Can We Trust Abhiram das?
BY: MAHA KITAVAH DAS
Jun 18, 2011 — INDIA (SUN) — There has been a lot of talk about Abhiram and his alleged involvement in property development in Vrindavan Dham. On one side, Abhiram claims to be residing in Vrindavan to do his bhajan and associate with devotees and on the other side, there are claims his prime purpose to be in Vrindavan is to make money. It is understandable that Abhiram must earn any trust placed in him by the ISKCON community for his past activities, and devotees generally would like to know if he is remorseful for his past misdeeds and is genuinely interested in changing, or he is in a kind of denial where he believes he has done no wrong.
I decided to do my own investigation as he, like anyone, is entitled to live in Vrindavan Dham and do bhajan without being accused of some scandal. So I called some of my contacts in the market in Vrindavan, and was not surprised to hear what the inner circle of local property developers, otherwise known as the Land Mafia, had to say about Abhiram and his activities in Vrindavan.
The inside scoop is that Abhiram and Narendra, a notorious property developer, the very same Narendra who is involved with Rupa Raghunatha of Food For Life Vrindavan, have plans to build an upmarket apartment complex near to the MVT. This new project is to be known as "The MVT Annexe". It is apparently Narendra's project, but Abhiram arranged for the property, which is behind the MVT complex, and is known to be the ‘builder/manager' of the project and has already had the architectural drawings completed.
I shall do some more checking myself, but I am concerned that this may turn out to be a joint venture with the Mayapur Vrindavan Trust (MVT). If anyone is privy to more information please inform the devotees, for ISKCON really should not be collaborating with Land Mafia types on any projects.
This may be a very lucrative decision by Narendra due to his less than savoury history with ISKCON devotees over the years, and by having Abhiram, the President of MVT International associated with his project, he likely thinks he can attract the big bucks from foreign devotees and ISKCON Life Members without having to lift a finger or spend a rupee in advertising. Narendra, who has been associated with ISKCON for decades, knows if he can get inside ISKCON in any way he will definitely make a nice fortune from dipping into the ISKCON food chain, and Abhiram is his way in.
If this is in fact true, and time will tell, then Abhiram has certainly sold his soul to the devil in Vrindavan Dham! So much for residing in the Holy Dham doing bhajan. My contacts are very good, and I have no doubt Abhiram is in Vrindavan Dham to do business and definitely not to do his bhajan. A leopard never changes his spots!
