However, since moving into the Philly asrama, Bhakta Alec has acquired 3 sweater vests. “The chocolate brown one is my favorite,” said Alec after a recent darshan with the ISKCON guru and GBC representative, Ravindra Svarupa. “But the forest green one and the maroon one with the fake knitted braids are good too.”

Prior to becoming a Hare Krishna, Bhakta Alec admits he never even considered owning a sweater vest, preferring nylon windbreakers from Dick’s to woolens from L.L. Bean. While he credits his new wardrobe to the lack of heat and insulation in the asrama and steadily says “he is waiting for Srila Gurudeva to reveal himself to me in my heart,” others are skeptical.

“He’s totally Phillyed out,” reports long-time temple member Big Jay Bhakti. “He looks like a little Ravindra Svarupa. The other day I even heard him quoting Thomas Merton to some college students who came for lunch prasad.” Adding, “he’s on his way to being a full-on RSD disciple.”

The other asrama resident, Maha Suci das, shared that although Bhakta Alec fits the profile of a Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu disciple, there has been no indication, aside from the woolens and affinity to Christian theologists, that Bhakta Alec is aspiring for initiation from anyone. “When he starts listening to classical music, I mean seriously listening, that’s when I’ll start asking him if he’s aspiring.”

“Many devotees have asked me if I was aspiring for Ravindra Svarupa prabhu,” said Bhakta Alec while paging through the more recent issue of New Yorker Magazine. “But I just don’t see why they’d just assume that.”

At almost any other temple, Bhakta Alec’s recent purchase of a 2008 VW Passat, its glovebox stuffed with Atomic Fireball Candies, would have been sharply criticized by fellow devotees. Alec, always wanting to keep the peace, calmed any possible dispute by taking the rest of the asrama for Rita’s Italian Ice and their bi-weekly visit to Brooks Brothers, a clothier renowned for their selection of the finest sweater vests made.

“The initiation of the famous Sriman George Harrison is a long-overdue and auspicious occasion,” said Kapirasa das, who performed the ceremony on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. “His name is now Sriman Hari das.”

Since meeting the devotees in 1969 until the time of his death, ISKCON had been trying to woo Harrison to their cause. Harrison, who often seemed to distance himself from the organization, remained what he called a “plain clothes devotee,” abstaining from meat eating, but not illicit sex and intoxication.

“It is true, he was never able to follow the regulative principles,” said Kapirasa das. ” but now that he has left his body, that is no longer an issue.”

ISKCON representative, Matsaryam das, expressed disgust at the initiation asking, “How can the ritviks do this?” asked When Srila Prabhupada was on the planet, he would have to approve of invitations prior to the ceremony. Now that he is no longer with he, he can give no such approval.” Adding, “besides, everybody knows we had dibs on George!”

“Yes, ISKCON had dibs,” conceited Kapirasa das, “but according to ISKCON’s initiation policy, the disciple has to be alive. Fortunately, being presently on this planet has no bearing to our philosophy.”

Shortly after meeting the devotees, George Harrison told Srila Prabhupada that he wanted to shave up, take initiation and move into a temple. Srila Prabhupada disagreed, stating, “just continue your music and Krishna will be greatly pleased.”

Kapirasa das agreed with Srila Prabhupada’s instruction. “Yes, at that time for Sriman Hari prabhu, those were the perfect instructions. But we must act according to time, place and circumstance. Now that his music career is over, it is time for him to seriously take to Krishna consciousness.”

ISKCON argues that the famous George Harrison was not a follower of the Ritvik ideology. “He was a true vaisnava, a follower of ISKCON,” said Matsaryam. “It is just simple fact that no other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as being a member of ISKCON.”

According to sources within the Ritvik camp, a dozen or more devotees have been waiting to take Ritvik initiation. Not from Srila Prabhupada, but from Sriman Hari das, George Harrison.

“After Srila Prabhupada left our mortal vision, we began performing posthumous ritvik initiations on his behalf,” said Kapirasa das. “I see no reason why, since Sriman Hari prabhu has left his body, that we cannot perform initiations on his behalf as well.”

FLORIDA – When the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was first incorporated in 1965, the Society consisted mostly of young men and women, but as its members grew older, the dynamics of the movement changed.

Many of the nation’s elderly live in nursing homes, enduring chronic pain and loneliness. Though the aged are greatly inconvenienced, they lack better options. This is where the devotee-fronted business Nursing Temple, Inc. comes in.

“Today, you will find only old folks here,” says the President Sad-Isvara das, 94. “Our scriptures advise us to care for our elders.”

While nondevotee nursing homes are fully staffed with trained nurses and doctors to tend to the round-the-clock care of the residents, Nursing Temple sees this as an affront to God.

“We prefer to depend soley upon Krishna, says Tyagini dasi, 69, Nursing Temple’s board president. “Why waste time on maintaining this body, which is nothing but a decaying bag of puss, stool and urine?”

West Coast Governing Body Commissioner, Drishtaketu dasa (102), said: “The youngest devotee in my zone joined 1979. He’s a rookie. I don’t trust those young whippersnappers. They don’t know what we had to go through in 1966.”

The activities at Nursing Temple are focused mainly around the grhastas. This has angered Rishi das, 86, the lone brahmacari in the community. “The grhastas never treat me as an equal. They think brahmacaris are immature and escapists.”

Though most of the relationships within Nursing Temple are blissful, not everyone has been able to cultivate friendly relationships in the temple community. “I’ve bickered with Pari since 1968, when he was leading the college preaching in Iowa,” said Maha Yudha das, 94. The 95 year old Pari replied: “Now you can see his mentality, he doesn’t even call me by my full name, Paritoshananda, although I am an older devotee.”

Sexism, too, is a common problem. A radical feminst group calling themselves “The Prabhus” wrote numerous letters of protest to the GBC. “We want to park our wheelchairs on the right-half of the temple room during the arotik, not in the back,” demanded Prabhus’s spokeswoman Bhima dasi, 87. Adding, “we know where they keep their Geritol!”

In the early days the society was accused of depriving its members of sleep and forcing them to overwork. “It’s true, we went through some rough times,” the president said, “we were young and inexperienced. Nowadays it’s completely different. We have several nap times throughout the day. Quiet hour starts at 6pm.”

Since even the management of Nursing Temple is elder, the question of who will replace them once they leave their bodies and go back home back to Godhead has been raised. “Ma suchah, do not fear. We are strict vegetarians. We have another decade or two before we will leave our bodies,” said the 94 year old Sad-Isvara. “Some have been saying that I should let the youngens take over. That’s hogwash. They can have my position when they pry it out of my cold, dead hands.”

Other senior disciples agreed. Drishtaketu added, “my GBC zone will collapse the day I give it up. They just need me. Sure, at 102, I am getting little older, but there’s still juice in me.”

Nursing Temple, Inc. is providing the aging vaisnavas a positive alternative to their kids throwing them in karmi-run nursing homes.

Tyangini agreed, “Karmi nursing homes are simply waiting rooms for the hellish planets. Come to Nursing Temple and take a nice long sponge bath in the mercy of Lord Mahaprabhu.”

The Ithacar Used Carlot in Ithaca, NY opened in spring of 2002, several months after O’Brien stepped down from the post of ISKCON guru due to sexual misconduct and what he calls “financial misunderstandings.”

But it was those “financial misunderstandings” that O’Brien insists gave him the business skills to establish the Ithaca-based business.

“You’d be surprised how similar the two jobs were,” Says O’Brien, whose skills as guru naturally lead him into the used car business.

“In ISKCON I had to convince my disciples that I was some pure and holy guy, ready, willing and able to take them back to Godhead, what they didn’t know was that I was sleeping with my secretary and lying on my expense reports.”

“And as a used car salesman,” he continued, “I had to convince my customers that I was some friendly and honest guy, ready, willing and able to sell that 1987 Ford Fiesta at invoice, taking not a penny of profit, what they didn’t know was that I picked it up at a repo-sale for under a hundred bucks. I was lying on my expense reports there too.”

The business flourished until 2006, the year he was audited by the IRS and taken to court on five separate occasions under New York’s Lemon Law.

“It was surprisingly similar to his experience in ISKCON,” states ISKCON spokesman Balananda dasa, “in both cases, he managed to pass himself off as honest and trustworthy, but in the end, it was his disciples and customers who paid the price.”

There were hints of misconduct at both professions long before termination of either. In 1994, several of O’Brien’s female disciples came forward, claiming to have to have been inappropriately touched and taunted by their, then, guru. This resulted in O’Brien being suspended from initiating new disciples for one full year.

Similarly, in 2003, a disgruntled customer, Jerry Berowitz, accused O’Brien of dishonesty involving a 1989 Mercury Topaz with two different Vehicle Identification Numbers. The lawsuit resulted in the suspension of his Auto Dealer’s License for one year.

“I just didn’t know what to do,” complained Berkowitz, “I trusted this man to be everything he said he was. I put my faith in him and he let me down. I was promised that this Mercury Topaz would take me back to home, but it was all lies.”

In a letter of apology to his customers, modified only slightly from his letter of apology to his disciples, O’Brien states, “Yes, I’ve made my share of mistakes, but I am truly sorry for the pain that I have caused to so many trusting people. But my with my health problems all the service I had to do, I simply couldn’t keep up with my daily duties and practices.”

O’Brien is now banned from giving class in any ISKCON temple as well as selling cars in New York state.

He claims that he will appeal the ruling and be “back in charge in no time at all,” but it was unclear whether he was talking about ISKCON or the Ithacar Used Car Lot.