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EDITORIAL March 11, 1999 VNN3295 Class-Action Lawsuits Are Low-Class BY SRILA DASA EDITORIAL, Mar 11 (VNN) — I was greatly alarmed by Pratyatosa's recent proposal to sue ISKCON for all it's worth - to the tune of $2 billion -- by initiating a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all the child/ sexual abuse victims and engaging a high-profile law firm to perform the dirty work. Before going forward with such a grand-scale plan, everyone should first be aware of the consequences and implications from such a severe course of action. Who Really Wins? As anyone who has been around a few years knows well, suing was not always such a lucrative business. Nor was it formerly such a popular and accepted method of mediation. In fact, it seems to be a rather distinctly modern American phenomenon. The burgeoning trend of sue-crazy litigation we are experiencing in the last 20 years or so also indicates the downfall of human civilization. Instead of attempting to arbitrate our differences civilly or rationally, trying to work out a win-win situation for all parties involved, people today are encouraged to immediately sue for all the damages they can claim or imagine and go for the top dollar. While a lucky few may achieve some short-term gain in such high-stakes settlements, the real winners are the lawyers, who reap astronomical salaries from such cases, far in excess beyond the actual services they provide. Such class-action lawsuits are generally done on a contingent basis, where the law firm typically receives a walloping 40% of the final settlement (for those who are slow in arithmetic, that's almost half). In contrast, the remaining piece of the pie is shared amongst hundreds if not thousands of supposed 'victims,' who end up with some minuscule portion thereof. So who are the real winners? It should be clear by now: the lawyers. They use their knowledge and power of the law to manipulate the rules of the court game in their favor. Class-action lawsuits and suing simply play into the hands of fiendish and exploitative interests, these so-called 'prestigious' law firms, whose only ethical concern is to increase the money in their own pockets. Otherwise, if these law firms were not in it solely for the money, they wouldn't give you the time of day for your troubles. That's the plain fact, and we all know it. Therefore, these "prominent firms" are not lawyers, but professional liars, who will go to any length to distort facts and common sense to suit their unscrupulous greed. Thus they concoct any sort of rhetoric and twist of logic to win their claim. It might be more accurate to state that the lawyers are the real plaintiffs, because they stand to gain the most. Proof: There wouldn't even be a case without their patronage. It's called a simple preponderance of evidence. Those who employ such lawyers ("liars") to perform such dirty work (legal "money-laundering") are likewise implicated in this nasty business, much the same as the Mafia employs "hit men," money-launderers, etc. to serve their shady needs; except that in the case of class-action lawsuits, it is more ambiguous as to who is using whom. In the book of karma, they are all cheaters and cheated rolled into one. Whose Assets? Pratyatosa proposes that "as the father of a sexually molested child all the assets of ISKCON should be turned over to the victims and to the parents of the victims." We can appreciate something of the anger and sense of betrayal that Pratyatosa and similar victims and their families of ISKCON's anomalies must feel. Our hearts go out to all of them and we share in their pain and outrage. Something must be done. Those who are responsible must stand trial. However, let's put the blame where it specifically belongs and not penalize the innocent or sue what is not ours to sue, even though under our current norms, such suing may seem culturally acceptable. ISKCON's assets are not the property of these accused leaders or perpetrators (molesters/abusers). These leaders are not corporate shareholders in a profit-making scheme, but they are trustees of the manifest mission of Krsna and Srila Prabhupada. All the property and funds of ISKCON are entirely meant for the service of Srila Prabhupada and spreading Krsna consciousness. Just because some (not all) leaders are misusing their power and positions or misappropriating funds doesn't mean we must now conform to the ignorant strictures of a mleccha legalistic capital system and sue the whole kit and caboodle. Again, even twenty-five years ago, such suing business was unheard of, so this is a recent cultural invention at best. But it is a far cry to call such settlements "justice." I respectfully submit that anyone who reasons otherwise is a materialist (selfishly motivated) and an atheist, besides being just plain foolish. The onus is on Pratyatosa et al. to prove that the money and assets of ISKCON are indeed the property of these leaders and thus have a right to assume them by such lawsuits. Show us your logic and your objectivity as well your spirituality. This is not to excuse the offenders. Definite and systematic measures must be taken to appease the victims of molestation and all those who have been abused by ISKCON leadership. We must offer the victims our genuine sympathies, support and practical amelioration. Serious and sustained efforts must be made to heal and succor those who have been hurt. However, just because great harm has been done by a few does not legitimate punishing everyone, thus we can whimsically use any method of vengeance as a so-called bonafide recourse to exact retribution. What idea of justice is that? Anger, envy, and mob mentality, that's all. Just because the legal system favors such nonsense court cases, legal "might" does not make it "right." A class-action lawsuit is nothing more than a lynching mob, modern corporate/lawyer style. There is hardly a guarantee of 'justice.' As trite as it may sound, two wrongs have never made a 'right.' If, without proper reflection and introspection, we fall back to our cultural institutions of what is 'right', then we have again become mlecchas and yavanas. Remember, by those same laws, it is perfectly legal to butcher and eat cows, exercise the "right to chose" (abortion), etc. I advise anyone who is sympathetic to this class-action lawsuit to be very careful and think through the consequences of their actions. Anyone who supports it can also take the karma, mleccha law notwithstanding. Can you get a court order for that -- to withhold the karmic reaction and vindicate you from your foolishness and highly motivated sinful conduct? The wise are cautious about taking the law into their own hands. As one of the thousands of devotees and congregation members who have contributed and supported ISKCON over the years, I resent Pratyatosa's brash and foolish statement that, "all the assets of ISKCON should be turned over to the victims and to the parents of the victims." Who is he to decide for all of us? As a parent, he's really one to make the above statement when he stands to make a few bucks out of the deal (as few as that will be after the lawyers take their cut). I beg to inform our self-declared Robin Hood that this type of class-action lawsuit is not an example of "taking from the rich and giving to the poor," but a case of taking from the poor (from insignificant congregation members like myself), and giving to the rich (the lawyers) and sharing the spoils amongst other thieves like himself, who wish to subtly appropriate the assets of the spiritual master (guru-bhogi), ISKCON. I frankly suggest that such presumptuous self-styled reformers are nothing but guru-bhogis (enjoyers of the assets of the guru), as they would accuse the present day leaders, only in a different guise. So much for their reform: having the wealth change hands and destroy the mission of the guru, Srila Prabhupada, in the process. If they win this shady court case, they will only be receiving unholy blood money - because Prabhupada said that Laksmi was his very blood. My blunt question to all the sympathizers of this suit: Are you friends or are you fiends, blood-suckers of an even more devious genre than those whom you so despise? Killing The Father What would Prabhupada think of devotees wasting money on interminable court litigations as one group of disenfranchised godbrothers sues the franchised for the right to be right? If there was anything unmistakably clear about Prabhupada's feelings towards the Gaudiya Math it was his vile disgust toward the legal wrangling and infighting that divided and destroyed the assets of the Gaudiya Math after Bhaktisiddhanta's disappearance. Now Pratyatosa proposes to inaugurate a similar debacle. Well done! This proposed lawsuit is fulfilling Prabhupada's worst nightmare of the two brothers quarreling behind the back of the father in their so-called attempts to "massage" him, and in their brawling, they end up killing the father. How utterly foolish and misguided! I would implore Pratyatosa to use his numerous talents to do something positive for Srila Prabhupada and give up envy towards others. Class-action lawsuits play into the hands of unprincipled and uncouth lawyers ("liars"). They are the winners and everyone else becomes the victim, because it is the common person who must foot the bill for these exorbitant settlements. It is a travesty, not justice. I request all disenfranchised and vindictive personalities to get a spiritual life and not vex themselves about what they can't hope to change. If Pratyatosa possessed any genuine spiritual power, he might be able to do something praiseworthy for the service of Srila Prabhupada instead of openly advocating to destroy his mission. In any case, since when does the salvation of the world and the future of Mahaprabhu's movement depend on some two-bit (excuse me, "two-billion dollar") lawyers? No matter how impressive seemingly, lawyers are simply liars and thieves, and we are talking about legal extortion, that's all. Birds of a feather flock together, perhaps? Better to have nothing to do with them for all of our sake. My humble advice to everyone concerned in this class-action lawsuit (as much as it may anger some): Abandon envy towards those whom we feel are our trangressors (remember the Lord's prayer?) and give up materially concocted means of getting even. Get spiritual. There are many saints in this world (yes, and outside of ISKCON) who are prepared to help us when we genuinely feel the absolute need for healing. Otherwise, the material world is no fit for place for a gentleman (lady). Prabhupada warned us about lawyers: As they still say in India, "Watch out for the black coats." You may be making a contract with the devil. Frankly, Your godbrother and friend, Srila dasa Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9903/ET11-3295.html
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