Achyuta Dasa – USA: As I have been keenly reading the articles on this website I would like to thank the contributors and editors of this site for providing a forum that deals specifically with many issues that face our ISKCON society which is very much needed. I am thereby submitting an ‘edited’ version of an article I had previously submitted on the Sampradaya Sun with some changes as I believe it is an issue that we as devotees need to continue to discuss so that we can better understand the many influences that are being brought to bear against our society that are potentially damaging to our spiritual lives.

In light of the present move in Russia to ban our Bhagavad Gita as an extremist literature and in Hungary to not accept the Muslim, Hindu religious traditions or our Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition as a bona fide religion is bringing to light a trend that is seeing the Judeo Christian tradition given special privilege. The prejudice is rearing its ugly head in the area of geopolitics as brought to light by the article by Krsnacandra Dasa here.

It is very interesting to note that the main culprits bringing disrepute to our society is due to Jewish Background Devotees or JBD’s who are leading the way in corrupting our great religious tradition. By their degraded mentality and self righteous arrogance they care less what their attitude or behaviour is doing to our Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition which is being brought up by websites such as this. Of course the JBD involvement is not spotlighted as I do but by examining the cultural background of the instigators of the various schisms and degradations in the name of Krsna consciousness you will find they are predominately of Jewish cultural extraction.

The original article that I submitted is here and below I have tried to remove any references to any devotee that it was originally addressing as it is irrelevant for the point that I am trying to make.

Below is the edited version of “Hamsavatar Prabhu’s Prophetic Boast.”

The one thing that I have gathered from the discussion about the JBD’s or ‘Jewish background devotees’ is that there is a great deal of fear on both sides. Many devotees that I know will not speak their mind on this issue for fear of being unfairly labelled as Anti-Semitic, which is a stigma that can follow you to the grave. There is also a great deal of fear from the pro-JBD’s who, even though they know that JBD’s are in the majority in ISKCON leadership, aggressively use the ‘smokescreen’ of Anti-Semitism (in other words, bodily concept) as their only rebuttal and avoid the issues being presented. If they were being straightforward, they would not get disturbed when challenged if they really believe that they are in the right.

The main fear that the JBD’s and their supporters have is the fear of being branded as being part of a conspiracy. The concept of conspiracy holds almost as much power as the concept of Anti-Semitism. One mention of either, and people become seriously disturbed. Conspiracies and Jews have taken the place of Religion and Politics as taboo subjects at the dinner table. One mention of Jews and people think conspiracy, and vice versa.

Unless you have rubbed shoulders with the power elite of ISKCON, you will not know that many of them see themselves as Jewish first. A well known Swami was been known to have said, ‘First I am a Jew and second I am a Hare Krishna’. They are very proud of their Jewish background. This is especially so for the New York JBD’s.

Many Jewish devotees believe that the reason why non-Jews are not in senior positions within ISKCON is that they are not driven, or in other words, are not ambitious enough. This infers that the non-Jew is lazy or stupid and implies that the Jewish people are more interested and gravitate to positions of power and control rather than being content being amongst the rank and file workers. To illustrate my point, it is a well known fact that the movie industry is run and owned by Jews. Most of the actors are Jews as well. The predominance of leading role actors being Jewish does not infer that there are no good non-Jewish actors, but is simply that they are naturally given the better opportunities due to the cultural bias of the Jewish owned and operated industry. This, of course, is only natural if you are affected by your ethnic group or bodily conception of life and you have a monopoly over management and leadership.

To state that the “ubiquitous” Jewish people are in control and have a monopoly on world finances / diamond and jewel industries / multimedia / political appointments, religions, etc. and to not be able to say that maybe they have a plan, mission or conspiracy to dominate the world is stupid. But if anyone does, they are labelled Anti-Semitic. 2+2 = 4 in any math book. Call a spade a spade, my Daddy always said. To think that they are everywhere and yet they are all independent is the biggest ha ha ha he he he ho ho ho of them all! Yet many Jewish background devotees at anyone who would hint at there being some sort of conspiracy or mission amongst the Jewish people.

It is not so farfetched to exchange the term ‘conspiracy’ for one of ‘mission’. If you look at history, you will find that the Jewish people come from an Abrahamic Religious background and in this tradition; they have the idea that God chose them and solely entered into a covenant with them. They believe that once the 12 tribes who were dispersed throughout the world (Diaspora) are reunited in Israel, a descendant in the line of King David will rule the earth. This means one Government, one King and one Religion.

The goyim or non-Jew will have to follow Noahide Law which has been accepted as the base of all civilized law in most countries like North and South America and Europe. We are the top of the list of no no’s in the Naohide Law. That is, no idol worship. In the Hasidic University website, www.hasidicuniversity.org there is a break down for idol worship, and we get a mention – “Not to participate in worship ceremonies of Hinduism, Hare Krishna, or various “New Age” cult movements – including transcendental meditation or Yoga – even if no idol is physically present.” The punishment for idol worship by Noahide Law is death by stoning, and I can assure you this is not a nice death.

-6) No idol-worship according to its established rituals  
 
Application to gentiles: Required
Mandated punishment for violation: Death penalty
Brief description: Not to worship a false god according to the customary rituals established by its religion. Some idols or false gods are worshipped through bowing, burning incense, or making offerings of food; others through certain types of dancing, singing, chanting, or meditation; others through growing one’s hair long, shaving it off, and offering it; and others through ceremonies involving fire, water, or convening at certain locations at certain times of year. Whatever the practice of the false religion, even a single act of such worship is a capital offense.While it is also a sin to believe in the existence of a false god (commandment -1), even without worshipping it, that act of false belief is not covered in this commandment.Examples:
  • Not to bow to a Buddha statue, nor to offer incense before it.
  • Not to be baptized in Christianity, nor to pray in the name of Jesus.
  • Not to participate in worship ceremonies of Hinduism, Hare Krishna, or various “New Age” cult movements — including transcendental meditation or Yoga — even if no idol is physically present.
  • Not to celebrate such pagan holidays as Easter, Halloween, or Christmas.
 
Category: Idolatry Commandments
Biblical source(s) (Rambam): Ex. 20:5
Biblical source (Sefer HaChinuch): Ex. 20:5
Number in Sefer HaChinuch: 29
Sources explaining relevance to gentiles:(See bibliography)
  • Rambam, Mishneh TorahMelachim 9:2
    All idolatry-related offenses that carry death penalty for Jews also bring death penalty for gentiles.

When you see that in Russia the Government is seeking to ban the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā  due to it being labeled as an ‘extremist’ cult citing “Those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and do not practice them regularly are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled and doomed to ignorance and bondage,”(BG.3.32) as being a form of extremist literature is not logical and smacks of prejudiced bias rather than being based on rational determinations.On the other hand we have in Hungary the situation where the Jewish Religion is being accepted by the Hungarian Government as a bona fide Religion even though the above link to Hasidic Law where it declares the whole Hindu / Vaisnava tradition to be idol worshippers who deserve to be stoned to death!

The Buddhists and well as the Christians will also be stoned to death under Hasidic Law for worshiping false Gods…


Commandment Profile:

-5) No idol-worship in four standard ways  
 
Application to gentiles: Required
Mandated punishment for violation: Death penalty
Brief description: Not to worship any false god in any one of four standard ways: (a) bowing, (b) making sacrificial offerings, (c) burning incense, or (d) pouring libations (such as wine or water). These four ritual acts are all involved in the worship of the true G-d in the Jerusalem Temple (once it is rebuilt from its current ruins), and thus are sanctified modes of worship that are forbidden to be exercised for any false god, even if the act is not part of the customary ritual for that false religion (whereas commandment -6 deals with the established rituals specific to each false religion). Thus even if it is not an established Christian custom to offer sacrificial foods to Jesus, nor would Buddhists normally pour libations for their idol, either act would nonetheless be a capital crime.This commandment also prohibits the verbal acceptance of any false god as one’s deity, on pain of death penalty.Examples:
  • Not to verbally accept Jesus as one’s god or “lord.”
 
Category: Idolatry Commandments
Biblical source(s) (Rambam): Ex. 20:5; Lev. 17:7
Biblical source (Sefer HaChinuch): Ex. 20:5
Number in Sefer HaChinuch: 28
Sources explaining relevance to gentiles:(See bibliography)
  • Rambam, Mishneh TorahMelachim 9:2
    All idolatry-related offenses that carry death penalty for Jews also bring death penalty for gentiles.

Idol worshippers also include those gentiles or goyim who worship or honour men such as presidents, Kings, rock stars, actors, or have any images of the sun or moon or human figurines in your home because this is considered idol worship and is punishable by the death penalty.


Commandment Profile:

-4) No making human statues or figures  
 
Application to gentiles: Required
Mandated punishment for violation: From Heaven
Brief description: Not to make statues, figurines, or bas-reliefs of human figures, angels, or stars and constellations. This prohibition specifically addresses artistic statues that are for decoration, not idols; commandments -2 and -3 prohibit actual idols. This commandment forbids us from making three-dimensional forms of the non-idolatrous images most likely to resemble idolatry. For the same reason, it also prohibits the painting of flat images of the sun, moon, stars, or constellations for purely decorative purposes, although photographs, paintings, or even 3-D models of these astronomical bodies are permitted for intellectual or educational purposes.Artistic or ornamental sculptures of animals, trees, and other images are permitted unless they are specifically known to be idolatrous.Examples:
  • Not to make statues or busts of U.S. presidents, kings of any nation, or any other person, even if the person is worthy of honor.
  • Not to adorn one’s home with human figurines, nor with water fountains in the shape of humans or angels.
 
Category: Idolatry Commandments
Biblical source(s) (Rambam): Ex. 20:20
Biblical source (Sefer HaChinuch): Ex. 20:20
Number in Sefer HaChinuch: 39
Sources explaining relevance to gentiles:(See bibliography)
  • Rambam, Mishneh TorahMelachim 9:2
    All idolatry-related offenses forbidden for Jews, even without death penalty, are also prohibited to gentiles; making non-idolatrous, artistic sculptures is explicitly mentioned.

The death penalty is herein declared as a law that is forbidden to follow but it is still Gods law and simply because it is written here that it is forbidden there is no guarantee that God fearing traditionalist Jews will not given the chance of world domination impose such punishment as prescribed in their sacred texts attributed to their God.


Commandment Profile:

+229) To execute certain transgressors by stoning  
 
Application to gentiles: Forbidden to follow
Mandated punishment for violation: From Heaven for following this commandment
Brief description: To execute by stoning those who are convicted of committing certain sins. The procedure of stoning involves pushing the guilty person off a cliff so that he falls onto hard rocks below, and then dropping heavy boulders onto him if he is not yet dead.

The Jewish people have every right to practice their faith and follow the laws of their God and do His will. The Christians and Muslims think the same, for they have the same God and have entered into similar covenants with Him. All three of them are related and have world domination plans, and have been working on them for centuries. Whether they are one and the same, time will tell. They have their mission, and so do we. Our mission was given by Lord Caitanya and our General is Srila Prabhupada.

Our plan is world domination with one Government, one King and one Religion by the use of spiritual awakening. Their mission was given by their God in the form of the covenant that He made with them and they utilize power, politics, economics and force to achieve their goals. They have their way and we have our way, but make no mistake — both of us have the same intention, and that is to spread our power and influence on a global scale. Both have equal right to follow their God’s directive. We have to get this out of the closet.

It is entirely reasonable to think that such an ancient, proud and powerful culture as the Jews will work towards making sure that their mission plan is keeping to schedule. Therefore it is reasonable to think that some, not all, but some of the JBD in ISKCON may be working towards this end. To be naïve about this is foolhardy. Angels and Demons in Vaisnava garb. The world is replete with stories of infiltrations and espionage. Our Vedas speak of how to employ spies and how the Kings used them to gather information and work their plans. Every culture on earth has these stories associated with them. Every culture has a right to employ these tactics to ensure that their mission and people are being protected. So why can’t this be happening in ISKCON?

The cries of ‘oh prabhu that is offensive / don’t be on the bodily concept, prabhu / Srila Prabhupada made them devotees so are you saying he was wrong prabhu / conspiracies cannot happen to us as we are devotees prabhu…’ Yeah sure. What do you think the eleven who usurped ISKCON did shortly after Srila Prabhupada left? That was a conspiracy. They plotted together to claim the titles of Acaryas and took over the movement. That was a conspiracy, no matter what you can say about it. Don’t be scared of the term, we are supposed to be adults here.

If you want to find a conspiracy, look to the leaders and look at their methods: Do they monopolize the leadership of ISKCON? Do they follow Srila Prabhupada’s orders? Are they accountable to anyone but themselves? Do they listen to us? Do they use the money and resources of ISKCON and not share them with the devotees of ISKCON? Are they maintaining high spiritual standards like chanting their rounds? Do they prefer to cover-up their problems and crimes? Do they protect each other at our expense? Do they stick together in an elitist esoteric club? Do they tolerate any resistance to their leadership and do they use force, intimidation and fear to control us? Last but not least, do they change the philosophy to suit their needs?

Who are these people that are doing this? What is the common factor amongst them that separates them from the rest of us who want to properly serve Srila Prabhupada? Why can’t we term what they are doing as a conspiracy? Why has it been till now impossible to talk about Jews in our movement while it is so easy to discredit Christians, Muslims and Hindus? Maybe, perhaps maybe, this is due to the fact that many of our leadership JBD’s are identifying with their bodily conception of life as opposed to being Krishna Conscious.

Originally Published: 22nd December 2011