05/24/98 - 1817
Poisoning the Investigation
USA (VNN) - by Rocana dasa (Independent Vaisnava Council)
I would like to make a simple point of clarification as to the
participation of Jagannath dasa in the attempted production of
an audio CD containing information about the poisoning investigation.
Naturally, the Ministry for the Protection of ISKCON would love
to successfully discredit all outside attempts at investigation
of this matter. Most recently, they attempt to do so by highlighting
the fact that Jagannath dasa was involved in the project, then
pointing out the current rather ludicrous contents of his personal
website, wherein he announces himself as "self-realized spiritual
master, His Holiness Jagannatha dasa Puripada". They go on
to judge the investigation and the supporters of the audio CD
project based on their association with Jagannath, saying: "we
can understand that it is highly elevated and advanced Vaishnavas
who are behind the Poison CD".
I am not surprised at ISKCON’s typical move to discredit our work
in such a fashion, but would like to make a brief response. First,
it’s an important factor in any investigation to inform the public
of the facts, in hopes that people will be motivated to come forward
with relevant information. For that reason, we engaged Dhanesvara
dasa, who was "ISKCON friendly" and living at the Denver temple,
and who was well known as an intelligent, common sense, qualified,
and scholarly individual. He was willing to take on the task.
As we had very few financial resources, Jagannath’s unexpected
offer of the use of his state of the art audio lab in Lockport
was gratefully received. While his appearance on the scene was
sudden, as he had not been in touch with any individuals associated
with the investigation prior to that time, the facility he offered
was inspected and found to be as he’d described it.
Affording access to such sophisticated equipment and engineering
staff was a significant barrier to our exploration and summarization
of the available audio evidence, so we were not inclined to refuse
Jagannath’s offer. The work at hand was far too important to
postpone while we waited for offers of assistance that were closer
to home, or offered more appropriate association. Because Jagannath
had a professional background in voice narration, and owned the
studio facilities where the work was being conducted, Dhanesvara
naturally accepted his eager offer to read the script for the
first working draft of the CD.
There is no doubt that Jagannath dasa has long been known to be
a flamboyant personality, dating back to his many years of association
with ISKCON. Prior to his offering of studio engineering for
this project, the material contained on Jagannath’s personal website,
www.neonblue.com/sri, was quite moderate in nature. It contained
a nice section on cow protection, and the story of Jagannath’s
days as Ronald McDonald, which resulted in his active preaching
of vegetarianism.
It is also interesting to note the short span of time within which
various occurrences took place. Following Jagannath’s "out of
the blue" offer of assistance and professional facility, there
was the theft of the investigation materials at his asrama. The
theft was quickly followed by the sudden appearance on his website
of materials lauding his new persona as Srila Puripada. We are
certainly in agreement with the Ministry of Protection that Jagannath’s
self-promotion is pathetically ridiculous. But it might also
be seen as quite suspect that this outrageously strange website
content suddenly appeared AFTER the investigation materials were
stolen, and delivered into the hands of ISKCON. We are left to
speculate on whether these incidents are connected. Based on
ISKCON’s long history of unusual problem solving methodologies,
it is certainly within the realm of possibility that various efforts
are being made to disrupt and discredit the investigation.
For the record: it was our intention, prior to the theft of our
working materials, to re-edit the audio CD, adding the results
of the on-going investigation as they became available and making
various changes and improvements before having the piece re-recorded
in final format. All parties involved in the project, both the
IVC, Nityananada and Dhanesvra, agreed that Jagannath dasa would
have no part in the final production, beyond whatever equipment
of his had already been used. This decision was especially evident
to all of us when we heard his first attempt at narration, which
is obviously unacceptable for a variety of reasons. All this
is a matter of record, documented in the IVC archives.
It is also a fact that Jagannath’s behaviour towards the other
participants of the audio project resulted in our decision to
exclude him ? and his facility ? from future endeavors on this
project. As stated in the recent IVC Interim Report, we only
have Jagannath’s word for the circumstances that transpired around
the theft of the master copy of the CD and the working DAT’s.
In fact, several of us associated with this project have, all
along, had a suspicion that Jagannath himself may have been implicated
in these materials coming into ISKCON’s hands. Without proof
to support these speculations, however, we are left to accept
his version of events, which were duly reported. We would not
have chosen to publicly comment further on our dealings with
him, but I feel that the Ministry’s latest "spin" merits this
response.
It is also interesting to note that, to our knowledge, only a
dozen individuals had been made privy to the working draft of
the audio CD, on a confidential basis. All those individuals
strongly suggested that the presentation needed a lot of work,
that Jagannath should not be permitted to participate further,
and that it should not be distributed until re-worked, polished
and completed. We are, of course, frustrated by the fact that
our materials were stolen, as significant effort and expense were
lost and are now in the hands of ISKCON’s "Ministry of Protection".
It is also not surprising that ISKCON would further exploit the
situation by now attempting to discredit the investigation due
to Jagannath dasa’s association. We can undoubtedly look forward
to their personal attacks on other individuals who have been associated
with the on-going investigation. Historically, that is how ISKCON
has always handled crisis. What will perhaps be most interesting
to watch is the future distribution of this draft CD, since any
further distribution of it will have been done by ISKCON’s own
hand.
Alternatively, it has taken the threat of our production of this
CD for ISKCON to come forward with their recent well crafted rebuttal,
which we are pleased to see having finally appeared in the public
forum. While it contains the usual ad hominum attacks and veiled
intimidations, it also contains ISKCON’s official efforts at a
response to this issue. After carefully reviewing their recent
comments, members of the IVC will undoubtedly challenge many of
their speculations and assumptions. We encourage everyone to
publicly present their thoughts and questions. Now that ISKCON
has deemed it appropriate to enter into public discourse on the
matter, perhaps their answers to the myriad questions we have
posed will at last be forthcoming.
Finally, we note the closing remark in the Ministry of Protection’s
recent statement, "The only genuine poison is the theory itself."
ISKCON continues to shoot in the dark, operating under the assumption
that our main objective is to undermine the society and its leadership.
This is quite strange considering the fact that they, themselves,
maintain an on-going investigation into this matter, which we
are cooperating with. I suggest that the present day poison is
not the theory, but rather the process that ISKCON continually
chooses to engage in. They repeatedly attempt to discredit everything
associated with the investigation, while refusing to publicly
and straightforwardly address the many important questions that
must, eventually, be answered. The only antidote to this poison
is honesty and openness. Fortunately, that antidote is freely
available, and resides in the heart of each individual leader
in the society.
Rocana dasa
Independent Vaisnava Council
http://www.harekrsna.com/council/council.htm
