Kirtanananda Swami: Difference between revisions
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To date, none of the above conditions have been satisfied. |
To date, none of the above conditions have been satisfied. |
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Since being released from prison, Kirtanananda (unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair) has resided at the Radha Murlidhara Temple in New York City. This temple |
Since being released from prison, Kirtanananda (unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair) has resided at the Radha Murlidhara Temple in New York City. This temple was purchased in 1998 for $500,000 and is maintained by a smattering of disciples and followers, although some members of the temple board have made attempts to evict him [http://www.rickross.com/reference/krishna/krishna96.html]. While they claim to be running a "quiet and peaceful place in the Vil," undercover journalists have revealed how the enterprise is a front for their prosyletizing and religious agenda [http://www.harekrsna.org/gbc/themes/kirt-ashram.htm]. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 04:14, 18 January 2008
Kirtanananda Swami, also known as Swami Bhaktipada, was the highly-controversial ISKCON guru and founder/acharya of the New Vrindaban Hare Krishna community in Marshall County, West Virginia, where he served as spiritual leader for 26 years (from 1968 until 1994).
Early life
Kirtanananda Swami was born Keith Gordon Ham on September 6, 1937, the son of a Southern Baptist minister. He imbibed his father's missionary spirit and attempted to convert his classmates to his family's faith. Despite an acute case of poliomyelitis which he contracted around his 17th birthday, he graduated with high honors from Peekskill, New York, high school in 1955. In high school and college he excelled at debate.
Ham received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee on May 20, 1959 and graduated magna cum laude: first in his class of 117. He then received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to study American History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he remained for three years. There he met an undergraduate English major from Mobile, Alabama, who became his life-long friend and lover: Howard Morton Wheeler (1940-1989). The two resigned from the university on February 3, 1961 and left Chapel Hill after being threatened with an investigation regarding an alleged sex scandal.
Keith and Howard moved to New York City and became what was soon to become known as hippies. Keith also became an LSD guru. For some time he worked as a reviewer of unemployment claims. Keith enrolled at Columbia University (1961-64) where he received a Waddell Fellowship and studied religious history with the prestigious scholar Whitney Cross, but he quit academic life when he and Howard travelled to India during October 1965 in search of a real guru. They were unsuccessful in their quest and returned to New York after six months. [1]
Keith becomes Kirtanananda
During June 1966, just two months after returning from India and only a few blocks from his Mott Street apartment, Keith met the Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava guru A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (at this time known simply as "Swamiji" to his disciples), the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), more popularly known in the west as the Hare Krishnas. After attending Bhagavad-gita classes at the modest storefront temple at 26 Second Avenue, Keith decided to accept Swamiji as his spiritual master. Upon receiving intitiation on September 23, 1966, Keith vowed to refrain from (1) meat eating, (2) gambling, (3) intoxication, and (4) illicit sex, and was given the name "Kirtanananda das" ("the servant of one who takes pleasure in kirtan"). Swamiji liked to call him "Kitchen-ananda" because of his cooking expertise. [2]
Kirtanananda was one of the first disciples to shave his head and wear the sikha, don robes (traditional Bengali Vaishnava clothing consists of dhoti and kurta), and move into the temple. He proved to be a capable and articulate preacher for the fledgling movement. During March 1967, on the order of Swamiji, Kirtanananda established the Montreal ISKCON temple with assistance from a French-speaking university student: Janardan das.
On August 28, 1967, while travelling with Swamiji in India, Kirtanananda das became Prabhupada's first disciple to be initiated into the Vaishnava order of renunciation (sannyasa: a lifelong vow of celibacy in mind, word and body), and received the name "Kirtanananda Swami." Within a few short weeks, Kirtanananda Swami returned to New York City against Prabhupada's wishes and attempted to add cultural elements of Christianity to Prabhupada's predominantly Indian movement. Some disciples saw this as a take-over attempt. He was soundly chastised by Prabhupada in letters from India, and banned from the New York ISKCON temple and spat upon. [3]
The New Vrindaban Community
Kirtanananda took shelter from and moved in with his friend Howard (now known as Hayagriva), who had accepted a position teaching English classes at a community college in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. While reading the December 1967 issue of the San Francisco Oracle (a psychedelic, multicolored tabloid, which expressed the poetry, art and visions of love, world peace, hedonism, expanded consciousness, spirituality, ecology and tribal community as idealized by the “Flower Children” of the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco), Kirtanananda became intrigued by a letter from a spiritual seeker—Richard Rose, Jr. (who had had an experience of enlightenment)—who was "trying to form an ashram of sorts here in West Virginia, in the rural section where I own about a half a section. The conception is one of a non-profit, non-interfering, non-denominational, retreat or refuge, where philosophers might come to work communally together, or independently,—where a library and other facilities might be developed." [4] Early in 1968, Kirtanananda contacted Rose, who invited him to visit his "ashram."
During Easter weekend (April 13-14, 1968), Kirtanananda and Hayagriva visited the two properties owned by Rose. When Hayagriva returned to Wilkes Barre, Kirtanananda stayed on, living alone in Rose's back-woods farmhouse with only the most primitive amenities. After a few months of living in isolation, Kirtanananda decided to make amends with Swami Prabhupada, and he (in the company of Hayagriva) visited Prabhupada in Montreal during July 1968 after a ten-month unauthorized leave of absence. Prabhupada “forgave his renegade disciples in Montreal with a garland of roses and a shower of tears.” [5]
When Hayagriva and Kirtanananda returned to West Virginia, the lease contract was finalized between Hayagriva and Richard Rose, Jr., and his wife Phyllis E. Rose on August 7, 1968: a ninety-nine year lease on the 132.77 acres property for four thousand dollars, a very fair price ($30.13 per acre), with an option to purchase for ten dollars when the lease expired. Hayagriva put down a $1500 deposit. [6]
Prabhupada established the purpose and guided the development of the community in dozens of letters and four personal visits (1969, 1972, 1974 and 1976). New Vrindaban would fulfill four major functions for ISKCON:
- (1) establish and promote the simple, agrarian Krishna conscious lifestyle, including cow protection,
(2) establish a place of pilgrimage in the West by building seven temples on seven hills,
(3) train up a class of brahmin teachers by training boys at the gurukula (school of the guru), and
(4) establish a society based on varnashram-dharma (see varna in Hinduism).
Kirtanananda eventually became the sole authority and leader of the community, and over time the community expanded, devotees from other ISKCON centers moved in, and cows and land were acquired until New Vrindaban properties consisted of nearly 5,000 acres. New Vrindaban became a favorite ISKCON place of pilgrimage and many ISKCON devotees attended the annual Krishna Janmashtami festivals.
Kirtanananda's previous offenses were forgiven and forgotten, and he was admired and loved by many for his simplicity and austerities (for a time he lived in an abandoned chicken coop at the Old Vrindaban Farm), preaching skills [7] (none seemed to be able to defeat him in debate), and selfless devotion to Swami Prabhupada and the presiding deities of New Vrindaban: Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra. [8] He was also feared by some who challenged him and encountered his wrath.
Prabhupada's Palace of Gold
Late in 1972, Kirtanananda Swami and Bhagavatananda das (who served the community in many capacities but is best-known as a sculptor and architect) decided to build a home for their spiritual master, Swami Prabhupada. In time, the plans for the house developed into an ornate memorial shrine of marble, gold and carved teakwood, which was dedicated during Labor Day weekend, on Sunday, September 2, 1979. The completion of Prabhupada's Palace of Gold catapulted New Vrindaban into a new era of mainstream respectability as tens (and eventually hundreds) of thousands of tourists began visiting the Palace each year.
A "Land of Krishna" theme park and a magnificent granite "Temple of Understanding" in classical South Indian style was designed to make New Vrindaban a "Spiritual Disneyland." The ground-breaking ceremony of the proposed great temple took place on May 31, 1985, which was attended by dozens of dignitaries, including a United States congressman from West Virginia. One publication called it “the most significant and memorable day in the history of New Vrindaban.” [9]
Upon Prabhupada's death on November 14, 1977, Kirtanananda was selected, along with ten other high-ranking ISKCON leaders, to become an initiating guru and carry on the sampradaya (disciplic succession). In March 1979, he accepted the honorific title "Bhaktipada."
Interfaith era
In 1986 Bhaktipada began his interfaith experiment and the community became known as the "New Vrindaban City of God." He attempted to "de-Indianize" Krishna Consciousness to help make it more accessible to westerners, just as he had tried in 1967.
Devotees wore Franciscan-style robes instead of dhotis and saris; devotees chanted in English with western instruments such as pipe organ and accordions instead of chanting in Sanskrit and Bengali with mridanga drums and karatalas cymbals; male devotees grew hair and beard instead of shaving heads and faces; female devotees were awarded the sanyasini order and encouraged to preach independently; japa was practiced silently; and an interfaith community was envisioned and attempted.
Bhaktipada authored more than a dozen published books (some were actually written by volunteer ghostwriters), [10] including:
- The Song of God: A Summary Study of Bhagavad-gita As It Is (1985)
- Christ and Krishna: The Path of Pure Devotion (1985)
- Eternal Love: Conversations with the Lord in the Heart (1986), based on Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ
- On His Order (1987)
- Lila in the Land of Illusion (1987), based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
- The Illustrated Ramayana (1987)
- Bhaktipada Bullets (1988; compiled by Devamrita Swami)
- A Devotee’s Journey to the City of God (1988), based on John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
- Joy of No Sex (1988)
- One God: The Essence of All Religions (1989, Indian publication)
- Heart of the Gita: Always Think of Me (1990)
- Spiritual Warfare: How to Gain Victory in the Struggle for Spiritual Perfection (1990), a sequel to Eternal Love
- How to Love God (1992), based on Saint Francis de Sales’ Treatise on the Love of God
- A Devotee's Handbook for Pure Devotion (c. 2006) [11]
- On Becoming Servant of Servant (Indian publication?)
- Divine Conversation (Indian publication?)
Trials and tribulations
On October 27, 1985, during a New Vrindaban brick-laying marathon, Kirtanananda was severely bludgeoned on the head with a heavy steel tamping tool by a crazed and distraught devotee visitor. He was critically injured and remained in a coma for ten days. Gradually his condition improved and, although he recovered most of his faculties, devotees who knew him well said that his personality had changed. Some close associates began leaving the community.
On Monday, March 16, 1987, during their annual meeting at Mayapur, India, the ISKCON Governing Body Commission expelled Kirtanananda from the society for “moral and theological deviations.” [12] They claimed he acted in defiance of ISKCON’s policies and also attempted to establish himself as the sole spiritual heir to Prabhupada’s movement. Thirteen members voted for the resolution, two abstained, and one member, Bhaktitirtha Swami, voted against the resolution. [13]
Kirtanananda then established his own organization—The Eternal Order of the League of Devotees Worldwide—and took several properties with him, including New Vrindaban. New Vrindaban was excommunicated from ISKCON the following year in 1988.
In 1990, the US federal government indicted Kirtanananda on five counts of racketeering, six counts of mail fraud, and conspiracy to murder two of his opponents in the Hare Krishna movement (Chakradhari and Sulochan). The government claimed that he illegally amassed a profit of more than $10.5 million over four years. It also charged that he ordered the killings because the victims threatened to reveal that he sexually abused minors.
On Good Friday, March 29, 1991, Kirtanananda was convicted on nine of the eleven charges (the jury failed to reach a verdict on the murder charges), but the Court of Appeals, convinced by the expert arguments of defense attorney Alan Morton Dershowitz (a well-known criminal law professor at Harvard University who represented such celebrated and wealthy clients as Claus von Bülow, Mike Tyson, and O. J. Simpson), threw out the convictions, saying that child molestation evidence had unfairly prejudiced the jury against Kirtanananda who was not charged with those crimes. On August 16, 1993, he was released from house arrest in a rented apartment in the Warwood neighborhood of Wheeling, where he had lived for nearly two years, and returned triumphantly to his adoring followers at New Vrindaban.
However, Kirtanananda lost his iron grip on the community after the September 1993 "Winnebago Incident" during which he was accidentally observed in a compromised position with a young male Malaysian disciple in the back of a Winnebago van, and the community split into two camps: those who still supported Kirtanananda and those who challenged his leadership. During this time he retired to his rural retreat at "Silent Mountain" near Littleton, West Virginia. The challengers eventually ousted Kirtanananda and his supporters completely, and ended the interfaith era in July 1994 by returning the temple worship services to the standard Indian style advocated by Swami Prabhupada. Most of Kirtanananda's followers left New Vrindaban and moved to the Radha Muralidhar Temple in New York City, which remained under Kirtanananda's control.
In 1996, before Kirtanananda's retrial was completed, he pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering (mail fraud). He was sentenced to 20 years in prison but was released on June 16, 2004.[14].
On September 10, 2000, the ISKCON Child Protection Office concluded a 17-month investigation and determined that Kirtanananda had molested two boys. He was prohibited from visiting any ISKCON properties for five years and offered conditions for reinstatement within ISKCON: [15]
- (1) He must contribute at least $10,000 to an organization dedicated to serving Vaishnava youth, such as Children of Krishna, the APVC, or a gurukula approved by the APVC.
(2) He must write apology letters to all the victims described in this letter. In these letters he must fully acknowledge his transgressions of child abuse, and he must take full responsibility for those actions. Also, he must express appropriate remorse, and offer to make amends to the victims. These letters should be sent to the APVC, not directly to the victims.
(3) He must undergo a psychological evaluation by a mental health professional pre-approved by the APVC, and he must comply with recommendations for ongoing therapy described in the evaluation report and by the APVC.
(4) Kirtanananda Das must fully comply with all governmental investigations into misconduct on his part.
To date, none of the above conditions have been satisfied.
Since being released from prison, Kirtanananda (unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair) has resided at the Radha Murlidhara Temple in New York City. This temple was purchased in 1998 for $500,000 and is maintained by a smattering of disciples and followers, although some members of the temple board have made attempts to evict him [1]. While they claim to be running a "quiet and peaceful place in the Vil," undercover journalists have revealed how the enterprise is a front for their prosyletizing and religious agenda [2].
References
- ^ Hayagriva Das, The Hare Krishna Explosion (Palace Press, New Vrindaban WV: 1985)
- ^ Howard Wheeler was initiated two weeks earlier on September 9, 1966 and received the name "Hayagriva das." See: Satsvarupa das Goswami, Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, Vol. 2 (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Los Angeles: 1980)
- ^ Letters From Srila Prabhupada, Vol. 1 (The Vaisnava Institute in association with the BBT, Culver City, California: 1987)
- ^ Richard Rose, The San Fransisco Oracle (December 1967)
- ^ Hayagriva Das, “Chant,” Brijabasi Spirit (November 1981), 20.
- ^ Lease available for viewing at Marshall County Courthouse, Moundsville, West Virginia
- ^ Back to Godhead magazine published three poems and 14 articles by Kirtanananda (including a series on the chapters of the Bhagavad-gita) between 1966 and 1986
- ^ Kuladri Das, “Vyasa-puja Homage” (Shri Vyasa-puja: September 4, 1978), 6.
- ^ “Government Officials Attend Ceremony,” Land of Krishna, vol. 1, no. 5 (July 1985).
- ^ Sri Galim wrote The Illustrated Ramayana, Rukmini devi dasi wrote Joy of No Sex, and True Peace wrote Heart of the Gita.
- ^ See http://www.kirtananandaswami.org/HandbookforPureDevotion.pdf
- ^ See http://www.dandavats.com/wp-content/uploads/GBCresolutions/GBCRES87.htm
- ^ The Perils of Succession: Heresies of Authority and Continuity In the Hare Krishna Movement - Tamal Krishna Goswami
- ^ Federal Bureau of Prisons record of release
- ^ Official Decision on the Case of Kirtanananda Das, ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection (September 10, 2000)