Manidhara and the shadow world of ISKCON
Question: I Just came across this video of Manidhara http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=usZAMCnKm_I , a prominent ISKCON book distributor since 30 years in Germany, he was one of the biggest supporters of Harikes and still believes in appointed gurus and sends Harikes donations, cash, to Florida.
His point is, the internet is a shadow world, and since the Prabhupadanugas are mainly active in cyberspace, they live in an illusory world. Any suggestions?
Answer: Why do we have Google, YouTube, Twitter and FaceBook? Why so many devotees are chatting on the internet via YouTube and FaceBook? That is right, to meet friends who live beyond their boundaries. And to stay in contact we write emails via cyberspace.
Interesting point and a basic question, too.
One way is to ignore cyberspace completely, like other Kali-yuga inventions. A linear way of thinking, but continuously getting more complicated nowadays.
The other way is being creative, just get the best out of it and try to use it for Krishna.
Admittedly, without cyberspace I wouldn’t have discovered Srila Prabhupadas teachings at all, wouldn’t know about Prabhupadanugas and couldn’t try to realize Krishna daily.
Without it, that would have been much more difficult or even impossible for me.
Hare Krishna,
Michael
PADA: This is good. This devotee (Manidhara) is talking about how we are dominating the internet. OK, we have not got the temples, but we are gaining support on the social networking sites, with our Bangalore program and so many other independent programs. That means they are acknowledging: on the internet, we are cleaning their clocks. As far as doing living preaching, they are not doing that either, they have made some hindu car pooja programs and they are mainly getting hindu funds, they are losing their “living” people every day.
They have the shadow of ISKCON, their temples are having bed bugs problems because they have kicked most of the living people out. Every day, we have more (living) people on board, whether we are using the internet or some other means, we are gaining support and they are losing support. And — the fact this man (Manidhara) has to discuss our internet presence proves how powerful it is. When the public meets a live person, that live person googles Hare Krishna, and our sites come up near the top of the list. They cannot avoid us any longer. This video is a recognition how we are taking over their media control. Goody! ys pd
Manidhara noticed at least 11 so called gurus initiating in this part of the world, falling down — 4 of them are dead, 1 left the path of bhakti altogether, 1 joined another sampradaya, took re-initation in a matha which doesnt even recognize Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja as bona fide. 180 Prabhupada disciples kicked out of ISKCON.
For thugs like Manidhara this is not worth mentioning. Instead, those who have been kicked out and try to remind people of Srila Prabhupada, kicking them once more, giving them the business.
Those who presently officiate in central Europe, conspicuously incapable of doing any basic preaching, since 20 years no media coverage, no prominent people taking to chanting the holy name.
E.g. all temples in Austria closed since ten years – France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Armenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Herzegovina, Lithuania, Macedonia, Slovenia, Estonia, Turkey, all in bad shape. No temples at Mediterranean islands like Capri, Malta, Ischia, Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, Gran Canaria, etc.
What is rather shocking how present ISKCONites seem even more hostile than karmis. Whenever one of their leaders falls down or is forcibly removed, they feel good, a murmur goes through the crowd, “now we move up”.
A phenomenom we normally only see in the animal kingdom. Nothing of that sort like, change one’s mind and put Prabhupada back in the center.
On the other hand, if the Prabhupadanugas would be running something like a vedic village with cows and pasture land, people would surely join bigstyle.
But why we should do this, Prabhupada never wanted cheap followers who join because of economic reason?
The eastern block and European countries are behind but will come around in time. I really think a lot of the eastern devotees are being told to avoid the Prabhupadanugas and the Internet.
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Hoping this meets you well and Happy in Krsna Consciousness
Your eternal friend and servant
Gauridasa Pandita Dasa
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Suhotra and Bhaktivaibhava
alias Avinas Chandra German |
Krishna Kshetra das
German |
Manidhara das
German |
German Manidhara destroys devotees and temples
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Manidhara destroys Sweden Devotee Yatra
by Bhakta ******, Sweden – Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000
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Original message to Adridharana Prabhu:
Please note that I understand you have much more important things on your priority list than what I would like to share with you here. So it is not very urgent relatively speaking, but I still feel I have to confide my situation to someone since certain older things bother me again, and even more in the light of what is going on in Iskcon today. If you feel that my story below is of any relevance to the mission of IRM, then you are welcome to email me for further detailed info etc.
My name is Bhakta ******, I live in Sweden, and I have associated with Iskcon in Sweden since 1988. I am not an official member anymore (congregational or other), nor have I surrendered to any Iskcon spiritual master apart from Srila Prabhupada + one particular devotee whom I personally cannot consider as Iskcon (although others may see him as such. More info on this below).
I write you this to seek personal guidance regarding my spiritual life from someone who doesn´t support the activities of Iskcon, and whom I therefore can consider trustworthy. Of course, as bad as the situation is today it is practically impossible to trust Anyone within the realms of Iskcon – inside our outside – so I must admit that I write to you also in an ambivalent mood. I hope you can excuse me for this, but I think you agree also that is is most understandable, especially for someone like me who is nowadays in a very remote position as far as Iskcon and Iskcon-devotees are concerned. Today I can only judge from what I read and hear, but considering the devastating personal interactions that I have experienced years ago, it still makes sense to write you this.
My personal troubles and experiences of rascal-Iskcon began in 1990. I had only been trying to become a devotee for two years, mostly on my own but also by regularly visiting the temples in Stockholm. So because I was neophyte I was also a bit fanatical about the idea that this movement must be flawless and perfect in all aspects. I had discovered something wonderful in my life, so for me it was disastrous when I came to hear about the things that had happened only a few years earlier (the falls of Bhagavan, Jayatirtha, Hamsaduta, Kirtanananda etc). I was given this information from sources outside Iskcon of course, so it felt natural for me to inquire more about that with people Inside Iskcon. But very soon, to my big surprise, I realized that this was the last thing I should have done, at least if I was the least interested in my well-being as a devotee!
As it happened, in the summer of 1990, I joined the Sunday feasts on a regular basis, and on one particular Sunday a new devotee I hadn´t seen there before joined me for prasadam. As it turned out, we continued feasting and discussing every Sunday for weeks to come, and I was very happy with his association (he was a new bhakta also, but more dedicated than me; already living in the temple and having taken shelter under Harikesa Swami, whom he worshipped and spoke very dearly of.
This Sunday bhakta of mine (I call him Bhakta D from now on) was a great inspiration for me, and also the only devotee at the temple that I felt easy with.
So when the bad reports about previous misdealings, crimes etc within Iskcon reached me around this time, I naturally turned to Bhakta D to confide. So I wrote him a personal letter and sent it to the big temple where he lived outside of Stockholm.
While waiting for a reply from him, I visited another Sunday feast at the Stockholm temple (for some reason Bhakta D was not there on that Sunday), and after the lecture (given by a Swedish devotee), I delievered a controversial question in front of the whole congregation of devotees and guests. The lecture had explained that a devotee of Krishna is faultless and cannot fall down. So this invoked my bold question that “Then why is it that many Iskcon devotees have fallen down and committed crimes?”
The temple room became very silent for a few seconds, and within a minute another Swedish devotee (of higher rank) rushed in and rescued the one who had given the lecture, saying to me that no such things had happened at all and that I was completely misinformed. The strange thing was, that while I took prasadam after the questions&answers were completed, the very same devotee approached me and asked if I wanted to do any practical service in the temple. I found this very odd since he had been so furious with me only minutes before.
Well, I continued visiting the temple almost on a daily basis, mostly purchasing tons of books etc from the temple shop (as I had done for the last two years). I was very inspired with reading and completing my Iskcon library. So one day when I was in the shop looking at books as usual, all of a sudden I was practically “kidnapped” – well, at least that´s how it felt when the temple president Manidhara dasa together with the angry devotee from the Sunday feast rushed into the shop and ordered me to follow them to the office. In that office I experienced harrassment that I thought a Krishna devotee uncapable of.
The temple president (Manidhara dasa, disciple of Srila Prabhupada) was so furious that his eyes were glowing and steam could be sensed filling his presence in the room. He yelled at me at the top of his lungs for at least half an hour, giving me hardly any chance to respond (although I kept mild and as humble as possible). In this half of an hour, he “explained” to me that I was a demon, that I was worse a demon than a deprogrammer, that I could consider my spiritual life to be exterminated, that I was banned from “all Iskcon temples all over the world”, and much more I don´t want to mention here. The other devotee supported him completely, although in a more passive way. I tried to explain my case as constructively as possible, but I was told that all I could produce was lying! In fact, according to Manidhara dasa I had never even associated with Bhakta D at any Sunday feast, less discussed anything with him!!! (of course, I couldn´t prove that I had because I had been foolish enough not to attach any hidden microphones or cameras to my body at those happy prasadam conversations!)
So I was thrown out because of a letter and a question at a Sunday lecture.
In order for you to understand all the complications involved, I must explain also my relation to Vegavan Prabhu. Vegavan (disciple of Srila Prabhupada, and one of the devotees who established Iskcon in Sweden in 1973) had himself experienced severe conflicts in the mid-80´s. He had been temple president for many years, chairman of Swedish Iskcon, and very popular and well-respected in general. But when he expressed opinions about the zonal acarya system, he and his family soon found themselves thrown out on the street by Harikesa Swami. So Vegavan formed a branch called The Bhaktivedanta Society and established a temple in Stockholm together with some other Iskcon devotees who also left Iskcon during this mid-80´s tumult. Vegavan kept preaching from his own radio station etc, and that is how I discovered him in 1989 and finally accepted him (in my heart) as my spiritual master.
I was very happy with my relationship to Vegavan Prabhu up until this Manidhara episode occured. I will not dare to speculate about Vegavan´s attitude towards Iskcon at the time (nor of today as we have very little contact nowadays), but it seemed to me he was forced into a conflict of interest since he apparently tried to make peace with Iskcon. So in that process of his I guess it was not very good for him to support me officially. He continued to welcome me to his temple, but he also chastised me for having written that letter to Bhakta D etc. From Manidhara´s point of view at the time, Vegavan didn´t support me at all, rather “Vegavan almost had to puke when he heard about you!” [quote Manidhara in the office room].
I can also quote from a letter he sent me in this connection: “Regarding your comment about Vegavan Prabhus appreciation of your activities, it shows that you still didn´t understand anything. I would like to request you not to bring this subject matter up during your presence at Hare Krishna center, since it seems that you like to perceive some controversy between Hare Krishna Center and Vegavan Prabhus temple. Even there would be such a differences of oppinions I can assure you that you have no brain to understand them, neither is it beneficcial for your spiritual life to absorb yourself in such an analytical studies. These things have nothing to do with Krsna-consciousness and if you are realy serious to BECOME a devotee of Krsna (it seems that you act like if you already BECAME one) then I would request you to dedicated your energy fully to the service of Vegavan Prabhu instead of using his good name to prove other vaisnavas wrong.” (letter from Manidhara dasa November 27, 1990)
So I found myself in a very awkward situation; I was a neophyte devotee who had just been informed that he had committed the most severe of offenses, that against Vaisnavas (which I was well-read enough to understand as the end of my spiritual life.) I continued serving Vegavan Prabhu by doing translation work for years to come, but I could never again feel or even hope for the spiritual bliss that I had indeed experienced before the bad things happened, and I blamed myself for this of course.
Nevertheless I have never given up in my struggles to become a devotee, and I must admit that I can feel a litle relief today when I see that what I did in 1990 was not so wrong after all, because nowadays its seems that almost everyone is doing it, and it has almost become a virtue also. But I have lost many years of association with devotees due to the fact that I was “destroyed instead of being saved” [by Manidhara and others].
The actual reason why I am writing you this, is because I would like you to be aware of the existence of Manidhara dasa. I was not the only one destroyed by him. He has terrorised the Stockholm temples for many years, he was notorious for this, and many sad things happened under his leadership, among those a devotee dead in the toilet of the Stockholm temple after a drug overdose. To the great relief of many devotees who had been terrorised by him, Manidhara finally had to leave Sweden a couple of years ago, and he went back to his home-country the Czech Republic. And he left as his usual self; I heard reports that he expressed lethal threats against devotees who wouldn´t support him in his attempts to take all the temple money with him etc.
You may already be familiar with Manidhara, or you can read his 2000 Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada and just see how he hates people in general. I just hope he isn´t continuing his terror in Czech Republic at this very minute. Knowing what he has done in the past, and considering also that he was a close buddy to Harikesa, I felt it nessecary to make you familiar with him, and also lighten the burden of my heart as well. I can tell you much more, but of course I have no real reason to at the moment. It´s just a little profylactic info I am sending you, as you know that we can expect just about anything from Iskcon devotees these days, and who knows – maybe Manidhara is still up to things and will cause some real disturbance someday… (he certainly has the character for it).
(by the way – Manidhara was also in charge of stopping my preaching activities in 1996. I was then living in a small town far away from any Iskcon temple, and I had finally regained spiritual strength and inspiration to do some preaching. So I asked Vegavan Prabhu if he agreed that I arranged for a small temple in my home where I would invite people for prasadam and discussions etc. Vegavan welcomed my idea, so I immediately started to launch the project. Of course, as soon as this came to the knowledge of Iskcon in Stockholm, I had to spend my time corresponding with Manidhara instead. The only result achieved was that the Swedish National Board refused me to use Srila Prabhupada´s books in any kind of preaching. They also informed Back To Godhead, and when BTG informed me that I could not be listed anymore even in the harmless Gatherings section, I had to give the whole project up.)
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I have one personal question also, which I put forward to you because you are trying to revive Iskcon, because you are stressing the ritvik system etc. What is your opinion on a situation such as mine regarding the guru issue? I agree completely that Srila Prabhupada must be the center of Iskcon. As for the technical truth of Srila Prabhupada´s orders concerning future initiations, I don´t have the energy to study all the interpretations, as you may well understand. I would like to be able to maintain a simple understanding of what guru is, not indulge in a lot of speculation depending on the words of devotees fighting against each other. Since I accepted Vegavan Prabhu [in my heart] as my personal guru, I have never had any trouble with such a comprehension. And since Vegavan indeed is an Iskcon authorized diksa spiritual master, and since he never rejected me as an aspiring disciple (although he told me in 1996 that he wanted to take an amount of years off from the duty of guru), I still consider him as such.
But considering the points you are stressing in the name of IRM, I write you this in a confused state again…not knowing what is the absolute truth in these matters, or who is in possession of it… Because if I would follow the standards presented by you, I could no longer expect to ever be a disciple of Vegavan Prabhu. Not that I would not like to become Srila Prabhupada´s disciple, but I think you understand my dilemma (since Vegavan Prabhu is not [yet] among those rascal gurus, and since an aspiring disciple will always defend his gurudeva of course! — this may be my ignorance at present time, so this is where I ask your guidance.
I hope I haven´t wasted your time completely. I wish you good luck in your efforts of reviving Iskcon, and if there is anything I can do in this regard, do not hesitate to contact me.
yours, Bhakta ******, Sweden
Supplementary data 26. February 2002
“The issue of Manidhara is an important one, not just because I have been a victim myself of his terror and psychological abuse, but because I do know that many others in the past have also been demolished by his tyranny, probably to a greater extent than myself, and I suppose one cannot expect him to have changed that much nowadays but that he simply moved his dictatorship to another geographical region.
My personal privilege is that as an non-official member of Iskcon, I am not dependant either upon him nor upon the system of hierarchy in which he would feel he could do me some potential harm. That is why I can speak freely. But for official members and temple devotees who are under his direct or indirect jurisdiction at present time, it must be a very difficult situation to even consider criticizing his behaviour [if indeed his behaviour is the same today as it has been before; this I do not know by personal experience `cause I have had no pratyaksa of him since 1996.]
Every honest devotee is afraid of vaisnava-aparadha, to a much greater extent than required unfortunately, and tyrants like Manidhara are materially very intelligent and know exactly how to utilize this fear so that they can make the most of their abuse of other people. And this is dangerous, because if a person like that is not stopped in due time, there may be no end to what he can do in the future, because as we all know, greed is endless, just like weeds if not properly rooted out.
Ultimately, the conclusion of someone like Manidhara still being situated on a fixed position within the movement, is a symptom of a defective system of management as a whole, and that should be the main focus of Iskcon reform.”
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Manidhara destroys Czech Devotee Yatra
Prague, Czech Republic
26th of September 2000
Homepage: http://krsna.wz.cz/hlavni.htm
Dear Maharajas and Prabhus, PAMHO. AGTSP.
Today we, a part of devotees in Czech republic named later on, would like to express, after a long time of considering the whole matter, our grievancess and complaints against the leadership here in the Czech yatra, particularly devotees named below, for years longing manipulations and misuse of their positions, for misconduct, misinterpretation of sastra, dishonesty, discrepances between pracar and acar, blesphemy, spreading of rumors and lies about others with certain aims and threatening those unwilling to unconditionaly surrender to them.
We have formulated this petition with an aim to stop this years lasting ‘ruleship’ of harsh and rude treatment from their side which has lead many people in the past to leave ISKCON and many times process of devotional service altogether. Which has lead to misunderstanding of what heritage Srila Prabhupada gave us, which has made many people unhappy, which has made many people to cry in a sorrow mood.
We have formulated this petition with an aim to stop a misinterpretation of sastra and its use with manipulative motivation, as well as, that ISKCON laws are not only maintained, but also that devotees in general should know about their existence as such. The same it is with every years resolutions of the GBC. >>>>>
More here / complete article here:
http://www.harekrsna.org/gbc/themes/manidhara.htm
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To say the internet is a shadow world is a straw dog argument. Minimize what the internet is and then knock down its users. If the internet is a shadow world, then so are tape recordings, video, and for that matter, the written word. This is not strong argument in spite of the bellicose attitude. Just hot air.
I was serving in German yatra under Harikes, I was never a full time so call sankirtana devotee, but I still do love to go out on books distribution. And this is an exception here! For me the problem is; here are no more Prabhupadas books (it counts in all no english speaking countries)!!! An excuse they would say, I don’t care for their opinion anymore. I want to say,after seeing a bit from the Manidhars seminar on you tube, that in my opinion the books distribution was made in HKS zone on a complete material level by mercantile type of men, (sometimes zombies), with almost no spiritual understanding at all! You can right now,( you have to know polish:)to chceck this) read on polish ISKCON affiliated web pages how many people are still in trauma after this havy pushing to go out! RAUS! with books! Everyone! Whole year raus! But the problem was they were serving the wrong “guru”, under wrong guidance, without real spiritual support and shelter, the one only Prabhupada can give, at least for now! All this causes suffering, alienation and finally leads to sadness, sometimes harder, to lose of faith even! I need now a few hours of reading and remembering Prabhupada to get out this Manidhar das thick and vast “ISKCON”shadow from my mind.
I am an Iskcon devotee and I have been chanting for over twenty years. I have never written anything on the web about the problems our movement has. This is a first – but I want to add to the serious complaints against Manidhara. I still feel the pain (many years later) of having associated with such a negative member of the movement. In fact, I witnessed him forcing out devotees who could in fact do genuine and honest service for our movement. They had problems for sure but no more than the so called “great sankirtan devotee” who mismanaged them.
Manidhara often gave classes about his Kshatriya nature. Funny thing is he was never on a battlefield. I’m pretty sure if he was some of his own men would shoot him in the back. I feel that my contact with him was like the kind of association one has with a great venomous snake. The translation of the name Manidhara means: snake with a jewel in its hood. In fact if one looks you can see the fangs drooling like the demonic figures in cartoons. I feel the poison from those fangs. It is very hard to remove. So, this is my warning (idiosyncratic as it may be) -Wherever this one stays the envious contingent in our ranks will gather. Look around him you will see. Anyone who associates with him is not associating with anything in goodness. He was someone who was born with an envious nature. He will die with it. His service to Krishna is the same service that Kamsa did. Kamsa employed all the demons. It seems to me only a kind of justice that he receives the same punishment as he so liberally handed out others from his so called position of authority.
Dear Friend; All persons associated with the guru-hatya or poisoning of Srila Prabhupada partake of the most extreme sinful reactions. Get away from them! There will be nothing but heartbreak and suffering in their ranks, and this means all the GPC cults and their associations, even distant ones.
Accept only Srila Prabhupada as your eternal teacher, and follow his instructions to your very best ability. One of those instructions is not to gamble, so take his instruction and do not gamble with your spiritual life by accepting imperfect persons who may or may not fall down, as teachers and leaders, out of blind faith or naivete.
His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Founder~Acharya of the Krsna Consciousness Movement
August 24, 1968
Montreal, Quebec
Letter to Brahmacari Sivananda
” You write to say, “I really miss Swamiji and my God-brothers’ association so much.” But I may remind you that I am always with you. And so wherever I am there, and you are there, all your God-brothers are there. Please remember always the humble teachings that you have received from me, and that will make you always associated with me, and with your other God-brothers. ”
It is seen in the world that the most selfish manipulative moral-less persons often rise to the top in military and commercial organizations, precisely because they are able to manipulate and command. Worse, most Iskcon devotees are idealists and loving submissive brahminical characters by nature, not commanding personalities. Then in addition, current ranks are swelled with yes-men and persons seeking to be abused. So we have rampant abusers, those who love the abuse, and the true brahmanas stuck somewhere in between these two insane groups.
Psychopathic persons/sociopathic persons, are roughly one person in 200. The behaviors you describe of the sick devotee(s) in question are classic, as if straight examples from the psychological literature. My own expereince in Iskcon since 1972 is that often, not always, the GBCs are similarly sycophants to sociopaths and even psychopaths running Iskcon, now under direction of global forces whose intent is nothing less than world corporate take-over and domination, as Srila Prabhupada warned us. Real Vaisnavas follow transcendental autocrats, not corporations.
The world leaders are consumed by cult practices of their own involving worship of Lucifer. The Fords, Bushes, Rockefellers, Rothshcildes, Queen Beatrix, the bloody Windsors of England, the Jesuits, Freemasons, CFR, IMF, etc are part of this collusion, and the U.N. is their controlling organization. Psychopaths and sociopaths like Stauss-Kahn, IMF head, recently charged with aggressive sexual assault on a maid in a rich hotel in New York, are at the head of that heap. They consider themselves owners of the world and the poor people in it, who they consider mere peasant chattle or slaves, in keeping with their cult philosophy. Similarly, the same agents took out Srila Prabhupada, infested the movement, and run it from the shadows, so that is the shadow organization really running ISKCON.
The current attempted hostile corporate attacks on Bangalore yatra are just the most glaring example. They have these difficulties now precisely becuase they have associated too closely with the guru-poisoners’ club, and so are suffering second-hand reactions to the guru hatya, murder of gurudeva.
Devotees in general are in total ignorance on these affairs, but Srila Prabhupada was not, and warned us repeatedly in this regards, but most still do not understand the current reality. I myself did not fully understand the truth of what Srila Prabhupada was trying to tell us until quite recently, and I have been an active member since many years,also MSc in human behavioral and health sciences). The truth is so horrendous and evil, most do not comprehend or cannot accept it, but may be forced to do so by the deteriorating world situation.
Like I suggested, run away from them, my friend. Follow Srila Prabhupada only, help by serving the actually loving devotees, not the selfish scum, and thus go back to Godhead, and meanwhile be rightly situated in this lifetime.