Jayatirtha Dasa: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Guru of ISKCON}} |
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{{Vaishnavism}} |
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'''Jayatirtha |
'''Jayatirtha Das''' ({{IAST3|Jayatīrtha dāsa}}), formerly '''Jayatirtha Goswami''' ({{IAST|Jayatīrtha Gosvāmī}}; November 13, 1948, in [[Saipan]] – November 13, 1987, in [[London]]), was one of the leading disciples of [[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]] and a [[guru]] within the [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness]] (commonly known as 'the Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON). Born '''James Edward Immel''' and also known as '''Tirthapada''', '''Bhakti Vijaya Tirtha''' and '''Vijaya Acharya''', Jayatirtha was appointed a life trustee of the [[Bhaktivedanta Book Trust]] by his guru, Prabhupada, who also placed him in the managerial post of the fledgling Spiritual Sky company. Under Jayatirtha's able management the company became a multimillion-dollar concern and the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' covered the company's success with a front-page article.{{cn|date=June 2024}} |
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==Early years== |
==Early years== |
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Jayatirtha Dasa was born as James Edward Immel in Saipan, [[US Trust Territory of the Pacific]]. He was a business and philosophy major in college.<ref name="latimes1"/> In 1969, James was [[diksha|initiated]] into the [[Gaudiya Vaishnava]] tradition by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whereupon he was given the name ''Jayatirtha Dasa''. In the beginning of the 1970s he served as a president of the Los Angeles ISKCON temple and as a president of Spiritual Sky Enterprises, a group of family-style businesses founded by ISKCON.<ref name="latimes1">{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Dough|title=Krishna Life-Style: More Than the Robes and Chanting|url= |
Jayatirtha Dasa was born as James Edward Immel in [[Saipan]], [[US Trust Territory of the Pacific]]. He was a business and philosophy major in college.<ref name="latimes1"/> In 1969, James was [[diksha|initiated]] into the [[Gaudiya Vaishnava]] tradition by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whereupon he was given the name ''Jayatirtha Dasa''. In the beginning of the 1970s he served as a president of the Los Angeles ISKCON temple and as a president of Spiritual Sky Enterprises, a group of family-style businesses founded by ISKCON.<ref name="latimes1">{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Dough|title=Krishna Life-Style: More Than the Robes and Chanting|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/642300422.html?dids=642300422:642300422&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+30%2C+1972&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Krishna+Life-Style%3A+More+Than+the+Robes+and+Chanting&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102155527/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/642300422.html?dids=642300422:642300422&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+30,+1972&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Krishna+Life-Style:+More+Than+the+Robes+and+Chanting&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 2, 2012|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|page=WS1|date=April 30, 1972}}</ref><ref name="wsj1">{{cite web|last=Sansweet|first=Stephen J.|title=The Incense Business Isn't Really Similar To, Say, the Auto Biz|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/70801613.html?dids=70801613:70801613&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+12%2C+1973&author=&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&desc=The+Incense+Business+Isn%27t+Really+Similar+To%2C+Say%2C+the+Auto+Biz&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131141152/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/70801613.html?dids=70801613:70801613&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+12,+1973&author=&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&desc=The+Incense+Business+Isn't+Really+Similar+To,+Say,+the+Auto+Biz&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=July 12, 1973}}</ref> At the time, ''Spiritual Sky'' was the largest [[incense]] manufacturer in the US,<ref name="wsj1"/> and the only legitimate business of the society.{{cn|date=June 2024}} |
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==ISKCON GBC member and initiating guru== |
==ISKCON GBC member and initiating guru== |
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Jayatirtha later went on to become a senior leader and preacher within the movement, a member of its management body known as the |
Jayatirtha later went on to become a senior leader and preacher within the movement, a member of its management body known as the Governing Body Commission, and the head of ISKCON in Europe.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Deadly Cults|Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers]] |last=Snow |first=Robert L. |year=2003 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=0-275-98052-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/deadlycultscrime00snow/page/41 41] }}</ref> In 1975, Jayatirtha was sent by Prabhupada "to take over and organise" the Hare Krishna movement in [[Great Britain]].<ref name="Burr79">{{cite book|last=Burr|first=Angela|title=I am not my body: a study of the international Hare Krishna sect|year=1984|publisher=Vikas|isbn=0-7069-2296-4|pages=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCwOAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> Jayatirtha resided with his family at Bhaktivedanta Manor, a beautiful manor house donated by George Harrison to ISKCON. He travelled extensively throughout the world under the direction of Swami Prapupada and performed the Vedic ritual of Pratista (deity installation ) in numerous temples. He was commended by Swami Prabhupada for his refined abilities in arcana padati (the process of deity worship) which set the standard of deity worship throughout the society. He co-compiled a handbook under Swami Prabhupada's direction to assist all authorized students in that process. He was also chief editor of The Maha Bharat Times; a news paper which highlighted the concerns of the Hindu community of Great Britain.<ref name="helpful9">{{cite web|last=Van Aken|first=Sita.|title=Jayatirtha Dasa|url=http://www.sacredartstrust.org/wikipedia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727230449/http://www.sacredartstrust.org/wikipedia/|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 July 2011|date=8 March 2010}}</ref> |
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The last place Swami Prabhupada visited in the western hemisphere before his departure was Bhaktivedanta Manor, where he embraced Jayatirtha saying "your name is Tirtha I have come to take shelter of you," before returning to Vrindavan in India to take Samadhi (die). Jayatirtha was the only member of the G.B.C. who did not follow Swami Prabhupada back to India to witness their |
The last place Swami Prabhupada visited in the western hemisphere before his departure was Bhaktivedanta Manor, where he embraced Jayatirtha saying "your name is Tirtha I have come to take shelter of you," before returning to Vrindavan in India to take Samadhi (die). Jayatirtha was the only member of the G.B.C. who did not follow Swami Prabhupada back to India to witness their Guru's departure.<ref name="helpful9"/> |
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In the aftermath of Swami Prabhupada's death, Jayatirtha was one of eleven disciples selected to become an [[diksa|initiating guru]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Utopia on the 6th Floor: Work, Death, & Taxes-Part 2 |last=Propp |first=Steven H |year=2004 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=0-595-33737-6 |pages=518 |url=https://books.google. |
In the aftermath of Swami Prabhupada's death, Jayatirtha was one of eleven disciples selected to become an [[diksa|initiating guru]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Utopia on the 6th Floor: Work, Death, & Taxes-Part 2 |last=Propp |first=Steven H |year=2004 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=0-595-33737-6 |pages=518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXX_azObYZwC&pg=PA518|access-date=2008-05-07}}</ref> He was located in London and was responsible for initiating disciples and managing ISKCON in Great Britain and South Africa.<ref name="Shinn58">{{cite book|last=Shinn|first=Larry D.|title=The dark lord: cult images and the Hare Krishnas in America|year=1987|publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press|Westminster Press]]|isbn=0-664-24170-0|pages=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJPXAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Due to his capabilities and organizational power, the Hare Krishna movement has significantly expanded and developed in those countries.<ref name="Burr131">{{cite book|last=Burr|first=Angela|title=I am not my body: a study of the international Hare Krishna sect|year=1984|publisher=Vikas|isbn=0-7069-2296-4|pages=131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCwOAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> |
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In December 1980, Jayatirtha bought [[Croome Court]], an estate in [[Worcestershire]] {{convert|25|mi|km}} south of [[Birmingham]].<ref name="muster80">{{cite book|last=Muster|first=Nori Jean |title=Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement|year=1997|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|isbn=0-252-06566-2|pages=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw3-xD05wnoC&pg=PA80}}</ref> He renamed it Chaitanya College, looking to introduce an ISKCON college degree in the [[Vaishnava]] tradition.<ref name="muster80"/> The estate included a two-hundred-room mansion, a chapel and various outbuildings.<ref name="muster80"/> It was built in 1750 for the Earl of Coventry by [[Lancelot "Capability" Brown]].<ref name="muster80"/> The design of the interiors was made by [[Robert Adam]].<ref name="muster80"/> The property included {{convert|40|acre|m2}} of fields and landscaped parkland.<ref name="muster80"/> During the World War II, the place served as a residence for Queen of the Netherlands.<ref name="muster80"/> Jayatirtha spent hundreds of thousands of pounds restoring the property and turning the chapel into the Hare Krishna temple.<ref name="muster80"/> |
In December 1980, Jayatirtha bought [[Croome Court]], an estate in [[Worcestershire]] {{convert|25|mi|km}} south of [[Birmingham]].<ref name="muster80">{{cite book|last=Muster|first=Nori Jean |title=Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement|year=1997|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|isbn=0-252-06566-2|pages=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw3-xD05wnoC&pg=PA80}}</ref> He renamed it Chaitanya College, looking to introduce an ISKCON college degree in the [[Vaishnava]] tradition.<ref name="muster80"/> The estate included a two-hundred-room mansion, a chapel and various outbuildings.<ref name="muster80"/> It was built in 1750 for the Earl of Coventry by [[Lancelot "Capability" Brown]].<ref name="muster80"/> The design of the interiors was made by [[Robert Adam]].<ref name="muster80"/> The property included {{convert|40|acre|m2}} of fields and landscaped parkland.<ref name="muster80"/> During the World War II, the place served as a residence for Queen of the Netherlands.<ref name="muster80"/> Jayatirtha spent hundreds of thousands of pounds restoring the property and turning the chapel into the Hare Krishna temple.<ref name="muster80"/> |
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Jayatirtha's responsibilities within ISKCON required him to make regular visits to Africa, India, U.S.A and other countries although he resided with his family in the U.K. His influence in South Africa was one of the major contributing factors to reversing the trend of Hindu conversions to Islam. During his visits to India, in his free time, he would travel to remote holy places for meditation.<ref name="helpful9"/> |
Jayatirtha's responsibilities within ISKCON required him to make regular visits to Africa, India, U.S.A and other countries although he resided with his family in the U.K. His influence in South Africa was one of the major contributing factors to reversing the trend of Hindu conversions to Islam. During his visits to India, in his free time, he would travel to remote holy places for meditation.<ref name="helpful9"/> |
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The |
The Governing Body Commission suspected that Jayatirtha's meditations or so called ecstasies were the symptoms of drug use.<ref name="helpful9"/> Jayatirtha became "the topic of serious conversations among GBC members".<ref name="Bromley127">{{cite book|title=The Future of new religious movements|year=1987|publisher=[[Mercer University Press]]|isbn=0-86554-238-4|pages=127|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHNeOx8UZJYC&pg=PA127|author=[[David G. Bromley]], Phillip E. Hammond}}</ref> During a GBC meeting in Los Angeles (called to deal with problems of another Hare Krishna guru, [[Hansadutta Swami]]) Jayatirtha was relieved from all his responsibilities in ISKCON for one year and required to renounce his wife and take [[sannyasa]].<ref name="muster83"/> The sannyasa initiation ceremony took place in LA Hare Krishna temple and was conducted by [[Kirtanananda Swami]].<ref name="muster83"/> Although Jayathirtha begged and pleaded with the GBC not to enforce the sannyasa order upon him, especially as he had not consulted with his family members, his pleading fell on deaf ears.<ref name="helpful9"/> |
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GBC members hoped that taking sannyasa would help Jayatirtha to overcome the problems in spiritual life, but Jayatirtha was unhappy in ISKCON after that.<ref name="muster83"/> He started to "shift his loyalty away from ISKCON leadership to [[Bhakti |
GBC members hoped that taking sannyasa would help Jayatirtha to overcome the problems in spiritual life, but Jayatirtha was unhappy in ISKCON after that.<ref name="muster83"/> He started to "shift his loyalty away from ISKCON leadership to [[Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar|Shridhara Swami]]", a godbrother of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who lived in [[West Bengal]].<ref name="Bromley127"/> At the spring 1982 GBC annual meeting in Mayapur, Jayatirtha was told, that if he did not stop seeing Shridhara Swami, he would be removed from his leadership post in ISKCON.<ref name="Bromley127"/> In response, Jayatirtha walked off the ISKCON Mayapur property taking nothing with him and took refuge in the [[Gaudiya Math]] ashram of Shridhara Swami.<ref name="muster83"/> Shridhara Swami, being a senior Gaudiya Vashnava leader, was concerned about the growing tension in ISKCON.<ref name="muster83"/> He tried to mediate various problems, but usually only drew fire on himself as a result.<ref name="muster83"/> Many of Prabhupada's disciples, disillusioned with the existing "zonal guru system" in ISKCON at the time left the organization and turned to Shridhara Swami and Gaudiya Math in search of spiritual renewal.<ref name="muster83"/> Consequently, the GBC considered Shridhara Swami a threat, especially when such senior ISKCON members as Jayatirtha took his side.<ref name="muster83"/> |
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==Withdrawal from ISKCON== |
==Withdrawal from ISKCON== |
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At the 1982 meeting, the GBC instructed Jayatirtha Maharaja that he must forgo any contact with Sridhara Maharaja or else leave ISKCON, otherwise he would be condemned for "failing to cooperate with the ISKCON movement".<ref name="helpful9"/> To stabilize Jayatirtha's zone, the GBC turned it to another guru, [[Bhagavan Dasa Goswami|Bhagavan]], who reinitiated some of Jayatirtha's disciples.<ref name="muster83"/> Under Bhagavan's leadership, Hare Krishna devotees in UK went on a year-long marathon to collect funds to save British ISKCON properties.<ref name="muster83"/> Unable to pay high mortgage payments, Bhagavan eventually had to sell Croome Court estate.<ref name="muster83"/> ISKCON in the absence of |
At the 1982 meeting, the GBC (Governing Body Commission) instructed Jayatirtha Maharaja that he must forgo any contact with [[Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar|Sridhara Maharaja]] or else leave ISKCON, otherwise he would be condemned for "failing to cooperate with the ISKCON movement".<ref name="helpful9"/> To stabilize Jayatirtha's zone, the GBC turned it to another guru, [[Bhagavan Dasa Goswami|Bhagavan]], who reinitiated some of Jayatirtha's disciples.<ref name="muster83"/> Under Bhagavan's leadership, Hare Krishna devotees in UK went on a year-long marathon to collect funds to save British ISKCON properties.<ref name="muster83"/> Unable to pay high mortgage payments, Bhagavan eventually had to sell Croome Court estate.<ref name="muster83"/> ISKCON in the absence of jayatirtha's managerial skills was becoming unviable.<ref name="helpful9"/> Some of Jayatirtha's disciples fled from London to India and joined their guru, creating "the first formal schismatic offshoot from ISKCON".<ref name="Bromley127"/> Jayatirtha's new splinter group became based in London and he renamed his former ISKCON disciples with biblical names.<ref name="muster83"/> Finally, he left his London temple and went to Nepal with a small group of students and founded The Order of Pilgrims which later became established in South Africa.<ref name="helpful9"/> |
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==Literature and philosophies== |
==Literature and philosophies== |
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A booklet |
A booklet "Notes of a Pilgrim" written by Jayatirtha shortly after his departure from ISKCON, highlights his personal experience and reflections of the society and its leaders. He translated the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' from Sanskrit to English, "Bhagavad Gita: The Eternal Song Goes On". Jayatirtha was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and wrote articles and gave discourses on the Gandhian principles of [[ahimsa]] and [[satyagraha]]. He was the founder of the concept for the Gandhian Organisation for Peace and Liberty (GOPAL TRUST) a registered charity currently running projects in Jagannath Puri, Bay of Bengal, India. He purchased a large plot of land in Puri in conjunction with H. Desai, a Gandhian freedom fighter, for the purpose of establishing a Gandhian ashram there. |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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On November 13, 1987, five years after Jayatirtna had left ISKCON, he was murdered by his disciple |
On November 13, 1987, five years after Jayatirtna had left ISKCON, he was murdered by his disciple John Tiernan. Tiernan was not tried for murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. A proposal by associate editor Nori Muster to publish his obituary in ''ISKCON World Review'' was denied by Executive Editor [[Mukunda Goswami]], in spite of the fact that Jayatirtha was one of the senior members of ISKCON and an early supporter of ''ISKCON World Review.''<ref name="muster168">{{cite book|last=Muster|first=Nori Jean |title=Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement|year=1997|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|isbn=0-252-06566-2|pages=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw3-xD05wnoC&pg=PA168}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.jayatirtha.net/jayatirtha_net_003.htm Jayatirtha.net] |
*[http://www.jayatirtha.net/jayatirtha_net_003.htm Jayatirtha.net]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} |
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*[http://www.gurusfeet.com/blog/about-my-guru-quot-psychedelic-sailor-quot-tirthapada Website dedicated to Jayatirtha] |
*[http://www.gurusfeet.com/blog/about-my-guru-quot-psychedelic-sailor-quot-tirthapada Website dedicated to Jayatirtha] |
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{{Modern Gaudiya Vaishnavas}} |
{{Modern Gaudiya Vaishnavas}} |
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[[Category:Former International Society for Krishna Consciousness religious figures]] |
[[Category:Former International Society for Krishna Consciousness religious figures]] |
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[[Category:Converts to Hinduism]] |
[[Category:Converts to Hinduism]] |
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[[Category:1987 deaths]] |
[[Category:1987 deaths]] |
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[[Category:American murder victims]] |
[[Category:American murder victims]] |
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[[Category:Murdered religious leaders]] |
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[[Category:1948 births]] |
[[Category:1948 births]] |
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[[Category:People murdered in |
[[Category:People murdered in London]] |
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[[Category: people from Saipan]] |
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[[Category:1987 murders in the United Kingdom]] |
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Jayatirtha Das (IAST: Jayatīrtha dāsa), formerly Jayatirtha Goswami (Jayatīrtha Gosvāmī; November 13, 1948, in Saipan – November 13, 1987, in London), was one of the leading disciples of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and a guru within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as 'the Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON). Born James Edward Immel and also known as Tirthapada, Bhakti Vijaya Tirtha and Vijaya Acharya, Jayatirtha was appointed a life trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust by his guru, Prabhupada, who also placed him in the managerial post of the fledgling Spiritual Sky company. Under Jayatirtha's able management the company became a multimillion-dollar concern and the Wall Street Journal covered the company's success with a front-page article.[citation needed]
Early years
[edit]Jayatirtha Dasa was born as James Edward Immel in Saipan, US Trust Territory of the Pacific. He was a business and philosophy major in college.[1] In 1969, James was initiated into the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whereupon he was given the name Jayatirtha Dasa. In the beginning of the 1970s he served as a president of the Los Angeles ISKCON temple and as a president of Spiritual Sky Enterprises, a group of family-style businesses founded by ISKCON.[1][2] At the time, Spiritual Sky was the largest incense manufacturer in the US,[2] and the only legitimate business of the society.[citation needed]
ISKCON GBC member and initiating guru
[edit]Jayatirtha later went on to become a senior leader and preacher within the movement, a member of its management body known as the Governing Body Commission, and the head of ISKCON in Europe.[3] In 1975, Jayatirtha was sent by Prabhupada "to take over and organise" the Hare Krishna movement in Great Britain.[4] Jayatirtha resided with his family at Bhaktivedanta Manor, a beautiful manor house donated by George Harrison to ISKCON. He travelled extensively throughout the world under the direction of Swami Prapupada and performed the Vedic ritual of Pratista (deity installation ) in numerous temples. He was commended by Swami Prabhupada for his refined abilities in arcana padati (the process of deity worship) which set the standard of deity worship throughout the society. He co-compiled a handbook under Swami Prabhupada's direction to assist all authorized students in that process. He was also chief editor of The Maha Bharat Times; a news paper which highlighted the concerns of the Hindu community of Great Britain.[5]
The last place Swami Prabhupada visited in the western hemisphere before his departure was Bhaktivedanta Manor, where he embraced Jayatirtha saying "your name is Tirtha I have come to take shelter of you," before returning to Vrindavan in India to take Samadhi (die). Jayatirtha was the only member of the G.B.C. who did not follow Swami Prabhupada back to India to witness their Guru's departure.[5]
In the aftermath of Swami Prabhupada's death, Jayatirtha was one of eleven disciples selected to become an initiating guru.[6] He was located in London and was responsible for initiating disciples and managing ISKCON in Great Britain and South Africa.[7] Due to his capabilities and organizational power, the Hare Krishna movement has significantly expanded and developed in those countries.[8]
In December 1980, Jayatirtha bought Croome Court, an estate in Worcestershire 25 miles (40 km) south of Birmingham.[9] He renamed it Chaitanya College, looking to introduce an ISKCON college degree in the Vaishnava tradition.[9] The estate included a two-hundred-room mansion, a chapel and various outbuildings.[9] It was built in 1750 for the Earl of Coventry by Lancelot "Capability" Brown.[9] The design of the interiors was made by Robert Adam.[9] The property included 40 acres (160,000 m2) of fields and landscaped parkland.[9] During the World War II, the place served as a residence for Queen of the Netherlands.[9] Jayatirtha spent hundreds of thousands of pounds restoring the property and turning the chapel into the Hare Krishna temple.[9]
Jayatirtha frequently lectured about the divine love of Radha and Krishna.[10] He had been holding long kirtan sessions, which were considered by other GBC members to be interfering with the street collections and accumulation of funds by the society members. His concentrated focus on spiritual practices were in some respects a cause for concern. Jayatirtha always maintained that a divine flow of spiritual energy descended upon him at that time and refuted the allegations that his deep meditations were the result of taking LSD. The meditations which he entered into during kirtan (congregational chanting) sessions were conducted with composure, often with his eyes closed, whilst sitting crossed legged and with a straight back.[5]
Jayatirtha's responsibilities within ISKCON required him to make regular visits to Africa, India, U.S.A and other countries although he resided with his family in the U.K. His influence in South Africa was one of the major contributing factors to reversing the trend of Hindu conversions to Islam. During his visits to India, in his free time, he would travel to remote holy places for meditation.[5]
The Governing Body Commission suspected that Jayatirtha's meditations or so called ecstasies were the symptoms of drug use.[5] Jayatirtha became "the topic of serious conversations among GBC members".[11] During a GBC meeting in Los Angeles (called to deal with problems of another Hare Krishna guru, Hansadutta Swami) Jayatirtha was relieved from all his responsibilities in ISKCON for one year and required to renounce his wife and take sannyasa.[10] The sannyasa initiation ceremony took place in LA Hare Krishna temple and was conducted by Kirtanananda Swami.[10] Although Jayathirtha begged and pleaded with the GBC not to enforce the sannyasa order upon him, especially as he had not consulted with his family members, his pleading fell on deaf ears.[5]
GBC members hoped that taking sannyasa would help Jayatirtha to overcome the problems in spiritual life, but Jayatirtha was unhappy in ISKCON after that.[10] He started to "shift his loyalty away from ISKCON leadership to Shridhara Swami", a godbrother of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who lived in West Bengal.[11] At the spring 1982 GBC annual meeting in Mayapur, Jayatirtha was told, that if he did not stop seeing Shridhara Swami, he would be removed from his leadership post in ISKCON.[11] In response, Jayatirtha walked off the ISKCON Mayapur property taking nothing with him and took refuge in the Gaudiya Math ashram of Shridhara Swami.[10] Shridhara Swami, being a senior Gaudiya Vashnava leader, was concerned about the growing tension in ISKCON.[10] He tried to mediate various problems, but usually only drew fire on himself as a result.[10] Many of Prabhupada's disciples, disillusioned with the existing "zonal guru system" in ISKCON at the time left the organization and turned to Shridhara Swami and Gaudiya Math in search of spiritual renewal.[10] Consequently, the GBC considered Shridhara Swami a threat, especially when such senior ISKCON members as Jayatirtha took his side.[10]
Withdrawal from ISKCON
[edit]At the 1982 meeting, the GBC (Governing Body Commission) instructed Jayatirtha Maharaja that he must forgo any contact with Sridhara Maharaja or else leave ISKCON, otherwise he would be condemned for "failing to cooperate with the ISKCON movement".[5] To stabilize Jayatirtha's zone, the GBC turned it to another guru, Bhagavan, who reinitiated some of Jayatirtha's disciples.[10] Under Bhagavan's leadership, Hare Krishna devotees in UK went on a year-long marathon to collect funds to save British ISKCON properties.[10] Unable to pay high mortgage payments, Bhagavan eventually had to sell Croome Court estate.[10] ISKCON in the absence of jayatirtha's managerial skills was becoming unviable.[5] Some of Jayatirtha's disciples fled from London to India and joined their guru, creating "the first formal schismatic offshoot from ISKCON".[11] Jayatirtha's new splinter group became based in London and he renamed his former ISKCON disciples with biblical names.[10] Finally, he left his London temple and went to Nepal with a small group of students and founded The Order of Pilgrims which later became established in South Africa.[5]
Literature and philosophies
[edit]A booklet "Notes of a Pilgrim" written by Jayatirtha shortly after his departure from ISKCON, highlights his personal experience and reflections of the society and its leaders. He translated the Bhagavad Gita from Sanskrit to English, "Bhagavad Gita: The Eternal Song Goes On". Jayatirtha was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and wrote articles and gave discourses on the Gandhian principles of ahimsa and satyagraha. He was the founder of the concept for the Gandhian Organisation for Peace and Liberty (GOPAL TRUST) a registered charity currently running projects in Jagannath Puri, Bay of Bengal, India. He purchased a large plot of land in Puri in conjunction with H. Desai, a Gandhian freedom fighter, for the purpose of establishing a Gandhian ashram there.
Death
[edit]On November 13, 1987, five years after Jayatirtna had left ISKCON, he was murdered by his disciple John Tiernan. Tiernan was not tried for murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. A proposal by associate editor Nori Muster to publish his obituary in ISKCON World Review was denied by Executive Editor Mukunda Goswami, in spite of the fact that Jayatirtha was one of the senior members of ISKCON and an early supporter of ISKCON World Review.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Smith, Dough (April 30, 1972). "Krishna Life-Style: More Than the Robes and Chanting". The Los Angeles Times. p. WS1. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
- ^ a b Sansweet, Stephen J. (July 12, 1973). "The Incense Business Isn't Really Similar To, Say, the Auto Biz". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
- ^ Snow, Robert L. (2003). Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 41. ISBN 0-275-98052-9.
- ^ Burr, Angela (1984). I am not my body: a study of the international Hare Krishna sect. Vikas. p. 79. ISBN 0-7069-2296-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Van Aken, Sita. (March 8, 2010). "Jayatirtha Dasa". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011.
- ^ Propp, Steven H (2004). Utopia on the 6th Floor: Work, Death, & Taxes-Part 2. iUniverse. p. 518. ISBN 0-595-33737-6. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ^ Shinn, Larry D. (1987). The dark lord: cult images and the Hare Krishnas in America. Westminster Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-664-24170-0.
- ^ Burr, Angela (1984). I am not my body: a study of the international Hare Krishna sect. Vikas. p. 131. ISBN 0-7069-2296-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Muster, Nori Jean (1997). Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement. University of Illinois Press. p. 80. ISBN 0-252-06566-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Muster, Nori Jean (1997). Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement. University of Illinois Press. p. 83. ISBN 0-252-06566-2.
- ^ a b c d David G. Bromley, Phillip E. Hammond (1987). The Future of new religious movements. Mercer University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-86554-238-4.
- ^ Muster, Nori Jean (1997). Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement. University of Illinois Press. p. 168. ISBN 0-252-06566-2.