ISKCON BANGALORE Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road, Rajajinagar
Clarification by ISKCON-Bangalore – STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH
This is in response to the inaccurate and misleading Public Notice issued on 21st May, 2010 in some newspapers by the agents of ISKCON-Mumbai.
The information provided therein is false, and has been released with the mischievous intention of misleading the public at large.
The City Civil Court, Bangalore on 17th April, 2009 declared, “The Plaintiff (ISKCON-Bangalore registered in 1978 under Karnataka Societies Registration Act) is declared as the absolute owner of the ISKCON Temple and land at Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road, Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560010 and is in possession and enjoyment of them, being an independent legal entity.” Further the court decreed, “ISKCON-Mumbai are restrained by means of permanent injunction from interfering with the ISKCON-Bangalore peaceful possession and enjoyment of the temple properties or attempting to take possession or control them.” Aggrieved by this order the agents of ISKCON-Mumbai are putting up such mischievous Public Notice to tarnish the image of ISKCON-Bangalore.
We also wish to bring to the notice of the public at large that the Honourable High Court of Karnataka in it’s order disposing off the Writ Petitions W.P.No.12106/2005 and W.P.No. 13748/2005 has clearly dismissed the very prayer of ISKCON-Mumbai which intended to lay claim on the properties that belong to various independent institutions of the group functioning out of Hare Krishna Hill, Rajajinagar, Bangalore. Thus the appeal RFA 421/2009 filed by ISKCON – Mumbai before the Honourable High Court of Karnataka is limited to the subject of ISKCON temple property at Rajajinagar only.
We also wish to inform the public that ISKCON-Bangalore, the society registered in Karnataka, is not involved in real estate business activity, as is being falsely propagated.
It is hereby clarified that ISKCON Charities and India Heritage Foundation, two separate institutions/trusts are involved in the housing project on it’s property and is meant for raising funds for setting up Krishna Lila Theme Park at Kanakapura Road. This project was presented to the Government of Karnataka as a tourism project and was cleared by the State High Level Committee, vide Government Order No. ITY 52 TTM 2005, Bangalore dated 28-06-2005.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a separate institution and is only involved in the mid day meal program all over India. It is also a false propaganda that it is involved in real estate development.
The present senior leadership of ISKCON-Bangalore are full-time dedicated missionaries who have put in 15 to 30 years of service in Srila Prabhupada’s Hare Krishna movement in Bangalore. Till 1999, ISKCON – Mumbai had recognized the leadership of ISKCON – Bangalore for their commitment to service, integrity and organizational skills. In 1999, the devotees of ISKCON – Bangalore became involved in a theological debate, internal to ISKCON, and took up a stand contrary to that of ISKCON – Mumbai’s. This theological debate has been raging in the ISKCON Movement all over the world. Soon after this, the agents of ISKCON-Mumbai have been vilifying the leadership of ISKCON-Bangalore, now for nearly a decade.
ISKCON – Bangalore society avows allegiance to Srila Prabhupada, the Founder Acharya of ISKCON and the institution he personally founded in 1966, ISKCON Inc. New York. ISKCON – Bangalore does not align with ISKCON-Mumbai’s disobedience and disregard of Srila Prabhupada’s own written directive on the succession of Acharya within ISKCON. Contrary to the explicit directions of Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON-Mumbai has been involved in promoting and perpetuating the system of self-appointed fallible persons as successor Acharyas of Srila Prabhupada and as “God’s representatives on earth.”
In the last 25 years of ISKCON’s history, post Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance in 1977, nearly fifty such self-appointed successor Acharyas (mostly westerners) have had the most dishonourable and disgraceful fall downs from spiritual grace and extreme deviation from their spiritual vows. Their saga constitutes the unfortunate annals of ISKCON’s dark history, post 1977. The misuse of power and authority of these self-made Acharyas that resulted in scandals of abuse of women and children by sannyasis (mainly outside India) and even murder of those devotees who opposed the system proves a radical departure from the pure path of Krishna bhakti taught by the most revered and saintly Srila Prabhupada.
The perplexing and staggering fact is that the ISKCON world leadership has not been able to contain the perpetration of the same over three decades. This is so because almost all of the leadership are occupied by the self-appointed Acharyas themselves. Bogged down by the power, wealth, flamboyant lifestyle provided by submitting disciples (contrary to the principles of austerity or tapasya, taught by Srila Prabhupada) they have been unable to take corrective action. These repeated occurrences have brought immense disrepute to ISKCON world over; it has disillusioned thousands of ISKCON followers; resulted in ISKCON losing temple properties and a long list of organizational woes.
The devotees of ISKCON-Bangalore have vigorously taken up the cause of implementing the directions of Srila Prabhupada on the matter of spiritual succession within ISKCON organization. For the last 12 years, the devotees of ISKCON- Bangalore have been struggling to create awareness among the followers and establish the truth of Srila Prabhupada’s directions in the matter of spiritual succession after his physical disappearance from this world. They have been addressing the flawed and self-appointed Acharya system prevalent in several ISKCON temples that betrays thousands of spiritual aspirants. The devotees of ISKCON – Bangalore have been appealing that the pure principles of Acharya-upasana (worship and honour of the true Spiritual Master) that Srila Prabhupada had enunciated for his society, be upheld.
ISKCON – Mumbai has refused to acknowledge the authenticity of the cause of the devotees of ISKCON – Bangalore and their allegiance to Srila Prabhupada in trying to follow his instructions for spiritual succession in ISKCON. On the contrary, the agents of ISKCON – Mumbai are camouflaging this fundamental issue and falsely portraying, over the past decade, that the leadership of ISKCON – Bangalore is interested in holding control of the assets of ISKCON – Bangalore temple by fraudulent means. They have further cast aspersions on all the activities of ISKCON – Bangalore like Akshaya Patra mid-day meal program and the Krishna Lila Theme Park Project. In 1999, the agents of self-made gurus of ISKCON-Mumbai attempted to forcefully take physical control of the temple in Rajajinagar and the funds of ISKCON-Bangalore society (that are being properly rendered in the service of God and mankind) by expelling over 150 dedicated missionaries. Having no other alternative, the devotees of ISKCON – Bangalore were forced to take protection from the courts to defend against ISKCON-Mumbai’s attacks. After ISKCON – Bangalore won the court case, ISKCON – Mumbai have resorted to an ongoing maligning campaign against the leadership of ISKCON-Bangalore.
As individual citizens of this country, the missionaries of ISKCON-Bangalore, have every right to legally create any number of institutions in the form of associations or trusts for developing distinct activities in pursuance of the vision of the Founder Acharya, Srila Prabhupada and in the service of humanity. All these separate institutions are compliant with all the laws of the land. Further each of these institutions are formed as charitable trusts with no personal gain to any of the trustees who are all dedicated, voluntary and full-time missionaries.
We call upon the public to ignore such mischievous propaganda meant to disturb the activities of ISKCON-Bangalore and other legally independent institutions like ISKCON Charities, India Heritage Foundation, Sankirtan Seva Trust, Goloka Seva Trust and the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Issued by: Jai Chaitanya Dasa,
Secretary, ISKCON – Bangalore, Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road, Bangalore 560010
Trustee, ISKCON Charities & India Heritage Foundation.
For more Information, please visit www.strugglefortruth.org
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