Dina Sharana dasa writes: Please don't sue ISKCON

[Guest guest]

This appeared on CHAKRA and is reposted with permission of the author, Dina

Sharana dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada.

 

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Please don't sue ISKCON

 

By Dina Sharana dasa

 

Dear Sridama and others,

 

For many years I sort of “kept my head down” and worked fairly hard at my

given service, menial services in Srila Prabhupada’s temples. The

understanding was we should live cooperatively within ISKCON under the

guidance of the Governing Body and temple presidents. Supposedly everyone was

doing what they were supposed to when they were supposed to do it, and in

general, the brahmacari principle is to avoid idle gossip and social

diddly-daddlying. So for these and other reasons I did not know, up to 1995

even, some of the actual atrocities which went on. They were especially

atrocious since such things are exactly the opposite of Lord Vishnu’s mood as

in the following verse:

 

namo brahmanya devaya

go-brahmanya hitaya ca

jagad hitaya krsnaya

govindaya namo namah

 

Lord Vishnu is such wonderfully kind and considerate Personality, and His

devotees are supposed to be like that, in that direction anyway, we are all

trying.

 

So the details of horrible child abuse, physical and sexual, by Godbrothers

who acted as if nothing like that was or did go on, actually made me

physically ill so I wanted to vomit, and in a manner of speech, from sastra we

can understand Srila Prabhupada surely was “turning over” in his samadhi with

such a divine movement becoming so horribly soiled by the worst of ghastly

activities.

 

I don’t know why you and other Gurukuli’s have not been more aggressive to

seek retribution, by suing etc. It must be that you truly have some depth of

spiritual wisdom and love for Srila Prabhupada.

 

You asked, Sridama, “Why not sue ISKCON?.” I don’t know, why not? But I would

grab your feet being a sort of accomplice through ignorance, that instead of

exacting justice upon Srila Prabhupada’s society, upon Sri Krsna Chaitanya’s

Sankirtana movement, most of which did not have anything to do with the

specific child abuse, directly, we were mostly busy in are own Deity service

and preaching, I grab your feet Sridama prabhu, and all of you, you all please

curse me, you curse me for all that happened, or I will join with you in

exacting justice against those specific persons who directly and indirectly

allowed these things to happen, but please don’t take out your anger on Srila

Prabhupada’s greater society, I don’t think it deserves it.

 

ISKCON is in fact doing the greatest welfare work, educating people how to go

home back to Godhead, in so many dozens of temples and projects. There has

been enough defacing of ISKCON itself and of Srila Prabhupada’s body.

If only out of consideration for the tens of thousands of souls who are

hearing now, and will hear about Lord Chaitanya in the future, please focus

all rightful attempts for justice upon the individuals and not the greater

society. We stand as the greatest rascals asking your consideration.

 

Yours in service, Dina Sharana dasa