Krsnacandra Dasa – Vrndavan: What role does ISKCON actually have in Sri Vrndavan Dham needs to be an area of research. We must ask the question – what has ISKCON actually achieved in Sri Vrndavan Dham since 1975?
It has a sparsely populated and transient devotional community that has little of no support from the Temple. The ISKCON devotees who live Vrndavan have to fend for themselves as ISKCON will not give any form of protection or support if the devotee does not do service directly under their management.
A majority of the land of the Temple compound is in dispute and the management is in constant litigation dispute brought about by poor management which is draining the Temple and its community of any funds and incentive and ability to grow and develop as a community.
As this is one of the most major Temples in ISKCON it has been the object of desire of many groups and individuals who have wanted to control and possess it for their own ends, it has never had a stable and mature management. Due to the terrible history of power mongering and mismanagement ISKCON Vrndavan has never been able to attract any senior and spiritually/emotionally mature leader or Temple President to help in its growth and development as a devotional community.
Historically all the Temple presidents who have served a ‘term of duty’ here have used it as a springboard to further their careers within the Institution and have cared less for the development of the devotional community.
The Gurukula sordid history has done nothing to instill confidence and give us any spiritual kudos in Sri Vrndavan Dham and now with its secular academic program and it being considered as an affiliate school we have no spiritual standing in the greater devotional community of Vrndavan whatsoever.
It is also important to note what the outside non ISKCON Vrndavan community thinks of us. To date we are not considered highly by them nor are we involved with the community to any significant level.
We are really a small Temple with hardly any members and no money. This is very stark since other Temples such as Banki Bihari bathe in fame and have huge financial turnovers even they are fraught with corruption and materialistic members.
ISKCON needs to look carefully at how it plans to develop the devotional community here as Vrndavan is quickly modernizing and turning into a concrete jungle. We will be a spiritually bankrupt and poor tiny land locked Temple with no future and controlled by businessmen and materialistic devotees.
Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,
Krsnacandra Dasa
