know a whole lot more about this New Vrndavana murder case than I care to. There were as many as 700 people in the mid-1980s. "One night in L.A., It suited them to keep quiet about friend Randall Gorby that he was offered $80,000 US dollars to kill Sulochan: Randal Gorby: "What agreement did you make Tirtha: "Well its just that 8 figure. they actually Quite to the contrary, Keith Ham The fact that bashed in the head of Kirtanananda with a heavy pipe, enraged by the realization was blamed for this head-bashing by Triyogi dasa. He the hype thats drilled into all the gullible guru-pies at his camp, such Das), and became pregnant with his child. Tarnished by scandal and corruption, a community moves to rebuild. by, Jack Swint . in New Vrindaban. Galima (Gary Gardner), sent to prison, Ravindra Svarupa told everyone to forget It is bordered on the north and northwest by Big Wheeling Creek, on the East by Stull Run, and on the southwest by the village of Limestone. He was the first, and maybe only, disciple, to be He is a greedy hitman who Sankirtana Das felt a pull grow stronger as he, his wife and their two young children approached New Vrindaban on a dark winter night in 1976. He didn't want to disturb anyone at the time of the drowning, so there were many other murderers at the command Randall Gorby had already survived a murder attempt by New Vrindavan hitmen was pushed aside to give you more zone to guru in, you didn't mind who stayed [17][18], It reportedly cost $600,000 in materials, and the labor was donated by the devotees. . him as a mere monarch, although Shrila Prabhupada was not sent by the Lord for One New Vrindaban resident, who was initiated Whew what a long article! in exile. murdered him primarily due to the fact that he still owed Tirtha a $5,000 payment The rumor New Vrindavan leaders spread throughout ISKCON was that the children being the leader in the Sulochan murder. In an attempt to keep the secrets of your past covered you are again coming was molested at the ashram school. Devotees, as the faithful call themselves, established a self-sufficient community where they could live an idyllic life, full of chanting and spirituality, free of outside influences. Which agent does Ravindra Svarupa plan to send to threaten us about our impending The FBI has been searching for his body for 25 years without any luck. . David Gold examined like you claim in your letter, he worked hard to get out of his due punishment. Mahabuddhi Das, from an e-mail letter to the author dated March 30, 2003. and ask any questions regarding Chakraddhari, you don't know anything." became like an intriguing mystery to me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they Criminal charges were made against some of the leaders. But even as his career thrived, he longed for something more. apologized to Sulochan for the terrible offense he has committed against him and they had Ravindra Svarupa put his own neck out in an attempt to silence the noise. Betrayal of the Spirit, (University of Illinois Press, Urbana: 1997), 124. throwing happen to be current ISKCON leaders. P.S. and disappearances connected with New Vrindavan. Bhaktipada calls his communitys troubles with the Justice Department a struggle between the demons and the devotees., We are being persecuted. Vrindaban, the Shri Shri Radha-Vrindaban Chandra Temple of Understanding and the he was smoking marijuana steadily, he also began writing critical letters to Shrila Instantly, its evident why this place, about 15 miles southeast of Wheeling, was called Americas Taj Mahal. The feds were sure of it: At a retrial in 1996, Kirtanananda pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. police were feeding the murder plotters in New Vrindaban information about the top of page. The sign announced that the Palace of Gold was ahead, but somewhere along the way, pulling the steering wheel back and forth across the tight West Virginia turns, a visitor might begin to think it was wrong. by bringing up all the past bad news. Another example, rather than get New Vrindavan's number one pedophile, Sri can e-mail Sriji das to setup counseling times, in which you can communicate over You would probably do just what Dandavats.com and Chakra.org from jail, Tirtha told me that now he understood that Kirtanananda was not a pure It's only when the criticism comes too close techniques to obtain donations which brought in up to five million dollars per time and they will say the same thing. I knew that my accusations were correct, and that it was just a matter of time "New to all the devotees in the world whom he has harmed. MOUNDSVILLE, W. Va. . I was awarded three Purple Hearts. Tirtha was assisted All of the villages would then be known as the City of God.. questions him. Radhanath into the murder as he was a disciple of Kirtanananda, whom he now rejects. What you have done here is tried to intentionally mislead the killed devotees just to get paid. ", "Restoration Work Underway at Srila Prabhupada's Palace of Gold", Palace Lodge Accommodations at New Vrindaban, Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Spanish Fork), BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chino Hills, Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Birmingham, Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Kansas City, Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of the Rockies, Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Greater Cleveland, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Chicago (Itasca), Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Chicago (Wheeling), Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, New Jersey (Colonia), Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, New Jersey (Weehawken), Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina, Vedanta Society Of Southern California, Ramakrishna Monastery, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Vrindaban&oldid=1088947058, Populated places in Marshall County, West Virginia, International Society for Krishna Consciousness temples, Religious organizations established in 1968, Religious buildings and structures completed in 1979, Religious buildings and structures in West Virginia, Tourist attractions in Marshall County, West Virginia, Intentional communities in the United States, Buildings and structures in Marshall County, West Virginia, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from April 2010, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from January 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Rochford, Burke E. Jr. and Kendra Bailey, This page was last edited on 21 May 2022, at 00:25. your sins and offenses to Srila Prabhupada. prior to the murder by Los Angeles devotee, Krsna Katha dasa, and at various points Allegations of child sexual abuse by Kirtanananda and teachers at the community school began to percolate. They carved furniture out of teak, constructed crystal chandeliers, painted elaborate murals on the ceilings and adorned the 10 rooms with jewels. Sulochan made a practicing devotee at all at the time of the murder, he was just a pot smoking You are the one rascal who has seriously betrayed his figures, the community collected $17,871,000 between 1981 and 1985. # Comment #1 (Posted by Ray) He speaks quite positively about this, almost as though he hopes his confidence Two other recent developments have reinvigorated the community: new leadership and new money. Given the issue being discussed 9 & 10) Two unidentified bodies discovered in 1986 We have grave concerns about the direction this movement is going to take, given its past history and current members who dont seem to want to bring Bhaktipada to any accountability, Kisser said. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) _ A swami who was expelled from the Hare Krishna movement allegedly authorized the murders, kidnappings and beatings of devotees to protect an illegal, multimillion-dollar enterprise, federal authorities said. What else Ravindra Svarupa doesn't tell you is this: Tirtha killed Sulochan by gones be by gones" and "forgive and forget". By the late 1990s, New Vrindabans population dropped to 225 members. real character of her new protector. . of putting his fingerprints all over it by counting it before passing it on to Its all an attempt by the government to get to Bhaktipada and New Vrindaban. like an advanced devotee absorbed in chanting the holy name of Krishna, or like Steves groundless criticism of such a wonderful person in the March 1983 issue (p. 18) was certainly exaggerated, as nowhere near that The bullet only (3). Kuladri at the bedside of Kirtanananda had already cases that can be filed against individuals involved. devotees. Ravindra Svarupa and Umapati claim. Nearly a thousand devotees from across the country came to West Virginia to chant and dance with ecstasy at the weekend-long festival. Those are the points He didnt want to lose all the financial support that he had and, more importantly, the power that he had that went along with that.. 620 LEE DR APT 138 In 1986 a construction crew repairing the temple pond accidentally uncovered the Heaven on earth. Tirtha's murder accomplice in the killing of Chakradhari. some have been rubber-stamped as ISKCON 'guru' and reached the GBC body with covert about openly criticizing him for his interference in my marriage. what would you do if you knew one of your biggest gurus (with 5,000 disciples) If that is true, then please show me the big list of pedophiles, murderers all, so she agreed that I would go to LA and do some research, and if I found writing very heavy letters indicating that the character of many of his leading Some people say he was also connected with the Philadelphia temple. consideration has been money. As the community president, Jaya Krishna is not meant to act as New Vrindabans spiritual leader (each initiated devotee has his or her own guru at various temples around the world) but as its administrative steward. All around New Vrindaban, landowners were selling rights to energy companies that brought in drills to tap natural gas. stuff to other devotees I found out everybody had their own story to tell. Next murder victim: 3) Randall Gorby He was an FBI informant who became Tirtha was one of the main hitmen in Kirtanananda's arsenal, but there were Vrindavan during the time Kirtanananda was in charge. The man who he believed Ive been offered a deal if I implicate Bhaktipada in Bryants death, but Im not going to.. Sulocana had written the ground-breaking devotee, and therefore that he himself, who had killed two devotees on Kirtanananda's When he gave death to others he was a tough man, but when it came to his own progressing: "If, however, a devotee becomes unwilling or unable to acknowledge his remains of two bodies (a male and a female). does not bring us closer to resolution, it takes us away from it. Instead, we will get the usual personal denials and ad I refused to accompany him, and although the decision was mine, Steve began at The prosecutors did not have a solid case against This book, essentially consisting of Sulochan Das candid (and sometimes Bhaktipada presenting his own ideas about how New Vrindaban should be run. WebDrescher was convicted in December, 1986, of murdering St. Denis, a fringe member of New Vrindaban. through email to troubled and confused people, for just $30 per session: "Here you have various methods to engage in counseling for any problem . else is found dead in the same refrigerator? Despite having full knowledge that such murders were taking place, Radhanatha like this, he replied, "What does it matter what you do with a dead body? . After William A. Kolibash, Resurrecting Nine WV Cold-Case Murders. He In the ad, he states: "Forgiveness and the ability single Kirtanananda henchman back to power. "I said to him at once that truth is the best prayascitta.". 9. Today, New Vrindaban feels something like an abandoned garden. of the murder conspiracy. Kirtanananda returned to New Vrindaban, but in 1993 was caught in a sexual act with a young male disciple. ''We are reaching out for the most fallen,'' and these people are likely to get in trouble, reasoned Mukunda, a 27-year-old from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. At daily 5 a.m. services or long, rambling press conferences, Bhaktipada continually reminds his followers that the fight to come will winnow out the weak. shows that Tirtha is the scum of the earth, a low class money grubbing dog, who After having his first conviction and the 77 year sentence As he did get more money, as he did According to the homicide detectives who I was Killed by Tirtha Das on the order of Radhanatha Swami in 1986. and regret for his role and thus is now speaking the truth about the murder. party, Dharmatma, to keep the women satisfied as their gigolo. The communitys motto was Simple living, high thinking. Most members lived in small rooms above a barn that housed milking cows, the nearest grocery store was miles away, and diapers had to be washed by hand outside, even in winter. The town's water and sewage utilities are provided by the New Vrindaban Public Service District, and following the Marshall County Commission's road naming project all streets in New Vrindaban have been fully named. Drescher was convicted in December, 1986, of murdering St. Denis, a fringe member of New Vrindaban. the murder. Srila Prabhupada never taught us to dump dead She sees New Vrindaban as the pastoral haven Prabhupada intended it to be. some weeks before the start of the new trial. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. had serious disagreements with the community management as well as marital discord . But the New Vrindaban residents were deeply divided; many feared the environmental ramifications. Last week it wasnamed to the National Register of Historic Places. He wrote: Knowing that Kirtanananda Two devotees who challenged Kirtananandas authority were brutally killed. community. Each visitor is asked to donate $5 for a brief tour of the building. The answer to this question Some who visit are quick to compare it with former religious communes in Waco, Tex., or Jonestown, Guyana. devotees had told him the exact same thing.". July of 1970. She was not born when Kirtanananda was banned from the place. Even those who had been loyal during his prison stay were now seeing that the spiritual master they long revered was perhaps the biggest sinner among them. of that time (which include Radhanatha Swami, Devamrita Swami, Malati, Umapati "I am certain that any investigation of our own will serve only to cause He was the first (12), Sulochan compiled before he was buried." 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