Child abuse and Jagat

The child abuse in ISKCON is once again a subject, with the release of Sanaka Rsi's film. I was told by one bhakta to my face that I should go to prison for my involvement in the Gurukula while abuses were going on, especially those of the leaders of Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir while I was headmaster there, as well as of the teachers who worked under me.
 
I have publicly admitted that I was abusive. I used corporal punishment, as did nearly every other Gurukula teacher in Dallas or in Mayapur. When I was severely thrashed by the Miapore villagers in 1977, I took it as a direct sign from Mahaprabhu that I had done wrong and stopped.

I claim innocence and ignorance about the sexual abuse. It was beyond my comprehension that anyone could do such a thing. When the veil was uncovered, I saw how widespread the abuse was. I did not feel capable of changing things and felt it more important to pursue authentic bhakti, which in my view was no longer available in the ISKCON institution after Prabhupada had left.

I have had the good fortune of meeting some of my students in the 37 years since I left and all of them have been friendly and forgiving and even appreciative of my efforts as a teacher and headmaster despite the things that transpired in my tenure there. I have never failed to express to them personally my contrition for my actions.

Just now I said to the abovementioned devotee, let's blame Prabhupada shall we?

Of course, no one wants to blame Prabhupada and neither do I, but the king is responsible for his kingdom. Prabhupada thought it more important to build the movement quickly and to spread it at any cost. He was the one who recognized that in the war against Maya there would be casualties, but he pushed forward anyway, putting incompetent individuals in positions of authority and pushing them to perform at any cost. If they fell away it was sad, but that was the cost of doing things the way he did them. He took the risk.

We were incompetent. Ignorant. Foolish children. What did I know of child sexual abuse? It was outside my realm of experience entirely. Physical abuse in the sense of corporal punishment I had known in my home and in school in Canada. And in India, corporal punishment was socially accepted and approved. Even Prabhupada himself allowed for it on occasion, though he personally admonished me when he became aware of punishments I subjected students to in 1976. Even so, it took me some time to come to put it into practice,

So if I am to be held responsible for Bhavananda, for Tapomoy, for Nitai Chand, for Shatadhanya, for Venkat, for Ananta Rupa, for Srigalim, for Anirdeshya Vapu or any of the other Gurukula people with whom I worked who eventually became known for sometimes unspeakable and horrific acts of abuse, I accept. I did not see it and when I did, I did not stop them. I decided it was more important to save myself.

I was in touch with them all. I knew them, and I knew nothing of the abuses for which they were accused in later days. When I found out, I washed my hands of the problem rather than fighting to protect the children. That was a dereliction of duty and if there are hells I must go to for that, let it be so. I decided that I had other, higher duties. Let God, or if as the abovementioned bhakta says, the courts, be the judge.

I left ISKCON in December 1979. I have never regretted that decision. Prabhupada inspired me to seek out authentic Vaishnavism and authentic spirituality. I am sorry for the students who suffered and I sincerely hope that the good in their experience outweighs the bad. If they feel that blaming me is helpful to their personal progress, I cannot object.

Jai Radhe Shyam.



Comments

Anonymous said…
সত্যি মনে করেন যে সব কিছু ছেড়ে দিয়ে আর অন্য গুরুর কাছ থেকে চলে?
প্রভুপাদ যদি না হতো আপনি কিছু জানতেন না ।
শিশুদের ব্যপার বাত দেন। এই সব নিয়ে আলোচনা করা আপনার কি অধিকার?
গুরু নিন্দা করা মহা পাপ। পুনর মুসিক ভব।

সোজা রাস্তা নরক
Clifford Kirk said…
I hope what you say is true that's my conclusion too to keep a distance from iskcon it a very poisonios branch but it tells its members its the only true branch awful mood ..I too wish to be authentic my conclusion is to not be a part of any group to be independent I'm a human being searching for true natural loving helpful lifestyle may Mahapabhu help us all in all the branches and bless us to be real in bhakti dabdavats to you all
Jagadananda Das said…
Dear Clifford, Radhe Radhe. I think I should probably know you by another name, but in either case, Radhe Radhe.

I see things on a spectrum in which one has to discern one's adhikāra. Human institutions are extremely important, it is a question of how "hard" one wants to make them. Human institutions influence general culture, but that cannot really be done by force. What "hard" institutions do is to voluntarily restrain the limits of freedom in order to engineer particular social results.

In fact this has been going on for as long as there is human history. Humans are primarily social creatures whose individuality is subsumed to some kind of collectivity. In today's confusing world, where there are so many competing visions of reality, you have to find shelter in some kind of kinship group. Here we are talking about spiritual kinship rather than political or that of more visceral, material relationships.

Anyway, my point is that to cut oneself from society entirely is almost impossible. Even if our connection is entirely on line.

Now I know how much I am in need of companionship and encouragement, approbation. Where will I get that except from others who at least at one moment in their lives was struck by the idea of Krishna consciousness. So those -- who for whatever reason -- spent time in ISKCON, our discord with that institution can also have a million different causes.

But the essence of an institution is discipline. The limits of that discipline and the reach of those who wish to restrict the limits of acceptable behavior on an ever stricter and stricter level.

And then what happens when one is too lax? There has to be a degree to which you guard against tamas. The institution is formed around where you place your values on that spectrum from discipline to laxity. The two can be identified with rajas or tamas.

Again, the point is that institutions are useful tools for building character and discipline. They create a competitive environment in which enhances one's desire to excel. They create mental frameworks that give meaning to life. Institutions can have their dangerous side and certainly the child abuse issue illustrates a very important one, one that is experienced in all institutions that believe in their own mission.

It is when you don't see that perhaps the mission of the institution and the seedy underbelly of hypocrisy are two sides of the same coin. So it is the modes of nature that are at play, rajas and tamas.

So, where is sattva in all this? That is the key to the whole situation. It was to find out a little more about sattva that I left ISKCON.





Jagadananda Das said…
জয় শ্রী রাধে !

বাংলায় একটা কথা পেলাম বলে খুব আনন্দিত হলাম | ভগবানের কৃপায় আমি এখনও বুঝতেও লিখতেও পারি |

আপনি কোন প্রশ্ন করেন নি, তবুও উত্তর দিচ্ছি | আমি গুরু নিন্দা করেছি বলে আমার উপর খুব রাগ করেন | তা স্পষ্ট করতে পারলে ভাল হয় | আপনার কাণে যেটা গুরু নিন্দা শুনছেন, আমার মনে কোন দিন গুরুনিন্দাই হল । কেন না আপনি ঠিক বলেছেন -- গুরু নিন্দা বড় পাপ । আমার হৃদয়ের মধ্যে যেন অকৃতজ্ঞতা দোষ কবু না পাওয়া যায় ইতি |

যাই হোক, আপনার কথা যদি সত্য না হত আমার শ্রীধাম থেকে এত দূরে থাকতে হত না । গুরুনিন্দা নাই বা হক, গুরু নিষ্ঠা আমার কিছুতেই হল না । তা না হলেও, গুরুর কৃপা ত হয়েছে একটু কিছু বটে | বাস্তবে গুরুকৃপা প্রচুরই হল, গ্রহণ করা শক্তি আমার কম । স্বীকার করতে হয় যে এ সব কোন না কোন অপরাধের ফল| এখন কি উপায় ?

প্রার্থনা করি যেন কোন দিন পাণ্ডিত্য অভিমান ইত্যাদি আমাকে অভিভূত না করে । আমি যদি আবার নাম নাও করি, আমার যা যা হয়েছে তা খুব কৃপার ব্যাপার ।

যাই শ্রীরাধে ! জয় শ্রী রাধে !

জগৎ


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