In his recent article, "Radhanatha Swami and Cooperation in ISKCON", Payonidhi dasa has given us an opportunity to witness the predictable effects of going to India and meeting the 'big guys' in an orchestrated festival atmosphere. At the Mayapur Festival each year, the swamis get a chance to display their abilities and do what they do best, which is publicly appear to be very saintly, advanced personalities. I acknowledge that Radhanatha is a professional at this, by nature and by training.

Anyone who's been following the New Vrindaban discussion in the Sun will understand that I don't agree with anything Payonidhi prabhu has to say in his article. First of all, he asks us to forget the past. Either he hasn't been following or he doesn't understand what people are saying -- we're not simply dwelling on the past (as in the 'old' New Vrindaban), we're also looking at the present. In fact, this whole New Vrindaban issue emerged because I initially addressed some of the things Radhanatha Swami has been doing in the present, such as visiting Kirtanananda and having his people stay at the Sanctuary in New York, which flies in the face of the GBC's own clear rules.

Radhanatha Swami was joined in his fondness for Kirtanananda by Bhakti Tirtha Swami, who also saw fit to break the GBC rules and invite Kirtanananda to Gita Nagari. Likewise, he invited Vakresvara Pandit to Gita Nagari, knowing that he was under GBC sanction for illicit sexual activities with a minor girl. So I raised the point that while both these swamis are perceived by members such as Payonidhi as being highly purified, spiritually potent, absolute followers of Srila Prabhupada, the truth is that they have no qualms whatsoever about ignoring the rules of the GBC - the Governing Body that we're told is sanctioned by Srila Prabhupada himself. Anyone who doesn't see the gross hypocrisy of this situation just isn't paying attention.

So while Payonidhi dasa asks us to forget the past, what keeps bringing up the past is the fact that our ISKCON leaders continue to flaunt their own self-importance and independence, and they live by a double standard, freely doing things that would get the rank and file members ejected from their Spiritual Master's movement.

Now I suspect that Payonidi dasa will agree with this logic, and will reply with a comment from the other side of the fence saying 'No, it's not all right for these GBC's to break their own rules'. One can only hope that in the same breath, Payonidhi prabhu will admit that his earlier pro-Radhanath stance was based on sentiment, and not on fact or logic.

Today, many voices are asking that we all forget the impact Kirtanananda and his entourage of New Vrindaban people had on ISKCON. Those who operated for years under Kirtanananda's guidance should, in the opinion of some, now be seen as remediated and purified because of their actions in the intervening years. They apparently conclude that it doesn't matter that these individuals continue to follow, to this very day, programs fairly similar in nature to those Kirtanananda instituted. Radhanatha is a perfect example.

We just heard Payonidhi glorify Radhanatha Swami and all the wonderful things he has going on at Chowpatty, where he's giving shelter to sincere devotees. Of course, this is the very same thing people were saying about Kirtanananda at New Vrindaban. Where is the difference! Devotees like Payonidhi look at the surface, and all the apparently wonderful things going on, and proclaim that it is a purely spiritual atmosphere. Those who question the obvious signs that things may not be as they seem as labeled fault-finders.

Interestingly, we also hear that the Chowpatty temple is essentially Radhanath's personal domain. It apparently isn't even registered as an ISKCON property, although we understand that the temple has been giving donors receipts in ISKCON's name. The receipts apparently have to go through the Juhu Beach, Bombay temple, and there is some concern about financial accounting. This, of course, merits our further attention. But in the meantime, how is it that Radhanatha Swami puts himself forth as being 1000% a Prabhupada man, yet he hasn't even put his temple under the legal auspices of ISKCON? We wonder if he has been asked to sign over control of his temple in the same way the North American temple boards are being asked to sign over control?

With respect to Radhanatha Swami personally, what I'm most concerned about is the fact that he is sustaining and promoting himself like a Zonal Acarya. While he avoid the stigma of the name 'Zonal Acarya', and hasn't to our knowledge taken on a pretentious title like 'Acaryapada', in all other ways he appears to be in the same Zonal Acarya mood that characterized his godbrothers. We see this in the way he's organized his temple, and in the way he's preaching and acting. I've recently subjected myself to listening to many of Radhanatha Swami's lectures, which have gone a long way towards convincing me that he is absorbed in a Zonal Acarya mentality. I'll be doing quite a bit of writing in the future on this subject.

As for shaking the faith of his followers by our supposed criticism of him, that is an entirely lame argument on Payonidhi's part. If one takes the time to read what the GBC themselves are saying openly, as reported from the Mayapur meetings, the biggest faith-shattering activities taking place in the movement are when big devotees fall down. So that's what's really shaking faith, not what we're saying in the Sampradaya Sun.

Kirtanananda Swami was just such a 'big devotee'. The movement continues to suffer from the reverberations of his falldown, and probably will for many decades more. As a long-time close friend and supporter of his, it has now been called to attention that Radhanatha Swami merits watching. Radhanatha, after all, took sannyasa from the fallen Kirtanananda. Several devotees have made recent disclosures implicating Radhanatha in the New Vrindaban murder cover-up.

I can only hope that my godbrothers and sisters will shake themselves free of the sentimentality that's displayed so obviously in Payonidhi dasa's article. As has so often been the case in ISKCON's past, we all need to take off the rose-coloured glasses and see our leaders for who and what they really are. We can be sure that the vast majority of potency emanating from those associated with ISKCON comes directly from Srila Prabhupada. And while Radhanatha Swami proclaims his deep love for Srila Prabhupada, no one can ignore the fact that neither his lectures nor his lifestyle resemble Srila Prabhupada's, even remotely.

All that quotes that Payonidhi prabhu offered in his article don't apply at all, in my mind. Payonidhi emphasizes the whole idea of "cooperating"… but cooperating with who? We're supposed to be cooperating with one other on the basis of cooperation with Srila Prabhupada's program, but the leaders themselves are not cooperating with Srila Prabhupada, so why should we cooperate with them? Where's that going to get us? The perfect example is Radhanatha at New Vrindaban, where he was humbly cooperating with Kirtanananda. According to recent evidence, his cooperative activities included helping in the cover-up of murdering devotees. Now these aren't "little mistakes" we're talking about here, like accidentally eating something that has eggs in it. We're talking about murder, wholesale deception, causing Vaisnavas untold grief, and supporting a man who was abusing innocent children for sexual gratification. Of course, the latter doesn't apply to Radhanatha himself, but to say he didn't know it was going on is just total illusion. These are not "mistakes". And we haven't heard any public admission on his part, nor does he ask for forgiveness for these so-called mistakes.

I know that Radhanatha is very expert at being a sweety-pie guy. He knows how to give all sorts of devotee hugs and kudos to old Srila Prabhupada disciples, which of course is the same thing Narayana Maharaja does. But is this a professional technique or a heart-felt sincere exhibition of true devotee love? Anyone can learn this techniques at a Tony Robbins workshop. Payonidhi prabhu obviously fell head over heels for this whole mood, and came away with the idea that all our problems will go away if we all just meet in Mayapur each year to chant and dance, and engage in sadhana together. But history doesn’t prove that to be true at all. We've been meeting in Mayapur every year since 1972, and our problems haven't been solved. In fact, the Mayapur meetings have exacerbated the problems because the leaders are put on a big pedestal there, and people like Payonidhi 'fall in love' with them, which gives them even more power and prestige. This isn't good for their spiritual lives, but it does help give them carte blanche to do whatever they like when the festival's over. They're a bit like rock and roll stars who have to go on tour to promote their album. In the same way, these big devotees are on stage at Mayapur. They get to give devotees like Payonidhi big hugs and show themselves on their best behaviour. They have their devotional poses down, and lead the kirtans and give the classes to great effect. But then all these 'big devotees' go home to whatever district they're in, and I dare say, nothing changes. So how is it that this is going to solve everybody's problems? This is a big illusion.

To hear Payonidhi dasa, Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON family can be found at the Mayapur festival. But isn't it more true that you only see those who are allowed to participate in Mayapur? Is our ISKCON family comprised of all the devotees, including the vast majority of Srila Prabhupada's direct disciples who don't go to the festival? Many of them can't even go to Srila Prabhupada's temples, on the order of these same sweet GBC's who Payonidhi dasa has now decided to glorify. He seems to forget the fact that they're the ones who exclude most of their own godbrothers. Payonidhi would have us forgive and forget, but you can only forgive someone if they change the policies and habits that caused the offence in the first place. And in the case of ISKCON's leaders, that's not what they're doing at all.

As for Payonidhi's comments about Chandramauli Swami, this is another interesting set of circumstances. Payonidhi is apparently willing to take the word of Chandramauli, who for whatever reason decided to tell him all about the old days at New Vrindaban. From his perspective, of course, there's no one to blame but Kirtanananda. These ex-New Vrindaban leaders like Chandramauli don't even blame Tirtha for the current debate -- they blame Janmastami, and others who dare to discuss history publicly. Of course, they came out smelling like roses on the whole deal. They're all swamis getting the royal treatment, receiving all the benefits of ISKCON, even though for a good portion of their devotional career they really weren't even a part of ISKCON, given that Kirtanananda was kicked out around 1986. The real question is, was New Vrindaban ever in ISKCON, considering that Kirtanananda was 100% in charge and his program was not Srila Prabhupada's? This is what devotees like Radhanatha and Chandramauli were living by and promoting, while many abominable activities happened under their watch.

All of Kirtanananda's entourage have now been embraced and invited back to ISKCON, but who else has been invited back? Just like in the Zonal Acarya days, if you were the friend of a Zonal back then, you were given full facility. So Radhanatha Swami's success and power have enabled him in protecting people like Chandramauli, Devamrita, Umapati, Malati, and Kuladri. They're all embraced by ISKCON today due to the fact that Radhanatha supports them. They're all old buddies, and they can talk about the "good old days at New Vrindaban" together. They can share those memories and experiences like a private club, say to others "you just don't know what happened there -- you weren't there, only we know". This is exactly what we've heard from Tirtha in prison. So whatever they say happened, that's what happened. And whatever we observed happening doesn't count. This is just like the Nazis saying to the Jews "well you just don't understand what it was like under Hitler. We had to do these things. It's not us personally - we have nice families and we're good Christians. Only we were there, and know what it was like. So let's all forget about it".

Would you say to the Jews 'just forgive and forget' what happened to them in WWII, or do you want to embrace their instant response, which is we don't want people to forget, because then it can happen again. And I say it's happening again. Zonal Acarya-ism is alive and well, and is personified by Radhanatha Swami.