Journal of the Hare Krishna youth. Send submissions to youth@krishna.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Welcome!


Welcome to this issue of Spirit - Not This Body. Send in your realizations, stories, profiles, poems, photos, videos, audio or music files - anything you want to share with other Krishna youth and young adults around the world. In this issue:

  • News and Events
  • Profile: Varsabhanavi
  • Memories of the Winter 2005/2006 Mexico Bus Tour
  • From Apologies to Action
  • The Kuli-mela Festival With a Twist
  • Srila Prabhupada and the Treatment of Children

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Krsnapriya, Manu, Jaya Radhe, Bhakti, Madhava, Bala, Shara, Praj, Abhay, Varsa, Baladeva... (And hopefully you too. Send in your stories!)

posted by Seva at 4:16 AM

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Spirit-not this body:
Would you help me pass this around?

Dear Gurukulis, especially those of you who still feel angry and resentment, please hear me out!

First, I would like to offer my condolences to family and friends of Ananda, May the Lord in his heart guide him to a better life!

There has been a lot of talk lately. I feel that a lot of anger and resentment is still in the air and that there is probably no satisfaction from the agreement with ISKCON. Thus, the steps taken from both parties to get a closure have not been fulfilled.

I am a tiny member of ISKCON (I don’t belong to any temple anymore, but still I feel this is my family) and can’t help by feeling responsible in some way for the things that have happened. I am also someone who grew up in ISKCON since I was six years old when my family became more involved in the movement. I too have experience abuse within ISKCON and before it and so I understand your pain at some level.

I am writing this letter to offer my respects, my gratitude and my service to those of you who would accept my tiny offer.

But first, please don’t be thinking in getting a gun, or anything else to kill yourselves. (No offense Ananda!) Killing ourselves doesn’t end our problems and it doesn’t even minimize them.

You have every right to demand answers, apologies, recompense and support. You were the first children of this movement; you were the ones whose youth was used to be experienced upon.

Thanks to you and your pain, our children today have better and safer schools.

Thanks to you and your pain, our temples have some child safety rules.

Thanks to you and your pain, there is an office for protection of the children in the movement.

Thanks to you and your pain, we know what works and what doesn’t in educating the children.

Thanks to you and your pain, our parents have better understanding of what it means to be a devotee parent and what the responsibility is.

Thanks to you and your pain, finally the devotees are opening their eyes to see that a child is not just a soul but a gift from God.

And because I am also a mother, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for because of you and your tears, today, I can feel safe again and bring my children to the temple for an evening worship. Because you cleared the way (from predators), I am indebted to you!

I want you all to know that even though I am a tiny member of this ISKCON I still can hear your pain every time it comes out. I have been very troubled to hear about Ananda’s fatal decision and the painful letters you all wrote and I can’t take it anymore. I know something has to be done even if it starts small.

I know many of you have found solace and have move on and are doing well. That is good. But for those who still need closure, please! Please! Don’t hold on in anger and resentment! This is only destroying you and your future!

Let’s find steps to heal:
What will it take?
What will give you solace?
Do you really want to give the blame to one person and wait for him to be destroyed when not only one person is responsible for all your pain? Weren’t there many more people involved and many other factors?

I know I can’t speak for the GBC, I can’t take a temple and sell it. But because I am in ISKCON (somehow) I feel responsibility. And because you have helped this big family become a better place for our future, I offer my help. I can give whatever I have (little money), I can give my time, my intelligence you name it, I want to help you in any way and if you are willing to accept my help no matter how tiny it is maybe just maybe others will follow suit and will help you in better ways. You will see!
Before you know it you will start healing and gaining that well deserved closure that you all need!

Please don’t dismiss my help because I am a powerless tiny member (remember how Ram accepted that ant who would carry the little stone and Hanuman laugh at it) I think you have suffer enough and that you need to stop that destructive path.

So please stop feeling upset and angry, stop destroying yourselves and let’s build confidence and a better future! Wherever Ananda is right now he won’t feel happy if his dead is been honored with such destructive feelings!

So for Ananda and to honor his life, please write to me at mittalga@hotmail.com

P.S.: To all the rest of ISKCON: PLEASE help me find a stop to the suffering of our first children! Let’s all unite in their pain and help them find redemption (I know some of you have helped already but maybe more people need to be involved) Let’s don’t ignore their pain anymore!

5:24 PM

 

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