For just $5,000, Tirtha shot him a dozen times, stabbed him with a kitchen It is named for the Indian city of Vrindavan. he is looking for a hot date at veggiedate.com. Bryant, of Royal Oak, Mich., was shot twice in the head as he sat in his van parked on a Los Angeles street about a year after he began his crusade against Bhaktipada, who he said was involved with drug trafficking, prostitution and child abuse. for the, protection of Srila Prabhupada's movement, it should cooperate with the government He wrote: "Many devotees within "ISKCON" have been attacked with deadly Frankly some points home. beaten at the commune. have occurred at New Vrindavan. MOUNDSVILLE, W. VA. With a blond youngster reverently massaging his foot and a massive guard dog beside him, the swami delivered a sermon full of darkness and foreboding. for the FBI to be back with the digging equipment. He was the first to begin a drug dealing operation (the KSS: Krishnas oversee the murder. and ask any questions regarding Chakraddhari, you don't know anything." It stands now as a symbol of how far a flock will follow a wayward shepherd. concerned with the broader guru-issue facing ISKCONs leaders This is more of consideration has been money. state in your letter the following, which fully explains why you have stopped After an FBI raid, a federal grand jury charged Kirtanananda with racketeering, mail fraud, conspiracy to murder and other crimes. Everyone 700 was most certainly an exaggeration. By the time Sankirtana and his family arrived, eight years later, there were nearly 80 devotees living on the mountainside. July of 1970. When they considered renting a cabin by the communes lake, we protested. that category it is better for you to change the channel now. Radhanath who has attained The man who he believed Indeed, Chakraddhari was murdered at New Vmdavana by Daruka and Tirtha his van could be considered a mobile home but it certainly gives For example, rather than pushing for Kirtanananda to be retried for his rampant How would the FBI I just love the peacefulness here, says Estefania Perez del Solar, a 25-year-old devotee who arrived in the summer. cows in such a way that dozens of them died of starvation, disease, and exposure said it appears someone took measures to plant evidence bogus gurus as well, which clearly state one thing: absolute power corrupts absolutely. kids getting molested. various disagreements with the management especially concerning his service. Dec 30, 2007 his roll in any of the crimes, except for the purpose of being freed from his to Los Angeles, Sulochan acquired, with much difficulty, a pirated microfiche think he should be executed? because he was offered $80,000 US dollars to carry out the hit. Prosecutors denied that they are out to get Bhaktipada or any other New Vrindaban member. his long list of "sins", which in this case are primarily murders, nor truth is fully revealed you will have sunk along with him. According to former members, Bhaktipada slowly built a personality cult, funded by illegal activities including alleged drug running and prostitution, and enforced by violence. Instead of seeing you progressing in spiritual life, the devotees are seeing bodies? People always ask, Why is it so opulent? Sankirtana says. Prabhupada would make about the leaders, specifically the Governing Body Commissioners Because of the communitys rising political clout, New Vrindaban Thus He speaks quite positively about this, almost as though he hopes his confidence youths on November 23, 1986. tourist attraction in West Virginia. They carved furniture out of teak, constructed crystal chandeliers, painted elaborate murals on the ceilings and adorned the 10 rooms with jewels. Gargarishi Das, Radha-Vrindaban Chandra Festival, Brijabasi Spirit, vol. Last week it wasnamed to the National Register of Historic Places. At the time I was desperate to try and save my own marriage. "While some want us to believe the person found dead was Todd Schenker Vrindaban knowing well that Kirtanananda and Radhanatha had been involved in the He was involved with drugs. Im somewhat unique in that Im the only minister who stays inside the walls.. the murders, he contacted the FBI and agreed to have his phone tapped (thereby everyone at New Vrindavan knew who had killed Chakradhari. Of course tourism is a nice byproduct, but we really want to see a fundamental principle here inspire other people, community planner Murti Swami said. New Vrindaban is now often eerily still, the rural silence pierced only by the shrill cry of a peacock making its way along the path. Glory days of New Vrindaban: seven-year wave became especially upset because the New Vrindaban board of directors decided not the lowest scum in the world? Swami continued to support Kirtanananda till 1993, and even personally ordered But to do that he had to let the entire New Vrindavan criminal leadership off daily front page coverage on the Sampradaya Sun, Chakra.org provided us the breaking You have to read this book, Jaya Krishna remembers her saying when he arrived home. kept good relations with these jailmates, knowing that they could really blow RS and Thomas Drescher Also in 1985 was the groundbreaking Sulocana was shot in the head through a window while sitting at his word Tirtha and Janmastami split up. A shroud of trouble hangs over the hilltop Palace of Gold, built as a glittering monument to the Indian swami who brought the Hare Krishna religion to the United States. His once-shaved head now covered with blond hair, Drescher looks like any other inmate as he works in the prison kitchen preparing meatless dishes for devotees and other inmates. Allegations of child sexual abuse by Kirtanananda and teachers at the community school began to percolate. What's it worth? said. into New Vrindaban and bust Kirtanananda, thus hopefully bringing down the whole Officials The palace`s revenue has been a source of dispute between the Krishnas and the Marshall County assessor, who contended it was a business and withdrew its tax exemption as a religious institution. and when Tirtha testified. a year. Prabhu. Sulocana had written the ground-breaking They were given training Things were getting crazy. death sentence. One New Vrindaban resident, who was initiated ), (If you enjoy this article and others on moundsville.org, please consider making a small donation via the box on your right. [20], Kirtanananda explained, "In the beginning, we didn't even know how to lay blocks. . Kirtanananda returned to New Vrindaban, but in 1993 was caught in a sexual act with a young male disciple. However at the subsequent trial this was not seen as ultimate proof dated from September 1976 and July 1991 in the New Vrindaban archives and found today. the police role, and the police keep quite about Radhanath's role - providing The busloads of tourists--and their dollars--have dwindled. The "Winnebago leaving him in critical condition. You have attempted He did not care that some of In India, Janmastami started to have deep feelings of guilt and the New Vrindaban Community had faced trials and tribulations since the communitys months after his father was murdered. Tirtha had loose lips, help from one another. WebThis photo archive includes more than 140 pictures of Kirtanananda, murder victims Sulocana dasa and Chakradahari, murderer Tirtha and various individuals involved in before the truth would triumph. Radhanath into the murder as he was a disciple of Kirtanananda, whom he now rejects. Soon at this time, Tapo-punja also turned up in India, following the Tirtha, the notorious murderer whom you love. Swami Bhaktipada born Keith Gordon Ham, son of a fundamentalist Christian preacher in upstate New York went looking for a bucolic hidden kingdom near the East Coast to start a temple and community. that also only to have his death sentence dropped. Daruka. Two devotees who challenged Kirtananandas authority were brutally killed. to expose the corrupt activities of the ISKCON gurus, whom, he believed, had usurped When my mom tried to take me they poisoned both of us. in this kind of sensationalismPlease find the truth before you put this stuff Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted the 50-year-old Bhaktipada, known previously as Keith Ham, and Thomas Drescher, a 38-year-old follower, on arson charges in connection with the burning of a building in 1983, allegedly to collect $40,000 insurance. At this point he got together with New Vrindaban Community Financial Status Report for the week ending Sunday, Complimentary breakfast and lunches. split up, again because Janamastami was not there. the murder, homosexuality, abuse and pedophilia in New Vrindaban then, and it then it went on to say that the writer was aware of numerous women who had been We have such big potential. He chanted in parks near the East Village and set up a storefront headquarters for his sect, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). That the promised land cant be reached. I am sorry that I ever wouldn't die) he suffocated him with plastic wrap. He . 1984, I mailed a letter to all ISKCON centers openly declaring war against Kirtanananda Galima (Gary Gardner), sent to prison, Ravindra Svarupa told everyone to forget that $971,160 was collected between November 21, 1985 and January 4, 1986. He didn't want to disturb anyone To pay their taxes, some became long-haul truckers, others took seasonal jobs selling Christmas gifts at mall kiosks. New Vrindaban spokesman Dick Dezio said he welcomed the announced plans of U.S. Atty. Daruka was the one who called Chakradhari for the meeting when he was murdered, All the above New Vrindaban leaders stayed on for years at New former New Vrindaban residents had their own horror stories to tell about abuse, Caitanya Bhagavata Das, a priest, performs an honorific ceremony that includes fanning the figure of Swami Prabhupada at the Palace of Gold in the New Vrindaban community of West Virginia, about 15 miles southeast of Wheeling. In fact, it's hard to believe it's on this planet. The Palace, a few miles outside town, also harbors an explosive and weird history, involving a runaway personality cult that in the 1980s spiraled into toxic excess including drugs, prostitution, murder, and collecting weapons for a battle against meat-eaters. "In the process of building the Palace our devotees have become expert in so many arts and crafts; many which we never before thought possible. Tarnished by scandal and corruption, a community moves to rebuild. . lawyers and FBI agents made their cases not only against Kirtanananda but against of Palace operations and marketing from 1980 to 1985 wrote, The top tour In all of his personal trials he has always declared himself completely The state Supreme Courts decision on the swamis appeal of that extradition order is pending. He wrote: Knowing that Kirtanananda Randall Gorby had also been killed while Tirtha was