04/28/98 - 1769

No Abuse In Iskcon?

USA (VNN) - by Dinanath Das

I was about to answer aa email letter from a devotee of Krishna. I thought that in a free world such a thing would not be a strange affair. The only difficulty is, the devotee is an Iskcon devotee and his email address is @bbt.com. My letter was returned with the message: "fatal error. Our system received instruction to not accept any letters from your address":

<<< 550-If you think your mail was unintentionally bounced,
<<< 550 please complain to <abuse@com.bbt.se>

I was surprised since it was the first time that I send a letter to a @com.bbt.se address.

The information went on to say. "If you feel that you have been treated unfairly please send a report to the address abuse@com.bbt.se. So I send a letter to this address requesting a reason why my letter was not delivered. Much to my surprise I received an automated answer which said: There is not such a thing as the address abuse@com.bbt.se.

<<< 550 There is no <abuse@com.bbt.se> here
550 <abuse@com.bbt.se>... User unknown

No abuse in Iskcon. There is no such a thing as an abuse, nor anyone to complain to. How sad! We have to realize that Iskcon devotees with @com.bbt.se addresses are prisoners. Believe it or not in 1998 in a so called free world. They cannot even get answers to their letters. The GBC lawbook spells it out clearly. In paragraph 8.2.1.5 page 81 it says: Iskcon members are not allowed to associate with senior Gaudiya Vaisnavas (nor insignificant once like me), neither personally or through printed or recorded media.

Those who violate this rule may be reported (next paragraph), and suspended from Iskcon at any time by the GBC Executive Committee. The old school of repression, fear and excommunication. How was this book title again? The Monkey on a stick. Most people may not know what this title means. If the monkeys are making trouble. Kill one and put him up on a stick. The other monkeys will disappear automatically.

I was only writing a letter. Normal exchange between one thinking person and another. But does Iskcon fear their own members after so many years? Do they have no criteria of their own to remain faithful to their spiritual ideals? Or do they know that the spiritual ideals cannot be found anymore in Iskcon and therefore they want to avoid their members to see, that the Gaudiya Vaisnava family is a very great loving family? I guess amongst the two options every reader has to choose according to his own opinion.

Dinanath Das

(I would like to hear your opinion on this topic. You can comment by writing to VNN)