Why is ISKCON Bangalore resisting the Supervisory Committee of ISKCON Mumbai?

There are multiple reasons.

1. Flawed ISKCON Guru System:

The core issues of the dispute between ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai is the flawed ISKCON Guru system. Please click here to see the historical facts of the disgraceful fall-downs and on-going falling down of ISKCON gurus

2. Doyaram das is a master contriver for ousting devotees:

In the year 2001, Sri Adridharan Das, the then President of ISKCON Calcutta, who was temple president for over 20 years, had opposed the corrupt guru system of ISKCON, just as Madhu Pandit Das and the devotees of ISKCON Bangalore are doing now. At that time also Sri Doyaram Das masterminded the ouster of Adridharan Das from ISKCON Calcutta. Doyaram Das arranged hundreds of hooligans dressed as devotees to storm into the Calcutta temple and physically ousted Adridharan Das (pls see newspaper clippings of the physical assault involved at that time). As a reward for successful operation to remove the “trouble maker” like Adridharan Das, Doyaram Das was made the President of ISKCON Calcutta, which he holds even to this date.

Immediately after Adridharan Das was ousted from the temple, Doyaram Das got hold of the temple accounting documents, created false evidence of “embezzlement of funds”, filed a false criminal case and arranged for an arrest warrant against Adridharan Das. The temple president who had a spotless track record for over 20 years all of a sudden became a criminal by the handy work of Doyaram Das.

3. Now ISKCON Mumbai has assigned Doyaram Das to be the head of the Supervisory Committee of ISKCON Mumbai. He is an experienced and proven contriver of such sinister plans. He is constantly making proclamation that he is going to file criminal cases against the functionaries of ISKCON Bangalore.

We demand a legal process transfer, not just walk in.

The Supervisory Committee of ISKCON Mumbai is a veiled method of interfering with the day to day management of the temple which the High Court has restrained them from. Further ISKCON Mumbai has to take de facto physical possession, of the temple only through a due process of law, through a procedure as approved by a court of law and not just walk in.

As per Order 21 Rule 35 OF Civil Procedure Code:

Decree for immovable property

Where a decree is for delivery of any immovable property, possession thereof shall be delivered to the Party to whom it has been adjudged or to such person as he may appoint to receive delivery on his behalf and if necessary by removing any person bound by the decree who refuses to vacate the property. Accordingly, ISKCON Mumbai have to file an application before the High Court:

1) To get the decree drawn by the registry based on the judgment with that decree they have to file Order 21 Rule 35 of CPC for us to deliver possession.

2) They should file an execution petition before the Execution Court.

The temple is a running organization having several moveable assets. We have vouchers and accounting documents worth Rs 100 crores in the last ten years. What if they manipulate the records as Doyaram Das as he has done in the past? Hence we are insisting that any change of hands has to be recorded through court procedure as outlined above.

We have also complained to the Police that our de facto possession for all these years has to be protected until they have clear direction from the court and court supervised process for such a transfer.

4. The Supervisory Committee is Unconstitutional:

As per the High Court order, dated 24.5.2011 of the Honorable High Court of Karnataka in Misc. CVL 10235/2011 there is specific directions for compliance with the Rules and Regulations of ISKCON Mumbai. Madhu Pandit Das has been a member of the ISKCON Bureau of Mumbai also for over two decades. But the proposal for the resolution for Supervisory Committee has not been circulated to Madhu Pandit Das. Madhu Pandit Das has protested this Supervisory Committee in a communication to ISKCON Mumbai. Excerpts below: “I would therefore like to point out that the present so called resolution of the Bureau is invalid, apart from other infirmities, for non compliance with the aforesaid Rules and Regulations. I being a member of the Governing Council (Bureau) is entitled for a copy of the proposal, said to have given by Sri Dayaram Dasa for, the rules and regulations mandates circulation of the proposal to all the Bureau members before a resolution is accepted as a formal resolution of the Bureau. “Further, I being the most affected with regard to the so called resolution is even otherwise, entitled for a copy of the proposal and a reasonable opportunity of being heard, this being an elementary principle of Natural Justice. For the aforesaid reasons, I reiterate that the so called resolution is invalid and therefore is unnecessary to be complied with.”

5. No illegal or fraudulent activities in ISKCON Bangalore and Akshaya Patra: House Committee

The agents of ISKCON Mumbai influenced an MLA and the allegations of illegal and fraudulent activities of ISKCON Bangalore and Akshaya Patra was raised in the Assembly of Karnataka. Accordingly a House committee of ten MLA of all parties was constituted and the inquiry and investigation was conducted. After nearly one year of investigation, the House Committee gave a clean chit that there is no fraudulent activities in ISKCON Bangalore or Akshaya Patra.

We wish to assure the general public and donors of ISKCON Bangalore, please do not be swayed by the false claims of Doyaram Das that some fraudulent activities are going on. Both in ISKCON Bangalore and Akshaya Patra, we follow strict procedures of accounting which are audited by reputed auditing firms.

6. ISKCON Temple Hundi cash handling process:

To cite an example, we have a transparent and strict process involving opening of hundis, counting the money dropped in the hundis and depositing the same in the bank without the direct involvement of the ISKCON functionaries. We have a process document which involves the officials of Indian Overseas Bank, a CA firm, Security company and officials of ISKCON Finance Dept. The hundis are opened, money from the hundis are counted and banked by the bank officials entirely on a daily basis.

7. Madhu Pandit Das praised for integrity, honesty and dedication by ISKCON Mumbai leaders:

The senior leaders of ISKCON Mumbai, HH Gopal Krishna Goswami and HH Jayapatalka Swami, have written letters praising the integrity, honesty and dedication of Madhu Pandit Das in the year 1998. (Letters enclosed, Annexure 2, Annexure 2(1), Annexure 2(2)).

But after Madhu Pandit Das started questioning the corrupt practices of ISKCON gurus, the agents of ISKCON Mumbai started a maligning campaign against Madhu Pandit Das.

8. ISKCON Mumbai has been misleading public on Srila Prabhupada’s organizational strategy:

Agents of ISKCON Mumbai are misleading the general public on the organizational structure of ISKCON. They are not revealing the full picture of how Srila Prabhupada organized ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada did not create a single monolithic worldwide organization and all ISKCON temples as it’s branches. He wanted each ISKCON temple to be registered as a separate organization.

Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter:

“Regarding your points about taxation, corporate status, etc., I have heard from Jayatirtha you want to make big plan for centralization of management, taxes, monies, corporate status, bookkeeping, credit, like that. I do not at all approve of such plan. Do not centralize anything. Each temple must remain independent and self-sufficient. That was my plan from the very beginning, why you are thinking otherwise? Once before you wanted to do something centralizing with your GBC meeting, and if I did not interfere the whole thing would have been killed. Do not think in this way of big corporation, big credits, centralization–these are all nonsense proposals. … management, everything, should be done locally by local men. Accounts must be kept, things must be in order and lawfully done, but that should be each temple’s concern, not yours. Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy. Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. There must be always individual striving and work and responsibility, competitive spirit, not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they do nothing but beg from you and you provide. No. Never mind there may be botheration to register each centre, take tax certificate each, become separate corporations in each state. That will train men how to do these things, and they shall develop reliability and responsibility, that is the point.” Srila Prabhupada in a letter to Karandhara Das, Bombay, 22 Dec 1972

In the US alone there are about 40 incorporations of ISKCON temples.

In the beginning when the activities of ISKCON was small in India, Srila Prabhupada conducted all the activities as a branch of ISKCON Mumbai. But as the activities began to expand, he authorized creating separate societies in Calcutta.

30 October, 1974

To Whom It May Concern:

As the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, I authorize that the Society may incorporate under the Religious Societies Act of 1860 separately in West Bengal as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Calcutta) with myself as Founder-Acharya.

I also appoint the following as the Trustees: Gargamuni Swami, Bhavananda Goswami, and Jayapataka Swami. Dated this 30th Day of October, 1974 Signed: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

In 1978, when the devotees approached the government of Karnataka for allotment of land, they were asked if ISKCON was incorporated in Karnataka. It was at that time, according to the ISKCON procedure with the authorization of then International GBC Representative of South India, ISKCON Bangalore was incorporated as a society under Karnataka Society Registration Act. (Letter of the then International GBC Representative enclosed, Annexure 4, Annexure 4 (1) ).

9. Doyaram Das’s real estate activity:

Doyaram das has been accusing Madhu Pandit Das of doing real estate. Madhu Pandit Das has been doing the housing project in the name of one of the trusts and the profits entirely meant to support the ISKCON projects. No personal benefits shall accrue to Madhu Pandit Das but to the trust only. Madhu Pandit Das continues to live in a one room accommodation in the temple and maintains a simple life style.

On the other hand, Doyaram Das is involved in building and selling an apartment in Mayapur – all in his personal capacity. All the profits accrue to his personal benefit. (Picture enclosed, Annexure 5).

In fact, Doyaram Das is also involved in a multi-crore civil construction business in Kolkata in his personal capacity and all for his personal benefit!