The event centered on the topic of “Stress Management,” featuring Ramabhadra Prabhu, the president of ISKCON Gurugram, as the speaker. The kirtan session was part of a stress management program organized by ISKCON Gurugram on Police Day. The initiative aimed to assist officers in coping with the pressures of their roles. Led by Aradhya Gaura Prabhu, the session fostered a calming atmosphere designed to provide spiritual upliftment. According to ISKCON, the program received positive feedback from senior officials, including the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police, who expressed their appreciation.

हरियाणा गुजरात मप्र0 और यूपी में पुलिस का भगवाकरण हो चुका है। pic.twitter.com/BdOalacpaI

— I.P. Singh (@IPSinghSp) October 27, 2024

The session took place on October 21, when Gurugram Police shared pictures of ISKCON members engaging with police personnel in a closed room, prominently displaying the Haryana Police banner in the background.

Gurgaon Police had posted through its official X handle that, “Under the guidance of Shri Vikas Arora, Police Commissioner of Gurugram, a #StressManagementSession was organized for police personnel in collaboration with ISKCON. During the session, Shri Aradhya Gaur Prabhu discussed the causes of stress and ways to remain stress-free through the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.”

#श्री_विकास_अरोडा, पुलिस आयुक्त, गुरुग्राम के मार्गदर्शन में ISKON के सहयोग से पुलिस कर्मचारियों के लिए #स्ट्रेस_मैनेजमेंट_सेशन का आयोजन किया गया। जिसमें #श्री_आराध्य_गौर_प्रभु ने भगवतगीता के माध्यम से पुलिसकर्मियों को तनाव होने के कारण व तनाव मुक्त रहने के बारे में बताया। pic.twitter.com/ADkbxdqZp0

— Gurugram Police (@gurgaonpolice) October 21, 2024

According to the print, a senior police officer stated that, “Our police personnel are constantly in stress because of the long working hours and the nature of their duties. Hence, we keep organising sessions where the speakers train them on how to destress. We also keep holding heartfulness sessions for our personnel,” he further added that, “This particular session by the ISKCON was for one hour, out of which just 10 minutes were dedicated to Bhajan Kirtan”.

Critics Slam Haryana Police’s Stress Relief Program as Saffronization

Online reactions to the video have been mixed. Some users praised the initiative for its creative approach to addressing police stress. One user remarked, “I see nothing wrong with this; they’re performing Harinam Kirtan, which is truly soothing. ISKCON significantly contributes to society by spreading the wisdom of ancient scriptures and uplifting us through Harinam. This inspires us to do more good for the community, unlike the empty influence of vulgar film songs. #Iskcon” as Economics Times reported.

In contrast, another user raised concerns, asking, “What if you dial 100 for an emergency and the police are busy with Harinam Kirtan? Will it be soothing to hear?” This sentiment was echoed by others who sarcastically remarked, “Way to go,” and “What a fall,” reflecting scepticism about the appropriateness of kirtan in a police setting, as reported Hindustan Times.

Samajwadi Party leader and former state minister I.P. Singh criticized the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Police for incorporating religious activities into their official duties. He expressed his disapproval on his official social media handle, X, stating that “Police has been saffronised in Haryana, Gujarat, MP and UP.”

हरियाणा गुजरात मप्र0 और यूपी में पुलिस का भगवाकरण हो चुका है। pic.twitter.com/BdOalacpaI

— I.P. Singh (@IPSinghSp) October 27, 2024

Senior journalist Mukesh Kumar also reacted to Haryana Police’s recent initiative featuring religious events for stress relief. In a post on X, he reposted Singh’s post and wrote, “This is not just saffronisation, it is also sterilisation. The policemen who intimidate the weak are clapping like fools here. No one has the courage to push this bhajan troupe out or get up and go out on their own. Everyone knows how the Haryana police is committing atrocities in connivance with the cow-goons. The UP police was never impartial and secular. Look at their role in all the riots. Meerut, Maliana, Hashimpura, Muzaffarnagar, how many to count. In the recent Bahraich riots, they could be seen roaming with the rioters with lathis in their hands. Read V.N. Rai’s book, you will know the character of the UP police.”

ये केवल भगवाकरण नहीं है, ये बंध्याकरण भी है।
जो पुलिस वाले कमज़ोरों पर रौब जमाते फिरते हैं वे यहाँ मूर्खों की तरह तालियाँ बजा रहे हैं।
किसी में दम नहीं है कि इस भजनमंडली को धक्का मारकर बाहर कर दे या खुद ही उठकर बाहर निकल जाए।
हरियाणा की पुलिस किस तरह गौगुंडों के साथ मिलकर… https://t.co/MZwLxIHNU7

— Dr. Mukesh Kumar (@mukeshbudharwi) October 27, 2024

The viral video of Gurgaon Police officers participating in a “Harinam Kirtan” has sparked a heated debate online. While some commend the initiative as a novel approach to stress management, critics view it as an instance of “saffronisation” within the police force. Despite the mixed reactions, senior officials have expressed appreciation for the program, highlighting its potential benefits for officer well-being. This incident raises broader questions about the role of religion in public service and its implications for community trust.

Related:

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Lives lost in Nuh violence, a failure on the part of the Haryana police and government?

Nuh Haryana: Who cast the first stone?

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This investigative report by SabrangIndia aims to shed light on the alleged links between certain individuals employed and associated with ISKCON and who appear to be producing anti-Muslim propaganda videos. One such video, titled “The Kerala Story,” garnered attention for its portrayal of Muslim women and the implications it made about their beliefs and intentions. The controversial video, along with others, has been widely circulated on social media platforms, raising questions about the individuals who are associated with ISKCON and their role in disseminating prejudiced narratives.

ISKCON itself has had a significant impact on the lives of its followers and has fostered spiritual growth for many. However, the fact that some notable persons associated with this organisations’ are dishing out steady doses of anti-Muslim propaganda raises questions about the actual association, origin and spread of such content that is in direct conflict with the organization’s stated values and its stance on promoting unity and shared civilizational values in India.

When the movie The Kerala Story had hit the theatres and was roundly criticised widely for being Islamophobic, this video had gone viral too and was disseminated widely. It was a sleekly produced, organised effort at demonising a Muslim woman, with the implication that all Muslim women are the same – she was shown to both be a fundamentalist and a narrow-minded person. The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and Vipul Shah made news and drew wide comment on its released in May 2023.

When SabrangIndia investigated this association –between associates and employees of ISKON and such content, the YouTube channel Bhakti Life stands up as an example. Some of the creators of video content on Bhakti Life are associated with ISKCON. One such video, The Kerala Story—the Bhakti Today version, was particularly insidious due to the wide viewership it had garnered thus far.

The Kerala Story – a stereotype gone wrong

The video, called Kerala Story– the Bhakti Today version, short story version of the controversial film depicts an interaction between three female friends, of the same age, having a discussion that veers into religion. The show depicts a black headscarf-wearing Muslim girl who immediately pushes the narrative of propagating Islam, deriding other religions, especially Hinduism. The other girl, counters her back, with a (seemingly more) reasonable and knowing tone insinuating that it is (only) the Muslim girl who has a hidden agenda. The episode fundamentally and insidiously tries to show Muslims as violent and even anti-India.

One of the characters even insinuates that religion should be preached by knowledge and not by ‘violence or money’. The implication is clear – Muslim women are fundamentalists, out to denigrate Hinduism and worse still, in cahoots with whoever is out there to convert Hindu women to the ‘cause of Islam’ aka the Kerala Story. In fact the video thumbnail bears uncanny resemblance to the film’s poster.

Coming close on the heels of the full length feature film, The Kerala story, criticised widely for taking insidious liberties with facts as well as for questioning the motive of Muslim women in mixed faith groups of friends, the video can only be called undisguised Islamophobia. According to the UN, Islamophobia is “Islamophobia is a fear, prejudice and hatred of Muslims that leads to provocation, hostility and intolerance by means of threatening, harassment, abuse, incitement and intimidation of Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the online and offline world.”

This video called Kerala Story– the Bhakti Today version has over 3.2 Million views, and the channel, Bhakti Today, has over 2.55 lakh subscribers. It is run by Ashwin Chaudhary and Prema Rupa. When we dug deeper, we found that these two were employed by Food for Life in Vrindavan. Prema Rupa is recorded as working at FLF as a ‘Client Relationship Officer’ from 2017 onwards, according to her LinkedIn account. The FLF website notes her to President, and describes her role as “Assistant to the President, FFLV USA. Premarupa assists FFLV USA President and takes care of the communication with all the donors and sponsors in the USA. She also assists the Indian Media department with her creative energy when required.” Ashwani Choudhary similarly seems to be employed by FLF as Head of Media since 2017. This organisation according to its website declares its mission of ‘serving humanity through love and compassion’.

Intriguingly, Food for Life, is located on the campus of the Sandipan Muni School in Vrindavan which in turn is listed on this ISKCON website as a part of ‘World Wide directory of official ISKCON Centres & Branches’

The decidedly Islamophobic nature of several of the videos on Bhakti Life, including the clearly biased ‘The Kerala Story’ video-the Bhakti Today  Version‘, and the apparent links of the creators of the content, including occasional scriptwriter for the channel, Amogh Lila Das, with ISKCON raise some grave concerns about the values propagated by sections of this organisation.

And sure enough, on the YouTube channel Bhakti Today, well known preachers or Gurus can be seen making significant contributions. For instance, the writing credits of The Kerala Story-the Bhakti Today Version, video, which demonises Muslim women has been given to H.G Sundar Gopal Prabhu from Pure Devotion. Pure Devotion is an NGO with its offices in Rajasthan, operating in Vrindavan, purportedly to help old widows there. Though his links to ISKCON are not immediately clear, HG is an honorific His Grace that is added to senior members of ISKCON.

Sure enough in other videos on Bhakti Today, one can see the now disgraced (and suspended for a month) ISKCON preacher HG Amogh Lila Prabhu.

Amogh Lila Das also frequently appears on yet another channel called My Ashray. In the about section the channel is ascribed to HG VIGYAN VIHARI PRABHU, who writes the channel is ‘inspired from International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) founded by HDG A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.’ On the website of ISKCON Delhi, Mr Vigyan Vihari is listed as its media head.

On My Ashray, Amogh Lila Prabhu picks up common communal tropes and weighs in. For example in this video, it will be difficult to ascertain if the speakers is a spiritual guru and not a crude propagandist. “Even in Europe there are people are victim to Love Jihad, they are there in Syria. Citing a case study on “one of their Brahmachaaris’, Amogh Lila Das narrates, “experienced the death of his father. Other Brahmacharies also wished to pay their respects and asked him if they could visit him at his home in Kerala. He replied to them that if they wish to come then they should come in ‘pants-shirt'”, essentially Western clothes and not the saffron robes typical to ISKCON preachers. If they were to go to the place in their saffron clothes, the shopkeepers there would refuse to sell them anything. Amogh Lila Das further argues into proclaiming how the movie Kerala Story is a ‘true story’.

Here is Lila Das weighing in into the Gyanvapi controversy at a news channel saying ‘While there should be an investigation, there is barely any need for one because it is so clear, structure wise, that is Shiv Ling, this structure is that of a Shiv Ling.” Here’s another problematic video where he says “Hindus are dhakkans and deserve to be converted because they are not ‘strong’ enough’. A variation of this is now increasingly seen in Maharashtra where speakers like Raja Singh often make the same claims.

Yet another YouTube Channel called Braj Girls has also uploaded a video about a skit against ‘Love Jihad’. Braj Girl is also noted to be the name of a band of school girls that is mentioned on the Food for Life website. This skit displays the story of Shradha who marries a man named Afthab against her parents’ wishes and ends up being abused and murdered by the man. The video discourages going against parents’ wishes, and seeks to seemingly generalise the case of Afthab. The skit also ends by a young girl saying, “‘The daughter from a new generation who spoiled the culture (sanskaar)-filled atmosphere, this new generation daughter then found herself cut in pieces.”

Love Jihad is widely seen as a Hindutva project to criminalise consensual inter-faith marriages in India. Other countries, none of them democratic, in the past have seen such experiments happen, for e.g., Nuremberg race laws in Germany under the Nazis and apartheid laws in South Africa and even strictures against interracial marriage in USA, and similarly the more recent, ban on Palestinian spouses of Israeli citizens from living in Israel.

There seem to be many such channels. Here’s another channel run by Venugopal Charan Das and called Associations which, among other videos about ISKCON and strictures about life, love and bhakti, inserts an insidious video about how Muslims slay ‘cows’ during Baqarah Eid. This is another channel that was started in 2014 and went dormant till three years ago, only to return a year ago with content that was dramatically different. The mixture is the usual – spreading the ISKCON message through videos with click bait titles like ‘kya ISKCON desh ko divide kar raha hai?’ But a video like this which weighs into the Kerala Story yet again, belies the fact that the channel is only about ‘to step into the light of knowledge and not to stay in the darkness of ignorance.’

What is ISKCON? 

In the late 1970s, at the peak of its popularity, the Hare Krishna movement attracted approximately 10,000 followers living in communes across the United States. Originating from the teachings of Sri Chaitanya of Bengal in the 16th century, this Hindu sect, formally known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, was introduced to America by the Indian guru A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami in the 1960s. The movement’s distinctiveness lay in its repetitive chanting of the phrase “Hare Krishna,” a practice believed by its adherents to hold great spiritual power and benefit all.

During the 1960s and ’70s, the Hare Krishna movement gained prominence in the counterculture, according to The Grunge, capturing the attention of influential figures within the hippie movement. Their appearance and chants became easily recognisable and were featured in popular movies, plays, and songs of the time. Public dancing and chanting became trademarks of the movement.

However, in the years that followed, alleged former members began to speak out about the reality of life inside Hare Krishna communes. As a result, the movement faced a significant decline in numbers, largely due to high-profile scandals involving allegations of corruption, widespread abuse, and even murder. Today, there are no longer Krishna boarding schools in the United States, reflecting the changes and challenges the Hare Krishna movement has undergone since its introduction to the country by Swami Prabhupada in 1966.

The movement has now become a global phenomenon and many of its devotees are not Indian nationals. However, in India too they have a burgeoning presence, with the ISKCON temple in Delhi being an iconic testimony to the significant and influential nature of the organisation.

The question is, why are some of the prominent associates of this a 57 year old credible organisation that has presence in countries like Malaysia and routinely gets government contracts, including serving meals for the governments’ mid-day meal scheme contract in Karnataka, openly using some of their own media personnel to produce sleek anti-Muslim propaganda.

Is it a case of going with the flow, or is there a disdain for shared civilisational values of India that has always made space for diversity. The answer to the question, either way, is worrying.

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The post Why are ISKCON employees producing anti-Muslim propaganda videos in India? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Varnashram system or classification of society as per caste has been a malaise in India for centuries, holding it back from any real social progress or human development. The system that classifies people into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras and categorises them as being eligible for certain types of work based on their birth or qualities, still continues to propel inequality and discrimination in the 21st century. And then there are people it leaves out of its fold… the Dalits, who have been historically oppressed and exploited by the Savarnas.

While some, like the Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati propound that the caste of people and hence their fate is determined by birth, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) says that the Varnashram system recognizes the natural talents and abilities of each person and provides work according to a person’s qualities and work and is not to be confused with the corrupt caste system of India, which decides caste by birth, which they claim has been the destruction of the entire social structure in India.

However, even this explanation by ISKCON is derogatory towards the Shudras. As described on Krishna.org by Madhdvisa Dasa, “The sudras have little intelligence and must therefore be engaged in the service of one of the other three classes.” However, in a bid to perhaps soften the blow, he adds to say that if proper education is provided to the shudras who have the capacity to learn, they can be elevated to higher positions in the social structure. Madhdvisa Dasa says that these perfect laws have been given in the Manu Samhita, by the ‘father of mankind’, Manu.

ISKCON constantly propounds that these four classes – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras are decided as per psycho-physical nature and are required to run the society. What is problematic is that ISKCON has already decided the nature and areas of work of people and cast them into the mold. They say that the class system is prevalent worldwide and employs people according to these psycho-physical qualities.

Not only is this a very narrow outlook, making employment the biggest aspect of the caste system, but also retrogressive in the current era because while it says that shudras can be educated so as to get a higher place in the social structure, it doesn’t destroy the social structure itself.

Below are a few examples by ISKCON where it clarifies the division of labour, even while still propagating that the class system be in place.

In this video, Amogh Lila Prabhu, speaks about assigning work to people based on their proclivities and educating and training people to rise higher into the social structure. He also adds that the reforms brought about by Raja Ram Mohun Roy and others who worked for the upliftment of people, was a distorted version of Indian culture. He adds that prior to this, the class system worked on identifying skills and placing them in the caste best suited for them. Yet, there is no evidence to prove that such a system existed even in the Vedic times.

This pre-set discrimination is also very visible in another lecture by ISKCON’s Radheshyam Das who talks about four different people, with four different qualities to chalk out the distinction between the classes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEIjwxakR4c&feature=youtu.be

In another video, a person, purportedly from ISKCON is seen saying that shudras are an essential part of the class system and according to the division of labour and their qualities, they can, for example, can be seen working as peons in a university serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas who work as teachers, administrators or people who collect fees.

Shudra is an essential part of the caste system; they needed to work as a Peon & required to serve Brahmin, Kshatriya & Vaishya. @IskconInc @iskconglobal pic.twitter.com/6uh3E5KlFY

— Dalit Chef (@DalitChef) July 17, 2020

In another video by Amogh Lila Prabhu, he describes beautiful people as descending from heaven and ugly people coming from hell – a twisted version of racism.

Even if ISKCON paints itself to be neo-liberal in its approach by saying that people are to be identified and trained according to their skills, it has translated into nothing on ground for people who have been systematically discriminated against and have been at the mercy of a Brahminical bureaucracy. Everywhere from civil society to state services, Dalits and other backward classes have faced negligent progress with evidence of Dalits still being pushed into manual scavenging due to poverty and ostracisation.

The problem is that not many, including the so-called educated ‘upper’ castes seek to shed their ignorance about the problem and engage in understanding the problems with Manusmriti that is so rampantly being propagated, albeit in a washed-down manner.

In this way, what ISKCON promotes is a sanitised version of the Manusmriti which must be abolished in the current civilization because while it calls for progress, it still holds in place the shackles that will always prevent people from progressing and achieving their true and fair potential.

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The post ISKCON’s sanitised version of the caste system does not foster progress of the lower castes appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Many people are upset as they feel that what is wrong in Akshay Patra’s giving hygienic food to children, after all they pay for it, and will give it only according to their convenience. While, we laud organisation’s efforts yet it must be made absolutely clear that Akshay Patra is not providing any free services to the ‘needy’. It bagged the contract from the government to feed the children. Ofcourse, it also raises funds from its own by seeking people’s support.

Akshay Patra is an organisation supported by ISKCON which has followers world over. The mid day meal that they provide the students only the ‘satvik’ meal. According to brahmanical school of thought a satvik meal is not merely vegetarian but it will not consist of onions and garlic. A report published in The Hindu says : “In November, the department issued a notice to the foundation to include onion and garlic in the meals.

The State food commission had received complaints that many students were skipping the meals or eating smaller portions as they found the food unappetising without onion and garlic. The APF, though, has said that it can serve only “satvik” food.”

Now, there are two things in this story. First, whether this meal is liked by the children and second whether it is a healthy meal. The reports in the media suggested that the children found this meal as tasteless and at many schools they are skipping it. Probably, at many places they might be eating it under the pressure as there is no such choice of rejection which is sad. Now, the question is whether any meal consisting garlic and onion is ‘unhealthy’ ? I am sure medical fraternity has always suggested that both are useful for health. Actually, Akshay Patra is nothing but an Indian savarna vegetarian thought which is being imposed on people across the country in the name of meals. You can see this vegetarian violence being imposed in the name of culture all over the country. Not many years back, Mrs Menaka Gandhi, who was Women and Child Development Minister, opposed distribution of eggs to children in the mid day meal. In fact, Madhya Pradesh government closed it. Now, this was the height of hypocrisy that these leaders stop distribution of nutritious food for school children in the name of ‘culture’ and ‘health’. Menaka Gandhi has been a rabid anti non vegetarian person who give one thousand argument against it, all typical of the savarna mindset to deny the poor and marginalised, source of protein for health.

Tamilnadu was the first state to have introduced the mid day meal schemes long back and the food served there was absolutely as per the local cultural habits. The scheme became so popular that policy makers felt the need for an all India scheme to encourage children to come to school and also fight against malnutrition and hunger prevalent in our country.

There are risk of Akshaya Patra vision of culture. It attempt to homogenise the food habits. It imposes a vegetarian culture in the name of hygiene and ‘good health’ which need to be questioned. But the most important thing is for the government and authorities. Why they allow such institutions to dominate the discourse ? When the state is funding a large part then it must clearly indicate what it wishes but the politicians who prostrate to big babas and swamis cant really take this issue head on as the huge number of all these Babas and Swamis will never ever suggest non vegetarianism as a way of life.

Akshay Patra and its supporters thump their chest and claim that they are only doing ‘good’ work for the people. Right to food is not a charity. We can understand a huge number of ISKCON followers may be donating money but definitely they may be receiving donations from across the world for this. Hope, the donors dont impose their ‘will’ to provide a tasteless vegetarian food to children. Even if their individual and corporate donor donate to provide for vegetarian food, the government, which is the biggest donor in this case, does not provide food to be vegetarian alone san garlic and onion. Government of Karnataka must reject if there is any kind of precondition on the mid day meal being produced for the children. Suggesting that only vegetarian food is ‘tasty’ and ‘healthy’ is nothing but putting caste in the food plate. India need to grow, mature and respect the food and cultural diversity. Just because some one speak English or has huge international support, does not have right to impose its cultural practices on innocent children in the name of hygienic and healthy food. The move must be investigated thoroughly and rejected.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter @freetohumanity Email: vbrawat@gmail.com

Courtesy: Counter Current

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