The Public Truth about Hridayananda dasa Goswami
BY: ACARYAVILASA DASA
Nov 05, USA (SUN) — So the news about Hridayananda dasa Goswami’s latest fashion statement, or the fashion of his latest statement, is getting everyone all riled up. Yes, let’s discuss the niceties of vaisnava-aparadha, if we will. But what about plain truthfulness? The last standing leg of dharma in Kali-yuga is truthfulness – looks like someone has been slashing away with the bent sword of deceit.
Here’s Hridyananada dasa Goswami’s Wikipedia Entry:
"Before his death in November 1977, Srila Prabhupada asked Hridayananda das Goswami, as well as ten other prominent disciples, to initiate disciples within ISKCON in order to give continuity to the disciplic succession starting with Krishna. He was also asked to complete Srila Prabhupada’s translation and commentary of the Srimad Bhagavatam, an important classic of Vedic literature."
Here’s a similar line in the ‘About Acaryadeva’ section at Acharyadeva.com:
"Shortly before leaving this world in November of 1977, Srila Prabhupada asked Acharyadeva and ten other prominent disciples, to eventually succeed Srila Prabhupada as initiating gurus in ISKCON."
Anybody see something wrong here?
- Before his “death”? [So Srila Prabhupada died like any other mortal?]
- Srila Prabhupada “asked” Hridayananda to initiate? [Suggesting a face-to-face meeting at which Hridayananda was “asked”, when there isn’t any evidence of any kind that Hridayananda or any of the exclusive eleven were directed in any way to initiate.]
- Along with “ten other prominent disciples”, Srila Prabhupada “asked” Hridayananda to “initiate”? [Expansion of the above lie that Hridayananda was “asked”, now along with ten other “prominent disciples”.]
- Srila Prabhupada “asked” Hridayananda “to succeed” him with the other ten as “initiating gurus in ISKCON”? [Here suggesting an exclusive ‘succession’ of the eleven as initiating gurus, i.e., nobody but the eleven should initiate in ISKCON or elsewhere.]
- Hridayananda was “also asked to complete Srila Prabhupada’s translation and commentary of the Srimad Bhagavatam”. [Srila Prabhupada actually personally trained and directed Pradyumna dasa to complete the Bhagavatam. But in fact, Hridayananda manoeuvred to get especially Pradyumna kicked out when Pradyumna wrote the famous letter exposing the lie and bad etiquette of the original eleven up-jumpers. In fact at one time, we are informed that Srila Prabhupada told Hridayananda to not study Sanskrit.]
So when talking of aparadha, what about considering the aparadha to Srila Prabhupada, rather than Hridayananda? The above statements on Wikipedia and Acaryadeva.com are complete falsifications of Srila Prabhupada’s directions and intentions. Now, irrefutably that is vaisnava-aparadha – the misrepresentation of a sublime Vaisnava and one’s own spiritual master. Can one do such and be considered a Vaisnava?
Hridayananda was very quick to tell us that he is chanting his rounds and following the four regs, but will he now be so quick to tell us he is presenting the truth about being "asked" to do so many things by Srila Prabhupada?
