The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has announced the “ban" of a monk named Amogh Lila Das, following his controversial remarks about Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
What Had Das Said?
Das criticized Swami Vivekananda for consuming fish, stating that a virtuous person should not harm any living being. He also made sarcastic comments about Ramakrishna’s teaching of “Jato Mat Tato Path," implying that not all paths lead to the same destination.
The remarks made by Das in a viral video clip on social media sparked a controversy, drawing strong reactions from various individuals. Kunal Ghosh, TMC state general secretary, expressed his disapproval on Twitter and urged ISKCON to take immediate action against the monk for insulting Ramakrishna and Vivekananda.
What Did ISKCON Say?
In response, ISKCON issued a statement distancing itself from Das’s views, emphasizing that his remarks do not reflect the organization’s values and teachings. ISKCON condemned any form of disrespect or intolerance toward other religious beliefs and practices, as per the organisation’s statement. The statement also highlighted Das’s lack of awareness regarding the diversity of spiritual paths and personal choices.
Consequently, ISKCON has decided to ban Das for a period of one month as a result of his serious mistake. Das, said he had ‘realised’ the gravity of his actions, and sought forgiveness for his comments. As a part of his ‘atonement’, Das said he had taken a vow to seclude himself from public life for one month and undertake a period of prayer and contemplation in the hills of Govardhan.
Who is Das?
As per a report by India Today, according to Das’s video interviews on YouTube, he shares that he was born as Ashish Arora into a religious family in Lucknow. He embarked on his spiritual journey at a young age and, while in Class 12 in 2000, he left his home ‘in search of God’.
However, he later decided to return and pursue a degree in software engineering. After completing his graduation in 2004, he began working for a US-based multinational corporation, where he eventually held the position of project manager.
In 2010, at the age of 29, Amogh Lila Das made the decision to leave the corporate world and become a dedicated Hare Krishna Brahmachari, joining ISKCON. Prior to his ban from ISKCON, he served as the vice-president of the ISKCON temple in Dwarka, Delhi. He has garnered a following on social media platforms. However, there is limited written information available about him beyond his video interviews and his recent controversy leading to his ban from ISKCON.
ISKCON’s Past Controversies
In recent years, ISKCON has been sued on charges of child abuse, sexual abuse, molestation, murder, drug trafficking, copyright breaches, financial fraud, and a lengthy number of other offences. The group suffered its greatest setback in 2001 when 44 adults claimed they had been mistreated as children at Hare Krishna boarding schools in India and overseas, with the worst examples being documented in Mayapur, Bengal, and Brindavan, Uttar Pradesh.
The lawsuit was settled out of court for $400 million. In order to pay the compensation sums to the abuse victims there, the majority of ISKCON centres in North America filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
With inputs from agencies
