facet Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is a quote from a longer read via the
> following link:
>
> [
newhumanist.org.uk]
>
> It demonstrates well the scale of abuse and how it
> has been passed down the line straight from the
> top.
>
> It may have already been quoted in one of the
> other threads.
>
> Take care when reading the following quote as
> there are accounts of abuse that may be upsetting
> to read, know your limits.
>
>
Quote
From court documents lodged by Turley and
> reports from ISKCON itself, what happened during
> those years is horrifying. Children suffered
> broken noses, serious bruises and contusions, lost
> teeth from being beaten with clubs and fists and
> also from being kicked. A number had their ears
> slapped so severely that bleeding and loss of
> hearing occurred. Medical care was sometimes
> denied, even for malaria, hepatitis and broken
> bones. Children did not receive proper food and
> some report they 'were always hungry' and had to
> eat leftovers or insect-infested food. If they
> vomited they had to eat their own vomit; if they
> wet their beds they were forced to drink urine and
> wear soiled underwear on their heads. Apart from
> physical beatings they were also punished by being
> shut in closets, refrigerators or trash bins for
> hours, even days at a time. Some schools were
> filthy and overcrowded: children slept on the
> floor, often in sleeping bags. There was no TV,
> radio, toys or games. Some children were raped
> every day for years and there were arranged
> marriages between girls as young as eleven to men
> twice or thrice their age. The perpetrators of
> these crimes were none other than teachers,
> administrators, and, in some cases, ISKCON
> leaders. It was not uncommon for the children to
> be told they were being treated this way because
> it was their bad karma and they must have hurt a
> child in a past life. The leader of the group,
> Indian-born Sri Prabhupada, was told of the abuse
> as early as 1972 but evidently did nothing to stop
> it. After he died in 1977, leadership was passed
> on to eleven male disciples, called gurus, and the
> abuse continued. Nori Muster, former devotee and
> author of Betrayal of the Spirit, claims: 'If
> parents tried to speak up, the gurus either
> silenced them or kicked them out. Some parents
> just pulled their kids out and left the
> organisation. Also, many parents abused their
> children, since they were low on parenting skills
> and violence was a way of life in ISKCON.'
>
>
First of all, facet: I really do not think it is fair to blame everything on Prabhupada himself. They surrounded him, then they isolated him, and some say they eventually killed him (I personally do not believe this to be so, though it may be that case).
Next: that's all very terrible, and I am not happy about any of it. However, none (or at least most) of the persons involved in these tragedies is involved in ISKCON any more. They've mostly all been excommunicated, have left ISKCON, or are deceased today.
Lastly: these things happened many years, decades ago. What have they to do with me and my sadhana, fifty-odd years later, in 2021?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2021 10:38AM by The Whirlwind.