Big Friends in High Places
BY: ROCANA DASA
Aug 21, CANADA (SUN) — Any reader who hasn't been following the previous series of articles on Bhavananda is encouraged to read them, along with the ISKCON Child Protection Office Official Decision on the Case of Bhavananda dasa, published today. The other previous articles are linked at the bottom of this page.
The CPO report begs enumerable questions, which we've included in bold brackets in the body of the report. Beyond that, there's no official declaration coming from the GBC, or from Bhavananda himself for that matter, as to why Bhavananda is back in the control tower at Mayapur. We just have to hope that HH Jayapatka Swami, by whose blessing Bhavananda was allowed to return, has a clear vision that Bhavananda won't re-offend. Of course, many of Bhavananda's previous episodes of child abuse happened on Jayapataka Swami's watch, so it's very difficult to have faith that it won't happen again.
The undisputed fact remains that Bhavananda has taken a very prominent position within ISKCON Mayapur, which is the ISKCON equivalent of the Vatican in terms of importance and visibility for the society. This position was given to him by the local GBC, Jayapatka Swami, who is Bhavananda's old friend.
While the Child Protection Office has banned Bhavananda for lifetime from holding a position of importance in ISKCON with a title such as "Treasurer" or "GBC", Jayapataka Swami has clearly seen fit to give Bhavananda an "unnamed" position of significant importance.
Jayapataka Swami recently visited the ISKCON community at New Talavan, Mississippi, where he was overheard talking with a devotee about the recent Mayapur land fiasco. When asked where the planetarium was going to be built now that there is the good possibility of the Mayapur temple losing some of the land designated for the project, Maharaja's response was:
"Don't worry, Bhavananda has it all figured out. He said that we should tear down the long building and build it there."
Jayapataka Swami clearly referred to Bhavananda's "unnamed position" in this conversation, and we can see just how involved Bhavananda is in the high-level management of Mayapur - title or no title.
It has been abundantly clear for years that Jayapataka Swami is ready to stand fully behind Bhavananda, and has again given him a great deal of authority. Of course, one is left to wonder just when Mayapur began to have all this trouble with the government on the land issue.
In November 2005, the Sun ran an article entitled, Probe Into ISKCON Hand in Land Deals", which reported that a government inquiry had been initiated into large tracts of land acquired by persons assumed to be associated with the Mayapur project. The government's tacit threat was that it would take those lands away from ISKCON it they were found to be associated with in the ownership of the land.
It appears the land problems only became serious after Jayapataka Swami allowed Bhavananda to return on the scene. Now Jayapataka Swami is saying that Bhavananda is on hand to fix problems! Of course we can't know for certain if a correlation exists between the two events, but from the Krsna Conscious viewpoint we can easily image the connection. Given that 'purity is the force', for ISKCON to again bring the kind of contamination Bhavananda has repeatedly manifested back to the Holy Dhama could easily result in this kind of karmic reaction. I know I'll be accused of speculating, but given Bhavananda's history, and the typical absence of an official explanation as to why Bhavananda has been permitted to assume these responsibilities, I think it's well within our right to speculate.
I did not read in this year's GBC resolutions that they voted to sanction Bhavananda's return to Mayapur under this kind of an arrangement. Considering all the other topics they made resolutions on, one would assume that this would be an issue of significant importance. Nor did I hear an outcry from any member of the GBC that the action was taken against their better judgment. So what's really going on here? This is not justice by any stretch, not for Bhavananda's previous victims or for the devotees in general. And I cannot believe that the Sampradaya Acaryas would approve of this arrangement.
This situation indicates that that the GBC is not really in charge at Mayapur. Rather, the local authority, HH Jayapataka Swami, has enough power to act alone in this regard. Without question, Jayapataka Maharaja is by far the most powerful person in that region, and dare I say within all of ISKCON. In fact, there is no rebutting the argument that he has, all along, continued to be a Zonal Acarya in every sense of the word.
There seems to be a unique dichotomy at play in Mayapur Dhama. On one hand, it is clear that Jayapataka Swami rules supreme at Mayapur - so much so that little distinction can be drawn between his current position and his reign during the official Zonal Acarya era. On the other hand, there are indications that Maharaja is being held somewhat captive by his multitudes of adoring followers who reside with him at Sridham Mayapur.
One interesting story that illustrates this dynamic concerns a scene that unfolded at the annual GBC meeting in Mayapur a few years ago. At that time, the grassroots devotees had brought significant pressure to bear on the GBC about the fact that Jayapataka Swami was still effectively operating as a Zonal Acarya, even though the GBC had supposedly disbanded the system.
It has long been common knowledge that Jayapataka Swami accepts a level of worship from his devotees that is counter to ISKCON's current regulations on the matter. Maharaja accepts maha-guru puja, long queues of devotees who wash his feet, etc. Clearly, the focus on Jayapataka Swami has eclipsed the focus on Srila Prabhupada at the Holy Dhama.
At this particular annual meeting, the GBC members arrived at a consensus that Jayapataka Swami had to step back from this opulent level of worship, and had to instruct his followers to cease and desist in their over-the-top adoration of him.
When the local devotees (most of whom are Bengalis) heard this news, a revolt broke out. The devotees massed together in an angry mob, threatening to storm the GBC quarters to protest this action.
Jayapataka Swami, meanwhile, was reported to be in great anxiety about the situation. He had apparently begged his followers to stand down from their threatening posture, but they refused to listen to him. They were so passionate in their devotion to their guru that they would not accept his instructions. When the angry throngs refused to disperse, Jayaptaka Swami became somewhat panicked about how to control the crowd.
It happened that Padyavali devi was on the scene at the time. She asked Jayapataka Swami what was wrong, and why he was in such great anxiety. He told her what was transpiring, and asked her to go confront his disciples on his behalf, and to somehow or other get them to step back from their threatening mood against the GBC.
Being expert at talking down challengers, Padyavali devi did just that. She spoke strongly to the disciples, instructed them to follow their spiritual master's orders, and stand down. They complied, and moved off to another area to chant more quietly while the GBC again met to discuss the situation.
At the end of the day, the GBC recanted, and set aside their resolution that Jayaptaka Swami must control his disciples and stop the maha-guru worship they were giving him. The GBC's conclusion apparently was that they were powerless to control the situation, which they described as being a 'cultural problem'. The Bengali devotees were enjoying exactly the kind of guru worship program they desired, and they weren't about to change it at the request of their own spiritual master, let alone at the GBC's request.
The GBC felt they needed to back down on the issue, because if the local Bengali devotees were to actually revolt, ISKCON could lose its power position and even be thrown out of Mayapur.
Aside from the rather stunning impact of the idea that ISKCON could be unseated from controlling its assets at the Holy Dhama, the only other conclusion I can reach about this story is that Jayapataka Swami's disciples are not trained to obey their guru. Either that, or they believe that regardless of what he says, what he really wants is for them to continue to behave as they always have. Either way, they have obviously concluded that obeying their guru is more important than obeying the GBC.
This again brings up the essential issue within ISKCON today: who is more powerful, the collective GBC or the individual guru? In this case, we're talking about a project that is consuming a major portion of the international funding generated by the BBT. ISKCON is pouring so many of its assets into the Mayapur project, by way of cash and manpower, and in the form of donations from its most prominent members. All that is being created there is built on the foundation that Jayapataka Swami is essentially the Zonal Acarya. If he ever gave the word that the was leaving ISKCON, he would take the whole Mayapur project with him because the Bengalis effectively control it. When he admitted that he couldn’t control his own disciples, we could see that the Mayapur situation is very serious, indeed.
What will happen when Jayapataka Swami leaves his body? We can't deny that one day he's going to die. Exactly how is ISKCON's position there protected, legally and culturally? What measures have been instituted to protect the society's assets from being usurped by the government or local forces? To what degree will they have to sell out Srila Prabhupada's vision and the GBC's instructions in order to remain in West Bengal?
And what will happen if Bhavananda claims to be in charge when Jayapataka Swami leaves his body? Who will Jayapataka's disciples back up? What if they want Bhavananda? Will ISKCON accept that?
It is our duty as Vaisnavas to see the truth about what goes on in the material world, let alone what goes on within our own community. Regardless, some would like to believe that keeping these circumstances "secret" does us good, even though we know that in the material world, you can't keep a secret about untruth. The truth will always come out. That's the principle behind freedom of the press. Of course, this is not the standard policy within the institution. I would be very surprised to hear any member of the ISKCON elite respond to the challenges presented here. We don't hear anyone resigning or speaking out. Why Bhavananda is back in Mayapur is just one of many, many big secrets that have led to a great deal of disturbance in the movement, what to speak of people leaving, not participating, and the proliferation of speculation and conspiracy theories. Overall, it is not a healthy element to have in any society.
Rogues and rascals thrive because honest men don't speak out. But where are these honest men? Srila Prabhupada tells us:
"Regarding the position of a person who does not speak even when he knows the truth: jani saksi nahi deya tara papa haya. A person who knows things as they are and still does not bear witness becomes involved in sinful activities.’"
Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, May 17, 1975, Perth, Australia
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