GBC Member Agrees with

IRM Analysis and Resigns

Back To Prabhupada, Issue 74, Vol. 3, 2022_, Quotes, Notes & News

In BTP 70 article "GBC Politics Case Study", we detailed the GBC's handling of the child sexual abuse case of GBC voted-in guru HH Lokanath Swami ("LOK"). The GBC has now decided to take no further action in this matter against LOK, thus allowing him to remain as a GBC diksa guru (GBC Decision approved 20/7/22). This GBC decision has led GBC member Praghosa Dasa ("PD") to resign from the GBC for reasons which were already predicted by the IRM due to our correct analysis of how the GBC will behave, and have behaved, specifically in regard to the LOK affair! All quotes in shaded boxes are from PD's resignation video posted to his personal YouTube channel on 20/7/22.

1) Influenced by pressure

"the decision just taken by the GBC body \[...\] was significantly influenced by lobbying, with some threatening to secede from ISKCON if the GBC did not acquiesce to their demands."

The IRM stated that this is exactly what would happen:

"the GBC has already been bounced into reversing its position twice due to outside pressure, and what action it will take next will no doubt depend on whoever manages to bring the most pressure to bear!"
(BTP 70, "GBC Politics Case Study")

2) Unprincipled

"it's really about ensuring that our decision-making is based on those principles of integrity and fairness \[...\] the decision just taken by the GBC body does not satisfactorily meet those criteria \[...\] this recent decision of the GBC was not sufficiently based on principle"

The IRM stated this is exactly how the GBC behaved regarding LOK:

"This affair started with the GBC deciding that LOK's behaviour still meant he was a "good as God" diksa guru. And the GBC's conduct since then, as documented above, has simply been flip-flopping based on political considerations."
(BTP 70, "GBC Politics Case Study")

3) Not pleasing to Srila Prabhupada

"it will not likely be pleasing to Srila Prabhupada, not least because personal interests and other interests are being put in front of Srila Prabhupada's movement."

The IRM stated that the GBC is not acting with Srila Prabhupada's orders in mind:

"This affair is just a reminder of how, whether it is the guru hoax or any other matter, the GBC operates based on politics rather than Srila Prabhupada's orders."
(BTP 70, "GBC Politics Case Study")

Although the GBC's resolution allows LOK to act as a "good as God" diksa guru and initiate, it also states that this would not be the case in areas where he has "not been welcome" by the local authorities. Thus, we now have further official institutionalisation of the GBC's absurd "aeroplane guru-tattva" that we documented in BTP 71 article "The GBC's Aeroplane Guru-Tattva", where a ‘good as God' diksa guru's status is not absolute, but instead determined by wherever his plane happens to land! This has already happened in the case of female diksa gurus (please see BTP 72 article "Institutionalising Aeroplane-Tattva").