Last Attempt to De-Escalate the RtVik Declaration of War Against ISKCON
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In January of 1999 the RtVik-Generals rented the Masonic Lodge next to the temple in Los Angeles. It had been promoted as a good-faith meeting that invited devotees to make presentations regarding RtVik ideas and how they might be applied to improve ISKCON operations. I was originally told I could make a 40-minute presentation in the afternoon session. but when it became evident that I was not going to endorse the RtVik “Replace” campaign and instead make an appeal to reason, the process of pushing me out began.
The morning session was well attended by about 300 devotees and the radical RtVik Generals led the program. They started by announcing for the first time that their objective was to overthrow the entire ISKCON structure of the traditional Guru-Disciple parampara system.
The afternoon session was filled with those who enthusiastically supported this agenda. It consisted with some very outspoken and dominant personalities whose motives appeared to be mixed and their oratory skills were severely lacking. One by one the audience began to walk out and dissolve. Although I had been led to believe I would be next to present the following slide show, time was consumed by the more aggressive and verbose presenters as the day came to an end.
It was not until 5pm that it was announced while the remaining few departed for dinner prasadam, that I would make my presentation at 7:30 for those willing to return. When I finally had my chance to share this presentation, there were only 30 individuals remains, many of which were personal friends who had stayed to support my small voice in a heated discussion. I got a good reception, but by then the majority of the hard core RtViks who needed to hear what I had to say had gone home.
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