©1997-2004 VNN
|
EDITORIAL  Kirtananada Release BY PRABHUPAD DAS ADHIKARI EDITORIAL, Jun 25 (VNN) — Greetings and Hare Krishna! Regarding the Iskcon release. If Kirtanananda das has done his time in jail and is free under US law I don't think ISKCON can ban him from attending programs where the general public is invited. If the US penal code has released him, he has paid for his crime and is now a free citizen. Why would ISKCON want to ban him for crimes already mitigated by the US penal system? Is there a new GBC promulgated law stating that, if a person commits a crime, pays for it by incarceration, he is forever condemned for that crime, unforgiven, and permanently banned from access to the deity in the Temple? If this is the case what is the meaning of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and other Brahman qualities? Is the daily worship Tulasi "brahma hatya dikane ca" just a series of meaningless sounds to be parroted every day? If ISKCON thinks he has performed other crimes then he must be arrested, arraigned and released on bail before he is banned from attending a Temple program. And, after he has served time for that, he would be legally free again, and able to enter a Temple without prejudice. If he decides to enter an ISKCON temple and is thrown out or in anyway abused he has the full weight of the US legal system on his side. The only way ISKCON can remove him is for disruptive behavior at the time of his presence. If he behaves nicely there is no ground for ejection. If ISKCON wishes to control access to the Temple on any point chosen, it must become a private organization that issues membership, like a private country club. So long as ISKCON remains a 501c3 religious organization supported by public contributions it cannot bar entry to its public programs for any cause other than misbehavior at the time of presence. The choice to file suit would further drain ISKCONs financial resources and, ISKCON would certainly lose! Such a case would be another opportunity for the media to report yet more scandalous foolishness by ISKCON leadership. I am amazed how narrow minded, paranoid and bigoted ISKCON leaders have become and how blind the rank and file are! I am also amazed at how deeply the society is sunk in denial and reluctance to seek professional intervention. According to well respected professionals, such as Anne Wilson Shaeffe, Alice Miller, Scott Peck, etc. ISKCON is a terminally ill organization entering the final stages of loss of spiritual integrity and entrance into an ossified state of mundane religious institutionalization. Unfortunately, in the course of historical review, few organizations in this stage retain the ability of self-analysis and sufficient courage to exit the forest of denial and take the medicine required for recovery. History shows again and again the demise of one organization and the appearance of others to carry on the work of the deceased. History also shows repeatedly the strong focus on blind defense of the very principles and practices that are killing the organization along with the accompanying "straw man" attacks on those who would offer remedies to the dying patient. This is much the same as the drowning man struggling violently to escape the assistance of the trained lifeguard. It would seem that it is just a matter of time before ISKCON "obituary notices" begin to appear and the Gaudiya Vaishnav People start to focus their attention where the Sankirtan mercy of the Lord has been redirected. "On this day the once venerable ISKCON, former banner carrier of the Sankirtan mission, was pronounced spiritually dead. The cause of death was diagnosed as severe material addiction, symptomized by epidemic denial and refusal to take prescribed medication. The ongoing program of congregational development of fruitive workers to provide an "income stream" for the construction of grandiose Temples continues under the guise of Religion. With great unhappiness among the Gaudiya Vaisnava People, ISKCON was today entombed and relegated to the staus of "kaitava dharma" a mundane religious institution no longer capable of developing pure devotional symptoms in its members." Of course we do not wish this terrible fate upon ISKCON and it is everyone's fervent prayer that ISKCON leadership becomes aware of this material addiction and takes the needed steps to enter a program of detoxification and recovery. This is an important Global issue for the Gaudiya Vaishnav Sampradaya. It is of utmost importance that the people of the world who would look to the Sampradaya as a viable alternative lifestyle understand what platform the Sampradaya stands on regarding this issue. Are those who have been convicted of crime, punished and released as free citizens actually welcome back to society or permanently condemned, banned and rejected? Is the entire Sampradya a reflection of the disease now ravishing ISKCON? Is the mission unified in anyway or has it become a clutter of sects at odds with one another, self interested and disconnected from the crucial issues facing the world? Prabhupad Das Adhikari Former ISKCON member Joined 1971 departed 1983 Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
