Cult-proofing ISKCON

[Guest guest]

Yes, news of the latest alleged falldown of an ISKCON spiritual leader is quite

relevant to the establishment of varnasrama. To establish varnasrama requires

that devotees be able to have a high degree of legitimate trust in their

leaders.

 

Whenever I present any of Srila Prabhupada's quotes saying that a devotee's

varna will be designated by the spiritual master, most devotees simply cannot

accept it.

 

When I see an account like this, the reason is pretty clear. There has been

too much exposure to spiritual leaders who are exploitive and abusive of their

subjects.

 

Nevertheless, I cannot accept the rtviks, the rasa peddlars, the Vedics, or the

Padas. I personally would like to stay in ISKCON. As far as I am concerned,

most of the best devotees in the world are in ISKCON. They are treasures.

 

But for ISKCON to help society make spiritual progress, we must do some serious

house-cleaning to eliminate the cult mentality in ISKCON.

 

Jesus Christ was not a cult leader, but many people through the ages who have

claimed to follow him are cult followers and cult leaders. A look at the

Spanish Inquisition is a good example of a cult in high gear.

 

Similarly, Srila Prabhupada was never a cult leader, but again many people who

claim to follow him are cult followers or cult leaders. Kirtanandanda is an

example of a cult leader who claimed to follow Srila Prabhupada.

 

If this account is indeed true, it looks like we have yet another example of a

cult leader within ISKCON.

 

We need to cult-proof our devotees so there will be no support for a

pseudo-spiritualist such as this. There are so many examples in Srila

Prabhupada's books of false spiritual leaders being rejected. Someone should

put together a pamphlet called "Cult-Proofing ISKCON." If judiciously applied,

it could do a world of good to bring the preaching potency back to ISKCON.

 

Our bhaktas need to be trained in how to select a guru, how to tell if he or

she becomes fallen, and how to carry on their spiritual life if that happens.

 

It should be drilled home to them that whatever a spiritual leaders says -- and

does -- must meet the test of guru-sastra-sadhu. If we are talking about who

is a real brahmana, the first qualification is that he must be honest. Most of

our cult leaders, such as Kirtanananda fail this test very quickly. Arrogance

is another danger sign in a so-called spiritual leader.

 

If a so-called spiritual leader does not pass these tests with devotees, he or

she should be rejected. Elsewhere, I have suggested the technique like the one

taught to children to help them avoid sexual abuse:

 

1. Say no to spiritual abuse.

2. Get away from the abuser as quickly as possible.

3. Tell someone so that he or she does not commit more abuse, and so that

appropriate actions -- whether punishment, counseling both abused and abuser,

restitution, etc., -- can take place.

 

Again, if you think you are being spiritually abused:

 

1. Say no.

2. Get away.

3. Tell someone.

 

ISKCON will never regain its preaching potency until cult leaders learn that

this is not an organization where they can maintain their perverted practices.

 

Any other thoughts on how to deal with this problem?

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

P.S. Dhyanakunda prabhu has written an *excellent* paper on the subject of

spiritual abuse.

 

Ramon Estrada wrote:

 

> [Text 2787165 from COM]

>

> I am posting the following text because it may be relevant to the plans for

> development of Varnasrama in ISKCON.

> YS RK Mex

>

> ------------------------

>

> Another Guru Bites the Dust

> By Radha Krsna dasa

> Mexico City

>

> Lately the country of Costa Rica has been immersed in turmoil over the

> falldown of local regional secretary, sannyasi and guru Bhakti Abhay Charan

> Swami. Originally from Spain, Bhakti Abhay Charan is a Srila Prabhupada

> disciple who lived in South America since the late 1970's. He then moved to

> Costa Rica, the Switzerland of Latin America, just in time to cash in on

> the Multiple Acarya Succession System established by the GBC in the mid

> 1980's. According to various reports, for years his clique of submissive

> followers endured his neurotic behaviour and illusions of grandeaur as he

> sought to establish himself as supreme authority, big papa, and reservoir

> of all qualities and benedictions. He wrote various books of poetry and

> diaries that (predictably) spoke of his alleged realizations and

> transcendental separation from Krsna.

>

> The ashram and temple at the ISKCON farm in Costa Rica are of a far lower

> standard than the excellent personal facilities of Bhakti Abhay Charan.

> There he has demanded total servitude from his subordinates through endless

> bouts of screaming and cursing. In the process he has jeopardized the

> spiritual lives of many sincere souls who approached Srila Prabhupada's

> movement in a humble and cooperative mood.

>

> BACS, as he is known, recently contacted the GBC through their private COM

> conference where he aknowledged his illicit affair with a lady friend of

> Krsna since 1996, as well as affairs with two female disciples since 1997.

> He proposed to give up his dress and title of sannyasi, expressed his

> regrets for the situation, and hoped for the blessings of the GBC. He

> stated that currently he is following very strictly and thus he can

> continue guiding as guru those who wish him to do so.

>

> Yet sources close to the case believe his regret to be insincere. This is

> because he confessed only when pressured by devotees who were so fed up

> with all his nonsense and confronted him. Without this pressure he would

> have continued with his debaucherie. Fiftysomething, this guy could be the

> father of the young female disciples involved in the affair, making this

> one more case of spiritual incest. But then again, who is counting?

>

> Through it all, Bhakti Abhay Charan still imagines that he can continue to

> be a spiritual guide to those that he tormented with lies and abuse for

> years. He just came to Mexico trying to negociate a comfortable future with

> visiting GBC Chairman Bir Krsna Goswami. He is still dressed as a

> sannyasi!!! We can only pray that the GBC has the sensibility to listen to

> the Costa Rican devotees first instead of making secret pacts with him

> behind their backs. Last minute reports indicate that he is negociating

> being allowed to pose as a vanaprastha and stop initiating just for five

> years. Better get a life... and a decent job.

>

> It is unlikely that someone who had illicit relations with those under his

> direct spiritual guidance can actually help anyone in any way. But in

> ISKCON we have seen repeatedly that many leaders who have proven to be

> totally useless spiritually and otherwise try to preserve their privileges

> at any cost. This parasite mentality makes them try to live off a corrupt

> and flawed system... and often they succeed due to the network of

> complicities already in place.

>

> Hopefully the devotees in Costa Rica are intelligent enough not to settle

> with whatever morsels are offered to them. It is an evident fact that a

> mentality of colonialism is prevalent in ISKCON, but it is about time that

> the devotees in Costa Rica, and for that matter the devotees all over the

> world, put and end to this and start taking charge of their yatras' destiny

> and help end the chaos in the Society. The current leadership can only

> deepen the crisis.

>

> The important revelation of Bhakti Abhay Charan's affair is, again, the

> complete lack of qualification of the gurus under the current system, which

> is simply the bastard offspring of the mother of all perversions, the

> original Acarya system. Still more amazing is the determination of the GBC

> to support this guru system at all costs by certifying the authenticity of

> individuals who are actually a fountainhead of anarthas and who munch-off

> the institution pretending to represent it in ways completly beyond their

> qualifications.

>

> A devotee in Mexico just asked Bir Krsna Goswami what is the GBC doing to

> regain the trust of so many discouraged devotees in ISKCON. His reply was

> that it is a matter of letting the dust settle. But nothing will settle

> until two issues are settled first, namely, 1) That the current guru system

> is a failure because it is a lie, Bhakti Abhay Charan being the latest

> proof of it, and 2) That the GBC has to be completly revamped, not from

> within like in previous timid attempts at reform, but from a grassroots

> revival process in which the new GBCs represent the interests of their

> congregations and are accountable to them. I guess these could actually

> bring some confidence to the devotees.

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 17 Nov 1999, WWW: Sthita-dhi-muni (Dasa) SDG (Alachua FL - USA) wrote:

 

> [Text 2787557 from COM]

>

> On 17 Nov 1999, Hare Krsna dasi wrote:

>

> > Yes, news of the latest alleged falldown of an ISKCON spiritual leader is

> quite relevant to the establishment of varnasrama. To establish varnasrama

> requires that devotees be able to have a high degree of legitimate trust in

> their leaders.

> >

>

>

> This seems more an asharam problem, someone posing as a sanyassi yet acting

> like an irresponsible grhasta.

>

> Unfortunately, there were also many persons of substandard behaviour even in

> the glory days of Vedic Culture. Welcome to the material world.

>

> Still, ISKCON should take great pains not to establish this sort of behaviour

> as the standard -- it makes a mockery of our sincere efforts and encourages

> those who have nothing positive to offer philosophically speaking.

 

 

Having 2 or 3 girlfriends and cursing and intimidating disciples is not

just a case of wrong asrama -- if these charges are true -- it sounds much

more like the case of a mentally imbalanced person becoming a cult leader.

 

Unfortunately, this type of thing is reported so frequently in ISKCON

these days, that as soon as one sees saffron cloth and a danda, there is

immediate suspicion -- is this person actually renounced? Who is he

trying to manipulate? Who is he trying to exploit? Is he sane?

 

This is a most unfortunate state of affairs that due to so many bad

experiences even legitimate and sincere sannyasis in ISKCON are

automatically suspected. It should be just the opposite: Devotees should

be so accustomed to experiencing sincere, humble and knowledgeable and

honest spiritual guidance from sannyasis that we automatically trust them.

 

At present that trust has been largely eroded due to a number of very bad

experiences. We need to take effective steps to help that trust grow

again. One basic step is to encourage each other to reject cult leaders.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

[Guest guest]

On 18 Nov 1999, Hare Krsna dasi wrote:

 

>

> At present that trust has been largely eroded due to a number of very bad

experiences. We need to take effective steps to help that trust grow again.

One basic step is to encourage each other to reject cult leaders.

>

>

 

 

 

Yes, there are actual standards of behaviour for sanyass and for offering

spiritual shelter, and so on. The standard isn't just capturing an

institutional position and then developing a cult of personality.

 

It is true, though, that Prabhupada was very able to successfully engage such

things in Krsna's service. We may do better to concentrate on a more basic

approach for a variety of reasons. Even in Prabhupada's life, externally

speaking he didn't begin to display activities that we might consider as

'founder/acarya' until he was past seventy in years.

 

That's not to say one can't offer spiritual shelter as a spiritual master in a

spiritual institution, but thinking one can do it by imitating the externals

is not the essence. Certainly, one must have the spiritual where-with-all to

successfully display the basic practices with regular consistency. One might

also be expected to be inclined to behave brahminically -- which is, I

suppose, Hare Krsna dd's lead-in for promoting VAD.

[Guest guest]

It seems to me the most important step in protecting ISKCON from negative

cult situations is to educate potential "cult followers". False sannyasi's

and gurus can only come about if there are naive people willing to help prop

them up to that position. It is also a mistake to assume that anyone in the

role of sannyasi or guru needs to be suspected. Let there behaivior be the

criterion according to guru, shastra and sadhu. If they display the proper

example they should be given all respect minus the mindless fanaticism that

some "cult followers" tend to exhibit. I personally have faith that there are

many worthy recipients of the devotee's faith in ISKCON, both leaders as well

as followers. There are also some who may be making grave mistakes which

Krishna and the watchful devotees will help to rectify down the line.