Death on the Highway—To Relax or Resign?

She did the right thing—we ask that the GBC members consider her example.

On Friday June 21, 2019 in Randolph, New Hampshire, a pickup truck driven by Ukrainian national Volodymyr Zhukovskyy plowed into a formation of motorcyclists on their way to a charity event. Investigators concluded that the 23-year old was driving erratically when he crossed headlong into the bikers’ lane of traffic. Seven riders were killed in the collision and several others were seriously injured. All were members or supporters of the JarHeads M/C, a Harley-Davidson club comprised mostly of retired Marine Corps veterans and their wives. 

As the details of the accident emerged, it turned out Zhukovskyy was a habitual offender whose license had been suspended several times for drunken driving, accidents and a National Driver Registration violation. In February of this year cops found a crack pipe on his person. And just weeks before the inevitable carnage, he had flipped an 18-wheeler loaded with cars down in Texas. According to his record, he was deemed an “immediate threat.” Zhukovskyy has been taken into custody and has entered a plea of not guilty.

No, we are not blaming Zhukovskyy’s deadly road manners on The Journey Home. But just try to follow our logic. A week following the notorious run-in with the Jarheads, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle director Erin Deveney tendered her resignation from her cushy $143,000+ per year job https://www.foxnews.com/us/massachusetts-motor-vehicle-chief-resigns-143k-new-hampshire-biker-crash. Apparently either she or someone in her department had ignored recommendations to pull the Ukrainian’s license and Ms Deveney has assumed responsibility. That is the duty of a leader—if you fail then you step aside. And this happens to be our plain and clear message to the GBC.

ISKCON’s GBC was never meant to become a free-lunch-for-life infrastructure enjoyed by an exclusive bunch of elitists. Today ISKCON’s GBC has become a corrupt and privileged coterie of smiling sycophants who can do no wrong because they run on the principle of “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” As shown in Shrila Prabhupada’s Direction of Management paper that was hidden away for years, and only came to light in the ‘90s, the post of GBC was meant to be a revolving position of capable and trusted managers who were democratically elected by the Temple Presidents.

“Love means to serve, and to serve means to love” and blah, blah, blah.
Radhanatha photo here: https://gbc.iskcon.org/unity-in-diversity/

So our question is this: if there are any upright members left on the GBC—if any of its members are still faithful to Shrila Prabhupada—then why have they not followed the example of Erin Deveney and resigned? After all, the karmic pay back for crossing a pure devotee and reversing his teachings 180 degrees is far worse than, say, failing to pull a dangerous driver’s license. Do we need to point out again some of the horrendous things that have happened in the past to deviates who sat on the GBC? The eyes of the Supreme Lord are everywhere, and He never sleeps. Lord Shri Krishna is not amused when His pure devotee is betrayed. Is it news that ISKCON belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and not to the GBC?

Within weeks after the disappearance of the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Conscsiousness, conspirators on the GBC plotted to destroy the movement by declaring neophyte members as successor “zonal acharyas.” Within a few years a mass exodus of genuine devotees began, as the GBC’s outright dereliction of duty practically destroyed Shrila Prabhupada’s movement from its roots. Next, unqualified and unethical paramhamsa posers collaborated to change the writings of the Founder-Acharya by editing his voice out of his spoken shastras. Soon a weakened infrastructure within the Movement led to thousands of unchecked instances of child molestations in ISKCON gurukulas that in turn led to losses of millions of dollars in Society funds in legal fees and payouts. 

As a result of the GBC’s leading the break-up the organization, counter or rival groups sprang up, such as those that embraced the Gaudiya Math or the so-called “ritvik philosophy.” Next millions of ISKCON dollars were poured into lawsuits against the Bangalore ritviks. Later—as insane as it sounds—millions were poured into defending their very poor and callous editing of the writings of the paramhamsa.

The GBC is not authorized to whimsically change the teachings of the Founder-Acharya. Rather their duty is seeing that his instructions are followed to the letter.

It was inevitable that next Mayavada would come creeping into the movement which blossomed full scale like a poisonous weed with the advent of The Journey Home. Layer by layer, changes begot more changes. Despite their self-assured grins in company photographs, the GBC began to appear more like a group that had stumbled onto a quagmire of quicksand.

With such a pathetic and dismal track record, any honest GBC member should follow the example of Massachussetts RMV director Erin Deveney and resign. After all, the GBC is supposed to be a brahminical council of spiritual guides. 

When the GBC validates inviting so-called “yoga teachers” into ISKCON centers—teachers who themselves are nothing more than base shudras—to teach their Shudra Yoga for sense gratification, then it is time to rise to the occasion and take action. An honest GBC member should either speak out in protest of the deviations, or just flat out walk away. Brahmanas do not like sitting among ignorant shudras any more than swans find pleasure in hanging out with crows at the garbage dumps. And the GBC has become a shudra organization mired in shudra bureaucracy with shudra ideas and goals. This means that GBC is now an unfit place for any genuine brahmana. So either reform or resign.

After the carnage: Whimsically changing the rules of the road can be deadl— and when duty is betrayed the leaders must take responsibility.Whimsically introducing shudra Mayavadi “yogis” is no different. It is nothing less than a form of death to the members of the Hare Krishna Movement.

But the policy in ISKCON nowadays is to never criticize; never speak up; do not make waves while you sit there silently trying to offend no one. With such rules, the bearers of truth and honesty have been effectively silenced in a swamp mired in the rising waters of purposeful conspiracy. It appears that offending ISKCON’s pure devotee Founder-Acharya is not something that the GBC and its ISKCON Law Book have spent much time mulling over. 

Heavens forbid—they are more afraid of creating a Radhanatha-aparadha.

 

END OF PART TWO