11/04/1998 - 2455

New Information Regarding Child Abuse

USA (VNN) - Based on information recently revealed, ISKCON leadership was aware of massive abuse in ISKCON's educational facilities much earlier than previously admitted: (see also VNN story# 2350)

Subject: Fwd: GBC Has Known About Child Abuse for a Long Time
Date: 10/31/98 9:01 AM
From: Pratyatosa Dasa, pratyatosa@hotmail.com
Fwd: GBC Has Known About Child Abuse for a Long Time
******** Begin forwarded message *********
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 98 18:56 -0500
From: Sita Devi Dasi
To: Home Education, Varnasrama development, isadas

We have heard similar stories from a few devotees in Toronto.

Ys, Sdd

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Fwd: Re: NYT: "Hare Krishna Movement Details Past Abuse at ItsBoarding Schools"******* Begin forwarded message ********
Date: 29-Oct-98 07:12 -0500
From: WWW: Sthita-dhi-muni (Dasa) SDG (Alachua FL - USA)

To: WWW: Isa (Dasa) ACBSP (Miami FL - USA), COM: Kaunteya (das) JPS

On 28 Oct 1998, Isa Dasa wrote:

> Hare Krsna> All Glories To Srila Prabhupada>> You may find this info different from the Child Abuse info> which is now out. We were told that the GBC were informed> in 1996 about child abuse. Harikesh says that they knew in> the mid-eighties.

Everyone was beginning to hear about it by the mid-eighties. Atleast everyone I knew, including you. Hindsight is 20/20.

I think a serious part of the problem is no one knew the extentof it all or what to do, basically because they didn't know whatthey were doing. Even established, experienced institutions likethe Roman Catholics were bewildered by the issue. Of course,ignorance doesn't forgive everything.

ys,

Sthita-dhi

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Fwd: Re: Sri Rama is the Culprit?
******** Begin forwarded message *********
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 17:30:46 -0800
From: Nathan Zakheim
To: Pratyatosa Dasa
Subject: Re: Sri Rama is the Culprit?

Dear Pratyatosha prabhu,

PAMHO, AGTSP!

The GBC was aware of the Gurukula abuses from the verybeginning.

The abuses started in New York (Henry Street) under the sadisticmanagement of Bhavananda das (Swami). When the Gurukula wastransferred to Dallas, it became even worse. I personallywitnessed severe child abuse by the the teachers, and registeredcomplaints to no avail.

Mohanananda das, (he later produced a cartoon-movie called "TheLast Unicorn") and the devotee who currently has the 26 SecondAvenue (Matchless Gifts), were in charge at Dallas, and were infull charge of the abuse. The abuse was OFFICIAL. They hadevolved a philosophy of child treatment in which the types oftorture and physical and emotional abuse was considered to beBONAFIDE and NECESSARY. Bizarrely enough, this New York toDallas philosophy then went on to become the practical modulefor the Mayapur and Vrindaban Gurukulas. In the manner ofIskcon, where one behavior is built on the time honored exampleof it's predecessor behavior, the sins and tradition of sins(and abuses) evolved and became rigid policy.

The GBC for education was approached for twenty years with abuseand molestation cited, and he would only become enraged anddrive out the complainant, whether it was a parent or a separateparty.

I am quite certain, that with this tradition in place, that manyof the perpetrators actually thought that they were carrying outSrila Prabhupada's desire in the way the children were treated,and when Srila Prabhupada would write or say anything to thecontrary, they would take it that "Srila Prabhupada is ONLYbeing kind" or they took it as a sentiment not to be acted upon.

We are talking about severely disfunctional people who hadcomplete license to use our children as experimental lab-ratsfor a unbelievable length of time.

Hope this helps!

Your eternal servant,

Nara Narayan Vishwakarma das

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Fwd: Re: Sri Rama is the Culprit?
******** Begin forwarded message *********
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 98 15:33:30 CST
To:
From: "Gordhan Goyani"

To:
Subject: re: Sri Rama is the Culprit?

Dear Prabhus:

PAMHO, AGTSP, and Hare Krishna. I am responding to "Sri Rama isCulprit?

Sri Rama is not the only culprit. TKG, Satswarupa, Kitanananda,Bhavananda, Dhanurdhar, Jagdish, Bhurijana, JPS and many othersare culprits along with Harikesa himself.

YS- Gadadhara Dasa.

********* End of forwarded message **********

********* Begin forwarded message **********
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 18:23:17 -0800
From: Nathan Zakheim

To: zakheim@earthlink.net
To: Pratyatosa Dasa
Subject: Re: Fwd: RE: Sri Rama is the Culprit?

Prabhus:

The child abuse was going on and PERPETRATED by such GBC asBhavananda das (swami) since 1970.

THE GBC ALWAYS KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

These scum simply covered for each other. Kirtanandanda (swami?)

told Mother Kanka when she confronted him on the matter of SriGalim molesting her son by saying, "Sex is sex!)

He found no distinction between consenting sex between man andwoman, non-consenting sex between man and woman, (or for thatmatter man and man or woman and woman) and forced or induced sexbetween an adult Spiritual Authority figure such as a Gurukulateacher and a non-consenting child.

By 1976 MANY MANY PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT THE MOLESTATIONS AND ABUSES.

WHY?

1. The children told their parents, other devotees as wellas other children.

2. The Minister of Education was told by many children andparents that such things were going on.

3. Many teachers and adult devotees knew or suspected theproblem,

4. The Gurukula teachers almost universally knew about theabuses, AFTER ALL, IT WAS THEM THAT DID THE ABUSING!

5. Many of the GBC knew about the abuses. IN SOME CASES,THEY WERE THE ONES WHO ORCHESTRATED IT.

6. The older "Gurukula students who came to Vrindaban andhad been taught homosexual practices by their 'AUTHORITIES" thenwent on to inflict unsolicited homosexuality on the youngerchildren in the Vrindaban Gurukula. Since the older boys fromMayapur were often "monitors" they had the SPIRITUAL AUTHORITYto handle the younger boys at their own discretion, and ofcourse the younger children naturally looked up to their"authorities" and were compelled to do as they wished.

Since the students were generally herded about like cattle(worse than cattle) covered with lice, scabies, staf infections,etc, and since neither the administrators nor teachers saw temas anything other than prison camp inmates, NO ONE KNEW ANY OFTHE CHILDREN PERSONALLY.

THERE WERE NO DEBATES, ANIMATED CONVERSATIONS, GUIDANCE,MENTORING ...........

EXCEPT HOMOSEXUAL MENTORING.

THAT IS THE EDUCATION THAT THEY GOT WHILE WE WERE SCRAMBLINGAROUND TRYING TO DIG UP THE MONEY FOR THEIR TUITION SO THAT THEYWOULD BECOME "PURE SAINTS AND RISHIS" IN THE HOLY DHAM!

When my oldest son entered the gurukula at BhaktivedantaVillage, in California, I personally went to all of the teachersand mustered up what little remained of my "over the top maniac"image and swore loudly that I would "TORTURE TO DEATH" anyonewho I even SUSPECTED of molesting my son. He was eight years old(1983) and needless to say, any pedophiles gave my son a wideclearance!

This means that in 1983 I was personally aware of MANY cases ofsexual molestation in the Gurukula system, as was ANY teacher atthat time.

Jagadisha knew, but wanted to keep it under wraps.

WHY?

The reason that I know so much about this is that I HAVELISTENED TO THE GURUKULA "SURVIVORS" THAT TEND TO CONGREGATE INNEW DWARKA.

THERE IS NO SECRET.

Rochan das knows Jagadisha's son, who I believe has a web sitededicaed to exposing the abuse of the Gurukula students. He,too, was sexually abused!

Hope this helps,

NNV DAS:

********* End of forwarded message *********

------------- Original Text
From: "Pratyatosa Dasa" , on 10/30/98 5:59 AM:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 28-Oct-98 16:28 -0500

From: WWW: Isa (Dasa) ACBSP (Miami FL - USA)
To: COM: Kaunteya (das) JPS (Mayapur - IN) ,
highfill , krishna
, Home Education
, Varnasrama development

Subject: Re: NYT: "Hare Krishna Movement Details Past Abuse at Its Boarding Schools"

Hare Krsna All Glories To Srila Prabhupada

You may find this info different from the Child Abuse info whichis now out. We were told that the GBC were informed in 1996about child abuse. Harikesh says that they knew in themid-eighties.

Also see a letter from Jan 1988 www.equalsouls.org/abuse

Quote from Harikesh Das:

"So I'm watching this going on, I'm seeing the way in whichchildren have been dealt with. In the mid eighties when I sawthe way that it was going on in Vrindavana and everything, I wasso fried, you know. I said we got to change this fast, we got todo something fast. We got to get these kids out of theseinstitutions where they've being abused and destroyed. So I wasspeaking with Sri Ram because he was the "big cheese" in theministry of education. I was saying: "We have to do somethingfast. We have to get them out, we have to make a parental systemwhere they go to people who love them and take care of them".But he wasn't interested in anything I said. Anything I wouldsay he would reject immediately. And he was the main man ineducation. I would talk to Jagadisa Maharaja, at that time wewere friends. But he was so basically bewildered all the timebecause he had no capacity to do anything. He is not that kindof a person, he's just a gentle kind of a brahminical person. Sonothing was going on that way."