What’s Happening to Our Reputation?

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What’s Happening to Our Reputation?
From: Bhakta Jason Pearson

Hare Krsna,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to His Holiness Tamal Krsna Goswami Maharaja!

First I would like to offer my sincerest obeisance to all the devotees working so hard to carry out the wishes of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, our greatest instructor. I understand that it's been a long and hard road in certain respects for the population at large to understand the purpose of Lord Caitanya's mission, and even harder for people to see ISKCON's work as one arm of Mahaprabhu's extended endeavors.

I see ISKCON as Srila Prabhupada's means to reach out to others, a vehicle he created to spread the teachings of his guru maharaja and all in our parampara before him. This vehicle (ISKCON) has done so much good for people (though often under-appreciated and under-exposed) and unfortunately has caused some problems too. That is to say that ISKCON as an organized and governed entity has been subject to internal and external struggles and controversy.

I feel that it's important for all devotees (initiated or not) to understand that whether ISKCON in name exists or not, the teachings are never subject to alteration or destruction. I grew up in a Christian church/household, and my parents always reminded me that "church" wasn't the building that we met in on Sundays. Rather, it was the assembled people who met to glorify the names of God. Nothing is permanent in the material world, not even ISKCON. We should fight to preserve and teach what ISKCON represents— the eternal message of Lord Krsna. Surely if we do that with utmost sincerity, we are serving Srila Prabhupada, benefiting spiritually, and most important, we are protected against any opposition by the grace of Lord Nrsimhadeva (who protects all his devotees).

We have all been hit pretty hard these past few days. We felt the loss of one of our greatest spiritual teachers and an amazing devotee, His Holiness Tamal Krsna Goswami Maharaja. And we also lost a little more of our struggling reputation when ABC television aired their "coverage" of the sexual abuse lawsuit. As is typical of the media, their attempt to expose a large and multi-faceted scenario into a 10-minute slot of prime time TV has both prevailed and failed.

The media won again by being able to sway public opinion with bias and lack of explanation. However, they failed (to the discerning viewer) to shake the devotees’ faith. Unfortunately, the damage is done, and ABC isn't the only guilty party. I'm sure that ISKCON officials are not completely naive to the way in which the media works. They should have had some idea that the program wouldn't reveal that most devotees recognize our movements’ faults and that we know we've had some bad seeds in positions of authority.

We clearly understand that some of the blame is a result of our carelessness and mismanagement, and we are continuing to take progressive steps towards healing relationships and making necessary reparations to the victims. ABC apparently didn't see the need to include that part. That said, why would ISKCON leaders have contributed to a show that would further tarnish the movement’s already questionable facade?

I hope it was out of a sense of honesty and responsibility. However, if ABC was willing to grant us any time at all, why not make specific requests for more time devoted to understanding (with more accuracy) the events, the reasons, and the positive steps ISKCON has taken since? It seems that when opportunities like this arise, our heads of communication need to take more initiative to see that Srila Prabhupada's movement is portrayed more accurately, even when the situations around it aren't exactly favorable.

I apologize in advance for any offenses this may cause, but the fact that Srila Prabhupada's American institution has received so much negativity in spite of so much good it has done really hurts and offends me. I have always questioned the motives and actions of organized religions, and I do understand that Srila Prabhupada set it up so that neophyte Westerners could manage things more comfortably.

I also think that if that's the way it's got to work, then even the publicity aspect of the movement should be managed with more care. After all, when things like this occur (no matter how shameful or upsetting) it's not just our own image that gets dirty, it makes Srila Prabhupada, our ever well-wisher, look bad because of our mistakes. And that, I just can't stomach!

Yours in devotion to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga,
Bhakta Jason Pearson