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NEWSLETTER No.12 |
Message from Adridharana Dasa,
Temple President ISKCON Calcutta:Welcome to the 12th edition of our
newsletter, which deals with Iskcon's recent Central Office of Child
Protection's report on Satadhanya das. We expect you will be receiving a
sanitised version of this from the GBC in the near future. We however are
quoting from the full unexpurgated report, that has been leaked to us, and which
will not be made public.
Please read on...
In a confidential report, Dhira Govinda dasa, head of ISKCON's Central Office of
Child Protection, recently presented the official decision on the case of
Satadhanya das. Readers may recall that we had drawn attention in newsletter
number 5 to the fact that of all the people in the world the GBC had
selected this notorious pedophile to represent them in the Calcutta High Court
in defence of their illegal guru system. This, we felt, was a slap in the face
for his victims, and the victims of many other criminal sexual abusers that have
flourished in ISKCON. Now, after years of exhaustive questioning, the true
horror of Satadhanya's crimes has been revealed. The report shows they involve
the worst types of physical, mental and sexual abuse imaginable:
| "Satadhanya succeeded in suppressing the identity of his first known underage victim for 9 years, and of his second known underage victim for 18 years. A third victim, about 18 years old at the time of abuse and therefore possibly not under ICOCP jurisdiction, remains extremely bitter to this day about the lack of concern shown by Satadhanya and ISKCON. These victims suffered greatly during their adolescence from Satadhanya's abuse. Then, for the balance of their formative years and long into their early manhood to the present moment, they have suffered severe after-effects of abuse. This panel has therefore concluded that the mistreatment did not end 12 years ago. What to speak of ending, it is clear that by Satadhanya's suppression, indifference and denial, despair resulting from the abuse has to varying degrees become more profound as the years and decades have passed. A fourth victim remains unidentified and the degree of his abuse and suffering remain". |
Satadhayna has never come clean on any of his crimes until absolutely cornered. As the report says:
| "Satadhanya's testimonies show that his credibility in relation to this case is very low. He has regularly denied allegations until he had no choice but to confess, then admitted only to what he believed was known while consistently overstating the age of his victims and understating the severity and duration of the abuse." |
Most disturbing of all is the degree to which the ISKCON leadership, both in Mayapur and right up to GBC level, are revealed as consistently failing to properly bring this criminal to task. On several occasions ISKCON leadership expressed the view that Satadhanya had suffered enough retribution merely for having lost an official post:
| "In January, 1993, and at other times, the Mayapur GBC Committee expressed the opinion that Satadhanya das was punished sufficiently by being dishonored and being forced to give up his position as regional secretary." |
In two particularly damning passages the report reveals ISKCON leaders actually colluding to suppress information, and thus sharing culpability for the continued suffering of the abuse victims:
| "The case file shows that there were repeated and respectful complaints from devotees in Mayapur and elsewhere about Satadhanya's continuing influence in Mayapur and about the nearly total absence of punishment he received for his known offenses. The file also shows that the protection afforded Satadhanya by managers in Mayapur in the face of these complaints went beyond what can be explained by naivete, ignorance, or simple forgiveness. During the Mayapur vote in 1992 and at other times there was also significant resistance to divulging the known facts of the case." |
The other devastating recommendation comes in the report's conclusion:
| 1) The
Governing Body Commissioners of ISKCON Mayapur along with the Mayapur
Administrative Council (MAC) should write letters of apology and remorse,
signed by each MAC and GBC member, to each of Satadhanya's child abuse
victims. These letters should appropriately take responsibility for the
organization's role in favouring Satadhanya and neglecting the welfare of
Satadhanya's child sexual abuse victims. Further, the letters should genuinely welcome the victims to visit and reside at ISKCON Mayapur, and the letters should apologize for allowing Satadhanya to retain an Influential position in ISKCON Mayapur, thus adding to the victims' feelings of pain and intimidation. Similar letters of apology should be written to the devotee community at large in Mayapur, and to the ISKCON community at large." |
Considering the GBC is made up almost entirely of 'diksa gurus' who are supposed to be 'as good as God', the above must be highly embarrassing for them. The whole Mayapur project is to pay heavily for its past neglect:
| "3) This panel recommends that ISKCON Mayapur and affiliated projects contribute at least $10,000 annually for at least the next ten years specifically for the purpose of child protection. At least 50% of this money should be directly allotted as grant money for persons who suffered child abuse while under the care of ISKCON Mayapur." |
The report further recommends that Satadhanya be banned from Mayapur for the next ten years and write detailed letters of apology to his victims along with payments to them of $1,000 per year for the next five years. The report also recommends the following:
| "6) Satadhanya dasa must not assume any position of influence that is connected with ISKCON. This stipulation also includes a prohibition from representing ISKCON. For example, he is not permitted to represent ISKCON to an embassy or to any governmental entity." |
Satadhanya is officially
representing all of ISKCON's gurus in the Calcutta High Court, his being the
ONLY signature on the defence's affidavit. We wonder if now finally the GBC will
see how inauspicious their defiance of Srila Prabhupada's order on initiations
has become. Will they now withdraw Satadhanya as their representative as the
above report recommends? If there is an ounce of intelligence amongst them then
surely the GBC must realise the game is now well and truly up.
It should be noted that Satadhanya may only be banned for the next ten years
from certain ISKCON projects, whereas some devotees who merely wish to follow
Srila Prabhupada's orders on initiation have been banned for life, beaten and
intimidated. Thus we see how ISKCON really sees the relative importance of child
sex abuse, and in how much contempt they hold Srila Prabhupada's direct order.
ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) thank-you for taking the time to read this
newsletter, and please keep your letters, and e-mail addresses of other devotees
who should be added to our list, flowing in. A hard copy of our main position
paper 'The Final Order' is available on request. All other IRM papers can be
accessed through the EDITORIAL SECTION of the IRM website at http://come.to/irm
If you would like to receive any of the back issues of the Newsletter please let me know.
No1. Invitation
to Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja
No2. GBC Lose First Round of Court Case
No3. The Story VNN Refused to Publish
No4. Poison Theorists Accuse Adri of Complicity
No5. Iskcon Continues to Promote Child Abusers
No6. Invitation to Malaysia
No7. United World Body Formed
No8. Does Srila Prabhupada Support Poisoning Theory?
No9. PADA Attacks IRM Position
No10. PADA Continues to Present False Evidence
No11. GBC Funded Video says Ritvik Spiritual
Your comments, questions and
feedback are appreciated. Please write to me at adri@cwcom.net
Your Servant, Adridharan das