Save K.B. temple Vrindavan(Prabhupada's Home) and The

[Guest guest]

Dear Vishnu Mohan Prabhu and Divya Purush Prabhu

 

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

 

At first I did not want to respond, as I am presently not in Vrndavana. But

many senior devotees and close friends are requesting me to reply - so I am

following their advice.

 

Firstly, please forgive me if I said or did anything wrong. I appreciate

your concern and desired improvement in Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON.

 

> 1. As the new management came into administration in May 2002 the problems

> started immediately after that.

 

I was requested by the GBC body to serve as Co-President of ISKCON

Vrndavana. With great apprehension and reservations, I finally accepted. I

had already resigned as Co-President after this year's GBC meetings. But the

VEB(GBC for Vrndavana) requested me to continue. What to do? You have to

request the GBC to accept my resignation.

 

> 2. Our biggest problem is that we are never provided with the proper

> facilities. Lot of partiality we always face while staying in the temple.

> This is necessary to mention here that most of the devotees suffer but

> they don't come forward because of their cowardliness behavior. Now the

> time has come to show our unity and get our legitimate rights. We never

> get the same priority or facility in comparison to the western devotees.

> We bramcharies never want to have any bad feelings against our brothers.

> Only the behavior of our management forces us to think the bodily

> difference between them and us.

 

One of my main services was to try our best to take care of the visiting

devotees, including devotees from other temples in India. The VEB has

requested us to improve our services to take care of visiting devotees.

 

> 3. Management threw out almost 80 devotees out of the temple in last 2

> years. Now their latest tactic is that they are trying to remove all the

> devotees out of the ashram and shift them to some other place away from

> the temple. On one side they talk of our spiritual standards should go

> high and on the other side they are trying to put us away from the temple.

> If we will not be able to attend to temple programs because we will be

> living at a distant place. Their plan is to shift us in a rented place and

> later on not pay the rent of that place so automatically we will be out of

> our spiritual life. These 60 devotees will also meet the same fate what

> the other 80 devotees are facing. Most of them are living on road side's

> and begging alms and somehow managing their living. Many of them are

> trying to join Narayan Maharaj's Place. Some of them went back to their

> karmi(material) life. We think that this is the biggest sinful act done by

> the management.

 

I recall asking one devotee, who admitted attempted rape on a visiting white

bodied devotee, to leave the temple. The rest(including yourselves) left on

their own and for reasons best known to them. Still, you may remind me if I

had asked others to leave the temple. Divya Purusa Prabhu had already left

the temple before I returned to Vrndavana. When Visnu Mohan Prabhu was

leaving, I personally requested you to stay.

 

There is no plan to rent any place. Rather we are negotiating to buy Prithu

Prabhu's land(Prabhupada Vani Asrama) for the future International

Leadership Asrama College - which will try to help train leaders for future

succession planning in ISKCON.

 

> 4. Brihat Mridanga Das our President from South Africa is

> really demon wearing saffron. He always prefers western devotees and keeps

> on telling that this temple was made from the foreign funds so only

> western people should be living here. The so called bramchari(Brihat

> Mridanga Das) stays in A.C. room of the guest house and gets special

> prasadam. He can not bear the summer as well as winter of Vrindavan. Nine

> months of the year he is out of Vrindavan. How somebody can manage the

> temple when he is not present in Vrindavan most of time. For a long time

> he stopped hindi Srimad Bhagawat Gita and Srimad Bhagawatam classes. When

> we protested the classes were again started after long time. He always

> implements such regulations that the devotees feel frustrated and they

> leave the temple. He repeatedly says only English speaking devotees are

> needed in the temple(this was never Prabhupada's Program). His travelling

> expenses are a big burden on the temple. The Indian devotees who are

> close to him they get special facilities but the others always suffer. He

> introduced a new form. He used such a language in that form, no where it

> was mentioned that we are devotees. He always calls us volunteer workers

> whom he can throw out of the temple without giving any reasoning. He

> forcefully told all the devotees to fill this form. Those who will not

> fill this form will be turned out of the temple and the facilities will be

> stopped.

 

I admit that I am a demon. Please pray for me that someday I may begin to

become a devotee and try to serve you all better.

 

When in Vrndavana I live in a small room(Room 27) in the guesthouse with no

A/C, and cold water. In fact A/C is not good for my health. Yes, I am almost

always sick in Vrndavana(due to my foreign body) and sometimes my special

prasadam are mainly fruits and boiled vegetables for better health. I prefer

to live alone to recuperate from the everyday intensity of trying to manage

ISKCON Vrndavana. And I do not even have a phone or intercom in my room to

try to get some peaceful rest to continue to serve the next day.

 

As per my conditions of service with the GBC, I agreed to serve for seven

months of the year(February/March and July to November) in Vrndavana. For

the rest of the year, I have to honor preaching projects in other countries.

 

Here is the letter from Srila Prabhupada to Gopal Krishna Das(now HH Gopal

Krishna Goswami), dated 24th June, 1976 on new recruitment in Vrndavana:

"Concerning the new bhakta program, unless one is educated we should not

admit anyone and everyone without discrimmination. One who has got culture

and education, he can be accepted."

 

I fly from Johannesburg to Delhi(to Vrndavana) twice a year(return). ISKCON

Vrndavana pays for one return ticket. I have to raise the money to pay for

the other return ticket. And ISKCON Vrndavana paid only once for my travel

to Mayapur and back to Vrndavana.

 

The form, as is normal in Juhu, Mumbai temple, was overseen by Devakinandan

Prabhu as per the decision of the VAC.

 

> 5. We would request all the senior Vaisnavas and Vaisnavis to come

> forward and stop this humiliation and try to save the Bramcharies and the

> Sri Krishna Balaram Temple from this inhumanly behavior of the temple

> management.

 

I admit I may be inhuman - then I should be removed immediately. Why is the

GBC not removing me?

 

> 6. we would like to accept one single presidant Who can stay all the time

> in Vrindavan(DEVAKINANDAN DAS)

 

Then why have you criticised Devakinandan Prabhu in your next email? I do

not mind that you criticise and correct me - it is good for my purification.

But Devakinandan Prabhu's service is unparalelled to help bring ISKCON

Vrndavana and Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir to better standards for the

pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and his sincere and serious followers. And my

service depends on his service in Vrndavana.

 

> The above mentioned problems were repeatedly told to the management but

> they always gave deaf ear to it. In frustration we were forced to sit on

> hunger strike. Since the management is not completing their commitment

> given at the time of breaking our strike on 15th April 2004. We will sit

> on hunger strike again and if they don't take it seriously we will be self

> immolating after putting gasoline(petrol) on our body.

 

This is the very first time that I am hearing that I am such a problematic

person. So the GBC may consider your request to find a better replacement

for me. I welcome the change. But if the GBC want me to stay on as

Co-President, then what can I do? Should I also commit suicide? Please

advise me.

 

In your next email you both wrote:

> b. As he has said that we two are completely on the bodily platform and

> Brihat Mridanga Pr. is very advanced and wonderful devotee.

> 1. Brihat mridanga prabhu is the same devotee who was physically beaten by

> the matajis in the Durban(SA) temple. He was thrown out of the temple

> because he was involved with some mataji.

> 2. Once he wanted to get married to one mataji(yamuna dd). at this time

> also he was insulted during the morning program time.

> 3. When he came to vrindavan he was the one who put in our minds

> (western/Indian) feelings because he himself started doing partial

> behavior.

 

b. As you have rightly concluded above - I am a demon. If Devakinandan

Prabhu is seeing "advanced devotee" in me, then it is his kindness upon me

with the hope that someday I may become a devotee - and I thank him for

that.

 

Nos. 1 & 2: Your numbers one and two above are completely false statements.

His Holiness Giriraja Swami(past GBC for South Africa and my Diksa Guru),

His Holiness Bhakti Caitanya Swami,(present GBC for South Africa, resident

sannyasi and initiating guru), His Grace Partha Sarathi Prabhu(resident

initiating guru) and many other senior devotees know me for the past twenty

one years(since I joined). Please ask them about my history in South Africa.

 

No. 3: I try my best to serve all devotees. But it is very, very difficult

to please everyone. So it is better you both tell me how to improve - and I

will try my best.

 

May this find you both well. Hare Krishna.

 

Your servant

Brhat-mrdanga das