Temples At War with North American GBC
BY: DASARATH DAS
May 11, SEDONA, ARIZONA, USA (SUN) — Compromising the integrity of the International GBC body by their actions, it appears that the North American GBC members are attempting to re-write the mission statement of ISKCON in the USA. Part of their agenda seems to be to centralize the management of ISKCON temples in North America and black list and eliminate anyone that disagrees with their new political strategy, thus creating an opportunity for dishonesty, manipulation, and profiteering on behalf of some members of the GBC.
Their latest move was witnessed on March 10, when a coup d'etat was staged in the Phoenix Arizona temple. NA GBC members and their representative, using deception and intrigue, illegally ousting the rightful and accepted GBC, Hridayananda Maharaj (Dr. Howard Resnick, Beverly Hills CA). Going against pure Vaishnava etiquette and proper rules of conduct for any GBC member, members of the NA GBC lied to both the authorized GBC person of Phoenix and temple board of directors, forcefully replacing Hridayananda Maharaj with "centralization guru" Hari Vilas of Seattle (Harry Terhanian, Redmond WA), who is simultaneously GBC and temple president in three or four ISKCON temples.
Some of the immediate reactions have lead to the consequence of disenchanted board of directors members retiring from temple management. The new centralizing GBC man Hari Vilas has stated that "all decisions regarding the Phoenix temple will now be made from Seattle by me".
The threat that this "low class move" poses in general to the ISKCON temples in North America, and their sincere leaders, is that the constitutional and legal right granted to Temple Presidents by the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, to govern, manage, and expand their temples as they see fit, will all be gradually taken away and replaced with authoritarian dictates from an ever increasingly unsupervised North American GBC. What to speak of the new "acceptable method" used by NA GBC members to dislodge any temple leader they see as a political opponent.
The North American GBC has a historical record of mismanaging some of Srila Prabhupada's properties, devotees, and their assets in the U.S., making this new move by members of the NA GBC a real threat to the spiritual health and growth of ISKCON in North America. Members of the North American GBC include newly appointed GBC and chairman, Tamohara das, Romapada Swami (Brian Rumbough) of Brooklyn, Badrinarayan das (Robert Morill, Pacific Beach CA) of San Diego, Anuttama das (Geoffrey Walker, Rockville MD) of Potomac, Maryland, Malati dasi (Melanie Nagel, Columbus OH) of New Vrindavan, Rabindra Swarup das (William Deadwyler) of Philadelphia, and Bir Krishna Goswami (Bruce Jacobs) of Hillsboro, North Carolina.
ISKCON devotees are quite trusting and simple in their following the authority structure of ISKCON, the GBC (Governing Body Commission),a system of management and oversight that the Founder-Acarya Srila Prabhupada himself created and installed, for the safeguard, protection, and endurance of the spiritual society he painstakingly created. Even during Srila Prabhupada's physical presence, however, he found it necessary at times to personally correct GBC representatives for their going off track, and even disbanded the entire GBC when he discovered that politics and irresponsible management was being created by some self-interested parties. Without containing and supporting purity, straightforward dealings, and honesty in representation, such a GBC is self-defeating and dangerous.
The preservation and spiritual health of ISKCON is more important than the manipulation of those who are trying to personally benefit from the position and power of being a GBC representative. And for a so-called GBC representative or body of individuals to usurp their governance and trusted "commission" given to them by the hard working devotees is appalling. For them to change the management structure of the
Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, using political and non-Vaishnava ethics that corrupt both Srila Prabhupada's message and institution, is reprehensible. To frighten, dislodge, and eliminate or alienate trusting preachers and volunteers who have given their life to ISKCON is a crime against everything that ISKCON stands for.
Srila Prabhupada said that "centralization" of his temples will ruin everything. Why are the North American GBC's supporting the action of centralizing the North American temples, as they have very recently done in Phoenix? As NA GBC chairman Tamohara das recently wrote on April 23rd: "At this point, the North American GBC feel that Hari Vilasa is competent to handle the management situation in Phoenix, and he has our support".
Why did NA GBC members and their representative use deceptive tactics and misrepresentation to accomplish their ends of illicitly ousting GBC member Hridayananda Maharaj in Phoenix? How do they think that ISKCON temple leaders or devotees in general will trust their having a "free hand" in the overseeing of ISKCON in North America, when NA GBC members use the "darker side" of politics?
And why and how do they expect the entire body of GBC representatives and the GBC Executive Committee to sanction and condone their deviations from ISKCON principles and constitution, as if to almost ask them to look the other way? Srila Prabhupada said that there are "elements" that have infiltrated his Movement to will try and destroy it from within. Perhaps those devotees acting as NA GBC representatives, and who have taken any part in the wrongful and illegitimate changing of GBCs in Phoenix, should resign. That would be honorable.
If this "disease" and wrongdoing on behalf of the NA GBC is not stopped immediately by the North American Temple Presidents, and more so by the Executive Committee of the GBC, great and irreversible damage to Srila Prabhupada's mission will be done - that of destroying the already blemished faith in ISKCON's purity and capable leadership of a bone fide GBC. Is there a new motto being created among their ranks, by the 'overseers' of ISKCON in the U.S.: "Corruption is the basis, deception the force, cheating the essence, and duplicity the principle?" Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? But that's what politics does and is all about. So let's just ask the NA GBC to back up and put things the way they should be. Is that too much to ask? If you see someone in maya, is it wrong to inform and try to correct the person, whoever the person may be?
Hopefully these issues, and the issue of how to monitor the NA GBC and safeguard temples from possible misleadership, will be a topic at this coming weekend's North American GBC/Temple President's meeting in New Vrindavan. Hopefully temple leaders will stand up to help protect and preserve the purity of Srila Prabhupada's mission in North America. Self-aggrandizement and politics are the enemy of preaching!
