even from my grhastha life, from 1944." (Room Conv., May 20th 1975, Melbourne) Interviewer: Were you a businessman? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, I was connected with some chemical industry. I was manager in a big chemical industry. Then I started my own business. In this way I was family man. Ramesvara: But at the same time, Srila Prabhupada was always Krsna conscious. Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Bali-Mardana: And He was writing. Ramesvara: And also he was writing transcendental or spiritual books even at that time. Bali-Mardana: 1944 [...] Srila Prabhupada: This Back To Godhead was started in 1944, when I was still a family man. (Interview with Newsday newspaper, July 14, 1976) "It is very encouraging to learn that you are so enthusiastic to sell BTG. I consider sale of BTG so valuable because in the beginning I worked for BTG day and night alone in India. I still remember the hardship for pushing on this BTG. In the beginning, when I was householder, I did not care if somebody paid or not paid; I used to distribute liberally. But when I left my household life and I was living alone sometimes in Vrndavana and sometimes in Delhi or sometimes travelling for pushing on BTG, they were very hard days. Therefore, when BTG will be published not in hundreds of thousands, but in millions, that will give me great solace." (SP Letter to Madhudvisa, 14/4/70) "After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine BTG sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu through this magazine.” (Concluding words, Antya-lila, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta) "At our first meeting, he ordered me to preach Krsna consciousness in the West. I was then 25 years old, a married man with two children. I tried my best to carry out his orders and started managing BTG magazine in 1944, when I was still in household life." (Science of Self Realisation, chapter 1) “So I was thinking very seriously, and then, as late as 1944, I started my paper, “Back To Godhead.” Gradually, in 1954, I retired from my family life and began to live alone in Mathura Vrindaban.” (SPL to Hanuman Prasad Poddar, 5 February 1970) So BCS, whose main contribution to 'preaching' is to travel around the world stealing Srila Prabhupada's disciples and taking lavish worship meant for Srila Prabhupada alone, has the temerity to say that Srila Prabhupada “working day and night alone” for BTG, having started, written, published and sold his own magazine, is NOT an example of him 'preaching'. The GBC's offensive attitude towards Srila Prabhupada knows no bounds, it seems. Having shown their contempt of Srila Prabhupada via their deeds, having usurped his position as the Guru of ISKCON, they are now also happy to verbalise this offensive attitude. We have already seen their recent so-called 'Vyasa-Puja glorification' (Please see IRM Newsletter 58 - "GBC Publically Dishonors Srila Prabhupada”). 4. Vice President of India Visits ISKCON Bangalore Recently, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Vice-President of India, visited the IRM headquarters at ISKCON Bangalore to lay a foundation stone for a new multi-purpose convention centre to be built in the temple complex. The recent article below from the "Times of India" gives full details. The visit of the Vice-President is merely the latest in a long line of VIP visits to the temple. In the same period, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, and Cabinet Minister for Human Resources, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, who is no. 3 in the Indian Government, as well as a number of Bollywood superstars, have also paid extensive visits to the temple. ----------------------------- SUNDAY TIMES (TIMES OF INDIA) Akshay Patra draws Vice-president to Iskcon Bangalore: Vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is on a three-day official visit, paid an unscheduled visit to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (lskcon) temple in Rajajinagar on Saturday. Apart from the on-going Brahmotsava, it was the Iskcon's Akshay Patra scheme which drew the vice-president. Under the Akshay Patra scheme, the temple provides mid-day meals to 43,000 underprivileged children in Bangalore City Corporation schools. The traditional 'Purnakumbha' welcome was accorded to Shekhawat and was received by Iskcon president Madhu Pandit Das. Shekhawat, who expressed his happiness over the scheme, said the Akshay Patra scheme is a step to ensure that our children do not miss out on education for avoidable reasons. He also promised that he would speak with political leadership to ensure central government participation in implementing the scheme at national level to prevent children from dropping out of schools. The highlight of the vice-president's visit was the 'bhoomi-pooja' of the new Akshaya Puri Convention Centre and a multi-storied parking facility for about 200 cars built on 2.5 acres of land. "The convention centre will be let out for wedding ceremonies and the like and its rental income will support the Akshaya Patra scheme," Madhu Pandit Das said. The Akshay Patra is expected to cover a lakh children by November. The kitchen facility for the same will be upgraded accordingly at a cost of Rs 2 crore, he added. Later, in the afternoon, as is the tradition, Shekhawat also served to about 50 children. "About Rs 2.4 lakh is spent on Akshay Patra scheme per day and the construction on the convention centre — which will begin in a month — will lead up to support for our scheme," added Iskcon's Chanchalapathi Dasa. ----------------------------- 5. Zonal Acarya Watch: Prabhupada Imitation Fever Continues UnabatedSince we started our 'Zonal Acarya Watch' in December last year, a number of other direct violations of the GBC's own Law on the use of honorific titles for its elected 'Gurus' have come to light. Regular readers will recall that we cited the following clauses from the GBC's "ISKCON Law Book":"A guru cannot not use or allow his disciples to apply to him the honorific title "His Divine Grace" or the honorifics ending in "-pada" in written public document or in open public forum." (Laws of ISKCON, 1.6.3, from Gurus and Initiation in ISKCON)"Zonal-Acarya" System: No guru should declare himself or allow himself to be declared an "acarya" or "present acarya" for ISKCON or for a geographical area of ISKCON. There should be no use of the word "acarya" as a title of office.(Laws of ISKCON, 1.5.6.1, from 'Gurus and Inititation in ISKCON', GBC)Before we highlight yet more of the violations of these GBC directives by its own Gurus, let us see if there have been any further developments on those violations we exposed in issues 58 and 59 of the IRM Newsletter:1) Issue 58, 12 December 2002a) We pointed out the following 'Guru biographies' on the ISKCON Perth website athttp://home.iprimus.com.au/naractl/Biographys/ISKCON_Gurus/ISKCON_Biographys.html"Swami Krishnapada - Bhakti Tirtha SwamiA spiritual master for the International Society For Krishna ConsciousnessSwami Krishnapada was born John E. Favors in a christian, God-fearing family ..."And under the biography for Prahladananda Swami we find the following:"Srila Prahladananda Swami A spiritual master for the International Society For Krishna ConsciousnessHis Divine Grace Prahladananda Swami Maharaja was born on the 25th ..."UPDATE: As of this Newsletter being composed, these biographies remain intact. b) "we find a printed invitation issued to the public for a recent ISKCON function in North India containing a picture of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja with the following words underneath: PRESENT ACARYA"UPDATE: Further to this grossly offensive title designed to overshadow and replace the real "Present Acarya" Srila Prabhupada, we find the epithet "Srila Bhagavatpada" on Gopal Krishna Goswami's website at http://www.gkg.ru/eng_index.html#It seems some people just can't get enough self-adulation! 2) Issue 59, 4 March 2003In our last Newsletter, we pointed out the following:a) "Firstly, on the website for Hrdyananda das Goswami, at: http://www.gopala.com/hdg/ we find the following on the homepage:"Srila AcharyadevaHis Holiness Hridayananda das GoswamiAn Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)"On the website under the section where his 'biography' is given we find the following Zonal Acharya 'appointment' myth, which was also supposedly rejected by the GBC:"A little before departing from this world on November of 1977, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada asked Srila Acharyadeva, as well as ten other prominent disciples, to accept the role of spiritual masters and initiate disciples to give continuity to the disciplic succession starting with the Supreme Lord, Krishna." UPDATE: Surprise, surprise! There has been absolutely NO CHANGE to this profile. While the IRM's position is stated in our paper "The No Change In ISKCON Paradigm" (to be published this year by Columbia University Press), it seems the GBC's position can be summarised as "The No Change In Bogus Guru Appointment Paradigm".b) "Next we come to the website of HH Jayapataka Swami at: http://www.mediarama.it/sanga/default_index.htmAgain on the homepage, it states:"Srila Acaryapada's spiritual daughter's sanga"And under his biography we find:"His Divine Grace Jayapataka Swami appeared on the Ekadasi after Ramanavami among opulent surroundings, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, North America."UPDATE: An even bigger surprise - HH Jayapataka Swami's title has actually been downgraded on the homepage from "Srila Acaryapada" to "Srila Jayapataka Swami", AND "His Divine Grace Jayapataka Swami" has been downgraded to "HH Srila Jayapataka Swami"! Although the website still maintains Jayapataka Swami (JPS)'s artificial Diksa Guru status, this gradual minimisation of JPS' so-called Guruship can be seen as a minor victory for the IRM's campaign to strip each and everyone of ISKCON's false Gurus of their bogus positions as replacements to Srila Prabhupada.c) "Next we see a recent announcement for the Vyasa-puja ceremony of "His Divine Grace" AC Bhaktivaibhava Swami:http://www.iskcon.net/ukraine/bvs/index-e.htm "Again, no change. Another ISKCON Guru impostor continues to allow himself to be glorified with a title solely meant for the real Guru: His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. 3) Issue 60, May 2003So what of the latest transgressions against Srila Prabhupada's pre-eminent position? This is what our readers have discovered:a) Perhaps the most blatant and offensive act of replacing Srila Prabhupada as the current Acarya is that perpetrated by disciples of departed GBC-elected Guru Gaura Govinda Swami (GGS), whose statements were shown in the last Newsletter to be contradicted by the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. For in GGS' website we find that "His Divine Grace Srila Gour Govinda Swami Srila Gurudeva" is listed as ACARYA NO. 33 in the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya sampradaya, the sacred succession of genuine Acaryas going all the way back to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Himself! http://srilagourgovindaswami.org/about/index.htmNever mind that Srila Prabhupada had already given us the bona fide disciplic succession in the Introduction to Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, which lists only himself as the current Acarya, the 32nd since Lord Sri Krishna. Never mind that Srila Prabhupada had emphatically stated that there were to be NO SUCCESSORS to his position as the only Diksa Guru in ISKCON, and that only his own Spiritual Master could even be considered as taking over his role:Guest: Are you planning to choose a successor?Srila Prabhupada: It is already successful.Guest: But there must be somebody you know, needed to handle the thing.Srila Prabhupada: Yes. That we are creating. We are creating these devotees who will handle.Hanuman: One thing he's saying, this gentlemen, and I would like to know, is your successor named or your successor will...Srila Prabhupada: My success is always there. (SP Room conversation, 12/2/75 Mexico)Reporter: Are you training a successor?Srila Prabhupada: Yes, my Guru Maharaja is there.(SP Press conference, 16/7/75, San Francisco)The GGS cabal has simply decided that Srila Prabhupada is no longer current and must be succeeded by their own GBC-elected Guru! Perhaps the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) should now reprint a third edition of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is with this new addition to the list of Acaryas. b) And finally with this issue, we come to our old friend, the embodiment of hypocrisy himself, Bhakti Caru Swami. For a man who is supposedly extremely keen to see Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet being worshipped, and not his own, we can only say that he does not seem to be trying very hard. For he just loves his disciples to call him by that title exclusively reserved for the genuine pure devotee representative of the Lord: ----------------------------- "Text PAMHO6704588 (30 lines)Mon, 14 Apr 2003 13:56 +0200Ramananda Raya (das) BCS (Radhadesh - B) Dear Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to GuruMaharaja and Srila Prabhupada. [...] There we received His Divine Grace. [...] When we met with His Divine Grace…" ----------------------------- So the feverish desire to imitate Srila Prabhupada's position continues relentlessly, despite the GBC's own laws outlawing such imitation. 6. Rolling Stones Get Satisfaction In the early years of ISKCON, many famous people in the world of popular music became attracted and actively participated in Krishna Consciousness. George Harrison, Sting, Annie Lennox, Stevie Wonder, The Grateful Dead and many other artists were influenced by and sometimes directly assisted the Movement. Unfortunately, the image of simple, dedicated purity the devotees once possessed has been severely tarnished since Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure. In some places the image of ISKCON has reached such a low state that few normal people, what to speak of celebrities, are attracted to the Movement. The IRM recently went some way to redressing this when the world famous Rolling Stones rock group came to play a concert in Bangalore. Four of their road crew came to visit the temple. Just after they had taken darshan of the beautiful Deities of Sri Sri Radha Krishna Chandra, a devotee approached them and got talking to them. He told the ‘roadies’ about an occasion in Ireland when a devotee met two members of the Rolling Stones group and told them he used to be a big fan and had at one time owned every single one of their records; but had got rid of them all when he became a Hare Krishna. One of the Stones had replied, “I guess there’s no chance of us converting you back again is there?”. The four roadies enjoyed the anecdote, and then the devotee asked them to thank Mick Jagger for his kind donation many years ago to repair the ceiling for London’s first temple in Bury place, and suggested they invite him to visit. The four men, two English and two American, were so impressed with the temple they went back and told the rest of their crew to visit too, and one of them passed on the message of thanks to Mick. The next day the Rolling Stones management called to say Mick Jagger and about 20 others of his entourage would be coming to visit at 2.30 in the afternoon. Then Madhupandit Prabhu (IRM Chairman and Temple President of ISKCON Bangalore) and Chanchalapati Prabhu (Vice President of ISKCON Bangalore) made lavish preparations. Hundreds of feet of red carpet were set out on paths and walkways, a huge feast was prepared, and the world’s media informed of the event. A busload of children from one of the poorer schools that is visited everyday by the temple’s prasadam distribution scheme arrived, with the idea that the band could help feed them. 2.30 arrived and two mini buses pulled into the temple car park. Twenty people had come, including the tour’s female backing singer, the bass guitarist, Saxophonist, the tour manager and many others involved with the stage show. Sadly, Mick Jagger himself was unable to come and sent his apologies. The entire crew were then given wonderful prasadam, shown around the amazing temple, given darshan of the Deities and then taken to feed the hungry school children with Krishna Prasadam. There were thirty excited school children waiting in line (a tiny fraction of the forty thousand fed daily by the temple), along with dozens of press cameramen and network television. The Rolling Stones backing singer, guitarist and tour manager then took great delight in dishing out fresh platefuls of kitchari and halva. After the children had been fed to their satisfaction, the singer then chanted the Hare Krishna Mahamantra with the children, who beamed with delight at having so much attention paid to them. The crew then left with blissful smiles on their faces. The devotees were not satisfied, however. Indeed, the first big hit the Rolling Stones ever had was “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”, and all the devotees knew that without Krishna, that situation would continue for Mick and his band for many lifetimes to come. Furthermore, Srila Prabhupada had directly instructed that the Rolling Stones should be cultivated, not just their backing singers, musicians and crew. As he wrote in 1969 to Syamasundara das: “I am also glad to learn that you are going to press some records of the Hare Krishna Mantra with the help of the Beatles and Co., cooperated with some of the celebrated artists like Donovan and the Rolling Stones. It is a very good opportunity that you are making friendship with these famous men, and if you can turn them as they are already a little inclined towards Krishna Consciousness, then our Sankirtana Movement through all these famous artists and gentlemen will take a shape which will be appreciated all over the world.” (SPL Syamasundara, 1969) With all this in mind, Chanchalpati Prabhu then decided to call the tour management and asked if devotees could come to the hotel to meet Mick. They said that would not be feasible, but agreed to instead save some special VIP tickets for the refreshment lounge where the band, along with various dignitaries, would sit and eat before the show. Only a handful of these special passes existed, so a devotee was sent to the band’s luxury Lila Palace hotel to collect them. Madhupandit Prabhu then arranged for Syama Manjari (herself a former professional rock singer and musician) to go with her family to the venue to try and give Mick and his band some books and prasadam. When Syama Manjari arrived with her two daughters and husband the security was very tight. There were police and guards everywhere. There was a huge, luxury air conditioned tent behind the main stage to which their special passes gave them access. They entered the tent, which was full of crew and security staff, and made their way down a corridor to the VIP lounge. The band were in a separate room and there was no way to get access to them. Then the Rolling Stone’s drummer, Charlie Watts, entered the lounge. Syama Manjari was not sure whether to approach him then, or after the show when he and the rest of the band might be more relaxed. As she was deciding what to do Charlie Watts left the lounge for his changing room. An opportunity had been lost. The show started at 7.30 and it was now 7.20. She then found out that after the show the lounge would be closed. That meant they only had 9 minutes to somehow distribute the books to the band, or all would be lost. The day before, Syama had made friends with the band’s saxophonist, and so she asked him if he could give the books and prasadam to the band. He told her they would not accept any food, but he would give them the books after the show. That was better than nothing, but she still felt it would be more effective to at least meet the band’s frontman in person to give him the book. At that moment Mick Jagger, the man who could ‘get no satisfaction’, the ‘jumping jack flash’, the rock star who has been at the top of his profession for more than forty years, entered the lounge and began shaking hands with everyone. Not wanting to miss this final opportunity, Syama Manjari then quickly gave a copy of “Chant and Be Happy” and “The Science of Self-Realisation” to her four year old daughter, Malini, to pass on to Mick. She then went up to meet Mick. As she approached the security man said: “Sorry, no autographs”, and he blocked their path. She told him they just wanted to give Mick a present. He then asked Mick Jagger if that was OK. “Yeah sure,” he said turning round to see little Malini holding the books shyly in front of her. “Are those for me?” he asked looking at the books. Malini nodded shyly. “And what’s your name?” he asked smiling broadly; he then took the books and shook hands with Malini and her mother. It was exactly 7.30 and so Syama Manjari said: “I don’t think you’ll have time to read those before the show.” “No, I don’t think I will. Thank you very much Malini.” And with that he left hurriedly for the stage carrying the key to his complete satisfaction in his hand. The “Times of India” also reported the Stones' visit to the temple, as reproduced below: "The Times Of India", 4 April 2003 Stones roll for a cause too Members of the Rolling Stones, Darryl Jones (base guitarist) Lisa Fischer (singer) distribute bisibelebath and kesaribath to students of the Government Higher Primary School, Mahalakshmi Layout, at the Iskcon temple on Thursday. Over 60 children were fed under the Iskcon's Akshaya Patre scheme. The band members also had a taste of sumptuous south Indian food: they relished pun's with vegetable saagu and enegai (dish made of brinjals) on plantain leaves. They also had two types of kosambari (salad), kheer payasam, pappadam and amb vada. And last, but not the least, there was badam barfi prepared out of freshly ground almonds and chiroti and hot badam milk to go with it. 7. IRM News Briefs a) New IRM Temple Opens In Hassan A new IRM center of ISKCON has opened at Hassan, a town in South India. The formal inauguration was on Feb 16, 2003. Sri Channaveerappa, President of Hassan Municipality, presided over the inaugural function. Other important donors of ISKCON were also present. Devotees from Mysore and Bangalore participated in the inauguration. A Narasimha Homa was performed to invoke the blessings of the Lord. Sri Stoka Krishna Dasa, President ISKCON Mysore, welcomed the devotees. Addressing the gathering of devotees, Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice President ISKCON Bangalore, said that it was: “the desire of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada to spread the teachings of Lord Krishna in every town and village. We hope to render our services to the people of Hassan through this center and enrich their lives by creating opportunities for cultivating spiritual knowledge.” A feast was served to the devotees who had attended. The temple, which consists of a large detached house, is conducting full daily programs, which have quickly yielded fruit with 2 full-time devotees already made from the local population, who have moved into the temple. b) Srila Prabhupada's Tree We reported in a previous IRM Newsletter (Please see IRM Newsletter 51, “Mayor of New York Dedicates Srila Prabhupada Memorial”) about how the New York IRM had managed to get the City of New York to commission a plaque honouring the famous tree under which Srila Prabhupada founded the Hare Krishna Movement, holding the first outdoor kirtan there. Now the famous New York Times has also picked up the story as we see below: THE NEW YORK TIMES The City Weekly Desk | April 20, 2003, Sunday F.Y.I. By ED BOLAND Jr. (NYT) Late Edition - Final , Section 14 , Page 2 , Column 5 LEAD PARAGRAPH The Krishna Elm Q. I've heard there is a sacred tree in Tompkins Square Park. Is this true and to whom is it sacred? A. Yes there is an old elm tree in the center of the East Village park, near a semicircle of benches, that marks the birthplace of the Hare Krishna religion in the Western Hemisphere. To Krishnas the tree is sacred.In 1965, after a difficult month on a steamship, a spiritual leader named Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York convinced that if Americans would embrace his conception of Krishna consciousness, the other countries in the world would follow. In 1966 he founded the International Society of Krishna Consciousness at 26 Second Avenue, near Second Street. On Oct. 9, 1966, Swami Prabhupada led a group of followers to the nearby Tompkins Square Park, between Seventh and Tenth Streets and Avenues A and B. Under the leafy canopy of an American elm tree they began to chant a distinctive 16-word mantra: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.'' It was Swami Prabhupada's first outdoor chanting ceremony outside of India and it was the birth of the Hare Krishna religion. Attending the ceremony was the poet Allan Ginsberg, who later said, "The ecstasy of chant or mantra has replaced LSD and other drugs for many of the swami's followers." The tree has become a focal point for the chanting, dancing, robed adherents of Hare Krishna. The sect claims to have followers in 90 countries, 800,000 in the United States. Swami Prabhupada died in 1977, but 26 Second Avenue remains a Krishna center, and in 2001 the city's Parks Department recognized the historical significance of the Hare Krishna Elm tree with a plaque. c) Preaching To The Famous Recent celebrities to receive Srila Prabhupada's books included: Alice Elliot - An Oscar-nominated Director who received an original edition of the Bhagavad Gita and an invitation to the New York IRM temple from Brahmabhuta Das, the New York Temple President. Brahmabhuta produces the weekly 'Hare Krishna Show' which appears on Manhattan Cable, reaching an audience of 2 million, and hence is regularly invited to special screenings of movies by celebrated artistes. This of course provides a great opportunity for preaching. Princess Anne - On a recent visit to New York, Bhakta Ghansyam from the IRM temple, made sure that Princess Anne, a member of the British Royal Family, received one of Srila Prabhupada's books. Yugo Sako - Yugo Sako is a famous Japanese film-maker who made the $10 million-plus animated feature film of the Ramayana. He recently visited the Bangalore temple where he took prasadam and received many of Srila Prabhupada's books. d) GBC Reports Regular readers of the IRM newsletter will know that ISKCON’s annual Governing Body Commission (GBC) Resolutions are usually a good source of humour. This year, however, no doubt in order to avoid this annual ribbing, the GBC passed hardly any resolutions at all, wisely keeping their pronouncements restricted to a few pages. But all is not lost. As a pre-cursor to the resolutions, each GBC member submitted reports of their zone’s preaching successes in the previous 12 months. From these reports we note the following gems: “Guru Prasada SwamiVenezula: Lots of setbacks. No temple. Difficult situation. No economy. Everything has gone wrong.Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu Used to have a contiguous zone, ruined by this GBC body.Bhakti Tirtha SwamiSick and confined for a couple of months. Then went to 35 Countries. Many seminars. Didn't go to his zone, and it did much better as a result. Croatia/Bosnia: Struggling with war and HKS. We have moved into the temple in Croatia. My books help to build the temple.” [Note 1: HKS = fallen ISKCON Guru Harikesa Swami, whose antics and subsequent GBC cover-up were highlighted in the news item “GBC Caught Falsifying Evidence” in Newsletter 58. Note 2: See how Bhakti Tirtha is boasting how HIS books were distributed to help build a temple. This, of course, goes completely against Srila Prabhupada's instructions and mission of having his books distributed to help finance the building of temples. Further evidence, if any more were needed, of how complete the takeover of Srila Prabhupada's mission is by the impostor ISKCON 'Gurus'.] Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, and please keep your letters, and e-mail addresses of other devotees who should be added to our list, flowing in. Ahard copy of our main position paper 'The Final Order' is available on request. All other IRM papers can be accessed through the EDITORIAL SECTION of the IRM website at http://farsight.members.beeb.netIf you would like to receive any of the back issues of the Newsletter please let us know. No 1. Invitation to Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja No 2. GBC Lose First Round of Court Case No 3. The Story VNN Refused to Publish No 4. Poison Theorists Accuse Adri of Complicity No 5. Iskcon Continues to Promote Child Abusers No 6. Invitation to Malaysia No 7. United World Body Formed No 8. Does Srila Prabhupada Support Poisoning Theory? No 9. PADA Attacks IRM Position No 10. PADA Continues to Present False Evidence No 11. GBC Funded Video says Ritvik Spiritual No 12. Child Rapist Selected by Gurus to Defend their Legitimacy No 13. GBC Facing Perjury Charge in Calcutta High Court No 14. Sahajiyism Makes a Comeback in Iskcon. No 15. Govt. Minister Inaugurates Bangalore Rathayatra No 16. Iskcon Calcutta Triumphs Following Arson Attack No 17. Fighting Lies with Truth Not More Lies No 18. GBC Resolutions Continue to Provide Laughter No 19. Indian Leaders Endorse IRM Position that GBC Confused No 20. Convicted Child Abuser Officially 'Returns' to Parampara No 21. GBC Special Issue - GBC Chairman Admits ISKCON 'Disintegrating' No 22. Krsna Confirms Iskcon Rebirth - New York Special Issue No 23. Hare Krsna Explosion Begins in New York as IRM Temple Opens No 24 IRM Launches Media Campaign to Defend Srila Prabhupada No 25 GBC Teaches That 'Living Gurus' NOT Required No 26 BBT Admits Books Changed to Fit GBC Philosophy No 27 Big Breakthrough for Krishna in Singapore No 28 Bangalore Tops World Book Distribution No 29 City of New York to Honour Srila Prabhupada No 30 Gurukula Lawsuit Special - The Facts No 31 BBC Glorifies Srila Prabhupada to the World No 32 Harinam Revived in World famous Times Square No 33 ISKCON Guru on Run From Police - Suicide Case Special No 34 GBC Declare All Out War No 35 GBC Fail Again in Second Expulsion Attempt No 36 Indian Press Glorifies New York IRM No 37 Iskcon Temple in Bangladesh Joins IRM No 38 All Ports Alert for Jayapataka To Be Issued No 39 The GBC's Best Trick Yet No 40 Biggest Prasadam Distribution Program Ever Begins No 41 Double Edition - IRM Granted Prime Kumbha Mela Site No 42 Danavir Invents A New Philosophy No 43 IRM Makes World Headlines - Kumbha Mela Special No 44 GBC Meetings End in Fiasco No 45 GBC Paralysis Documented in Resolutions No 46 Mayapur Attempt to Storm Calcutta Temple Ends in Fiasco No 47 Mayapur Attack Cover-up Exposed No 48 Massive GBC Fraud Uncovered No 49 BBC Broadcasts World IRM Special No 50 Mayapur Bomb Blast Reveals GBC Terrorist Campaign No 51 Mayor of New York Dedicates Srila Prabhupada Memorial No 52 Chief Minister Honours ISKCON Bangalore Temple President No 53 High Court Grants Iskcon Bangalore Injunction Against Jayapataka Swami No 54 More Laughter From GBC Resolutions No 55 High Court Declares ISKCON Bangalore Legally Independent No 56 First Temple President's Meeting held in MalaysiaNo 57 Supreme Court Throws Out GBC Appeal No 58 GBC Publicly Dishonours Srila Prabhupada No 59 IRM Begins Massive Expansion Into Vrndavan Your comments, questions and feedback are appreciated. Please write to us at irm (AT) ntlworld (DOT) com *Legalese -- You are receiving this e-mail because you either submitted this email address to the IRM or someone else did it for you. We do not buy lists or gather them via software, nor will we ever give/sell your address to anybody. If you received duplicates or wish to be removed from this list, please type remove in the subject line. Attachment: (image/gif) clip_image002.gif [not stored] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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