Fire in the Hole!
BY: JANMASTAMI DAS
A Chesapeake Appalachia employee works on a drilling rig in Wetzel County
[Photo: Chesapeake Appalachia]
Mar 22, WEST VIRGINIA, USA (SUN) — The vile acts of desecration being performed by the current administrators of the New Vrindaban Community makes it clear to us that we were not the only ones sleeping in Bhagavatam class. Surely NVC's General Manager, $80,000 US per annum Arthur Ailla, aka Kuladri das, as well as GBC Malati Swami, and their illustrious spiritual guide, Radhanatha can explain in their own words how Srila Prabhupada's instructions on the matter of extracting gas and oil from the planet have now come to be disregarded in favor of financial gain to benefit the few remaining merchants of ISKCON memorabilia living in "The Holy Dham".
This was proudly posted in the ISKCON website:
Gas Rush Is On Around New Vrindaban
By Casey Junkins for The Intelligencer on 7 Mar 2010
"A Chesapeake Appalachia employee works on a drilling rig in Wetzel County.Natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation is a hot commodity in the Northern Panhandle.
Members of the New Vrindaban Hare Krishna Community in Marshall County can attest to that, as they are set to gain roughly $10 million in lease payments from AB Resources.
With Ohio-based AB Resources set to pay the community a lease rate of $2,500 per acre for about 4,000 acres - and 18.75 percent production royalties if the company begins pumping natural gas - community member Gabriel Fried said he believes now is the time to sign.
"We could wait two years to see if the price goes to $5,000 per acre. But we wanted to get the production going because the royalties are the real source of revenue," Fried said.
AB Resources, Chesapeake Appalachia, Trans Energy Inc. and CNX Gas Corp. are just some of the companies sending representatives throughout the Northern Panhandle in efforts to lock up land for gas exploration and drilling. These companies have signed landowners to contracts for wide-ranging lease and royalty payments.
Current lease contracts range from as low as $5 per acre to as high as $2,800 per acre, with production royalties ranging from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent. Landowners are being urged to think carefully before signing any contract.
Per acre lease amounts are paid even if no drilling occurs; percentage royalties kick in only if natural gas is produced.
In Marshall County, Chesapeake has drilled 26 Marcellus Shale wells, with 45,000 acres under contract.
Last month, the Marshall County Board of Education signed rights to 177 acres in Sherrard to Chesapeake for $2,800 per acre and 18.75 percent production royalties. That's $495,600 coming to the board, without even producing any gas.
"These wells are providing us, and our competitors, the necessary data that continues to drive leasing efforts throughout the county, and has recently increased the market value of this acreage," Sheppard said.
Michael D. Schriml, an independent contractor for A B Resources, did not know the exact number of active wells his company has in Marshall County, but said the number was "several."
"I have worked on several 'major plays' in my career - Marcellus Shale is a very big deal," Schriml said. "The shale has been there, but new production technology has made it more profitable."
The Marcellus Shale formation likely will have a positive impact on the local economy for years to come, as it is believed to hold enough natural gas to fuel the nation for decades. Experts believe this could help the United States alleviate some of its dependence on foreign oil.
Tim Carr, a professor of geology at West Virginia University, said, "People are drilling more and more wells and having success. Many people are trying to get in on this rush."
He said the Marcellus Shale has a "tremendous amount of gas" attached to it.
St. Marys, West Virginia-based Trans Energy has been drilling into the shale to retrieve natural gas for two years, according to Land Department Manager Mark Woodburn.
"Right now, we own and operate over 300 wells in Marshall, Wetzel and Marion counties. ... We have about 40,000 acres under lease," he said.
With Trans Energy looking to broaden its operations, Woodburn said the run on shale "is a lot bigger than some people realize."
"Marcellus Shale will forever change the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. It could lead to a major overhaul of our national energy policy," Woodburn said."
Read more: ISKCON.org
We have Srila Prabhupada's instructions on this matter, quite at variance with the current trend toward usurping assets, on dozens of occasions in lectures and letters. Here a but a few:
"First of all this artificial way should be stopped, and the bulls should be engaged in ploughing and transporting and smashing the grains. To avoid machinery, petrol, machine oil, by nature's way. Your description of the Tennessee farm is very nice."
(Letter to Balavanta das, January 3, 1977)
"The New Vrndaban idea is that persons who live there will accept the bare necessities of life to maintain the body and soul together and the major part of the time should be engaged in development of KRSNA consciousness. The whole Vedic principle is to develop KRSNA consciousness, without creating much botheration for the program of sense gratification. Industrial development or mining industry in the neighboring places will mar the whole idea. Now you have to consider, yourself, looking forward to the future of the land, and then decide what to do. I do not like to have New Vrndaban with industrial or mining areas. I have got experience in them in India, that the mining areas are simply next to dungeon. The workers in the mines are considered to be working in hell. And we never expect any good behavior from such workers. We must think of the atmosphere around Vrndavana. In India, in our present government, they are trying to develop industries in the vast tracts of land around Vrndavana and creating a hellish atmosphere. So, I request you to be assured of the future of the land and do the needful."
(Letter to Hayagriva, July 17, 1968)
August 17, 1968
Montreal, Quebec
My Dear Hayagriva,
Please accept my blessings. I am so glad to receive your note dated August 13, 1968, with the copy of lease agreement and I have gone through it carefully. When you were here I suggested to purchase the land out-right. But I think it has not been possible. But on the face of the lease, it appears as good as sale document.
But the clause, "Excepting and reserving however, all of the coal within and underlying said property, and subject to the mining rights and privileges set forth in the deed conveying said coal, made by Joseph E. McCombs, et al., dated March 30, 1903, recorded in said Clerk's office in Deed Book 98, at page 185," has caused my headache. I do not know what is written there in the Clerk's office in Deed Book 98, but on common sense, it appears that the area is coal mine or oilmine.
Under the circumstances, if in future coal industry is developed and if it is required, the government may at once ask us to vacate and no law can stop it. Even if the government does not acquire our land, if in our vicinity some such industry (coal or oil industry) is started, the whole idea of Vrindaban will fade away. Vrindaban conception is a transcendental village, without any botheration of the modern industrial atmosphere.
My idea of developing New Vrindaban is to create an atmosphere of spiritual life where people in bona fide order of social division, namely, Brahmacaris, Grhasthas, Vanaprastha, Sannyasis, or specifically Brahmacaris and Sannyasis, and Vanaprasthas, will live there independently, completely depending on agricultural produce and milk from the cows. The life should be simplified without being hampered by laboring day and night for economic development, without any spiritual understanding.
The New Vrindaban idea is that persons who live there will accept the bare necessities of life to maintain the body and soul together and the major part of time should be engaged in development of Krishna Consciousness. The whole Vedic principle is to develop Krishna Consciousness, without creating much botheration for the program of sense gratification. Industrial development (or mining industry) in the neighboring places will mar the whole idea.
Now you have to consider, yourself, looking forward to the future, of the land, and then decide, what to do. I do not like to have New Vrindaban with industrial or mining areas. I have got experience of them in India, that the mining areas are simply next to dungeon. The workers in the mines are considered to be residing in the hell. And we can never expect any good behavior from such workers. So we must think of the atmosphere around Vrindaban.
In India also our present government, they are trying to develop industries in the vast tracts of land around Vrindaban, and creating a hellish atmosphere. So I shall request you to be assured of the future of the land, and then do the needful. The summary is that the face of the lease agreement appears to be all right, but I am thinking of a spiritual development. I hope you have received my previous letter and I am expecting your reply as soon as possible.
Last night we celebrated here Janmastami festival very gorgeously, and many Indians in large number attended and they contributed also very liberally. One Madrasi gentleman demonstrated a Krishna dance by his two young daughters, and it was nice. At the present moment, many devotees from San Francisco, New York (specifically your intimate friend Umapati, is present here) have come here.
Today they will observe Vyasa Puja ceremony (my Birthday Anniversary), so from this day, I will be stepping on the 73rd year. I hope the remaining days of my life may be utilized to serve you all Western devotees of Krishna.
Please pray to Krishna that he may give me the necessary strength to discharge the duty entrusted by my Spiritual Master.
Convey my blessings to Kirtanananda, and I hope you are all doing well."
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
We bring the readers attention to the part: "But the clause, "Excepting and reserving however, all of the coal within and underlying said property, and subject to the mining rights and privileges set forth in the deed conveying said coal, made by Joseph E. McCombs, et al., dated March 30, 1903, recorded in said Clerk's office in Deed Book 98, at page 185," has caused my headache." and we understand again how great was the prophetic speech of His Divine Grace. This is why so many feel that changing even one word of Srila Prabhupada's books, a position Radhanath critcized as an ISKCON exile, is heresy and will derail any long term, future success. So, if success is already denied by changing Srila Prabhupada's words, and now clearly His Meaning, if such behavior, in Srila Prabhupada's own words, "has caused my headache", and if "this movement can only be destroyed from within", then how far do we have to look for some of the most vile characters on this planet?
And the excuses, "Well at least they do something", "They are still in the movement", "Don't find fault with devotees", will not save them from the reaction they are due for their current actions. Nor will their "Prabhupada will take all of His disciples karma" bull droppings philosophy protect them when KRSNA decides to re-level the playing field. You wouldn't want to be a little Romaharshan Suta, sitting on your vyasasana, waiting for that homage you so desperately crave, when Lord Balarama uses simple blades of grass to bring down the biggest and most arrogant of these pretenders.
That ISKCON news chose to print the utility conglomerate's press release, with no ISKCON commentary, is not unlike the modern politician who would not personally have an abortion, but does not feel that he can limit someone else's right to choose. We're not saying that it's a good thing, we're just pointing out that the utility company is very pleased with the outcome. Now with the 1,500 acres the KRSNA commune sold back to them, that land that Srila Prabhupada had told us to "never let fall back into the hands of the karmis", that land has been sold for thirty pieces of silver by the same band of rogues that brought you the heyday years of the Kirtanananda Swami era. Now that this has been sold back to the power conglomerate, local residents have no choice but to sell their mineral rights because as they are told by the company, "we already got the KRSNA land and we're gonna work from there. It doesn't matter whether you sell to us or not, we're gonna get it all anyway". This is the same owner who recently left miners to die in the ground in the Crandall Canyon mine collapse. That is who NVC has sold the gas and oil drilling rights to.
Would you buy a used, no holds barred, fund raising approach to collecting? Would you scam the Indian community because "everything belongs to KRSNA and we, as His servants, deserve it more than those karmis that have the Laxmi in their hands"? Would you default on your child abuse settlement obligations, in light of the record year in ISKCON donations since the Sulocana assassination? Would you do all that, and still try to say that you were trying to please Srila Prabhupada, and not to just trying improve your bottom line? Then I think I would have to call you a liar. SHAME ON THE GBC WHO DO NOT SPEAK OUT AGAINST THIS RAPE OF THE HOLY DHAM !!!
