The ISKCON Karuna Care Association will be holding a comprehensive five-week child protection educational program entitled “Guardians of Innocence: Protecting Krishna’s Children” this month. This comprehensive online course, which begins on August 24th, will hold its first live class on August 31st at 8 AM BST. 

“This Course has been designed to bring awareness about the serious issues of Child Abuse in ISKCON and the world in general,” said Karuna Care Course Manager Surabhi Kunja Devi Dasi. “We hope that by educating our society members on how to notice signs of abuse, behaviors of abusers and perpetrators of abuse, we can help to support families and individuals to do their part to prevent and report abuse.”

“Many people who seek refuge in the Hare Krishna Movement have been abused in childhood, and as the hosts, we need to know how to support and care for them. We need to create safe spaces where people can tell their story, where people will not judge or shame them,” said the Founder of Karuna Care Association, Rambhoru Dasi.

She continued, “We say often that Lord Caitanya picks up ‘the most fallen,’ which is a very loaded term. I like to say that He picks up the most wounded. We need to be compassionate to people who join our movement who have painful stories and encourage people to take care of themselves within their Krishna Conscious lives and educate them that it’s a responsibility to get our own needs met so that we don’t harm other people including and especially children.”

“This is my response to this need to understand the many facets of how people can be affected, especially children, by the samskaras – the impressions of moods of the people around them. This can very much affect the way the child grows in their relationship with Krishna. We need to be aware of the impact of emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual abuse of children and how this affects the faith that Krishna will hear their prayers. It is a huge responsibility for parents to support a child to develop this faith. This is why this type of education is so important,” concluded Rambhoru Dasi.

“Putting in protocols, strategies, and safeguards that minimize potential risks within our organization is so important,” noted Atulya Devi Dasi, who has served on the CPO in Australia and is a Course Facilitator who teaches modules about perpetrators and grooming behaviors.

She continued, “We come into this Movement believing that it is a spiritual utopia, yet people are coming in with baggage and may cross boundaries with children, so we need to educate parents on how to support the children to take ownership of their bodies and be brave enough to disclose abuse so we need to put strategies in place to encourage and empower children to speak out and have a voice and we need to be able to see these potentially dangerous behaviors of perpetrators and aware of what goes on in the online space as well and to be extra aware and vigilant as an organization and get out of our habit of being too trusting about leaders and members.”

“If we don’t educate ourselves about this topic, we open ourselves to a lot of vulnerability of abuse to happen,” says Janaki Devi Dasi, a Course Facilitator who teaches the modules on signs and types of abuse. 

She continued, “To be trauma-informed means that you are paying attention to how trauma can affect people and groups. The realization of how trauma affects us is such an important piece. Often, people believe that trauma is something that only war veterans deal with. Yet, those who have been abused as children also have similar types of symptoms. We need to be aware of how to assist them and navigate the situation. Until recently, we didn’t have a system in place when devotees need this type of support, and so this is what Karuna Care is attempting to do so that we are not causing further harm to someone who has already been living in a traumatizing situation. All levels of ISKCON leadership and congregation need to understand this and how to establish trustworthiness and transparency.”

“Participants will gain invaluable insights and practical knowledge to help safeguard the innocence and well-being of children,” noted Surabhi. We believe this program will be of great interest to all of your readers, especially those who are parents, educators, gurus, and community leaders.” 

Testimonial from Last Course

“Spectacular course! Well done to Rambhoru Brinkmann and her Karuna Care team for putting together this course. It is well thought out, professionally delivered and essential for anyone who wants to contribute to building safer communities and society as a whole.” – ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry

Details of the Course

The course is offered as a five-week in-depth online course with a content library of pre-recorded videos, downloadable PDF documents, and an archive of resources that support each week’s theme. Course content will be released to registered students on August 24th before the first live meeting. “Additionally, there are also five weekly LIVE video group discussions, beginning August 31st, where we will all meet together to share realizations and knowledge, and since our previous course, we have decided to offer an extra element of emotional support for participants with nervous system regulation exercises and toolkit,” said Surabhi Kunja Devi Dasi.

For more information, to watch videos about the course, and to register, please click here. To learn more about Karuna Care Association, please visit their website.