Nothing Changed but the Leader's Names
BY: KURMA DASA
Sep 16, AUSTRALIA (SUN) — Yuga Avatara's article, "Mayavadi… Impersonal… Demoniac…" is typical of the mood here in Australia -- a very naive mood that is embedded in Australian ISKCON devotional life. If a sannyasi or diksa guru is or was scandalous, let's simply overlook it and bury our heads in the sand so that we keep our false reputations and make-believe friendships. These are a pre-requisite for staying in the good old boys club that dominates ISKCON Australia.
Let us take Ramai Swami, who Satya dasa prabhu referred to yesterday as being caught at an expensive resort in Fiji. Ramai Swami was one of Bhavananda's soul-mates (and still is) when Bhavananda was posing himself as good-as-Srila Prabhupada in Australia while at the same time having illicit homosexual affairs.
Both of these men had very expensive tastes and used Srila Prabhupada's money for their own sense gratification. Bhavananda had a Jaguar limousine that he and Ramai used to fluff around Sydney and the Gold Coast in. Ramai used to regularly tell the story about how Bhavananda once grabbed Ramai's expensive sunglasses and threw them out the car window onto the freeway, smashing the sunglasses. We would all laugh and giggle at the pastimes of Ramai and Bhavananda... how renounced.
Nowadays Ramai Swami likes to glorify Devamrita Swami. I heard him do this in a class not too long ago. Devamrita Swami has secured the sentiment of all the old Bhavananda supporters in Australia, such as Yuga Avatara. Devamrita Swami's influence is demonstrated in Yuga Avatara prabhu's use of the term "rugged individualism", a phrase that has become synonymous with Devamrita Swami.
It is a very clever political move on the part of Devamrita Swami, to first of all make friends with the old Bhavananda supporters and then to have them worship him. I mean, someone had to take Bhavananda's place, didn't they? However we do not believe he will pull it off in the long run because there is already a lot of opposition to this swami here in Australia. This opposition stems from his skeletons in the closet, such as his attempt to set-up another society here in Australasia, and his connections prior to being voted-in as an ISKCON guru.
Of course, it is no coincidence that Devamrita Swami set-up shop here. Both he and Bhaktisiddhanta Swami did so because of how un-educated they saw the Australian Yatra to be. A term they used to coin when their Hare Christian group was in full swing in Australia during the 1990s was, "These people are easy pickings"... so it is hardly surprising that Australians are fed the same old stuff they were when Bhavananda was in fashion.
Things are certainly the same in this part of the world. Only the chiefs names have changed!
Kurma Dasa (not the chef)
