Simhacalam - Another Insider View
BY: SHIVANANDA DAS
Feb 20, USA (SUN) — The plight of Narahari Devi Dasi.
Many devotees around the world are presently expressing their outrage at the plight of Narahari devi dasi of the German Nrisimhadeva farm project, Simhachalam. This letter is written to give one person's perspective on the matter.
Narahari d.d., who has faithfully served and lived at Simhachalam for over 25 years, has been forced from her home by the order of the German National Council. Not only that, but after years of dedicated service she has received the further restriction of only being able to visit what was once her home of 25 years to take darshan of the Lord for only one hour, once a month. Many are demanding answers as to why such an extreme act has been perpetrated against this Vaishnavi.
There are a number of topics which I must address in order for me to give a full picture for your understanding of the current situation. However to start I will give my hypothesis as to why this situation came about in the first place. I do this with the utmost reservation and dread. One for fear of Vaishnava aparadha and two, because I dread entering the public forum for such purposes as exposing an injustice which a petty peon such as I should not have to do. However I have my motivations for doing so, which will eventually be explained and are intimately intertwined with the problems which I will now present.
Problem 1: The once vibrant community of Simhachalam has disappeared.
Problem 2: Narahari d.d., longtime servant of Lord Nrisimhadeva, is forced from her home.
Problem 3: Vamsi Vata Prabhu, long time servant and pujari of Lord Nrisimhadeva, is forced out of Simhachalam after giving public voice to his opposition to Narahari mataji’s excommunication.
Hypothesis: The current Temple President and his wife, Vedanta Krit das and Arjunia Gopi devi dasi, are directly and indirectly responsible for these problems because of their lack of qualification for the position of power and responsibility which they hold. Their only qualification is the commonly known fact that "there is no one else to perform this function". Furthermore, as these two devotees are able to act only at the approval and discretion of the National Council and German GBC members, these parties are unfortunately also implicated.
I lived at Simhachalam during the winters and springs of 2004-5 and 2005-6, respectively. At that time in 2004 there were over 27 devotees living and serving at the farm. The current President and his wife, who are now residing on the farm, were performing their duties as Temple Presidents while working and residing in Munich. I had joined ISKCON in Portland, Oregon only one year previously and hand been invited to come to Germany by Prithu Prabhu, who was at that time my Guru. I quickly became enamored with this community of devotees. After 23 years of suffering in the mleccha world, I found the sweetness of the association and life with these devotees to be like a soothing and healing salve on the burn wounds received from a scorching material life. In short, it was ecstatic. There were, of course, the common complications but this is at least how I feel about my time at Simhachalam in retrospect.
Now the year is 2008. Only two devotees of the 27 with whom I served are still serving at Simhachalam. There are now only 5 devotees living at Simhachalam, including the Temple President and his wife, who have since moved onto the farm.
Now it is my task to give my case as to why Vedanta Krit and his wife are responsible for this situation. I will refrain from using names where possible.
The general mood at Simhachalam was a quite pleasant and happy one. The devotees for the most part simply performed their duties and acted together in a sweet state of camaraderie. There were, of course, problems in relationships between certain devotees, but the mood in general was very amicable. Some of the most pleasant times for me were when all of the devotees would come together and take prasadam. However there was a unanimously shared dread amongst all devotees, and that was in anticipation of the weekends when the Temple President and his wife would visit. No one was the least bit cheerful at the thought that by the week’s end, they would be arriving. The level of animosity finally resulted in a meeting which took place during the Caturdasi festival 2005 between German GBC members, the temple devotees, and the Temple Presidents. At this meeting the devotees had the chance of electing the Temple President and his wife out of their positions but, because of their soft-heartedness combined with the fact that no one knew of someone who could assume their responsibilities, the devotees did not vote them out of power but simply asked that they be more personal and careful in their dealings with us.
What was the cause of the animosity and dread that the Simhachalam community felt towards the Temple President and his wife?
At this point, I must unfortunately give voice to some very unpalatable facts and personal observations. In reference to the style of political maneuvering which I observed, the term Machiavellian comes to mind. On four separate occasions I saw the Temple President and his wife use and then dispose of four separate devotees to achieve political ends. The first occasion is that of a local Prabhupada disciple, I will refer to him as Prabhupada das. Prabhupada das who was living amongst the community was generally known for his bad habit of gossiping and speaking very harsh words against devotees. He spoke particularly at length with a very innocent and influential brahmachari, whose guru is Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, so I will refer to him as KKS das. Prabhupada das particularly had a problem with Narahari mataji as well as another devotee whose guru was Prithu Prabhu, so I will refer to him as P. Prabhu das.
P. Prabhu das had been at Simhachalam not very long and had come into conflict with the Temple President because of difference of opinion. Now I will admit that P. Prabhu das was and is a very ambitious person and it was no secret that he believed himself capable of performing in the role of Temple President. He was thus perceived by Vedanta Krit and his wife as a threat to their position of power. Prabhupada das would spend very much time with the Temple Presidents when they would come for their bi-weekly visits. One could see them discussing in low voices, sometimes lounging outside on the temple grounds. Prabhupada das was in a very real sense used in the manner of a spy, and one could see that Arjunia Gopi took great pleasure in her crow-like gossip with Prabhupada das. At one point, for reasons which are not particularly clear to me, the Temple President and his wife turned against Prabhupada das and he, with a great sense of animosity, hurt, and betrayal, left Simhachalam. If asked for my opinion I would say that it was in order to save face at their exposure and failure in their attempt to bring down P. Prabhu das. I know for certain that Prabhupada das has an alcohol problem and some believe that he was drinking during his stay at Simhachalam. I do not mean to degrade this devotee. I tried as much as possible to be friendly in my dealing with him despite his shortcomings and I personally had no bad feelings for this devotee.
I witnessed the continued power struggle and growing animosity that the Temple Presidents had for P. Prabhu das, and eventually P. Prabhu das gave in and took his wife and child and with a great sense of animosity, hurt, and betrayal, left Simhachalam.
The second occasion involves the above-mentioned KKS das brahmachari. I would first of all like to state that this devotee is a very good friend of mine and I had an excellent time with him during my stay on the farm. This case involves the Temple Presidents giving the recommendation to KKS das’s guru for Brahmin initiation. They did this not because they had any kind of respect or good will to this brahmachari, but because they wanted him to replace another pujari and because this brahmachari at that time was having problems with Narahari mataji. The “problematic” pujari happened to be a godbrother of the Temple Presidents from Poland, who lived at Simhachalam with his wife and two young children. This is an extremely wonderful devotee family. This pujari, however, was having disagreements with Vedanta Krit, mostly based upon the immature and irrational behavior of the Temple Presidents. They began to see this pujari as a threat to their power and they slowly turned on him.
They decided to give the recommendation for the Brahmin initiation of KKS das against the urgings of the pujari, who had valid grounds to doubt the qualification of KKS das to receive brahminical initiation. They did this with the intention of replacing this pujari. This pujari eventually took his wife and children and left with deep feelings of hurt, betrayal and animosity for his godbrother and sister, Vedanta Krit and Arjunia Gopi.
I left Simhachalam in the summer of 2005 and returned in the winter. As I was riding in the car with my friend towards the temple on my return, I saw a car abruptly pull to the side of the road. I saw a woman inside hysterically crying. I then realized it was Ajunia Gopi, Vedanta Krit was driving. When I got to the temple I immediately took my belongings upstairs to the brahmachari ashram. When I came down, I saw KKS das brahmachari and he was also completely disturbed and on edge, as well as the rest of the devotees on the farm. At this time the Temple Presidents had already returned. When I saw KKS das brahmachari he was on the verge of tears and broke his Brahmin thread, which these devotees had recommended he receive, in front of me in order to curse the Temple Presidents.
I inquired about what had happened and he told me that there had been a big fight and that the Temple Presidents wanted to take the office keys away from Narahari’s sister, Nandi Mukhi, who by the way is the Temple President's godsister, because they were removing her from the position of Temple Commander. KKS das brahmachari told me that they had been very violently and harshly screaming at and chastising the two matajis, Narahari and Nandi Mukhi, and that despite his personal problems with these two matajis he could not stand to see them handled in such a harsh and forceful manner. So he spoke up and raised his voice against the Temple Presidents, at which point they turned on him, making all kinds of accusations, questioning his mental health and accusing him of taking drugs. At that point KKS das became completely emotional, and that is when I arrived downstairs to find him. After this the Temple Presidents completely turned on KKS das and finally KKS das gave in and with a great sense of animosity, hurt, and betrayal, left Simhachalam.
There is another story that is related to this one, having to do with another former Simhachalam resident and godbrother of the Temple Presidents, who was serving also during this time. He is now staying in Leipzig. In contrast with KKS das, whom the Temple Presidents saw fit to recommend for Brahmin initiation, when they heard that their Guru had given their very qualified godbrother Brahmin initiation and that this godbrother was planning on going to Mayapur to study puja, Vedanta Krit saw this as a threat to his position as the German Pujari Minister and not only did they make politics concerning the matter, but they questioned their very guru’s judgment in giving this initiation without their blessing and consent.
When I arrived in the winter of 2005 there were six new devotees on the farm. One devotee and his four family members, the devotee is a disciple of Bhakti Bhushana Maharaja so I will call him B.B. das. The remaining person is a German life member. Again the same case. These devotees were brought in by political maneuver in order to achieve a political end, being this time an attempt to dethrone Narahari mataji and her sister from the influential position which they held by virtue of being the oldest devotees on the farm.
B.B. das was given the position of Temple Commander, which formerly belonged to Nandi Mukhi. The life member was brought in to give support to this political coup against the power struggle between the Temple Presidents and the Indian women. Now the life member proved to be very problematic. He was a very disagreeable and dangerous person, to say the least. He would say the most horrible things about the devotees on the farm, which I cowardly tolerated. However at one point, when he went so far as to infer that Narahari’s husband Akhila prabhu was a homosexual, I could no longer tolerate his poisonous speech. He had also told me about conversations he had had with the Temple Presidents in which they, if what he says is true, and I have no reason not to accept it as so, spoke unbelievably offensive things about many devotees and one devotee in particular, the assistant cook, who also later left with a great sense of animosity, hurt, and betrayal.
This life member was the source of many loud and long arguments and a great deal of suffering for all of the devotees on the farm. Eventually the Temple Presidents were forced to deal with this problem, which they created. They turned against the life member, whom they had invited to come to Simhachalam, and they forced him to leave, rightfully in this case. They also eventually turned against B.B. das and eventually B.B. das took his wife and his children and with a great sense of animosity, hurt, and betrayal, left Simhachalam.
One would have to really know and be familiar with Vedanta Krit and Arjunia Gopi in order to fully grasp what I am talking about when I say that they are immature people and unquestionably unqualified for the position which they hold. As you can see from the above, very definite patterns can be gleaned from the brief and scattered history I have told. It is difficult for me to express my opinion of these two devotees without being offensive, but I will have to say that Arjunia Gopi and Vedanta Krit are some of the most duplicitous and childish devotees I have ever met, and that is to put things VERY lightly. The dozens of devotees who have left Simhachalam with a great sense of animosity, hurt, and betrayal are proof enough of this. These two devotees have accused countless other devotees of having mental health problems in their campaign to smear and bring down devotees. One would only have to speak with these countless victims in order to understand the great amount of damage these two have caused. It is my conviction that the two devotees are actually suffering themselves from mental problems, stemming from a very palpable and very clearly perceivable lack of social and human relation skills.
To sum it up in the best possible manner, I would say that these two devotees are like two little children who are in no way fit for the responsibility of giving shelter and protection to others, when they themselves are in need of shelter and protection from themselves.
This brings us finally to the current situation with Narahari mataji. Now Narahari is by no means perfect. She definitely has her negative points. I experienced these from the very beginning of my stay at Simhachalam. She can be an extremely stubborn person and there are many people who have resented her position at Simhachalam. I say this at the beginning just to get it out of the way. However, as my relationship developed with Narahari over time I came to see her as a mother. She was very kind to me and we had a very joking and sweet relationship. I really had such nice times working together with her in the kitchen. She is very funny and kind and she definitely has great affection for the Lord. As a community, we had really such unbelievably wonderful times and laughs together. I have also the very same relationship with her husband, Akhila Prabhu. I have very deep respect and love for both of these devotees and I am very sad to see that they are going through such difficulties.
I can understand and sympathize with both sides. When the Temple Presidents decided to move to the farm no one was happy, in particular the Indian matajis. Everyone knew that this spelled trouble for the farm and that a war would ensue between the two parties. That was the outcome, with the obvious loser being Narahari and her family. If one would only consider the information I have given above as well as consider the long-standing animosity between these two parties, it is no wonder that things have escalated in such a manner. In short, the Temple President and his wife had it in for these two Indian matajis from the very beginning.
The Temple Presidents have laid waste to Simhachalam. Everyone whom they turned their wrath upon eventually grew tired of the struggle and simply sought shelter somewhere far away from the domain of these Temple Presidents. I had the foresight to leave before I would consider living under the rule and administration of these two devotees. I must now give the reason which finally compelled me to take this drastic and altogether undesirable task of taking the time to write this clumsy letter. It has to do with a dispute that took place between me and the previously mentioned Life Member.
As I said above, after some time I could no longer tolerate the grossly offensive words spoken by this life member against the devotees, particularly the ones spoken against both Narahari mataji and Akhila prabhu. I could no longer maintain the appearance of good will towards this Life Member. It became apparent to him and he very quickly confronted me on this matter alone in the dining room. At this time I was living illegally in Germany. He told me that there was a prison in Nuremburg for people like me and that if I crossed him, he was going to call the police and turn me in. In complete shock, disbelief and anger at the prospect of being deported because of the utter insanity of this Life Member who was brought upon the farm by the Temple Presidents, I flipped out and left the room and in anger screamed something to the order of wanting to kill this so and so (a very nasty curse word). Two other devotees were in the hallway in front of the kitchen when this happened.
At this point the life member came out of the dining room and started yelling that he was going to call the police because I made a threat against his life. Narahari mataji was in the kitchen and came to see what was happening. At that point a big argument broke out. All I could do was stand there dumb and afraid that I might now be deported if this man called the police. But Narahari completely took control of the situation and diffused it and in the process, protected me like a mother does her son. It is for this very reason that I write this letter and it is at this point at which my blood boils. I have watched a beautiful community of devotees be destroyed by the utter incompetence of two very unqualified people and I have sat cowardly silent. I have watched devotee after devotee leave under the “kick ‘em out” policy of the Temple Presidents, Vedanta Krit and Arjunia Gopi, and I have remained cowardly silent.
Narahari mataji has dedicatedly served Lord Nrisimhadeva for over 25 years. She has watched countless big men with equally big plans and big mouths come………and go. There is no doubt in my mind that if all these things that the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam say are true, then Narahari mataji is probably one of the most dearly beloved servants of Lord Nrisimhadeva. The people responsible for her current plight can be happy that he is not Ugranirsimha, because then they would have to fear for their lives.
The same applies to the excommunication of Vamsi Vata prabhu. Of course he is very eccentric and kooky, again common knowledge for those who know him, but he is also one of the most gentle, sincere, sweet, and soft-hearted people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and his only offense was that he could not tolerate seeing Narahari mataji kicked from her home and he became vocal about it.
I remained cowardly silent for so long, but I cannot tolerate seeing a Vaishnavi at such an advanced age being thrown from her home because of the incompetence and inability of the Temple Presidents to offer true shelter to ANYONE. Perhaps I have spoken too late because so much damage has already been done. Too many devotees have been sacrificed by the policies and politics of the Temple Presidents so that they can rule with an iron fist a temple now empty and devoid of Krishna’s devotees. If Vedanta Krit and Arjunia Gopi have any qualifications it is only in the realm of administration and bureaucracy, but as we know these are arts and any shudra can be a good bureaucrat. But it takes a Kshatriya to give shelter and that is what is required of a Temple President, to give shelter and protection to those under them. I can promise that with these people in charge, nothing will ever come of the German farm project.
Narahari acted as a mother and gave me protection and I cannot live with myself if I do not speak up to offer her protection as a son. A chaste woman is no person to take lightly. Bhismadeva, who was the most powerful and altogether undefeatable Kshatriya on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, was brought down by a chaste woman in the form of Sikhandin. The sun was stopped in its tracks by the very will of a chaste woman. What is more, this woman is a Vaishnavi who spent a lifetime in the institute of ISKCON dutifully serving the most fear-inspiring form of Krishna, Lord Nrisimhadeva. Even mlecchas who spend their whole lives working
for one company receive a pension at the end of their career, but this mataji is kicked from her home and doesn’t even get to see her Lord for more than one hour every month, this after a lifetime of service.
I thought it was our duty to offer shelter and protection to women, children, the elderly, the Brahmins, and the cows. So where is the shelter for this lifelong servant of Krishna? Something is terribly wrong with this situation and it must be reconciled, and despite the failings and mistakes of all the devotees and parties involved in this gruesome lila it is my contention that those who must truly be examined under the microscope and in the end removed from Simhachalam are those two devotees who have reaped such horrible havoc and who have offended and wounded so many sweet, kind, and softhearted devotees who have been separated from their loveable Lord Nrisimha as a consequence.
I see a lot of politics as usual geared towards PR control, however no attempts to address and find a real solution to this very great problem. Perhaps this unpalatable truth will prompt some to search in the right direction. To their credit, I will say that Vedanta Krit and Arjunia Gopi never personally made attacks against me but I was aware through word of mouth and common sense that they had made negative comments. They even at times acted very kind and affectionate towards me, to the point of giving me a nice guitar as a present. I want to give these points because I do not wish to completely demonize these two devotees. I must again insist that writing this letter is in no way a pleasure for me, rather it is a great inconvenience which I feel is forced upon me because of the lack of proper action and responsibility being taken by those who should.
I apologize for my offences. It is truly not my desire to give voice to such vile things but I am compelled as a debt to Mataji Narahari and, even without this debt I have to her, she completely deserves that someone speak out to protect her and her reputation. What really is Simhachalam without her? I cannot imagine a festival without her dear and loving presence in the kitchen, cooking for Lord Nrisimhadeva.
What is going to be done to resolve this issue?
Your servant and future resident of hell,
Shivananda das
