Please Save The Berkeley Temple
BY: JAGANNATHA SWAMI DAS
Sep 9, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA (SUN) — The Berkeley Temple is getting severely mismanaged by the BI. Its closed from all day, 5 days a week, 9am to 6pm, Rasaraj never attends any morning programs, except when a famous Sanyasi or GBC is visiting to put on a show for them. Rajahamsa, the temple president, attends Mungle Aroti only 2 or three days a week, some times not even that many. Their main collector on Fisherman's wharf is under investigation by the San Francisco police. They collect donations by telling tourists that if they don't give them a donation they will give them a citation. There is no life membership program, no bhakta program, no food for life program, and no distribution of books what so ever.
Jagannatha Swami das has informed the Berkeley Management that there is a known child molester coming to the temple and strongly advised them to not allow him on the property. Rajahamsa's reply was "well, he's married, he's got kids, and he's settled down now." Svavasa Prabhu had the good sense to kick him off Watseka Street. One of the boys he molested committed suicide and he also molested several little girls under the age of 7 at various other ISKCON Temples. We were also informed by the Bombay Temple that Rasaraj covered up a child molestation of a 12 year old girl that occurred at the BI head quarters in ISKCON Bombay and reinstated the child molester into the Temple. Also, it is known that the BI committed forgery and tried to take over the Bombay Temple with other ritviks.
Some people think that the deities are being worshiped properly, but they are not. The arotis are always late, if they happen at all. The last time Jayapataka Maharaja came to Berkeley, they missed two arotis in a row. According to one devotee, the reason they don't put sugar in the deities milk is because Rasaraj is a diabetic.
Harivilas Prabhu and Jagannatha Swami das and a majority of other devotees in the area would like to see a change in the management.
The only life at the Berkeley Temple happens once a year at the San Francisco Ratha Yatra. Which would not go on today if Jagannatha Swami das did not reinstate the RathaYatra and initiate a strong donation base. Ratha Yatra gives the opportunity to thousands of conditioned souls to come in contact with Lord Jagannatha and Srila Prabhupada. When I witnessed the current Temple Management allowing devotees out side of ISKCON to distribute other gurus books at the SF Ratha Yatra, I put the permits back in my name, which gives me the authority to stop it.
In closing, the Berkeley Temple has been nothing more then a personal apartment for Rasaraj, Rajahamsa, and Grantharaj. They have no people skills, no management skills, and should not be in charge of the ISKCON Berkeley Temple. The local house holders and Vaisnava Youth do not feel comfortable with having a temple management that tolerates, endorses, and protects child molesters. Why is it that some leaders in this movement protect the people who have molested children, instead of protecting the children that have been molested? Please wake up!!! After all the law suits and all the bad publicity on TV, still this goes on!
Yours In The Service of Srila Prabhupada,
Jagannatha Swami Das
PS Any correspondence on this matter can contact me at 707-426-4672 or you can email me at jagannatha.swamidasa@gmail.com.
