We are in receipt of the December 7, 1997 statement by the GBC, posted to the COM forum by Bir Krishna das Goswami. It is a brief but interesting document. I will assume that the reader has previously read our presentation on this issue entitled, “Allegations of Poisoning", along with the recently posted materials on the Independent Vaisnava Council. It appears that whoever wrote the GBC’s recent statement has not read these materials, which is unfortunate. I will, therefore, reiterate a few points contained in these documents, because it seems that some confusion about the history of this matter is already evident in the GBC’s written statement.
1. It was Naveen Krishna dasa, a current GBC member, who first communicated serious concerns to Balavanta dasa (a past Chairman of the GBC) about the possibility of Srila Prabhupada having been poisoned. Naveen Krishna dasa -- without anyone’s prompting -- heard suspicious whisperings for himself on a tape.2. When Naveen Krishna dasa shared his concerns with Balavanta dasa, Balavanta also began listening to the tapes. He, too, became extremely disturbed about the suspicious whisperings he heard. While we do not know the details of how Balavanta dasa came to be appointed by the GBC as special independent investigator of these allegations of poisoning, it should be safe to assume that his appointment was a result of the fact that he shared his personal concerns with other GBC members, who agreed that there was cause for investigation.
3. Simultaneous to the above occurrences, a significant number of other devotees began listening to tapes of Srila Prabhupada’s last days. Many -- not just a few -- also heard suspicious whisperings and the word “poison”. These were not “outsiders”, or disgruntled ex-ISKCON devotees. These were devotees of good standing, many currently engaged in service under the auspices of ISKCON.
4. It was as a result of the above events that the Hare Krsnas website and the Vaishnava News Network (VNN) to post articles about the allegations of poisoning.
In their recent statement, however, we hear the GBC saying the following:
“Certain conspiracy theorists have been propagating of late the allegation that the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), met his demise on November 14, 1977, due to intentional poisoning at the hands of his own disciples.”Are we to understand that the GBC hereby officially names Balavanta dasa and Naveen Krishna dasa as conspiracy theorists? Or are these two devotees, due to their official positions within the institution, somehow immune from this entitlement, regardless of the fact that they were two of the key figures to first raise the alarms? If the latter is true, how is it the reporting agencies are suddenly labeled as conspiracy theorists, for simply reporting the concerns voiced by past/present GBC members?The GBC then writes:
“The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness considers this charge both absurd and offensive. Based on considerable testimony from those present at the time, and on its own preliminary internal study, the GBC is convinced that no such evil deed or even intention existed at the time. The GBC is certain that Srila Prabhupada’s passing was due to entirely natural causes, as his doctors stated.”We cannot be surprised at the GBC’s response: the allegations are absurd and offensive. We can, however, ask the GBC where the “considerable testimony” is that has been made by those present at the time? What has been the scope of the GBC’s “own preliminary internal study”? If the study so clearly shows that the allegations are absurd, why does the GBC not share it with everyone? Where are the archival tape recordings that support the GBC’s statement that Srila Prabhupada’s doctors stated that his passing was “due to entirely natural causes”. On this point, how does the GBC understand comments like those found on the folio, in the November 8, 1977 room conversation -- less than a week prior to Srila Prabhupada’s departure?The GBC writes:
“Some persons have claimed that they heard the word "poison" whispered on a tape said to have been made in Srila Prabhupada’s room. Many others, however, find the whispers indecipherable. In other words, one can read into the whisper almost any thing one chooses.”The GBC does not make clear in the above that “some persons” have included members of their own ranks. They do not tell us how many “some persons” there are. They indicate that the word “poison” is reported to be contained on one tape, when in fact it appears to be contained on at least three tapes.They write:
“Nonetheless, some persons are bent on establishing the false and malicious theory that some of Prabhupada’s own disciples conspired to poison him.”There is, as yet, no proof that these theories are true or false. Under the circumstances, as outlined above, I find it unconscionable that the GBC is already damning as malicious those who want answers to some very understandable questions.The GBC states:
“To refute this charge beyond the slightest doubt, the GBC has given the original tape over to independent forensic experts for detailed analysis. The singular purpose is to lay to rest malevolently motivated theories about Srila Prabhupada’s passing.”If the GBC truly wishes to refute charges and concerns beyond the “slightest doubt”, they should consider the immediate and full public disclosure of the investigation’s findings. They should immediately disclose ALL pertinent evidences they have compiled to the contrary....testimonies of witnesses present in Srila Prabhupada’s room, complete reports from at least two audio labs that have conducted work on their behalf, and whatever else they have in hand that convinces them the allegations are absurd. Surely they understand that withholding such evidences only raises further suspicions that they are carefully "managing" the information prior to releasing it. What possible good can this time delay serve if there is nothing to hide? The truth does not need to be managed.The GBC writes:
“According to Balavanta dasa, head of independent investigation, ‘Initial reports from two of the forensic laboratories – both of which used equipment more sophisticated than any previously applied -- do not find the word "poison" on the tape and do not support allegations of any wrongdoing.’ It is now clear to the GBC that the report of taped whispering conspirators is a false alarm.”We have already reported that there is sufficient cause for concern about the exactness with which these forensic audio examinations have taken place. Please review the report of Isa dasa’s recent conversation with Norman Perle, a forensic specialist who conducted one of these two lab investigations. While Balavanta dasa reports that neither of these labs find the word "poison" on the tape, Mr. Perle himself has stated that Balavanta dasa hired him to examine and report on only one, very singular and specific “whisper” -- one out of 90 minutes of tape. Further, Isa dasa has reported a serious discrepancy of information regarding exactly which whisper it was that Perle investigated. It does not appear to have been the whisper which most concerned Isa dasa, and which Balavanta dasa was allegedly going to focus the initial investigation on.The GBC writes:
“The independent investigator will continue a thorough reconstruction of Srila Prabhupada’s final days, which will be a valuable historical document in its own right. He expects to have this available by February, 1998.”We appreciate the intent expressed by these statements, and hope that all due diligence will be performed to reconstruct the history of Srila Prabhupada’s last days. We also invite the GBC to read and provide official input to the recently established Independent Vaisnava Council. It is our hope that the Council will play a strong role in assisting to reconstruct the history.Finally, we ask the GBC to stop insulting those devotees who are also intent on understanding this history, by labeling them as “conspiracy theorists” who are “malevolently motivated” to spread “false and malicious theories”. These labels serve no purpose other than to separate. They do not serve to convince the grassroots devotees that the allegations at hand present no cause for concern.
It is difficult to understand why the GBC insists on getting out the well-oiled elephant gun, if there is nothing to hide. Rather than shooting off a round of high velocity verbal bullets, perhaps they should take note of the white flag, waving in the distance. Instead of taking advantage of the various ambassadors who have offered to work with the GBC on this issue, in a cooperative effort of goodwill, the GBC continues to be adamantly closed to input from those outside the institutional walls. It is this kind of behavior that keeps alive the perception that the GBC is not honest...it has simply become expert at keeping the lid on the pandora’s box, which contains a vast collection of gruesome ghosts collected over the last twenty years of embarrassing history.
Clearly, the allegations of poisoning being put forth today would have far less impact in an open, honest environment of free expression among the authorities and those they are supposed to serve. Unfortunately, as is so often reported by the media during criminal investigations, “the suspects are known to police”. Sadly, our history shows that a very serious state of mistrust exists between ISKCON officials and the grassroots disciples of Srila Prabhupada. The order of the day is to somehow or other find a way to cooperate, even under the burden of our painful history.
And by no means is the entire burden of this matter to be borne by the leadership of ISKCON. Each individual devotee has the great responsibility to approach this issue with full intent to discover and understand the truth for him or herself. Perhaps one of the blessings of this strange kaleidoscope of events is that many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples will allow their attention to be diverted from important events taking place in their busy lives, and they’ll serious think and read about the final days of Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON lila. This is a long overdue exercise for most of us. We may have missed out on being personally present twenty years ago as Srila Prabhupada departed, but by carefully reading the conversations preserved on the folio, we can gain a deeper understanding of the events that were taking place at that time.
We should all take the time to carefully read over at least the conversations that are covered on the disputed tapes (approximately October 30th through November 14th, 1977). As you read, I suggest you make note of any questions or discrepancies, and try to understand the decisions that our Godbrothers faced in those days, as they cared for Srila Prabhupada. These tapes will provide us with both additional information and additional questions. For example, the folio has no room conversations for November 9th and 12th, yet there are tapes for these days. Was this an error on the part of the transcriber or the Archives? Of course, the Hindi and Bengali have not yet been translated, and there are many non-English conversations taking place on the tapes that will have to be examined. It is within several of those conversations that certain suspicious statements are being found.
My personal experience of carefully reading these transcripts for the last several days is that they bring to mind innumerable questions, images, impressions, understandings, and suspicions. I recommend that you approach this exercise carefully, with as open a mind and heart as possible. It is a serious endeavor, and will help to give us the benefit of history, hindsight, and presumably accumulated wisdom. I was reminded recently of the saying, “don’t blame on malaise something you can just as easily assign to stupidity.” We need to remember that this happened 20 years ago. I was just a few years older than my daughter is now!
With a reasonable understanding of the context, we can trust our own intuitive impressions. Devotees are famous for doubting their own intelligence...we lay things off on our imperfect senses, tendency to make mistakes, attachments, conditioning, ad infinitum. But if you don’t listen to your own intelligence, then you are forced to hear some other conditioned soul’s opinion, which is based on their imperfections, allegiances, attachments etc. Don’t be afraid to openly ask questions once you have accomplished as much personal research as possible. All these quotes, whispers, Bengali and Hindi conversations, etc., have to be put into your own contextual conceptions. Where there is confusion, go back and read several times. Discuss with other mature devotees, and address -- without fear of being “offensive” -- any and all lingering doubts until they are cleared-up.
Whether under the auspices of the Independent Vaisnava Council or simply under the banner of the harekrsna.com site, I will continue to provide an online forum for discussion, questions and answers, expressions of grief, bewilderment, frustration, guilt, etc. All these feelings can be shared with the other members of Srila Prabhupada’s family. If we take this episode seriously, from a spiritual point of view, then we see it is Krsna’s arrangement for all of us to understand a lot more about Srila Prabhupada, the Godbrothers who were our leaders and in some cases still are, and Srila Prabhupada’s concerns about the ramifications of His departure.
I plead with all readers to not just leave it all up to the so-called “independent investigators” who will give you their unbiased opinion. Balavanta dasa has proven to be dependent on exclusive GBC input and financing, and thus represented a false expression of independence. The other “outside” members of the Independent Vaisnava Council were not privy to the findings of Balavanta dasa’s professional sources. Much study remains to be done. Please keep in mind the many past bogus ideas, theories and conclusions that were easily slid past the trusting “Prabhus” who didn’t see fit to educate themselves on the important matters at hand.
Personally, all I want is for as many facts to be uncovered as possible, and the opportunity to discuss my thoughts with those I trust. I only pray to Krsna to award me enough time and a conducive atmosphere so that I can read, think, write, contemplate, discuss, and come out the other side with the best possible conclusion that can be arrived at by someone in my unique personal circumstances. And I want the same for my Godbrothers and sisters. I accept and appreciate that this unexpected manifestation of a transcendental “magnifying” of Srila Prabhupada’s final year has been orchestrated by “the Supreme Powers that be”.
your servant,
Rocana dasa
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