Cow Protection & the GBC

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COW PROTECTION AND THE GBC

 

An Open Letter to Bir Krsna Goswami, Gopal Krsna Swami, and Madhusevita

Dasa

 

Dear Bir Krsna Maharaja, Gopal Krsna Maharaja and Madhusevita Prabhu,

 

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

 

I am writing to you concerning the GBC's duties in the matter of

cow protection in ISKCON. I know that you all have many duties to fulfill

but I must admit that I feel angry, frustrated and disappointed at the

lack of spiritual leadership coming from the GBC Executive Committee on

this matter - especially in light of recent events - two in particular,

which seemed to call for some public response and spiritual leadership

from your committee: 1) 14 cows from ISKCON's Murari Sevaka community were

sold to slaughter in June, 1999; and 2) of ISKCON's 54 rural communities,

not one GBC filed a cow protection and agriculture report with the

Minister of Cow Protection and Agriculture for the first (June 30) or the

second (September 30) quarter of this year - as they are required to do

according to ISKCON law 507. Your committee has remain publicly silent

about both events. This concerns me greatly, because I feel that these

two factors are connected in that they both point to a lack of spiritual

awareness and spiritual leadership in our society in the matter of cow

protection.

 

 

COW PROTECTION IS ESSENTIAL FOR SPIRITUAL ADVANCEMENT

 

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One cannot become spiritually advanced without acquiring the brahminical

qualifications and giving protection to cows.

 

SB 6.18.52 Purport

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Sometimes it appears that our society has become so caught up in

its focus on developing brahminical culture that we have forgotten that

spiritual progress is impossible if we neglect the other part of Srila

Prabhupada's formula - giving protection to the cows. Srila Prabhupada

has further elaborated that it is not even possible to maintain

brahminical culture unless we practice cow protection:

 

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Without protection of cows, brahminical culture cannot be maintained; and

without brahminical culture, the aim of life cannot be fulfilled.

 

SB 8.24.5 Purport

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Undoubtedly brahminical culture is essential to fulfilling the

actual purpose of life, to reawaken our loving relationship of serving the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. But, without protecting the cows, we

cannot maintain brahminical culture. There are many reasons for this:

 

1. As explained by Srila Prabhupada cows provide milk which is essential

to building fine brain tissue to understand spiritual topics.

 

2. In a natural society, without the specific nutrients provided by milk,

we would be required to eat meat to maintain our body, especially our

brain and nervous system, in a healthy condition. But one who eats meat

will not be able to understand the transcendental message of the Lord. A

society of meat-eaters cannot establish brahminical culture.

 

3. The cow is an animal in the mode of goodness. As indicated by Lord

Caitanya, by caring for and protecting the cows, one is promoted to the

mode of goodness. A brahminical culture requires that at least a segment

of society fulfill the role of brahmanas. Brahmanas must be situated in

the mode of goodness.

 

4. Srila Prabhupada advocated simple living as the best climate for

pursuing spiritual advancement. In a non-meat-eating society, the only

possibility for establishing simple living is to depend on the cow to

provide milk and the bull to provide traction for crop production and

local transportation. Without cow protection, simple living cannot be

achieved. Without simple living, brahminical culture is constantly

threatened by the powerful allurements of industrialized society.

 

5. As Srila Prabhupada explained at Gita-nagari and other places, it is

important to protect cows, because just by protecting the cows, we will be

constantly inspired by the remembrance of Krsna's transcendental pastimes.

 

These are just some of the reasons why cow protection is essential

to spiritual development and why, if we think we can make spiritual

progress without protecting the cows, we are simply lying to ourselves.

 

WITHOUT COW PROTECTION, THE AFFAIRS OF ADMINISTRATION GO TO HELL

 

On one hand, Srila Prabhupada tells us that protecting the cows is

an indispensable component of spiritual advancement. On the other hand,

he warns that if we do not protect the cows, our affairs of administration

will fall into hellish chaos:

 

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Without a proper arrangement for developing brahminical culture and

protecting cows, all the affairs of administration will go to hell.

 

SB 7.3.13 Purport

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Again, we see that Prabhupada mentions *two* factors: 1)

developing brahminical culture; and 2) protecting cows. One element alone

is not sufficient to keep the affairs of administration from "going to

hell" as he puts it. It requires two factors: development of brahminical

culture (which ultimately means a varnasrama society guided by qualified

brahmanas) *and* protecting cows.

 

And what happens to us once the affairs of administration go to

hell? - Actually, Prabhupada says *all* the affairs of administration

will go to hell - What happens then?

 

A SOCIETY DEVOID OF COW PROTECTION IS NOT UNDER THE DIRECT PROTECTION OF

THE SUPREME LORD

 

What happens when all the affairs of administration go to hell is

that - as described by Srila Prabhupada - our society is no longer under

the direct protection of the Supreme Lord.

 

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A society devoid of cow protection and brahminical culture is not under

the direct protection of the Lord, just as the prisoners in the jails are

not under the protection of the king but under the protection of a severe

agent of the king.

 

SB 1.14.34

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But, whose duty is it to provide the leadership to keep this

disastrous condition from developing? Who is responsible for seeing that

the spiritual standards in ISKCON are maintained?

 

GBC SHOULD SEE THAT MANAGEMENT IS BEING DONE NICELY AND THAT SPIRITUAL

STANDARDS ARE MAINTAINED

 

Srila Prabhupada informs us that it is the duty of the GBC to

travel from one center to another and see that spiritual standards are

maintained.

 

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Now I want that my GBC representatives shall travel extensively throughout

their zone, without stopping in any one place for very long. Their job

will be to see how things are going on, that the spiritual standard is

maintained very high, to give encouragement to the devotees, like that.

 

Letter to: Madhudvisa -- Los Angeles 26 May, 1972

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Not only is it the duty of the GBC to travel and see that

spiritual standards are being maintained, and to encourage the devotees,

Srila Prabhupada specifies also that it is their duty to see that the

management is being done nicely.

 

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Our GBC members should always visit the different temples to see that

everything goes on well, and to see that the management is being done very

nicely.

 

Letter to: Rupanuga -- Bombay 18 December, 1974

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If the GBC is responsible for traveling and seeing that spiritual

standards are being maintained, that means that it is their responsibility

in their travels to see, that among other things, that the spiritual

standard of cow protection is being maintained - because, as instructed by

Srila Prabhupada, spiritual advancement is not possible without protecting

the cows.

 

If the GBC is responsible for visiting different temples and

seeing that the management is being done very nicely, that means, among

other things that the devotees are being properly trained in a Krsna

conscious lifestyle, that the management is able to keep the devotees

happily engaged in devotional service, and that the laws of ISKCON - which

are meant to support the spiritual progress of the society are being

properly observed.

 

If the devotees are not being properly trained as to what

constitutes Krsna consciousness; if they are feeling miserable,

unsupported and confused; and if the laws of ISKCON are not being

maintained - that means the center is not being properly managed. In that

case, what should the GBC do? He or she should take steps to reform and

correct the situation.

 

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And GBC and Sannyasis will travel and see the officers are doing this, and

if they observe anything lowering of the standard, they must reform and

advise, or if there is some discrepancy I shall remove it.

 

Letter to: Karandhara -- Bombay 22 December, 1972

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GBC's RESPONSIBILITY FOR COW PROTECTION

 

Examining all these quotes by Srila Prabhupada, it becomes clear

that the GBC has some duty to help maintain cow protection within our

ISKCON society. To review:

 

* Cow protection is essential for spritual progress.

* Without proper measures for cow protection our administration will be

beset by hellish chaos.

* A society devoid of cow protection is not under the direct protection of

the Lord.

* It is the duty of the GBC to travel from temple to temple and see that

spiritual standards are being properly maintained - one of those spiritual

standards is cow protection.

* It is the duty of the GBC to visit different centers and see that the

management is being done nicely - one aspect of management is to see that

the laws of ISKCON are being properly observed - one of those laws is

ISKCON law 507 which says that the GBC must visit all ISKCON farm

communities, meet privately with the cowherds, inspect the cow protection

facilities, and file a report with the Ministry of Cow Protection and

Agriculture which includes an evaluation of how well the standards for cow

protection are being observed in the community and which areas need

improvement.

 

For the GBC to fulfill its spiritual and official obligations in

the matter of cow protection is vital to the well-being of Krsna's cows.

It is vital to the spiritual enthusiasm of Krsna's cowherds. It is vital

to the spiritual health of our society. And, in fact, it is vital to the

spiritual health of the GBC officers themselves.

 

WE NEED TO HEAR YOUR RESPONSE TO THE MURARI TRAGEDY

 

Whenever there is a serious situation in ISKCON, devotees always

look to the leaders of the society for their response, for their guidance.

The material energy is constantly challenging Srila Prabhupada's Krsna

consciousness movement. When it does, we look to you for leadership.

When there is a lawsuit or falldown or some other threatening situation,

the devotees in ISKCON expect your guidance. And usually we get some

response very soon. Why does it take so long to make even a preliminary

statement on the situation at Murari?

 

Aparently, the 14 cows were sold to slaughter while the husband

and wife cowherd team were at the Panihatti festival (June 25-27) raising

funds for the cow program. Due to Drumilla's deviousness, Bir Krsna

Maharaja apparently did not find out that the cows were missing until late

July. By mid-September, Deputy Barrier had provided substantial evidence

that it was Drumilla himself acting in collusion with Johnny Lee, who

arranged for the sale of the animals at the Fayetteville stockyards. Even

then we can possibly understand some need for silence due to the delicate

situation of making sure Drumilla was off the property. But all this was

taken care of by mid-October. Why does it take more than a month to give

the devotees any official comment on the situation?

 

The overwhelming message that this sends is that to the top level

of ISKCON's GBC, the slaughter of 14 cows from an ISKCON farm community is

not very significant.

 

WE NEED TO HEAR YOUR ANSWERS ABOUT THE MURARI TRAGEDY

 

There are a number of questions that devotees are looking for

answers to:

 

1. Does Drumilla still have money resulting from the sale of the animals?

2. Will he return all of it to ISKCON?

3. Will it be feasible to prosecute Drumilla?

4. Is it indeed true as alleged that Drumilla Nanni had a prison record

prior to assuming leadership of the Murari community?

5. Besides possible legal prosecution, what sanctions or official censure

will the GBC enact regarding Drumilla?

 

WE NEED TO HEAR YOUR ANALYSIS OF THE MURARI TRAGEDY

 

By your remaining silent on this tragic situation, we will be

fated to repeat this kind of mistake again in the future. Although

Drumilla was the direct perpetrator of the crime, it appears that we had

created an administrative situation in which it was very easy and very

attractive for someone like him to come to power and maintain a position

of leadership in ISKCON for more than a year. Something like this could

also happen in another ISKCON community. What is your analysis of the

different factors which could have helped prevent the breakdown of the

Murari community? Several factors warrant your attention.

 

CULT-PROOFING ISKCON

 

Srila Prabhupada was not a cult leader, but as is the case with

other major religions, some of his followers deviated from his example and

his instruction and became cult leaders, who developed a power over their

followers which had nothing to do with spiritual advancement and which in

the end took a great toll on our society - financially, socially, and

spiritually. Drumilla is only the most recent example of such deviant

leadership. Other examples include Kirtanananda, Bhavananda, and most

recently Harikesa.

 

That these unqualified leaders were not relieved of their office

before they had a chance to inflict great harm on ISKCON and its devotees

points to our lack in two areas: 1) We have not taken steps to guarantee

qualified, responsible leadership; and 2) We have not taken steps to

insure the development of responsible, discriminating followers.

 

CULT-PROOFING ISKCON LEADERSHIP

 

There are a number of steps we could take to help safeguard ISKCON

against unqualified, abusive, and even criminal leadership. We would like

to hear your assessment of the following possible policies:

 

1. As most businesses do, we could request a resume and letters of

reference for devotees in leadership positions, such as temple president,

treasurer, sannyasi, spiritual master, and GBC. We could make it a policy

to do some background checks on them.

 

2. We could do preliminary character evaluations to insure that the

candidate is psychologically sound and has the appropriate human relations

skills for a leadership post. As most businesses do, we could institute

annual performance evaluations.

 

3. We could require candidates for positions of responsibility to sign a

legally binding contract stating that while in office they will uphold the

fundamental principles taught by Srila Prabhupada and that they will abide

by the laws of ISKCON.

 

4. We could implement training to help our leaders develop better skills

in human relations. As Prabhupada has stated, "Lack of success is due to

lack of training." Good training could help create better leaders, even

among present leaders who have certain weaknesses in maintaining

harmonious relationships among community members, simply due to lack of

training.

 

5. We could examine the problems which are caused by lack of reliable

funding for leadership positions, such as temple president, etc. Where

appropriate we could work on measures to create more realistic levels of

funding to attract qualified candidates.

 

What is your assessment of policies like these? Do you think they

could help prevent a situation such as the one which evolved at Murari

Sevaka?

 

CULT-PROOFING ISKCON FOLLOWERS

 

Whether we are talking about Adolf Hitler or Kirtanandana, abusive

cult leaders cannot gain power without the support of those who out of

ignorance and psychological insecurity become cult followers. On one hand

the principles of humility, tolerance, obedience, and veneration for

authority are essential factors for spiritual progress. But when spiritual

aspirants practice this kind of behavior towards those who are in defiance

of spiritual principles, they do not find advancement, but spiritual

devastation. In the case of Murari Sevaka, devotees knew for some time

that something was wrong with Drumilla's leadership, but as one board

member put it, "Well, you know how devotees are, they are so humble.

Rather than confronting him and removing him, they just quietly moved

away."

 

We need to focus on training our devotees not to be blind

followers of any leader. Too often devotees rationalize bad leadership by

saying, "A blind uncle is better than no uncle." But an abusive,

destructive uncle is not better than no uncle. He's worse than no uncle.

And, abusive leaders are not better than no leaders. They destroy

devotees, and they do tremendous damage by undermining the preaching power

of Srila Prabhupada's movement.

 

1. Devotees could be taught to recognize that the qualities of a

legitimate spiritual leader include humility, truthfulness and

straightforward dealings. They could be taught to recognize arrogance,

lying and manipulative intimidation as hallmarks of unqualified

leadership.

 

2. Devotees could be taught to constantly assess their leadership by the

test of guru-sadhu-sastra.

 

3. Devotees could be instructed in the many accounts of the Bhagavatam

and in the lives of our immediate acarya-predecessors in which

illegitimate spiritual leaders were rejected or condemned. They could

study the accounts of Prthu and Indra, of Bali Maharaja and Sukracarya, of

Lord Balarama and Romaharsana, and of the many false spiritual leaders

exposed by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

 

4. Devotees could be instructed in Srila Prabhupada's teachings against

blind following and in favor of developing "independently thoughtful,"

responsible devotees.

 

5. Devotees could be warned about the danger of developing a perverse

relationship of psychological co-dependency with an authority and

mistaking it for a bona-fide constructive spiritual relationship.

 

6. Devotees could be taught how to stop abusive leadership: 1) Say No. 2)

Get away. 3) Tell someone. They could be taught how to join together with

other sober devotees and correct or remove a leader who is becoming

deviant from ISKCON's spiritual standards.

 

What is your opinion of such policies? Which ones do you think

would be effective in preventing the development of various break-away

cults in ISKCON?

 

WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU ON THESE ISSUES

 

Some devotees may wonder how I can dare to criticize your neglect

in the matter of cow protection, how I dare raise the serious allegations

of past cow abuse at communities such as Mayapur, Vrndavana and New

Vrndavana - as well as Murari Sevaka. The answer is that I am not a cult

member, I am not a blind follower. I am an independently thoughtful

member of Srila Prabhupada's International Society for Krishna

Consciousness. I feel I have an obligation to bring such serious questions

to light. Other devotees may wonder why I bother to plead for you to make

sure the GBC fulfills its duties in the matter of cow protection.

 

The answer is that I have seen devotees around the world

struggling for years in the face of indifference to maintain Krsna's cows.

I have seen them working very hard for over a year to resolve numerous

differences of opinion for the sake of drafting the Minimum Standards for

Cow Protection under the guidance of the Ministry for Cow Protection and

Agriculture. Now that their work had become an ISKCON law, I cannot bear

to stand silently by while I see all their hard work and hopes dashed to

the ground. If Srila Prabhupada says it is the duty of the GBC to travel

from temple to temple and encourage the devotees, this neglect by the GBC

is certainly a slap in the face to all Krsna's hard-working cowherds in

ISKCON. They need to see you. They need your encouragement. They need

your support.

 

There are 54 ISKCON farm communities listed in the Back to Godhead

magazine. These communities can no longer be ignored. In keeping with

Srila Prabhupada's desires, these rural communities are becoming the focus

for the ISKCON of the future. This is where devotee families want to live

- in the country where they can raise their families in the mode of

goodness. They need your support there, otherwise we will see a rash of

cult leaders taking over these communities and gradually withdrawing them

from ISKCON altogether. And the cowherds especially need your support.

Even more than women in ISKCON, the ISKCON cowherd - whether man or woman

- is usually one of the lowest members of ISKCON's social ladder.

Typically, the cowherd's voice is very small. But without him or her,

ISKCON's rural communities lack spiritual vitality. On the other hand, as

they recognize and seek the answers to the problems of Krsna's cows and

cowherds, I am convinced that the GBC find the clues that will help unfold

the spiritual potential of our whole society.

 

We in ISKCON are waiting to hear from the leaders of the GBC on

all the topics discussed in this letter. Let us know the facts of Murari

Sevaka. Let us know how the situation is being dealt with. Let us know

what we are doing to prevent an abusive cult leader like Drumilla from

gaining a leadership position in ISKCON in the future. Let us know what

steps you plan to take to train devotees in how to deal with bad

leadership and how to resist developing a cult mentality.

 

And let us know what steps you are taking to make sure that your

GBC officers themselves will also do their part in upholding the laws of

ISKCON by fulfilling their obligations to visit ISKCON's farm communities,

meet with the cowherds, inspect cow-care facilities, and file a proper

report with the Minister of Cow Protection and Agriculture.

 

We are waiting for your forthright, open response on these

matters. That will be welcome. What is not longer an acceptable response

are private, threatening letters advising people who raise questions to

keep quiet and stop discussing these problems publicly. That will not

help cure the problems in our ISKCON society.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi