“All is Not Well in Sivarama Swami’s Privately Owned Fairyland”

BY: NITAI DAS, Apr 30, 2010 — UK (SUN) — I would like to thank Jakob Smahl for his recent article, “Sivarama Swami’s Kingdom“. In the article he is clearly defining the dual standards of Maharaja. There are the standards that he is superimposing on the rank and file devotees (volunteers), and there are the standards (lack off) that he is having for himself. The two are diametrically opposed.

By acting in such a hypocritical way, Maharaja is creating a disturbance in our society. Our philosophy is based on ‘preaching by example’ and not on a ‘Don’t do as I do – do as I say’ model of leadership.

We have to ask ourselves, where did Maharaja learned this double standards policy? The answer lays in history — Maharaja`s history.

Sivarama Swami was groomed and trained by Bhagavan ‘Maharaja’. While under Bhagavan’s care, he acted as Bhagavan’s henchman. On the instruction of Bhagavan, Sivarama Swami would forcefully (physically) kick out the devotees (godbrothers) who questioned Bhagavan’s erroneous ways.

Sivarama Swami is still following this fear and intimidation program of management, which is totally inappropriate for a Vaisnava society.

We also know very well that it was Bhagavan who started this luxurious ‘lifestyle of the gods’ for the sannyasis, gurus and GBCs in ISKCON, thinking that instead of following, they can imitate Srila Prabhupada. But they did not imitate, as Srila Prabhupada was not attached. They are very much attached to their toys and their big lifestyles, comforts and controlling everyone and everything around them.

It appears that while under the care of Bhagavan, Sivarama imbibed this inappropriate mentality. We only have to look at the damage that Bhagavan’s concocted lifestyle had on the at the time flourishing ISKCON, while he was in charge, in zones like France and Italy. Even 25 years after Bhagavan’s fall down, ISKCON France (his zone) still lies in ashes and ISKCON Italy is not doing much better.

Sivarama Swami must look at this history of ours and learn from it. Let him remember that those who try to forget the past are condemned to repeat it!

There is still hope for Sivarama Maharaja and his privately incorporated project in Hungary. He can still change his ways, however the time will eventually run out. Maharaja, abandon this erroneous Corporate lifestyle of five star hotels/resorts, abandon the gravity free chair, abandon the female secretaries/servants, and live simply and purely, instead. Lead by example. Take care of your followers properly.

Do not base your management on impersonal corporatism, fear, intimidation, manipulation and rejection of devotees (volunteers) who do not want to follow you blindly. Rather, base it on personal brahminical/Vaisnava education, honest love, appropriate care, and protection.

Dear Sivarama Maharaja, please do what is right or you will have to suffer the consequences as well, like so many other big and powerful devotees in the past who strayed from Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, thinking that they know better.

Comments

  1. seva das says:

    pamho agtsp if we going to look the history of iskcon after sp left we find so many mistakes ok we should not considered the past of someone who become devotee but never forget our humble origin as meleccha and yavana i was devotee full time in italy when bhagavan das were in charge of italy so i know very well what your are talking about some devotees were even scare to offer the obeisances to bhagavan das that’s not the way of a pure devotee who is the best friend of the whole world we can see all this mistakes from jaya tirtha to bhavananda kirtananda etc.. now is the turn of srs i see a video of srs with kesava bharati swami again where some devotees were washing his feet he use to spend the laksmi of the temple to go in prostitute when he were in charge of spain under bhagavan das i don’t want be critical but amanitvam is require in these so call leaders my pranam ys seva das

  2. seva das says:

    pamho agtsp i will never worship a bag full of stool in the form of human body i’m sorry but a lot of devotees are still blind regarding what’s going on in the iskcon bbt of our beloved acharya acbsp gita sugita kartavya kim anyaih sastra vistaraih sripad sankaracharya said this in the sri gita mahatmya there is no need to study any other scriptures in detail, the bg of acbsp is enough to go back home what’s this gopi bhava sastra beyond srs realizations?the propaganda that the guru is a pure devotee of sri krsna is still going on by make a lot of devotees to cry when they fall down as happen to many iskcon guru who thought prematurely to be already pure devotees bhagavan das is one of them he got so puffed up that he were forcing even his godbrothers to bow down to him but hg madhusevita prabhu refuse to do it anyway all these problems come because they don’t let sp to finish the job the bhakti process is already slow and they make it even slower of course they will pay the consequences in becoming mouses musiko bhavo again ys seva das haribol

  3. Bhagavan is a conditioned soul, like the rest of us. Unfortunatley to this day he is seemingly unrepentant, and unaccountable for his actions. I had a dialogue with him, after I challenged his proposal: Template For A Fresh Society.
    His authorised service to Srila Prabhupada is eternal and goes without question. But the ramifications of, and accountability for his deviations demands question.

    http://gleaningforward.blogspot.com/2010/04/response-to-template-for-fresh-society.html

    Bhagavan responded to this critique of his essay, and his and my response:
    http://gleaningforward.blogspot.com/2010/04/response-to-bhagavans-comments-on-my.html

  4. bhakta tommy says:

    Dandavats to all the Vaishnava devotees & all glories to Srila Prabhupada!

    I think this is my first reply to an article which I was reading dating from last year May 1st 2010 which mentions the, “all is not well in Sivarama Swami’s privately owned fairyland”, by ‘Jakob Smahl’. I’m also one of those unfortunate bhaktas who fell away from what was, the ‘Halcyon days’ of the ‘bogus gurus’.

    I met Vyasa-Puja dasa in 1979, assisting the now redundant Bhakta program leader Vypramukia dasa of Chaitanya College. When on a visit to his parents, Vyasa-Puja dasa furnished my lowly self with the soul awakening book ‘THE SCIENCE OF SELF REALIZATION’. Two weeks after reading, I became ‘Bhakta Tommy’ at the Manor in Feb 1979. I’ve started to pick up my search for the truth again since 2009. Although I’ve been in and out of Iskcon for over 20yrs including service in the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

    So since you have kindly informed me in this article of the background of Sivarama Swami, espescially him being Bhagavan’s, right hand man/henchman, this has invoked me to tell of my very first encounter of the man in 1980 shortly after he took Sannyasa (I note he did not take Sannyasa from Srila Prabhupada).

    This was at Croome Court or Chaitanya College, CC, in Pershore Worcester. I’m not writing this to muddy an already darkened water as another history tale of woe, but rather to add my shattering tale of why I left this once beautiful mission that was started by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada to whom I gave my life and soul.

    What I read in Srila Prabhupada’s books was certainly a far cry from what was being taught by the then higher echelons of the ‘Bogus gurus’. Several bhaktas & devotees came to the same conclusion. This led to some and at times unbearable disharmony.

    Every now and then we did things within the mission’s temples in the UK to earn some order of merciful nice sorts of “pay back”. For a start, I never took any initiation, because when I realized the gravity of falling from the profound promise that one gives to one’s guru, I felt that I personally at those times, wasn’t ready to take an oath that I refrain from the 4 ‘regulative principles’ one had to follow, and I witnessed many, many such disasters of devotees that did fall.

    I felt then, as now, I cannot make this promise because I see no empowered gurus today. But I still do some Japa.

    As you know Jayatirtha Goswami was the UK leader, no need to say more.
    So, back to CC and my first encounter with Sivarama Swami, SS, what was a very unpleasant meeting. One devotee and I were really close friends (his name is Vrajajana dasa) we used to be night watchmen at CC. One day it was decided that a garden should be made just outside the entrance and Gatehouse of CC. I was put in charge of that particular seva and Vrajajana and I set about the task.

    It was school holiday time and some of the grihasta devotees asked us if their kids could help. We had no problem with that,so off we went and started work. About an hour before lunch prasad, SS came up driveway with a group of his sankirtan men. We payed dandavats, he, tipped his head in receipt. I had heard some good reports about him, so I gave much attention to this man of such high reputation when explaining to him the course of our work.

    He then turned his attention to the 4 children who were also working with us and then what he said to one of the girls completely freaked myself and Vrajajana into an instant state of shock & repulse. To this one girl who almost 12yrs of age, he said, (almost word for word), “what is your name”, which she gave, then he said, “I hope that you are still a virgin and not having any physical relations with boys?” !!!!

    She was dumbfounded by this, all the children were and she started to cry. I was livid at what this man had just said, then while turning away, said “be brave”, “chant the holy name”. And that was that. From that moment on my study of SS brought me to realise that something was not seated well with him.

    I watched him push his sankirtan team to death from their travels with him, he once also tried to convince Jayatirtha that we in the work and maintenance of CC should go into the local villages around and beg alms (money) when not busy, what Jayatirtha rejected right out of hand.

    Oh, the writing was on the wall even then for the future of SS. Like I said, many sincere souls, have fallen away, some permanently, by the throes of these repugnant foes, and we keep foes close at bay.

    A lighter note now for what some would call sweet justice in the name of ‘KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS’. In the early days of my devotion, I was doing much seva in the London Soho St Temple. It was being readied for the opening of the restaurant ‘Healthy Wealthy Wise, when the restaurant finally opened.

    It was a winner from the off. Life went on as usual and the restaurant started to become so busy that more devotees regardless of temple etiquette or position thereof had to help, bar non, this was required because to also maintain the other service our temple provided. The “Lunch program”, from around 12.30pm till 5.00pm the busiest time of the day, went very well, for about a week.

    Then ‘disharmony’ once again reared its ugly head. Those considered ‘not suited’ disappeared although pot washing and cleaning of the temple are essential service for cleansing the heart. The first place one should always keep pure.

    This mentality in the form of “I AM BOSS, YOU ARE SERVANT” attitude, made most of us poor guys very stressed and disdained. So slowly at first, more and more of whom I will call, “chair seat polishers”, rapidly made themselves scarce until us, so called “SERVANTS”, few now in number, were down to working up to 18-20 hours per day, from ‘mangal artik’ until the final mop was squeezed and put to dry, ready for the next day.

    In the restaurant’s dessert section, the temple sold lots of expensive cakes and gateaus, which is why a lock was installed upon the huge steel fridge door of KRISHNA’S kitchen. So these key masters who were hardly seen during the rush hours of the day, because we kept the ship floating, regularly came in the quiet of the day around 7pm, usually when artik took place, and most of the cleaning stopped until after supper and stole many blocks of the cake and gateau to take home to their families and friends. Disgraceful!!!

    Then when word spread we only asked for a little cake on Sundays at least, we were flatly refused!!

    I had a method to open the door without detection that totally baffled the cake thieves. While I distributed a much loved grace and mercy (in my eye’s) in the dead of night to tired and hungry fellow SERVANTS. Not one of the 7 or more devotees I gave to ever cashed me in, and in the end it became epidemic and was stopped by higher management on the grounds that much laxmi was being lost.

    And was finally given out for all devotees as a Sunday only treat. But I was always against anyone thinking themselves higher than their fellow god-brothers, regardless of their position. I could go on about much horrors that went on in those times, but I may write write a book about them, some day? Anyway, thank you for listening about some of ISKCON’s past that I was involved in – most of my days in Prabhupada’s movement were fruitful and beautiful. I’ll write more as my revamped spirit heightens.

    Dandavats to all the sincere devotees of Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

    Your fallen servant
    Bhakta Tommy, Haribolo.

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