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EDITORIAL December 10, 1999 VNN5053 Related VNN Stories For The Krishnas It's Out Of The Closet With Child Abuse BY NORI J. MUSTER EDITORIAL, Dec 10 (VNN) — Third Party Opinion This month the ISKCON Communications Journal published a paper by Burke Rochford, a professor at Middlebury College, VT, detailing widespread child abuse in ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It's extraordinary that ISKCON has come out publicly like this. On October 9, The New York Times carried the story on its front page, and Associated Press, CNN, the Internet, and Religious News Service followed. In ISKCON's statement to the media, Anuttama Das, national director of communications, said, "This type of problem thrives on secrecy. We chose to print the articles and bring the abuse out into the open as part of a multi pronged response to address past problems as well as to help prevent future abuse of our children." Is this really a turning point in ISKCON's relationship with its children? The devotees in ISKCON Communications, ISKCON World Review, Children of Krishna, Child Protection, Vaishnava Youth Ministry, and many individuals from the second generation have worked hard for years to bring this story to light. They deserve congratulations and support. I believe that revealing the story is the best thing--and possibly the most honest thing--the Hare Krishnas have done since the sixties. However, the branch that issued the brave press release is only one face of ISKCON. There are others who were mortified by the public disclosure and will continue to live in their old ways as much as possible. They believe that denial is the best policy, and exposing old dirty laundry will only hurt the movement. However, the policy of sweeping things under the carpet has led to continued molestations, beatings, death threats, slanders, arguments, lawsuits and tea rs in the devotee community. The cult-like atmosphere of "us and them" at the temples allows these things to go on without question. Basically, in a conservative ISKCON temple, anyone who disagrees with the leaders' activities is in danger of losing their apartment and their opportunity to serve Krishna in the temple. The ISKCON mafia-mentality started with Ramesvara, the man who was my "guru." He behaved like a gangster. He and others like him took over administration of ISKCON and systematically forced ninety percent of Prabhupada's disciples to leave. It's been a difficult twenty-one years for everyone. The kids who suffered through that transition are now in their late twenties and early thirties. They suffered terrible abuse and neglect. Many need compensation to get on with their lives. But besides money, the victims and their families deserve justice. From my observation, many perpetrators still work for the organization and represent themselves as spiritual authorities. Less than a year ago, one ISKCON guru resigned after people found out that he had touched a male follower inappropriately. As one of the second generation said on the internet: "All I want to see [is] ISKCON kick all the abusers out of their positions. I can't stand to go to a GBC meeting or festival and see these people still posturing as advanced devotees. I feel like kicking their ass when I see them--many of my friends feel the same way." As long as the perpetrators remain in ISKCON, it is a dangerous place for children and child abuse survivors. Unfortunately, some of the abusers and their codependents are in a position to exact revenge instead of leaving. They justify it in their minds, believing that somehow they are the ones who have been wronged. Everyone is afraid of them, or they would have been gone long ago. The New York Times disclosure was a victory for the liberal Krishna faction. If this group takes control of the institution, then there could be a whole new Hare Krishna movement. It would be a miracle; even abuse victims from other walks of life may learn something from the Krishna kids' story. I hope the house cleaning project is successful. The second generation's courage in bringing their story to light is a welcome sign for the future of ISKCON. Membership Statistics and other Side Issues Let's leave aside the child abuse issue and go to other aspects of the coverage. The New York Times article said: "The movement now claims an estimated 90,000 followers in the United States, of whom only about 800 live full time in the group's 45 American spiritual communities, called ashrams. At the movement's peak in the United States in the late 1970s, about 10,000 devotees lived in American ashrams, but most now live and work in the secular world. Another significant shift is that where once the movement in the United States consisted almost entirely of Anglo converts to Hinduism, about half of the people now worshipping in Krishna temples in the United States are recent immigrants from India and Asia. "In recent years, the Krishna movement has experienced its biggest growth in Eastern Europe and in India, where it was once regarded with disdain by native Hindus. Internationally, there are now an estimated 1 million adherents to the Hare Krishna movement, known formally as ISKCON, or the International Society of Krishna Consciousness." First of all, 90,000 followers in the United States is an exaggeration. Right now, ISKCON is lucky that anyone is following them. There are a lot of people outside ISKCON who would be willing to give them a second chance if they can actually turn the abuse situation around. The figure of 800 full time devotees living in the ashram is exactly what I would estimate, and that is down from about 5,000 in 1978, when Srila Prabhupada died. At its height, the Hare Krishna movement was about the size of a small college (but spread all over the world). Now it's the size of a school auditorium. ISKCON Communications says that most ISKCON devotees live and work in the secular world, implying that they have a large congregation. However, many of us left unhappy. It also says that the nature of their following has shifted from American kids to Asian Indians. It will be nice if this trend continues, because Hindus represent the teachings in a way that American converts rarely do. They say that internationally ISKCON has one million adherents, but that number also seems high. Granted, people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet countries are now aware of the Hare Krishnas. Devotees (including second generation Krishnas) recently toured Eastern Europe playing live rock Krishna music for large appreciative audiences. However, ISKCON's guru there, the former chairman of the GBC and leader of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, just resigned over a scandal. The ISKCON Communications press release says, "The depth of the abuse was first highlighted at a national meeting of ISKCON leaders in May, 1996. At that time, ten young Krishna adults shocked the leadership during a presentation where they shared their personal stories of neglect and abuse." They say the depth of the abuse was first highlighted in 1996. Actually, the GBC (the Governing Body Commission, ISKCON's board of directors) were aware of it much earlier, but neglected to act on the information. The event in 1996 was the exact point when the GBC acknowledged that they were aware of the problem. In The New York Times, Anuttama says: "We need to get to the bottom of it, and to the best of our ability do whatever we can to try to repair the damage to the kids and show them we do care as a religious society." He also told the Associated Press: "We want people to be aware of the depth of the problem and do everything possible to protect kids in the future. The first step is to put everything on the table and do everything to rectify past mistakes." We agree that they have put things on the table. Now we will watch and wait, to see what the organization does to make amends. Related VNN Stories  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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