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EDITORIAL January 7, 2000 VNN5235 Comment on this story Eccentric Harinam Or Gestapo READER RESPONSES EDITORIAL, Jan 7 (VNN) — Two responses from VNN readers: (see also VNN Story 5224) I felt that your recent report on Bhakta Avatar Prabhu's ousting from the Laguna Beach temple didn't really tell the whole story. Anyone here in the community, if consulted, would tell you that Bhakta Avatar, far from being mistreated, was treated very kindly by the authorities. Tukaram prabhu facilitated his son Vishnu to be home schooled by a devotee. He's three years behind in his schooling because of Bhakta Avatar's constant shuffling from temple to temple. Vishnu was practically adopted by the devotees here. The article does not mention that Bhakta Avatar is an extremely eccentric devotee whose harinam consists of going out in distinctly disheveled dress, courtesy of the merge closet spinning as he goes. He heads down to the main beach here at Laguna (which is full of high class tourists) and spins like a refugee from a Grateful Dead concert, in front of stunned families, clanging his kartals. I have witnessed this personally. It is a very bizarre sight, which does not represent our society nicely and does not resemble any harinam I have ever seen. Bhakta Avatar basically feels that he is above the law and that anyone who was not supportive of his unique program didn't understand the nature of the holy name, despite numerous requests by the community of devotees to conduct himself in a normal ISKCON fashion. Because of his extensive harinam by himself (not walking but spinning the entire time) he often was thirty minutes plus late for arati. He believed that his harinam is more important than being on time for his pujari service because, as he says, it is a higher process for this age. It's a nice sentiment, but I am also one of the pujaris here in Laguna and I have seen how this philosophy wreaked havoc on Panca Tattva's worship. Tukaram Prabhu has on many occasions had to run up on the altar without any previous notice when Bhakta Avatar became a no show. This was a regular occurance and caused severe anxiety for those responsible for the deity worship. Did I mention that Bhakta Avatar often falls asleep on the altar? We all love B.A. and he is Tukaram Prabhu's and my godbrother, but he has some issues to work out and is welcome back to live in the ashram (he was never "expelled" but just not permitted to live in the bramhacari ashram) as soon as he is willing to become part of a team. He must agree to descend to the neophyte platform of considering the systematic embracing of every homeless person on his way back to the temple as being less spiritually significant than punctual deity service. Whoever wrote this article was quite mistaken to portray our temple, who unanimously voted on his ouster, as an envious assembly of Chand Kazi's chelas. He was causing a disruption. To insinuate that there were other motives is not simply misinformed, it's actually offensive. But I'm glad that Bhakta Avatar now has company on his harinams as I'm sure the mysterious author of the article is going out with him daily. Not. Your servant, Abhay das Anoymous writes: Dear Prabhus: AGTSP - PAMHO I wondered when the story of Laguna Beach temple would finally come out. When Badi Hari Das was temple president there a few years ago it was such a wonderful place to be. There was a very large congregational community, a local community of devotees and the temple had a great and respectful standing in the community. We had to serve two Sunday feasts, one for the Indian community early, then the regular feast later. The reason was we had too many guests to accommodate at one sitting. We were cooking for several hundred every week. Now they are lucky to get a hundred and its up from a year ago when they were lucky to get fifty. New management came in as Badi Hari had to move because of the needs of his children and their schooling. We had this new temple management hitting on women visitors. Insulting old community devotees. Having affairs with young women living in the temple. One Indian life member complained to me of seeing the temple vice president taking one of the young girls from the temple to an afternoon matinee at the local theater, a hard R rated movie. The cook they had cooking for the Deities and the restaurant was using hard drugs. One of the boys living in the temple caught him and complained and was told to shut up or leave. Anyone who dared complain to the Gestapo type management were told to leave. Many many went to the local GBC, and were told we were nuts nothing like that was happening. They finally had to have an istagosti because of the number of complaints. We all spoke our mind and everyone that did was told not to come back. We asked the GBC who was there, whats this all about how can you let this happen. He said it was temple business and he couldn't interfere with the running of the temple. The majority of the local devotees either left in disgust or were kicked out. The Indian community and other congregational members were insulted and other wise made to feel unwelcome and left. From a thriving temple, to a ghost building in just a few short months. I remember hearing of one traveling sannyasi coming to the temple around midmorning to find the place locked up and deserted. The word soon spread that ISKCON Laguna beach temple was a place to avoid. Finally the temple president was caught with an other young devotee girl and the management was asked to leave, after totally destroying what took so many sincere devotees years to build up. Now we have so called new management and the kicking out is still going on. The arrogance and insulting manner of management is still going on and of course with local GBC its business as usual. Oh yes the reason given for not doing anything about the poor management and the other atrocities that were committed,,, the bills are being paid. A complete mundane and materialistic consciousness. No worries about the total destruction of one of Srila Prabhupada's most blissful temples, just its ok because the bills are being paid. How much longer must we endure this kind of complete mismanagement of Prabhupada's assets? Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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