Why I'm Joining the Lawsuit...

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Why I'm Joining the Lawsuit

By Raghunatha Anudasa

 

It has been mentioned that ISKCON has taken out an insurance policy to handle

court settlements for lawsuits like Turley's. This has been confirmed by a

number of more reliable sources. However, a written confirmation from them

would be nice. If this is true, it may explain the lack of urgency that I

noticed from a number of leaders while pushing for a pre-trial settlement. The

other reasons for their confidence:

 

Jayadvaita Swami, BBT trustee, claims it’s not his responsibility. Many leaders

and devotees claim it’s not their fault. ISKCON’s legal council says it

happened too long ago and in foreign countries. Others say it won’t get pas the

Indian courts, where most of ISKCON’s assets are. People think the case will be

settled quickly using insurance policy to pay.

 

There are problems with this line of reasoning, however. Turley refused to meet

or even talk with ISKCON attorneys. And worse, the size of the settlement is

apparently too large for the insurance policy. Turley intends to use among

others things, the RICO act, racketeering laws, which does not carry the same

legal constraints improving culpability of individuals, institutions and places

while also side stepping the statute of limitations. Every ISKCON property,

leader and teacher past and present can potentially be held under this law.

 

Adri's Calcutta lawsuit also provides a number of scenarios by which Turley may

now coordinate his case there in India to successfully nab those temples. Panic

has set in. "It's not my fault" no longer seems good enough when it comes to

child abuse within our society.

 

I talked with a devotee who just sold his business for $20 million. His

attorney is somewhat of a close acquaintance of Turley's. This attorney's

account: Turley is going to soften up the American public juries, and

especially India's public opinion, with years of horrific publicity. Much of

this court fight is about public opinion through bad press. It's a media war.

It was suggested that Turley might not care for a settlement. If he can break

ISKCON financially through years of legal wrangling, he would win by default.

An apparent estimate is that ISKCON has a maximum legal budget of $10 million.

That could be exhausted in just a few years. After that, ISKCON drops the case.

Basically, ISKCON can no longer afford a defense. ISKCON will be "handed over"

to Turley. All assets and related institutions such as the BBT will be handed

over. None will have the resources to defend themselves.

 

To Sue or Not to Sue-Judge the facts

 

Stack the lawsuit with favorable gurukulis. The problem with this report like

most others is that it's as much speculation as it is second hand accounts.

This in turn leaves little to go-on for deciding how best to respond.

Therefore, we should keep to the facts. I, like other guru-kulis, must decide

whether to join the lawsuit.

 

To sue or not to sue - that is the $400 million dollar question. I have

received dozens of such inquires from friends and family, devotees and GBC. I

have been weighing the options carefully. Here are the facts as I see them:

Fact: The lawsuit is filed. Fact: There will be a great deal of publicity.

Fact: ISKCON, Prabhupada, leaders and the very culture of Krishna Consciousness

will be scrutinized and condemned like never before. Fact: There will be a

settlement. Fact: Properties and monies will be taken from ISKCON. Fact:

Guru-kulis will receive these monies. Everything else besides these facts is

speculation, posturing and emotional bantering.

 

Given these facts, here are the only options I see. Do we want guru-kulis

favorable to Prabhupada and ISKCON represented in the court transcripts and

publicity or should we leave it to those who blame and hate both? Do we want

monies and assets given to guys with no devotional or preaching inclinations or

given to guru-kulis who love Prabhupada and Krishna? The answer is obvious.

Stack the lawsuit with guru-kulis favorable to Prabhupada and Krishna.

 

Most of the leaders I talked with over the year agreed with this premise. Many

no longer give their support for gurukulis joining the lawsuit though they

still have two minds about it.

 

All the other options the GBC, devotees and guru-kuli's are suggesting -finally

-should have been pursued prior to court filing. We had at least a year, closer

to 25 years.

 

Now, it's too late. Let's get as many favorable guru-kulis on the stand as

possible. Example: Turley wins $400 million = $10 million per each of the 40

guru-kuli. Turley gets half. If I joined, I get $5 million. I could buy back

the entire LA temple. One temple is then saved.

 

Guru-kulis will likely get much less then $5 million, but the point remains the

same: kulis who are devotionally inclined will spend their monies to the

benefit of preaching, devotees and Prabhupada. Manu, Vrindavan das, Rupa

Manohara, Krsna Kirtan and Deva Deva serve as just a few cases in point.

 

Most of their extra time and disposable income has directly gone into

devotionally related projects. We should feature how much some of these older

guru-kulis are doing. You maybe as surprised as you are impressed. In short,

our only choice here is simple: Who gets the $? This is decided by who joins

the lawsuit. Again, all other considerations are nothing more then political

posturing, emotional bantering and speculation.

 

Turley, the Only Option

 

I say this as some one who spent months of time writing and debating with my

guru-kula friends and ISKCON skeptics to see if we could find some simple,

"doable" and positive pre-trial settlement with the GBC. There was no reply

from any ISKCON leader in the world. (Well Kavichandra Swami did say hello.)

Most had received my pleas and proposals. It was 7 months later before I heard

from anyone. Their big offer was “we will get back to you shortly.” It was

simply too little, too late. By then, the court case had already been filed.

 

These efforts don't include the hundreds of dollars I spent calling dozens of

leaders, friends, teachers and other interested parties cajoling, negotiating

and pleading for some kind of dialogue between kulis, ISKCON and devotees at

large.

 

Again, this was without a single call back from any ISKCON leader or any other

devotee, except Anuttama, after 3 months and nearly a dozen messages.

 

Like everyone else, Anuttama deferred to someone else. The abusers and GBC

should have been making these efforts, not me, the victim. The GBC seemed

genuinely sincere about resolving these issues -- as did the devotees.

 

They had me convinced. I thought that they just didn't know what to do. So I

wrote the proposal: $20 Million Settlement 4 Kulis. But once again, there was

little response from anyone.

 

I can but help wonder if anyone really cares. This is a sad tale. It means

ISKCON lacks the ability to deal with guru kulis outside the Turley lawsuit.

 

There is no other way for a gurukuli to actually resolve things with ISKCON,

but through Turley. I've tried. Turley is the only option. This is not Turley's

fault or the guru-kulis, but ISKCON's. A number of leaders have admitted as

much.

 

Blaming Prabhupada masks the abusers. The kuli gripes are more than legitimate.

It will lead to a new glorification of Prabhupada.

 

I also say this as someone who spent months writing hundreds of pages in

defense of Prabhupada based upon my own 10 years of experience of him in

pre-77, guru-kulas.

 

This is primarily taken from my time in Vrindavan where Prabhupada spent most

of the last couple years of his life. I gave it my best; 30 hour weeks, writing

dozens of postings, worth hundreds of pages.

 

There was no response from ISKCON leaders. Few devotees responded while others

complained about how long the postings were. Many wanted to get off the mailing

list.

 

Today, two years later, I have a dozen letters asking how and why guru-kuli's

are blaming Prabhupada. The answer is obvious, the GBC and the devotees at

large have failed to properly address this issue much as they have the other

concerns of guru-kulis.

 

Some devotees have recently made valiant attempts by posting some reprints from

Prabhupada's letters. Though the letters are nice, they are anecdotal at best.

 

For those who would like to pursue this more thoroughly, they may want to read

my postings on Prabhupada and guru-kula. I can send them upon request and will

be posting them on CHAKRA and VNN. The essays offer something of a chronology

of abuse, Prabhupada's responses to it, and how Prabhupada's efforts then

affected us as students. They offer an outline to work from.

 

I enjoyed writing about Prabhupada but more importantly; I hated these abusers

hiding behind the mantle of Prabhupada. Blaming Prabhupada masks the abusers

and dissipates the extent of their blame for their crimes.

 

As I see it, they blame a kind and innocent man, Prabhupada, who gave his best

to offer a great treasure otherwise systematically sabotaged by monsters. I

want those monsters exposed, if not punished for their crimes. Don't blame

Prabhupada in place of the guilty. I don't defend Prabhupada as a disciple, but

as a child who is thankful for the kindness and efforts of a grand well-wisher;

for this is where Prabhupada means the most to me as a man and as a devotee.

 

Do you trust that Prabhupada will indeed clear his own name upon closer review?

I do. If so, we will have nothing but every confidence to see this side of

Prabhupada's character highlighted. The ones who will make this happen are

Prabhupada's lawsuit critics. They will force the issue. Devotees would not

otherwise take the time for this issue.

 

After everything is said and done, Prabhupada will shine through in greater

glory. I say this confidently as one how has studied this issue more thoroughly

than most and I did so in conjunction with the first hand experienced of

Prabhupada's personal accommodation of me and my Vrindavan guru-kula buddies as

lowly children of the Hare Krsna movement. It's for reasons like this that we

should be cautious not to disrespect these guru-kulis.

 

Their pain and suffering was punishment enough and their gripes maybe more then

legitimate, they may lead to a new found glorification of Prabhupada. My

concern is that Turley will compromise his case by going after Prabhupada and

the religion rather then the leaders and abusers. Then justice maybe lost. Time

will tell.

 

The best lawsuit preparation is to make a chronology of Prabhupada on

guru-kula. Let there be at least one voice to represent Prabhupada.

 

For us, a chronological account of Prabhupada on guru-kula would be a great way

to prepare for this lawsuit and media barrage. Don't waste time condemning

guru-kulis. Let's put our energies into this Prabhupada - guru - kula,

chronology. A chronology will reveal such issues as the progression from

Prabhupada's "instructions" as "show the stick," to the stick becoming a 2 by

10 bat for whipping us. To do a good job will take the help of devotees like

Dayananda, Hirinyagarbha aka Jagadananda and Dhanurdhara. It will also require

some resources.

 

It's time consuming; it takes months. Last time, I wrote at the expense of my

rent. I almost got thrown out of the LA temple apartments because I fell months

behind. I don't want that anguish again.

 

I feel this lawsuit provides a timely forum that is as formal as it is urgent

in finally clarifying the guilt of monsters from the efforts and kindness of

Prabhupada and his true devotees. It's the very thing I have been waiting

decades to see happen. The day has finally come and so I join the lawsuit. Let

there be at least one, lone voice to represent Prabhupada, the spiritual

leader, the man, and my "ever well-wisher."

 

Raghunatha Anudasa

 

© CHAKRA 30-June-2000