Gurukula (boys' school; boarding until 2022)Place P-002
Mayapur gurukula (Bhaktivedanta Academy)
Mayapur, Nadia district, West Bengal, India
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Recorded at this place
10 entries at this place — 3 admissions, 2 ISKCON findings, 1 settled, 4 allegations.
Last reviewedRecord: 5 established, 1 legal action, 4 alleged, 0 unverified, 0 resolved in their favorAdmitted2005 · International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)ISKCON finding2007 · Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiISKCON finding2000 · ISKCON MayapurAdmitted1997 · Jagadananda DasAdmitted1977 · BhavanandaSettled2005 · International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)Documented allegation2023 · Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiDocumented allegation2022 · Jayapataka SwamiDocumented allegation2017 · BhavanandaDocumented allegation2001 · Nitai Chand Swami
History
ISKCON’s boys’ gurukula in Mayapur, West Bengal, founded in the 1970s (date not confirmed). The boys’ boarding school was known as the Bhaktivedanta Gurukula Village in 1991 and is now part of the Bhaktivedanta Academy.
Jagadananda Das (then Hiranyagarbha Das) was headmaster from 1975 to 1979; in 1997 he admitted violence against children in his care and wrote that members of the Mayapur leadership of those years had sexually abused children. Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami wrote that he took charge in April 1982. After a 1991 investigation of abuse among students he offered his resignation, but a GBC member wrote that the local GBC kept him on. ISKCON’s Child Protection Office found in 2000 that he was responsible for physical and emotional abuse of students and barred him from managing the school; in 2016–17 the GBC directed that this be fully followed. In 2022 the office found he had sexually abused a minor in Mayapur. The North American RGB says the school became a day school in 2022. Sri Mayapur International School is a separate institution.
Sources (14)
- [1]ISKCON News, Interview with Small Boys from the Mayapur Gurukula, Apr 22, 2019
- [2]ISKCON News, The Bhaktivedanta Academy – Living Vedic Culture & Philosophy — photo feature, Apr 23, 2015
- [3]Handwritten letter from Bhaktividya Purna Swami to the Mayapur GBC members, dated 11/8/91, 1991 (document)
- [4]Memorandum to the ISKCON Board of Education on the Mayapur gurukula child molestation investigation, with the Ad-Hoc Investigation Team's report of 11 July 1991, July 1991 (document)
- [5]Letters between Tamal Krishna Goswami and the ISKCON Board of Education on the Mayapur gurukula (18 September and 7 October 1991), September 1991 (document)
- [6]Emails from Bhaktivaibhava Swami to GBC members and the ISKCON child protection and communications offices on the Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami decision, April 2000 (document)
- [7]ISKCON News, ISKCON Imposes Ban on Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami for Sexual Abuse of Minor and Leadership Abuse (ISKCON Communications), Nov 14, 2022
- [8]ISKCON GBC, Governing Body Commission Resolution Re: The Status of Anirdesya Vapu das (formerly known as Bhaktividya Purna Swami) — PDF hosted by ISKCON News, Dec 15, 2022
- [9]ISKCON News, A Statement on Child Protection within ISKCON (Anuttama Dasa) — approved by the GBC Executive Committee on 4 June 2016, Jun 6, 2016 · copy on this site
- [10]ISKCON Child Protection Office (safetemple.org), GBC Resolutions on Child Protection through end of 2022 — incl. 2017 Res. 303, "Mayapur Schools", 2023 · copy on this site
- [11]ISKCON News, Statement by the NA RGB Re: Additional Shocking Testimony Filed Against Anirdesya Vapu (former Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami), Mar 14, 2023
- [12]Jiva Institute (Vrindavan), In Memoriam: Sriman Jagadananda Das Ji — headmaster of the Mayapur Gurukula 1975–1979, Jun 2, 2024
- [13]Wikipedia, ISKCON schools
- [14]Wikipedia, Temple of the Vedic Planetarium — coordinates of the ISKCON Mayapur campus; the school's exact position is not sourced
Scandals at this place
10 entries · 1 caseCASEChildren of ISKCON v. ISKCON: the gurukula abuse lawsuitsinvolves 9 people →
Admitted2005
Physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children in ISKCON's boarding schools (1970s–1980s)
Criminal · Child sexual abuse, Child physical abuse, Institutional negligence · c. 1971–1990International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)No profile · entry kept on this page
Settled2005
Negligence and concealment of child abuse in its boarding schools (Children of ISKCON v. ISKCON)
Conduct · Institutional negligence, Cover-up / enabling · c. 1972–1990International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)No profile · entry kept on this page
STANDALONENot part of a case
ISKCON finding2007
Physical and emotional abuse of students as Mayapur gurukula principal
Criminal · Child physical abuse, Spiritual / psychological abuse, Institutional negligence, Cover-up / enabling · c. 1982–1999ISKCON finding2000
Keeping Satadhanya dasa in a prominent position in Mayapur despite his record of child sexual abuse (1991–1999)
Conduct · Cover-up / enabling, Institutional negligence · c. 1991–1999ISKCON MayapurNo profile · entry kept on this page
Admitted1997
Violence against children in his care as a gurukula teacher and headmaster (admitted)
Criminal · Child physical abuse · c. 1972–1977Admitted1977
Arrest after shots were fired from the Mayapur temple at villagers, July 1977
Criminal · Weapons offences, Assault · 1977Alleged direct sexual and physical abuse of gurukula boys (1980s)
Criminal · Child physical abuse, Child sexual abuse, Spiritual / psychological abuse · c. 1983–1990Knowledge of abuse at the Mayapur gurukula as a Mayapur GBC, and failure to remove its principal (1991–2000)
Conduct · Institutional negligence, Cover-up / enabling · c. 1991–2000Alleged sexual abuse of boys at the Mayapur and Vrindavan gurukulas
Criminal · Child sexual abuse · c. 1975–1985Alleged sexual abuse of boys at Mayapur
Criminal · Child sexual abuse · c. 1975–1986Leadership over time
Who held which role, 1975–2015. Shaded columns mark the periods of the incidents recorded below.
PERSON · ROLE
APhysical, sexual and emotional abuse of children in ISKCON's boarding schools (1970s–1980s) 1971–1990
BViolence against children in his care as a gurukula teacher and headmaster (admitted) 1972–1977
CNegligence and concealment of child abuse in its boarding schools (Children of ISKCON v. ISKCON) 1972–1990
DAlleged sexual abuse of boys 1975–1985
EAlleged sexual abuse of boys 1975–1986
FArrest after shots were fired from the Mayapur temple 1977–1978
GPhysical and emotional abuse of students as Mayapur gurukula principal 1982–1999
HAlleged direct sexual and physical abuse of gurukula boys (1980s) 1983–1990
IKeeping Satadhanya dasa in a prominent position in Mayapur despite his record of child sexual abuse (1991–1999) 1991–1999
JKnowledge of abuse 1991–2000
Jagadananda DasHeadmaster (as Hiranyagarbha Das)
1975–1979
Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiPrincipal from April 1982; offered his resignation in August 1991
1982–1991
Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiContinued at the local GBC's request (per a GBC member, 2000)
1991–2000
Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiSchool described as "led by" him (ISKCON News, 2015)
2015
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
APhysical, sexual and emotional abuse of children in ISKCON's boarding schools (1970s–1980s) 1971–1990
BViolence against children in his care as a gurukula teacher and headmaster (admitted) 1972–1977
CNegligence and concealment of child abuse in its boarding schools (Children of ISKCON v. ISKCON) 1972–1990
DAlleged sexual abuse of boys 1975–1985
EAlleged sexual abuse of boys 1975–1986
FArrest after shots were fired from the Mayapur temple 1977–1978
GPhysical and emotional abuse of students as Mayapur gurukula principal 1982–1999
HAlleged direct sexual and physical abuse of gurukula boys (1980s) 1983–1990
IKeeping Satadhanya dasa in a prominent position in Mayapur despite his record of child sexual abuse (1991–1999) 1991–1999
JKnowledge of abuse 1991–2000
- 1975–1979
- 1982–1991Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiPrincipal from April 1982; offered his resignation in August 1991In role during A, C, D, E, G, H
- 1991–2000Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiContinued at the local GBC's request (per a GBC member, 2000)In role during G, I, J
- 2015Bhakti Vidya Purna SwamiSchool described as "led by" him (ISKCON News, 2015)
People affected here
8 people affected · 0 died- Former pupils of ISKCON's boarding schools who brought claims, 1972–1990Former pupils who sued ISKCON over abuse in its boarding schools, alleged to have taken place primarily between 1972 and 1990: 44 in federal court in 2000 and 91 in Texas state court in 2001. The 2005 bankruptcy settlement paid them and about 450 other former pupils who came forward. Abused.
- Pupils at ISKCON schools in New Vrindaban, Dallas and Mayapur, 1972–1977In a signed letter of 1997 Jagadananda Das begged forgiveness for "acts of violence towards innocent children" in his care as a teacher and headmaster, especially at New Vrindaban in 1974, and asked forgiveness of four boys by name. Abused.ConnectionAdmitted
- Boys at the Mayapur gurukula, 1975–1986A former headmaster of the school wrote in 1997 that Bhavananda, Nitai Chand and other members of the Mayapur leadership "were actively involved in sexual abuse of some of the children", naming two boys as particular targets; the other accounts are second-hand or anonymous. No ISKCON body has ruled on these allegations. Abused.ConnectionDocumented allegation
- A former student of the Mayapur gurukula, then about 13 or 14He told the Mayapur Child Protection Team in 1998 that Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami touched his genitals when he slept in the swami's bed during a storm; the notes record that the swami's students said he had imagined it. No ruling on his account has been found. Abused.ConnectionReported allegation
- A former student of the Mayapur gurukula, 1983–1990In testimony sent to the child-protection office, which ISKCON's North American Regional Governing Body accepted "as factual" in March 2023, he alleged physical, sexual and psychological abuse by Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, including direct abuse as well as negligent supervision. No ruling on it has been found. Abused.ConnectionDocumented allegation
- Students of the Mayapur boys' gurukula, 1982–1999ISKCON's child-protection office found in 2000 that the principal, Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, was responsible for physical and emotional abuse of students; a GBC member wrote that same year of "many confirmed reports" of children beaten with canes and sticks, and a 1991 investigation had reported serious sexual abuse among the students. Abused.
- Villagers wounded by shots fired from the Mayapur temple, 1977The Hindustan Times reported fifteen villagers hurt in July 1977, ISKCON eleven. Bhavananda was among eleven devotees arrested and later said he shot the attackers; accounts of how the clash began differ, and the outcome of the court case is not known. Injured.ConnectionAdmitted
- Four boys and young men, Calcutta and Mayapur, 1981–1984ISKCON's child-protection office found in 2000 that Satadhanya dasa committed "severe and prolonged child sexual abuse". He admitted sexual contact with four people; three who gave statements said the abuse began when they were about 11, 13 and 18. The office recommended that Mayapur's managers apologise to them in writing. Abused.ConnectionISKCON finding
Documents
18Memorandum to the ISKCON Board of Education on the Mayapur gurukula child molestation investigation, with the Ad-Hoc Investigation Team's report of 11 July 1991Letter from the ISKCON Board of Education to Bhaktividya Purna Swami and Naresvara das on the Mayapur investigation reportLetters between Tamal Krishna Goswami and the ISKCON Board of Education on the Mayapur gurukula (18 September and 7 October 1991)
Photos
Handwritten letter from Bhaktividya Purna Swami to the Mayapur GBC members, dated 11/8/91Letter from the director of the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection to Bhakti Vikasa Swami and GBC members on the Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami caseEmails from Bhaktivaibhava Swami to GBC members and the ISKCON child protection and communications offices on the Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami decisionEmail from Badrinarayan dasa (GBC) to B.B. Govinda Swami on Bhaktividya Purna Swami, copied to Hari Sauri dasa, Dhira Govinda dasa and Ravindra Svarupa dasa, with Hari Sauri dasa's forwarded message to Prahladananda Swami and the GBCEmail from the director of the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection to CPO staff, forwarding Manu dasa's statements for the files of Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami and Nitai ChandEmails from the director of the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection on the Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami case file (20 April and 1 May 1999), forwarding the Mayapur Child Protection Team's interview notes of 1991 and 1998Official Decision of the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection on the case of Satadhanya dasa, issued 25 January 2000Photos
Certified copy of an ISKCON (ISKCON TOVP) board of directors resolution of 28 June 2017 authorising Satadhanya Dasa, Secretary (Legal & Official Relations), to deal with authorities for the Temple of the Vedic PlanetariumPlaintiffs' Original Petition, Children of ISKCON et al. v. ISKCON et al., District Court of Dallas County, Texas, 192nd Judicial District, No. 01-09282Official Decision of the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection on the case of Bhavananda dasa, decided 1 July 2000Appendices to the Report of the Lokanath Swami Case Panel (A–Y)Plaintiffs' Original Complaint (Doc. 1), Children of ISKCON et al. v. ISKCON et al., No. 3:00-cv-01254 (N.D. Tex.), filed 12 June 2000Order Prohibiting Destruction or Spoliation of Evidence (Doc. 4), Children of ISKCON et al. v. ISKCON et al., No. 3:00-cv-01254 (N.D. Tex.), signed and entered 15 June 2000Order (Doc. 135) granting the motions to dismiss, Children of ISKCON et al. v. ISKCON et al., No. 3:00-CV-1254-L (N.D. Tex.), 28 September 2001Rose v. JAGA, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 5:05CV166 (N.D. W.Va.), appeal in Bankruptcy No. 02-51295: Memorandum Opinion and Order vacating in part summary judgment and remanding (25 July 2006, Doc. 8)