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August 31, 2000   VNN6191  Comment on this story

Protest At The Bhaktivedanta Manor


ENGLAND, Aug 31 (VNN) — A recent, demonstration in front of the Bhaktivedanta Manor did not pass without incident. 3 to 4,000 leaflets were handed to drivers b protesting devotees to guests as they entered the gates. One Life member family went inside and distributed info packs to key people. In reataliation Vipramukhya is alledged to have incited some aggressive indian youth to attack the ladies and children outside the gates when the police (who were supposed to be there all day, and who returned shortly after) took off somewhere.

Luckily a passing motorist saw what was happening, stopped and called the police on his mobile and the "Pandava (Kaurava?) Sena" backed off.

LEAFLET THAT WAS PASSED OUT:

BAN THE BAN

MANY DEVOTEES HAVE BEEN BANNED FROM BHAKTIVEDANTA MANOR.

WHO ARE THE DEVOTEES WHO HAVE BEEN BANNED?

BANNED-ISKCON devotees who have given up to 30 years of their lives for their spiritual master, Nitya-lila pravista omvisnupada paramahamsa astottara-sata Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

BANNED-Devotees, who have dressed, cooked and made offerings for Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda for many years.

BANNED--Devotees who have distributed hundreds of thousands of books on the street for Krishna.

BANNED--Devotees who have given up their careers and their own material prosperity to dedicate their lives to Krishna under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON.

BANNED-Devotee children

BANNED--Young Indian devotees, who are members of ISKCON's Pandava Sena Youth Forum, who hanker to serve at Bhaktivedanta Manor.

WHY HAVE DEVOTEES WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO SRILA PRABHUPADA'S MOVEMENT BEEN BANNED?

Over the last few years, many devotees from the Bhaktivedanta Manor community have been blessed with the opportunity to hear from a most highly esteemed senior Vaisnava, the devoted follower and intimate friend of our Srila Prabhupada, Sri-Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja. To be able to hear from someone on this level of bhakti is very rare in this world. Many devotees who began to associate with Srila Narayana Maharaja began to advance spiritually once again due to his divine instructions.

However, if devotees accept guidance from Srila Narayana Maharaja or are even just curious to meet him, then they are at risk of being rejected from ISKCON and banned from the Manor along with their children.

FACT-- These devotees were not banned because they were abusive or unruly. They are being rejected from our ISKCON family because they are being abused by the Manor's powerful political machine.

FACT-- Over the last several years, it has become common practice for Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple Council and the local GBC member, Sivarama Maharaja, to ban devotees who don't agree with the current ISKCON perspective.

FACT--Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, when leaving this mortal world, asked Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja to help all his disciples, and to help Srila Prabhupada's young sannyasis and GBC members as leaders of this movement.

FACT-- Srila Narayana Maharaja is giving the same spiritual instructions as Srila Prabhupada all in accordance with the teachings of the previous gurus in our line of disciplic succession.

FACT-- Srila Narayan Maharaja gives honour for his siksha guru, Srila Prabhupada, in every lecture requesting all devotees to study Srila Prabhupada's books very deeply.

FACT-- Thousands of ISKCON devotees from all over the world have received much inspiration from Srila Narayana Maharaja.

FACT-- This month in Russia, 155 devotees, many of whom were in danger of completely leaving devotional service when their guru had fallen down, have been re-inspired by taking initiation from Srila Narayana Maharaja who has again guided them back to properly following the principles originally established by Srila Prabhupada.

FACT--All true devotees need high quality sadhu sanga which can strongly turn our minds towards Krsna. We all have a right to this high quality sadhu sanga.

FACT-- If any devotee does not show proper honour for senior Vaisnavas, he is to be considered fallen. And if any "guru" refuses to allow a disciple to go to hear from senior Vaisnavas but instead warns them to stay away from such association, according to scripture (see CC Mad Ch1.218-220 purport)) they are considered envious and are fit to be rejected by their disciple

FACT--Many ISKCON devotees have become disillusioned by the constant fall-down of "gurus" within the institution of ISKCON. This is one reason so many devotees want to take shelter of such a steady exalted personality as Srila BV Narayana Maharaja, a very strict sannyasi renunciate for over 50 years. THEY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE who they want to hear from.(see also CC Adi Ch1.35 purport)

FACT-- ISKCON has made offensive policies against other highly qualified Vaisnavas in the past 20 years. Most prominent among them were Srila Bhakti Raksaksa Sridhara Maharaja, and Srila Gaura Govinda Swami.

FACT-- Hearing from a senior Vaisnava within the tradition does not mean that we have left ISKCON because ISKCON is part of the Gaudiya tradition.

FACT--Many of the devotees who are affected by this ban are men and women who for up to 30 years ago had given their lives to serving ISKCON, and they continue to faithfully serve their spiritual master, Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

FACT--At the Manor School, the children who are disciples of Srila BV Narayan Maharaja were told not to mention to their classmates about their trip to visit their Gurudeva.

FACT-- One 13 year old girl who is an initiated disciple of Srila Narayana Maharaja was told she could not go to school at the Manor unless she promised never to speak about her spiritual master.

FACT-- The ISKCON Temple Council are going to vote whether to allow these children to come back to school next month.

FACT--Two of the Manor School teachers lost their teaching jobs when it was found that they had accepted initiation recently from Srila Narayana Maharaja.

FACT-- When resident "sannyasi" and "guru" Vipramukhya Maharaja removed a respectable middle-aged devotee lady from the temple grounds, he hit her in her stomach 3 times with his own belly, one time, knocking her backwards 3 feet into a wall.

FACT--As a fear tactic, since most devotees in the community are aware of Mahavidya Das's horrendously violent background, Vipramukhya Maharaja continuously calls on his services to remove these innocent souls off the property.

FACT-- When certain members of the ISKCON's Pandava Sena Youth Forum accepted initiation from Srila Narayan Maharaja they are told to renounce their guru and their initiation before they can enter onto the property again.

Srila Prabhupada was glorified for building "a house in which the whole world can live". We championed very hard to keep Bhaktivedanta Manor open to the public on the basis of Non-sectarian religion. As senior and experienced devotees, we have a duty to protect Srila Prabhupada's movement by speaking against digressions from his original teachings. We beg you, the innocent readers of this leaflet not to be part of the systematic and false propaganda that the management of Bhaktivedanta Manor and certain ISKCON leaders have adopted. Don't let them tear our family apart, together lets protect the purity of Srila Prabhupada's teachings.

PLEASE HELP STOP DISCIMINATION AGAINST FAMILY MEMBERS AND FIGHT FOR THE BAN TO BE BANNED


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