Jayatirtha
Legal name James Edward Immel
Jayatirtha SwamiJayatirtha das
Removed as gbc member — Mar 16, 1983 · Died Nov 13, 1987
- Initiating guru
- 1977–1982
- GBC member
- Sannyasa fromKirtanananda Swami1980
Record summary
1 entry — 1 ISKCON finding.
Last reviewedBio
Jayatirtha (James Edward Immel) became a member of the Governing Body Commission (GBC) and in 1977 was one of the eleven disciples who began initiating after Prabhupada’s death. He was based in London, with responsibilities in Britain, Europe and Africa. The GBC suspended him as a GBC member and initiating guru in March 1982 and removed him from the GBC in March 1983. After leaving ISKCON he joined the Gaudiya Math ashram of B.R. Sridhara Maharaja in Navadvipa, and later led an independent group with branches in London and Nepal.
On 13 November 1987, his 39th birthday, Jayatirtha was killed at Liberty Architectural, a brass-fittings shop in Regent’s Park Road, Finchley, north London, where he had started working. A former disciple, John Tiernan (Navanita Cora dasa), 32, from the Republic of Ireland, stabbed him to death and then decapitated him (Evening Standard). Police found Tiernan at the scene “lost in a psychotic state and holding the guru’s head in his lap” (Nori Muster). The prosecution told the Old Bailey that Tiernan had once believed Jayatirtha was the reincarnation of Christ but came to see him as “The Beast” of the Book of Revelation. On 20 July 1988, after admitting the killing, Tiernan was sent to a secure mental hospital (Evening Standard).
Sources (4)
- [1]ISKCON GBC, GBC Resolutions 1982 — res. 1 (6 March 1982), Mar 6, 1982 · copy on this site
- [2]ISKCON GBC, GBC Resolutions 1983 — res. 3 (16 March 1983), Mar 16, 1983 · copy on this site
- [3]Evening Standard, Krishna killer beheaded his guru — copy reproduced by iskconirm.com, Jul 20, 1988
- [4]Henry Doktorski, Eleven Naked Emperors: The Crisis of Charismatic Succession in the Hare Krishna Movement (1977–1987) (Henry Doktorski) — chapter "Aftermath"; excerpt on the author's site
Record
1 entry · most established firstBreaking vows and regulative principles; suspension as guru and GBC member
In March 1982 the GBC suspended Jayatirtha as a GBC member and initiating guru. A GBC resolution recorded that he had admitted to acting "not as a bonafide spiritual master", including by having broken "regulative principles and vows of devotional service over a long period of time". The GBC removed him from its membership in March 1983.
The same resolution also cited his having “misled his disciples to leave the Krsna consciousness movement” and his refusal of the GBC’s “program of rectification”.
The Bulletin (Australia) reported in August 1988, in a list of gurus it said the GBC had excommunicated, that his grounds were “using the hallucinogen LSD”. The GBC resolutions quoted above do not name a specific substance.
- 1982ISKCON findingRes. 1: 'That Jayatirtha Maharaja is suspended from his duties of GBC and Initiating guru.'
- 1982AdmittedAn undated GBC resolution (c. 1982) states that he 'has been found to be acting not as a bonafide spiritual master, and he has admitted to the same', citing among other grounds his 'having broken regulative principles and vows of devotional service over a long period of time'.
- 1983ISKCON findingRes. 3: 'That Jayatirtha is removed as a member of the GBC.'
Suspended as GBC member and initiating guru (March 1982); his disciples were authorized to take re-initiation; removed from the GBC (March 1983).
Sources (4)
- [1]ISKCON GBC, GBC Resolutions 1982 — res. 1 (6 March 1982), Mar 6, 1982 originalcopy on this site
- [2]ISKCON GBC — Resolution concerning Jayatirtha (undated, c. 1982; copy reproduced by Nori Muster's Betrayal Files), 1982 original
- [3]The Bulletin (Australia), Toll of the gurus — sidebar, p. 94, Aug 9, 1988
- [4]ISKCON GBC, GBC Resolutions 1983 — res. 3 (16 March 1983), Mar 16, 1983 originalcopy on this site
Timeline
Each status change in this record, on one axis, with the periods of the cases Jayatirtha is involved in.
- 1982
- Admitted1982 Breaking vows and regulative principles; suspension as guru and GBC member An undated GBC resolution (c. 1982) states that he 'has been found to be acting not as a bonafide spiritual master, and he has admitted to the same', citing among other grounds his 'having broken regulative principles and vows of devotional service over a long period of time'.
- ISKCON findingMar 6, 1982 Breaking vows and regulative principles; suspension as guru and GBC member Res. 1: 'That Jayatirtha Maharaja is suspended from his duties of GBC and Initiating guru.'
- 1983
- ISKCON findingMar 16, 1983 Breaking vows and regulative principles; suspension as guru and GBC member Res. 3: 'That Jayatirtha is removed as a member of the GBC.'