Child-Protection on Light of Dharma Publishing

The Custodian's Failure

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In November 2022, a letter by Sivarama Swami — GBC member for nearly four decades, architect of Krishna Valley in Hungary, prolific author, and spiritual master to thousands — surfaced publicly. Written to the GBC body in response to a Child Protection Office (CPO) decision against Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami (BVPS), a guru found responsible for decades of severe physical and sexual abuse of children at the Mayapur gurukula, the letter revealed not a lapse in judgment but a window into how institutional loyalty can colonize moral reasoning.

The Enabler's Playbook: A Case Study of Bhakti Vikasa Swami

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Bhakti Vikasa Swami, an ISKCON guru with over 3,500 disciples worldwide, has delivered multiple lectures defending child abusers: a 2016 audio lecture in Brno, Czech Republic (“Regarding Child Abuse”), an April 2024 video lecture on YouTube (“Perspectives On Child Abuse,” later removed after pushback), and an August 2025 lecture in Croatia (“Response to Disturbances in Vaishnava Society”). These lectures demonstrate how institutional attitudes enable ongoing abuse. Most significantly, in January 2025, these attitudes translated into action when he facilitated a convicted child sex offender’s access to children. When criticized for this incident, his August 2025 lecture responded not by addressing child protection concerns but by attacking critics as engaged in “lifelong campaigns” who need to “just get over it.”

When God's Representative Endangers Children: The Guru Mentality That Makes Abuse Inevitable

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How does a religious leader with 3,500 disciples worldwide publicly defend child abusers for nine years, facilitate a convicted sex offender’s access to children during a 25-hour train journey, then respond to criticism by telling abuse survivors to “just get over it”—while thousands of followers continue their devotion without demanding accountability?

The answer isn’t mysterious. It’s the predictable result of specific psychological frameworks that make such conduct seem not only acceptable but spiritually justified. Understanding these mechanisms reveals why religious communities with histories of abuse continue endangering children despite overwhelming evidence, institutional reforms, and public outrage.