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WORLD April 2, 2000 VNN5797 Related VNN Stories Child Protection Office Statement Regarding Maha Mantra Dasa BY DHIRA GOVINDA DASA USA, Apr 2 (VNN) — Based on reports the Child Protection Office (CPO) has received concerning Maha mantra dasa (Matthew Zacharais), a white-bodied person who has recently been in Canada and who took initiation from Satsvarupa Maharaja, the CPO recommends that Maha mantra does not have any contact with an ISKCON temple, ISKCON school, ISKCON project, or any ISKCON-affiliated organization. I recommend that this restriction remain in place until Maha mantra contacts the CPO and addresses the serious accusations of child abuse against him. If these allegations turn out to be valid or partially valid, then I recommend that the restrictions described above remain in place until Maha mantra acknowledge his transgressions of child abuse, make appropriate apologies that display genuine remorse, and pay suitable restitution as befitting a decent father and husband.
If he does these things, then I recommend that he be allowed to visit, though not reside on, ISKCON property, though he should not have a service that is connected with children, or that implies a leadershp position, including giving class in a temple or leading kirtana in a temple or at an ISKCON function. If Maha mantra wishes to reinstate himself in the society in such a way that he can assume a leadership position and function, then I recommend that he must first undergo a psychological evaluation conducted by a mental health professional who is pre-approved by the CPO. Also, in order to acquire the privilege of assuming any sort of leadership position, Maha mantra must fully comply with recommendations for ongoing therapy that are provided in the psychological evaluation, as well as recommendations for counseling given by the CPO. If after successfully participating in a full course of therapy, then the CPO, upon receipt of a positive report from the mental health professional, will reconsider Maha mantra's status with regards to a leadership function. These are my recommendation based on reports I've received. I'd like to speak or correspond with Maha mantra. If anyone is in contact with him, please ask him to contact me, or send me his contact information. In the meantime he should not even visit an ISKCON temple. I've heard he is in Vrndavana, and therefore I'm sending this posting to Mahaman Prabhu and Braja bihari Prabhu. This case will soon go to a panel of child protection judges, and their resolution of the case will be an official decision and will constitute directives that are binding, rather than just recommendations. In the meantime, my recommendations are given above. Please contact me if you have questions or if some clarification is needed. I am including Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu and Kalakantha Prabhu in this posting to request them to please send this letter to all GBCs. Ijya Prabhu- please send this letter to all deputies and temple presidents. Hare Krsna. Your servant, Dhira Govinda dasa dgovinda@aol.com Related VNN Stories  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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