A History of Cow Abuse in ISKCON

[Guest guest]

On 08 Nov 1999, Hare Krsna dasi wrote:

 

>

>

> Hare Krsna dasi 8 Nov 1999

>

> A History of Cow Abuse in ISKCON

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much Mother Hare Krsna for your detailed evidentiary report.

Sadly, it is not a favorable legacy for people claiming to be devoted to

Govinda.

 

But then Srila Prabhupada foretold these problems long ago:

 

"Prabhupada: No, no. Beginning Krsna. Why don't you read Bhagavad- Gita? You

don't know?

Harikesa: No, no. Yes.

Prabhupada: What is the social arrangement? What is that?

Harikesa: That Krsna created the four orders.

Prabhupada: Yes. So you make that four orders, and then society will be in

order. But you are not taking Krsna's advice. You are manufacturing your

hellish ideas."

 

 

Jaya Lord Gopinatha!

 

 

Your servant,

 

Janesvara dasa

[Guest guest]

"WWW: Lola (Devi Dasi) ACBSP (Vancouver - CAN)" wrote:

 

> [Text 2764733 from COM]

>

> On 08 Nov 1999, Hare Krsna dasi wrote:

>

> > 6. In 1996, I learned that devotees at Saranagati Farm in Canada were

> > accepting a $11,000 per year tax exemption in return for grazing beef

> > cattle for slaughter on their land:

> >

>

> I would like to thank Hare Krsna Dasi for all of her work in protecting cows.

> I would also like to give some additional detail about this accusation

against

> Saranagati. The devotees at Saranagati did not want beef cattle on their

> land. The cattle were present only because the 5 miles of fence needed to

> keep them out was not there nor could the devotees at that time afford to

> quickly construct it. The cattle wandered on to the land on their own. I

> will inquire as to the status now in 1999 and let you know

>

> ys

> Lola devi dasi

 

Dear Lola Prabhu,

 

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

 

Thanks for offering to check into this. The difficulty in fencing out the

animals

was discussed when this issue originally arose. If I recall correctly, I

believe

that the cowherds on the COW conference appreciated the difficulty of the

situation. The objection was that Saranagati was accepting a monetary

equivalent

for their support of the cow slaughter industry. It was felt that Srila

Prabhupada would never have approved of such a practice.

 

Hopefully, this practice of taking what amounts to a blood-money tax credit at

Saranagati has now ended. If it has not yet ended, Saranagati will be able to

see

clearly that it is by no means alone in failure to meet minimun cow protection

standards. It should simply take heart and work to rectify the situation.

Hopefully, your GBC will provide the appropriate spiritual and legal guidance

in

this matter.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

[Guest guest]

In text 2764223 from COM, Bir Krishna Goswami wrote:

 

>Hare Krishna dasi has hit the nail on the head. Communism doesn't work in

>ISKCON (or anywhere else for that matter). It doesn't work with cow

>protection nor with gurukula, etc. When we realize this then we will be

>ready to restructure ISKCON

 

Communism "doesn't work with cow protection nor with gurukula"... nor with

the GBC. If "Communism doesn't work in ISKCON or anywhere else for that

matter" then the first priority of the Society and its GBC Executive

Committee should be to move away from the longstanding centralism and

privileges within the GBC.

 

To most thinking devotees it is inconveivable that the Body is composed

mostly of the same people year after year. Many of its members have proven

their limited capacity and vision but remain entrenched in their position

and taking on new responsibilities. Big blunders with real estate,

philosophical deviations, crimes, petty excentricities or gross falldowns

by individual GBCs are usually swept under the rug, betting on ISKCON's

short-lived collective memory.

 

All this occurs at the expense of opportunities for many other qualified

devotees within the Movement who could be the current GBCs of the Society

in a system of continual renewal, training, monitoring and rectification

for leaders. Many believe that if the whole GBC resigned or were removed

things could only get better. This is so simply from fact that the new GBCs

would emerge from a grass-roots process in which they would feel

accountable first to their constituency than to their GBC buddies, and

their assignments would be limited to what they can actually handle.

 

Today the GBC looks like the Soviet leadership, a devotional version of the

Brezhnevian gerontocracy. Since 1977 the GBC system is one in which an

individual remains indefinitely a member until he bloops, dies or becomes

disabled. Everything is overlooked while the GBCs close ranks when one of

them is put under scrutiny. But Srila Prabhupada stated back in 1970 that:

"The commissioners will serve for a period of 3 years, and they may be

re-elected at the end of this period." This has never happened. So, the

challenge is the same as the one placed repeatedly to an ardient Communist,

Fidel Castro: "Allow free elections."

The problems with the Gurukula, cow protection, etc., are simply byproducts

of the main problem within ISKCON: The corruption of the GBC. Corruption

does not mean that the individual GBCs are a bunch of crooks but that they

are part of a system that day by day becomes less effective to conduct the

Movement, and the individual GBCs often have to betray their own principles

supporting the staus-quo. It is like stagnated water, you can smell the

stench. And if this is intolerable even in karmi businesses, etc., then

what to speak of a group whose only asset is the elevated values that it is

trying to propagate.

"We will be ready to restructure ISKCON" when the tired, overwhelmed, in

nefective, dictatorial, bureaucratic leadership is replaced with local,

representative, trained, monitored and dynamic individual GBCs. Everything

else is simply words.

Your servant

Radha Krsna dasa

Mexico City

[Guest guest]

> Is it now that serious dialogue can open up with the leaders as how to

> begin to develop this alternative or must we continue the discussion on

> the cow conference for several more years and every year report on going

> cow abuse cases within our communistic structure?

 

I sense a degree of bitterness in the above words of the ISKCON minister of

cow protection.And I agree with him. How can the GBC tackle ISKCON´s many

problems wisely if they have no time to communicate and listen to their own

ministers?

 

"A leader should pick worthy men for his assembly as his advisors and

helpers to accomplish his various works. Then his rule will be prosperous,

for the prosperity of the kingdom depends solely on the men in his council

and in his other departments. Even the smallest function cannot be

successfully performed by one single man. How then can a state (or a

society) be well administered without the assisstance of competent ministers

and helpers?" (Matsya Purana, ch 215, text 2-3)

 

If the GBC appoint ministers but ignore what they have to say, then what is

the use of having ministries at all?

 

Nowadays so many devotees voice constructive criticism but are the GBC even

aware of it? I doubt it because at least on com you never hear them respond.

Maybe they ignore critical remarks because they consider it offensive. Maybe

they are simply too busy or maybe they want to avoid getting into endless

verbal battles culminating in mutual aparadha.I understand that.

Yes,sometimes critical remarks are born of envy but many times criticism is

simply a cry for change uttered by someone who sees grave fault or injustice

and is desperate to have it removed.

 

Was not Ramcandra eager to ascertain what was on the mind of His subjects?

Did not the kings of yore employ spies just to find out what the general

populace was up to? So should not the GBC be interested in finding out what

the general devotees are talking about them? If there is no ongoing dialogue

between GBC and general devotee populace, how can the GBC evaluate their own

performance and make sure their subjects are content? And how will we create

an ideal vedic society if a major portion of the citizens are not content

with their leaders?

 

"Oh king of the solar race, the beauty and prosperity of a leader always

lies in the contentment of his subjects. He should therefore act in such a

manner that the love of his subjects toward him is increased." (Lord Matsya

addresses Vaivasvata Manu in the Matsya Purana, ch.215, text 99).

 

My humble suggestion: Not that the GBC have to listen to each and every

irate critic on earth. Too many cooks spoil the broth, particularly if some

of them are simply envious. But there are plenty of level headed Vaishnavas

in this movement who are not sannyasis, gurus or GBC´s but still have

accurate perceptions of how to improve ISKCON´s performance. If the GBC go

out of their way to listen more to such intelligent and sincere men, the

whole society will prosper.

 

For starters, it should suffice to depute one or two competent devotees to

cruise various com conferences and collect all texts which voice suggestions

and constructive criticism of the GBC. These should be summarized in writing

and then sent to each and every GBC man some weeks before the annual

meetings. Then one or two days of meetings should be scheduled just for

discussing the issues raised. I guarantee that the GBC will be amazed at the

immense good that will come from this.

 

If the GBC are not interested in what is on the mind of the lower rank

devotees, what to speak of their ministers,ISKCON may eventually come to

grief like a man trying to cross the ocean in a boat of stone.

 

ys Anantarupa das

[Guest guest]

Haribol prabhus,

PAMHO AGTSP

 

"SUGGESTION: I should say humble suggestion. In the future it might be

good

if any change in management dealing with a project that has cows should have

to be approved by ISKCOWP. If there is any lack of committement, then

perhaps they should not be allowed to take over such a project. "

 

I would be in total agreement with this. As you note from M. Hare Krsna's

com that our own farm was mentioned. I have to point our firstly, the full

facts were not taken into considersation at the time, and the story, which

was is essence true, is more akin to what this devotee, Dvibhuja das, was

saying. It was due to ignorance and lack of steady dedication and individual

responsibility rather than willful neglect or indeed plans for murder.

Unfortunately due to political unheaval, anybody willing to 'take on' the

cows was welcomed, and this in fact was the problem. It led to the community

distancing themselves unknowingly from the problem rather than sorted it

sooner.

 

That's actually why devotees wanted us here in the first place, not for our

association or because they are crazy about us, but because we would take

care of the cows and they wouldn't have to deal with them or look for

somebody else to do it. Also they knew we'd grow something- anything. We

accept this, and will do our very best by Krsna's cows, we love them and

will take care of them, but eventually there will have to be some policy

governing ISKCON owned land which is enforceable irrespective of management

changes, transient devotees who promise to be the saviours of any given

project, or irrespective of circumstances. The LAW must be just that LAW and

within reason every farm should come up to that, even if circumstances

dictate over a period of time, but that should be the aim. I don't think

anyone knows any ISKCON laws here or at least the majority and with regard

to keeping them or upholding them, I don't know it that even carries much

weight. Here it has been a struggle as there were very few people even

trying to maintain Their Lordships on the altar, but I don't feel that cows

were ever prioristised. The best thing is for ISKCON owned properties and

farms to have to submit plans and have a reasonably stable base, i.e.

sufficient legally leased land or privately owned land by householders etc.

BEFORE ever embarking on any introduction of cows to their properties. Not

especially since the community can't be involved, but it puts a stronger

emphasis if householders have put down roots first. It seems that once

devotees get some grass under their feet, they say let's get some cows,

without thinking of the consequences. Having a temple full of brahmacaris,

unmarried ladies or grhasta couples is not enough. These people leave, go to

other places, etc. So farms should have stable bases before animals are

introduced. It's easier to leave a field of cabbages than a cow.

 

We are doing things backwards, it's like having children with no plans for

feeding, schooling or life-long training and care. No first we marry, then

provide facility and then think of starting a family, otherwise it's

irresponsible. These cows are Krsna's children, just like we are, and we

must approach it from this angle. So there are existing problems to be

fixed, but let's not start any more projects with cows unless we can

sanction that the above is in place.

ys

[Guest guest]

Haribol prabhus,

PAMHO AGTSP

 

Hare Krsna dasi wrote:

"Hopefully, this practice of taking what amounts to a blood-money tax credit

at

Saranagati has now ended."

 

Is there any difference in this blood money and ISKCON using the money if

recupped from this Drumila person? Should we not see it as the same? Srila

Prabhupada said (I believe) even if the government take some action on

diseased animals, we cannot accept payment from such a deed, although we may

not be able to prevent it. So if a so-called devotee murders Krsna's

animals, how can we think it's different? Was there not some talk of trying

to get money back to put into the farm on this conference recently, so why

if it's blood money. If he is so attached and demoniac to want to keep the

money he got from his deed, then let his blood money be, why take it? It

would be like trying to recoup thirty coins from Judas after betraying

Christ. This money is of no good, if it makes him happy now be assured it

will be temporary as each dollar is equivalent to each hair on the cows back

that he will suffer for.

ys