“Why is it that so many men in ISKCON have insisted on taking away so many things from women, that Prabhupada happily gave? Why do so many continue to quote only the scriptures and instructions that they can twist to serve their own false egos, their insecurities?”

• Read Bhaktin Teagan's Farewell Letter

Thanks But No Thanks
By Bhaktin Teagan Haynes

I wanted to write and thank the devotees at Alachua and New Vrindavan for their kind initiations.

I am actually in Australia, and so that would be an impossible scenario for my son and me. My son has had too many upheavals in the name of Krishna Consciousness and is also quite inimical to the devotees due to his own experiences growing up in ISKCON anyway.

I wouldn't like devotees to get the impression that all temples in Australia are absolutely awful places to be, but certainly there are problems like many places around the world - particularly with the management styles and attitudes of Brisbane and Melbourne temples.

My experience of Sydney temple, which admittedly I have only visited, and also my time at New Govardhana Farm was much better with regards to respect for women than any other temples in Australia, but still the rumour mongering at New Govardhana was hurtful, and there were still regular anti-woman classes tolerated, among other things.

Perth devotees are mostly nice sincere devotees, but comments with regards to single women and beating women were tolerated there, and women were, until the recent GBC rulings expected to remain at the back of the temple room, as with Melbourne, and Brisbane temples.

I know that the problem of disrespect to women is widespread in ISCKON worldwide, including the some US and European temples. I felt just as oppressed when I visited a temple in the US as I did when I visited Brisbane temple, for instance. Women were still relegated to the back, and the men (who were often the only ones around) were generally aloof and quite unhelpful to me as a new visitor to the temple.

Then again, I did not feel that at London temple when I visited there - nor even at Kaunus temple in Lithuania!

To me it seems that it really does depend on the management of the temple's attitudes. If they have a low opinion of women - and dislike children, then it stands to reason that life for women, and particularly women with children will be much more difficult.

For mothers, visits to the temple can become a duty, a very stressful duty where mothers are expected to keep their children unreasonably quiet - missing most classes and many other activities. Children are often viewed as an annoyance, and their safety is not a priority.

In my experience in Australia, the temples are not well versed on even the GBC rules with regards to known paedophiles having access to ISKCON communities, let alone what to do if there is an accusation of abuse. There was a recent incident where a brahmacari who was clearly identified by a young child, was sent off travelling - instead of the incident being reported to the police straight away. I'm not sure the incident was reported at all!

I remember reading a book years ago about the bad old days, and some things that had happened in the past, and being shocked at the time that some events were as recent as the late eighties! This is the year 2000 though, and from what I can see ISKCON has a long way to go before I would even recommend anyone to even visit a temple, particularly if that person was in a woman's body with children to care for!

When ISKCON wakes up and recognises that the management practises - and the general policies at so many temples alienate so many people from returning to the temple, or remaining devotees, ISKCON will again grow in numbers and be able to spread Prabhupada's message.

I can't help but feel that even that message was also contaminated by men, with the intent of keeping women as a servant class - way before Srila Prabhupada got to translate it to English. Prabhupada tried to explain in so many letters and instructions that women devotees were to be respected and that they were intelligent, but these instructions were largely ignored. Prabhupada did not instigate even the segregation of women and men in the West, according to my research.

Why is it that so many men in ISKCON have insisted on taking away so many things from women, that Prabhupada happily gave? Why do so many continue to quote only the scriptures and instructions that they can twist to serve their own false egos, their insecurities? To those men I say please wake up and see that if you are disrespecting women, putting them down, standing in front of them so that they can not see the Lords, bullying them into submission, or just thinking yourself superior - you are not going to go back to Godhead, not in any life.

© CHAKRA 26-August-2000

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