Bhakti Balabh Puri Goswami
Legal name not yet confirmed
Balabhadra DasaBalabhadra Das Adhikary
Removed as initiating guru — September 2007
- Sannyasi
- Initiating guru
Record summary
1 entry — 1 ISKCON finding.
Last reviewedBio
Bhakti Balabh Puri Goswami was an ISKCON sannyasi (renunciant) and initiating guru. For several years he was based in Lesmahagow, a small village near Glasgow, Scotland. In early September 2007, according to ISKCON News, a decree of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) removed his status as a sannyasi and guru, after which he was to be known in ISKCON only as Balabhadra Dasa. The GBC Executive Committee published the report behind that decision on 17 September 2007 (see below). It describes him as having been “a good preacher, inspirational sankirtana leader, and a caring devotee”, and dates his decline to the death of his wife. From 2000 to 2006 he was registered at UK Companies House as director and secretary of ISKCON (Scotland) Ltd under the name Balabhadra Das Adhikary, born 1951. His legal name is not confirmed in the sources reviewed, nor are the date he took sannyasa and his activities after 2007.
Sources (3)
- [1]UK Companies House, ISKCON (SCOTLAND) LIMITED (SC114680) — officers and filings (Form 288a, 7 July 2000; annual return 2001), Jul 7, 2000
- [2]Dandavats, GBC-EC Statement and Report Regarding Balabhadra das (formerly Bhakti Balabha Puri Maharaja) — report approved by the GBC Executive Committee, Sep 17, 2007 · copy on this site
- [3]ISKCON News, ISKCON Leader Stripped of Titles, Responsibility, Sep 19, 2007
Record
1 entry · most established firstSexual and physical abuse of disciples and waste of temple funds
A report approved by ISKCON's GBC Executive Committee in September 2007 found that Bhakti Balabh Puri Goswami, an initiating guru and sannyasi based in Scotland, had sexually abused a female disciple, performed "explicit sexual and voyeuristic acts" with two female disciples by "exploiting the obedience" of his female disciples, physically assaulted disciples, "sometimes violently hitting and kicking them, even to the extent of drawing blood", and wasted the Society's money on cars, motor-homes, cameras and guitars. He stepped down as guru and sannyasi, and is now known in ISKCON as Balabhadra dasa.
The GBC Executive Committee said it published the report because he had broken the agreement on his “rectification, restriction, and future service” and planned to raise funds independently, and that devotees should know that supporting him “is not supporting any ISKCON approved project or person”. The report says he had admitted to disciples and to the committee that he thought of himself as “a personal associate of Lord Caitanya and/or Krsna”, regarded himself as “the proprietor of his disciples, of ISKCON’s assets and especially of ISKCON Scotland’s monies”, and blocked the committee from obtaining a psychiatrist’s report on him.
In a comment under the statement, Praghosa dasa wrote that “all devotees who suffered as a result of these events were of adult age”, that he was removed from the Scottish community and from any position of authority as soon as the abuses were known, that “the police were also informed of the situation” and other relevant authorities as well, and that all those harmed had been offered counselling. No police or court record concerning him has been found.
According to the report, the committee first removed him from all positions of authority and suspended his guruship, then restricted him to residence in Vrindavan. At a meeting in Scotland in August 2007 he agreed to step down as guru and sannyasi, to move to Mayapur under the supervision of a senior devotee, to travel only by prior agreement and to undergo further counselling, with the Scottish temple community paying him a monthly allowance. Within a month he broke that agreement; the GBC Executive Committee then made the report public and said he should be considered "his own agent, not a representative of ISKCON". The committee member Praghosa dasa added that "the police were also informed of the situation". No police or court record has been found.
According to the report, he "is unable to understand the severity of his transgressions" and "still believes his good motivations overshadow any faulty methodology"; after the August 2007 meeting he told devotees in Scotland that he was "now a free man and not working under any authority". No statement by him has been found. [1]
Sources (2)
- [1]Dandavats, GBC-EC Statement and Report Regarding Balabhadra das (formerly Bhakti Balabha Puri Maharaja) — statement of the GBC Executive Committee with the report of the working committee, approved by the GBC Executive Committee (Sivarama Swami, BB Govinda Swami, Praghosa dasa); comment of clarification by Praghosa dasa, 25 September 2007, Sep 17, 2007 originalcopy on this site
- [2]ISKCON News, ISKCON Leader Stripped of Titles, Responsibility, Sep 19, 2007 original
People affected
1 people affected · 0 died- Adult disciples, including at least two womenA report approved by the GBC Executive Committee in 2007 found that Bhakti Balabh Puri Goswami sexually abused a female disciple, performed "explicit sexual and voyeuristic acts" with two female disciples, and hit and kicked disciples, "even to the extent of drawing blood" Abused. Injured.ConnectionISKCON finding
Timeline
Each status change in this record, on one axis, with the periods of the cases Bhakti Balabh Puri Goswami is involved in.
- 2007
- ISKCON findingSep 17, 2007 Sexual and physical abuse of disciples and waste of temple funds Report compiled for the GBC by the committee handling his case (Sivarama Swami, BB Govinda Swami and Praghosa dasa) and approved by the GBC Executive Committee, published on Dandavats on 17 September 2007: his "sexual abuse of his female disciple" came to light "over three years ago"; he "would become physically abusive to disciples, sometimes violently hitting and kicking them, even to the extent of drawing blood"; "in the name of 'helping' two female disciples he performed many explicit sexual and voyeuristic acts by exploiting the obedience of his female disciples"; and, "considering himself proprietor of the Society's funds", he "wasted money" on expensive cars, motor-homes, cameras and dozens of guitars. ISKCON News reported the decree on 19 September 2007 as made "due to ongoing indiscretion with female disciples and funds".