Feb 05, 2016 — BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (SUN) — Dispelling the lies of Romapada Swami and Ramabhadra Prabhu regarding the sale of ISKCON's Brooklyn Radha Govinda Mandir.
While devotees worldwide are celebrating the 50 year anniversary of ISKCON , nobody is celebrating with enthusiasm in Brooklyn NY's Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, other than Romapada Swami and Ramabhadra prabhu. Soon Radha Govinda will be moved once again to where and for how long only the two so called leaders know for sure. They have yet to inform the congregational members that they have entered into a contract to sell the Temple and are in a mad scramble to complete the sale before the annual GBC meetings in Mayapur.
The devotee community should also be made aware that Romapada Swami had told Sivarama Swami as well as Bhakti Caru Maharaj that he would wait until after the Mayapur meetings to sell the building. However Romapada Swami had already entered into contract to sell the temple. Maharaj's deceptive behavior has angered many and the congregation itself is no longer sitting by and going along with the plan to sell. Devotees are being threatened with banishment from the Temple if they voice opposition to the sale.
Chandrashekar Maharaj was dispatched to Queens to confront a West Indian devotee that was petitioning the community there to not support the sale and to voice their displeasure. The devotee responded to Maharaj's threats by saying that he was entitled to voice his displeasure and to rally opposition against the sale. Another long time Indian congregation member who had been doing service for years on end was also informed by Ramabhadra that his services had all been taken away due to his not supporting the Temple sale. Ramabhadra told this devotee that he would be best served by visiting the temples in New Jersey, and to take his sons with him. Both sons have been Sunday school teachers at the temple for years. The Attorney General has been notified of this abusive behavior and is now reviewing this matter.
Threats can't silence the mass of devotees. What genuine Vaisnava believes that it is a good thing to banish devotees? Romapada Maharaj has been known to engage in this very activity for years on end. Ramabhadra has also banished many devotees and repeatedly threatened others with physical violence. These are not the actions of a truly Krishna Conscious leader.
What a way to thank Srila Prabhupada for all of his endeavors. Srila Prabhupada instructed the devotees to never leave the 55 Street Temple, yet they sold the building anyway. The 55 Street Temple was sold in the same secretive manner that the sale of the Brooklyn temple is taking place. Brooklyn ,much like Hell's Kitchen where 55 Street Temple was located, is a neighborhood on the rise. The area is safer than it has ever been and it is flush with new hotels and apartment buildings. Developers are salivating while waiting for the opportunity to purchase the extremely valuable real estate in the downtown Brooklyn area. And in a world where God consciousness isn't of top importance to most, these same developers are buying churches and now temples as well to line their pockets with profits.
After having endured years of gentrification in the area and the upheaval that it brings, the area is the place to be. Why move the Deities once again? Why allow the two devotees that have completely destroyed the NY sanga to have any say whatsoever about what is best for the Deities and the devotee community? After all, preaching has been on the decline since Romapada Maharaj and Ramabhadra prabhu took charge of the Brooklyn Temple. There has been no mention that the Deities could be moved at any moment, and this is a disgrace.
Can we trust leaders that act on their own? Should we as devotees function as a bunch of blind sheep? Definitely not. How many NY devotees either know of or have even heard of Adi Kesava prabhu? He was the president responsible for selling the 55 Street Temple. It would seem that both Srila Prabhupada and Radha Govindadev didn't approve of the sale. Almost all of Srila Prabhupada's disciples have been alienated by the NY Temple authorities through the years. Srila Prabhupada's disciples are the ones with the most knowledge of how Srila Prabhupada handled matters and the devotees. After the sale of the 55 Street Temple, it was moved to 7th Avenue. The Towaco, New Jersey temple as well as the Lake Huntington properties were bought with the money from this sale. Not long after Lake Huntington was bought it was foreclosed on, and the 7th Avenue Temple was moved to Brooklyn .
Just how far will we need to travel to see Radha Govinda in the future, and when exactly will be able to see them? Only Romapada Swami and Ramabhadra know the answer. Why has everyone been kept in the dark if these two devotees can be trusted? If there was financial transparency, which there isn't, then and only then could we place faith in their abilities to act in an honest manner on behalf of the congregation. Why are Tamohara and Kuladri prabhus on a board approving the temple sale when they are not part of our yatra, and are never present at Radha Govinda Mandir? How can they possibly know what's best here in NY? Why have previous board members always been denied the ability to see the Temple finances?
How did Romapada Swami buy a building in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and also afford to open a center near the Van Wyck Expressway in Richmond Hill, Queens? Why did Maharaj previously lend money with interest to both the Brooklyn and Hartford temples? And just where did Maharaj get this money from? How has he been paying lawyers for years in the case regarding the Freeport Long Island temple? What did Maharaj do with all of the money he made from selling prasadam at street fairs located in NYC? What happened to the $50,000 donation that Maharaj was given to start a restaurant in NYC, which he instead invested in real estate in North Carolina? That money was lost and no restaurant was ever opened in NY by Maharaj. Why did Maharaj try to pressure Radhanath Swami to turn over the Bhakti Center because it isn't a registered ISKCON property, when the Brooklyn temple for which he is the GBC is listed as being owned by the Bharati Vedic Society? Why did Maharaj try to take the Krishna Balaram temple in Richmond Hill from Sunanda prabhu after Sunanda had endeavored for years to develop a congregation? Why did Maharaj try to stop the Queens Ratha Yatra? Why did Maharaj try his best to destroy the congregations that Dasarath Suta prabhu and Sandamani devi endeavored to open on their own in Arizona?
Do these sound like the actions of a devotee? Of a sannyasi? Of a GBC? And lastly, of an initiating Guru? If you believe they do then you must re-evaluate your knowledge of the qualities of all.
New York has been systematically destroyed by this power hungry non leader. His 'partner in crime' is Ramabhadra prabhu. When was the last time anyone has seen Ramabhadra at the morning program? He hasn't been seen in an eternity. There hasn't been a Bhakta program in NY in over 20 years. Why are there no temple devotees going out on a daily basis on book distribution? Why is there no Food for Life program, no harinam and a dwindling congregation? All can be understood by looking at the leaders. They are like human sleeping pills. They lack the leadership qualities needed to guide and inspire a community of devotees.
Why do the leaders need to import devotees from India to cook, especially when we live in a city of 8 million plus people and a large community of devotees? Why is there a non-devotee paid to wash dishes in the temple kitchen for the restaurant? What happened to Temple standards? And most importantly, how has the GBC body allowed Romapada Swami and Ramabhadra to destroy the NY sanga? Srila Prabhupada would never allow this incompetence to take place year after year.
Srila Prabhupada possessed the unique ability to inspire everyone. He was thrilled when the 55 Street Temple building was bought. He instructed the devotees to never lose the 55 Street Temple. When there was talk of needing repairs for 55 Street, the BBT gave $100,000 and was prepared to give $200,000 more. Srila Prabhupada instructed Tamal Krishna Maharaj to send 50 devotees from the Radha Damadar traveling party to NYC to do sankirtan daily. Srila Prabhupada was never at a loss for manpower. He was an unparalleled inspirational force. The current leaders have ruined everything that Srila Prabhupada began and the ultimate slap in the face to Srila Prabhupada is moving Sri Sri Radha Govinda once again. What a way to thank your spiritual master for enduring two heart attacks on a steamship while endeavouring to bring the Holy Name to the Western world. Happy 50th Year Anniversary, NYC.
We should all as members pray for the removal of these completely inept leaders. We should exhaust all efforts to ensure that the sale of the Temple is stopped. We should let everyone know what these men have been doing without the knowledge of the devotees. We should let them know about all of their nefarious activities. Let it be known these men previously sold the parking lot to the left of the temple, which would have been worth a fortune given that the cost of real estate has been on a steady rise for years. Ask to see the bank accounts of Ramabhadra prabhu and Satya dasi, both of whom have never held a job since becoming devotees. Ask for an explanation regarding all of their travel expenses, computer and video equipment purchases. Ask what was the $10,000 monthly rent paid by the bingo hall and the never ending stream of cash from the Daily lunch program used for, and to see proof of these finances. Ask Romapada Maharaj why Hemalatta dasi, his former secretary, found a personal bank account of Romapada Maharaj's with millions of dollars in it during the mid 1990s and how much money he has made over the twenty years since then? These men are not acting as trustworthy devotees, or even remotely Krishna conscious. They aren't concerned with the desires of the devotees and this is evidenced by their outright refusal to reveal that they have a contract in place to sell the Temple and have denied the request of the GBC to postpone the sale until after the Mayapur meetings.
There is a presentation to be made at the Mayapur meetings in February. We must not sit on our hands and act as if all is well. There is a serious stink emanating from this sale…It is dishonest at best and in reality has been presented in a fraudulent manner to both the GBC and devotees.
The devotee community should know that Romapada Maharaj and Ramabhadra are saying relocation will be better for preaching. A new building will not change anything as long as these men are in charge. Devotees are tired of seeing Ramabhadra lead every Sunday lecture as well as kirtan. They are equally tired of being fed kichari for the Wednesday and Sunday feasts. And how can anyone be inspired to attend the morning program when the Temple President and his wife don't do so themselves.
Let's exhaust all our energies to voice our disapproval of the temple sale and of the temple management. There are many social media outlets at our disposal, there are also attorneys at work as well as other sannyasis and senior devotees engaged in a tireless fight to prevent uprooting Radha Govinda once again. We don't need to act like a flock of defenseless fools. we must fight to show our love for the Deities and for the tireless efforts of Srila Prabhupada to establish ISKCON in NYC. If we simply allow Romapada Maharaj and Ramabhadra to do as they wish we have failed Radha Govinda as well Srila Prabhupada.
The sincere desires of all devotees opposed is to see this sale stopped and to put new management in place that is able to inspire the community to work together as one big family for the benefit of humanity at large. Srila Prabhupada realized the significance of having his ISKCON being centered in New York. He always upgraded and never acted under a veil of financial secrecy, and this is why he was and is so beloved by millions worldwide. This is the reason that so many young men and women abandoned everything to help establish ISKCON. We are in dire need of a trustworthy leaders(s) here in NYC.
We have a voice and must make it heard. We should demand honesty and transparency. Srila Prabhupada didn't create a society so it's future leaders could pillage all of its funds constantly and sell off Temple properties. All of the Temples that Srila Prabhupada opened in India are still in place. Why should things be any different here in NY? Radha Govindadev deserves better caretakers and to remain in Their current home, and not be constantly moved.
Srila Prabhupada has made a home for the whole world to live in. Let's fight to insure that unqualified leaders don't move Radha Govinda and make them homeless, especially not while the world is celebrating the 50th Year Anniversary of ISKCON.
