Kṛṣṇacandra Dāsa – Śrī Vṛndāvan Dham: This article has appeared in the Times of India where an unnamed GBC member [The only GBC for Delhi is Gopal Kṛṣṇa Maharaja] and several other members of ISKCON had an FIR or a First Information Report, which is written statement given by a claimant or informant which must be completed in order to commence a police investigation of a crime, for a case of Sodomy under the Section 377 of the Penal Code of India. The full Times of India article is given below along with the various comments by concerned citizens.
It is not so much the nature of the FIR, which in this case is a case of Sodomy which is covered by Indian Law Section 377 which includes ‘coerced anal sex’ with another, it is more that the case of ‘rape’ was known to the GBC and they failed to report the incident(s) to the proper authorities – The Police. Had the GBC and Temple Authorities abided by the law and reported the incident then any victim or victims that were raped after the initial report would not have had to experience such heinous activity while residing in an ISKCON Brahmacārī Ashram.
Whether or not the action is legal or illegal, any sexual act should never be condoned or supported by the GBC and Temple Authorities inside an ISKCON Temple’s grounds or by people representing ISKCON and His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
ISKCON is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s heart and soul… He gave it to us and successive generations to promote pure unadulterated love of God. He teaches us the highest standard of religious / human behavior with clear guidelines on moral and ethical code.
Yet here we are in the Newspapers again with yet another scandal or sordid affair.
We as representatives of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the Brahmā Madhva Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradaya should have leaders who are mature in both their spiritual and material lives.
It is not ‘news’ to us that a GBC member, Temple President or any ISKCON official would seek to cover up a crime rather than dealing with it in a mature intelligent cultured way thus showing our members and the greater society that we are cultured people with integrity and honesty.
But this has never been the case. The ISKCON GBC has relentlessly sought to cover up every single crime, which any of their official members commit, at the expense of the law, truth, justice and Dharma.
What about the victims of these crimes? What about the Brahmacaris who were targeted and by the rapist and were raped? Where was the GBC when brahmacaris came to him to seek his help? Why didn’t he act with integrity to deal with the rapist by reporting it to the Police? Where was the Temple President who would have also covered up the rapes and molestations?
Aspiring devotees surrender to the GBC and Temple Authorities believing that they have their best interests at heart but when something like this happens what do we expect that these aspiring Vaiṣṇavas do to seek help?
They cannot seek help from other devotees who have been brainwashed into thinking that their GBC Guru has been sent by God Himself and so can never ever do anything wrong!
However, should these rascals find that a whistle blower or anyone who does not support their regime commits a crime or have some leverage against them they are ever so quick to take the moral high ground and litigate or report them to the police with the full force of the institution behind them!
Here in this article below we will find the mood of the public. Is this what we want?
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