Demons from Krishna Book and ISKCON

Kamsa, the child abuser who torments Devaki and Vasudev (Krishna's parents), was known as Devaki's brother, but that was just a simple way of describing the relationship. Actually, her grandfather, King Devaka, was the brother of Ugrasena. Ugrasena's wife had Kamsa because she was raped. Kamsa grew up in the court of Ugrasena, Devaki's great uncle, which makes Kamsa her second cousin once removed. Therefore, it was not exactly a case of a brother killing his sister's children, but more of an uncle from the extended family persecuting a young woman in the family. (This also happened in ISKCON, where Kamsas persecuted women throughout their extended family.)

Ultimately, Devaki's only surviving son, Krishna, killed Kamsa. Then Balarama killed all of Kamsa's brothers. There is a metaphor here for ISKCON - a strong clue about the fate of child abusers.

Another profound tale for abuse victims is the story of Aghasura, the snake demon*. Although the story is meant to be taken literally, like a dream, it also offers metaphors and is thus true on many levels. On one level the snake could represent sodomy. Krishna protected the boys by killing Aghasura, but like many victims, the boys were unable to tell their story to anyone. That was because right after Agahsura died, Lord Brahma kidnapped the cowherd boys (the boys remain unconscious in a cave for one year while Brahma turns his back for one second*). Thus the evidence of the snake's dead body decomposes while the boys were held in captivity. In ISKCON's case, certain leaders of the organization took part in the abuse and in the conspiracy of silence. People who were supposed to be in charge, instead looked the other way. Perpetrators threaten their victims to keep them from speaking out. These dynamics were seen in ISKCON as the young people began to realize what was done to them. This process began in 1990 and continued through the 90s.

The death of Putana (the demon who disguised herself as a nurse tried to poison baby Krishna*) reveals the proper way to expose child abusers. Putana's dead body changed back into an ugly witch and fell down dead across the Vrindavana landscape to the horizon. Everyone knew what had happened and they rushed to protect the child Krishna. Then they chopped up the witch's body and burned it. The ugly corpse is a metaphor for the perpetrator's crimes. When someone commits an act of violence against a child, whether emotional, physical or sexual, the way to topple that abuser is to expose them. Explain to the child that what the perpetrator did was wrong, then do everything possible to help the child heal. In the case of sexual abuse, explain to the child that sex is a confusing subject for people of all ages, especially inexperienced children. Briefly explain that adults who love each other give and receive pleasure through touching. Tell them that they will learn more about it when they're teenagers and invite them to ask any questions they may have. It's good to get professional counseling for child victims of abuse as soon as possible after the abuse incident. ISKCON could have had a favorable outcome for their children, if only ISKCON leaders had been willing to acknowledge the crimes sooner and do more to help the victims.