May 30 2009, UK: Over the past months and years I have read with interest the many articles written by Mahavidya das. He has raised a number of issues regarding the community at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Although to some he may sometimes appear to be bitter and resentful, I believe that some of the issues he has raised should be of genuine concern to all Vaishnavas.
I joined the community at Bhaktivedanta Manor early in 1978. At that time as far as I was aware, none of the temple management were paid a salary, but worked on a voluntary basis. It was my understanding that this was the way our great Spiritual Master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wanted the temples to be run.
At that time, the main emphasis was placed on book distribution and Hari Nama. There were no civil marriage ceremonies, and the whole community was run on the basic principles of simple living and high thinking. Since then there appears to have been a quantum shift away from these basic principles and as a result, book distribution has rapidly declined, along with the loss of many good serving devotees who were the lifeblood of the community.
Backed up against the wall, the succeeding managers have gradually introduced alternative methods of raising revenue in order to support the massive overheads of running the Bhaktivedanta community.
They have also turned more and more to the Hindu community for their financial support. Whilst this in itself is not necessarily wrong, I do believe that they are now overly dependant on the Hindhus, even going so far as identifying themselves as “Hindus”.
When I joined the Manor all those years ago I was a relatively innocent brahmacari, although admittedly also somewhat naive. I had never heard the word “paedophile”, neither did I understand its meaning. In fact, it is only through my membership in ISKCON that I have come to understand what this word means. Some of the accounts I have read on the Internet and heard from other devotees are akin to a script from a horror movie, and are truly shocking.
I can totally relate to and fully understand Mahavidya’s anguish regarding his own children. I have never been a parent myself, although I can easily imagine that if I had been and one of my own children had been molested, I would also have been very angry.
What is wrong with us, that we don’t have simple morals and principles and understand how to please our Spiritual Master? Is it too much to ask?
I implore all the current leaders at Bhaktivedanta Manor to return to the basic principles of simple living and high thinking, relinquish their salaries, return to voluntary service, stop referring to themselves as “Hindus”, stop holding civil marriage ceremonies in front of the Deities, and go back to book distribution and Hari Nama. All this in accordance with the wishes of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Hare Krishna,
Your Servant,
Nitya Siddha dasa
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