Brooklyn ISKCON Temple Lockdown

LOKAGURU DASA:

Here is a message for all who care about the welfare of Sri Sri Radha and Govinda in Brooklyn and all their eternal servants who are living in the New York city area. This is from our friend Madhumangala Das.

"More insanity is on display at The Iskcon NY Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir. Today Ramabhadra das decided to remove the sign from the front of the temple which as been there since the 1990's proclaiming that the temple is Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON Center. Sri Sri Radha Govinda are being held hostage by Ramabhadra das and his wife Satya dasi. This is absolutely shameful.

Why should the devotee congregation be refused darshan of the deities? Why is it that all of this is taking place while the GBC for NY, Romapada Swami, is residing within Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON Temple?

After all, the GBC goes to great lengths to impress upon all that they are the "ultimate managing authority of ISKCON." All devotees everywhere should know that Romapada Maharaj and Ramabhadra das conspired to lie to the ISKCON World and the GBC. They have had a contract to sell ISKCON's Brooklyn temple in place for some time, before boldly declaring (lying) to the GBC Body in Mayapur that there was no pending sale.

Romapada Swami has decided to jump ship and throw Ramabhadra das to the wolves when he was threatened with losing his position of guru and gbc within ISKCON if he didn't abandon the sale of the Temple. There is a Judas in Brooklyn...

Romapada Swami should now be stripped of all position as a leader in ISKCON, since he has managed to lose control of 2 of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON Temples (Freeport NY being the other) under his GBC watch. He failed to take appropriate action last week and has allowed Ramabhadra das to keep the doors locked to the Temple for the past 8 days. This is absolutely insane.

When will the GBC show that they are actually capable of protecting Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON society from men who continually use the assets of Iskcon to line their own pockets? When will the GBCs force Romapada Swami to show how he purchased 2 buildings in Brooklyn, on MacDougal street, under the name 'ISKCON of Manhattan' and where these funds came from?

Any devotees that are on the inside of the Brooklyn Temple and who support these 2 men should really question who they're actually loyal to, Srila Prabhupada or these two? Ramabhadra das's actions over the past 2 weeks have proven that he is a rogue. These actions have also proven that he has a vested interest in selling the Temple for 60 million dollars.

IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT HE CARES NOTHING ABOUT ALL OF THE DEVOTEES THAT HOLD RADHA GOVINDA DEAR TO THEIR HEARTS, AS HE HAS SINGLE - HANDEDLY PREVENTED EVERY CONGREGATIONAL MEMBER THAT ISN'T PART OF HIS LITTLE BAND OF CRONIES FROM ENTERING RADHA GOVINDA MANDIR. DON'T DONATE ANOTHER PENNY TO THIS MAN AS HE ISN'T BEHAVING LIKE A SERVANT OF THE NY CONGREGATION...

If Radha Govinda Mandir isn't an Iskcon Temple then why was there a sign proclaiming that it was for more than 30 yrs? And why have both Ramabhadra das and Romapada Swami been accepting donation checks made out to ISKCON for 3 decades as well?

How much of Iskcons money will Ramabhadra das waste on lawyers and court cases to ensure that he can sell the temple even though there is overwhelming disdain and disapproval on the part of the congregation regarding the Temple sale? "

"Enough is Enough."

[PADA: OK didn't the GBC notice there was a problem in Brooklyn when:

*** Kapindra Maharaja said to PADA that the Brooklyn temple once rented a large hall to a Haitian Disco, which he said generated loud music till 3 AM, drugs sales, prostitutes hanging around, at least according to the Maharaja? Or what happened here?

*** Then there was the reported rented Bingo Hall? Or what?

*** Reports of Romapada lending large amounts of money to poor devotees, acting like a sannyasa bank, Pharisee money lender in the temple?

*** Reports of mass kicking out of the Prabhupada devotees, or dissenters generally.

*** Now the report is the GBC might have to give them the Brooklyn building, but the GBC will try to keep control of the deity. OK what about the 7 ft. Radha and Krishna deity we already have here living under a carport, because the ex-guru wants $1,000,000 to give them to us? How come some buildings, devotees, or some deities count, but not others? 

Where has the GBC been when all sorts of mis-use of managing has been apparently going on in Brooklyn for years? And why did the GBC sign over the temple to these guys, knowing they are maverick bad managers? 

Meanwhile, when we reported this to a GBC friendly guy he said "yawn" "so what"? Yep, he has heard so many crisis stories like this one already, this is just another piece to add to the pile of manure. Lets face it, the GBC is complicit in allowing all these crisis to go on, which is why a devotee writes, what is their cut when the buildings get sold? Or are they not even going to get a cut, they just mis-manage things and lose them for no apparently good reason? ys pd