Elevated to the Altars
BY: ANIRUDDHA DAS
Feb 20, GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (SUN) — Well, it seems history would invariably repeat itself, reproducing the same patterns. In reality it is just human nature at its best; the human littleness —I mean the man with all his flaws and shortcomings— trying conceitedly to validate his subjective experience and his existential surroundings. No matter how obnoxious, dishonest, manipulative, wicked or even criminal a public figure might have been, the common man would always revere him on account of whatever benefits he derived from the former. The rascal public figure may have been an inveterate tyrant, a blatant cheater who publicly or behind close doors committed horrible acts; nevertheless, blind followers would always "elevate him to the altars", using Nrisimhananda's Catholic lexicon.
7 or 8 years ago I watched Larry King interviewing Victoria Gotti, daughter of the late Gambino crime family Mafia boss, John Gotti, the so-called "Dapper Don". After initially talking with her about petty things like her likes and dislikes, marriage and number of children, her current carrer (she is writter), etc., King asked her rather bluntly: "How do you feel being the daughter of the most famous ganster of recent times?" Her face dislplaying a mix of disbelief and anger, Victoria immediately retorted: "What are you talking about? How do you dare to make such a statement? My father was the greatest man I have ever known, and I just don't beleive all the crap the media has dumped upon him, crap that you are repeating now." Then she looked sternly at King, who then realized he had to stop this particular line, otherwise the woman would stand up and leave the TV set abruptly.
Victoria Gotti mentioned during the one-hour live TV show how her dad treated her with utmost love and affection, both in her childhood and youth. She said her father provided her with a princess-like lifestyle, sending her to the best schools, buying her the most expensive jewelry and designer apparel, and sending her on vacation once or twice a year to Europe and the most beautiful places on Earth. For her, John Gotti, was God!
Probably many of you have heard of Pablo Escobar Gaviria, a Colombian drug lord who during the late eighties and early nineties literally put on their knees the whole Colombian population. Through bribes, extortion and murder, Escobar managed to establish a international network for trafficking and smugling drugs —cocaine— into the United States. He really became a menace to this country.
After forming the infamous Medellin Cartel, Escobar built an international drug empire which yielded him millions of dirty, blood-stained dollars. In 1989 the Forbes magazine listed him as the seventh richest man on the world. And when the Colombian authorities stepped hard to try dismantling his criminal organization, he went on a rampage murdering whonever dared to stop him, his henchmen or his "business". Directly or indirectly he was responsible for massacring tens of thousands of people. In 1991 alone, 7,081 assasinations were attributed to him. Escobar often personally executed his opponents and detractors.
Regarding his "munificence", Wikipedia says:
"While seen as an enemy of the United States and Colombian governments, Escobar was a hero to many in Medellín (especially the poor people); he was a natural at public relations and he worked to create goodwill among the poor people of Colombia. A lifelong sports fan, he was credited with building football fields and multi-sports courts, as well as sponsoring little league football teams.
Escobar was also responsible for the construction of many churches in Medellín, which gained him popularity inside the local Roman Catholic Church. He worked hard to cultivate his "Robin Hood" image, and frequently distributed money to the poor through housing projects and other civic activities, which gained him notable popularity among the poor. The population of Medellín often helped Escobar by serving as lookouts, hiding information from the authorities, or doing whatever else they could do to protect him".
Even today well-wishers and beneficiaries of Pablo Escobar's "mercy" gather every year on the day he was shot to death by Colombian policemen. They meet at the cemetery Jardines Montesacro, located in Medelllin, and deliver eloquent, bombastic speeches about his greatness and devotion to the poor and downtroden.
Pablo Escobar's grave in Itaguí, Medellín. The epitaph reads: "When you meet a good man, try to emulate him; when you meet a bad man, examine your own self."
Without going into the specifics, I had several personal experiences dealing with Tamal Krishna, and to tell you the truth, the man just disappointed me. Of course, he was a very intelligent person, and no doubt he performed good devotional service, even to the extent that Srila Prabhupada himself acknowledged him and promoted him. But for me he was a power-player, a man hungry for name, fame and adoration. A paramount manipulator. At the end of 1998, four years before Tamal Krishna's untimely and inauspicious death, my friend Yadu wrote me a letter from Sri Vrindavan Dham wherein he stated:
"There can be the situation when you see a devotee getting up at 3:00 a.m. every single day, chanting eight rounds before mangala-aratik, and then fervently attend to this function. Afterwards he can go on worshiping Tulasi Devi, chanting diligently the rest of his rounds during japa time [5:15 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.], and then participate in Guru-puja and the greeting of the Deities. Afterwards he can seat on the asana placed in front or the side of the open altars, and deliver a wonderful Srimad-Bhagavatam class, full with Sanskrit quotes, story-telling and jaw-dropping analysis. Then he can go to his office and dedicate the rest all the day hours to planning, executing of or even applying directly himself to a plethora of activities to push forward the Krishna consciousness movement. At night he can have a good reading of Caitanya-caritamrita or Krisna Book, and finally end his day happily "drinking a glass of hot milk and eating two puris" (Srila Prabhupada's comment to Citsukananda in Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1972.) He can be doing this devotional routine for thirty years or more, still, …¡this individual may not be even 1% Krishna conscious! [The emphasis is mine. I am quoting Yadu's letter by heart. I valued this letter so much that I stored it in my Halliburton briefcase, but thieves broke in my house in 1999 and stole it with all its contents.] The reason why this so-called devotee is not at all Krishna conscious, is because he is performing all the above-mentioned devotional service for his own personal aggrandizement, to promote his own personal agenda, to become the most notorious and exalted "devotee."
Well, I don't know how much percentage of Krishna consciousness you will allot to Tamal Krishna. If you were a beneficiary of his human activities, of his favors, like Bhakti Caru, I guess you will score him high. But I and thousands upon thousands of sadhakas assign him very little of real, substantive Krishna consciousness. And here I'm not talking nonsense, I'm referring to hard facts.
In 2004, another Godbrother told me in Vrindavan he had asked Tamal Krishna a question regarding his controversial participation on a series of deplorable events. Undaunted and quite proud, Tamal Krishna answered him: "In my book I documented all the apasiddhantas that have taken place in ISKCON. …And I am the one who ushered in all these apasiddhantas!"
When you are about to die, if instead of calling out, "Krishna! O Srila Prabhupada, my savior!", you scream: "You, fool!!", for me that's almost nil Krishna consciousness, despite the tons of books you personally printed or distributed, despite the number of temples you opened, despite the grandiloquence of your lectures, and despite your claims of being "a big devotee and acarya," as Hridayananda (Professor Howard J. Resnick, please) boasts, even though long time ago he had no taste at all for chanting the sweet names of Lord Krishna.
