GBC Attack on North American ISKCON Temples

ARIZONA VAISHNAVA OBSERVER: May 07 2009, USA — The North American GBC members are using methods of intrigue, force and deception, to “centralize” the management of Srila Prabhupada’s temples in North America. From Srila Prabhupada’s own statements during his physical presence, one would conclude that the GBC does not have the legitimate power or legal right to centralize even “one” ISKCON temple.

In learning of the GBCs plan to centralize the management of some of his temple’s in North America back in the early seventies, Srila Prabhupada wrote GBC man Karandhar das, “stop this centralization immediately. It will ruin everything. The local men should organize and run things”. Srila Prabhupada made statements to the effect that such a management system would only lead to politics and the reduction of the spiritual purity within his ISKCON movement.

Nevertheless, such a thing appears to have recently taken place in Arizona. Stepping over the Founder-Acarya’s own directives on GBC temple management, members of the North America GBC (NA GBC members include; Tamohar das (chairman), Romapada Swami (Brian Rumbough, Brooklyn, NY) (ex-chairman), Badrinarayana das (Robert Morill, Pacific Beach, CA), Anuttama das (Geoffrey Walker, Rockville, MD) (ISKCON Communications Director), Malati devi (Melanie Nagel, Columbus, OH), and Hari Vilas (Harry Terhanian, Redmond, WA), have devised and executed a coup in the ISKCON temple of Phoenix, Arizona, to topple the Phoenix GBC representative and other members of the board of directors.

Using Hari Vilas das as the GBC “bull dog”, members of the NA GBC illegitimately ousted the Phoenix GBC representative, Hridayananda Maharaj (Howard Resnick, Beverly Hills, CA) and put in his place Hari Vilas, who holds simultaneous GBC and Temple President positions in three or four other locations in various states. On his first visit to the Phoenix over the past week-end, Hari Vilas told board members, “I will have the final say on every decision”.

“Evidence shows that Hridayananda Maharaj and members of the Phoenix board of directors were deliberately lied to and deceived by North American GBC members and their agent, Kuladri das (Arthur Villa), supplying false information to both parties. The subsequent information was then carried by North American GBC members, to the yearly GBC meeting of the International members in February of this year to be voted on”, says Dasarath das, founder and property trustee of the ISKCON Phoenix temple. Das continues, “While I do not have at present any managerial position in the Phoenix temple, I would like to see that the intended purpose of this temple is not exploited by some self-interested groups of individuals”.

“We are trying to get an honest account of what happened, but North American GBC members are refusing to answer possibly incriminating questions regarding the illegitimate takeover and centralization of the Phoenix ISKCON temple”, says Mr. Das.

In the following documented correspondence between Hridayananda Maharaj and Badrinarayana das, Hridayananda Maharaj states, “my main concern is that proper procedures were not followed. I was given false information. How thorough was the research, if so many of the leaders of ISKCON Phoenix, including the GBC and regional secretary, were not even consulted, nor given a chance to express a view? Why was the investigation conducted secretly and selectively”? Maharaj continues, “I am extremely opposed to the procedure followed. I am further concerned about the fact that Prabhupada adamantly objected to centralized management and it seems that such centralized management takes place in the Northwest USA (where Hari Vilas is GBC/Temple President). There is also anecdotal evidence that similar centralization will take place in Phoenix”.

A submittal and request has been addressed to the International ISKCON Executive Committee in Mayapur, India, to investigate possible corruption used by North American GBC members in the Phoenix temple problem; to make corrections in the above allegations and procedures followed by the North American GBC; to decipher if actual ISKCON Law was broken (as recorded in the ISKCON Lawbook) by the North American GBC team; and to take measures to firmly hold the North American GBC members and their agents both accountable and responsible for their actions.