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WORLD June 15, 1999 VNN4107 See Related VNN Stories | Comment on this story First IRG Temple In Malaysia Opens Following Siege BY SUDARSHAN CHAITANYA DAS - IRG MALAYSIA MALAYSIA, Jun 15 (VNN) — Radhapran Prabhu (RP), is a full-time dedicated devotee and the Vice President of Bukit Mertajam (BM) - Malaysia's second largest temple. He and his dedicated team of 6 Brahmacaris are the only devotees who do traveling sankirtan in Malaysia and consequently many people know them all over Malaysia. Just a few days ago they had invited a neighboring ISKCON temple president - Sundar Gopal Prabhu and the American bodied ISKCON sannyasi - Krishna Balarama Swami - to visit the temple. Please note that though the GBC have declared the 'ritvik' philosophy 'deviant', neither of these devotees have any official sanction against them, and both are in good standing. Thus no GBC resolutions were violated by inviting these devotees to visit the temple. When they arrived in BM they were given the one and only room used by all sannyasis. On the following day RP heard that HH Jayapataka Swami (JPS) was coming to his center for a program. Since he had already given the place in the sannyasi room to the visiting devotees he was very obliging to accommodate JPS and party in a nearby hotel. In addition during JPS's last visit he remarked that the next time he came he would prefer to stay in a hotel as the room in the BM center is too close to the railway line and therefore it was very noisy for him to sleep. Simhesvar Das, the deputy GBC of Malaysia, also reiterated this to RP. Around 8.30 pm that night throngs of congregational members numbering about 300 arrived for the evening program, many of them from outside the area. JPS with Bhaktivrajendra Swami and Nrsingha Swami had come to conduct the program. About that time some of JPS's men came upstairs to meet with Krsna Balaram Swami and Sundar Gopal prabhu. They asked them to leave the temple but RP insisted that they had no right to ask his guests to leave. JPS's men then argued that these guests were not 'ISKCON men'. This was subsequently disproved by Sundar Gopal as there is no official GBC minutes to that effect. Hearing this the party then left to consult with JPS. JPS then instigated the congregation with the request that somehow or other he wanted these two bona fide ISKCON guests - Krsna Balaram Swami and Sundar Gopal Das to be evicted from the temple. To obtain sympathy from all the three hundred or so members present he stated that these guests had prevented him from using the temple facilities and therefore he went and urinated near a tree in the open about 10 feet away from a toilet in full view of many woman and children. Of course this allegation regarding the use of the sannyasi room was not true, as explained above. To continue with his campaign for getting sympathy from the congregation, JPS then met RP and started showering his so-called mercy by calling him his spiritual son and how dear that he was to him and etc. This of course RP found very strange, since someone who had never had any conversation with him or his other brahmacaris in his ten years of service, is now suddenly showing undue attention. In the past JPS had come to the temple to do a program and had completely ignored RP. RP was not having any of this false flattery and just paid his obeisance's, Finally seeing that they were not getting any success in evicting the guests from the temple many of JPS's disciples started to become threatening. They then requested that they immediately be given office stationary. This request for the office stationery was politely refused since it was already past 1 am in the morning, and instead they were told to come back the next morning. Upon which they then broke into the office premises. On seeing this RP had no other alternative but to call the local Police. On hearing that the police were coming, JPS fled the scene hurriedly in panic. When the police arrived, seeing that this was a dispute among local members on the issue of some guests on the temple premises, and seeing how the guests and the temple devotees were heavily outnumbered, the police then politely asked the guests - Sundar Gopal Prabhu and Krishna Balarama Swami - to stay in a nearby hotel for their own safety, until the issue could be resolved. To avoid a violent confrontation they agreed and left to spend the night in a member's house at about 2.30 am. Disgusted at the treatment of his guests, and seeing that things were also going out of hand with the wild behavior of JPS men, with almost more then 100 pitched in the temple room, and fearing for their own safety, RP and all the temple devotees also left the temple. Unfortunately JPS had ensured that he would have control of the temple through his political maneuvers. Even though RP and the temple devotees ran the temple, HH had installed the Presidency of the Bukit Mertajam Center to Jagannath vallabha Prabhu a 70 odd year old man who stays outside and does not even come to the temple for any of its regular programs. Besides he runs a stall (kiosk ) out side the BM railway station selling cigarettes, cigars, semi- pornographic materials and all kinds of titbits with animal contents in the ingredients. Also the role of the center's Secretary was given to one Mr.Lokabandhu Prabhu who is the son of Jaganath vallabha Prabhu. He too does not stay in the temple and does not follow the four regulated principles or attend the temple programs. Besides he is cohabiting with a Chinese lady for the past three years and they are not even married. Thus RP and the temple devotees effectively had no control, and thus the next morning they allowed JPS and his men to take over the temple. So JPS had executed a spectacular coup d'etat, and flushed out what he thought were ritvik supporters. Job done? Unfortunately for JPS, the story does not finish there, and his attempts at the good old fashioned zonal acarya heavy handedness have again back-fired. For JPS had not flushed out ritviks - he had MADE ritviks. Though RP and the temple devotees had previously read the 'The Final Order', and though they felt very enlivened by the power of this document, and could see that Srila Prabhupada's position's as the direct master was now becoming alive for them, like all devotees they were still hesitant to take any practical steps. But the thuggish behaviour instigated by JPS has given them the final confirmation that they must only accept Srila Prabhupada as their diksha guru. Thus they then decided to open their own temple and have a real center for Srila Prabhupada. Fortunately Mr. Appala Naidu a wealthy rubber merchant, a well wisher of RP and a lover of Srila Prabhupada, decided to hand over a beautiful brand new building, currently being used by JPS's men as a Nama hatta center, over to him to start an IRG center. This obviously dissatisfied JPS greatly who subsequently sent his men to see if they could again execute another successful eviction and retrieve the place. This time however they only returned empty handed and were further warned to never return and create any disturbances. It seems that not all well-wishers of ISKCON support this thuggish behaviour. Mr Naidu knew full well the wonderful service that RP and his devotees had rendered for any years in Malaysia. Subsequently now RP has being receiving unlimited friends, supporters and well wishers in the new temple located about 7km from the other place in BM, which consisted of only an old house. Many have openly said that they were very disgusted with the unvaishnavic behaviour of JPS and his men and have no faith in him as all these years they only came to BM from Kuala Lumpar - Malaysia's largest temple - to exploit them for money and do nothing Whereas RP and his men have shown their dedication and genuine love to everyone there. RP and his men are thoroughly convinced about SP being their Diksha Guru and are now actively preaching this message all over Malaysia. With Bangalore and many other places already having been returned back to Srila Prabhupada, it will now only be a matter of time now before JPS's last fortress - Kuala Lumpur - will also be returned to Srila Prabhupada. Please note the actual facts of the situation: Last week - JPS had a nama hatta center and the second largest temple in Malaysia under his control, and no IRG activity was going on. This week - JPS arrives with his 'rent a mob' and tries to be 'heavy', but now he has lost his nama hatta center, and has handed to the IRG a bigger and better temple then the one he has took over, in the process convincing 7 of Malaysia's most active preachers to dedicate the rest of their lives to spreading the message of the IRG all over Malaysia. The moral of the story: Getting 'heavy' no longer works. The 'wild west' days of the zonal acarya era are gone forever. Bullying and violence no longer works. Devotees are now standing up and being counted and fighting back. One would have thought that after the 'expulsion that never was' fiasco, when the GBC caved in following the IRG taking them to court, the GBC would have learned their lesson. Obviously not. JPS re-enacts 'General Custer's last stand', and the IRG continues to go from strength to strength. There are no more 'no go zones' any more. JPS's empire is crumbling, and Srila Prabhupada is taking his society back, piece by piece. Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Related VNN Stories | Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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