oldchakra.com

Pirating of ITV Materials
By Nrsimhananda dasa

CHAKRA (Los Angeles) - August 21, 2001: After months of writing to ISKCON authorities including the entire GBC, Mahaman, temple president of ISKCON Vrindavan, and numerous devotees coming forward to express their frustration with their works being pirated, Brahmananda and Gargamuni have increased their sales and snuffed the legitimate competition. Distributors can't compete with people who don't have to pay any royalties and can sell for less.

"It is really a big headache with Gargamuni and Brahmananda Prabhus," reports sources in Vrindavan."It seems that no matter what you do or say about them, they will never stop."

Our sources report that they are more determined about it and are sabotaging sales of legitimate retail outlets. "Another problem I am facing is them sabotaging my sales. They easily convinced innocent devotees to buy from them rather than from me, and luring people with lower rates, they do that however, because they can sell their other pirated expensive products," reports one of our sources in Vrindavan.

"One of the merchants in Loi Bazar told me that he would only buy from Gargamuni and Brahmananda because, according to him, they are the highest authority in ISKCON. They told this merchant they he should buy the VCD's from them only and not from me. This merchant is a supplier that sells to devotees from all over the world. Younger devotees are gullible. They easily get swayed by them, being the senior-most ISKCON devotees. This episode is the biggest misuse of one's seniority in a religious organization. They are using their seniority to further their own ends."

The Vrindavan source says, "The fact is they have the support of most ISKCON leaders, or maybe ISKCON leaders just don't have the stomach to face them. I guess it is kind of natural for people to adopt that kinds of attitude because of natural respect that people have for senior-most persons of a religious organization. A good example was Gargamuni Prabhu telling me how he was selling the pirated folios for 10 dollars in Malaysia, and few GBC men were there and they were appalauding him."

Presnetly there is a proposal before the GBC to ban Brahmananda and Gargamuni from any ISKCON temple or related property. It has the support of many devotees who are "in the trenches."

This issue is a litmus test of the future of the leadership. If ISKCON is not a society built on laws, then it will continue its slide into anarchy.

© CHAKRA 29-Nov-2003

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