08/03/98-1960

GBC EC to Meet Harikesa

Germany (VNN) - According to reports from Germany Harikesa das, on August 1st, went to the Abentheuer Temple wearing Bermuda shorts and a Baseball hat backwards along with Monica, his therapist and her younger son, whom he claims to be an incarnation of Prabhupada. He ordered everyone out of the temple where he later collapsed during an exclusive darshan. Monika is said to be receiving up to $3000 per day to continue Harikesa's "therapy".

In the meantime, Harikesa has reportedly fired Bhaktavatsala Das, his secretary and most intimate devotee, calling him a demon, as well as some other senior disciples including Navina Nirada Das.

After an initial attempt by the GBC Executive Committee to cover up Harikesa's activities and Bhaktitirta Swami's report, several GBC are now flying to Germany to meet Harikesa to ascertain how to deal with the situation.

As admitted in the report by Bhaktitirta Swami a considerable amount of money (some estimate 20-30 million dollar) of Harikesa's money has been lost in the recent collapse of the Russian stockmarket ("other factors of which perhaps the LOSS OF MONEY being the flame that lit the fire" from Bhaktitirta Swami's report, see VNN story #1948)

The suicidal and very unstable condition of Harikesa has raised much speculation over how much money is still under his control in Swiss and other bank accounts. ISKCON / BBTI could face the loss of a decade or two of money collected with the blood and sweat of hundreds of devotees. Sources close to the GBC have confirmed that this could be as much as 50 to 100 million dollars - forever lost.

VNN Editor's Note:
VNN understands the sensitive nature of the situation regarding Harikesa das. The privacy of a person should be respected. On the other hand, the lives of a great many devotees and the entire ISKCON society are affected by a figure like Harikesa. Considering ISKCON's history of suppressing information, or releasing "cosmetically improved" news, VNN has decided to publish confidential letters and reports regarding Harikesa's situation or illness. VNN is committed and will continue to serve the interest of the devotee community worldwide by reporting these events as they unfold. The current 14,000 hits per day on VNN's web site is prove of this interest.