© 1999 VNN
|
USA March 10, 1999 VNN3283 Radha Krishna Mandir BY KUTICHAK DAS USA, Mar 10 (VNN) — Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! This is a humble attempt at clarifying what Mother Prtha stated about the St. Augustine Center in a letter entitled, "More Vedic men needed in St. Augustine ISKCON". First point: We are not an ISKCON Center. We are a Florida not-for-profit corporation called the Radha Krsna Mandir and Yoga Center. Concerning Mother Susan an, Bhakta Derek prabhu, and Bhakta Michael prabhu (who wrote to Mother Prtha): Mother Susan and Bhakta Mike prabhu are friends of our center. Yesterday they came and participated in kirtan at our new place in Vilano Beach. Bhakta Mike prabhu is a friend and well-wisher of Mother Susan from Atlanta. When he heard that Mother Susan and Bhakta Derek prabhu had an altercation he was concerned and wondered why we in the St. Augustine Center let it happen. His letter that Mother Prtha sent to VNN was Bhakta Mike prabhu's defending Mother Susan. When I later met Bhakta Mike prabhu in Miami and discussed in detail what had happened, he understood the entire situation. He then visited St. Augustine and stayed with Mother Susan, who also explained everything to him. He agreed to send a statement to VNN to correct the misinformation from the letter that was printed. I have no ax to grind with Bhakta Mike prabhu. I actually hope that he will get involved with our soon-to-be-opened restaurant since he is a good cook. Mother Susan had come to St. Augustine to rejoin Bhakta Derek prabhu, the father of her child, and give him a chance at reestablishing their relationship. She noticed that Derek prabhu was much improved; while he was with us he had been chanting his rounds and doing much nice service. However after Mother Susan moved to St. Augustine, Derek prabhu's behavior deteriorated and became abusive. Mother Susan was still trying to save the relationship. Her plan was to rent a house across the street, but on the eve of their moving in, Derek prabhu lost it and a serious altercation took place. The police were called, Derek prabhu arrested and charged. Later his parents bailed him out. Everyone in the asrama decided that we had to help Mother Susan. We lent her a car and helped her find another house. She lives there with her sister and her son. She may, in the future, participate in a prasadam sweet business since she is also an excellent cook. I would also like to say this about Mother Susan. She is an excellent mother and her son, Gopiraja, is the best dressed, cleanest, and best taken care of devotee child I've ever seen. Concerning allegations of drugs, meat, and alcohol in the center: These allegations are simply not true. Bhakta Derek prabhu did have a substance abuse problem that he was trying to overcome. He is now living as a brahmacari in an ISKCON temple and has been dutifully sending Mother Susan money for their son. However when he whole sorry incident comes up in court, he knows he will have to go to jail for a few months. Concerning St. Augustine: We now have 2 centers in America's most beautiful city. One, on Araquay Ave. with our Bhaktivedanta campsites, and the other in Vilano Beach, on A1A, in the middle of a small art community. We'll be opening a restaurant there around March 1st. We have 3 living units available for devotees at this center. Rents will run from $ 300 - $ 600 a month, prasadam included. In addition, we have a small prasadam distribution program, working in conjunction with St. Francis House, distributing about 100 plates a week. There are a total of about a dozen devotees living in the St. Augustine, either at the centers or in their own places. To conclude, I would like to invite devotees to visit us in St. Augustine, America's oldest and most beautiful city. If you'd like to communicate with us, we can be reached at: Araquay Center: 904 824-5328 Vilano Center: 904 819-0808 e-mail: staugustine@usa.net Your servant Kutichak Das Comment on this Story This story URL: http://vaishnava-news-network.org/usa/US9903/US10-3283.html
|
