• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Break-in at Temple

mangalavara

सो ऽहम्
Premium Member
There is a Vaiṣṇava gurū in Omaha, Nebraska who has a livestream on YouTube every Monday at 7:00 pm CST. Normally, I watch the videos of his livestreams later during the week. Tonight, I was going to watch the rest of his livestream after I got off the phone with a friend. When I loaded my YouTube app, I noticed that the non-live video was already up, and it was only 20 something minutes long instead of an hour. So, I went toward the end of the video. As the Gurū was speaking on a spiritual topic, the doorbell of his temple was being rung frenetically and nonstop. He stopped, looked at what must have been a screen, and said somebody was trying to violently break into the temple. He gave the address a couple of times and asked viewers to call the police. The video ended. Many minutes later, it disappeared off his channel. He appeared calm but had a serious tone at the end of the video. God, I hope he is okay.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
That's really scary. Did you call the police? Can you call the temple to check in?
 

mangalavara

सो ऽहम्
Premium Member
Be sure and follow up with us on what happened.

That's really scary. Did you call the police? Can you call the temple to check in?

updateisds01.png


Jaya Sri Krsna, everything is okay!

I did not call the police because the incident started nearly 20 minutes before I saw the video. Knowing that his livestreams get around a hundred viewers, lots of who are Americans, I figured someone called the police. Fortunately, many people did. If I were watching live, I definitely would have called. The temple's phone number is not published.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I'm glad things turned out alright, and I hope they find the woman and deal with her in a way that is beneficial for all.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Probably she had some personal problem and wanted to take it to Krishna urgently. She could have done it from home. I am sure Krishna has solved her problem.
 
Last edited:

The Crimson Universe

Active Member
The common folks present at the temple could have taken action but why did the priest lose his calm? I thought all Hare Krishnas have absolute faith in their Lord. o_O

In their Iskcon Gita, (dont remember the chapter or verse) the Lord says,
those who are not affected by the dualities of life (pleasure and pain, peace and chaos, loss and gain, friends and foes etc.) are worthy to be Krishna's devotee.

He could have set an example to the people present at the temple by remaining calm and equipoised. Just saying.
 
Last edited:

mangalavara

सो ऽहम्
Premium Member
The common folks present at the temple could have taken action but why did the priest lose his calm?

He did not lose his calm or composure, and he was apparently the only person there. When I said he had a serious tone, I meant he did not sound like he was joking.

I thought all Hare Krishnas have absolute faith in their Lord.

He is a Śrī Vaiṣṇava.
 
Last edited:

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
There is a Vaiṣṇava gurū in Omaha, Nebraska who has a livestream on YouTube every Monday at 7:00 pm CST. Normally, I watch the videos of his livestreams later during the week. Tonight, I was going to watch the rest of his livestream after I got off the phone with a friend. When I loaded my YouTube app, I noticed that the non-live video was already up, and it was only 20 something minutes long instead of an hour. So, I went toward the end of the video. As the Gurū was speaking on a spiritual topic, the doorbell of his temple was being rung frenetically and nonstop. He stopped, looked at what must have been a screen, and said somebody was trying to violently break into the temple. He gave the address a couple of times and asked viewers to call the police. The video ended. Many minutes later, it disappeared off his channel. He appeared calm but had a serious tone at the end of the video. God, I hope he is okay.

There is more to this story, I figure.
Just to clarify, this isn't about the main Hindu temple in Omaha.
 

mangalavara

सो ऽहम्
Premium Member
How many Sri Vaisnava centres/temples are there in U.S.? Just curious. :=)

No idea. It is something to do a little research on. :)

All I know so far is that the International Sanatana Dharma Society, which is headquartered in Omaha, is of the Sri Vaisnava tradition regardless of what the Acarya's tilak looks like.

There is more to this story, I figure.

As in there is a background behind the incident, or that the police arrived? In the case of the latter, yes, the police arrived and the woman who tried to break in was already gone. Apparently, either the Acarya or the police knew who she was because it was mentioned on a Facebook post that the police had her information.

Just to clarify, this isn't about the main Hindu temple in Omaha.

Indeed.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
The common folks present at the temple could have taken action but why did the priest lose his calm? I thought all Hare Krishnas have absolute faith in their Lord. o_O

In their Iskcon Gita, (dont remember the chapter or verse) the Lord says,

He could have set an example to the people present at the temple by remaining calm and equipoised. Just saying.

Priests are human too. I wouldn't hold it against him for losing his calm when dealing with a break-in where the trespasser could potentially have violent or even murderous tendencies.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
How many Sri Vaisnava centres/temples are there in U.S.? Just curious. :=)

There are a lot of immigrant temples, mostly built by the Telegu community. The Sri Venkateswara temple in Pittsburgh is probably the oldest and most famous. The one Jainarayan on here goes to is another, but any Sri Venkateswara temple is, as that's a very common Andhra name for Vishnu. Not only that, but many of the Telegu people in the US are doctors. Money to build temples isn't that much of an issue. I've seen donor plaques with several $100 000 donors on them. My guess would be at least 20 temples, maybe more.
 
Last edited:

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Not only that, but many of the Telegu people in the US are doctors. Money to build temples isn't that much of an issue. I've seen donor plaques with several $100 000 donors on them. My guess would be at least 20, maybe more.

Yep, the president of the temple is a [from what I understand] noted and respected doctor. I think it’s no exaggeration to say it’s his temple, in that he has contributed tirelessly to it. Many of the benefactors and patrons are doctors.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Yep, the president of the temple is a [from what I understand] noted and respected doctor. I think it’s no exaggeration to say it’s his temple, in that he has contributed tirelessly to it. Many of the benefactors and patrons are doctors.

There's a temple here, a small northern one, mind you, that was 90% funded by a single couple, both dentists. Still a million bucks. Very humble people. Some chaps want their name on the temple, etc., but not these folks. At their grand opening, they had a list of donors on the program. Else I wouldn't have known that percentage. They both behaved as if they were just other devotees.

There's another temple in another city where the temple's name is actually the Dr. ____ _______ Hindu Center. At our little Ganesha temple, we voted 'no' to donation plaques. So nobody knows at all, other than the people who've been treasurer, and that happens to be the same guy for the last 25 years. He's not a gossip, so nobody knows.

But hey, it's an awesome use for your money. Most of the people I know personally are also very charitable in other ways.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong. I have yet to see a single Mercedes in the parking lot. With as much money as all these people probably have they are very unassuming and unpretentious. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them don’t have their names on the plaques.
 

mangalavara

सो ऽहम्
Premium Member
It has been brought to my attention that there are individuals out there who claim to have had terrible experiences with the so-called guru and acarya that I mentioned in this thread. Two days ago, a user on Reddit explained that the user's sister has been manipulated by him. Additionally, one day ago, a woman explained in another Reddit post that she has been 'psychologically and mentally abused' by him and that he has 'nearly destroyed' her worldview as a Hindu.

The Reddit posts that I have read are more red flags to me about the man in Omaha whose followers call him 'Acharyaji.' Other red flags I have noticed are (1) on the back cover of his latest book, he is called the 'world's greatest authority on Sanatana Dharma' and (2) he speaks highly of his own books. Any Hindu knows that nobody could ever be the 'world's greatest authority' on Hinduism. That very title, by the way, is something people use for mocking somebody. I'm an egghead, admittedly, but I would never speak highly of my own book if I were to write one and get it published.

Something I dislike about the man in Omaha is his dogmatic teaching that Nārāyaṇa is God and that no other personality, be it Śiva or Sūrya, is God. He has mentioned those very gods many times by name and stated that none of them are God. I guess the Śiva and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas were written by 'Neo-Hindu' New Agers* then. His dogmatic views are not surprising considering that he used to be a member of ISKCON. As a Sri Vaisnava, interestingly, he continues to wear the Gauḍīya tilak and he reads from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa rather than the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that Rāmānujācārya favored.

*I am not saying 'Neo-Hindus' are New Agers. I used that term because the man in Omaha tends to call people New Agers if they don't share his views.
 
Last edited:
Top