No money existed re cow abuse

[Guest guest]

On 10 Nov 1999, ISCOWP Balabhadra Dasa & Chaya Dasi - USA wrote:

 

> > > 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.

 

> Or, even the first one year's blood money could have been used to buy the

> fencing and the problem would have been solved. Instead the money was used

> for what? And for how many years?

>

Dear Balabhadra and Chaya Prabhus,

 

I am hestitant to reply to this thread for three reasons: 1) there are very

serious issues to tackle and important work done by yourselves and Hare Krsna

dasi which I support, so I don't want to appear at odds with your purposes,

2) I would like to have an authoritative update from the administration of

Saranagti to send (however the devotees at Sarangati farm have no electricity

and phone so it will be some days at least and perhaps even two weeks before I

can give you that current update), 3) three years ago when this issue first

came up and I tried to respectfully give information to this conference, I was

pesonally attacked by a prominent member who is no longer on the conference.

I was shocked. discouraged, and did not write anything on com again until now.

 

 

I will take the risk and reply for the purpose of everyone's understanding.

It needs to be pointed out that there was never any money given or taken.

The taxes owed were less, but the money to pay those taxes never existed in

the first place. If the tax office had tried to enforce the payment of those

taxes, the debt may have been removed on a hardship basis, or, a loan would

have had to be procured, or the devotees land would have been lost. There was

never any money which was used for other purposes.

 

The Sarnagati land is not owned by ISKCON. It is owned by a corporation of

individual devotees. Those devotees are, in large, members of ISKCON who

served for 15 plus years without any remuneration and who had no savings,

formal educations, or occupations. Moving to the Saranagati land is austere

in the material sense. A problem for devotees moving there is that there are

few ways to make money as there are no major centers near by and the

devotees were not trained in agriculture. There has been no money which has

been used for other purposes. Many of the reisdents there live in partially

finished homes and don't even have much money for buying groceries, rather,

living on their own gardens, trade of goods and services, bulk grains and home

canning of local bulk fruit, etc.

 

There are no communally owned cows, only a couple of individually owned ones

which are treated very well and with love. One devotee Madan Mohana has an

oxen, Bala, which is trained and working.

 

In 1996, One devotee removed from the situation gave me an analogy. " Nazi's

purchased bread from a local baker to feed prisoners of concentration camps.

Later the nazi's killed those prisoners. Is the baker implicated in the

crime?" "No", this devotee continued. "The Baker benefitted only from

feeding the prisoners, not from their deaths. He in no way contributed to

their deaths." Her analysis was that the Saranagati land had fed the

neighbours cows, not contributed to their deaths.

 

Perhaps her understanding is incomplete. Please enlighten me. In 1996, I was

aware that Hare Krsna dasi was upset by this situation, considering it

tantamount to devotees benefitting from and contributing to the beef industry.

Now it appears that your good selves are in agreement. Is this true?

 

If you would like to send a letter on this conference to Sarangati outlining

the offense that you see committed and explaining what rectifications you see

as possible and appropriate, I would be happy to deliver it. As an aspiring

member of Saranagati, I certainly don't want to be part of anything heinous

and I know they don't either.

 

I will also give to them Madhava Ghosh Prabhus suggestion

 

your servant, friend and godsister

Lola devi dasi